What inspires you?

That's the question my friend Fiona asked of us. It took me a while to get there, simply because there's little that doesn't inspire me. But when I got down to it, I came up with birds, the color green, paint and stamps.

I live in a very "birdy" place. We're near a major stop on the Pacific Flyway, so migrating birds are frequent sights. My neighborhood is full of large old trees, and there are many barn owls. Crows are ubiquitous in Davis. In August, you can't hear yourself think at dusk for the noise they make.

These past few weeks, I've been really aware of the "dawn chorus," and I've seen sparrows, robins, scrub jays and mourning doves. Harbingers of spring, singing despite the still-cold mornings.

I also used various shades of green, from moss to pale chartreuse. Hands down, green comforts me and lifts me up, and I turn to it again and again.

The rest is just what I do: cobble stuff together. I find myself reaching for acrylic paints and still for stamps, though more sparingly these days, and mostly for the nature images.