I am pleased to present Noah's Ark finish...though there is no ark and no rainbow...hmmm. As the doves are present, the ark must have landed and off loaded all the animals!
Design - "Forty Days and Forty Nights"
Pamphlet - "Beloved Bible Story Samplers"
Designer - Praying Hands
Fabric - 28 count Country French Cafe Mocha linen
Fibers - DMC - 2 strands over 3 threads
Started - 11 August 2015
Completed - 16 August 2015
I think this is a sweet design. I like Noah's sash and his sandals. I had trouble with his eyes and finally ditched the French knots for straight stitches.
Mid-August in prime molting time in Birdland and my are we looking scruffy.
Scruffy American Goldfinch
Equally shabby Scrub Jay
Even the Mourning Doves are ragged looking.
An unkempt looking Chickadee.
This mangy Towhee has a back-story.
The poor bird must have survived (barely) an attack by a hawk. It has but one leg, and for weeks it had bunt one crooked sideways tail-feather. According to a podcast on Birdnote: When Towhees fly "...their tails flash white. When a hawk gives chase, the towhee's flashing tail-feathers draw the predator's attention. Momentarily distracted, the hawk may come up with just a couple of tail feathers — as the towhee escapes into the underbrush. So if you see a towhee missing a couple of tail feathers, it may be that the flash of white — the distractive plumage — saved its life."
So the loss of the tail feathers may have saved the birds life. I've been watching this bird for over a month now, so I think it is going to be okay and the tail feathers will grow back. You can listen to the short Birdnote podcast here.
A rather ragged (and wet) Junco.
I think this Anna's looks a bit bedraggled.
Not scruffy, but amusing.
Papa Quail is watching over his troops from atop my Dad's pickup truck!
He looks like he is marching back and forth on parade just like a guard in front of Buckingham Palace.
Great finish! I guess the end of summer is when the scruffiness comes out? That poor Towhee. Good thing he had that white flash.
ReplyDeleteLove all those raggedy birds - sweet!
ReplyDeleteLiz @ Shortbread & Ginger
Isn't it amazing how animals adapt? We went out last night for a rare Wednesday treat to support our local animal shelter. There was a little pup without a lower jaw. Someone found him and turned him in to the shelter. They suspect at some time the jaw may have been removed because of a tumor. Just amazing how this little guy soldiered on.....and is eating well with soft food.
ReplyDeleteAww, the poor thing. I love your last picture.
ReplyDeleteNoah is awesome and I agree about his sash and sandals!
ReplyDeleteI love all your feathered friends you shared with us today :)
While on my walk this morning I'll have you know that I saw: a red tailed hawk! He had just caught a mouse and I startled him as I huffed up the hill, I stopped and he didn't take off, but he did startle when I didn't move for a couple of minutes (and just stood breathing heavily) and took his breakfast up to a tree limb... I was about 20 feet from him. They are so majestic!
Then I saw an Eastern Bluebird couple (which seems sort of early because I think they are only here in spring and fall on their way to someplace both ways) I'm gonna look that up...
And we too have the little goldfinches flitting around. I have lots of Black-eyed Susan's around my house and they are busily eating the seed heads from them :)
Forty Days is so cute! I love the soothing colors. Thanks for sharing the back story on the Towhee. I haven't been able to see many birds in my backyard because of the feral cats always on the hunt.
ReplyDeleteNoah is adorable!!!! No ark necessary!! Love the quail dad!!!
ReplyDeleteThe colors in your latest finish are wonderful, Beth! I really like the sun in this one, too...
ReplyDeletePoor one-legged bird--I wonder if that affects his flying ability?
All the birds do look a bit scruffy!! Actually kind of cute, it reminds me of how I look in the morning. the is a really pretty stitch. I love several motifs and Noah is quite handsome.
ReplyDeleteI love Noah's sandals too! Poor Towhee.
ReplyDeleteLove the finish. If you look inside the booklet, you will see that the designs are by Diane Williams, back in the day, before Little House Needleworks. I have one called Joy in the Journey that Leisure Arts put out, but she was the designer also...one of my very favorite pieces (She made a NEW Joy in the Journey that is totally different from mine this year). I have seen some scruffiness in some of the visiting birds... but there haven't been so many of late at all. And I haven't gotten out to find new ones... sad face...
ReplyDelete