Oh My, The Birds

I have so many birds on this cold, snowy, windy December day, that I've been out twice already to refill the feeders and thaw the birdbath.  I've had 10 Bluebirds at one time out here...and the finches (several varieties) are in the bazillions :D, not to mention the Doves and sweet Tree Sparrows, along with the Wrens (I finally saw my sweet Carolina Wren nabbing some Zick Dough and swooping away with it).  I have totally exhausted my camera battery and IT'S ONLY 10:30 A.M.  Had to toss that puppy on recharge (hurry, please!) cause the little birds are still feeding in droves---I'm missing those 'Kodak' moments while I wait for the battery to charge!  *g*  I have my first Junco (Snow Bird :D) this morning too!  I didn't see but an occasional Junco last year, and not nearly this early in the season.

It thrills me, it warms my heart and soul, to have all of these little creatures filling my skinny 'sticks' and bushes.  :D  I would love to have a BIG (or a BUNCH of BIG) tree in my yard, but my seedlings and sticks and 'shared' shrubs are growing.  One must learn to be patient, right, for all of the good things.  :) 

The pups have had a ball running in and out.  I got some pictures (of COURSE she did *g*) of them with snowflakes on their backs.  I'll post those pictures later.  For now, I have to get a fresh cup of coffee, put another log on the fire, and check to see if my camera battery is recharged enough for a few more pictures.  :D

Frosty

It's a frosty 24 degrees this morning.  Had to hustle to get the fire stoked back up and the birds fed.  I forgot to empty the birdbath last night and it was frozen solid.  I hope it doesn't crack.  My birdbath heater keeps kicking the outside breaker.  Don't know what's up with that.  It did it last season too.  I have to have water for my birds.  I took hot water out for the bath for now.  I'll have to check it again in a bit, it will freeze over again.

What kind of bird is this?

These two are IN TROUBLE, can you tell?  They slipped off and are hot-footing it back home.  :)

Gorgeous Thanksgiving bouquet from my dear friend, Flannie

Paperwhites tossed from last Winter are blooming

We've finished up the leftovers.  Now it's time to gather up the pumpkins and turkeys and move on  to snowmen, Santas and Christmas trees.  I feel like I'm in a time warp, and I just can't seem to get my mind wrapped around the fact that it truly is, once again, THIS time of year.  It's scary, really, at how fast time is racing by.  Way too fleet of foot for my plodding mind.  Seems I'm always BEHIND, struggling to catch up somehow.  Never enough time to just immerse myself in things that I love---like being lost in wonder and awe in these breathtakingly, stop-you-in-your- tracks BEAUTIFUL sunsets that we've had lately, watching the birds and their antics, playing with fabric in front of a roaring fire, pups snuggled up beside me or having a wrestling match at my feet.  How do all of you bloggers out there get so much sewing and quilting done...capture exquisite photos of the birds and creatures, and still have gorgeous houses and gardens that look like they should be in House and Garden magazine?  ..........    I think a MAID will be at the top of my Christmas list to Santa this year.  :)

Happy Thanksgiving Wishes

The Turkey's Done, Can We Eat Now?

Guess What Everyone is Getting This Christmas!!

Front

Back

Quilted Mug Rug Band Wagon

Carolina Wren

Phoebe

Cotoneaster Berries

Quilted Mug Rug
I had to try the little mug rugs too.  I think I may have finally found something that I can actually start----and finish.  :D

Holidays Rushing Toward Me and I'd rather be ...

watching the birds, playing with the pups, watching the mist rise over the lake in the mornings, watching the sunsets at the end of day, puttering in the yard, quilting...Maybe I should bypass Turkey decorations and go for the Christmas decorations.  I get further behind each year.  I've always insisted on paying unshared attention to Thanksgiving---but at this point in my life I'm beginning to think that I may have to let my principle slide here and combine the two.  :)  Something to ponder as I avoid my daily chores---once again.  :->

Morning Mist

Marlee

Who is this little bird?

Bayley is ready for a nap

Quilting progress

Who is this?

Breathtaking sunset

 

Best Kind of Day

This has been one of those best kinds of days when I've been able to pack in some of most of the things I love to do most.  Now, if I can do a bit of sewing sometime before my head hits the pillow for the night, it will have been pretty close to perfect.  :) 


Our laptop is parked on the table by the kitchen window so I can look out and watch the birds feed or bathe or dream about prowling through the woods here behind the house.  But not much time for that early this a.m.  I had just turned it on, gotten the pups outside and back in, grabbed my first cup of coffee and plunked myself down in from of the laptop---when my sister called to see if it was snowing here cuz it was where she lives (only 45 min from my house).  She WAS NOT happy to see that beautiful white stuff yet---she tends to get a bit testy over even just a few flurries :D, and she was REALLY out of sorts when I told her the sun was shining here and that I had not seen even a speck of white.  LOL  Well, the sun WAS shining at that time.  :)  By 9 a.m. the skies were overcast, and no sun to be seen for the rest of this day.

We chatted quite a while about unidentified plants, and birds, and cameras, and weather, and we decided to share pictures with each other (she asking if I could identify a particular plant---and nope, I couldn't name this one), me just because we were trying different settings on our cameras.  We both have the same Kodak.

Once we were off the phone, I headed outside for a piece of wood for the fire, got totally side-tracked and ended up spending the majority of the day with transplanting shrubs and such from containers into the ground.  I only made a couple of pit stops inside for coffee refills until about 3:30 p.m.  I really did get a lot of planting done, and I even hauled more wood around to the porch.  The weather forecast for tonight is a hard freeze warning, so I wanted to have plenty of wood close by for tonight and in the morning.  This woodstove really has me so spoiled.  I love being able to come inside out of the cold and wind and snuggle up to the stove.  :D

The wind is getting up now.  I would have thought it was too cold for the Sparrows to bathe, but evidently not, because I've been sitting here watching them bathe and preen.  :)  Guess one needs his weekly bath on a Saturday night now matter what, huh?  LOL  They provide me with endless entertainment.  :)  There are bunches of Mourning Doves, Finches, and Sparrows at the baths and feeders right now, along with another one of my most favorite little birds, the Carolina Wren.  I have been thrilled the last couple of weeks to have that little wren here.  :)  They are so sweet.

See captions for these photos in previous post ....

Birds and Pumpkins

Sweet Phoebe

First Fire of the Season

What luck!!  Caught him in flight

SURPRISE!  I actually started a Halloween quilt for me  :D courtesy of www.maryquilts.com 's Forest Bricks(?) pattern---Mine is called 'Pumpkin Bricks'

Happy November!