Wednesday's Wintery Walk

Let's take a walk back in time to Thursday, February 22nd.

We woke up to a Winter Wonderland.

Somewhere between 3"-4" of heavy, wet snow.

There is something mesmerizing about falling snow.

I happily sat outside for a while watching snowflakes fall.

Snow makes art out of most anything. 

Early on the light was a blue-gray. 

Then it became a steel-gray. 

And quiet - the world is quiet when it snows.

Here's a good look at the depth of the snowfall.

I did not have much action at the feeders...

...but the California Quail left their mark. 

Frosty Weather and Stitch

Design - "You Melt My Heart" (freebie)

Designer - Barbara Ana Designs

Fabric - 28 count Light Blue Jobelan

Fibers - DMC - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started - 18 February 2018

Finished - 26 February 2018

The perfect finish to feature today. A heart for February and a snowman to represent our continued cold weather.  And the colors - I love the bright colors. 

Friday morning we went from a snowy morning, to a cold frosty morning.

It made for fat, puffy Steller's Jays.

The world was bright and brittle.

The light was hard and blue.

The air crisp and cold.

The smaller birds, like this Black-capped Chickadee, came early to the feeders 

Oodles and oodles of Oregon Juncos. 

The Week That Was

I was able to work on this during breaks of a very exciting Oregon / Arizona basketball game on Thursday.  

Also on Thursday February 22nd, we had a wintry wonderland for a few hours.

I did not have many different kinds of birds, but the Juncos were out in force. 

The Anna's braved the weather and were omnipresent at their feeders.

But the Quail are by far, my favorite Snow Birds.

They shove their way through the snow like little baby snowplows. 

I admire their perseverance.

Sunday's Hummers

My hummers appear to have survived our cold and snow flurries without issue.

I had one feeder out all the time with a heater so keep the nectar from freezing.

The birds remained territorial even in the cold weather.

I have three feeders in the back of the house, and managed once in a while to have a bird at each of the feeders at the same time.

Far more often though, there was dive-bombing and buzzing going on to keep other birds away.

Right now, the male does not seem to be any more dominate than the females, and they run him off.  

With dull weather, his feathers are more muted.

But he knows that he is a handsome boy!

Saturday's Critters

Douglas (or is it David) has greeted me most mornings during our cold weather.  He's been a very well-behaved squirrel...

Mr. Gray Squirrel on the other hand...

...discovered this suet feeder I sited above the gate on our deer fence.

"An All You Can Eat Suet Buffet!," he cried!

He studied the situation...

...and immediately gorged.

Yummers!

I had to laugh and admire his skill set.

So I let him have at it for a while...

...and then went outside to shoo him away.

Friday's Progress

 

This is a terrible photo of a really colorful stitch.  I'm just loving this - it's like stitching with a new box of Crayola crayons!

I'm getting up early enough to say hello to the Robins.  I think they roost in the trees near the house, then gather together before taking off for the day.

If I can't have Bushtits at the feeder, I'll take a Chestnut-backed Chickadee any day. 

These birds are darned cute and impatiently awaited me filling up the feeders.

Thursday's Plans

I have the last two home basketball games this week - Thursday and Saturday - both are late with 8:15pm and 8:30pm starts.  I think this is what I'll be working on before the game, during timeouts, and halftime. But first I'll need a nap!

I took my 'good' camera out on a walk on Sunday during heavy wet snow showers and now it will not turn on!  Arghhh! So I'm using my back-up camera which does not have nearly the zoom capabilities as you can see. 

The photos I do take are a bit blurry, so I don't have many to share. 

I have a 3 year warranty for the 'good' camera, I just need to call and see where I should ship the camera.  In other camera news, we ended up buying a refurbished Bushnell trail camera to replace the one that died at the start of February. The 'new' camera arrived yesterday, so we will be able to test it for a few days this month.