Reflections - January to April 2013

January 2013

The Trilogy, "Happy Chirp Chirp Day"

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Light dusting of snow 

February 2013 

The Twisted Thread, "Gingham Hearts"

Varied Thrush (female)

Hellebores

March 2013

Sam Sarah, "V is for Violets"

Crocus

Bobcat in a tree in the backyard!

April 2013

Lizzie Kate, "A Little Easter"

Narcissus

Bluebird (male)

Further Red and Green

Design - "Love" (Jingles)

Designer - Lizzie Kate

Fabric - 32 count natural linen

Fibers - WDW - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started - 29 December 2013

Completed - 29 December 2013

This is a fast little stitch - I worked on it during time outs and halftime at a college basketball game and finished it up while watching TV later in the evening.  

I liked the green and red colors and realized that once again, the colors were repeated in my natural world.

I'd not seen much of my Anna's hummingbirds since our snow and extreme cold.  So I was beyond thrilled to see and hear a couple of them this weekend. 

One male staked out the nectar feeder.

The other male watched from a perch in a blackberry thicket among the young Douglas fir trees.

This aggressive stance is one the bird uses while 'chattering" his location and displeasure at other 'humming intruders".

As you can see he looks fat and healthy.

I'm glad our hummers made it through the bad weather.

They certainly brighten the dull foggy days of December.

Christmas Decorating Part Two and Three and...

I was so very late decorating for Christmas this year that I did not have the opportunity to share photos of my efforts before the Big Day.

So here's the Rest of the Story.

My Mom's display of Christmas plates in the kitchen.

The dining room hutch

The Christmas table - a place setting

The Christmas table, the hutch and, the forest on the buffet.

The Christmas table

My Kitchen Trees

This tree is adorned with cupcakes and cookies.

More Christmas Goodies decorations

The family room

The media center and the Big Bird Tree

The media center display

Santas

Noah's Arks

With the Big Bird tree as the over arching theme, I decided to display the Emma Bridgewater bird mugs I collected while in England atop the media center.

The right side

Game Birds, Robins, and Raptors

These six mugs are extra special as all represent birds I actually 'saw' while in the U.K.

From left to right: Blackbird, Green Woodpecker, Mistle Thrush, Robin, London Pigeon, and the Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Needless to say the cats fully approved on this year's Christmas theme!

Our Indoor Forest

While our biggest tree never got decorated except for some white lights, I did decorate several smaller trees.

As with any forest, some trees succumbed to age and fall.

Padma seemed incapable of leaving this one alone.

This feather tree kept my forest from being a mono-culture, and provided an appropriate micro-climate for the penguins!.

This is the set up my sister and I put together atop the buffet in the dining room.

Pine cones...

Mushrooms and pine cones...

Birdhouses and owls and what-not...

We also had a cardinal tree...

And my Mom decided she had enough ornaments to create an owl tree too.

Red and Green

Design - "Red & Green Reindeer"

Chart - "Nordic Holiday" #191

Designer-  The Prairie Schooler

Fabric - 28 count while linen

Fibers - DMC - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started - 18 December 2013

Completed - 26 December 2013

I'll bet you were beginning to wonder if I'd feature another stitch before year's end.  I'm pleased to say that on the 26th I finally had some time to devote to stitching and was able to finish up this handsome reindeer.

The Nordic color scheme of red and green found resonance in my own Oregon landscape.

A Pileated Woodpecker stopped by on the 23rd adding a bright red accent to another-wise all green tableau.

He talked and talked and talked some more - for a good fifteen minutes without cessation.  The Steller's Jays began to answer (see the one in the tree on the right). A hawk chimed in too.  Finally a couple of other Pileateds gave voice.

I kept hoping the bird would fly in a bit closer so I could take a better photo or two.

No such luck, when he finally flew away - he headed back into the forest.

My smallest woodpecker, a male Downy, gave me a much better show.

He happily worked away at the suet feeder right outside the dining room window.

As I hadn't seen him since our snow and extreme cold, I was delighted that he'd survived safe and sound. 

He too provided a red accent with the "V" on the back of his head.

I hope that come spring a female will arrive, and I'll have more of these small woodpeckers to watch and enjoy.