Reminders: Clare Cooley's Warblers and Waterflowers at Karpeles & Honey Bee Folk Fest at the O

"Let me tell you 'bout the birds and the bees..."
--Herbert Newman

In 1993 we bought a house in the country outside Duluth with close to nine acres of land next to a forty acre property that was primarily pasture land. For exercise I often walk the gravel road half mile to the corner alongside this pasture. Two weeks ago while walking toward home I look across this field and saw what appeared to be a pair of kangaroos. It was hilarious to think we'd have kangaroos in Minnesota, so I stopped and watched and when one turned sideways I saw that it was a large crane.

I had many thoughts triggered, one of them being Clare Cooley's paintings of cranes that I had seen earlier this year at Karpeles Manuscript Museum here in Duluth.

Yesterday I received notice that in August there will be an opening reception for a new exhibition by Clare Cooley titled “Warblers & Wildflowers.” The reception will be August 9th from 5-9 p.m. Her show will feature 26 pieces, each depicting a different species of regional bird and bloom, and we do have an amazing variety of birds here in our region.

A pair of Clare's Cranes.

Clare's art is inspired by nature's complex inner connectedness balanced with it’s elegant simple designs  The aim of her work is to motivate protection of the environment and all its creatures by portraying its natural beauty.

We used to have bird feeders at our house, but bird feeders and incompatible with a barn cat, which enjoyed disproving the saying, "There's no such thing as a free lunch."

Back when we did have bird feeders out we saw all kinds of species, including warblers. Of these Clare stated, “Warblers are too small and fast for us to observe them closely, which inspired me to try to capture their essence and enlarge them and the wildflowers. I want to bring their beautiful brilliance into our lives all year long. May their lovely lightness of being lift our spirits.”

Originals as well as prints and note cards made in the artist’s studio will be available for purchase at the exhibition. A portion of the proceeds will go to a regional environmental organization.

You can set a reminder for this event on Facebook. Or here at Nextdoor.

While there make sure you check out the portion of Bill Pagel's Bob Dylan memorabilia on display through the second week of December. 

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THIS WEEKEND is shaping up to be a most interesting kick-off of a new event at Oldenburg House called the Honey Bee Folk Festival. The event continues to grow, with more music and more activities, the most recent being a Saturday morning bike ride from Beaners to the O in Carlton, a beautiful ride along the St. Louis River basin. It covers a spectacular stretch of the Munger Trail. The first 100 bikers will get to wear a large badge proclaiming that you are part of the Honey Bee Swarm. Join Jason and friends this Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. AT BEANERS.

The Honey Bee Fest is a 2-day event that begins Friday.
FULL DETAILS ON THE EVENT HERE 
https://oacc.us/programs/honey-bee-folk-festival/

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A Little Bee Trivia

Evidently bees are now endangered so it's possible to "adopt" one through the World Wildlife Fund!

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This was interesting to me.  When the hive needs a new queen, they purportedly have a battle royale for the crown."In nature when a colony needs a new queen, worker bees will build several wax queen cells. A queen will lay an egg into these cells and nurse bees will fill them with royal jelly to feed and develop the new queen. The hatched queens then fight it out – and the survivor is the new queen of the colony. " I didn't know that.

Meantime, life goes on all around you. Get into it.