Prairie Falcon

As you know well, Marci draws a LOT more than just sea dragons. Come inside Nicker Stories, go to "Meet the Creators," and have a look at some of her art. For now, this is a prairie falcon that she drew. Look at the robin that Edie painted, then at this. You can see many differences, but can you figure out WHY the two birds are so different?

Grandma Edie Paints

Danny's grandmother likes to paint. This is a robin sitting on a branch as winter leaves and spring begins.
Have you been drawing pictures of birds? Have you been sending them to Nicker? That's what this issue is all about.
Next week, this issue will go into the archive. The new issue is about Mother's Day. How is this for an idea? Go to this issue and have Marci teach you how to draw a bird. Then you can draw some birds for Mother's Day!!!

New Issue

April got a bit crazy. Danny got in a car accident. No one was hurt, but it threw our schedule off. The completed and correct issue is now up, so if you visited before Monday, April 26, please visit again because it has changed.
You can draw a picture of a bird any time. May 4 is "Bird Day." You can learn about birds, draw birds, and in general have a "Happy Birdday to You!"
Don't forget to send Nicker the drawings you make.

Earth Day

Do you know about Earth Day? It came about in the hope that people would learn that we can't keep trashing our planet. It's the only one we have! So, I thought I would share with you a photo of where Nicker lives these days. This is the Arizona desert. What a strange place for a sea dragon, huh?

Today is "Draw a Picture of a Bird Day," and that issue will be up very soon. Marci is going to show you just how to draw a bird ... and Nicker will show you ... well, how a sea dragon with no hands draws a bird.
This morning, I was sitting on the patio, feeding grapes to Gordie, Gus and Mabel. My wife was again talking about these goofy birds we have out in the field. I grabbed my camera in hopes of getting a photo. They blend in with the desert so well that even a sea dragon could take lessons from them on how to hide. They are almost invisible.
So is their nest! I almost stepped on it. Here it is. Each egg is about an inch. From any distance at all, they disappear into the gravel. The bird that laid them is called a killdeer.
Especially because this is "Draw a Picture of a Bird Day," I wanted to share this with all of you right away.

How’s THIS for a kazoo? It’s called a didgeridoo. The “didge” is Australian. The kazoo is a little thing. The didge is usually 3 to 10 feet long.

Draw a Picture of a Bird

It's "Draw a Picture of a Bird" time!!!
Did you know that there are more than 10,000 kinds of birds?

Our friend Elanna from the United Kingdom sent us this photo. She celebrated “Walk in the Park Day” by taking her dog, Gracie to the park. The ball they were playing with got away from them. Gracie went after the ball, and Elanna went after Gracie. It bounced into this stream. Then Gracie bounced into this stream. Elanna said, “It turned out to be a good thing. First, I got to see a different park of the park that I’d never seen before. Second … I got a clean dog. Wet, but clean.”
I wonder if Gracie played ball, then played the kazoo? Nicker is a kazoo playing sea dragon. Gracie could be the world’s first kazoo playing dog!

HAPPY EASTER!
You all know how Gordie the Social Tortie crawled in here on Father's Day a couple years ago.
Last Easter, I was up early and guess what was in the yard!
For some of you, this wouldn't be a big deal. Where Marci lives, she would be surprised to NOT find a rabbit in the yard. She gets LOTS of critters! Birds of all kinds, deer, raccoons, whole flocks of wild turkeys ....
But for the Arizona desert, about the closest thing we have to a nice, soft bunny rabbit is the desert jackrabbit. Those are scrawny with long ears that stick straight up like an old TV antenna. (That's why those were called rabbit ears.) Where we live, even jackrabbits are rare.
But last Easter, this one came to the yard. Unfortunately, it didn't bring any colored eggs - not even a piece of candy.

April Fool's Day

It’s April Fool’s Day, so I decided to not come in. I didn’t post this, and it’s a good thing you aren’t here because you’re not reading this, because I didn’t write it. Be sure that you don’t tell your friends so they won’t come visit Nicker and not read this, too. That way, we can all not read it together.
It's a little like the Emperor's New Clothes, but in reverse. Only April Fools can read this, and since you're not one, you aren't reading this. I wonder how many of the friends you don't send can't read it.
Ahh, but, if you send a friend, that means you read this and that means ....