KaHolly

Friday, February 17, 2012

Creative Attempts and Yummy Give-away

As if I wasn't busy enough birding and sewing,

sewing and birding,

I thought it might be fun to try my hand at

cake decorating.

Yeah, I know, pretty funny.

Not only did I blow through my

monthly allowance in less than 2 weeks,

it really wasn't my thing.

But I learned a few fun tricks, and I'll be able to play

cake, cookies, and cupcakes for special occasions.,

as long as no one looks too closely.

So here's cake #1, made during lesson two.

The owl pattern was taken from a Connecting Threads quilt.

Here's cake #3, after the fourth and final lesson,

inspired by a

Wantobe Quilter's free design

for Colourque or Stitchery

(Notice there aren't any roses. Not my thing!

I'll have to practice more.

That is if I can put the binoculars down

and unplug the sewing machine for a little while.)

If you like to play with your food

before you serve it,

I found a most delightful site and a new book.

As a matter of fact, there is a give-away for this

newly released book at Bake at 350,

another fun-to-eat site!!

Cake for breakfast? You bet! And now I'm going to

ride the sugar high

and ~~get busy at the sewing machine~~

take a walk.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

An Enchanted Outing

Enchanted Rock State Natural Area

Fredicksburg, TX

I never pass up an opportunity to go birding

and when my daughter signed us up for a bird walk at

Enchanted Rock State Natural Area,

I was very excited.

Nestled in the Hill Country, I'd never explored this area before,

on foot, anyway.

Open oak woodland, mesquite grassland,

floodplain, and granite rock formations
sounded like good birding to me!

Having driven two hours before the day dawned
and braving the cold,
here is what was waiting for us upon our arrival:

It was on this day that my camera ceased to function.

My daughter came to my rescue and whipped out her phone.
Technology is amazing!

Cold and dreary did not dominate the day.

The sun came out for a quick visit just as our little troop

approached the massive granite boulders,

and the air filled with birdsong,

lead vocalizations compliments of

the Canyon Wren (Catherpes mexicanus).

It was our good fortune to be in the company of

Dr. Kent Rylander, birding-by-ear extraordinaire,

and auther of The Behavior of Texas Birds.

And my personal good fortune that one of the geeky birders present,

Dr. John Wilbur,

graciously agreed to share some of his pictures with me,

because, you see, I saw FOUR life birds!

Black-throated Sparrow

(Amphispiza bilineata)

Lesser Goldfinch

(Spinus psaltria)

Rock Wren

(Salpinctes obsoletus)

And last, but not least,

Canyon Towhee

(Melozone fusca)

I have to explain that my daughter claims not to be a birder.

But I raised her to enjoy the out of doors

and to be a good daughter,

and she is always considerate and makes sure I find fulfillment

when I am visiting with her.

Claiming 98 Life Birds, now,
my non-birding daughter made this proclaimation,
"Half-way through, I wanted to go curl up in the car
and wait for you to finish,
but if I had, I wouldn't have seen the Lesser Goldfinches."
Hmmm, sounds like a birder to me!!

I leave you with just one question.
Which path is the right path?

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Where's Cupid When You Need Him?

With Valentine's Day just around the corner,

this guy needs a little assistance!

He never did get the girl!!

***

There's still time to make a special

Valentine's Day project.

I found this pretty wallhanging at

the Janome site.

***

Last evening, I turned on the news, an activity I

usually go out of my way to avoid.

I generally find the news to be disturbing.

Last night was no exception.

I learned that for every dollar already spent on the primaries,

one person in the US is living below the poverty level.

The astounding total is approximately...

...are you ready for this?

47 million.

Is it just me? Or is this an astounding number?

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Dragons and Damsels

Yes, indeed, the Nature Gods are smiling down upon us,

with yet another long anticipated field guide

that bridges a gap.

Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East (Princeton Field Guides)

by Dennis Paulson

And the good news doesn't stop there,

because Dennis and the Princeton University Press

have also published the companion volume
(drum roll, please)

Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West (Princeton Field Guides)

Up until now, I cross-referenced between two excellent guide books

Dragonflies of the North Woods
and

Stokes Beginner's Guide to Dragonflies

and a couple of internet sites.

Now I can have it all in one! AND damselflies, too!

Imagine my delight!

I am particularly pleased with the fully-illustrated text,

explicit, yet easy to comprehend.
And truly fascinating.

Dennis Paulson does an amazing job

covering description, identification (no easy task),

natural history (so much is still unknown!), habitat,

flight season and range maps.

Each family is represented with general information

before introducing the 336 stars of the show

with a beautiful array of full-color photographs!

Blue-striped Spreadwing

Cherry Bluet

To learn more, go to this Princeton University Press page.

Dragonflies are a favorite among crafts persons,

from stained glass

http://www.FaivusStudio.com/decorative2.htm

to jewelry

http://www.lucygoldenjewelry.com/wings.php

needle work

JoyPatch

and even soap!

http://www.willowfarmsoaps.com/shower.html

Everyone loves dragonflies.

Order your copy today!

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

A Special Quilter's Request

It has been brought to my attention,

by a very sweet and caring nurse,

that the babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

at the Brooke Army Medical Center (BMAC),

located at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio,

need blankets.

Home-made blankets.

Blankets made with love.

Ordinarily, I would prepare a few during the course of

building my other projects, probably setting them

up as a Leader/Ender project,

and donating a few at a time.

However, these fragile infants

are the babes of our brave military men and women,

so I'm asking for a little help.

Small quilts, measuring 24" x 24" or larger,

are perfect for keeping the babies warmer in the isolate,

and provide them with a securitiy blanket as they get older.

The nurse I mentioned will embroider the baby's name on the blankets

if the parents would like that.

Please e-mail me for an address

if you care to send along a quilt or two.

I am assuming the responsibility of collecting

and distributing them while I am here in TX.

Here's my first one.

Inspiration for this little quilt came from
http://sentimentalquilter.blogspot.com/
She has some great tutorials:
http://www.countrylanequilts.com/id30.html

It sure would be great if you could pass this along,

mention it to your friends,

mention it on your own blog.

Thanks!

Saturday, January 28, 2012

The Ranger to the Rescue

In a previous post, I shared a camping experience,

but had no photos to taunt you with.

After reading my blog,

The Ranger was kind enough to access his archived photos,

and send along a few.

I'd like to share them with you now.

Early morning mist.

Such serentity. The lake is to the right, the ocean,
out of sight, is to the left, thus, a barrier beach.
The Leach's Storm-Petrels must have been nesting
in burroughs among the tree roots
in that stand of trees in the background.

My kayak is the red one.

Ocean side.

Does it get any better than this?

This is my life.

At least when the weather cooperates!!

Thanks, Ranger!! I appreciate you.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Pincushion Parade

There is the most delightful pincushion parade at Love, Laugh, Quilt, and I just couldn't resist joining in! (Oops! I'm a day late and a dollar short! The linky is closed!) Regular readers of my blog know I don't often post about my crafting adventures!

Inspired by Loft Creations and Stephanie's 'oh, so much fun to make' Ladyfingers and Sugar Baby Purse pattern, I woke one morning with these in my head!! I jumped right out of bed and started working.