Thursday, October 29, 2015

"GEESE AT THE LAKE"

I painted some extra Born Free images - not sure where they will end up.
Thanks for following and have a wonderful weekend!
Thanks for all the support too - you've all been a big help.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

"MUFFIN"

A friend stopped by the studio the other day and made a suggestion
"paint a bunny"
Hardest thing I've ever done.
6" X 6"
Oil on Panel
Thanks for taking a look!

Thursday, October 22, 2015

"FAWN - #10 OF 10"

"DO NOT PICK UP A FAWN!!!!"
Many years ago Tracy saved me from ruining a fawns life - here's a quick version
BC(before cell phones) and BIP(before indoor plumbing) and before
internet service at my house - a Doe(that's the fawn's mom) decided a good
place to leave her baby would be on the leaf littered path to my outhouse!!!!! 
Well when in doubt - use the paper phone book, look up Tracy's number,
leave her a message on her machine(remember those?) and wait. 
A fawn left by his/her mom looks like it's dead - the fawn appears 
to have broken legs - turns out that's the defense mechanism built into
the baby to ward off predators. They stare at you with those eyes that 
never blink nor do they move a muscle. In truth they are invisible from prying eyes.
Tracy returned my call eventually - after a long day of teaching and spent
time on the phone teaching me all about fawns. She said by morning the fawn 
would be gone and of course she was right. 
A lot of the fawns that rescues receive all over the country are fawns that don't need to be rescued. 
PLEASE DO NOT PICK UP A FAWN NEXT SPRING
CALL TRACY OR YOUR NEAREST WILDLIFE MANAGER
Here's what a fawn looks like when left - never moves a muscle
see the fawn?
see the fawn now?
Some fawns do need rescuing - if the mom is dead in the road - if the fawn is
agitated and moving about - but in most cases you should leave it alone.
The mom's milk will dry up in 24 hours if the baby is taken away!
How sad is that!????
Thanks for taking a look and learning about fawns.
A few online tickets available at 








Thursday, October 15, 2015

"PRAIRIE FALCON - #8 OF 10"

This Prairie Falcon was in for rehab and released Sept. 2014.
We are at the finish line. We have 20 tickets left so if you are
in need BUY ONLINE
or buy a paper ticket at 
THE HOMESTEADER in beautiful downtown Steamboat Springs.
I thought it would be a great idea to include some photos of Tracy, her animals 
and one of her helpers.
This is Tracy with a Golden Eagle in from Craig, CO.
Broken ulna/radius - Lee Meyring and Eric Eggerton of Steamboat Veterinary Hospital
performed the surgery the next day. Then it's rehab and release for this lucky Golden.

This is a Swainson hawk in after being hit by a car. The hawk is 
held by Jeff Little in Steamboat Springs. The hawk recovered and was released.

Tracy is holding a Long Eared Owl that has a broken humerus. Dr. Cindi from
Pet Kare clinic repaired this owl so it could rehab and be released.

Tracy and a Golden Eagle!
For those of you who don't know - Tracy is a full-time
teacher at the Middle School here in Steamboat Springs. 
She is trained and certified to work with wildlife.
If I wanted to help her with her animals in need it would require
hours and hours of classes and training down in Denver to become an assistant. 
I'm in awe of Tracy and her passion for the animals. 

Thanks for following I appreciate you taking a look.



Wednesday, October 14, 2015

"RED FOX - #7 OF 10"

"Red Fox"
Not sure how this fox came to Born Free I'll have to ask Tracy.
I can't tell you how much I love foxes. 
We used to have a fox community living in our wood pile at the end of our driveway.
Each spring at least 10 kits were born we watched them play, roll around
and grow - it was a treat. My cat Mo made friends and loved to hang with the foxes. 
Mr. Fox was so clever he would come up to my front door 
and steal my throw rugs(from inside the house), underwear off the clothesline anything he could get his paws on - to make his log pile house a little more comfy for his family.
How do we know this - we found all the missing items in the 
tunnels the foxes had dug beneath the log pile. 
(go to bottom of home page for tickets)

Thanks for following - we'll get back to normal blog paintings soon
as soon as the tickets sell out! Thanks for your patience.




Tuesday, October 13, 2015

"BALD EAGLE FREE #6 OF 10"

"Free and happy" 
 Bald eagles come into Born Free sick from lead poisoning. 
After anti-toxin treatment and some rehab time the eagle feels better 
and is ready to be released.
I painted and donated 10 paintings of the animals helped by Born Free
You can win a painting - buy a ticket for 20.00 and you'll be entered
in the drawing taking place November 6th - 6:30pm 
Creekside Cafe - Steamboat Springs, CO(need not be present to win)
Everyone's $20 ticket goes into the "HAT"
for each of the 10 paintings, we'll draw a winner from the hat!
(go to bottom of home page to purchase tickets)
need more info drop me a line
Thanks a bunch MB

Monday, October 12, 2015

"BULL ELK - #5 0F 10"

This bull elk had a pulled muscle in his front shoulder. He had
another big bull with him - a friend standing by while his buddy
was hurt. Born Free provided good food and minerals and
the bull is much stronger and moving around again.
If the bull could say thanks he would!
For those of you wondering
I painted 10 paintings of the animals Born Free has helped(this is a tiny sampling)
Born Free assists hundreds of animals each year for many different reasons.
Some animals get hit by cars, some lose their mothers, some are poisoned
some have a disease and the list goes on.
Tracy Bye runs the Born Free Wildlife Rehabilitation in Steamboat Springs.
She and her all volunteer staff work endless hours to help these animals
recover from their illness with the hopes of releasing them back into the wild. 
We are only selling 100 tickets
At the drawing we will choose a painting and then pull the name of the winner.

For the complete 
(go to bottom of home page)
Thanks for following and if you have any questions please drop me a line
or 
if you could hang some posters
(The Homesteader has extras - you can grab some there or I can drop some off - let me know)
Thanks for everything MB




Thursday, October 8, 2015

"BABY MALLARDS - #4 OF 10"

I'm back - the County road crew severed my internet cable a
couple of days ago while destroying my quaint country dirt
road. It's a sad day for sure - looks like a highway out there.
A lot of aspens lost their lives - it's depressing for those of us
who love the trees!
Anyway the Born Free fundraiser continues
These are some baby mallards - I'm not sure how they were
found but Born Free raised them and released them back into
the wild. How cute are they?
Thanks for taking a look.


Saturday, October 3, 2015

"ISIS - BALD EAGLE - #2 OF 10"

"ISIS - BALD EAGLE"
Here's the Born Free Story if you're interested in knowing more
about the Born Free Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Steamboat Springs, CO.
It's an amazing story and if you don't get goose bumps while reading 
 I'm not sure what to say about that.
Tracy and her crew are dedicated to returning these magnificent animals
back into the wild. I get goose bumps just thinking about a bald eagle
free and happy again. What a passion.


Thursday, October 1, 2015

"GREAT HORNED OWL - #1 OF 10"


Great Horned Owl 
You see in the photo below this owl had a broken wing &
Lee Meyring of Steamboat Veterinary Hospital did the 
surgery to repair the broken wing so the owl could be brought
back to health at the Born Free Rehabilitation facility in Steamboat Springs
and released back into the wild. 
TO PURCHASE TICKETS TO WIN THIS PAINTING(1 OF 10)
This Great Horned Owl and all the other animals thank you!