Parker's Barkers

While we were out and about...

2012-02-17T09:25:00.005-05:00

We always have our eyes peeled for interesting birds. Bill spotted this hawk on his way home from the flying field one morning. After checking my various references, we've decided it's a young Red-tailed Hawk.

The stripes on the tail are seen in juvenile Red-tailed Hawks. The signature red appears in adults.

He was a handsome specimen.

Unlike this goat that looks like parts and pieces assembled from other animals. We found him on the farm where the Sandhill Cranes and the Whooping Crane are spending the winter. I had to edit the picture just a bit as he was unusually happy to see us.

After an unusually heavy rain, Ray went looking for snakes but found this cute little guy on the side of the house instead.

On our trip to Daytona, we saw this Peregrine Falcon on the side of a high-rise motel.

The only other sighting of a Peregrine Falcon I've ever had (Fort Myers Beach) - he was also on the side of a motel.

I love ducks so I was pleased when we spotted these beautiful Hooded Mergansers in a local pond. These are the males.

And this is the female swimming close by.

Paynes Prairie

2012-02-15T17:56:00.007-05:00

Bill, Terri, Ray and I visited Paynes Prairie during their visit to Florida. The day was chilly and there was fog and smoke in the air - so pictures were a challenge.

Yellow-rumped Warblers are plentiful - but this one was showing his colors, so I had to snap his picture.

There were several varieties of Sparrows; this one is a Song Sparrow,

...and this one is a Savannah Sparrow. I would never have seen this little fellow with his natural camouflage - but there was another birder with a spotting scope aimed at the prairie grasses by the walkway.

There were two very large bison who came too near to the trail so this cowboy came to the rescue and tried to herd them away.

They weren't too sure they wanted to leave.

But our hero prevailed.

Brown-headed Cowbirds are nasty birds - loud and dirty - but this one was almost pretty sitting in the grass by my open car window.

We spotted this Catbird by the entrance to the La Chua Trail. These birds usually stay hidden in the bushes - so it is rare that I can get a decent picture.

This is a Red-winged Blackbird. It's either a female or a young male.

Another female Red-winged Blackbird.

And still another.

Today we are Fort Jackson in South Carolina for grandson Nathan's graduation from boot camp. Nate - we are very proud of you!

Gull Girl at Daytona Beach

2012-02-13T14:42:00.003-05:00

Bill's sister, Terri and her hubby Ray have been visiting us from wintry Colorado for the last 10 days and we've had lots of adventures. Neither of them had ever seen the Atlantic Ocean, so we took a road trip across Route #40 to Ormond and Daytona Beaches. The day was chilly, so we drove our car up the beach.

I've named her "Gull Girl." She decided it was a good idea to feed the lovely birds. She had a large bag of bread and cookies to share with her feathered friends. Aren't they wonderful?

One giant toss of crumbs in the air and they were everywhere! They landed in her hair, pecked the bag and screamed in her ear.

Make them go away!

Still Sewing

2012-02-02T00:17:00.002-05:00

I don't want you all to think I haven't been quilting lately!

My Log Cabin Star quilt came back from the long arm quilter and I'm working to finish the binding. Vicki Cooley did the quilting and it's beautiful! The quilt is large enough for a queen-sized bed but I haven't decided which of our beds it will live on - or if it will stay in Florida or head to Colorado.

Vicki works on an older long arm machine - so everything is manual. It's obvious she knows what she is doing! She is the guest speaker at our next quilt meeting and I'm excited to learn from her.

My sister, Beth, helped me sandwich and pin baste this Stack-N-Wack while she was here visiting. I did some simple stitch-in-the-ditch quilting - per her directions - and I'm pretty happy with the results.

It's not perfect, but it's sure better than I've done in the past! The colors are all me - but the quilt will be Bill's lap quilt until I get his Bargello made. He selected all the fabric and picked the Bargello pattern - I just have to learn how to do it! I'm going to practice on place-mats first.

This is my completed frog quilt that I machine quilted BEFORE my sister's lessons and I'm not happy with the results. I started in the middle, but tried to quilt around each block separately instead of sewing across the quilt to stabilize it first. I also did not sandwich it correctly and did not put any where near enough pins in. But the quilt is nice and comfy and warm.

Beth showed me how to clamp the sandwiched quilt to my cutting table and pin the three layers in rows from the center out placing the special safety pins about 3 inches apart (or the width of your hand). It sure made machine quilting easier - and no more puckers!

You all remember my "quilt from hell." I had it long arm quilted with darker thread to try and blend in the bright yellow - and I'm fairly pleased with the results. The colors are still outside my comfort zone - but it's not terrible - unless you ask Bill. He doesn't like it at all.

The quilting is a circle design which I think compliments the stars.

Our little local quilt group issued a challenge to make a bowl and this is my project. Kinda fun!

Bill needed arm covers and a head rest for his chair - so I've been busy designing and sewing them. If anyone EVER tries to sell you white chairs - run away quickly!

Rainbow Springs State Park

2012-01-29T19:30:00.005-05:00

One of the last adventures Bill and I took with sister Beth before she left was to Rainbow Springs State Park to show Beth the headwaters of the crystal clear Rainbow River. The river is formed by a first magnitude spring, ranked fourth in the state for volume of discharge - 600 million gallons of water every day. The Rainbow River flows for 6 beautiful miles before merging with the Withlacoochee River.

This picture does not do justice to the beauty of the river.

One of the cute creatures that calls the park home.

Sister Beth. Before she headed north, back to her winter home in NC, she helped me with my quilting - showing me how to paper piece, sew curves and properly baste a quilt to machine quilt.

Beth is a long time quilter and brought several of her projects to share with me and my local quilting friends.

I was blown away with her art quilts - especially her Serengeti Lions. I stole this picture from her blog at http://quilterb-bethsblog.blogspot.com/. This 60" x 45" quilt began as a picture that her daughter, Lisa took while in Africa. Amazing!

We had a great visit and I hope she'll come back again soon.

Totally Random Leftovers

2012-01-29T09:19:00.000-05:00

Sitting here this morning editing my disk, I found several pictures that I wanted to share.

Just pretty flowers. I took this picture on one of our trips to Rainbow Springs State Park. Finding this picture reminded me that we wanted to take Beth there during her visit. Since today is her last day here, maybe we'll head over to the park this afternoon.

This was also taken at Rainbow Springs. I was playing with my camera settings to make the water look silky.

This is one of my pictures from Cedar Key. I was looking for a better picture of the American Avocets - and discovered this one with an identifiable Marbled Godwit.

The other day we took Beth to Leesburg so she could see a Purple Gallinule - and that's where I took this picture of an Anhinga.

Both Beth and I took lots of pictures of the Purple Gallinules. They are one of my favorite Florida birds and a Life Bird for Beth.

There were even a couple of Canada Geese at the park. Beth got great shots of Coots, Moorhens and Purple Gallinules and will compare them on her blog at http://quilterb-bethsblog.blogspot.com/.

Cedar Keys

2012-01-28T17:10:00.009-05:00

Another of our adventures with my visiting sister Beth was to Cedar Keys on the Nature Coast of Florida. It is about an hours drive west from Ocala. Our first stop was to Shell Mound just before crossing the bridge onto the main Island and the small fishing village of Cedar Key.

The Black Skimmers were plentiful - lined up on one of the small sand mounds out in the water.

Air boats are a real problem. Yes, they look like a lot of fun - but they are a menace to plants, fish, birds and other aquatic life, especially in the rivers. We watched as this boat scared away all the birds. In the rivers, they run over the plants and destroy habitats.

As the Black Skimmers returned, we noticed other black and white birds - American Avocets! This is the first time we've seen Avocet at Cedar Key - and it was a Life Bird for Beth. Beth was able to get a decent picture of a Marbled Godwit - but I did not, so you'll have to check her blog.

On the Island, we headed to the docks just as this Seaplane was coming in for a landing. ...and just as Tidewater Tours was heading out for a trip to the islands. A quick pee stop and we were on board the pontoon boat.

Don't you love this pair of twin Double-crested Cormorants?

We saw thousands of Cormorants - in the air, on the shore, sitting on signs and lining all the islands. They are NOT endangered!

This shot was purely accidental. I was trying to get a picture of a dolphin when this Common Loon popped up right in front of the boat where my camera was aimed.

After lots and lots of pictures of splashes, I actually got a couple of pretty good pictures of dolphins!

I think they were following the boat.

I'm sure this one was smiling.

This is probably my best shot.

This is the top of the lighthouse on Seahorse Key. The island is open to visitors only a couple of days a year - and this was not one of the days.

Close to shore, we saw a couple of Horned Grebe. This one looks like he is playing with a small snake.

His partner wants to play too.

Too late - the snake is gone.

One of the islands is home to a large group of White Pelicans - and an even larger group of Cormorants. We were able to get quite close - and both Beth and I took dozens of pictures!

Back on land, we were excited to spot this Great Horned Owl. We pulled the car over and jumped out for a picture. Oh well, maybe next time. But even a plastic owl couldn't dampen our spirits. After a delicious meal at Tony's (yes, of course I had their award-winning clam chowder!) we headed back to Ocala. I think Beth enjoyed her day - I know I did!

Sherman Fox Squirrel

2012-01-28T16:36:00.003-05:00

Isn't this the cutest squirrel you ever saw? She is a Sherman Fox Squirrel - a species of "special concern" here in Florida. My sister had never seen a Fox Squirrel - and immediately fell in love with this one - as did my son when he was here over the holidays.

Sister Beth posted pictures on her blog ( http://quilterb-bethsblog.blogspot.com/ ) of our "sport model rat" (Bill's name for our little critter) and my son has abandoned his mother's blog for his aunt's blog because she posted cute pictures first.

These pictures are my attempt to lure my son back.

OTOW Unique Birders at Paynes Prairie

2012-01-28T08:08:00.000-05:00

My sister, Beth is here for a week and we're having a wonderful time. I have lots of pictures from our various adventures that I will get posted soon - I promise.

On Thursday, Bill and I took her with us birding with the OTOW Unique Birders to Paynes Prairie. It was a beautiful warm and sunny day. We met the rest of the group at the big tree in the Health & Recreation Center parking lot at o'dark-thirty to arrange car pools. Anne joined us and the delightful ride was a preview for the rest of the day.

The La Chua Trail into the prairie and the observation deck is about 1 1/2 miles one way. It begins in a lovely wooded area with huge Live Oak trees draped with Spanish Moss where we parked our cars. Just past the pay station ($2 per person) and the porta-pottie, we observed this Osprey sitting on a mess of a nest high atop the high power tower. On each side were Great-tail Grackles. One was terrorizing a Red-belliedWoodpecker that we could see only with binoculars.

