Cold Temperatures = Reindeer Weather

Design - Rudolph

Chart - "Nordic Holiday" #191

Designer - The Prairie Schooler

Fabric - 25 count white evenweave

Fibers - DMC - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started - 29 November 2013

Completed - 1 December 2013 

Given how cold it is (19F), I wouldn't be all that surprised to see a reindeer!  

Here are some photos I took yesterday as our cold weather began to move in.

I had a large group of Quail in the backyard for most of the afternoon.

The Steller's Jays gorged on peanuts.  In cold weather the birds need all the calories they can get.

I'm bringing my hummingbird feeders at night so they do not freeze solid.  I'll put one outside about 7:00am and then rotate it out every few hours so that the birds always have access to the sugar water.  I sure admire the fortitude of the Anna's Hummingbirds.  It is remarkable that such a small bird can withstand temperatures in the 'teens'.  

This is a female Anna's Hummingbird.  She has a red throat.

And here's a male Anna's Hummingbird. Weirdly his beak seems much shorter to me.

He not only has the red throat, but his entire head flashes shades of fuchsias, ruby and red when the light hits it just right. 

Yesterday I moved the last of my plants inside the garage and shop - with the able assistance of my Mom.  I emptied the birdbaths and fountains.  Then my Dad helped me construct a temporary additional covering for my greenhouse.  This old blanket will help to hold in the heat the two light bulbs emit.  It looks rather tatty, but I am hoping it will do the trick and keep the plants inside safe from sub-freezing temperatures.

Late Tuesday afternoon the sky turned dark and ominous. As night approached a sleety icy rain fell. The roads Wednesday morning could be very interesting! 

The Blog Header Revealed

Garden Grumbles & Cross Stitch Fumbles December 2013 Blog Header

These are all Christmas stitch that I've done in the last couple of years.

Horizontal Rows -

Row #1: The Prairie Schooler, "A Prairie Christmas"- Partridge, Amy Bruecken Designs, "Silent Night" (kit); Sam Sarah, "Cranberry Tree Tin" (kit); Lizzie Kate "Tiny Tidings XVII - Celebrate".

Row #2: Shakespeare's Peddler, "A-Wassailing" (kit).

Row #3: Lizzie Kate, "Flora McSampler 2011 Ornaments - Joy"; The Prairie Schooler, "A Prairie Christmas" - Cat; Niky's Creations, "Christmas Ornaments" - Reindeer; Lizzie Kate, "Joy to the World Pinkeep Box". 

Kathy F. asked about "A-Wassailing". It was a limited edition kit from 2011.  It did show up on eBay last month...so there is hope.

My Mom was a huge help yesterday.  We got all of the plants moved off from the Front Porch and most of the plants from the Back Patio tucked into the shop.  Today I have about 6 more loads (my garden cart is great!) to take inside.  Then I need to empty the fountains and the birdbaths.  I hope we are ready for whatever comes our way.  I know all you mid-westerners (and Yukon types) probably think that I am a wimp, but this is about as cold as it ever gets here in the Willamette Valley, and it only does this every five years or so. Thus we consider this to be pretty extreme weather.   

Here We Are and It's December

 

I'm taken with this new Prairie Schooler chart.  I like the two reindeer ornaments, the partridge, the trees.  Well, I like most of them I guess.  I think I'll start with the green reindeer top row center. And I need to buy some more DMC.

The lights on the house are lit and the tree is decorated!  The Paperbark Maple is decorated anyway.  I wonder what the deer and the birds think of it. 

Here's my Best Bird Shot of late.  It's a photo of the ever-flitting Ruby Crowned Kinglet.  The smallbirds are very active in the mature Douglas Fir trees now.  The problem is two-fold - they are tiny little things and they do not stay still.  I think I took 20 photos and only managed to get one that was worth showing. 

It was much easier to photograph this couple.

A female Oregon Junco

A male Oregon Junco

Lots and lots and lots of California Quail in the backyard. 

Here they are making a dash from the safety of the berm to the bird feeders. 

I've counted several times now and get between 28 to 32 birds!

I just wish I could manage a photo or two of the entire group.

My photos are male-heavy, but I think the group is pretty evenly split.

It's now impossible to tell this year's babies from the mature adults.

That's a lot of growing and maturing in just 5 month's time.

We are supposed get an Arctic Blast mid-week with highs around freezing and lows in the 'teens'.  That only happens every 5 years or so.  I'll need to empty the bird baths and fountains so they do not crack and freeze.  I'm going to move most of my potted plants inside the garage or shop.  And I think I need to cover the greenhouse with blankets so that it will better retain heat.  Lots to do in the next couple of days. 

Bambi's Family

Our two-point buck showed up again Wednesday and spent most of the afternoon and evening close to our house.

It's unusual to have a buck linger like that.

It's also unusual to have one 'hanging out' with other deer.

As a family we've been arguing about the makeup of the group.  My father thinks they are all males.  I maintain there's a doe and with a fawn.  I suppose the fawn could be male - if so - then it's Bambi's family, isn't it? 

The buck found our black oil sunflower seeds. 

He munched away quite happily...

...in the company of the fawn.

I'm Watching You!

We had a rather moody atmospheric sky Tuesday evening.

Earlier in the afternoon...

Padma watched the deer...

...and the deer watched Padma.

Solomon also watched the deer...

...and the deer watched Solomon.

We had a group of three wandering about the backyard.

They were grateful for the warmth of the afternoon sun.

Flicker Friday

It's a long holiday weekend here in the States, so I'm starting the weekend today (no cross stitching updates). Instead we will go straight to Birdland.

I think I must have 6 or eight different Flickers.

There's always one or two working on the suet or peanuts.

West of the Rocky Mountains we have Orange Shafted Flickers - the east has Yellow shafted Flickers.

The orange feathers are very prominent in this photo of a female.

Besides their work at the feeders, Flickers are frequent ground feeders.

They look rather ungainly on the ground with their broad stance.

The guys appear as cross-dressers with their bright red cheeks.

My other ground feeders include Towhees...

...and Song Sparrows.