They're lovebirds!

My crow couple... they really aren't crows at all.   I caught them sitting in the poplar one evening.... kissing....

I call them Limpy and the Missus most of the time, but sometimes I call her Big Girl..... because she is.  She is big, beautiful and fierce.... she has large feet and sturdy long legs...and seems  so much larger than Limpy.  His legs are pretty skinny and his one wing droops down at what I am calling his shoulder.... poor guy.  But, he does get around pretty well even with is disabilities.

She is amazing on the wing... even a squirrel zigzagging across the street could hardly stay ahead of her.  He zigged, she zigged.... he zagged, she zagged ...   she almost managed to catch his upraised tail...oooohh... they hate squirrels with a passion.  I don't know if squirrels would dare to raid a crow's nest ... but, maybe ...   All I know is ... if they see one, they give chase ..  even if they see one half a block away!  Where was the camera that day.  I would have had to be some kind of speedy to catch any of it!

Limpy is a little less graceful in his attempts to get rid of intruders and interlopers ... this is more his favourite position.  Sitting outside my window ... keeping a beady eye on me. ..

but if anybody comes near "his" food board...or "his" bird bath water.... in "his" yard, he gives awkward flapping, hopping and jumping chase.   Between them, this pair of crows gets rid of Starlings, squirrels, magpies, and small hawks..... in their quest to raise their babies.  I don't mind at all that he keeps other big or annoying birds away.  The little birds don't mind him and his Missus at all.  The sparrows are even cheeky enough to steal his seeds off the board I set out for the crows.  The chickadees don't care about any other birds... they come ..do their thing and go... as they please.

He has become somewhat stronger ... he doesn't use the tree for climbing up to their nest anymore.  He manages to get airborne and onto a neighbouring rooftop...and, from there, up to the nest.   They try to switch with each other so they don't leave the nest unguarded for any length of time.  Unlike the darn robins in the photo below ... they left their nest unguarded .... and, .... oh, no..... Mister Limpy did a BAD, BAD thing!!  He got up to the robin nest and stole an egg.....ohhhhh...I feel bad now...... Here he is ..caught in the act.  Only because I wondered what he was up to sitting on the big plant pot arrangement on the front steps of the neighbour's house and got the camera to check through the zoom lens....... I was shocked to see him do it.  I suppose I shouldn't have been...but, I was.

I'm finking on him and linking up to  Wild Bird Wednesday ....   click on the photo below if you would like to see all sorts of beautiful and interesting birds....

Postal fun....

ooooh, sometimes the postman brings some treasures....

This was a gift from bloggy buddy Beedeebabee.....  you can probably tell by her nom de plume (well, I call it a nom de plume because I love that phrase) .... that she does ...wait for it .........beading!

Along with a beautiful pin that she made ....

which I probably won't wear, but will keep
inside glass to keep it pristine......


she sent me goodies for my own beading stash.

Some bits of felt to use for more Dotee faces..... and, it is really nice felt.  Even the wrappings are useful....I may have to make more Dotees so that I can use some of the tulle..... and, a beautiful piece of lace to use with my little pin cushions.  I am dithering on which fabrics to use with it ...and, afraid to cut it.... but, ... honest I will...........soon...

Thanks so much Beedee..... what a fun day that was!


``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Limpy and the Missus

Never mind about "stone the crows" ....the neighbours will probably stone me if they see me feeding a handicapped crow and its mate.  But, they likely won't  .... have you noticed how unobservant most folks are these days?  Too busy coming and going and "doing" to notice the little things all around them.

One day I noticed something.  A crow with a limp.  More like a goose step ..which I thought was pretty funny initially and I sort of made fun of him .. til I realized he couldn't really fly much either.   Then, I quit calling him Goose and took to calling him Limpy.  Mr. BV calls him Gimpy.

Anyway.... he and another crow ...which has to be the little lady... (because I read that the males don't actually sit on the nest) have a nest across the street in a spruce tree.  They may have just eggs at this point or there could already be little babies...  all I know is .. she is spending most of her time on or near the nest.
Every so often when I toss out some goodies for Mr. Limpy.. he calls to her and she flies down to share a bit of his grub.  He comes to just under the window when I toss things out for them and gathers up as much of it as he can in one beak-full and sprints off about 20 feet to bury it in the garden or in the lawn.  He plucks a little pile of grass to tamp down on top of it or puts 3 pieces of small bark or mulch on it in the garden.  So clever.  He always remembers where he puts it too...I've watched him re-open the cache and retrieve things later in the day.  Even though he is handicapped, he is doing his very best to look out for the two of them.

