Walkin' in the Snow

It snowed this afternoon and the sky was beautiful. We took a nice leisurely walk and snapped some photos in route.  I turned a few of the photos into paintings just for the fun of it.  I like how colorful they are and how much fun we were having in the snow.  Little Daisy got cold toward the end and she snuggled down in Andrew's jacket.

 

 
 

Redbellied Woodpecker

Andrew has set up a bird feeding station in our backyard like no other. Besides having about 5 different types of feeders (most of them that he got free) filled with different food offerings to attract a variety of species he has a made a woodpecker tree. In photos the woodpecker tree looks like a typical tree in the woods except that Andrew has drilled a variety of precision holes that he fills with bark butter that we get from our local Wildbirds Unlimited. The holes are too small for the squirrels to get the butter out of but they sure give it a good try.  This recent sighting  brings the total species of woodpeckers in our yard to four and are hoping for a pilated before the end of winter.  Despite the fact that we live in a suburban neighborhood - it is well established with lots of mature trees, and we are only about a 1/2 mile from a substantial creek as the pilated flies. Last night we saw a Cooper's hawk on our walk and we have a sharp shinned hawk in the park nearby. Tonight I'm taking my camera along.

Daisy's Birthday

Click here to view this photo book larger

 

Daisy turned 12 today. We got her on March 17, 2001.  She's starting to show some signs of age but she's as lovable as can be and we really enjoy having her.  She loves to go on camping trips and will ride in a bike basket or in the canoe and loves to swim. She's a great companion dog. She's happy hanging out in the backyard and is very sweet to all our bunnies, often times playing with them in the yard or giving them kisses.  

Boomer

Not a lot going on around here right now except rain.  I emailed a colleague of mine in the math department today to see if the mystery shipment of 10 statistics books that arrived today from McGraw publishing was something that he had ordered.  (They weren't). He's team teaching a masters class with a professor in our department.  Anyway we got off topic and were chitchatting about pets when I discovered that he and his wife have a rabbit.  When I asked him what kind it was he said "something that showed up in our yard a couple weeks after Easter 2 years ago".  I asked him to send me a photo and he did.  Meet Boomer. Isn't he sweet? If Molly or Zena needed a mate I would chose Boomer.

Under the Weather

Daisy has not been feeling well for a week.  Last night and Saturday night she got us up at 2, 3, & 4 a.m. for bathroom emergencies. Today we took her to the vet. I entertained myself in the waiting room by taking a series of photos on my phone.  Daisy was deemed healthy overall but given probiotics, some other stomach med and Iam's special canned food for the next week.  Daisy, despite her usual apprehension at being there, was a good girl for the vet. She turns 12 on the 29h and we're planning a small party for her that evening.

Hand Turned Bowls

Last fall mom and dad needed some yard work done. It included removing an old ash tree and pear tree; both of which were falling apart.  Andrew cut the trees down and we saved some wood from each tree as I wanted him to make a couple bowls.  In late December he made an ash bowl for my brother and a pear bowl for me. Both have lids and turned out very nice.

Here is the bowl in progress-mind you I left out a lot of the steps along the way as this is an all day project.

 

Finished pear bowl

 Finished ash bowl

The Warmest Mittens Ever Made

I finally made the time to knit some mittens for myself. Just in time for the dumping of snow that we received the last week of December, my friend Maureen sent me a super easy pattern and I used a 4 ply angora/alpaca yarn to make them. This yarn was made with red Satin Angora fiber from my girls and cream alpaca from my SIL's alpacas. They are super warm.  I've worn them out in the wind and snow and they are the warmest mittens I've ever had.  Next project is a sweater vest but it may take me some time to get myself motivated to start a larger and more time consuming project that is sure to sit and stare at me until I get it finished. LOL

 Modeling my new mittens

 

Yarn processed by Stonehedge Fiber Mill