brave little bird...

One little wren visits my feeder, so cute and serene, seemingly taking a nap....and then I remember..
wake up, wake up little wren, you can't NAP at this feeder...you'll be a cooper 's snack for sure..
looking at that those little glaring eyes, I don't think he appreciated my concern.

For Abraham Lincoln / Skywatch Friday

Sometimes a sunrise is just what we need to make us feel better when we are worried.
~David Lind
There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope~Bern Williams
...I hope you feel better soon....

How to save money on bird seed.....

You can tell he's in his teenage state-of-mind, he doesn't get to my fence until mid-morning!
look'en this way and that...
wondering why there aren't any birds at the feeders????
maybe, it's because the older guy gets there early and scatters any birds that are even thinking about visiting the feeders!! We seem to be in a holding pattern here....grrr

shoo shoo!!

CREATING A YARN ON FABRIC

I find a great deal of pleasure in capturing nature through the lens of my camera but along with my attempts at being an amateur photographer I also dabble with an assortment of threads, yarns and fabrics. My quilting creations are very much free form, I cut out what I want from fabric and stitch it on, using the applique method. Where I think I want more thread color I do some thread painting. I have only been quilting for about two years and honestly, my inspirations always come from observing nature. One of my favorites has always been the Robin. I love the songs they sing and their need to find every worm in my backyard!

They seem to love our pines, yews, and sycamores for building their nests of mud and grass.I especially like all the different hues of oranges on their breasts, the speckled cinnamon brown breasts of their young and the linear designs that appear under their bills as they mature.
Of course, who didn't grow up recognizing and loving those beautiful blue eggs and shells. I suppose all these reasons eventually led me to decide to create a quilted wall hanging with Robins as my focus.
I do create, in the moment, so to speak, but I specifically chose the Sycamore tree because the bark peels and drops, leaving a patchwork of earthy colors that compliment the tree with its rich tones of siennas, browns and greens.
For the floral, I added something similar to the little wild roses that grow in the fields and woods near our house. These I cut out and attached, filling them in with colored thread via my machine.


and of course one always has a ton of scraps... so why not create your own friendly orange goose!!..if for nothing else, it amuses the dog!
and if you are a real crazy saver, like me, you can keep all those pieces of thread, yarn, and loosely woven material for our nesting friends in the spring. They seem to like these scraps as they grab and pull on a piece of lint or string..flying it back to the nest, preparing to create their own yarn on life.

JUST a little more time, please!

At first I saw this little flicker of movement on the bark of the tree.. but when I stopped to take a better look, whatever it was... froze. He was so well camouflaged that I had to really look hard
(Can you see it?)

to see this little Brown creeper. Only a few seconds lapsed before it moved and started spiraling up the tree trunk. It seemed to use its long tail as a prop, as it searched for insects with its beak. One very busy bird, indeed! In the 30 seconds that I had the privilege of watching him he traveled to several trees before I lost sight of him.I also saw this shy little Thrush, (Hermit or Wood?) and had some hope he might sing as I had read that thrushes have an amazing song box that allows them to sing two notes at the same time and harmonize with their own voice, but this little bird left as quickly as he landed.
And as I was making my way back towards the road, I caught sight of this Ruby-crowned Kinglet. She was twittering from tree to tree and I wasn't sure that I had had any success in capturing her with my camera until she had darted away and I had time to review my photos. Even then I had to settle with what I got...wishing I had...oh my, just a little more time! ;-)

SKYWATCH FRIDAY

Red sky at night sailor's delight, red sky in morning sailor's warning. Such explosive colors on a Thanksgiving day evening and if we bow to this English nursery rhyme, we can expect another pleasant day tomorrow!

THE SINGING OF COLOR

It was just one of those days.. where the sun kept peeking out from behind the grey clouds and the breeze kept whispering my name and calling me outside. I couldn't resist and so headed for a small lake which is nearby. It turned out to be quite a colorful afternoon. First, it was the blue heron who caught my attention with his beautiful pale blue colors which seemed heighten, I think, by the contrasting greys, he stood in front of...
....next was this little cardinal who was quite willing to remain in the suns rays, while I snapped several pictures which show the little tinges of red and orange that compliment the buffy browns of its body.

...but my treat for the day, however, was finding these Cedar Waxwings. So many hues on one little bird!

This was my first encounter with these little birds and what a treat it was. Why is it when God puts two colors together they just sort of sing?..