Bring on the Blue Jays - Part 2



Last week I shared some beautiful photos that Michael took of blue jays checking out his new bird feeder/tree invention. Today is Part 2 of the blue jay series! 

The blue jays literally go "nuts" for their new feeder!  And...they have an expensive palate and prefer to dine on peanuts and sunflower seeds.

As for the less desirable seeds...these blue jays think they are "for the other birds" and just spit them out over the side of the bird feeder!

As promised, here are a few more photos of the blue jays enjoying Michael's new bird feeder/tree invention...



©Life as an Artist’s Wife
A pretty profile shot.

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
A nice view of the blue jay's pointy crest.

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
A gorgeous photo...definitely magazine-worthy!

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Hey, what are you lookin' at?!

If you missed Part 1 of the blue jay series, click here.

If you missed the post describing Michael's tree invention, click here.

I have a few more blue jay pictures to share, so check back soon for Part 3!

Underwater Wednesday: Spotted Cleaner Shrimp

Today’s Underwater Wednesday post features this delicate little spotted cleaner shrimp. Michael snapped this shrimp in the tropical waters of Cozumel, Mexico.

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Spotted cleaner shrimp photographed in Cozumel.

Photo Fun Facts:

• The shrimp is identified by its transparent body with distinct markings; 2 pairs of long antennae; and legs with red, purple, and white spots.

• The shrimp was hangin’ out on a sea anemone.

• The shrimp was about ½-inch in length.

• Michael took this photo at a depth of about 80 feet with a macro lens.

To see last week's Underwater Wednesday post of a coral crab, click here. And don't forget to tune in next Wednesday for another underwater wonder!

Bring on the Blue Jays - Part 1

Yesterday’s blog post featured Michael’s creative “tree” invention – a bird feeder designed for him to take natural-looking photos right from his office desk!

Over the past couple of days Michael has taken several stunning pictures of the blue jays testing out the new tree...and I have the difficult task of paring down those pictures for the blog. (I just love them all!)

To make it a little easier on my indecisive self, I’ll do a series of posts showcasing the best of these blue jay beauties!

You'll notice that even though all these photos were taken from Michael's handmade "tree," all the scenes look different...and so natural! I think his tree invention was a success! 

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
This one is Michael's all-time favorite blue jay photo. What's not to love?

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
I love the blue jays expression...and the detail of the bright blue, black, and white feathers!

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Sweet songbird sitting pretty.

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
This blue jay is enjoying a scrumptious sunflower seed.

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
This blue jay wants to enjoy the bird seed buffet all to himself....
so he told the other bird to buzz off! 

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
The same angry bird scowling as his competition flies away.

There will be more blue jay photos posted over the next week or two, so stop back soon!



Mikey…The Tree Inventor

As I’ve mentioned before, we live on 8-1/2 acres of wooded land. We have thousands of trees right in our own back yard. So, as you can imagine, we have lots of feathered friends…giving a nature photographer many fantastic photo opps!

However, even with all these trees that God meticulously placed on our land…Michael needed just one more tree. Being the resourceful renaissance man that he is, Michael took matters into his own hands…and built himself a tree! (I bet God got a good chuckle out of that one!)

Mikey's tree invention for taking picture-perfect close-ups of birds!

You might be scratching your head, saying “Why in the world does he need another tree?!”

Well, this isn’t just any old tree. This “tree” is a specifically-designed bird feeder created to lure the birds into precise position for the perfect photo. He hand-picked each branch and attached them to the tree trunk. The top platform holds the bird seed and is edged with bark. The old logs placed on top give the birds a pretty place to perch and he can change the logs out to create different scenes. Michael spent a lot of time designing the plan, finding photogenic pieces of wood, and building the “tree.”

Michael built this tree right outside his office window. He propped the tri-pod and camera up on his desk and connected it to a small viewing screen. This way his movement in front of the window won’t scare the birds away. When he sees a bird nibbling on the seed or perching on a branch, he just snaps away!

Mikey's set up with the camera/tri-pod and small screen to see what's in view! 

Amazingly, when zoomed in on the branches and logs, this Mikey-made tree looks completely natural!

Check back tomorrow to see some of his new bird shots on the new tree!

It's National "Take Your Dog to Work Day"

Well, since Michael and I work from home…we celebrate this holiday every day! And we PAWsitively love our funny four-legged coworkers!

 

But just because we don’t work in a physical office with coworkers, doesn’t mean we don’t have to deal with “office drama.” Our office drama consists of:

• Dogs barking at the UPS delivery person, or a bird, or a squirrel…or each other!
• Dogs begging for lunch scraps…and then one by one dozing off for a long afternoon nap!
• Dogs snoring during conference calls (my personal favorite!)