In the trees were several Cardinals, both male and female - and boy are they getting red! Looks like Spring will come early this year.

Past the Alachua Sink and the hundreds of alligators in the pond and along the bank, the trail follows the river bed. Since it has been so dry, we saw just a splash of water compared to what has been there in past visits. The usual birds were present: Belted Kingfisher, Anhinga, Double-crested Cormorant, White Ibis, Snowy Egret, a Little Blue Heron and this Great Heron. We also saw what looked like a grey hawk in the bushes. I took lots of pictures - none of which were good enough to publish, but good enough to ID the bird as a Black-crested Night Heron.

This American Kestrel must be a resident as I think I see him in the same spot every visit - overlooking the water and the boardwalk.

Along the trail, a juvenile Northern Harrier flew overhead, behind trees, into the bushes and low over the scrub keeping us company.

It was a special treat to see a group of Sandhill Cranes close to the trail. We were able to get as close as I've ever gotten - and I took hundreds of pictures. They are large, magnificent birds with incredible coloring. I just couldn't get enough.

The bright red on their heads is amazing! ...and look at that orange eye and long black beak!

Elegant. I see why their feathers were so valued for ladies' hats in the 1920's.

Back at the observation platform, we saw lots of Red-winged Blackbirds - but no wild horses, feral hogs, bison or Whooping Cranes as in years past. We rested for a short time before beginning the walk back.

Overhead, more and more Sandhill Cranes were flying in. The cranes on the ground called to them and we enjoyed the loud chorus.

I told you I took a lot of pictures. They were just so beautiful - I couldn't stop!

Back on the boardwalk, lots of Palm Warblers flitted in the bushes.

I was surprised to be able to get a couple of fairly good pictures as they usually aren't still for very long!

After our walk, we drove to the 43rd Street Deli (or was it the 42nd Street Diner?) for a delicious lunch, more great company and our bird count. It was a delightful day with my sister and the Unique Birders!

Whooping Crane #16-10

2012-01-27T08:29:00.000-05:00

We've been back a couple of times to check on our Whooping Crane - #16-10. She is still at the same location and will probably spend the winter there with her friends, a group of Sandhill Cranes.

Whooping Crane

2012-01-08T13:47:00.002-05:00

We went back to the place where we spotted the Whooping Crane yesterday to see if she was still there. She was and here she is! (**I have since learned this is female #16-10 - part of last year's Operation Migration program.)

This crane must be a graduate from the Operation Migration program to re-introduce cranes born in captivity to the wild. In the 1940's, the cranes numbered around a dozen. Today there are over 500. Operation Migration teaches the cranes to migrate by leading them from Wisconsin to Florida with an ultralight aircraft. (See blog entry of Jan 14, 2011).

There were quite a few Sandhill Cranes in the area and 3 more flew in while we watched.

I wanted to make sure I had some decent shots of his leg bands and radio transmitter. Our sighting has been reported to the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Another beautiful bird, a Bald Eagle, flew over while we were there.

There was even a Graylag Goose!

Third Time's the Charm - I Hope!

2012-01-08T10:32:00.000-05:00

I refuse to let this pattern get the best of me! I've done two quilt tops using this Wack-N-Stack star and I dislike them both. The first one (see "another Opportunity for Creativity" Nov. 17 entry) had fabric and color choice issues - so I made a second top using beautiful shades of green (frogs!) and blue - with orange accent - that went together beautifully. Then I tried to machine quilt it myself. What a disaster! I apparently had issues with the sandwiching part as I have puckers on both the back and the front. The stars just didn't want to lay flat for me. In my eyes, it's ruined, but I'll finish it anyway as it's nice and warm.

Refusing to be defeated, I'm trying it again. This time, I have a proper template for the diamonds and I've changed the foot on my machine for the piecing. I was using a 1/4 inch walking foot instead of the regular 1/4 inch foot. Both of these changes seem to be working as my blocks are coming together MUCH better.

In these two images, I'm "auditioning" fabric for the triangles. I've stolen the term "auditioning" from my older and much wiser sister who is currently working on a much more complex version of this pattern - and doing it beautifully. (see http://quilterb-bethsblog.blogspot.com/) I will never be in her league - but that's okay. I'm having fun and learning lots.

Both of these fabrics had issues when I put them together with the diamonds as they were too similar and did not highlight the stars enough. I found a beautiful teal batik that looked great - but I only had a yard - so off I went in search of more. The original yard was purchased in Denver and I didn't expect to find more - but at the third shop, I did!

This is as far as I've gotten. I don't know yet whether or not I'll include the blue and/or purple blocks - they are being "auditioned" on my design wall. I'm making this one like a One Block Wonder and leaving off the outer circle. If this turns out - maybe I'll move on to one of the more advanced blocks.

My dear, sweet, wonderful, husband drove me to the three shops yesterday as I've been under the weather and we heard on the news that you shouldn't drive when you have a cold. On the way back, we spotted a group of Sandhill Cranes. Then I saw a larger white bird with the Sandhills. I couldn't believe my eyes - it was a Whooping Crane! Naturally, I didn't have my camera - but we are heading back to where we saw them later today and maybe, just maybe, they will still be there.

Down the Shore

2011-12-13T08:32:00.000-05:00

Apparently, I sound like a Philadelphian. People will stop me mid-sentence and ask where I'm from. Bill still teases me when I say "water," and "chotskies." When we were kids, we went "down the shore" which is apparently a very localized phrase - but it sounds right to me - and that's just what we did!

I love this picture! The Ruddy Turnstone looks like it's admiring itself in a mirror.

I wish you could see the bright yellow feet on this Snowy Egret.

As always, the Sanderlings were playing at the ocean's edge - running back and forth as the waves licked the sandy beach.

I always have to look up the plovers to see which one it is. This one, I believe is a Wilson's Plover.

This Yellow-rumped Warbler doesn't belong on the beach! But I liked the picture because it shows how he got his name.

In Our Own Backyard

2011-12-12T08:45:00.000-05:00

Our lanai looks out on a preserve with woods on the other side. The other day, Bill saw this young coyote walking just on the edge of the woods. I grabbed my camera and headed out to get some pictures.

He spotted me as I inched closer - but didn't run into the thick brush until after I got some good shots. I was still quite a distance away from him and close enough to the house to run back in if he looked aggressive. (He didn't) We can hear them howl and scream in the evenings, but we've only seen them during the day a couple of times.

Another sighting on the OTOW property. This guy was along the side of a dirt/sand road back by a cattle farm. He was large - 5 or 6 feet long and quite stocky. I could be wrong, but my online research has led me to identify this guy as a Florida Pine Snake - a rather rare snake - "of special concern" by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Whenever I moved, he stuck his forked tongue out at me and shook his tail. He had no rattles. Bill stayed in the car as I checked him out closer.

Further down the road we visited with some woodpeckers. This is a common Downy (or maybe it's a Hairy) Woodpecker.

And this, of course, is a beautiful Red-headed Woodpecker.

One of the more common birds here on campus is this Chipping Sparrow.

We always enjoy the hawks! This Red-tailed Hawk was flying overhead trying to get the attention of another hawk in the area. I hope they didn't see our Pine Snake!

Naples Botanical Garden

2011-12-11T19:30:00.000-05:00

On a recent trip to Fort Myers, we took a day to head further south with friends Bob & Peggy to visit the Naples Botanical Garden.

According to their literature, In 1993, eight Naples residents founded the Garden with the dream of creating a world-class botanical garden. In 2000 they purchased a 170-acre site with seven different habitats just south of Old Naples. Today, what was acre after acre of melaleuca, Brazilian pepper and other invasive species is now beautiful gardens, lakes and restored natural areas.

Near the front entrance is this pineapple - the symbol of welcome. I had never seen a pineapple plant so I found this really neat.

This place is fabulous - one beautiful vista after another.

Look at the blooms on these pond lilies!

We weren't the only creatures that appreciated the beautiful flowers.

Look at the way the sunlight dances on the bloom creating some magnificent colors!

They have a very nice butterfly garden. Unfortunately, we only saw a couple of butterflies. This one was small but extraordinary.

This is a Eucalyptus Rainbow Tree - nicknamed the most colorful tree on Earth. The reason for the name is obvious. It was really cool!

Peggy, a Master Gardener, stopped often to read the signage.

Geckos swell their throats to intimidate visitors or attract a mate. I wonder which one he was doing?

I think all our walking wore the guys out!

Butterflies for Megan

2011-12-07T08:36:00.002-05:00

On a recent birding exposition we saw more butterflies than birds - and I have no idea what most of them are - but I'm sure Megan does. So Megan, these are for you.

I actually took this picture in our back yard. This pretty little guy likes our Bottle Brush bush.

Butterflies are difficult to photograph as they rarely sit still.

I love the way this Long-tailed Skipper blends with the background of dried leaves.

This must be some kind of Swallowtail.

We have lots of Bluebirds here in Florida - and I loved the way this one looked with the bright red berries.

We also have our share of spiders. Bill was giving this big boy (he was HUGE) a closer look.

A Yellow-rumped Warbler - fairly common around here.

This is the first Eastern Towhee I've seen this year. He was off in the distance - but identification is easy with his distinctive markings.

The Witch

2011-11-26T13:16:00.003-05:00

For Halloween, Bill built a new RC airplane to fly - The Witch.

Here she is all ready for her maiden run. Since this picture was taken, Bill painted striped socks.

And she actually flew! All of the RCers at the OTOW field got a kick out of her. Now Bill is looking for a pattern to make Santa and his sled.

Sandsculpting Championship

2011-11-26T13:07:00.002-05:00

Fort Myers Beach is host to the 25th Anniversary World Sand Sculpting Championship. We arrived early - before they were officially open - and watched while they got the sculptures ready for the day.

Another use for Aqua Net Hair Spray! The sand is mixed with water and glue to make the sculptures and each day they are sprayed with Aqua Net Hair Spray to keep them together.

The area around the displays are carefully raked.

This was one of my favorites - and looks even better in person.

Crazy faces! The detail is amazing. I'm glad we arrived extra early as the weather on the beach warmed up quickly and there were a lot more people than in past years.

The roads are congested and forget the stores! Everyone is saying that "season" arrived 6 weeks early this year. We are here through next week opening the condo and getting it ready to rent. I can't believe I actually have Internet - I expected to have to go to McDonalds or the local library.

On a Mission!