They must be a young couple .. they don't seem to have any other crow "helpers at the nest" as they call them in the info I found.  Other females that help the breeding female.  They can be other older babies that are still with the parents... apparently they can, and do, stay for 2 to 7 years with the parents... ..

I read that their mainstay is usually earthworms...who knew? ... but, I toss out good home made seed bread bits for them...along with a bit of meat or whatever else we are having for supper.  He is definitely not a vegetarian.... won't eat fruit or veggies.... hah!  and I thought they were scavengers ...which I also thought meant they would eat anything and everything.  NOT!  These two prefer meat and carbs it seems....

So, I read up on what they do eat and some person has made lists... they included "egg yolk" ..... mine will eat egg whites ... because I tossed him some of my brekky the other day and that was what I was having.  He loves it.  So, already he is out of character... and, he loves my home made bread best.... hahahaha..... silly old thing.......well, maybe he is not that old.

He is a pretty smart guy.  He can't just fly up into his own tree where the nest is ...but, he has a method of getting close.   He hops onto a low hanging branch of the tree near it, walks up it to the sturdy area of the branch ...hops up to the next one and the next and by doing so he can climb up about 25 to 30 feet high... pretty quickly.  The mate comes to meet him and he shares with her the food he has taken  ... and, then, he steps out to the edge of a branch, jumps off and sails down onto the ground..usually in my front yard or garden.  Or, if he climbs higher yet...he can manage to fly around off the one tree into the nest tree...or even onto a roof top and then into a big poplar tree next to the climbing tree.  He gets around pretty good still, but I'm sure it is taxing for him.

And, if need be... he can take part in action to ward off large intruders... like yesterday, when all of sudden about 12 crows materialized out of nowhere, chasing an eagle.  Limpy stopped dead, .. ran out to the street flapping like crazy, managed to get airborne, just made it over the neighbour's fence and then... managed a big circle and up, up into a poplar.  And, then... Limp and the Missus landed together on a poplar in the golf course directly behind houses across the street (same tree the eagle chose) to add their presence to the confrontation.   ... yay for the Gimp!   He may be handicapped, but he is my new little hero!  What a commotion!!  They all continued with the raucous tirade til the eagle left for parts unknown.  Then all the crows left too... except Limpy and the Missus.  She went back to her nest and he hung out in the poplar ....resting...................... or maybe just afraid to be on the ground again for a bit.... didn't want to be a victim of any eagle hunting I bet.

And, look... they are still lovebirds..   this time when she flew down... she crouched down and offered him her head ....which he then preened for her.  They sat like this for several minutes ....

She embarrasses him a bit when they come to the table together...she jumps right in with wild abandon and food bits go flying in all directions .... sometimes he just steps back, sighs, looks skyward and then shakes his head and just starts to gather up her mess.  Other times he marches up, steps in, and makes her behave.... hahahaha...it's pretty funny to see.......

That's him on the right.... taking charge this time.....but, mostly he is an old softie... let's her get away with murder......

I don't know if he will get any better or if it is permanent injury to his right side ...  and, I dread to think of him in the cold of winter...but, for now...I just know I feel happy to be able to help him with his job of looking after his little family.

As soon as  Wild Bird Wednesday is up ..... tomorrow ........I will be linking up to that once again.... haven't been doing any bird photos lately.... but, do check out the others photos and birds of all sorts some day you have the chance.

Wow! Look at the time....

I'll be late for something....oh, yeh.....the Mad Hatter's tea or some silly thing.... but, hey!  what are these?

Just a minute.  Do I like Phlox?..... erm.... yep.  I do.

Uh, oh...she's watching me.

Look cute.  That's it.

Just look cute and she melts.  Only takes pictures ..no throwing things.

Oh, boy, these really are tasty.  Just a few more and then............I'm off!

mmmmmmm.....soooooo good. ..... ....    ........

One more time with the Dotees...

.... and, then, I'll spare you any more photos of them... honest.  Although I think they are pretty cute myself....

