Friday, February 1, 2013

In Pecking Order (Patagonia, AZ)

The Ladder-backed Woodpecker keeps its distance from me most of the times.  At least far enough away that I cannot get a good photo of one.  I usually see or hear them in the higher branches.  Some have even dropped bark on my head...I think they laugh at me afterwards.
Ladder-backed Woodpecker - female
This female surprised me by landing in a branch hanging over the trail and a big plus - in the sun.  Yea!  I finally got a few good shots of her while she looked for food.
......and I stayed out of range of the flying bark too.
I like watching the different woodpeckers, but there are times when they can be very annoying especially the Gila Woodpecker.  Recently, I had to replace my hummingbird feeder because a Gila decided the plastic flowers were in his way, soooo he pecked them off which lead to drowning several honey bees as they climbed inside to get more sugar water.  I was an unhappy camper about the drown bees, so I found a metal feeder.  NOW, the Gila can peck all he wants!  That flower is not coming off.
same photo from last post - Gila Woodpecker
What got me started on the woodpeckers?  Well, yesterday our gate sensor that announces the arrival of visitors started going crazy.  ding-dong! ding-dong!  We looked out - no car...no person....hmmm......Dan walked out to the gate to see if there were birds or an animal hanging around the sensor.  Yep, you guessed it.  The Gila was pecking away at the lens of the sensor and poked a couple of holes into it!  Goodness, Mother Nature can be a challenge and entertaining at times!  LOL!

On The Cutting Board
When I'm not chasing woodpeckers through the woods, I am busy getting some needlework done on the Cuddly Critters quilt.

The paws and ears are ready to applique, but I need to applique the raccoon's mask and add three muzzles to faces before I add them to the quilt top.

Embroidering the eyes was quite a job!  I should have ignored the instructions and appliqued the eyes.  Oh well, they are all done now.
When I need a break from the applique, I have been getting quite a bit done on the embroidery squares.  The designs are very tiny.  If I decide to make another set, I am going to enlarge them!
I have eight blocks done....
....and...okay, I don't think I'll count the ones I have left to do.  There seems to be quite a few left, but I don't mind.  It is a nice change of pace to sit and embroider these cuties.
Happy Quilting!

8 comments:

  1. I love bird watching! And I love woodpeckers. Those are great pictures!
    Love your embroidery too! cute!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love the photos. Thankfully, we don't have any woodpeckers (that I know of), but we do have owls. Trey came down one morning tired, because there was one up in the tree all night 'whooing'. Take care!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What gorgeous birds and lovely shots! We don't have any woodpeckers in Australia but I would love to see one one day!

    www.tdesignblog.blogspot.com.au

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you do too! We have plenty of them throughout North and South America. I would love to visit Australia and see as much wildlife as possible.

      Delete
  4. You are getting a lot done, even with time off to watch the birds.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That's funny about the woodpecker poking the holes in the sensor. As always, wonderful photos!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Either you walk quiet as a mouse or the wildlife is used to you. My sister's driveway alarm was going off every night at 11pm. They thought it was neighborhood kids sneaking on the property for some privacy. So our husbands waited out one night to confront them. Nope, a deer:) Nature likes to mock our technology. Cannot wait to see the finished embroidery.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's too funny! I can see the deer plotting the next move to drive the humans crazy. :0)

      I have learned from birders to walk slow and quietly - stop scan trees, but I only do it in areas where I hear birds or animals.

      I can't wait for the quilts to be finished. Both patterns are so cute!

      Delete

Thanks for taking time to leave me a comment. I enjoy hearing from you.

"Friendship is a blessing, It's the best you have to share, The talents and the wisdom, The capacity to care." ~ Emily Matthews

Popular Posts