2011-11-19T20:09:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, while at lunch with our fellow birders, Bill mentioned that he had never seen a Red-headed Woodpecker and he REALLY wanted to see one. He was told to go out the far gate, turn left onto a dirt road and go way back by the cattle ranch and look for the place where the cattle are loaded onto trucks.

This afternoon, we decided to go looking for our bird.

Along the way, this beautiful American Kestrel and his mate were watching us as we headed down the dirt road. Look at the colors!

We found the cattle ranch. The Hereford Bull came over to the fence to greet us.

A common Eastern Phoebe - but no Woodpeckers. Bill was discouraged.

He wandered off to take this incredible picture. I assume it is a moth (as opposed to a butterfly).

I have been corrected! It is a butterfly - a Long-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus). Thanks Megan!

Discouraged, we headed around the bend and out to the OTOW exit road. And there they were!

We counted at least 4 Red-headed Woodpeckers flying around the area. There were several dead snags and the woodpeckers went back and forth hunting for insects.

We watched these beautiful birds for about 15 minutes. Bill was pleased - and so was I!

Unique Birders Trip to Blue Run Park in Dunnellon

2011-11-19T08:15:00.000-05:00

Blue Run Park borders the beautiful, crystal clear Rainbow River just down the road in Dunnellon. Melanie Vittiow lead the OTOW birding club along the trails. The day started out clear and brisk but it quickly warmed up as we made our way around the Pond Trail, the Sandhill Loop Trail and back along the Blue Run Trail.

There were several Wood Ducks on the large murky pond. They were pretty far out, but I was able to get a couple of decent pictures. After this optimistic start our sightings quickly went downhill.

I was desperate and even took a picture of a Turkey Vulture. How can a bird that is so ugly look so beautiful in the air?

We were towards the end of the Blue Run Trail when we spotted a bush with activity. Starved for a sighting, we gingerly stepped a couple of feet onto private camping property despite the warnings that "Police will Notice" signs. There were several Blue-gray Gnatcatchers that flit around so quickly, it's almost impossible to get a decent picture. This one is good enough for identification.

Another picture that's good enough for identification - and nothing else. This is a Black and White Warbler - one of my favorite little birds. He was socializing with the Gnatcatchers.

This bird was overhead as we headed back to the parking lot. I am not sure what it is but suspect it's a first-winter Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Another unidentified bird. I think it's a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Where's Norm when I need him?

The sighting of the day was a pair of magnificent Piliated Woodpeckers. We had to go into the thick brush to get a good view - and got covered with prickly tags - but it was worth it!

One of our eagle-eyed spotters pointed out this small tree frog. Cute.

After our hike we headed to Gruffs (with a "G" not a "C") for lunch. This is a great group and Bill and I really enjoyed ourselves! Next month is the annual Christmas Bird Count.

Wack n Wonder - aka - "Another Opportunity for Creativity"

2011-11-17T14:13:00.003-05:00

The Quilt from Hell

I really do love quilting - but some are more fun than others. Last year I worked on a pattern that had a major mistake - leaving me short of material for the setting triangles. I was angry but my wise sister told me that quilters see these circumstances as "opportunities for creativity." My latest quilt has been such an opportunity right from the beginning!

My opportunity began I signed up for a class at my local quilt shop with 3 of my friends. A couple of weeks before the class was to begin we all headed to our very favorite shop in Trenton, FL to buy fabric. We had our supply lists in hand. Right away we should have suspected something was wrong because the list called for A LOT of material - 13 1/2 yards, not counting the backing, for a single-sized quilt! To make matters worse, my material had a smaller repeat - so I doubled the amount of the main fabric. The larger star blocks have a border and we were told to get a stripe - so I did. All my fabrics looked beautiful together in the pile and I couldn't wait for the class to begin!

Our pre-class instructions included making two plastic templates from the diagram in the book (one diamond and one triangle)and cutting "B" and "D" triangles. Since I had a triangle ruler, I used it to pre-cut the triangles instead of using the template. This turned out to be a good move on my part as the diagram was incorrect.

In class, we proceeded to cut strips for the diamonds - lots of strips and lots of diamonds. When I started asking questions about the diamonds - we were told to cut 66 "sets." At that point, I counted the 11 star blocks on the sample and asked why we needed so many since there are only 11 blocks with 11 sets of diamonds. My teacher looked dumbfounded - deer in the headlights dumbfounded. Long story short, she had totally miscalculated and now I had way too many cut strips - and not enough material to cut the larger strips for the "one-block wonder" diamonds. Good thing I had extra material - except she had miscalculated these triangles also and, again, I didn't need as many strips as she called for. Same with the stripped border.

Once I started putting the blocks together - I realized the stripped border was way too strong for the quilt. It jumped out and you missed the neat kaleidoscope stars and circles. Let me put it this way - if you laid a baby on the quilt, the poor child would throw up. An adult would have an instant migraine. Good thing I had all those extra strips!! I used them for borders. Now I had extra blocks - so I added two rows to the quilt making it wider than it is long. To correct this, I added an extra border to the top and bottom (yep, using even more of the extra strips). Now it's square. Using the main fabric for the borders instantly settled it down - maybe too much. I don't like that I used the same fabric both places but at least I didn't waste it.

This quilt is a long way from being my favorite - but it's OK. The fabrics that looked so beautiful in the pile did not go together any where near as well as I thought they would. Even though the yellow was the exact yellow in the main fabric - it is too bright for the purple stripe. I should have stuck to one color instead of using both the yellow and green. I still have blue that I haven't even used. I don't think I'll put another border on it - and I'm not sure I have enough backing fabric. I'll probably use the stripe cut on the bias for the binding - but we'll see.

I welcome suggestions and discussion. Oh, by the way, our teacher? The poor dear was taking pain medicine that was way too strong - and she literally couldn't think straight. She felt terrible when she realized her mistake - but I told her it was just another opportunity for creativity!

Quilts for the Kids

2011-10-29T16:17:00.000-04:00

I can finally share pictures of the two quilts that I made over the summer - one for son John and the other for daughter Pamela.

This is a One-Block Wonder that I made for John. I really enjoyed working with the blues, greens and yellows. The kaleidoscope effect comes from cutting triangles from 6 identical pieces of fabric.

And this is Pamela's quilt - a French Braid. We selected the fabric together just days before she delivered my newest grandson, Leandro. I am currently in Maryland visiting and celebrating Gabriel's 7th birthday.

Before I left Florida, we had a visit from one of my favorite squirrels - the Florida Fox Squirrel. I'm sneaking this blog entry in while Pamela, Orlando and Gabriel are saying good-bye to the birthday guests. I'd better go help clean up.

New Quilt

2011-10-26T09:15:00.000-04:00

This is one of the projects I have going. Yes, one. I have another quilt top that is almost finished - I just need to add the boarders (but it hasn't told me yet what it wants) and still another that is finished, just waiting for the backing and quilting.

This is a stack and wack variation. It's similar to a one-block wonder, except there are two different blocks - one with diamonds that make the star and the other with triangles. Both are cut from the same material. This is not the final arrangement - I just laid what I had completed out on the bed to see where I am. I have enough fabric to add two more rows and make it queen-sized, but I don't know whether or not I'll do that.

I'm heading to Maryland tomorrow to surprise my grandson on his birthday. Gabriel is turning seven and mommy is away on a business trip so I decided grandma needed to be there for his big day. He was just elected class president (I'm SO-O-O proud of him!!) and I found a book about his idle - President Obama. Gabriel doesn't have any strong political feelings about Obama - he just likes that he has big ears - like he does!

Bill and I spotted this big guy out back of our lanai last night while we were eating dinner. It was just starting to get dark, so I had to lightened the picture to identify him. I'm pretty sure it's a Red-tailed Hawk - very common around here.

Unique Birders

2011-10-21T19:36:00.002-04:00

Today the On Top Of the World (OTOW) Unique Birders had their first field trip of the season. A dozen birders met at the nearby Shalom Park at 8:30 this morning. The weather was cool, but the sun was shinning and the skies were bright blue. Anne Merrick lead the trip down and around the various garden paths that criss-cross the well-manicured grounds.

It was difficult getting our resident birding expert Norm Lentz (far right) to put down his binoculars long enough to take this group shot.

This is the underside of a Yellow-throated Warbler. It's a lousy picture - but it sure shows how this small bird got his colorful name!

Action shot! We watched this Eastern Phoebe for quite a while while he scooted around looking for insects on a dead limb. According to Donald and Lillian Stokes' Field Guide to Birds, "25% or more of phoebe nests are parasitized by cowbirds."

Another shot of the Eastern Phoebe sitting high and mighty.

I believe this is a Palm Warbler. Norm adds "This [Palm Warbler] is a good, crisp representation of the Western (Brown) variant in non-breeding plumage. The Eastern variant is yellow in all plumages. Both are common in Florida during the winter (non-breeding) season."

He was shopping in the moss and it looks like he has some stuck on his beak.

This looks like a Northern Parula - but that wasn't on our list, so it probably isn't. * Norm confirms my identification and Northern Parula Warbler has been added to our list.

I love the adorable Tuffted Titmice.

It was difficult getting a good shot of this Red-bellied Woodpecker with the sun in the background.

The State Bird of Florida, the Northern Mockingbird. We saw quite a few on our walk. This one was enjoying the beautiful bright purple berries on the Beautyberry bush.

I thought I was going to have to crawl under the bushes to get a decent shot of this Brown Thrasher. He was hunting in the leaves for a meal of insects, lizards, snakes, or berries.

The Eastern Bluebirds are not as blue this time of the year as they are in the Spring - but they are still beautiful. We have lots of them in our backyard.

After our walk we went to the Oasis Restaurant for brunch, and compiled our list of the 25 birds seen on our walk. Nice outing! Thanks everyone!

Finally Finished

2011-10-11T09:30:00.000-04:00

It's finally finished! This quilt is HUGE. I pieced it last winter from pre-cut strips (which I said I'd NEVER use again) and left it with a long arm quilter to sandwich and quilt. I didn't care if I ever saw it again as I really didn't like it - but Bill loved it.

It looks much better now that it's finished. It's a long way around when you are hand sewing the binding - but I enjoy that part.

Vicki Cooley did a great job on the quilting. One of the shops here in Ocala has a long arm machine that you can rent and my new machine is much bigger with a 11 1/2 inch throat, so I'm going to try my hand at doing my own.

All the fabrics are batiks and they are beautiful. I did not like the pre-cut strips because they were not consistent and just sewing together a bunch of strips was boring - no challenge.

I have two more quilts that I finished over the summer - a French Braid and a One-Block Wonder - but they are gifts for two of my kids so I can't share the pictures yet.

