Wild Bird Wednesday

It's been so long since I posted anything that I almost forgot how.

On Sunday, I heard a "ponk" sound and immediately thought it was the fridge.... we've had a lot of trouble with 'fridges since our major renovation, but, then... had a horrible thought that proved to be the case.  I little bird had flown into the front room window and bounced off ...  I ran to the window and sure enough, there he/she was lying feet up on the rocks below the window.  I felt sick to my stomach.

But, ran to find a shoebox as quickly as I could.  My Mom used to do it all the time and it's always been a good way to salvage them and try to revive them.  By the time I got out there he had righted himself and was sitting up a bit.. sort of... so I carefully got him and put him into the shoebox...he did shriek and I was hoping it was just fear and not in pain.

I closed the lid and put the box in the patio.  There were a few holes in it so he had lots of air.  I went into the house but kept a close eye on the box.  After about 10 minutes...I was thinking ...would he try to fly and be panicking if he was trapped in there or would he just stay resting because it was nice and dark?  I waited a bit more and then went out and carefully opened the lid.  His eyes were closed... but in the light...he opened them and actually looked pretty good.  Almost perky.  I had hope.  Back inside I went, but kept an eagle eye on the box in case a cat or something showed up.  Actually got out my camera and went out on the patio steps and got a great photo of him.  I keep saying him, but I do think it is a little, young female.

I had one other little birdie hit our patio window and it killed her.  I just didn't have the heart to take her photo even though she was beautiful.  I think with this little one, I felt hopeful and wanted to document a success.

Several more minutes... so, a total of only about 25 minutes total from the time of impact ... and, off it flew.  I cheered right out loud!!  It was a fluttering up and out and I did wonder if perhaps it might  not have cleared the patio wall or that it landed nearby the steps..so went out to check.  Nowhere to be found, so I guess it is a success.

Poor little thing...I sure hope it was alright and can continue on it's intended path.  I think they must be migrating now and it could have just been a fly by... I have only ever seen one or two and only about this time of year.  I suppose they could live here, but like I say... only ever seen one or two... and, sadly this little guy had a run-in with our window.  Darn it.

Without further ado.... here she is.  I think she is a young American Goldfinch ....

If any of my birdie blog buddies see this... please let me know if you think that is what it is.

So.... update:......   I got two comments saying they thought it is in the Empidonax genus, and Dave from Birds from Behind gave me all the clues to look for which one.  Apparently a "gnat master" if you will  ..   (not Dave, the little birdie that is ) .. empis meaning "gnat" and anax meaning "master".

I looked for photos of Canadian flycatchers and lo and behold, found photos identical to this little one and so it is....    An Alder Flycatcher!

Check out other beautiful birds over at Paying Ready Attention by clicking on the birdie below....

Danielle Donaldson

I've taken some of her online classes previously.... and all were fun.  So, when I saw this one for drawing whimsical little animals (little is the key word here) and how to watercolour them ... well, it had to be done.

What fun!

It is also a bit more than that ... she calls the bottom portion of the projects Story Blocks...  I still don't really get it.  I guess my mind just doesn't work that way.  To me it is collaged bits and bobs and using pretty colours that I think look good with my little guys I've drawn and painted.

So far I've only done a few... we are re-building a wall that divides the exercise room from the tv room...so I don't have many spare minutes to rub together... darn it.  I would much rather be having fun with paints and papers than making eleventy nine trips up and down the stairs every 10 minutes.  I have buns of steel already... and, we are only two weeks into the project.  But, we re-built the front side of the wall already ..and, will be starting the back side framing after a bit of re-wiring ...   It will be close to 2 months by the time we are finished it all I'm sure.  In between it all I try to find a few minutes to draw a few lines and even to drop on a bit of colour.

If you want to check out Danielle's class (or other artists) you could go to Jeanne Oliver's site  http://jeanneoliver.ning.com to see what I'm talking about.

Here is my first little dog . ....

and.... some little bunnies that I did ...

