tiny house 4

This is the biggest of my tiny house drawings, so far. Complete with a nice deck, super high ceilings and plenty of windows for natural light!

Happy Memorial Day weekend everybody!

tiny house 3

When it comes to tiny houses, less is more. This is the smallest of them all at 125 square feet, having a minute footprint for Earth Day and every day if you can live in one. It’s basically a shack with windows and a door. No room for a loft and no room for a toilet. Only room enough for a composting toilet in the corner. Can you handle using a composting toilet ?

drawing: blue jay

The Blue Jay is a clever North American bird. Although the population of Blue Jays in the eastern US declined after industrialization, they eventually adapted and learned to survive in urban environments. They even expanded their range throughout the midwest. Without even seeing a Blue Jay, their loud squawking is recognizable. Blue Jays are omnivorous, mostly consisting of nuts, seeds and fruit in their diet, they also can eat insects and sometimes rodents.

My birdfeeders are not big enough for the Blue Jay, but sometimes they make a cameo appearance. When they do, it is treat to see them.

Happy Easter and Happy Passover all !

illustration: tiny house 2

This tiny house has a roomy bedroom loft. It is a little bit bigger than my other tiny house sketch. 250 square feet versus 200 square feet. 50 square feet makes a big difference. That could be a spacious bathroom, more closet space, or maybe a dining table area. If you had that extra space what would you use it for?

illustration: rainbow trout

Rainbow trout were originally abundant only in North American rivers, then they were introduced to other waters around the world due to its delicious taste and challenge as a fighting game fish. Rainbow trout are generally a smaller cousin to the Salmon fish. They thrive in cold clear water. When you see the presence of trout in a river by you, it is a good indicator that the river is healthy, clean and pristine.

My rainbow trout illustration is done in watercolor.

illustration: horseshoe crab (v2)

Horseshoe Crabs have been on the earth for 500 million years. They are fragile gentle creatures. They use their tails, not for stinging, but as a rudder while moving in the water, and if necessary, to right themselves when flipped upside down.

Although horseshoe crabs lay over 800,000 eggs at a time, it is estimated that only 10 will survive to adulthood. That is because so many other animals, such as turtles, fish and birds, eat the eggs. Without the existence of the horseshoe crab, tiny Red Knot birds may perish as they rely on the horseshoe crab eggs for energy to sustain them for the long annual migration along the Atlantic, from the Arctic to South America.

Thanks to horseshoe crabs, human vaccines have been tested and approved by using the crab’s blue blood. Special cells in the blue blood attack any bacteria, thereby telling physicians if an experimental drug is safe or not for injection.

So when this spring comes and you see horseshoe crabs spawning at the beach, be nice to them, because they have been giving their lives to us and the Earth for a very long time.

My illustration shows a horseshoe crab emerging from the sea to lay her eggs during spawning season.

sketch: ice skater

It’s a nice long Presidents weekend. A good time to go outside to ski, snowboard or ice skate. What winter activity do you like to do?