The Invisible Turkey and Trail Cam Critters

Here's what I've done on "Happy Gobble Gobble Day" - not much!  I finished the border while stitching during the breaks of basketball game, and started the alphabet and vines during a couple of evenings at home.  The turkey has feet, but otherwise is Cheshire Cat invisible.  This is such a busy time of year - it is hard to find time to stitch. 

Let's take a look at the best of our Trail Camera pictures from the month of November.  I thought with shorter days and worsening weather, we might see a downturn in the number of animals.

Not so!  We started off with a bear!  I know it is hard to see - the bear is on the right, in front of the tree.  Clicking on the picture to enlarge it will help you view the bear. 

I included this because it amused me.  A close up of the ear of a deer.

Here's a better shot of a large Bobcat.

And this, I think is yet another (different) Bobcat.  I seems to me the one in the photo taken on 14th is a larger animal, and I think the tails of the two animals are different.   

We also had a couple of nice Bucks come on by.

Based on the antlers, this is a different animal from the one above.

And finally!  A photo that shows a couple of deer crossing Dorothy's Creek.  See the one on the other far creek bank to the left of the big tree?

This maybe our best photo yet.  Two young Bobcat kittens!  I like to think that Mama Cat is lurking somewhere close by just outside of the range of this photograph.  Click on it to take a closer look.  They are adorable!

A December Finish and A December Walk

Design - "Thankful Kiss" (freebie)

Designer - The Cricket Collection

Fabric - 32 count white linen

Fibers - DMC & Kreinik braid - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started - 20 November 2012

Finished - 3 December 2012

After wrestling with the Kreinik braid, I figured out how to work with the slippery son of a gun, and got my turkey stitched.  I have to say it was worth the additional effort, as the sparkily silver eerily resembles the tin foil wrapping on a Hershey's Kiss. 

After a bit of a dry spell, the rains returned.  0.57" on 11/29, 0.56" on 11/30, 1.24" 12/1, 0.30" on 12/2, 0.50 on 12/3, and 0.32" on 12/4. 

So, once again, if we are going to take a walk, we need to dress for the weather.  

Our first walk of December!

The cherry trees still have lots of leaves - lots of color. 

The Tree Ferns are a bright shot of color in the dull woods.

The lichen is bright green too.

The understory still has some color as well.

I think this is Cascara.

The Willows are the last to lose their leaves.

I've been disappointed with the lack of rose hips this year, but oh, isn't this a pretty rose anyway?

After the leaves are gone, the Ash and other understory trees and shrubs are gray-green with mosses and lichens.

I think if I stood still for more than five minutes I'd become festooned with moss as well.

This is one of my favorite mosses.

A lone Cottonwood has yet to drop its leaves.

I hope you remained dry and enjoyed today's walk.

What to Do What to Do?

A new month, a new stitching theme.

What to do?

What to do?

As you can see I've pulled out far, far too many charts to tackle this month.  My over-arching theme is that of my blog header - reindeer! (with a few 'extras' thrown in).

Lots of rainy days lately.  One storm ends and the next rolls on in. 

The Juncos appear not to mind. 

The Anna's Hummingbirds though...

I don't think they much care for the weather.

This one looks grumpy to me.

He was under the cover of the Front Porch.

He was busy guarding the nectar feeder from usurpers!

Take-off!

Fortuitously, "The Register Guard" just published an article on Anna's Hummingbirds and you can read it here.  It opens to the story tab - click on the photo tab to see a lovely photo of an Anna in the snow.  I'm jealous as the woman in the article thinks she has something like 40 Anna's hanging out on her property!

A Rabble of Reindeer

The December 2012 Blog Header

I know, it's a herd of reindeer, but I couldn't resist the alliteration!

Here are the designer and chart details.  The rows are vertical from top to bottom as noted below. 

Row One: The Prairie Schooler,"Reindeer" (small card for charts 100 & 101); Better Homes and Garden Cross Stitch and Country July/Aug 1995 Crafts, "Merry Christmas Reindeer"; The Prairie Schooler, "A Prairie Christmas"; Homespun Elegance, "Merry Winter".

Row Two: Heart in Hand, "Dazzlin' Deer" (kit); Heart in Hand, "Winter Fling" (kit).

Row Three: Heart in Hand, "Reindeer Sampler" (kit); Elizabeth's Garden, "New England Reindeer Sampler".

Row Four: Beehive Needleworks, "Cranberry Deer Pinkeep"; Mary Garry's Stitching Cabin, "Christmas Cookies".  

On Friday I asked whether or not anyone else was a "Public Stitcher" and I received an array of comments. Public Stitching in the U.S. seems to be fairly common and socially acceptable.  People stitch during their commute, waiting at the doctor's office, and watching athletic events.  Most folks reported a positive response and good social interaction as a result of their stitching.  In the U.K. though, it appears to be a far less common practice to stitch out in public.  I know I've stitched on trains while travelling about the British Isles.  Maybe I was forgiven for being a Weird Yank!

A Tough (and Still Cute) Survivor Sun 12/2

Back on May 7th I posted about a one-eyed bunny I'd observed. 

He reappeared last Monday.

I am more than a little amazed that he is still alive.

Having but one eye must be a onerous burden for a little bunny. 

'Prey' after all, must always be on guard, and alert and aware.

From the left side he looks just like any other bunny.

I was glad to see him having a bit of dinner as the winter sun set behind the hills.

Catching Up!

It has poured and stormed all night long!  The even now the rain is

pounding down and the wind is howling.  Let's take a look back when the weather was more pleasant.

I hadn't gotten around to sharing these photos whilst they were 'current'.

But each is pretty enough it its own right, so I refuse to think of them as 'outdated'.

  

This tree - a cherry perhaps - was a wall of scarlet at the end of October.

The Sword Ferns hold up well 'til late Winter.

Regrowth and Renewal begins with the first Fall rains in late October.

There is beauty too in decay.

Autumn means mushrooms in the cool damp shade of the forest.