Click on them to make bigger if you like...and, you will have to imagine them matted ... and/or matted and framed for the time being....

Wild Bird Wednesday

The tiny Red Breasted Nuthatch.

I love these little guys ...and, little they are too.  Not much bigger than some hummingbirds really.  But, feisty.. just like a hummer.  They don't take any flack from the bigger birds and dart in and out and get their fair share of the seeds. Sometimes they even try to hog the feeder all to themselves...

They hang upside down from the mesh to get a seed, (which I'm sure is the proper way for a nuthatch) ... but, they also perch on the little wire perches..or...they don't mind taking seeds from the board near the water..or on the ground ... as a matter of fact... they are everywhere ..all at the same time it seems.















I have at least two different ones coming and going on a regular basis.. I only know this because sometimes there are two here at the same time.  Also these same ones or ..maybe others... enjoy my suet feeder at the back of the house.  Their favourite... peanut butter and bugs suet... which the Downy woodpecker and the Flicker ...and a damned Magpie also enjoy.  I do shoo away the Magpie when notice it there.  It can get plenty of other "food" anywhere...

If they don't take the seed and fly directly to their "stash" ...  which they save for rainy or cold days.. they will often beat the heck out of it on the patio wall.   Unlike the sparrows...they are dainty eaters and like to nibble tiny morsels ..much like the chickadees do when they take a seed and fly into the lilac and nibble it for quite some time before returning for a second.

Here is one just for Dave ...    http://burdzbuttz.blogspot.ca  ... a perfect butt shot... which I get plenty of ...I just wasn't quite as clever as he was in naming a blog after the fact.  I love your fun blog Dave .. and all of your perfect butt shots.. as well as all of your other beautiful bird photos.

Look...sometimes he shares.... let me see what is that other bird? .... mmm.... perhaps ... it was a Pine Siskin that day.

We all know this look...... "Hey woman....it's empty...... more seed!!@"      Worse than a pirate... "oi .. ....where's me grog wench ?!..."

Sheeesh.....  birds are cheeky.

And look how easily he does that major stretch.... wow.... .. I wonder if their legs are situated differently in their anatomy than other birds or if they just have stronger groin muscles ... I must search for a straight on shot or two to see if it is noticeable...

Check out many other beautiful and interesting birds on Wild Bird Wednesday (even if it is Friday today) .....


Just click on this badge to go there....

Look who came to dinner

at........... the birdie feeder.

The only sparrow that didn't fly off was this Clay Coloured Sparrow...okay it is actually a clay sparrow ... but,  there is a sparrow called a Clay Coloured .. and, it looks pretty real doesn't it?  There are 3 on this little fountain.

The real ones quickly dived into the nearby juniper shrub and stayed there, quivering, 'til long after Curious George left the vicinity.

I got some photos of the cat and sent them to my neighbour to see if she recognized it.  We don't see many loose animals in our neighbourhood.  We live beside a golf course and do have coyotes and owls and hawks about all the time.  This guy would make a pretty good sized snack for somebody higher on the food chain..well, maybe not higher, but bigger.

He didn't get lucky ..   but, he was definitely checking out the menu.

Then, down he jumped and sauntered off in the direction of the next crescent ..where we think he lives.

Apparently, his name is actually George.  And I have no idea why he is out and about pretty far from home.  I would have thought people might be a bit more concerned for a lovely cat like this.  Looks like a Himalayan to me.  They aren't cheap.  Neither are vet bills.

So,  ....no actual birdies today on Wild Bird Wednesday...but, he is a visitor to the bird feeding station in my patio.
As usual, click on the photos to see them bigger ...what a beauty he is.

Bad George!  Bad CAT !!@

hahahah... yeh, as if I said that.  I just grabbed my camera and took his photo.

Check out real birds on Wild Bird Wednesday by clicking on this image.

Alice ..

With a bit more clay here and there and some sanding done... that scratty mohair is not the actual hair ...but a bit of it....to see if she is getting there.  Just getting a feel for her "look"...   who knows what she will end up wearing on her head.