Pygmy Rattlesnake

2011-10-08T19:39:00.000-04:00

Bill does not like snakes; not even a little bit. Today, as he opened the garage screen, a Pygmy Rattlesnake fell and hit him on his chest, landed on the driveway in front of him and coiled up ready to strike. Bill screamed - and I came running. I thought he was cute, but I knew he was about to die (the snake - not Bill) so I ran to get my camera.

He may have been small (Bill swears he was six feet long and at least 100 pounds) but his little tail was rattling and his fangs were ready. A neighbor who had had a similar experience just two days ago came over and confirmed it's identify.

He decided to make a get-away, but it was short lived. Bill cut his head off with a large shovel.

Joplin Missouri

2011-10-06T21:41:00.000-04:00

No beautiful pictures in this blog entry. On our way to Florida, we stopped in Joplin, Missouri to see the aftermath of the tornado that hit in May. The devastation left us speechless.

But everywhere you could see the spirit of the town.

This is St. John's Hospital. Notice the tree in the foreground. All of the trees were stripped of limbs - but many still had leaves.

This is a typical neighborhood.

There were colorful stars all over town with words like "love," "hope" and "faith."

This must have been a parking garage.

Bill and I rode around the town in silence, not believing what we were seeing. We thought about our own little adventure with our burglary - and felt incredibly fortunate.

Joplin is about half an hour from our very good friends Mike and Mel in Shell Knob where we spent a wonderful weekend visiting, eating, fishing, eating, relaxing, birding - and just having a great time.

Mike and Mel had a couple of other visitors - two furry taranchula spiders...

and this exceptional specimen.

September to Remember

2011-09-27T15:19:00.000-04:00

I'm glad the month of September is almost over! While it started wonderfully with guests Bob and Peggy from Ocala, it quickly went downhill over Labor Day weekend when our house was broken into. We were gone for just a couple of hours at dusk to attend the Balloon Glow in Colorado Springs' Memorial Park.

That was enough time for the burglars to steal our two new flat screen TVs, our friend's Kindles and new red suitcase, my laptop computer with all my images and editing software, 2 cameras (my new T2i with the smaller 18-55 lens was with me), Canon 70-300 IS zoom lens and accessories, binoculars and GPS, all of my jewelry including a diamond watch that had belonged to my mother, food (they preferred hamburger and sausage to rib eye steaks), wine and all the toilet paper in the house - even the roll on the spindle! All of our goodies were whisked away in our 2003 silver-grey Hyundai Santa Fe SUV. We had conveniently left all our keys hanging on hooks by the door into the garage.

The glass in our back door had been shot in, every closet, drawer and cabinet had been opened and routed through and bottles of collector wines from my cooler were all over the floor.

It felt strange - and a bit scary - the next morning when we left the house to watch the hot air balloons take off - but our friends came to see the festival and we were not going to disappoint!

The morning was beautiful. After the double launch of balloons, we went for a leisurely breakfast. The rest of the day was spent repairing the back door and changing all the locks. The garage door opener had to be disconnected as the remote was in the car. I started compiling the list of what was missing and tried to locate as many receipts as possible. We called ADT and made an appointment to have a security system installed.

Best Buy has been wonderful. Since we purchased many of the electronics there, they were able to print out a complete report of all of our purchases since I joined the Rewards Program in 2004. So far our homeowners insurance has been helpful - but we don't have a check yet.

Imagine our surprise when a couple of days after the break-in we heard about a bank robbery just south of the Springs in Security. Two men wearing skeleton masks and gloves robbed a bank at gun point and got away in a (wait for it!) ...2003 silver-grey Hyundai Santa-Fe SUV. By the time they read the license plate number, we already knew it was our car. The FBI was now on the look-out for the "Skeleton Bandits" and our famous get-away car.

They were arrested later in the week after abandoning our car on the west side of the Springs. That evening we were called by police detectives to bring a copy of our list of stolen items to an apartment in town - home of the main suspect's girlfriend. I recovered many of our items, including the smaller TV, 2 Kindles, 2 cameras, binoculars, not-so-new anymore red suitcase, about 80% of my jewelry - including my mother's watch and several items I hadn't discovered were missing yet (including some worthless foreign currency and, of all things, a box of wooden toothpicks).

I was a happy camper. At that time, we were hoping to get our car back in a couple of days.We started to relax and make plans for our annual winter migration south.

Despite the turmoil, we had a great visit with our friends. Peggy was affected by the altitude, but still enjoyed a train ride through the Royal Gorge and a trip to Cripple Creek and Victor to see the gold mining operation.

Here I am with Bob and Peggy mugging for the recovered Nikon camera in one of the tires from the HUGE trucks used in the mining operation.

What an amazing view across the open pit. Those little specks are the huge trucks. With the price of gold hovering around $2000 an ounce, they are doing quite well!

Remember that recovered Nikon camera? When I went to check some pictures Bill had taken, I discovered a 90 second video the burglars had taken of themselves at the apartment. Girlfriend (referred to as "video baby" by the guy behind the camera) was relaxing on the sofa - reading Peg's Kindle. A bottle of WalMart Sparkling Lemonade - straight out of our refrigerator - was sitting on the coffee table. The main suspect briefly appeared - wearing the same shirt we had seen in surveillance tapes from one of their other burglaries. The time stamp indicated the video was taken the day after our break-in. Detectives now have that disk and I decided it was not a good idea to post it here.

Since then we have a new fancy-dancy security and fire system monitored by ADT. It even has a temperature monitor so if the temperature in the house goes above 100 or below 45 degrees, we get a call.

One of the things we do each year before we leave for the winter is to have our 4 1/2 year-old, $7000 heating system completely gone over and checked out. This year was no exception. Even though the unit is less than 5 years old - it makes us feel better. $89 later we had a stamp of approval. The house was ready for winter!

We would have never given it a second thought except for the slight cold snap. I felt chilly and asked Bill to turn on the heat. It didn't come on. Long story short and TWO service calls later, they tell us the heater needs a $1500 part - but they don't recommend we fix what they now tell us is a bad system with no warranty, no guarantee. The new heating system (hot water baseboard heat and hot water) is over $6000.

They spent all day Friday installing it and guess what? It didn't work! We were left for the weekend with no heat and lukewarm water. I was fit to be tied!! Yesterday they were here again for the day and now we have heat and hot, hot water - but the heater leaks water, so here we sit yet another day waiting for service - and the unit still needs to be inspected. We WERE hoping to leave tomorrow - but that will probably get pushed ahead - again.

And what about our stolen car you ask? Well, the DA called and we won't get it back until AFTER the trial - which could be two years from now! ...Something about DNA evidence. Insurance?? Well, the car has been recovered, so they will not pay unless there is damage - but we don't know where the car is, what condition it's in or what might be in the car! Good thing we have another!

Have I whined enough??

Quilting up a storm!

2011-08-16T12:05:00.000-04:00

I've been busy with my new machine.

This is the start of a new top I'm doing. It's a combination of star blocks and log cabin blocks. The log cabin blocks are fun - the star blocks are a bear.

Yesterday was the last of my long arm classes. Initially, I did not think I was going to like it - but yesterday I got to spend over an hour working on a small quilt I put together just to practice on - and it was really fun!

The machine was an APQS Millennium with stitch regulator - which keeps the stitches the same size as you move along, speeding up when you go faster and slowing down when you do. I hated it. In talking to my sister, she said she did not like the stitch regulator either - so I turned it OFF and found the machine MUCH easier to use. Once I relaxed my shoulders, and moved at a consistent speed, I found it was actually fun! I did a simple meander and almost finished the center during class. I'm going to try some patterns along the border - but may not get to it right away because... Today, my daughter and newest grandson arrive for a week and I can't wait!!

My new playmate.

2011-08-13T17:04:00.000-04:00

Okay, okay, okay. I know I've been really bad about not blogging on a regular basis - but I've got some great excuses - really I do! First, we've had a miserable heat wave so we've not hiked as much as usual - some days we couldn't even sit outside. Second, I've been spending way too much time sewing and since I've been working on quilts that are gifts, I've not wanted to post pictures. Third, I have a new playmate.

This is my Janome Horizon Memorycraft 7700 QCP - and she's every bit as wonderful as her impressive name. I still love my original Janome - but she's a toy next to this sweet baby!

After selling some old gold jewelry (at ridiculous prices!)the hunt was on for a machine with a wider throat - the measurement from needle to base. My small Janome measures 6 1/2 inches. Most full size machines measure 8 to 10 inches. I even looked at mid-arm machines. Then I found my Horizon. The throat measures a full 11+ inches! My goal is to learn to machine quilt so I can save the money I'm now spending to send my quilts out to be done on a long arm. The cost runs $150-$225 for each quilt so I figure if I make 10 quilts - my new machine pays for its self.

This is the "Lucky Stars" quilt I made for Bill's granddaughter Sidney. I really enjoyed making this pattern and it was wonderful working with girl colors - since all my grandchildren are boys.

I thought this pattern for a French Braid sampler would be easy - but I was wrong. I enlarged the size of the quilt and putting it all together was much more difficult than it would have been otherwise. I do love the colors and had a really good time selecting the fabric for this one. Parts of this quilt come from states from Florida to Colorado. We may have eaten our way through Louisiana, but I quilt shopped my way through the other states! This quilt was a gift for Bill's grandson, Camron - Sidney's brother.

This close-up of the machine quilting shows the cool pattern - aptly named "Fireworks."

Even though we have three hummingbird feeders hanging around the patio - the birds still enjoy the organic sweet treats at our hanging baskets.

We've had a few Black-capped Grosbeaks at the feeders.

This House Finch family was comical. The new fledglings (the ones with the bad hair) would sit on, and even in, the feeders and yell for papa to feed them! He did.

Check out this cloud! It was right over our patio. We watched it swirl for about 20 minutes.

Bill's sister moved to a beautiful new home in Littleton - so we went to visit. The first time I walked by the dinning room table I noticed this silly centerpiece - it was all smashed down and lopsided. I thought it was really strange that she kept it on the table looking so sad -- until I noticed this scene a little later. Her one-eyed kitty used the centerpiece as a bed!

Happy Birthday Beth!

2011-08-08T09:12:00.000-04:00

BEAR encounter!

2011-07-18T14:44:00.002-04:00

The other day Bill and I went to the Upper Huerfano Valley, San Isabel National Forest for a picnic lunch with his daughter Laura, husband Tim, oldest son Kyle and Kyle's girlfriend Raeanne. This would have been our weekend to go camping, but with the severe fire restrictions, we decided that camping without a campfire would just not be the same.

