A Hare and Woodpeckers

Design - "Hare Crossing"

Designe - Mosey 'N Me

Fabric - 32 count R & R Cinnamon Roll Belfast linen

Fibers - Anchor - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started - 9 April 2014

Completed - 31 August 2014 

Another project finished before August's end!  Wahoo!

The Mosey 'N Me hare has a very unique look / style.  I like it very much.

As do others!

I think they approve.

It's been a good week for woodpeckers.

The other day I had a group of four Acorn Woodpeckers fly in.

And here's the thing...I'm pretty convinced that it is a different group of birds than the four I've been observing. 

I think it was composed of two adults and two newly fledged birds.

See - the two on the left are begging and the one on the right is feeding.

This is a fat newly fledged begging baby bird!

So hungry!

I got to watch for a while and this definitely was a second group of Acorn Woodpeckers.  

The Group of Four that I've been watching has three guys including a fledgling and one gal.  The juvenile male has been feeding himself for three or more weeks and is pretty sleek looking now.  So this has to be Group of Four #2 with two younger birds.  I wonder if they will return...

The Flickers have been very active as of late.

There are several young female birds. I think they are youngsters as they are are rotund and downy.    

They've already figured out how to use their stiff tale feathers to help their balance. 

See, still downy and rumpled looking!

On Tuesday I could hear two Pileated Woodpeckers talking back and forth.  I then heard a very unusual sound and observed two young birds fly by (no photo).  Finally later in the morning, I heard the slow steady 'thunk thunk thunk' of a bird working away on a snag.  Look closely at this blurry photo (I could never get the auto-focus to focus on the bird rather than the hazel brush in the foreground) and you can see the Pileated.

Wednesday's Stitch, Wednesday's Walk

Did you take note of this month's stitching theme?

Cats.

And I seem to have enough charts to stitch cats all year long.

So now to chose three or four and kit them up...hmmmm...

Our temperatures have moderated a bit, so let's take a walk.

You never know who you might see, or who might see you!

September light is quiet and diffused.

The sun now sets behind a hill in the southwest by 7:00pm and all bird activity effectively ends.

The first of the Big Leaf Maples is getting fall color.

The Cottonwoods too.

The young Douglas Fir have finished their growth spurt for the year.

I did find a rather scraggily patch of wild Asters in bloom. 

It's nice to see something blooming this late in the season.

The majority of the wildflowers look like these clumps of Iris, dried out and spent. 

But not before they produced a whopping crop of seeds back in July.

Now the seed pods are spent and empty - their work is done.

I was surprised to find catkins on the Hazel brush this early.

The Douglas Fir crop is ripe and ready for the birds and squirrels to go to work.

The finches can still find plenty of thistle seed too!

That's it for today - I should go back inside I figure out which cat chart I'm going to stitch! 

Morning Glories and Garden Blooms

 

Design - "September's Morning Glory"

Designer - Cottage Garden Samplings

Fabric - 32 count French Lace linen

Fibers - WDW, GAST, & DMC - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started - 10 August 2014
Completed - 31 August 2014

Yea!  I managed to get this finished in August as part of my goal to turn UFO's into WIPs and then WIPs into finished stitches. 

Yet another really pretty design in this series.  I think the Morning Glories are stunning! So detailed.

Very life-like when compared to the real thing! 

It's Tuesday and time to join in the Garden Party!

I had to start off the Garden Party by featuring the amazing Wall of Flowers that faces the parking lot of Gray's Nursery.

The large black plastic planters are planted out in the spring with heat-loving annuals and by mid-July they've got a Wall of Color! 

I tried for a Wall of Color in a smaller way with this Thurnbergia vine.

I'm pretty pleased with my plants on the west-facing Back Patio.

I especially like the forms and textures of this staging area.

It's mostly sedums...

...with some echeverias..

...and a few funky tender succulents.

I've got still more in pots along the edge of the patio.

I'm flirting with Deer Danger as they can walk right up.

So I attempt to remember to spray 'liquid fence' (deer repellent) once a week.

And yes, still more sedums and succulents!

I bought a Bog Sage (Salvia uliginosa) a couple of months ago.  This moisture loving salvia is supposed to grow to heights of over five feet!

And here's a Mystery Plant that appeared out of no where!

It has large serrated leaves and big white blooms.

Anyone recognize it? 

In September I have to pay homage to my sister's Dahlia Garden. 

It is an explosion of color right now!

And that's a good thing as the Lane County Dahlia Society Annual Show is September 13th-14th.

Do you have any large gardening projects in mind? I know a highly qualified supervisor!

September Arrives

A new month and a new blog header!

This month we are All About Bugs.

Horizontal Rows as follows -

Row #1: Alessandra Adelaide, "Coccinella"; Hog River, "Duh Ladybug". 

Row #2: Heart in Hand, "Ladybug, Ladybug"; Heart in Hand, "Curio - Ladybug"; Ewe & Eye & Friends, "Slow Poke"; Knotted Tree, "Little Bugs - Butterfly"; Knotted Tree, "Little Purple Beetle". 

Row #3: Heart in Hand, "Monthly Mania - June"; Country Cottage Needleworks, "Dragonfly"; Knotted Tree, "Little Bugs - Lady Bug"; Knotted Tree, "Pink Butterfly".

Row #4: Country Cottage Needleworks, "Ladybug"; Country Cottage Needleworks, "Bumblebee"; Birds of a Feather, "Cute as a Bug"; The Prairie Schooler, "Summer & Winter" - "August"; Knotted Tree, "Little Gold Bumble Bee"; Hog River, "Lady Bug Sampler".

Row #5: Just My Imagination, "Ladybug Picnic"; Ewe & Ewe & Friends, "Doodle Bugs".

Changes continue in the Bird World.  

The Black-headed Grosbeaks left sometime late last week.

Now I see more and more Mourning Doves.

And more Song Sparrows.

The Song Sparrows are living up to their name and singing once again.

I have more White-crowned Sparrows too.

This youngster is feasting on thistle seed.

I've seen a large flock (12-15 birds) of Cedar Waxwings flying overhead several times. 

Unfortunately they've not stopped close by. 

This may well be the last sighting of a Western Tanager for this year.

Most of my summer residents have left the area including the Warblers and the Flycatchers. 

These darling little Wilson's Warblers fly all the way to Belize to spend the winter! If you'd like to learn more about the Warbler you can listen to a two minute audio file here.