This little friend is a snow bunting, painted with wild inks, all made from plants: acorns, oak galls, wild grape + vine, buckthorn berries mixed with vinegar, mulberries, goldenrod, and a bit of soot from the fire.

I’ve had snow buntings on the brain recently, but had trouble finding a good reference photo. That is, until the January newsletter of @peptbo came out – and Snow Buntings were their bird of the month! It featured many photos of these sweet little snowballs, but it was the very white plumage captured by @pauljwildlife in Nunavut that prompted me to pick up my paintbrush one evening.

If you’re a nature lover, I highly recommend signing up for the newsletters produced by your local naturalist and conservation organizations. There are so many forces in the world that deserve the attention of our eyes, the addition of our voice, expansive empathy, resilient reason, and a stalwart rejection of apathy… But the restorative cycles and solace of nature should always be in the mix. 💚