We're Up We're Down

We've had some pretty skies of late. 

And we've received some much welcome rain.

The deer around here are brazen.

They like the sunflowers as much as any bird.

Yea buddy, I'm talking about you!

I do like that they are at ease enough to rest close by.

The ears though are always listening.  Twitching front and back...

Sideways...

And backward!

Friday Framed Finish

Design - "Happy as a Lark"

Designer - Birds of a Feather

Fabric - 32 count R & R Liberty Gathering Gray

Fibers - GAST - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started - 15 August 2012

Completed - 17 August 2012

Framed - October 2015

I chose to get a total of three more designs in this series framed this year.  When I've shown them all, I will take a group shot and post it.

Many of my little birds appear to be every bit as happy as a lark.  

I am so pleased to have a large flock of Pine Siskins once again.

These birds will provide much of my winter bird watching entertainment.

Right now I have a mix of American Goldfinches (top of photo), and Pine Siskins (bottom of photo) munching away on sunflower seeds.

They both are small enough to use my 'cling' feeder.

And seemingly can dine together without arguement. 

I've counted as many as 12 Goldfinches and 20 Pine Siskins.

 The Goldfinches have never stayed here past October.  It will be interesting to see if and when they leave this year. 

A Little Bit of Everything

Stitching is going v e r y  slowly this week.

We had a beautiful full moon.

And it was followed by a very pretty sunrise.

I've had a reasonably good selection of woodpeckers this week.

I was pleased to have a female Hairy Woodpecker.

She came to the peanut feeder in the backyard.

The male Hairy worked away at the feeder in the front on the house. 

I noticed something new to me.

He has some yellow tail feathers, while the female does not.

Not the greatest of photos, but this was the best I could get of my Red-breasted Sapsucker.

The Sapsucker has the prettiest black and white back of all the woodpeckers.

The Acorn Woodpeckers have been hanging out close to the house. 

This is a female.

And they've been active at the peanut feeders too.

Getting peanuts is a serious business!

We've had some rain so the windows are blotchy again and so are my photos - sorry! 

Again, not a great photo, but proof of Flicker activity.

At the Market

Last Saturday the Farmers' Market was as busy as ever.

Though it was cool, it did not rain, and as there was no Oregon football game, the crowds descended on the market.

It's a good thing I'd had breakfast before coming to the market.

It certainly was not too early to be thinking about holiday gifts - wreaths, and chilies, and walnuts, and jewelry, and honey!

This time of year pumpkins and squash rule!

The Purple Heart radish were enormous!

There's lots of weird veg this time of year.

Sunchokes, Bok Choy, Romanseco, Celeriac, and Tomatillos.

Parsnips, lots of parsnips!

"Winter Luxury" are supposed to make awesome pumpkin pies.

Torpedo onions

Delicata squash

Dahlias and yet more dahlias.

The bold colors of autumn.

The Pacific NW is famous for pears (think Harry and David)

...and also apples.  There were also persimmons and grapes.

Who can resist these delightful ornaments pumpkins?

Late October Birds Stitched and Otherwise

Design - "The Owl Next Door"

Designer - The Bent Creek

Fabric - 32 count Dirty linen

Fibers - WDW & GAST & Crescent Colors - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started - 17 October 2015

Completed - 22 October 2015

I like my little spooky  cross-eyed owl. Hmmm...on closer examination, he appears to have a cat hair on his hat - I wonder how that happened!

I visited a neighbor a couple of driveways down the way and she had Varied Thrushes working away in the Oak leaf litter.

She told me she's had as many as a dozen at a time. As I've maxed out with three, I was a bit envious.

Robins are also Thrushes and some folks find it hard to distinguish between the two. The male Varied Thrush has a black eye-band and a black V beneath its throat.  I am hoping to see a Varied Thrush or two here.

I am seeing a few more Mourning Doves - groups of 2, 3, 4, and 5.

While my California Quail - well I think I counted 38 bird! 

As the birds are in constant motion, I experiment using the 'sports' setting of my camera.

I think it did a better job of stopping the motion and reducing the blur.

I am expecting that this large group will disperse as winter progresses, and I will have far fewer when it comes time to pair up in the spring.