As we were leaving - driving out the long, extremely bumpy dirt road away from the trail head and the camping sites, Tim stopped and ran back to our car and pointed out a huge bear in the woods. Bill wouldn't let me get out of the car, so Tim took my camera and tried to get a picture. With all the branches and underbrush, the camera did not focus and the pictures did not turn out. I was bummed. The bear was very close to where we camp - which is a little scary.

Driving down the road towards Gardner, we saw two more bears. This time they were in a clearing so I could get some decent pictures from the safety of the car.

The first one was cinnamon colored - not quite as big as the other one we'd seen - but big enough! (Note the ear tag.)

His companion was a large all brown bear.

Even though neither bear was black in color, they were both Black Bears.

By the time they wandered off and I finished taking pictures, several other cars had stopped behind us to take pictures too.

Another sight along the road - a large family of deer including this antlered male and adorable spotted fawn.

It was a great day!

Bill took me along for the maiden voyage of one of his new planes - a seaplane that he had just completed. He takes off from a lake located east of town at a Boy Scout campground. I was supposed to be taking pictures of the planes - but every once in a while something else captured my attention.

This picture of Song Sparrow shows its identifying characteristic - a central spot on his chest.

There were lots of Tree Swallows flying around - but it's a treat when one lands and lets me get a decent picture.

There are two main types of Bluebirds here in Colorado: Western Bluebirds with the rusty red chests and the more common Mountain Bluebirds.

There was a nest under the roof of the out-building and this youngster was trying out his wings.

On the way home we saw lots of Antelope including this large male and his lady friends.

Back home in our yard we have had an odd visitor. This is a common female House Finch - only she is almost all white. My initial thought is that she was an albino - but her eyes are not pink. I sent this picture to a local birder and he replied that she is leucistic - an abnormally pale bird with very faint markings.

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: "Albinism is a genetic mutation that prevents the production of melanin in the body. Leucism is a genetic mutation that prevents melanin from being deposited normally on feathers." Both are quite rare. She has returned daily, but according to the experts, she may not be able to find a mate who will accept her and her odd coloring makes her an easier target for predators.

We haven't had many hummingbirds this year - yet. This one must be a new fledgling as she still has some baby fuzz.

More baby birds: Robins.

They come to shower in our pond almost every day. I don't blame them one bit as it has been exceptionally hot here - but every time I go to complain about our 90 degrees - I see that everywhere else has as hot or hotter temperatures and the added bonus of humidity. Our humidity still measures in the single digits most days.

This is the chimney on our neighbor's roof and we can see it from our patio. It makes a nice little house for a family of raccoons. We sat outside and amused ourselves watching them stretch and wiggle around until finally at dusk...

...one of them headed out and immediately came into our yard to get a drink at our birdbath. The others waited patiently for him to return.

Sewing Up A Storm

2011-07-03T18:18:00.000-04:00

Last time I got together with my daughters, we went to a quilt shop and they each selected material. Laura wanted a beach bag and Pam wanted a quilt.

This is Laura's bag. I had enough material left that I also made her a beach throw. It's the first project that I've attempted that is completely mine - from design to quilting. It's big enough for two people to sit on or one to throw over a chaise lounge. I finished it in time to give it to her on my recent trip back to visit.

After finishing Laura's project, I made market bags - LOTS of market bags. I took 6 with me and gave them to family. Each one has at least one huge pocket and reinforced handles. I cut up plastic cutting mats (Dollar Tree - 2 for $1) to put in the bottom.

This is the start of Pam's quilt. She loves orange - so this should be perfect for her when it is done! The pattern is a French Braid with separator bands. I'm doing 5 braid runs so it will be big enough for her queen-sized bed.

Our feeders keep busy with lots of House Finches and Lesser Goldfinches - and an occasional Black-capped Chickadee.

Our flowers are beautiful.

...and so was this visitor.

Bill and I headed up into the mountains to escape the heat here in Colorado Springs. Salida was hosting the annual kayak festival on the Arkansas River.

Just watching them cooled us off!

These children were all lined up waiting for the music to begin.

We came home over Wilkerson Pass with one of the most beautiful views in Colorado. Yes, that's snow in the mountains.

Palmer Park is one of our favorite places to hike - and as we walk, the sounds of the Towhees are everywhere. This one was singing like there's no tomorrow!

The view of Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods and downtown Colorado Springs from up in the park.

...and another view looking through the cactus.

Baby Chickadees

2011-06-10T13:08:00.003-04:00

We took a break from our many projects to watch our little family of Mountain Chickadees come out and meet the world. It was quite a process!

Here's the first baby looking for a parent to bring him some food.

Momma arrived with a juicy morsel - but she wouldn't let him have it.

She used the food - which the baby REALLY wanted to try and get the youngster to jump out of his warm cozy house into the wild unknown and the ground far, far below.

Over and over she would entice him with food.

But she wouldn't let him have it.

The baby stretched further and further out of the house - reaching for what looked like a plump green worm.

Momma kept backing away.

At this point, baby was at the point of no return. He had one one wing out and couldn't back up.

Momma came in close for one last try. Click on the picture to enlarge it and you'll see momma has her foot on the chick. A re-assuring pat, I'm sure.

The baby got his other wing out and tried them to see if they worked.

I'm sure momma is coaching him out - "jump, jump - you can do it!" And he did. He jumped down into the bush below and momma promptly gave him the worm.

A few minutes later, another little head appeared in the door and the scene was repeated.

The next day we saw several little birds hopping around in the bushes. Momma was still bringing them food.

At least one more baby remained in the house as momma was still taking food inside and removing the trash. It's no wonder she needed to have the older, stronger siblings move outside - there wasn't enough room for everyone inside!

The babies were getting more and more adventurous with longer and longer trips out of their comfort zone until they all flew away. We're going to miss watching them but it's early enough in the season that we are hoping for a second family.

I finally finished the quilt top I've been working on. This one was a challenge as I modified a French Braid sampler pattern to make the quilt larger. In doing so, putting the braid runs together became much more complex - but it made me think and stretch outside of my comfort zone just like my baby chickadees.

The bathroom is finally finished. Son-in-law Brent installed the new floor and the new chair-height toilet. Both projects went smoothly. Brent is a perfectionist - and does beautiful work. We couldn't have done it without his help.

Bill was left with the vanity and sink. He hates plumbing - and apparently plumbing hates him back. Since the new sink was 5 inches to the left of the old sink, the pipes were in the wrong place and he had to figure out how to get the drain in the sink to connect to the pipe in the wall. I won't bore you with the details - but the sink leaked and Bill took it apart and put it back together at least 2 dozen times - no joking. Each attempt required at least one, maybe two trips to Lowe's and/or Home Depot. He was NOT a happy camper! His other son-in-law, Tim even came over before work to try his hand. It stopped leaking just long enough for me to think it was fixed and put things back under the sink - then let loose again, water everywhere.

It hasn't leaked now for 3 days - but I still check every time I wash my hands. I have a container underneath, and paper towels nearby - just in case.

I was hoping we could do some small renovations in the master bath over the summer - but I don't think I'll mention them to Bill just yet.

Ice, Snow, Wind and Hail = Indoor Projects!

2011-05-31T11:05:00.003-04:00

We finally got to enjoy our patio this Memorial Day weekend. Before that, the cold winds kept us indoors.

It's been pretty dry - except for the hail, ice and snow. At least the grass (or should I say, dirt) is getting a much needed drink.

We've been busy indoors - renovating the guest bathroom. Yes, it really is that orange! At first, we were just replacing the floor as it was stained. We needed to pull the toilet when we tore out the old floor - so maybe we'll replace that while we're at it. The sink was old and worn - so we checked into finding a new one - but they don't make that size anymore - so maybe the whole top - counter and sink should be changed. The old cabinet was custom built and not a normal size, so we couldn't just buy a new top - we needed to replace the vanity cabinet also. Out came the old one with the orange tiles on top - being careful not to mess us the tiles on the wall and we found a cabinet and top we liked to replace it.

While the room was almost naked, we decided to finish the job and paint the walls and ceiling. We had JUST enough paint left from the master-bath project, but he-who-shall-remain-nameless spilled the paint into the tub, so we had to buy a new can to finish the job.

Nothing is simple here at the Cruff house. The new sink is centered in the counter top whereas the old one was off to the right. This meant, the medicine cabinet and light were no longer centered. Down they came. Now we had a hole in the wall, lopsided plumbing and an electric box for the vanity light off to the side. Many adjustments and visits to Lowes later, we have a new mirror covering the hole and a light that is almost centered over it. The old toilet is sitting in the guest room (room with a bath?) and a new one is in the garage. We need to keep the old one just in case the new one doesn't fit - since the rough-in for the drain is not the normal 12 inches. Once the new floor is in, we'll find out.

I've still managed to get some quilting done. After cutting fabric on the dining room table - my back was a disaster, so my wonderful, resourceful husband found a solution - he propped up the legs with PVC pipes. It's just enough that I can cut in comfort. Of course, the table has to drop down when we have company - but that's OK. The old computer desk in the 3rd bedroom is my new sewing table. The set-up is not as convenient as I have in Florida, but it works.

These are the squares I'm assembling. They are the first step in a French Braid pattern that I'm adjusting as I go. The colors and patterns are fun to work with.

Our yard is finally looking a bit better. We still have huge brown spots - but there are signs of new growth, so we are hopeful. The flowers and pond help tremendously.

We have had more new birds in the yard this year then ever before. This adorable Yellow Warbler has been a daily visitor. We think maybe they like the neglected yard - or maybe it's because we have not been outside to scare them away. What ever the reason, we are enjoying them from our kitchen window!

The Western Tanagers are still around, but not in the numbers as we had earlier in the month.

This was another first for the yard - a Rose-breasted Grosbeak. We think he followed us home from Missouri.

The Bullock's Orioles have left now - but they stayed around for almost two weeks. We THINK this one is a first-year male as the females do not have the black on their chin.

We think this is another first-year male, a little further along with his adult colors. The bright orange one we had earlier this month probably had more Baltimore Oriole in his family tree. Please correct us if we are wrong!

The Magpies are beautiful birds - but they are loud and obnoxious.

The Lesser Goldfinches are just starting to return. We saw our first one over the weekend. All males so far, but we expect the females will arrive very soon. Last year we had dozens enjoying the thistle feeder.

The larger and prettier American Goldfinches have mostly moved on. We just see one or two a day now.

We'd had several Chipping Sparrows.

