Sunrise Or Sunset?

(Sandhill Crane)

This scene and the next are not pretty. I know. I painted these to memorialize the tragedies of the 2021 summer in Northern California and Oregon. The persistence and flight of the Crane and the rescue of the Owl in the caring arms of the firefighter are offered as tributes to the men and women who bravely fight the onslaught of the flames and to the wildlife that finds a means to survive the destruction.

Driving from Klamath Falls south to Long Beach in late July, Becky and I passed through miles of burned forests and grasslands, scenes that will not return to their natural state in our lifetime—actually in many lifetimes—if ever. What might a stunning Sandhill think as it climbs above its blackened home? What life was lost? What was left behind? Does it wonder if it flies toward a sunrise or a sunset?