Best Wishes for Happy Holidays! The solstice has just passed, with a sliver of moon keeping us company through the longest night of the year. (Not that we saw it, due to cloud cover. The sky cleared the next day.) I look forward to lengthening daylight hours.
I am off to celebrate Christmas with my family, a familiar routine of traditions passed along from our German heritage, and activities that have evolved over the years we have spent together.
One of the gifts I have already received is Collector by Jack Nisbet (thanks, Jon!). It’s the biography of David Douglas, the naturalist for whom the Douglas-fir and Douglas squirrel on this year’s card are named for. My friend Mikki Douglass always says that I should paint cards of things that can be seen around here, so this year I did (thanks, Mik!) The squirrels stay active all year, while chipmunks snooze the winter away. I heard a squirrel yesterday when I was walking home from an errand. They are full of life and rodent energy.
In The Rainshadow 
I feel, looking at this painting of yours, as if I, too, had received a card of your making. Very nice indeed.
It’s the Red Squirrel here & an occasional Gray… very short lived little guys… we hand fed 2 female Reds all summer; they would sit and beg, take nuts from our fingers.. they looked well nursed and one brought her 4 kids when they were half grown or less.. they were cute and they were amusing, but we just couldn’t host that many destructive and demanding creatures, so scared the little ones off at every opportunity: within a month, even the 2 big mamas stopped showing up and I’ll never tame another squirrel, tyvm.I have some nice memories of their company, though.