And this new bird. We THINK it is a Swainson's Thrush. It's larger than a Sparrow and smaller than a Robin. He feeds on the ground, not at the feeders. Please let us know if our identification is not correct.

Birds Galore!

2011-05-20T15:45:00.000-04:00

After leaving Pensacola, we drove west along Route 10 through Mississippi and Alabama towards Louisiana - taking a short detour to Biloxi and Gulfport. Both towns are right on the Gulf and the severe damage from Hurricane Katrina is still evident. The beautiful, majestic mansions that once lined the coast looking out towards the ocean have been replaced with vacant lots.

On the beach side of the highway, I noticed large flocks of shore birds and when I went to investigate further, I found nesting Least Terns.

The beach was covered with them!

Least Terns are the smallest of the American Terns at about 8 inches. According to http://www.allaboutbirds.org/ their conservation status is of "least concern" but according to posted signs, the site is protected by both Federal and State laws.

On the beach next to one of the Least Tern nesting sites was a large group of Black Skimmers.

We spent our second night in Baton Rouge, Louisiana - even though our GPS really wanted us to go north on Route 55 to Memphis. It was a good thing we didn't heed her constant nagging to turn around as Route 40 between Memphis and Little Rock was closed due to the severe flooding.

While listening to the news about the flooding, we heard that the ferry across the Mississippi River from St. Francisville to New Roads was taking its last ride at 10 AM that morning - with a brand new bridge opening to take its place. We turned the car towards St. Francisville and crossed the Mississippi River on the next to the last crossing. It cost us $1. New Roads is just south of the Morganza spillway and the ferry launch terminals are now underwater.

Bill and I loved Louisiana. The people were gracious and friendly - but the FOOD was beyond fabulous! Bill enjoyed his 5 pounds of crawfish at Boutin's - one of the best Cajun restaurants in Baton Rouge and I LOVED the etouffee at Fresh Catch Seafood Bistreaux in Marksville.

We spent our third night in Little Rock and visited with people displaced by the flooding. The next morning as we headed north towards Shell Knob, MO we saw some of the flooding first hand. Acres of farm land were under water.

The next three days were spent with our very good friends, Mike and Mel at their beautiful home on Table Rock Lake. My favorite place is their porch, which overlooks their large, wooded backyard, the lake and (best-of-all) their bird feeders! The American Goldfinches were fabulous in their full mating plumage.

Mike and Mel promised us that they had seen Baltimore Orioles in the yard. We just caught a glimpse. The picture is lousy - but I know the sighting doesn't count unless you have a picture!

There were lots of Cardinals. I think the females are beautiful!

We heard the loud voice of the Carolina Wrens before we saw them.

Early one morning, Bill decided to try his new owl call that Captain Erica had taught him - Whoo, whoo, who-cooks-for-you. We didn't see any owls - but he drove the hawks mad! Two of them immediately arrived to survey the area - screaming to scare away the intruder. The rest of the birds - and even the squirrels - disappeared. It was quite a sight! Mike reports that the hawks are STILL looking for the owls. Naturally, Mike keeps provoking them with his own call. He says he's saving lots of money on bird seed.

There were three Pileated Woodpeckers across the street - two adults and a juvenile. The baby didn't yet have the red top notch.

But the best bird sighting was this magnificent Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

He sat on the tree right in front of us. I couldn't get enough pictures!

The female Rose-breasted is just as pretty - but in a different way.

I love the Tufted Titmice - and there were lots of them entertaining us.

We saw both Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers. I think this is the smaller Downy - but unless they are side-by-side, I'm never sure.

We had a wonderful visit with Mike and Mel. Mel is amazing - always upbeat, smiling and doing what ever it takes to make her guests feel welcome and comfortable. I really admire her.

Back at our summer home in Colorado Springs, we have been constantly entertained with migrating birds. This is the first time we've seen the Bullock's Oriole in the yard - and we have had several pairs eating the berries in the bushes that border the backyard. This one is bright orange, like its first cousin, the Baltimore Oriole. One of the others is more bright yellow.

The Western Tanagers arrived right on schedule and we have had several pairs everyday.

This little Yellow Warbler is another first for the yard. We've seen them on our hikes - but are very pleased he stopped on his way to his breeding grounds.

I just took this picture of the Bullock's Oriole a few minutes ago. They are amazingly beautiful birds. We certainly delight in the creatures that visit our backyard - which, by the way, is looking better and better each day. Bill has worked hard mowing & trimming, thatching & raking, weeding & seeding, setting up the pond and planting flowers. He's hard at work right now.

Our usual visitors have returned - House Finches, Sparrows, Robins and Mourning Doves by the dozens, a Northern Flicker & Scrub Jay, We again have Mountain Chickadees nesting in one of the bird houses and Mr. Squirrel is still trying to get to the feeders.

Life is especially good.

Pensacola Naval Air Station

2011-05-14T21:06:00.001-04:00

The first stop on our cross-country journey from Ocala to Colorado Springs was the Pensacola Naval Air Station - home of the Blue Angles. We had reservations at one of the Navy Lodges, but it was too early to check in so we headed to their world class aviation museum. There we learned that it was the 100th anniversary of Naval Aviation and it was being celebrated by an air show. The Blue Angles were scheduled to fly for one hour beginning at 12 noon. I looked at my watch and was disappointed to see that we had missed most of the show: my watch said 12:45 PM. We went to the field anyway so I could get a glimpse - and maybe a picture.

Sure enough, when we arrived at the viewing field the Blue Angles were not flying. I was crushed until I realized we were in the CENTRAL TIME ZONE - and the show was scheduled to begin any minute!

The Blue Angles are the US Navy's flight demonstration squadron, flying F/A-18 Hornets that have been modified for precision flight.

Look how close they came to each other as they crossed paths! I had only one chance to get this shot and was thrilled that I nailed it!

Check this out: the front plane is upside down!

Planes #1, #2, #3 & #4 - all lined up.

Do you think they did this on purpose - just so I could get this shot?

Oops, I digress - but couldn't resist this beautiful Pelican.

All six of the planes in formation. There were actually two #4 planes as both #5 planes were grounded.

Look how close they are!

Amazing!

Coming out of their cloud of smoke. This show was wow, Wow, WOW! I loved it and can't believe we saw it by chance. Our timing this trip started out great - and it got even better!

Back in Colorado

2011-05-14T11:47:00.004-04:00

Bill and I arrived safely back to our summer home in the dry skin, broken nail, lifeless hair, nose bleed state of Colorado. Our first day home it snowed.

Our yard was a complete disaster. Those of you that know us know that our back yard is usually our pride and joy with soothing water features, beautiful gardens and a comfortable patio. It'll take a lot of work to get there this year!

The fish did not make it through the harsh (and very dry) Colorado winter. The bubbler that delivers life-saving oxygen and keeps the water from freezing stopped working, delivering a death sentence to my Goldfish.

Two days after arriving back, I had a dozen women over to play Bunko so I had to focus my attention on moving around the dust inside the house. Hopefully, no one looked too closely. We had a great time, as always, but I never could have gotten ready without the help of my good friend, Nancy. She made the dessert (yummy heath bar cake) and came over early to help set up the tables. She is a great hostess and even served the cake and coffee while I caught up on all the latest gossip.

We had a fabulous cross-country trip and I have lots of pictures to share in a future blog. I'm so far behind I still need to finish-up with our last couple of weeks in Ocala!

Our Spring Break visit with grandson Zachary was much too short - but we kept him plenty busy! Over Easter weekend we took him for a surprise trip to Cedar Key...

and an airplane ride over the barrier islands! Zach sat up front with the pilot on the small 4 seater Cessna.

The views were magnificent!

I think Zach enjoyed the ride! Afterwards we went to Tony's for clam chowder and toured the Cedar Key Museum. I hated to put Zach back on the plane - but we needed to pack-up and get ready to head west and Zach needed to go back to school.

Easter Vacation

2011-04-22T09:33:00.004-04:00

What can be better than visiting with your grandchildren? I flew to Maryland to be with daughter Pamela while she delivered her third son, Leandro. Well Leandro didn't get on board with the program and didn't make an appearance until after I headed home but I had a great time with the family (including grandsons Gabriel and Sebastian) anyway.

I took 3 completed quilts with me.

"By the Sea" for Gabriel. The gal who does my machine quilting on her long-arm machine, Vicki Cooley, used a shell pattern on this quilt. I love the colorful striped backing - which I also used for the binding.

"Fireworks" for Zachary.

and "My First Quilt" for Leandro. (This picture was taken before Vicki Cooley did the machine quilting.)

When I returned home, I had two more to complete. This one is "Cascades" and is in the mail for grandson Dylan. The machine quilting is in a leaf pattern. Dylan's dad, Rick (my oldest) told me Dylan's favorite color is blue - so I hope he likes it.

and "Monkey Business" for grandson Sebastian. I am not as pleased with this one - the colors (which I loved when I bought them) didn't speak to me when I put them together.

I think Sebastian will like the back of his quilt best. The animal print is adorable and Vicki did a wonderful job with the quilting. I hope to quilt my own in the future - but for now I am having a blast selecting the fabrics & patterns, cutting & piecing. I'm really enjoying hand sewing the bindings - which is the part I thought I'd hate. Who knew?

Grandson Zachary arrived here in Ocala Sunday evening - after being delayed almost 24 hours - and it has been go-go-go ever since (except when we eat - which is often with a teenager in the house!)

Zachary is as tall as I am now!

Fort McCoy was the scene of our first adventure. We took a private two plus hour eco-tour on a pontoon boat down the Ocklawaha River on the Anhinga Spirit. We saw Great Blue Herons, Little Blue Herons and Great Egrets - but we told our guide Captain Erica what we really wanted to see were owls. She immediately pulled into an inlet and started calling with a throaty "whoo-whoo." Sure enough, a Barred Owl flew in and perched on a nearby limb. While we were watching, a Red-shouldered Hawk flew over and shoved him off his perch. It was quite exciting - and boy were we impressed with Captain Erica!

And, oh yes, we saw lots of alligators on the banks. Zachary was the first one to spot this guy.

He was also the first to spot this Carolina Wren. After a great ride, we had a picnic lunch on the river bank while we watched the Cardinals play near-by (think birds, not baseball).

Bill and Zach have bonded at the RC flying field (where they are right now). This is Zachary with the club instructor while he takes his maiden flight. I was really proud of how well he did!

...and I think he enjoyed it too! The instructor was very nice - but he kept calling Zachary by the wrong name - Jason, Jake, Jack - everything but Zach.

