KaHolly: February 2012

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

The Intriguing Owl

Owls have fascinated man from time immemorial - to some cultures they are symbols of wisdom, while to others they are harbingers of doom and death.

The Owl Pages

Barred Owl
Forest Glen, Nova Scotia
11-2012

And to crafters, they are just too darned cute!
There are owl cakes, owl quilts, owl jewelry pieces,

owl die-cuts for scrapbookers, and owl just-about-anything-else!

Because owls have stormed the craft world this past year,

I thought it might be fun to post a few owl facts.

Christmas 2011 gifts for all the kiddos!

Most owls are nocturnal birds of prey with some exceptions:

Northern Hawk Owl, Snowy Owl, Short-eared Owl, and Burrowing Owl.

Several types of owl, however, are crepuscular — active during

the twilight hours of dawn and dusk; one example is the Pygmy owl.

Because of the nocturnal habits of owls,

they are a coveted check mark on any birder's life list.

"Their habits, and cryptic plumage,

make it easy for us to walk straight past them."

The CROSSLEY ID Guide

Pendant

Worldwide, there are 223 species

In North America, 37

My life list: only 3 visual, 1 audio

Barred Owl,
Somewhere in Maine

Though owls are typically solitary,

the literary collective noun for a group of owls is a parliament.

Interestingly, if you look up parliament in the dictionary,

there is no mention of owls.

Sunflower Baking

The smallest owl — weighing as little as 31 g (1.1 oz)

and measuring some 13.5 cm (5.3 inches) — is the Elf Owl .

The largest owl by length is the the Great Grey Owl,

which measures around 70 cm (28 in) on average

and can attain a length of 84 cm (33 in).

Wikipedia

Scientists studying the diets of owls are helped by

their habit of regurgitating the indigestible parts of their prey

(such as bones, scales and fur) in the form of pellets.

These "owl pellets" are plentiful and easy to interpret,

and are often sold by companies to schools for

dissection by students as a lesson in biology and ecoloogy.

Instead of moving their eyes, owls swivel their head

to visualize their surroundings.

The swiveling radius of the owl’s head is around 270˚,

easily enabling them to see behind them without relocating the torso.

Barred Owl,
San Antonio, TX
12-2009

I jumped on the owl bandwagon, too, when I saw this adorable quilt kit

from Connecting Threads.

For the backing, I used a flannel sheet from a sheet set

that I had purchased at half price after Christmas.

I appliqued my little friend's name to the accompanying pillowcase!

Now she has a little matching 'set'.

The CROSSLEY ID Guide advises that if you want to see an owl,

"you will have most joy looking on the first calm evening after a storm."

Good Luck!

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!!