Not So Wordless Wednesday (Hot Springs, SD)

I'm a little behind on posting.  I thought I would get you caught up by posting photos from last week....

The Burro Gang Strikes Again!

And again.....always looking for the mother lode of perfect apples.  We drove through Custer State Park last week.  Our biggest hope was to see the wild burros.  There was quite a large group of them and people were outside their cars taking photos and feeding them.  The burros were very accommodating.

"Say Cheese!"....

 "Come on lady!  I said cheese!  Where's my carrot?"

There were so many cute little ones.  I wonder how the cats would feel if I adopted one?  Did I hear a hiss?

 Lucky for the cats, there is no room.  I'll just have to go back to visit them again.

 I hear they love carrots too....

New Site - New Job

We said good-bye to the Head Ranger on Saturday.  She and her husband are going to travel part-time in their trailer with three cats and a dog.  I'm sorry to see her go.  I think we would have had a great time together.  Safe Travels!  Her replacement will be coming in later this week.  In the meantime, we will work with the two younger rangers.

The old camp host decided to leave a day early so we were able to move to full hook-ups on Sunday.  We spent part of Sunday and Monday working with two rangers.  With the campground was full during the weekend, we have a very good idea of what will be expected from us.  We probably won't have a problem finding things to do for our 20 hours per week.

Our new site

Still no shade.  Since it isn't as windy here, we can keep our small awning out.  The afternoons have been getting a little warm, but it cools off in the evenings.  I certainly like our views a lot more than the last place.  Our cats certainly like our new home.  They are begging to go outside two and three times a day.  I can't blame them.  It's nice outside!

One more photo of Cold Brook Lake taken from the dam side.  It is a small lake, but very clear and a nice shade of blue.

I'm getting back into my sewing.  I'll try to post some photos of my latest projects soon.
Happy Quilting!

Not So Wordless Wednesday (Spokane, WA)

Such dreary days make for a dramatic photo, don't you think?  High winds, rain, and hail has kept me indoors for most of the week so this is the only photo I have taken this week.  Lazy!  I know!  We did get the cats out a couple of times to keep them happy.  Most of the time, they refused to go out the door giving us that look - Are you crazy?!

We leave Spokane this Sunday.  According to the weather forecast, it looks like a good travel day for us.  Dan is talking about a long day of travel, so I might not have time to post since my next one is due on our travel day.  I'm so ready to go.  It has been a long time since our last visit to South Dakota.  

Have camera, will take photos!!!

On The Cutting Board
With bad weather comes good news:  I have had more time to work on my mug rugs and I have managed to finish six of them!  All the ones below are now listed in my Etsy shop for $12 + shipping.

Horse - 9 x 7

Pink Hearts - 9 x 7

Peach Cat - 8 x 6

Pink Cat - 8 x 6

Pink Polka Dots - 8 x 6

Pink Teal - 8 x 6

 My fingers are crossed that they will find a new home soon.....and back to sewing!

Happy Quilting!

Not So Wordless Wednesday (Sutherlin, OR)

I haven't done a Not So Wordless Wednesday post in a long time.  So, here are some photos of the wild turkeys doing their turkey thing.

I'm always on the lookout for these guys while on our walks.  Often, we hear them before we see them.  I love watching them when they don't like a certain sound such as a helicopter flying in the distance.

They show their displeasure of the sounds by everyone making a gobbling sound together.  I swear the leader must call out "On the count!  3! 2! 1!"...dip heads and "Gobble! Gobble! Gobble!"

In sync -- "Gobble! Gobble! Gobble!"

It seems like the turkeys have doubled or even tripled since November.  We started out seeing a posse of six to ten turkeys.  Now, we are seeing up to 30+ turkeys.  Many of them look very young.

One very foggy morning, we had over 20 turkeys milling around near our site.  As we watched them, two young males started to fight.  Running around in circles pecking at each other while using their feet and flapping their wings.

Then, the fight got very intense when one aggressive male caught the beak of the other male and started to twist his head downward.  I was worried that he would break the other's neck or his beak.  That's when we noticed that the others were not just milling around, they were watching the fight.  Above, you can see the feet of more turkeys coming down the road.  Most were elders and apparently, they did not like the young males fighting.

One of the larger elders started pecking at the dominating young male while four other elders circled trying to help.  When that did not work, one of the elders managed to wedge his body between the two putting pressure on their heads until the dominating one released the other.  As they moved on down the road away from us, we could see the elders working hard to keep the two separated.  Isn't that interesting?  I'm going to miss our big feathered friends but not their droppings... ;) when we leave here.

Check out this link with Twelve Unusual Facts about Turkeys by the National Wildlife Federation.  I learned a few unusual facts about turkeys.  

Did you know wild turkeys sleep in trees?  I have seen them fly up to 30 feet in the air, but I did not realize that they slept in the trees.

Hey Tom, you are looking a little blue

Another unusual fact is their heads can change color depending on their emotions from pink/red to blue or white.

I need to go back to see what else I can learn about other interesting critters.  

I have been busy quilting away the hours when I'm not watching the antics of turkeys.  I'll post photos of my projects next time.

Happy Quilting!