Here’s a typical work day at our house…

 

Abbie always goes to work with Michael. (She has always been a daddy’s girl.) She sits right under Michael’s chair. And, if daddy is in the studio…Abbie is in the studio. Abbie only comes to see me when her tummy starts to grumble!

 

We call Bailey “the floater.” She just can’t make up her mind…Sometimes she goes to work with daddy; sometimes she goes to work with me. 

 

Gracie…my little shadow. She “job shadows” me all day long. However, if she thinks something more exciting is going on in daddy’s office, she’s not afraid to sneak downstairs!

 

Once in a while, all three dogs end up on daddy’s chair! How’s he supposed to get any work done?! Good thing it’s only when he’s doing computer work and not audio voiceovers or art work!

  

Who's the boss? Michael with his three little helpers.

   

Lately, Bailey and Gracie both want to sit up on my chair, which leaves very little room for me. Hey, at least I can honestly say that my job keeps me on the edge of my seat!

 

Umm...where am I supposed to sit?

Michael and I just love to work from home and be around our sweet, silly dogs all day. Sure, they don’t make coffee…they don’t type…and they don’t file. But, if we’re having a stressful day, all we gotta do is get down on the floor, rub some bellies or throw a ball across the room…and everything is suddenly…better. 

It’s impossible to keep a straight face in the presence of one or more puppies.
-Unknown

Underwater Wednesday: Cover Model Crab

Family and friends of Michael know that underwater photography has been a significant part of his life for over 20 years. He has taken thousands of underwater photographs, mostly captured in the majestic blue waters of Cozumel, Mexico. Michael introduced me to diving and it has been such a special activity that we have enjoyed together for many years.

To share Michael’s achievements with this super specialized art, I thought it would be fun to start an ongoing series of posts featuring some of his all-time best photos. The series is titled Underwater Wednesdays!

The photo of the coral crab below is Michael's most honored. It has been showcased in an underwater calendar and published in several national magazines (hence the blog title "Cover Model Crab!") 

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Coral crab photographed in Cozumel.

Photo Fun Facts:

• The crab was about the size of a dinner plate. (Mmm…fresh crab! But, who could eat this cutie?!)

• The photo was taken at a depth of about 60 feet.

• The photo was taken during a night dive. Night dives are quite intimidating because the water is pitch black. The only light available is from a little flashlight and Michael’s camera lights, so you literally only see what is directly in front of you. But, with the intimidation, comes the reward. Sea life comes out at night that you don’t see during the day. Stumbling upon this guy was a crab-tastic surprise!

Underwater photography brings on many unique challenges that are irrelevant with “above water” photography. Underwater photographers need to be aware of:

• Water current – It’s difficult for a photographer to hold the camera still when the swift current is trying to whisk him away!

• Air supply – Each tank only holds a limited amount of air, so when the air is about to run out, it’s time to ascend to the surface!

• Jelly fish, barracudas, and sharks…oh my! – Everything from 6-ft moray eels to scorpion fish to giant barracuda to tiny coral polyps to jelly fish…these are all occupational hazards to the underwater photographer. Michael has been stung several times on his hands and face and has a few proud battle scars to prove it! Oh, and Cozumel primarily has nurse sharks, but it’s always exhilarating to imagine there’s something much more frightening lurking around the reef!

 
Michael shot all of his underwater photos on traditional film. As for the camera…it is quite the crazy-looking contraption! A watertight casing covers the camera and two large lights extend from the case. The camera is weightless in water, but weighs about 6 pounds out of water. (The camera is actually larger than it appears in the photo below.)

Mikey and Marti diving in Cozumel.
The red circles indicate the large lights that extend from the camera.

There is no place on earth that compares to under the sea. We feel so blessed to have logged in hundreds of hours admiring God’s beautiful and mysterious aquatic creations…at depths that not many people get to explore. I hope you'll enjoy these treasures featured in Underwater Wednesdays!

Happy Father's Day & Happy PAWther's Day

Michael and I wish our dads a very Happy Father’s Day! We love you both and hope you enjoy your special day!

 

Also....Abbie, Bailey, and Gracie wish Mikey a very Happy PAWther's Day! To celebrate the day, they posted a few of their favorite puppy pictures with their daddy...

 

Abbie and daddy cuddling!

 

Bailey and daddy making a splash!

Gracie and daddy cheering on the Packers!

