They Continue

 

Design - "Seek Joy"

Designer - Notforgotten Farm

Fabric - 30 count R & R Candlelight linen

Fiber - DMC

Started - 4 April 2010

Completed - 4 April 2010

They continue!

An inquisitive female Evening Grosbeak.

Looking at...

A male Grosbeak...

Looking at...?

Worth the Wait

Running a bit behind today - sorry for the delay posting. 

Design - "Peacock Bird"

Designer - Ewe & Ewe & Friends

Fabric - 32 count R & R Light Chino 

Fiber - Anchor floss

Started - 29 March 2010

Completed - 30 March 2010

Here's something well worth the wait!

And several of his friends too.

I was delighted to have a dozen or so Evening Grosbeaks at my two feeder trays the other day.  

They hung out eating and 'churring' for about 20 minutes.

A nice mix of males and females.

It remains to be seen whether this was a 'one off' or is going to be reoccurring throughout the month of May.

Either way, it was wonderful to see.

Will Some Stay?

Design - "Primitive Small 1"

Designer - Dames of the Needle

Fabric - 32 count Meadow Rue Lakeside linen

Fibers - GAST 1 strand over two threads

Started - 13 June 2011

Completed - 14 June 2011

Yet another peacock for my collection!

I had my first sighting of an Evening Grosbeak last week.

It made my heart sing. 

Just one solitary male.

Since then I've seen small flocks of grosbeaks flying overhead.

And I've heard them talking in the forest nearby.

Last year none stuck around.  Will this year be the same?

I hope not.

Small Changes

 

Design - "Primitive Smalls 3"

Designer - Dame of the Needle

Fabric - 32 count Meadow Rue Lakeside linen

Fibers - GAST

Started - 12 June 2011

Completed - 12 June 2011

Early May sees some changes.

 

Lots and lots more American Goldfinches. 

The Black-capped Chickadees are serious about nesting.

I got to watch one bringing nesting materials back to a nesting box.

I hope they continue to build their nest and take up residence there.

They're Back Too

Design - "Spring Time"

Designer - Citrouille's Designs

Fabric - 32 count Vintage Buttercream Lakeside linen

Fiber -  Belle Soie Silk - "Peacock" - 1 strand over 2 threads

Started - 21 August 2013

Completed - 2 September 2013 

Spring is here!

And the Black-headed Grosbeaks have returned.

The adult males arrived first.

I saw four of them Monday evening.

Handsome birds with a lovely song.

A few days later, the females showed up.

Welcome back everyone!

Friday Flash Back

Design - "Peacock Sampler"

Designer - Earth Threads

Fabric - 25 count Cream Dublin linen

Started - 12 March 2010

Completed - 13 March 2010

Here's am older finish from back when I was first blogging, so I think many of you have never seen it. I am very pleased with the finished piece.  I've not stitched on 25 count before (I think) and at times I felt as though I was stitching a "Large Print Book"!  That aside, I very much admire what the designer was able to do using just four shades of DMC floss. 

I think my Yellow-rumped Warbler has moved on.  I've not seen him since March 2nd.  It was a special gift to have him for two months, so no complaints from me.  Now the Song Sparrows are serenading me in the morning.  Spring is just around the corner they say. 

Blue on blue - Steller's Jays on a pretty day.

Most days this week have been dull and gray such as this one providing a backdrop for a Junco. 

I still have 3 or 4 Pine Siskins in the area.

I've been trying to get my Red-breasted Nuthatches to eat from my hand, but no luck this week.  The Chestnut-back Chickadees might also be good candidates for hand-feeding. 

Thursday I counted four House Finches - the most I've seen this winter.

An Autumn Walk

Design - "Charity"

Designer - Carriage House Samplings

Fabric - 40 count R & R Autumn Gold

Fibers - DMC - 1 strand over 2 threads

Started - 18 September 2013

Completed - 23 September 2013

This is a tiny piece - it measures only 1.75" x 2.25".

Amazing detail for such a tiny thing.

It's Wednesday. It's Autumn.

Let's try to dodge the rain showers and take a walk.

Watch out!  One of the prettiest things right now is the Poison Oak!

The last of the wild Asters are in bloom.

Snowberries - no one seems to like to eat 'em so they hang of the branches week after week.

 The Licorice Ferns are still bright green. 

I found a few cherries they birds had missed.

Autumn means an explosion of Oak Galls.

The leaves of Big Leaf Maples have not yet begun to turn.

The Vine Maple leaves, however, are already bright scarlet.

Well I looked through my books and I've still not managed to identify this fruiting tree.  It really bugs me as I'm quite sure that in the spring when it is in blossom, I have no problem figuring out what it is.  

Someone is already munching away on the fruit of the wild Dogwood. 

The Douglas Fir cones are ripe.

  

And the Cottonwood trees are beginning to drop their leaves.