Added some more clay to the hands and they are actually beginning to look more like hands ...but, not quite there yet.  Wish I could make myself add a bit more clay than I do each time...but, that's me I guess.  Must make them before I get tempted to paint her face.

Good thing Maggi mentioned about not painting her face till we have the hands done so that we get the same colour for flesh... 'specially if we, you know,   ....    ....  mix colours to get "that perfect shade"  hahahah.... been there before.  I think she knows me.

Alice in Steampunkland

The new dolly I am making.

Not much new happening with her ... she will be a long time in the making.

However, I did add some tiny bits of clay to her face and head and got her sort of how I like her ...and, I began the hands.  We'll see if I use the hands or not.  I might have wanted to give a bit more thought to the position of the hands and fingers.  Like, if I want her to be holding something or not.  They won't hold much in this position.

The pattern shows perfect skinny sausages for fingers.... whereas mine definitely look more skeletal.  Nobody mentioned having to put on alternate fingers...but, I found I was having great difficulty doing one wet piece of clay that close to a second piece of clay.  So, finally did alternate fingers and let them dry and then did the rest.

I was thinking how the fingers looked weird and sort of pinched together where they joined each other finger.  But, once I got the little bit of clay onto the back of the hand, I discovered I could lay it up further on the fingers a bit more to give them slight space or a bit of a web between each finger. That'll be more like it.

It looks like a bit (or, a lot) more work is needed on them yet.  I'm so slow and tentative with clay.  I have no idea why.....it is easy to sand it off..it's just paper clay.  But there you have it... working with clay tells you something about you.  Hahahaha,,,, as if I didn't already know that I am cautious and a bit tentative with a lot of things.

Coming along, albeit very slowly.

Click on the pics to see them bigger.

Wild Bird Wednesday

This is supposed to happen on Wednesday of course, hence the title..hahahha....but.... I'm late.  Worse than the Mad Hatter I am.

Today I have a few photos of another bird that has a bit of red colour on its head and breast area.  Well, of course, only the males have the blush of pink on the breast ...

It is called a Common Red Poll, although, like some others with that word 'Common' in their names ... not really common at all... certainly not to me.  In reality, they are quite cute and really quite beautiful in colouration.

Very tiny compared to a sparrow...even compared to a chickadee.....more the size of a little Nuthatch.

I love them.  We haven't seen them around before..  and, now ...we've seen about 5 or 6 hanging about in the past few days.  My neighbour was trying to explain them to me as she had them at her feeder... and I thought she was talking about the House Finches when she mentioned some reds in the colouring...but she did say they had the streakings of a Pine Siskin... so was very happy they showed up here as well and I got to identify and also to get some lovely photos of them.

Click on the photo to see them even closer....




Look at the pretty colours....this shows off the "blush of pink" they speak of on the breasts of the males.

This little one was clearly showing me the Poll or cap on his head... either that or he was busy napping or thinking intently.... or maybe he spied a seed or something....

They definitely like the black oil sunflower seeds....

Check out Stewart's blog for more birds ...
Just click on the Wild Bird Wednesday pic to be transported directly there....

Special friends

Among my friends, I'm lucky to count a "speshol brown bear" and a "litol gween dwagon pwincess".....  That's right.  I have unusual friends.   And how I love it.

When I was down for the count just before Christmas; sick and coughing and aching all over and just downright miserable.....     I received a card from the two of them and it made my day.  They had drawn and coloured and written special messages just for me.  How cool is that?

I set it on a table with some other cards and looked at it several times during my wandering about trying to find somewhere comfortable to sit or lie... nowhere was any good.... so I kept on walking til I fell on the bed.

The next day I noticed that a late bud on the Christmas cactus had grown larger ... remember the plant?  It bloomed way back around the first of November.  There were a few extra little teeny buds on it that didn't amount to anything and fell off.  But, this bud stayed....

