Monday, October 24, 2011

Nothing Is Constant But Change

My blog title comes from the name of a Freshman Seminar offered by Lewis and Clark College in the Fall of 1977.  I hated the truism as even at 18 I was a huge fan of the status quo.  In the subsequent decades, I've learned the truth of the title - change is inevitable.

Here's a bit of change on "Boo Sampler".  I worked up the house, hill, moon, fence, and a couple of pumpkins. 

The Hairy Woodpeckers are active.  A female was hard at work on one of our large Douglas Firs.

The bright red on the back of the head indicates this is a male Hairy Woodpecker. 

He was eating peanuts while I worked on the Front Porch.

These next few photos are the real reason for the blog title.

September 22, 2011
For years and years, an old dead snag stood on a slop near the side of the road, across from my sister's Dahlia Garden.  What was remarkable about snag was the number and size of the holes drilled in it.  It was a regular apartment building complex!  My sister and I used to speculate about who might reside therein...owls, woodpeckers, chipmunks...all of the above?

October 22, 2011
Less than a month after I took the shot of the snag standing, it had toppled over and shattered into dozens of pieces.  I was amazed to see how hollow the interior was.

The snag was almost entirely a bark shell with very little interior rotted wood.

Right below the wood debris I found this cool nest.  It is made of moss, fir needles, and bark.  It is about 8" tall and 6" wide.  Its shape is perfectly round and I imagine the nest fit wonderfuly well inside the cavity of the snag.  Again I must speculate, who made and used it?  What will they think when they come back next Spring and the tree is gone...

5 comments:

The Inspired Stitcher said...

The Boo Sampler is coming along nicely! I love the colors in this one. I also love the colors of the woodpeckers. We get a few at our feeder too. I always love it when they visit.

Siobhán said...

Your sampler looks great so far, Beth! Love the pics of the woodpeckers. Interesting about the tree!

Mouse said...

ooo lovely progress and what a shame about the tree .... it must have finally given up after being emptied and died ? love mouse xxxx

carol fun said...

Oh I am always telling my boys that nothing is constant but change but I sure do want things to stay the same some days. Love the little sampler --
have a great day!

Debbie said...

Your stitching is beautiful! Thanks for sharing all your photos, really enjoy the birds.