When I sent the photo of them in the muffin pan to my sister, the first thing she said was .... they could be a choir ... and the little extra one could be the director ..... and, so.......

'...... "ahem, ahem"....  ...... tap, tap tap...... "girls ...  girls, pay attention please !" .....

 "Ladeeez and Gentlemen ...   .... the first ever public singing appearance of the Dotee Divas !!"

````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

"Don't worry ....I'm sure they'll wake up any second now"............

A Baker's Dozen ... done!

... not muffins or cookies..but little Dotee Dolls.   They look like pretty little cupcakes to me ..   with icing and sprinkles ... or is it sparkles? ...

Originally I was joking about perhaps making a dozen...but, then... because I love to bake ... in my head (of course) it became a baker's dozen.  And, why not?  They are so much fun to do and so colourful and cheerful .. it's been a great few weeks of choosing the perfect fabrics and beads.

The first one or two were definitely a bit awkward ...well, maybe it was me who was a bit awkward.  Only because I didn't really know what the heck I was doing...but, I figured it out and sailed along with them soon after that.

And, here they all are....

click to see them closer...


I had this great idea (well, I think it's pretty cute anyway) for a photo of them in the muffin pan.. for blog fodder... so had to get busy and remake two of them that I had let fly the coop too early.

I borrowed Miko back from my neighbour just for the photo shoot so didn't have to re-make her ...

The second Roxanne is missing a little heart necklace as I couldn't find a second in my stash of stuff.... but, she is just as cute as ever.

So, now we have a dozen..

plus Astrid... (and, doesn't she just look so smug with her very own paper case)...

 ..   as an art installation on the coffee table ....


Thanks to Dot Christian for creating Dotee Dolls.... and, for the inspiration to do some fun little stitching projects  ...

.. still playing with dolls....

... and, here are the new ones since I last posted the pink brocade one...

This one is a bit of unusual coloured, almost tie dyed, fabric.  I gave her turquoise, shorter, curly hair.. and named her Aurora.
                                                     

I didn't know how this fabric would look once made up, but I like it.  It has a more geometric look to it, but once the face and beading was added... it's great.  She is Olivia.

                                                   

















Then, in my stash, I found a bit of fabric with flowers on it...which I used over the Easter weekend... made things feel quite spring or summery.... hence her name.... Summer.

A piece of beautiful turquoise and brilliant lime green.  Another of the Hoffman fabrics ... please meet River.

Then, the Ice Princess arrived.  A piece of very thin flowery fabric with some odd dark areas on it.  (so thin I lined it) I did manage to find a beautiful icy blue area large enough to  make a body.  It has some factory machine stitch embroidery on it... which I placed in the centre so I could use it for the beading.  Only silvery beads on there ...  I've been mulling over some Nordic type names........... how about .... Astrid? .....

Here's the back...another area of the fabric and look how totally different it is.  I gave her a unique bead from the 'collection' .... blue with silvery coloured circles on it ..with some almost ... coppery colouration here and there ... all the rest are silver or blue... icy......... mmmmm.............



















I have a little plan for them all when I get to the end of the project.                                              
There will have to be 3 more than the original plan  ... because I got too eager and sent 3 away already... hahahaha....oh, well, .... what's 3 more when I already have so many babies? .....

Why did I give them hair? ....

.................but, ....I like playing with their hair...........and they like it too..... look at those smiles.....

......see..........??

oh, alright .......

I'll have to admit...I like playing too......... with the beads.... and, they do seem pretty happy with all of it ...so I guess it's okay.........

 ....   carry on playing then.........

An Easter Tree

I was determined to make myself one this year.  I think they are great...and if you Google them you will see all sorts of different types of trees.
This one is in Germany..outside.  They are a German tradition.

Traditional German Easter Tree - The traditional German Easter tree is called an Osterbaum. The tree is not merely created from flowering branches collected in a vase, but can be made from living trees and shrubs situated around the house. The vase or planter that the tree is in is usually decorated with wooden eggs set on the top of the soil as well as hung from the branches. The eggs are almost always colorful as the environment in Germany around Easter is usually drab; the tree is meant to add a colorful, spring-like touch to the home.

... I stole this photo from somebody's blog and now can't remember whose...if it is yours... please say so...
