Heron on Skunk Creek in Sioux Falls yesterday. I painted it this afternoon from a photo I took yesterday while surveying for mussels.

If the sketch turned out well, I have John Muir Laws to thank. Took his Wild Wonder class this summer in California and it was remarkably helpful. He and Robin Lee Carlson, Mark Simmons, and Nina Sokolov are good and generous teachers.

Didn’t find any live mussels, and only a few fragments of dead shells, but I’m still hopeful. Life finds a way.

A sketch depicts a blue heron standing in water, with rocks and a note about the date and location.