Hope's Marten

by Ron Haist

Title

Hope's Marten

Artist

Ron Haist

Medium

Pyrography - Pyrography

Description

This piece was done as a birthday gift for Hope..."HOPE FOR WILDLIFE"...A wonderful Lady who champions the cause of rehabilitation and education of wild life through her centre in Nova Scotia Canada...Her show is a regular television feature on many stations and a "must see and support" for myself and all whole love Nature...................................The marten Martes americana, a small predator, is a member of the weasel family, Mustelidae. It is similar in size to a small cat but has shorter legs, a more slender body, a bushy tail, and a pointed face. The fur varies from pale yellowish buff to dark blackish brown. During winter, the marten has a beautiful dark brown fur coat and a bright orange throat patch. The summer coat is lighter in colour and not nearly as thick. Males are the larger sex and weigh about 1 000 g, whereas females weigh about 650 g.

The Mustelidae family also includes several other more familiar animals such as the ermine, skunk, and mink. It is thought that martens entered North America from Asia about 60 000 years ago. There are several species of martens worldwide and perhaps the most famous is the Russian sable, which is well known for its luxurious fur.

Signs and sounds

In winter, the soles of a marten￿s feet are covered with fur and the toes are not distinguishable in the tracks. Tracks are about 3.7 cm long and form two ovals that overlap by about one third. This happens because martens travel with a loping sort of gait, and the hind feet land in the tracks left by the front feet. Loping is common among mustelids, and it takes some practice to be able to distinguish the tracks of the various species.




Habitat and Habits Back to top


Martens prefer old growth coniferous or mixed woods forest, although they may seek food in some open areas. However, the amount of undisturbed forest is continually diminishing, and new-growth forests do not support as many marten as the original forest did. In northern Ontario, for example, the density of marten in forests logged 10 to 50 years ago is only 10 to 30 percent of the number in uncut areas. Loss of habitat has contributed in a major way to the decline in abundance of this species in North America. There is some indication that martens may tolerate partial logging of their habitat, but this needs more study and a cooperative multiple use management program for forested lands.

The marten is a solitary animal. Adults will maintain living areas￿called home ranges￿by keeping out other members of the same sex while tolerating members of the opposite sex. Males and females spend time together only during the mating season. Home ranges vary in size with changes in both the marten population and the abundance of food. When food is abundant a male￿s range is about 3.5 km; if food is scarce this size may double. Females require only about half the area needed by males. Home ranges in logged areas are also much larger than those in uncut forest.

Marten hunt at all times of the day in spring and summer and are most active at daybreak and dusk. During these seasons they are active for about 16 hours a day. Females with young in the den are only active during the day for about six to eight hours. As the temperatures drop, marten are increasingly less active at night. During the coldest months they may hunt for only a few hours in the warmest part of the day. If the weather turns stormy and very cold they may even den up for several days.

Unique characteristics

Curious and excitable, martens hunt by investigating underneath downed trees and stumps, inside hollow trees, and in dense clumps of young conifers. In winter, they are known to hunt beneath the snow in tunnels created by red squirrels or under snow-covered logs. Loggers often see them near their camps, and a stolen lunch bag is not unheard of. The marten exemplifies the curiosity, ferocity, and lightning-fast reflexes of the weasel family.

Most people who have studied martens have noted that they are not fond of water. However, swimming martens have been seen, although they travelled only a short distance.
Ron Haist is an award winning artist encompassing a broad range of creative forms.
He has successfully expressed himself using various mediums such as pencil, pen and ink, oils/acrylic, airbrush, photography, poetry and pyrography.
As an artist that captures Canadian scenes, his work has spread throughout North America and Europe.
Growing up in Hespeler, Ontario (now part of Cambridge), his natural surroundings provided endless inspiration to sketch. His subject of choice has always been rural scenes, nature and wildlife. As a boy with a vivid imagination, Ron had snowmen riding horses.
As time progressed his photography skills preserved his subjects for later pieces of art. Ron￿s keen and creative eye has also won him photographic awards for outstanding captures.
In the 70￿s, airbrushing was yet another form of creative expression and produced many award winning works. All the while Ron was still creating canvas pieces and showing in galleries.
Ron￿s natural artistic talent is also found in his words of expression. We have included some of his thoughts and feelings through poetry.
During the past few years, Ron has found himself venturing back into an area of creative expression he used as a boy, Pyrography. This art form has also met with great enthusiasm by viewers and again, has brought accolades and awards.
It is with great pleasure that we share a small glimpse of a diverse artist, through the world and words of Ron Haist.
￿Painting is poetry, that is seen rather than felt.
Poetry is painting, that is felt rather than seen￿
Leonardo da Vinci

Uploaded

April 3rd, 2013

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