We've been to Rainbow Springs before - and knew Zachary would enjoy swimming in the cool (74 degrees) crystal clear headwaters. He and Bill ventured in while I took pictures from the shore.

I took this picture for Zachary's mother. Yes, he swam with the alligators! We actually saw a small one outside the roped off area.

But the best part of the day was the family of Barred Owls in one of the huge trees by the river. We heard a guide ask a group of kindergarten children if they wanted to see the baby owls - and we turned to follow the group! I don't know if this is mama or papa - but he/she was keeping a watchful eye on his/her 3 youngsters.

This is one of the babies. He couldn't fly yet and was covered in fluffy down feathers.

He had to walk along the limb back to the nest.

The other adult owl flew to a nearby perch to keep an eye on us as we watched the babies.

Beautiful, beautiful birds. This was a real thrill!

As we were walking back to the car, this turtle came over to the side of one of the springs to take a look. It was a fun, fun visit!!

We spend afternoons at the pool with all the other visiting grandchildren. The days are quite warm now - highs near 90 degrees but as you can see, the Florida room can get even warmer when you forget to close the blinds.

Zachary has managed to get some sunburn even though we cover him in sunblock - but nothing a little Solarcane can't fix!

Tomorrow we are heading over to Cedar Key for raw oysters and a special surprise for Zach. Stay tuned!

A Visit with Nancy & Joe

2011-03-30T13:50:00.000-04:00

We had the best week! Our very good friends, Nancy and Joe from Colorado Springs, came for a visit. We had a great time showing them our Florida.

This picture was taken at Rainbow Springs State Park.

The gardens and water features are beautiful.

Nancy had never seen a Cardinal before - but by the end of the visit, Bill was calling them trash birds because we saw them everywhere we went.

I think this is a Yellow-rumped Warbler.

One of our favorite places to walk is Paynes Prairie State park - so we were anxious to share this gem with our friends. I was especially happy to point out this American Bittern to Nancy. I think they are really neat birds!

We watched this Great Blue Heron shop for lunch on the river.

Nancy walked on the far side of the path past the many, many alligators. She didn't want them nibbling on her ankles.

My sister took the BEST picture of a Belted Kingfisher while she was in Fort Myers. I've been trying to get decent one for over a year - but I am never close enough. At least this one sat still while I clicked.

The herons and egrets are showing their mating plumage. Do you see the extra feathers on this Snowy Egret?

After our walk we went into Gainesville to the Butterfly Gardens. I don't know what I enjoyed more - the beautiful butterflies or the flowers and plants.

This guy decided that Nancy's hair was a nice soft place to rest.

Another day trip was to Cedar Key - a lovely and quaint fishing village on the Nature Coast. We had lunch at Tony's. They have the best clam chowder I've ever had!

Just outside of town, we watched several fishermen.

Nancy had lots of new clothes that she bought especially for the trip - and apparently they took up all the room in the suitcase as it looks (from these pictures) like Joe wore the same shirt the entire week.

This morning we got up before o'dark thirty and took them to the Orlando Airport for their flight back to Colorado. We hated to see them leave - but they promised to come back again next year.

Rainbow Springs State Park

2011-03-22T17:29:00.000-04:00

Rainbow Springs is a beautiful State Park. The admission is $2 a person and well worth it. This time of year, the Dogwoods, Azaleas and Wisteria are in full bloom and just gorgeous.

The springs form the headwaters for the crystal clear Rainbow River.

I love the Azaleas.

There are seven water falls along the garden paths.

The park was once a privately-owned tourist attraction - before the state took it over.

Our favorite area was the butterfly garden.

A "Butterfly Volunteer" told us to be sure and stop back in a couple of weeks because the garden will be thick with all different kinds butterflies.

The gardens were originally part of the old attraction but the state is doing a good job of restoring them to their former beauty.

And, of course, there were birds enjoying the gardens with us.

There is a large picnic area and a place to swim - if you dare! The water is a constant 72 degrees.

The Florida State bird - a Mockingbird.

We detoured beyond the boundaries for a short 3-mile hike. The trail was well marked.

This is the very rare, endangered Pine Palm. (not)

This is how clear the water is. The round spots on the sandy bottom are where water is bubbling up.

As we were walking, I looked up into the fork in a tree. See that little white spot in the hole?

I turned on my flash and manually adjusted the focus to capture this snake looking out of the hole at me.

Six Mile Cypress Slough

2011-03-13T09:49:00.000-04:00

The Six Mile Cypress Slough is one of my favorite places in south Florida - and we couldn't miss an opportunity to visit while we were in the area. We didn't see too many birds on our short walk, so I took some pictures of Dragonflies.

Look at the neat colors. Now when I see beautiful colors I think how nice they would look in a quilt.

The birds are in full mating plumage. This Great Egret had bright green lores.

The swamp Iris were beautiful.

We don't see as many Osprey in central Florida as we did in Ft. Myers. This hungry hawk was eating his fish dinner atop a light post right in the middle of the median on a busy street.

It's that time of the year and this Red-bellied Woodpecker was excavating a hole in the tree to build a nest. From the looks of it, he had been working for some time.

The end.

Owls

2011-03-12T07:30:00.000-05:00

Yes, I really am going to blog again! I've just been so darn busy - and today I'm heading to the Trenton, FL craft fair and my favorite (so far) quilt store. So here's a picture of a couple of my favorite birds - Burrowing Owls - taken on a recent trip to Cape Coral.

Wood Duck Drive of Emeralda Marsh with the OTOW Unique Birders

2011-02-26T10:03:00.000-05:00

The OTOW Unique Birding Club gathered bright and early at the Health and Recreation building for the hour plus long caravan to Emeralda Marsh and Wood Duck Drive.

We stopped several times along the drive - but since it was a narrow one-way road, we couldn't always stay as long as we liked because some less relaxed drivers wanted to get moving. They must not have been retired. This is a Limpkin and he was keeping company with a couple of White Ibis.

I still can't resist taking pictures of every Great Blue Heron I see. They are so beautiful.

An Eastern Water Snake decided to cross the path at the same time we were walking. I don't know who was more startled - the snake or the birder who almost stepped on him!

It will take about a year for this immature White Ibis to turn white.

Many of the herons and ibises were starting to get their breeding feathers. This Great Egret was pruning his new feathers.

An especially pretty Glossy Ibis - look at the colors!

Even the adult Pied-billed Grebe look like babies. They are so cute.

An Eastern Phoebe in a tree near the observation tower.

I was so busy looking at the Phoebe that I almost missed a Great-crested Flycatcher sitting in the same tree. This picture was taken earlier but I am including it here again because it is a much better shot than the one I took yesterday.

There were just a few Tree Swallows flying overhead.

This was the prettiest stop along the road - and we were able to pull off to let people pass. There were lots and lots of Coots and Common Moorhens swimming around, as well as herons, ibises and egrets.

Off in the distance, one of the more experienced birders spotted these Ring-necked Ducks. The rings on their necks are purplish - and not anywhere as easily seen as the ring around their bills.

They have very distinctive coloring and are easily identified.

Look at the nice long tail on this Boat-tailed Grackle.

Another Glossy Ibis showing the first signs of his mating colors.

I wish I could have gotten a picture of the Common Snipe in the scope - he was great! Other birds we spotted included: House Wren, Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Tri-colored Heron, Sandhill Crane, Cattle Egret, Bald Eagle, Snowy Egret, Vultures, Sparrows - and more!

After a full morning, we gathered at the Main Street Diner in Leesburg for a delicious lunch and fellowship. Bill and I had to depart promptly after eating for the long drive down to Fort Myers where we are visiting with good friends Wendy and Larry.

Birding at Cedar Key

2011-02-24T16:49:00.000-05:00

The town of Cedar Key is a quaint fishing village on the Gulf Coast, about 50 miles southwest of Gainesville. The Cedar Keys are a group of barrier islands that are Federally protected bird and wildlife sanctuaries.

This picture was taken from the dock where we were waiting to depart on a birding trip through the marshes with expert birder Captain Doug. The birds flying over the hotels are Black Skimmers.

A large flock of Black Skimmers.

I caught this pair as they were flying to sit on the hotel roof with the rest of the gang. Note that their lower bill is longer than their upper. They feed by flying low and skimming the water with their lower bill.

The ever-present Ring-billed Gulls.

Once we were out in the boat, I saw more shore birds than I ever saw in South Florida. There were hundreds of huge White Pelicans.

The distinctive black markings on their wings show only when they fly. I was amazed how close we were able to get to them.

Oystercatchers were everywhere. It was high tide and every inch of every available sand bar was covered with shore birds.

Oystercatchers and Willets. The Willets also have a very distinctive black and white wing pattern when they fly.

Willets, Willets and more Willets - but note the bigger bird with the long downward curved bill. It is a Wimbrel.

Another Wimbrel. The two smaller birds facing in the same direction as the Wimbrel are, I believe, a Short-billed Dowitcher (center) and a Dunlin.

A little of everything - can you name them all? I can't!

A couple of the sand bars were wall-to-wall Ruddy Turnstones.

Captain Doug promised us Plovers and we found these way out on a secluded beach. The one on the right is a Semipalmated Plover. I'm not sure if the other two are also Semipalmated or another plover.

Close-up of the Semipalmated Plover showing the necklace that goes all the way around.

I didn't expect to see a Loon on this trip!

The larger bird with the long black and pink bill is a Marbled Godwit.

We saw a couple of Bald Eagles during our 3 hour trip.

Back on land, I saw this Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

We met another couple on our trip, Linda and Graham, and joined them for dinner at Tony's. Tony has won the gold ribbon for his clam chowder two years in a row - and after eating it I sure understood why! It was the BEST clam chowder I've ever had. Bill had fresh raw oysters and he said they were delicious. We have a new favorite place to eat!

We had a great day at Cedar Key - and I can't wait to go back.

A Walk in the Woods

2011-02-16T14:24:00.001-05:00

What a beautiful day for a walk in the woods! Bill and I hiked the Johnson Pond Trail in the Withlacoochee State Forest - about 12 miles down the road from OTOW.

This is the most beautiful Robin I have ever seen. I couldn't get over how bright orange his chest was! He and his friends were enjoying the berries.

The Tufted Titmice are the cutest birds! We have quite a few in the Live Oak tree in front of the house. They take turns coming to the feeders for sunflower seeds.

I wish we had more woodpeckers in the yard. I think this Downy is smaller than the ones we have in Colorado.

There were lots and lots of little birds flitting around in the trees including this common Palm Warbler.

Bill spotted these deer just off to the right of the trail as it looped around.

