Still Waiting
48 x 36 x 3 acrylic on wood panel.
A flock of Cedar waxwings visiting a winter crabapple tree. Crabapple trees provide much needed sustenance through the fall and winter months. Gregarious Cedar waxwings flock to these trees in groups to feed on their berries.
The title of this painting comes from an earlier work called, Waiting for the Waxwings. I live on the river in Bat Cave and used to see flocks of these beautiful, painted, chatty birds in the riparian zones along the river. Hurricane Helene swept the trees and about half the homes along the river away. The waxwings have not yet returned. As the riparian zones heal, more and more species are returning. The first tadpoles we saw brought tears to our eyes and later the resulting frogs allowed the return of blue herons. We also saw some aquatic insects coming back this year, but are still waiting for the bank swallows to come back. Aw. When the waxwings return, we will know that the riparian zone is on its way to being healthy again.
