Signs of Autumn

I made a really good start yesterday stitching on the border for "October's Marigold". This is a pretty Autumn stitch and good fun!

It's supposed to rain today (Big Cheers!).  Let's see if we can get a small walk in before it begins.

This Big Leaf Maple is still very green.  I wonder if our cooler temperatures will trigger the leaves to change color. 

Even if the leaves have not yet changed, the critters are storing up for Winter.

Here's the husk of a hazelnut.  Cleverly someone (a chipmunk or a jay) used the big woodpile to anchor it so they could break inside and extract the nut.

This is the perfect time of year for seed eaters.

I found a small group of Chickadees plucking out ripe Douglas Fir seeds from the cones.

I think these might be Chestnut-backed Chickadees.

The Chickadees were joined by Red-breasted Nuthatches.

You've got to admire birds who can eat upside down!

If the tree was dusted with a bit of snow, this would make for a lovely Christmas card.

In keeping with today's stitch, here's a spider's hard work on display. Spiderwebs are another sign of Autumn.

I think it's been a lovely walk, don't you?

Whiskers and Dahlias

The Trilogy "Happy Black Black Cat Day"

Thanks to everyone who weighed in on my Whisker dilemma. 

I think I like the cat best with whiskers, but the white ones seems too stark.  What do you think of the grey whiskers? I think the more muted color matches better with the other colors in the pattern.

It's time for the Tuesday Garden Party.

My sister's Dahlia Garden is amazing - so much color. 

Let's go take a look.

Step inside the garden gate and take a look!

I don't know if the Dahlia Garden has ever had so much color before.

The plants made the most of all the sunny summer weather.

They'll continue to bloom until the first frost.

I hope we have a few more frost-free weeks. 

Now that the Dahlia Show season has ended, we can have bouquets for the house.

Photos like this make me wish I could paint - wouldn't this make a pretty watercolor?

Besides Dahlias, my sister is growing Persian Carpet Zinnias.

They also make great, long-lasting cut flowers.

And they attract pollinators.

And let's not forget the hedge Marigolds. 

They've now come into their own.

This should inspire me to begin stitching on Cottage Garden Samplings "October's Marigold" don't you think?

I hope you enjoyed the Dahlia Garden Tour.

An Orange Tiger and an Ear-Full of Birds

Design - "Fat Cat"

Designer - Ewe & Eye & Friends

Fabric - 32 count raw linen

Fibers - Anchor - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started - 15 September 2014

Completed - 20 September 2014

Well this was just good fun to stitch.  I am totally charmed by the rotund orange tiger-cat.  The "c" and "a" and "t" in the alphabet stand out in dark pink.  I changed the color of the cat's tail and added a white tip. 

Tom-Cat gave the stitch and color changes Two Paws Up!

And now it's time for a Bird Update. 

The Cedar Waxwings arrived back on the 7th of September.  

The 'ear-full' peaked on Wednesday the 17th with over 80 birds.

I just read that a group of Waxwings is called a museum or an ear-full! 

With their high pitched buzzing "zeet" call, I vote for ear-full.

Now I am seeing only 6-8 birds at a time.

They've come a bit closer much to the dismay of the Acorn Woodpeckers.

This photo does a good job of showing the comparative sizes of the two birds. 

Now when I see a Sapsucker, I usually see more than one!

See!  I'm not sure what the one on the left has in his bill, but the other bird is most interested. 

Once again two Sapsuckers working away in tandem.

I do love their bright red heads.

And after going most of the summer without a glimpse of a Great Heron, one flew low over the tree tops last week.

Hummingbird Sunday

The last of the Rufous Hummingbirds have left.

So now we are all about Anna's.

I think I have four or five Anna's Hummingbirds.

Enough anyway that they feel compelled to perch near the feeders and 'guard' against incursions by other birds. 

Thus the show of bright throat feeders.

They prove she's one tough little bird! 

The Anna's also use the tops of young Douglas fir trees too as lookout posts. 

It's sort of amazing they actually have any time or energy to sit at a feeder.

They are still able to supplement the feeders with flowers like this Morning Glory. 

What I've Seen As Of Late

What have I seen as of late (besides birds)?

I've not seen any grey squirrels, but this rather weird brownish/grey squirrel has been on the wood pile,muscling out the little chipmunks.   

Fewer bunnies than our peak in mid-August.  Often the backyard is rabbit-free much to the cats' disappointment. 

This snake happily basked on the radiated heat of the concrete.

Parvati Patel is perfectly camouflaged.

Nonetheless, she did not go unobserved! 

So she crouched and hissed...

...then had to beat a retreat...

...past a group of four deer.

One of whom was especially fascinated by her.

So Poor Parvati ducked in behind the tractor blade.

The Interested Parties watched, hoping she'd pop back out. 

And her twin, Padma Patel watched from the safety of the Front Porch.