The Last Walk of August

The weather has moderated!  It's moderated to such an extent that I am wearing a sweater outside in the morning and evening now. 

The last walk of August feels like fall.

The temperature is cooler and there was fog and dew in the morning.

Plus ripe blackberries = fall! 

And so do Rosehips.

My sister has a lovely patch down in her Dahlia Garden. 

Someone has been eating the Osier Dogwood berries.

The Snowberries do not appear to be anyone's favorite.

They hang on uneaten until late winter when the critters get desperate for food sources. 

One last pretty Rosehip photo.

And now let's go see what's been happening up at the house.  

We've had Worker Bees and their equipment around for a couple of weeks now.

Parvati always checks out anything that is 'new'.

Notice the bricks? 

Well I received this lovely potting bench last Christmas and did not want it sitting outside in the weeds and dirt... 

So we had a brick and concrete extension added to the end of the shop.
Now I can putter away to my heart's content. The picnic bench to the left is a 'heirloom'. It belong to Howard and Dorothy McBeth who originally owned the property we now live on.   

Another set of Worker Bees is getting the front yard prepped.  When they have it put to rights, they will install the deer fence.  Then the irrigation will go in next, and finally the lawn.  Big changes!  

As August Ends

Design - "A Bit of August" (Flip It)

Designer - Lizzie Kate

Fabric - 32 count Light Mocha Cashel

Fibers - GAST & WDW - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started - 23 August 2016

Completed - 25 August 2016

I might be close to a personal record for "smalls" finishes in a month! I'm rocking on my August themed stitches.

The California Quail are my End of August birds, hands down.

While some of the smaller families I used to see are no longer around, my Big Family of two males and 40+ kids wanders around the backyard several times a day.  

The bunnies and the quail get along fine.

This young female photobombed the bunny just behind her.

Here's another young female quail.

She came up on the patio - not a good thing with Padma and Parvati  hanging out there.  And can you see who she has tucked in behind her? 

A very young chick!

The two birds appeared to be alone.

So a single mom raising a lone chick.

I hope they both make it, it's tough to parent without assistance.

A Whale of a Day

Design - "August" - Joyful Journal

Designer - Heart in Hand

Fabric - 30 count WDW Confederate Gray

Fibers - GAST & WDW & CC - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started - 21 August 2016

Completed - 23 August 2016

Loving the whale!  I saw this on Friendship Crossing's Facebook page and instantly wanted it!  A special thanks to Ann at Friendship Crossing for getting the chart and the threads to me so quickly.

I 'old' camera died a couple of weeks ago. The lens would no longer extend or retract.  I've been using a lesser camera while deciding what to do next.

This photo was taken with my 'lesser' camera.

Certainly not a bad photo.

But by new camera has a rather amazing zoom.

Look at the clarity of the feathers on this male Anna's Hummingbird.  

Here's a close up of a male Anna's.

Close up of an American Goldfinch.

Male California Quail.

Steller's Jay.

Song Sparrow.

I think it does a nice job. And I bought a three year extended warrenty!

Sunday's Hummers

In the past week or so, the number of hummers I have has declined.

I think many of the Rufous Hummingbirds have begun their southern migration. 

Thankfully, I still have Anna's Hummingbirds...

...like this lovely lady... 

...and this handsome gentleman.

I'm very pleased to have a mature male back at the feeders.

See how his entire head and throat are pinky/red?

Now compare with this juvenile male Anna's.  He is just beginning to get some color.

There is at least one young Rufous still in the area.

I believe this might be a juvenile male.

I think there is just a touch of color forming on the throat.

And this is a female Rufous - so two birds still.

Ya' got an itch?  Then scratch it!

Saturday Critters

I have some interesting and usual critters to share this week.

We have a group of paper-wasps who have constructed a nest from dead wood and plant stems. The open combs are used to raise their young. The combs with caps have eggs in them. Unlike yellow-jackets, these wasps are not aggressive, so we are taking a 'live and let live' attitude.

We had a very small lizard in the garage.  I think he was not more than 2" long.

And here's a Western Skink. It's been hanging out in the heat of the back patio for a month now.  But it moves so quickly, I've not been able to get a photo until now. 

Young skinks have bright blue tails. They are active in warm season, preying on spiders and sow bugs.  They lurk in leaf litter and dense vegetation (and among my flower pot on the back patio). 

Now on to bunnies...

I saw six of them in the backyard the other morning.

Hop to it!

Nose to nose.

looking left and looking right.

Feasting on cauliflower plants on the compost pile.

Feasting on blackberries.

Lately I have just seen a single fawn.

This one stays pretty close to Mama Deer.

Do you think this could become an Olympic event?

Warning - the next photo is rather graphic and not for the faint of heart.

Remember I posted photos of a group Turkey Vultures?  

Here's what they were working on.  A fawn was hit by a car, and our neighbor let the Turkey Vultures do their important work.  The carcass has picked clean except for the legs and hooves.  You can see the rib cage quite clearly.  When I went over to take a look there was no smell. Not a happy event, but not a waste of a life either.  Nature Is.