Abbie, Bailey, and Gracie will spend PAWther's Day following their daddy around and giving him lots of smooches and snuggles!

Just a Little Competitive Research

Yesterday morning we saw a news segment about an art fair 30 minutes away, and I thought it would be an excellent opportunity for us to check out the local art scene. Michael already had a long list of outside chores planned for the day, so I knew I had some serious arm twisting to do…but I finally talked him into it! (Woohoo!)

With my artist at a local art fair.

It was a fun outing at a beautiful park. We saw some great art and met a lot of talented artists. One thing about artists…they really love to talk about their craft! Fortunately, Michael can “speak their language,” so it was beneficial for him to connect with the artists and learn about their techniques. We also learned about the different ways they market their art (now they’re speaking my language!)

We walked away very inspired and excited about the possibilities for Michael as an artist! Oh, and we also found a couple of pretty pieces for our home!

National Best Friends Day

I read that today is National Best Friends Day…how fun!

But honestly, when you’re married to your best friend, every day feels like National Best Friends Day!





Best friends Mikey & Marti


We'll be celebrating this "holiday" at home eating pizza and watching a movie or two...our favorite way to unwind after a busy week! And, I'll give Mikey an extra big hug today to remind him how special he is to me!

Have you hugged your best friend today?

My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me.

-Henry Ford

Eraser Danger

Oh, the woes of an artist.            

Michael started on a new red-tailed hawk drawing (we call him “Fred.”)

All was going well…Then he ran into a little trouble with Fred’s right eye. So, he gently erased…and erased…and erased. Before he knew it, he had erased a hole right through the paper. (Gasp!)

 



Too much erasing = hole through the paper!

Mikey was bummed. The drawing was ruined. The thought crossed his mind “Is this some crazy sign that I shouldn’t be an artist?!”

Of course not!

I empathized with him for a bit, but then it was time to call in….

Marti the Motivator!

I reminded him that God has blessed him with an amazing talent. But, mistakes happen and with every mistake, lessons are learned.

Lesson learned: Don’t overwork it. Know when to stop. (Colored pencil is very difficult to erase because of its waxy texture, so erasing should be kept to a minimum.)

I actually think this mistake was a blessing… it’s much better for him to learn this important lesson early in a drawing, rather than towards the end of a drawing!

I also encouraged him to not spend too much time dwelling on it. It’s not going to fix the problem. It would be more productive for Mikey to pick up his colored pencils, give them a spin through the pencil sharpener, and start over!

Mikey willingly took my advice and I am so proud of him for diving into the new drawing! Knowing Mikey, he’s going to put even more gusto into the new-and-improved Fred. In fact, Mikey came up with a funny little acronym:

FRED =

   Freakin’

   Ridiculously

   Excessive

   Determination

We’ve all “overworked” something. Maybe it was ruining a chicken dinner by adding too many spices… or pulling a muscle from exercising too much…

When was the last time you overworked something to the point that it was ruined?

You've GOT to be Kiddin' Me?!

If you know Mikey well, you know that: 

A) He’s really just a fun-lovin’ kid, trapped in a 6’4” man’s body

B) He loooves any toy with a remote control, and 

C) He frequently says “You’ve GOT to be kiddin’ me?!"

Mikey in his "Big Kid" t-shirt with his remote control car!

 

Well, I recently stumbled upon this colorful cotton tee and just had to get it for my own Big Kid!

Mikey....the ultimate Big Kid!

When I see Mikey sporting this t-shirt, I’m reminded of his desire to live a life of joy, his capacity for belly-achin’ laughter, and his intense childlike curiosity.

We wake up every day and choose our state of mind, so why not choose JOY? (Because laughing like a kid is way more fun than stressing like an adult!)                 

He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouts of joy.

-Job 8:21



The Mic is Hot

Here we find Michael working on a voice over project for a Fortune 500 company…

Michael in his home recording studio.

Michael enjoys corporate voice over work, but his dream voice over job would be narrating any of the current cable shows that feature:

• Guys diggin’ for gold, or

• Guys huntin’ for gators

He LOVES those manly man shows and can imitate the narrators perfectly! (They have very distinct voices!)

One of the benefits of working in the same house with your best friend is that you can just pop into his/her office any time you please to say “hi.” But, when the husband is recording and the wife is one who bops around the house whistling…well, you get the idea!

So, I gifted Michael with this handy dandy recording light!


When the light is bright...keep quiet!



This way he can just flip the switch to gently remind me that the “mic is hot!” The last thing any company wants to hear is me whistling (out of tune) throughout their recording!