Fish Haul Creek Park

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At long last a few hours away that made me feel like I've had an entire weekend getaway!

Fish Haul is on Hilton Head Island, SC and borders Port Royal Sound. It's a birder's paradise and an ecological wonder. Every SC Low Country Master Naturalist class gets a field trip here and is warned not to get stuck in the pluff mud.

When Rob and I arrived just before 5 p.m., the tide was on its way out. I set up my chair facing east and reached in my bag for my supplies when I discovered I'd left my travel watercolor palette at home! Luckily the Pentel pocket brush, Micron pen and waterbrushes were there.  A black and white page was not what I had in mind on this beauty of an autumn day, but it did give me a chance to finally play with the Pentel brush. 

We spent about an hour on the beach. The receding tide moved out quickly and shorebirds that had settled on the highest ground at high tide took flight several times, moving farther out into the Sound, landing on newly visible shoals. Pelicans, gulls and skimmers filled the sky! Great Egrets started to collect just past the large rock eddy. They know there's good fishing in shallow tidal pools :)

I love the time of the 'long shadows.' The colors of the marsh grass, ocean and sky were incredible... so many shades of green and blue. But, oh the bugs! AT 5:45 p.m., it was as if someone turned on the bug switch. Boom! They were everywhere. No-seeums, mosquitoes and whatever... Dang.  Driven off by insects.

Olive trees.

Olive trees, Olea europaea, are native to coastal Mediterranean areas, but are cultivated worldwide. There's an orchard full of them in Villa Glori, a Roman park, and I just had to catch the spirit of one of these trees. I love their contorted branches and trunks, the grey-green foliage,

Livestock market

The first Sunday of every month, a livestock fair is held in Osteria Nuova, a small town near Rome.

I don't like places where live animals are traded, but am drawn to them... It was packed with people, and quite cold, so I realized a few quick sketches to which I added a splash of colour later at home.

On the right are black pigs from Rieti, a town north of Rome. It's an ancient breed of pigs that used to be bred in the wild and almost became extinct around the 1950s. They have now recovered.

Here on the left, is another endangered breed, the Amiata donkey, from Tuscany. These gentle creatures are now the subject of many scientific studies aiming to gain enough knowledge to preserve and protect them.