another season in the field is imminent. this time, north-central Arizona, Coconino National Forest. birds ahoy! and, guess what, this means another chunk of the year sans printmaking. I know myself too well to pretend I'd get a damn thing accomplished even if I brought my tools with me. before I go, I've got my final Texas wildlife 4x4 prints sitting and waiting for a good ink session, plus a custom print having to do with that huge portion of the world I never think about, the OCEAN (and why would I think of it, never having lived within 200 miles of it?).
and, in these final weeks in Texas, I'm going crazy for lack of time because, my god, migration is
hopping and for some reason nobody will let me spend all day every day out in it! I managed to see my first-ever Painted buntings last week:

what. a. fantastic. bird!
orioles and hummingbirds and both kingbirds and grosbeaks and Swainson's hawks and Green herons and Nashville warblers and Red-eyed vireos, they're all back and sittin' pretty, even stray sparrows that I never manage to see because sparrows HATE me for loving them. it's a one-sided relationship. I don't know why I stick with it. someday, though, someday they'll see...