It is a lovely curly shrub isn't it? ...

Pastel origami ornaments (after our traditional Christmas colours) have been on the go for the past few weeks.  In anticipation of hanging them on an Easter Tree.

Muriel,  who makes them with me, reminded me that I better get on it if I was going to do one...it is already into the Easter week..

My 'tree" was going to be just a branch or branches and already I'd been scouting the area for some that would be good for hanging ornaments .   I did notice some perfect trees in the Safeway parking lot and was going to take my pruning shears there one evening ... but, didn't have to do it after all.


The story goes like this.

There was an Estate Sale up the block last week...and I decided to see if they had any old Corning Ware with handles (lots of the new stuff is pretty white containers, but, alas, straight sides ..no handles... )  What the heck? They are useless and dangerous.  Especially when full of blistering hot food.  I know.  I have three. They are difficult to grab with pot holders or gloves or anything really.. too slippery to hold them safely.  I'm going back to the old stuff...and, decided not to pay full price for it either.  Guess what?  I found 3 containers almost brand new.  One has hardly, if ever, been used.  .. only two had lids but I have an extra lid anyway...so, for a whopping $8 ... I have new, safe containers... wooohoo ... and, I intend to check out a few more garage sales this summer as well..for a couple more and a few extra lids.

Anyway...back to the story of my Easter Tree..hahahahha.. man, I digress don't I ??   ..." and all around the circle" la la la ..... la la ......

On the way back from the Estate Sale... with arms loaded...I spied some great branches growing in the alleyway.  Two different shrubs.. managing to grow in pavement..

I broke off a couple 2 foot branches and carried them back as well.  Planted one in my little pastel pail that I got at Safeway for $4.99 ...  added some limestone rocks and a bit of fake moss and voilà ...  my Easter Tree.

Little "Sheepie" loves it.  He stood and admired it for hours...

And,.... see the little tiny buds on the branches?  I mentioned to my sister that I thought they looked like they could bloom or something...and, she said... put a bit of water in the pot.  They probably will.  Well................. today they are looking very green..... I think they may leaf today or tomorrow... how cute will that be?  I have a feeling it might be a Nanking shrub..... they could even flower.....  I'm standing around looking at it a lot now....

hoping...............................

Eight Dotee babies...

...but, the last one left home the same day she was completed.  As a matter of fact..I had to work diligently to get her done.. she was a gift for somebody's birthday..
A friend who does origami with me.  I wish she had mentioned her special day a few sooner than she did... but, at least I got it done the following day.

She noticed the pink brocade when I was showing her my little collection of dollies... said she would like one made with that.  I wasn't really going to bother trying to make one with it initially.  It was just sitting there on top of the pile of possible fabrics I wanted to use.. ... you know how brocade is... erm...well, it is for me anyway...but, I remembered to leave plenty of seam allowance and it worked out okay.  I trimmed it closer later... leaving it a bit wider at the closure. Whew...

Click to see her closer and see the pretty beads and pearls ...

I put on some pearls and gave her one of the special silver beads we bought for some silvery papered origami ornaments.  We only found one small strand so we use them sparingly.



















She loves her; says she will carry her around for the better part of the day .. and is trying to decide on a name ...  so, for now... I call her Miko... we'll see if it sticks.

So, there were eight ..for about half an hour. .. but, now we are back to seven..  lucky number 7 again...

Here she is ...ready to leave home...

Little Miko... sorry, she is slightly out of focus... but I had already delivered her before I looked at the photo on the computer ...darn it... she looks so cute in her comfy papers......

Surprise!

Two more ... hahahhahahhahahhaha........wheeeeeee.....I'm losing it!  And, don't even ask what I'm going to do with them all!  I haven't a clue.....yet.

The purple one I made a few days ago..but, wanted to add some little bugle beads on the long strokes in the Pansy type flower...and, re-take the pics...I only had two on there and didn't really like the look of it.  I'm naming her Pansy ...of course.

Click on them to see some of the beads ... it will get you closer ...

They are both made from fabrics I received years ago from the Hoffman Challenge when Madame Pompadour took fourth place.  They sent me a pile of lovely stuff...

This one is still called "little girl" .... I'm thinking of names for her ... the fabric has a fall look to it... with some gold on the edges of the leaves... so I went with gold and green beads.

We now have septuplets.... they look like a bunch of Easter Eggs sitting on the table....