It got much bigger the next day and Dilly had her eye on it... the third day it opened slightly and the next day..it was in full bloom!  Oh, that did it...she moved her card right up close to it.  She loves pink and declared that it was the perfect colour and actually the very same colour ..as her "pwetty pink dwess" .. and, that she must sit right beside it.  She admired it for days ....

I had to take a few pics of them together ....

Of course, Bob T. Bear (esq.) ...  not to be outdone..... found a couple friends to hang out with as well.  Some sheepies and a mini Santa....

They kept it up for several days .....I never knew where to look for the card; some days it was on the sheep table..some days it was next to the cactus flower.  Seeing as Dilly found the flower first.... she got the most "me" time... well, that and she does have a very insistent way about her......

Thanks so much Bob and Dilly for my great card (and, the nose hugs!! )  You guys are the best!

Wild Bird Wednesday

I haven't been very regular in postings for Wild Bird Wednesdays ... but, on occasion I get a pretty capture and want to share it with somebody...anybody....so here it is for today.

If you want to check out beautiful or unusual birds ... please go to Stewart's blog ...

Please meet Mister and Missus Chirpy ....  aka House Finches.  They have a lovely warbly sing song which is why we call them Chirpies.....they seem to hang around during our winters... but, we don't see them all the time.

Click on any photo to get a closer look at them ...

Right now they are coming to the seed feeder along with sparrows, chickadees, nuthatches and a lone Pine Siskin.  There was a horrible accident one day with my damn kitchen window and a lovely little lady White Winged Crossbill.  She flew full tilt into it and killed herself immediately.  I did go right out to retrieve her and bought into the house in a shoebox to see if she could revive.  Many hours later she had not moved at all..    I cried.  She was so pretty and so dead.  My only good thought was that it must have been instantaneous and that she didn't suffer unnecessarily.  Mister BV had to dispose of her...I couldn't do it.  Poor little thing.

Anyway ... on to another photo of Mister Chirpy ...

Here is a nice clear one of himself ... him I can identify immediately...but, unless I am looking through my camera lens..I am not always sure if the Missus is a sparrow or if she is a Chirpy.  They are smaller than our sparrows but unless you see them side by side..it's hard to tell.  And, she is mostly browns....

Here is Mister Chirpy and a sparrow having a chat .... you can see the size difference ..  and Missus Chirpy is even more elegant, somewhat leaner, and a bit smaller overall than her mister.

Here is the link to Wild Bird Wednesday if you would like to join in with a photo of your own .. or just have a peek at other birdies.....

Primrose Donkey Sanctuary

If you are a regular visitor to my blog, you know I support this little Sanctuary...and, that I love donkeys.

That is Sheila over there on the sidebar.

When it gets around to this time of year I know horse and donkey people are looking for some decent hay to feed their animals.  It's usually the time of year I send Sheila some $$$ to help out seeing as I can't be there in person to volunteer.  She is at the opposite end of the country.  Darn it.

You just never know who is out there and looking.. or where they live ... maybe they'll even be close enough to Primrose and Sheila to visit or volunteer some time.

They are hoping to eventually purchase some adjacent land to add to her small acreage... (and, you know how much that costs!!!)

She just doesn't have enough area anymore and, yet, they will never turn away an animal that needs a home.  They want to bale some of their own hay in order to make feeding the animals easier.

Please take a look at this little video ... and, if you can help ... I hope you will.

You can check out more videos from the Primrose Sanctuary on Youtube if you want to see more donkeys...

https://youtu.be/bGl-o3Z3LKs

Makin' a dolly...

Haven't done a doll since ..uhm....I forget how long ago, but a long time.  Since Madame Pompadour.   Remember her?  She took a lot out of me I guess.  Was it 2009?  Must look back sometime to check.
Wow....time flies.  Even if you aren't always having fun.

Anyway.... this is Alice in Steampunkland.  She looks like fun .. and, the pattern has a ton of great info to help get her looking good...

