Spot and Dot Grow Up

Babies grow up quickly!

In early July Spot and Dot were nursing.  

What a patient Mama Doe.

By the end of July they were grazing.

By the end of August they were leading.

And now  while they remain close by to Mama Doe, they've lost most of their spots.

In looking at Trail Camera pictures from this summer, I found this one of a Bob Cat from August 3rd at 11pm.  I think someone is bring home a late night snack.  

FYI - I just posted an updated on the Tearfund campaign.  Many many thanks to all who contributed.  I emailed and posted to the Foundling Museum's Facebook page too.  I still need write a couple of more posts to wrap up the trip.  I've never posted about our day hiking and busing along Hadrian's Wall.  That was such a wonderful day.  I do want to document it and share it with you.  I am also in the process of putting together a post with the websites and tools I used to plan our Great UK Adventure.  I'll share my updates with you when I get them done.

A Day Downtown

I had to go into town yesterday as I was called in for Jury Duty.

I brought my new Alexander McCall Smith book and a small piece of cross stitch to help pass the time.  It turned out to be the right thing to do.  I arrived at 8:30am and was released from serve at 11:30am after the three scheduled trials were all cancelled or settled without the need of a jury.  So just like that my service commitment for the next two years has been fulfilled. 

I decided to run a a couple of errands while I was down town.  The arts council commissioned the painting of several traffic signal boxes between 10th and 13th avenues.  Here are three examples of the work.

The other thing I noticed was how wonderfully well the planters and hanging baskets have faired this year.  

With our hotter than usual summer weather the sweet potato vines have come on strong.

I was impressed!

I decided to celebrate my civic service and purchase cupcakes for dessert.

This is the amazing selection available at Larry's Cupcake Cafe.

50 flavors! 

I got a chocolate mint, ultra-chocolate, chocolate peanut butter, and blackberry cupcake.

Though Voodoo Doughnuts and Crumb Together (cookies) both sang a sweet siren call, I was able to resist!

Instead I headed over to the library to pick up a book.

I passed by a statue of Ken Kesey ("One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest") reading to children. Rosa Parks held court at the down town bus station.  Poor old Eugene Skinner (hence Eugene, Oregon) with hat in hand looks vainly for a view of Skinner's Butte.  Since the completion of the new Lane Community College building, he can no longer see his old homestead.

My Last UK Treat

Walking by the Waterstone's window in Greenwich the day before we were to leave London, this book reached out and grabbed me.  I adore Alexander McCall Smith.  The Philosophy Club series is my favorite, followed by the 44 Scotland Street series.  Alexander is very good about releasing his titles first in the UK several months before the American release.  The last couple of years thanks to eBay and some UK bookstore websites, I've treated myself to his newest titles when they've premiered overseas.  To me a new book is like a wrapped Christmas gift - it is meant to be savored and opened when the time is right.  Today the time is right to begin reading.

Padma says today the time is right to enjoy a nap in the shade.

Isn't this just about the scruffiest Goldfinch you've ever seen?  As the males molt from their summer finery to their winter uniform they look life a "Bird in Progress".

The hummingbirds though remain quite dapper. 

I think we have 2 or 3 different groups of quail still about.  The largest group has about 15 member, the smallest has only 8.  My sister said that earlier in the summer there was a group of over 31!  Wow!

Suddenly September

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

I stitched everything but the peacock and the flower/urn on the plane from London to San Francisco.  This was a great trip project as it used just one color of floss, so I did not have to mess with changing out colors.  I seem to have lost my stitching mojo for a while up on returning home.  I just picked up "Spring Time" again Sunday evening and finished it off in a couple of hours yesterday.

What's got Padma's and Solomon's attention?

Could it be this Cooper's Hawk?

I had no activity at the bird feeders yesterday morning with this fellow hanging about. 

Though a small hawk, the Cooper's Hawks are fast and fierce predators.  I do admire them, I just wish they'd stay away from my song birds!

Padma and Solomon paid no attention to the Cooper's Hawk.

Nor did our lovely sunset inspire any interest on their part.

I can't believe that the calendar now reads September!

Nature is ready for the seasonal change, I am not quite there yet.

My sister just harvested her monster squash.  Take at look at her blog: Four Hills of Squash - you've never seen the likes of these Guatemalan Blue Banana Squash!   

Small Town Sunday

Sunday we enjoyed a Small Town Sunday.

We went to Market of Choice get food for a picnic.

The Market was "All Ducked Out" as football season has begun.   

The flowers for sale at the Market also reflected the change of the seasons.

Picnic ready, we drove over to Washburn Park.

Sunday evening's free concert featured the One More Time Marching Band.

Perfect weather for an outdoor community concert.

A good venue for dogs as well!

Autumn sees the return of Vaux Swifts to the area.  They spend all day soaring over the river catching insects.  They never land or perch, but fly continually.  Then each night they return by the thousands to roost in this old school chimney.

FYI - We have a National Guard Unit nearby and they often do fly-bys with their fighter jets - no worries!

The Acorn Woodpeckers

I had hoped that my Acorn Woodpeckers would be fruitful and multiply this summer.  But as best I can tell, I still have just two birds.

They continue to hang out on the old dead Douglas fir snag that they've made into their granary.

I've noticed that the jays have figured out that the Acorns are stashing peanuts and other nuts.  Now the jays fly around the snag and pester the acorns. 

Friday afternoon we had two BIG BIRDS fly overhead!

Fighter jets!