Thursday, June 21, 2012

Birding Thursday

Design -"Bee Hive"
Chart - "Who's Hiding in the Garden?"
Designer - Patricia Ann Designs
Fabric - 3 count Summer Khaki linen
Fibers - DMC & WDW - 2 strands oer 2 threads
Started - 18 June 2012
Finished - 20 June 2012

This was such a pleasure.  I loved all the speciality stitches used to create the leaves on the tree, the blossoms on the flowers, and the bee hive. This seemed to me to be a perfect Summer Solstice stitch.

Today is "For the Birds".

Some of the Violet Green Swallows have built their nests...

 and are raising families...

...other are still house-hunting!

The Finches are frequent visitors to our 'Ali-Baba' fountain.

As I mentioned, no shortage of finches!  I counted 11 Gold Finches in this photograph.

Here's a happy couple...

...and another blissful pair.

We are awash in Red Breasted Sapsuckers too!  I've found two nests close to our house.  Each nest is in a cavity drilled in the trunk or major branch of a Large Leaf Maple tree.  The Sapsucker babies are not melodious - and they yell from dawn to dusk - louder when the parents arrive to feed them.  

This Spotted Towhee was singing his little bird brains out - a very pretty song too.  You can hear it here.

Friday evening we watched a Great Blue Heron fly across the sky.  Not the best picture - but I'm amazed I was able to get anything.

The Jays and the Starling have been eating me out of house and home.  I had to put my suet in "a cage in a cage" to deter them.  The Flickers can stick their heads through and with their long beak still reach the suet.  They have to contort a bit, and I'm sure they don't like it, but at $1.59 each, I like my suet block to last for more than a day.  

I haven't seen any woodpeckers in a while, so was pleased to see this little Downy Woodpecker.  She is so small she can get into the cage and get right at the suet.

While more and more plants have come into bloom, the Hummingbirds still 'top off' at my feeders.

This House Finches echoes the colors in the Salvia beside him.
My pretty Lazuli Bunting stopped by Tuesday morning - no camera with me darn it! Tweet!

12 comments:

Margaret said...

Pretty finish!! I wish we got hummingbirds around here. I love them!

carol fun said...

Such pretty birds! I need to remember that suet cage trick. The squirrels have figured out how to open mine-cheeky little bandits!
love the cross stitch finish - so cute!

Ann at Beadlework. said...

I just love the photo with the little spotted bird singing and the heron flying across the clear blue sky makes me feel as though I'm watching it disappear.

Melissa said...

Thanks for the lovely bird photos!

Anonymous said...

Wow, you get so many birds, I would spend all day watching them!

Congratulations on your lovely finish, it's very sweet!

Barb said...

A really cute finish!! Great bird photos!

Annette-California said...

You get the most coolest photos. Love Ali-Baba fountain and the birds.The Spotted Towhee looks like hes singing his heart out:)

Annette-California said...

LOL I was so into the birds I wanted to say Your "Bee Hive" sampler is very pretty!

Siobhán said...

Sweet finish, Beth! I loved the bird photos, as always. Duffy wasn't too crazy about me playing the Towhee's song, but I enjoyed it! ;)

Carol said...

Such a cute finish, Beth--I just love stitching things with specialty stitches. It really adds a whole new dimension to the piece...

Lovely birdies as always :)

MoonBeam said...

Very cool!

Bobbi

Melanie said...

The specialty stitches really make this piece! The tree leaves are so delicate and pretty looking.