So what do you do in Nebraska when it's 22F below zero - as it was one morning during my visit last week? You bird watch! The cardinals are always a treat to see --- although the first time I saw a female I mistook it for a cedar waxwing! They tend to flock together in multiple pairs, so they really create a lot of visual drama. Another bird I enjoyed watching, that I never see here in my garden, were the nuthatches. They're so comical running down the tree trunks head first! Thanks to Google Image for these photos.
Another of my favorite travel activities is to visit local art museums. Omaha's Joslyn Art Museum is a gem. The fabulous art deco building includes a center courtyard and fountain constructed entirely of colorful, hand made tiles---worth the price of admission alone. There is also a soaring Dale Chihuly installation that uses components that are similar to those in his tremendous chandeliers, but with a different construction technique. We specifically went to the museum to view a traveling exhibit called "Legends of the West." It was an opportunity to view five paintings by one of our favorite painters, Maynard Dixon.
Dixon tends to emphasize the huge sky of the western landscape. And although his subject matter is somewhat romanticized, his flat, graphic style give his images a more modern look as opposed to, say, Charles Russell's hyped melodramas. Google image of Dixon's "Clouds on the Mountain".
For me, travel is always a time of awakening and rejuvenation. Absolutely the best cure for cabin fever!
