tourist tuesday and the natural history museum, london

Quickly, quickly come with me down Cromwell Road.

Imagine you are the great, great, grand niece of Audubon, or the far but fond cousin of Darwin.

Mind the small ones as we field*trip over here!

Fair warning:  If birds in cages give you grief, turn back!

Whilst we are not visiting all 90 million specimens housed at the Natural History Museum, remember this is no zoo.

Embrace the scientist that is in your heart and walk with me through the Bird Wing of the Museum.

The Bird Wing!

I know, I know!
But it is here that we learn to call the bits & pieces by their name.

Crissum.
Rectrices.

We look eye-to-eye with wondrous creatures from the past.

We get up-close-and personal with the everyday.

We watch future Audubons at work.

Maybe this one cannot travel to the jungles of Africa to capture her subject.
{{ Her water smuggled inside a recycled plastic bottle unless she paints with apple juice. }}

Here is the cousin of the ones that mate under the full moon near my own bedroom window.

Even in this state, the feathers call to me to touch.

Behind glass they perch and soar. They waddle and list.

I image that if I worked in London I would want to work here.

Unless, maybe, I could obtain a dream*job dressing windows down the road over here.

This place is a Noah's ark of dead things, I know.

Still I am drawn here time and time again.

It is here I think upon the poor dodo.

Also, I worry about the species that are disappearing even as I type this word.

Some birds I have at home but here they let me openly adore.

Another artist hard at play. This one with colored pencil.

I imagine how he spends his day.
Sitting in his own chair brought from home.
Coloring.

"On my way to draw the owls, dear!" he shouts out to his wife as she weeds her garden. Or maybe she is over at Hyde Park sketching the fresh & tall digitalis.

Down the hall school children are laughing.

But, here, now, there is the quietness of respect.

Always remember to look up and down the hall.
Here we could see everything, if only we had time.

I leave you with the blue-winged kookburra and dreams of northern Austrailia.

Diversity!
I am so in love with it.

 

Comments

[A Cartwright]

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[Marilyn]

I don't know if I would be drawn here, but maybe I would. It is sad that they are disappearing though. Tasha Tudor, do you know who she was?, use to keep birds in her freezer to bring out and sketch for her children's illustrations. The other day I stopped by my favorite little shop and she had a dead baby duck she was using as a model for a wool needle felted baby duck. No dead birds in my house, but many live ones out the window, including a beautiful hawk the other day.

[Jenny]

Well it looks like you had a bird's eye view!
Sorry couldn't help myself.

[rochambeau]

That's the best tour of a Natural Science Museum I ever been on so thank you SPF!
I'm still giggling over you pondering this one;"On my way to draw the owls, dear!

YOU are a funny girl! Your appreciation of diversity always is appearent and not just of the bird family, however that is one spectacular painting you shared!!

Can I tell you about a funny Natural Science Museum memory?
Stuffed live animals had always kind of freak me until something ironic happened at the NSM in Dallas. For some reason they kept hiring me to cater parties (and I wanted the business). The entrance had to come into (with my food) was where all the rejected animals were congregated which didn't make the cut into the museum. I guess that kind of got me through the worst of my fears. It makes me smile to remember.

Off to ponder painting the owl you sent me one time~

xox
Constance

[eb]

oh spf!
I love this
visiting the birds
with you
we too
have an Audubon Center
nestled
under a green mountain
with trails to walk
I once took a class there
(color therapeutics - Aura-Soma)
it was January
I arrived at 9 am
it was 21 degrees
below zero
everything
had a crispy sound
the birds watched us
from within
their glass houses...
the other day
where the stripeys live
we found an expired goose
in the ice
a lone goose
squawking
circling
water to beach
as I took pictures
a long necklace of bones
wings still feathered
we wondered
if they had been mates...
look at the smile
on that kookaburra
the dodo
may have a bit of gas
sorry
could not resist...
I have a collection
of turkey feathers
just like those
lovingly gathered
by the woodwhisperer...

oh somepink
sometimes
I want to live
in your back pocket...

loved this quiet stroll
with you,

xox - eb.

[Mo'a]

I used to work at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA. Everyday I used to walk by a display of birds one of whom was the extinct Passenger Pigeon. I would never have had a chance to see one had it not been for that display.
By the by, working on windows at Harrods sounds exciting...should we both apply. xoxo