At lunch today a friend gave me a watercolor set. He said when he saw it he knew he had to buy it for me and I am honored by this. So I came back to my office and painted another owl for him.

The point, of course, is not to paint perfect owls.

The point is to offer gratitude for friendship, and to give “productivity” its meager due while getting to know the birds a bit better.

Other tasks will get their moment soon but not yet. First, I have to clean my brush and pen.

On a sketchbook page, there are three detailed bird paintings labeled with descriptions, accompanied by a blue ink pot and three pens or brushes.A watercolor painting of a barn owl perched on a stump against a soft, bluish background.