Hello and Good Morning!
How are you? Has your body adjusted to the time change yet? I think I have (always easier in the Fall rather than the Spring) and I'm doing well. I never made it to the office yesterday! Right after I posted I received an email from Bruce saying he was going to work from home and go to the office on Tuesday. And, it turned out Mike was pretty backed up with conference calls ALL day long, so I decided to stay home. I'll head in later this morning so I can meet with Bruce.
Meanwhile, I managed to get two loads of laundry done and hung everything outside to dry - it was a gorgeous (and warm!) day. I also found time to do some stitching and I've managed to get quite a bit done on the Pomegranate Birds sampler.
Look at that! Bird #1 is complete and I even started filling in the urn. I was able to get the "MADE BY VL" stitched and started to fill in around the letters. Click to enlarge. I love the slanty A in MADE. the bottom part of the urn will have the year - hopefully 2021 - but I hesitate to stitch that now as I may jinx myself. After I finish the top part of the urn, I will stitch the matching bird on the right...then it will be time to fill in the year. I'm so pleased with the way this is turning out.
Speaking of birds...yesterday afternoon Fletch and I were sitting on the patio when Fletch noticed several birds at the top of a dead tree a couple of houses down the street from us.
Not a great picture, but the best I could do with my phone and 3 yards away from us. (Look at that blue, blue sky!!). Anyway, it doesn't show in this picture, but the birds had the brightest redish/chestnut color on their breasts when the sun was hitting them and the shape (look at the one on the right, lower branch) was the same as a Sparrow Hawk. Then the birds one-by-one took flight and came to our apple tree and it turns out they were doves. LOL We had gotten all excited over doves.
Another interesting bird thing (to us) that has happened this year. We have a suet feeder hanging from the edge of our patio. Usually Nuthatches, Downy Woodpeckers, Yellow Bellied Sapsuckers and the like will swoop in to eat. They have to hang upside down to get to the suet. No songbirds have fed that way...until now. Sparrows are flocking in and dining on the suet and they are chasing some of the larger birds away! I saw one fly up and pull the tail feathers of a bird to get it to move. So funny.
Mabel enjoys watching from the house and will "chitter" to the birds as they fly in and out. I've tried to get a video of her doing that, but so far no success. It's hysterical to watch her little mouth moving so fast!
Well, work emails are already flying in and I've got stuff to do (including I MUST complete open enrollment). Time to pour some more coffee, dry my hair and get ready for the day. Hope your Tuesday is a good one!
Your sampler is looking really lovely! (I also like the slanty A.) Yesterday was a great drying day and I'm glad you got to take advantage of it. I've never seen sparrows at my suet feeder, but I'm going to keep a close eye out. Often the starlings are bullies and chase all the other birds away, but I'd love to see usually timid sparrows do the chasing!
ReplyDeleteWow! You've really made some good progress! I just realized that I never even picked up my Halloween samplers this year. How awful is that? I try to get in at least one or two stitches a year. I've also got a Christmas Quaker I wanted to start this month but that's not going to happen.
ReplyDeleteYour sampler is looking great -- that bird is stunning! I have a feeling that you'll finish it before the end of the year, but I understand not wanting to jinx yourself by stitching in the year until it's done (that's always the last thing I do, too). I have a sampler I started years ago that I want to take with me to Florida, and it makes me laugh a bit to think that if I finish it and put 2021 on it no one will know that it's taken me years and years to finish!
ReplyDeleteYour sampler is really gorgeous! You have "flying fingers" to get so much done in a week! :)
ReplyDeleteI love mourning doves when they are in the sun like that... they have iridescent feathers and just look amazing! (but yeah... doves, lol)
Beautiful sampler, Vera! And you've got me chuckling about the "dove-hawks." :-) Brian and Lauren have a cat . . . and I love to watch him looking out the window, chittering away at the birds.
ReplyDeleteOh wow! Your sampler is looking SO GREAT!! I love it.
ReplyDeleteThe sampler is terrific. I really like the colour palette so much.
ReplyDeleteWe are inundated with sparrows, and they are constantly climbing all over our suet feeder. You should get a stick-on window feeder for Mabel. I have a seed feeder and a suet feeder each that stick on the window above the cat tree. Marlowe loves watching the birds at "her" feeders.
Mabel talking to the birds? How fun! Love the progress on the sampler.
ReplyDeleteWowza - look at that stitched bird! He's fantastic!
ReplyDeleteAs cute as they are house sparrows are actually little bullies. I learned last year that they are actually an invasive species. he out compete native birds for food, and will actually kill bluebird babies and steal the nests.
It's a shame, because they are great entertainment for the cats - Burton loves the little sparrow army that comes to his window!
You'll finish that sampler this year, I'm sure of it but it is pretty smart to wait with the year. You just never know.
ReplyDeleteOur old cat, George, used to love talking to the birds. The first time I saw him do it I thought he was having a seizure or something. I had never been around cats before him so I had no idea it was a common thing.
Blessings,
Betsy
Love that Mabel is watching Birdvision! Our Quaker Parrot watches the birds out the window too, and always sounds the alarm when there is a large one out there! The other day there was a hawk sitting in a tree across the street who sat there staring at our bird for twenty minutes!
ReplyDeleteOh Mabe1 is easi1y entertained!!! We, 1ike, Kim, have hawks who are hungry and take some birds from the feeding areas...
ReplyDeleteBeautiful job on the sampler! I love it when Lena gets excited at the birds and chatters! (it doesn't happen often!)
ReplyDeleteI am not adjusted but I am making steady progress. I was up at 4:40 am which is pretty darn close to 5 am! Love the stitching!!
ReplyDeleteThe sampler is so pretty - good progress. I don't find the fall back time change too difficult. It's the Spring one that challenges me. It was fun to read about birds picking at the tail feather of another to get to the feeder. I have never seen that happen.
ReplyDelete