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Show Fen3 Hi tow ff iMtair ? M mL &f HIM II? I - v t ' I - i-;sy- 1 , '- " I i I . . H -: 9 By Cathy Rees Anyone with an appreciation apprecia-tion for nature would love to visit the home of Arnold and Linda Smith of Morgan. Their home is decorated with the many outstanding carvings carv-ings of birds set in their natural habitats that Arnold has created, Arnold has remarkable talent and tenacity tena-city to complete the mini scenes with such detailed excellence. As a young boy, Arnold had an insatiable curiosity about birds. Through the years he studied different species and their peculiarities. peculiarit-ies. He has taken many outstanding photographs of different birds which have been enlarged and set in the frames of 4 to 6 pane wooden windows. The results are charming wall groupings. These photographs plus the Smith's extensive library on birds provide the models for Arnold's carvings. The reference refer-ence books help Arnold determine the size and markings, the nest and eggs of each species. All of the birds Arnold has carved and painted are native to Morgan County with the exception of the red necked woodpecker. He has completed striking replicas of more than a dozen different species. Arnold began this hobby as a nest making project. Then he decided to try a bird to go with the nest - and so began his carving career. The first projects were birds attached to a piece of wood that had been hollowed out for the nests. Then Arnold began making the scene, the natural habitat, to put his bird in. The carving and painting process plus putting the scene together is a time consuming task. Arnold strives for perfection despite the arduous hours of work. The process begins with a piece of redwood about 2" x 2". A paper outline is placed over the block of wood. A pin is used to prick along the outline into the' wood so when the paper is removed a complete outline can be made by connecting , the .indentations. The form of the bird is shaped with a file. It is then sprayed with acrylic and the remaining rough spots are smoothed out. Arnold draws the markings on the bird, then paints the bird with acrylic paint. Small holes are drilled in the body with a hand drill to insert the copper wire legs and feet. If the birds are smaller than 1" Arnold carves them from copper. The time factor involved is determined by knowledge of the bird's anatomy and the size of the bird. A familiar subject can be completed in 8 hours. Other less familiar species can take as long as 30 hours to carve and paint. One of the most impressive im-pressive carvings Arnold has done is a detailed Weber River mini scene. This scene took him 200 hours to complete. Laying the rocks in the stream in the scene alone took two days to complete. Arnold wrote the following Photos courtesy of Arnold Smith poem to describe the scene he created. In this mini scene of the Morgan Valley many types of wildlife you can tally. On this Weber River you can see a 16 scale of how it used to be. The male red shafted flicker on the tree here . helps the female incubate eggs and keep enemies clear. Flickers sometimes return and prepare the same cavity unless the tree is succumbed by gravity. Construction takes 7 to 14 days from scratch the 3 to 10 eggs take 12 days to hatch. The nest may be from 60 ft to on the ground. You can spot a flickers nest by the wood chips all around. Also neighbors in this rotted cottonwood tree A crested female goosander waits quietly. Common or American merganser mer-ganser is another name And this duck are all one and the same. The male with it's head of dark green after early spring is never with the female seen. The male merganser watches for fish to catch as the female waits her eggs to hatch. She likes a downfilled hollow tree nest but holes in rocks or banks will do second best. III 4I& 'hii ' 1 1 ' I IpArA - ' ' A!&f Nit I '&r&. ft . V-tt, . A .. :..... ,., . ,s . t ... 1 11 iiiinumiDimiii 1 1 hi in in 1 mi . mm ....... A.n w 3 - w- 1 V'J f 1 a 11 : biu.'l- r r (I i TP -t- . Ct or i H" ft r y' i S ' I "N - Before the young are old enough to leave the track they swim and ride upon their mothers back. As the male muskrat swims the river inlet the female readies for: the young they will get! . They raise several litters from 4 to 9 the young after a month oh their own they do fine. A house of cattails and reeds they build in a pond but in a stream, a bank, they are more fond. ' -. r . The muskrat lives on water vegetation and comes out . of the waiter " with some hesitation. Their tails are quite vertically vertical-ly flat ,.t : which is different from those ' of a regular rat; (:. . . . ' . w ' 'it" . ' v ' 1 ' ' "' " Frightened from , he eggs camouflaged oh the gravel bar -: : r , . , the female kill deer hasn't" gone far. r ; I . f' . A belted kingfisher, is what f the name implies. f v Hunting for fish up and down 1 streams he flies. : Small fish near the surface, , chances are slim if the kingfisher dives from - an overhanging limb. A female kingfisher now who would have thought is marked with chestnut while a male is not , Nesting near water is usually ; .preferred ubut to low banks miles away they are often lured. ;They escavate a tunnel usually from 3 to 6 feet Both birds work till their job -is complete ; 5 to 8 eggs the female will lay I in 24 days will hatch give or take a day Incubating eggs in a tunnel a kingfisher must wait and guard the nest until the 'return of it's mate. ; It is' a patient and exacting man with a tremendous love of nature who will spend many hours perfecting a hobby - such a man is Arnold Smith, j - - , i , ,' - ' ' |