Here she is so far.... please don't judge yet..... there are a lot more steps to getting her face just how I want it.  And, if it doesn't please me, there will be other faces......... until I get it right.

Oooooh.... and, here is the really cute part...there is a bunny.   Can't wait to begin sculpting him.

Here is Alice when she is completed.... I hope mine eventually has a hint of a little smile..as this one does......hmmmm..... must continue working on those lips.........

Big, burly, super fit and ultra strong....

Does 'woman' ever come to mind when you say those words?

No.

And, 'woman' doesn't come to my mind at all when talking about hunky firemen either.

But, this morning, all anybody is talking about is sexist behavior in fire halls and of course, then it goes on to hiring practices regarding women in non traditional occupations,  etc... all to do with some female firefighter's complaints of her supervisor making certain remarks to her.  Big deal.  Sexist behaviour is everywhere.  If you are a woman or a man, get used to it.. learn to deal with it or figure out how to get around it or quash it.  Yourself.  Why complain to anybody who will listen?  Whiners never prosper.

First, if you are considering applying for a position in male dominated areas... make sure you can do the job.  Physically, emotionally, and mentally.  Second, get used to the fact that you will be badgered, or belittled, or worse, every step of the way and then perhaps, reconsider.  Or.... figure it out.  Yourself.  If you can't do all of the above...don't bother applying.  And, besides that...if you want to be a fireman, be big, strong, burly and able to lift a 200 lb dead weight, unconscious man, and, get him and yourself out of a burning building without batting any of your eyelashes.  Which, by the way, you won't have after your first fire.

Get real.  Who really needs to do every single male dominated job in the world?  Maybe we should actually leave a couple bastions of male dominance.  I definitely want a big, strong, ultra fit fire'man' rescuing me if my house is on fire and I am incapacitated.  Even a 100 lb. woman is more than most people can lift, male or female.  I don't give a damn about gender equality.  And, I sure as hell don't want some token woman firefighter showing up asking me if I can walk when my legs are broken....no thanks.  If you can physically beat out male counterparts for a physically challenging job...good on ya.... but that's the only criteria I want followed in some occupations.   Of course, that's only my personal opinion... and, I'm entitled to it.

I've worked in male dominated occupations.  Long before modern day so-called liberation.  Back in the 60's we did it to make a dollar more per hour.  End of story.  Oh, just a minute it isn't.

Free Range Children

What a great sign!

These people have several children....who are busy riding bikes and tricycles in and out of these gates.  Luckily they open onto the alleyway...

When I first saw the sign I immediately read "chickens" instead of children and wondered if chickens were legal in our area.  Just for a nano second  of course...but, I guess that was the plan.  To get our attention.... and I thought it cute and clever, so of course, it ends up on here....why not?

and, then......it snowed.

My 'Christmas Cactus'..   which has bloomed on all sorts of days including American Thanksgiving... and, on Hallowe'en.... this year bloomed even a week earlier....it must have known something.

It's winter.... because the following Monday.....it snowed!

 The birdies were not best pleased.

I must dig out my heated birdie bath...and quick!

The snapdragons were still blooming away.... I must admit it was waaaay past the time when I would have expected it.  I just couldn't make myself pull them out when they continued to sprout flowers.

I've been looking at paper 'thingies' .......from older Paper, Cloth, Scissors mags......
look at the cute little purses....
No clue what I'm doing, but I'm trying a couple.

I wanted to post a bird photo

.... for the group I used to visit and hang out with .. at Paying Ready Attention.... remember Wild Bird Wednesday? ..

The sun was so pretty this morning very early...and, I tried for a chickadee against that backdrop.  They were so busy flitting in and out of the lilac branches ... I couldn't catch up at all...

This is my reward for trying.....nothing at all really.... little buggers....

I must be totally out of practice.

Aha!!!   finally, something that worked out!  Lemon squares!  hahhahahha........ I'm already practising for the festive season.  MMM.....  these are yummy......

Click to biggify and feel your mouth watering ..... slluurrppp......