Wildlife Birthday Greetings

With the sketching app I participate in daily

I've challenged my skills with the prompts and

draw many more animals than ever before.

This for the Australia prompt.

I would love to see one someday - in Australia.

I plug in Sydney Australia into my iPad and

AI promptly lets me know that

I can fly there from Reno in 19 hours 21 minutes

for just $1,199 round trip - which isn't bad

but the 19 hours on a plane makes me think twice.

This was for a fox prompt, and I did two of them.

I like the symbolism of the fox:

cleverness, intelligence, adaptability, and intuition.

Plus, I like the way they look, delicate beauty.

Here is the second fox for the prompt inspired by a

kit fox we saw on Rattlesnake Hill while hiking.

It was dark and our headlamps caught the eyes

and they reflected more yellow than a cats.

There were two and they ended up following us

around the bend of the hill. Running ahead a bit,

then stopping, just watching.

I loved it.

This was one of the prompts when I first

started the sketching app.

I didn't even know what a meerkat was.

I learned it is a social critter in Africa

and they live in mobs

of up to 50 where they babysit, forage, and

watch out for each other.

Happy 2026 to you!

Cathie Richardson Illustration