Not So Wordless Wednesday (La Pine State Park, OR)

I haven't done a Not So Wordless Wednesday in a long time.  On our way to La Pine, we stopped at the P. S. Ogden State Park Rest Area for a quick break and were we in for a big surprise.  Just look at this view!  There are three bridges crossing this deep river gorge.  This is the railroad bridge..

 This is the new Hwy. 97 bridge opened in 2000 that we crossed...

 And surprise!  This one is built by Conde McCullough in 1926 and was finally closed to vehicle traffic.  It is now a pedestrians only bridge so we can view the river gorge and the bridges.  I really admire this man's work.  I first noticed his bridges as we were traveling down Hwy 101 along the Oregon Coast.  We kept crossing bridges with Art Deco designs.  Each one more unique than the last and all of them have the elegant arch design building timeless masterpieces.  McCullough connected Hwy. 101 from the north border all the way to the southern border with his bridges.  Many are still in use as of today.

 The other two bridges were built in the same arched style giving all three a consistent and graceful designs.

framed mountain

 Okay, two more photos of the far side of the river gorge.

Our WiFi signal has been very slow for the last couple of stops.  I'm hoping when we move tomorrow we will finally have a better connection and I will be able to visit blogs again.  It has been very frustrating just to load photos so I haven't been spending much time on the computer.
Happy Trails!

Not So Wordless Wednesday (Patagonia, AZ)

I look forward to posting my Not So Wordless Wednesday.  I get to share recent photos and I don't have to talk a lot...although I do end up chattering quite a bit before I post most of them.

All of the following photos were taken in November just before we lost the last of our fall colors.  

Our weather temperatures have been above normal for fall, but I have a feeling that our warm days are coming to an end.

More birds are starting to show up.  Some are passing through.....

while others will spend their winter here.

We are also seeing more deer, but the javalina and coatimundi have been scarce.  I would like to see coatimundi at least one more time before we leave in February.

Mama and her little one thought I was following them down the trail and yet they did not seem too nervous about me.  They were very slow walkers..blocking the trail...looking back at me once in a while.

 Finally, I made enough noise to get them moving a little faster...okay, from a snail's pace to a sauntering cat's pace.  Since being polite wasn't working, I called out "Excuse me!  Can I get through?".

That worked.  They jumped off the path and into the creek pretending they had been there all along. 

Humans!  They can be so annoying!  Happy Trails!

Not So Wordless Wednesday (Patagonia, AZ)

Flight of the Hummingbird

I spent the afternoon watching the hummingbirds fly around the feeder.  I wanted to catch their wings in action.  The lighting was perfect for action shots.  Some of the wings are a little blurred, but I am quite happy with the following photos.

not sure about me

coming in for a landing

taking off from the feeder

twisted wings

Quick note:  The Preserve will be close until Saturday unless we see the Mountain Lion again.

QuiltinCats' Black Friday Sale!

I'm having a 10% off all items in my store on Friday only (Nov 23) with this code QCATSALE  

Below are some new listings that I have just listed in the last couple of weeks.  Also listed:  small quilts, small stockings, and a stuffed Angel Bear as well.  I working on three more Santa Mug Rugs and I hope to have them listed in time for the sale.  Please stop by Quiltincats Etsy Shop and browse for a while.

Plaid

Rose

Maroon

Green Witch

Santa

To you and your family ~ 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Not So Wordless Wednesday (La Conner, WA)

We saw our first juvenile Bald Eagle!  He was sitting in the tree on Lone Tree Beach.  A popular spot for Eagles hunting for fish.  Except for his feathers and beak, he looks full grown.

Caught plucking out his white feathers.

And like most typical teenagers, he is in a hurry to grow up and be an adult.  I watched him pluck quite a few of his white feathers out.

Practicing his Regal pose

And to prove he was an adult, he did several regal poses just to impress his viewers.

Lone Tree Beach

California Poppies

On The Cutting Board

Introducing Bear Lee an Angel

Bear Lee is not perfect as you can tell from his crooked halo and droopy wings tied on with twine,....

I used high quality muslin of 200 count

....but that doesn’t keep him from trying with all his heart to put a smile on everyone’s face.

His heart is filled with his favorites: berries and flowers.  A friend visiting Alaska told me about her experience of watching a black bear grazing on dandelion heads.  It had me wondering how many dandelion heads does it take to fill a black bear?

all hand-stitched embroidery

Of course, my flower doesn't look like a dandelion, but I would like to think that Bear Lee would enjoy a variety of flowers to munch.

I used coffee to stain the muslin

Twine is used to keep Bear Lee's wings on his back and his halo upright

Batik backing on the wings for a nice finished look

• Body ~ 16 inches long (doesn't include halo)
• Sitting ~ 12 inches tall  (doesn't include halo)
• Wing span ~ 14 inches
• Heart ~ 2 3/4 x 2 1/4 inches

Bear Lee's arms and legs have minimal movement.
He can stand or sit.

So, what do you think?  Would you pay $35 for him?  Too much?  Too little?  I plan to post Bear Lee in Etsy soon.  I need to work on his photos.  They are not the best.  My light box is too small for him.  Maybe an outdoor photo shoot would be better.

Once Bear Lee has sold I plan to make another one.  I think I'm going to try a different bear pattern.  In the meantime, I'm also thinking of creating some more crazy quilt items.  I had a lot of fun creating Bear Lee's wings and heart.

Happy Quilting!