I strive to make more time to draw everything in my sketchbook, everything in the course of a day that brings me joy or inspires me.

I love to draw these collages of things that captured my attention, like the crow that keeps visiting our birdbath to dunk his bread, or the crab apple blossoms on the trees blooming all over town this time of year, or the lady walking her cute dog who kept looking back for the next treat, or the adorable little groundhog foraging through the meadow behind my office.

In this recent sketchbook spread, I wanted to remember the red-winged blackbirds singing in that same meadow, the goldfinches who are very busy in spring, the sandhill cranes who have returned from their migration trips, the daffodils blooming throughout my gardens, the forsythia’s mix of yellow blooms alongside early green leaf buds, and the many red admiral butterflies I see on my walks.

I’m also working on character sketches for several new stories so I cherish being able to sneak in drawings like these for the practice, the memories, and the simple chance to lose myself in a moment from the day.