Summer Home, 2021
Oil on 10” by 10” Basswood panel.

Over the summer of 2021, I surveyed 15 Bird houses. I was told that the parent birds are okay with the survey, just be kind, and make sure they leave first. So before I checked each house, I did the polite thing to do at someone’s door. I knocked. Usually they sensed my arrival beforehand and cleared out. Except one Wren who stayed after I knocked twice and flipped my hat off my head.

Over two months I saw 7 Chickadee babies, 4 Swallow babies, 20-25 Wren babies. While I enjoyed seeing these babies grow, I was also growing worried. The purpose of the survey was for the Eastern Bluebird Recovery Program of Minnesota and I hadn’t seen any bluebird nests.
As a surveyor, I learned and observed that each bird species builds their nests differently. Chickadees use a thick bed of moss. I found this extra clever since moss is anti-microbial and absorbent. Swallows use a little less moss, but topped with a soft bed of feathers. Wrens stack the entire inside of a house with sticks.
While these nests were welcome, I was looking for a grass nest. Then one day, after knocking, I slowly opened the house door to behold grass organized beautifully into a nest. This carefully crafted home cradled three blue eggs. Bluebird eggs! Later I saw their mother and watched them grow into healthy babies. This was the only bluebird nest of the 15 houses.

This painting is in homage to this family and the recovering bluebird population.