I spent most of the day doing a bit of repairs on my vehicle and needed another trip to the auto part store. I headed to a nearby town and found out I needed to wait a day for my part to arrive so that required me doing a bit of "McGyver" work with some duct tape and some clamps. So now that I couldn't go any further on my vehicle I headed out for a hike to a nearby trail.

Its amazing what the outdoors fuels. The sounds, colors and the wildlife all food for the soul. I saw a couple of people flyfishing and witnessed an osprey bringing in a fish to her humongous nest. The day was great. Climbed some small cliff sides and saw the remains of a falcon nest. The day was great. I was told that if I hiked a particular trail to not be out too late because of female mountain lion with some young had been in the area. I figure I was done and those of you that know me know my luck. I wasn't going to play the odds.

I headed home with that cougar on my mind. Arriving I gathered my art stuff: pens, brushes, copic markers, colored pencils etc and sat at my "studio" a picnic table under the fir trees and aspens. I started to sketch an idea for a sculpture that I've been wanting to do when out of no where a baby bird lands next to me. Literally on my stuff. He looked at me chirped a couple of times and attempted to fly to an aspen sapling. He sat there calling and calling and finally mom came fed him a bug and flew away. He hopped from one tree to the next would land in the ground and then work his way back up the evergreen. After a while his sibling was following mom as well. As I worked on my art they kept me entertained. The birds are a family of robins that have nested over my balcony door. Today they finally fledged and are out testing their wings.

I worked and finished my mountain lion before heading back inside the cabin. I did the mountain lion not only because of the earlier conversation at the park but because of Father's Day. The mountain lion is my dads favorite animal due to the fact that it reminds him of the family ranch. I hope all the fathers had a great Father's Day. I hope you enjoyed this little blog and remember to head outside. Visit your state parks and enjoy this wonderful land and its beauty. Till next time. Search and Create!

Cougar art with Copic Markers, colored pencils and Neo colors.

Manu

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