I think this is a Northern Harrier. He and a friend were flying over the pond. There is a nice observation deck overlooking the pond about half-way around the 2.6 mile loop.

Another hawk - probably a Red-shouldered. After our hike we stopped at Subway for a sandwich and huge drink of Diet Coke.

My Valentine Tree

2011-02-15T10:03:00.000-05:00

I had a wonderful Valentine's Day! Bill asked me over the weekend what I wanted and I said I wanted to plant a tree in the backyard. We already had the plan approved by the landscape committee and the utilities had marked the underground cables so we knew where we could dig. Off we go to Lowes to select our tree - but they didn't have what I wanted - a Live Oak - so we checked Home Depot, and they had a nice selection. Since we weren't going to plant the tree until the next day, we came home empty handed. Bill dug the hole - 3 times bigger than what we remembered was the size of the root ball. We soaked the hole with water. It looked like a man-made lake and we expected to see flocks of migrating ducks land in our yard.

After Bill returned from flying his RC plane on Valentine's morning, we headed back to Home Depot to buy our tree. The master gardener helped us select a nice healthy Live Oak - and the other stuff we would need: 50 pounds of potting soil to mix with our sandy soil and Quick Start fertilizer. Bill borrowed a wheelbarrow from the neighbor.

The hole was a "little" larger than we needed and we didn't have enough potting soil so Bill headed back for more. While he was gone, a sparrow landed in the tree and knocked it over.

This is my tree. I love it. I hope the birds don't knock it over again. Oh, and Bill says that next year I'm getting a dozen roses.

I'm having a great time learning to quilt.

This is the top I just finished. The pattern is "Cascades." At one point, I didn't think it would get finished as there was an error in the pattern and the triangles for the sides were too small - but I was able to get more material and finish putting it together. Before I start another pattern, I will check the website for "updates."

This is the top I'm making in my beginner class. I have one more session - to do the binding - and I'm finished. It's been a blast.

We are still enjoying the birds in the yard. This is a beautiful American Kestrel.

While I was looking at the Kestrel, this blimp flew over. We've seen it quite a few times in the neighborhood. Rumor has it that it's one of our neighbors - John Travolta - showing off the horse farms to his friends.

Mr. Fox Squirrel has been a regular visitor. I don't even mind if he eats from the feeders.

I took this shot right before he fell off.

But he got right back up.

New Sewing Table

2011-02-01T09:00:00.000-05:00

The OTOW RC flying field was closed all last week for road repairs - so Bill built me a new sewing table! Thank you repair crew! (and Bill too!)

We are certainly glad to have an oversized garage - lots of room for projects. The design began with several trips to Lowes to get the right wood.

Designing the table was a feat. Several more trips to Lowes and he finally had the right hardware - just not enough - so back he went.

Thank goodness for Harbor Freight and the wonderfully equipped wood shop here at OTOW - not to mention the tools Bill borrowed from friends Carl and Bob.

I think Bill was off once again to Lowes when I took this picture It's starting to look good with a fresh coat of white paint. We got the 8-foot pre-made Formica counter top from Home Depot. I wanted a slot for rulers and mats and shelves for everything else. Bill put on wheels so I can easily move it out to clean (??).

It fits perfectly along one wall in the bedroom - under the window so I can look out at the birds. It's big enough that it can double as a cutting table but I've discovered the pub-height kitchen table is easier on my back.

I'm a happy camper!!

And so is Bill - they opened the flying field this morning!

Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park with the Unique Birders from OTOW

2011-01-28T09:48:00.003-05:00

Bill and I joined the OTOW Unique Birders group for a wonderful field trip to hike the LaChua Trail at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park south of Gainesville.

Our first stop was the icy observation platform just off Route 441 in Micanopy (mic-can-no-pee). Looking out over the prairie, we saw dozens of Sandhill Cranes both on the ground and overhead. A coyote ran in the distance.

Normally, I would have overlooked this sparrow - but we were fortunate to have a birding expert in the group who identified it as a Swamp Sparrow - our first life bird of the day.

After a short drive we arrived at the parking area and the beginning of the LaChua Trail - a 3-mile loop into the prairie. As we headed through the trees at the entrance, it looked like we were in an apple orchard - but the bright red apples were Northern Cardinals.

I saw no birds when I passed this marshy area, but again, our eagle-eyed teacher pointed out an American Bittern in the reeds.

I was thrilled to see it step out in the open so I was able to get quite a few decent pictures.

The stripes on its neck are his camouflage as he "hides" in the reeds by standing still with his head pointed to the sky.

Overhead, we saw more Sandhill Cranes. While I was distracted photographing some of the shore birds, Bill said he saw a couple of Whooping Cranes fly over. I said, yea, right, sure you did.

The Sandhill Cranes landed in another marshy area beyond the viewing area. We could see lots and lots of cranes - including...

Whooping Cranes!!

These beautiful birds stand almost a foot taller than their Sandhill Crane cousins.

Both of the birds were banded identifying them as either part of the resident population or migrants. As of Sept. 2010, there were 25 non-migratory and 119 migratory Whooping Cranes in Florida during the winter. What a trill to see two of the just over 400 birds currently in the wild.

There were lots of other eye treats as we walked the trail. The sun was shinning and the day warmed nicely. This Eastern Phoebe was also enjoying the sun.

I saw a bird hovering in the air and assumed it was a Belted Kingfisher as I've seen them hover over water before diving straight down to catch a fish - but Norm, our teacher, correctly identified it as an American Kestrel.

The area we were hiking has an interesting history. Before 1892, the area was covered with water. The huge Alachua Lake was was a tourist attraction and supported a thriving steamboat business. One day the entire lake just disappeared - into a giant sink hole. Today, water still flows into the hole and the lake has been replaced with over 16,000 acres of freshwater marsh and wet prairie. There are over 270 species of birds (including this cute Cattle Egret) bison, cracker horses and cattle, alligators and hundreds of Sandhill Cranes. The preserve includes the Prairie and some of the surrounding uplands for a total of nearly 22,000 acres.

Yes, I said bison! These young Plains Bison walked right in front of us - down the trail.

and wild horses! Horses were introduced to Florida in the mid-1500's to heard cattle.

So nice to see the shore birds! Along with this White Ibis, we saw several Glossy Ibis, the ever-present Coots, Anhinga, Little Blue Heron, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Common Moorhen, Tricolored Heron and Pied-billed Grebe. Someone said they saw a Wood Duck - but I missed it.

This Great Blue Heron was entertaining as he tried to figure out just how he was going to eat the huge fish he caught.

There were lots of hawks. This apparently is a young Red-Shouldered Hawk.

More Cattle Egret. I usually can't get close enough - or they refuse to stand still - for decent images.

This Tricolored Heron was intent on his mission to catch a fish (or two, or three) for breakfast.

I'm not sure what kind of turtle this is. He wasn't very big - maybe 6 inches across.

This is the kind of wet swampy area where I hoped to see a Purple Gallinule, but found Ibis and Moorhens instead.

...and Alligators! There were hundreds of American Alligators lining the banks - more and more as the day warmed.

Back at the entrance to the trail, several small birds played in the trees including this Black-and-white Warbler.

I also saw this bird, which I thought was a Northern Parula - or maybe a Magnolia Warbler or Blue-headed Vireo. I'm waiting for verification from our resident expert, Norm. (Norm has confirmed that my mystery bird is a Blue-headed Vireo.)

This car was in front of us as we caravaned to the next stop.

Next stop was the University of Florida's beef farm where a large flock of Sandhill Cranes joined the cattle. It looks like they are captive - but they are not.

We had already seen hundreds of Sandhill Cranes back at Paynes Prairie. The reason for our visit was the small white goose in with the much larger cranes - a Ross' Goose and another life bird.

My pictures aren't very good - and those of you that are regular readers know I hate having ugly man-made structures like this barbed-wire fence in my pictures - but that's what I had to work with and for a bird that is rarely seen in this neck of the woods, I'll make an exception!

After a wonderful morning of birding - and a total of 51 different species, we gathered at the 43rd Street Deli for lunch and friendship. Bill and I really enjoyed the company of this "Unique" group of bird enthusiasts and will definitely join them on more field trips in the future.

Whooping Crane Flyover

2011-01-14T14:04:00.000-05:00

What an amazing morning!! I've been following Operation Migration (http://www.operationmigration.org/index.html) where a dedicated group is re-introducing young and very endangered Whooping Cranes into the wild and teaching them to migrate from Wisconsin to Florida. The young chicks follow their surrogate parent, a costumed pilot flying an ultralight. Today was the second to last leg in their incredible 1285 mile journey. Tomorrow they will arrive at their winter home at the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge in Citrus, Florida.

We arrived at the chilly Dunnellon-Marion County Airport at 9:00 AM and watched the northern sky. The first ultralight, piloted by Richard van Heuvelen looped around the airport with a single Whooping Crane following his every move.

Shortly afterwards, Joe Duff came into view closely followed by four absolutely amazing Whooping Crane chicks. The crowd that gathered was hushed, not wanting to spook the fragile birds. It was fantastic - and very moving. After they flew over the trees, people clapped, cheered and cried. We spoke with supporters that come every year to get a glimpse of the birds whose numbers are up from a low of 16 to over 500.

Bill has seem Whooping Cranes in the wild in the San Luis Valley in Colorado, but until today, I had only seen them in captivity at the Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park.

Whooping Cranes are larger than their more colorful Sandhill Crane cousins.

Obviously, I took lots and lots and lots of pictures! I also met some very nice people!

Every one's camera was clicking as they dipped down closer to the small crowd that had gathered to welcome them to Marion County.

After they left the birds just over the trees to spend the night, the pilots came back to the airport to greet the crowd. Richard arrived first - still in costume.

Joe followed.

Thank you Richard, Joe, Operation Migration and the Dunnellon Airport for this experience!

Sewing, Quilting, Clean-up, Company & Birds!

2011-01-11T14:44:00.000-05:00

Bill and I were thrilled to have son John here over Christmas - but even more thrilled to meet his girlfriend, Vanessa. She is definitely a keeper!

We drove to Tampa to spend a day with them after they returned from their New Year's weekend in Fort Myers and Key West. Vanessa had never seen a Manatee so we took her to the Manatee Viewing Area in Tampa. You can see the huge power plant in the background that generates the warm water that the Manatees are attracted to.

We saw lots of Manatees including this guy doing the backstroke. The water was clear and the viewing was much better than at Manatee Park in Fort Myers.

Bill challenged me to get a shot of this Pelican in flight. Not too shabby if I do say so myself!

There were tons of fish swimming around - but look how they kept out of the way of this stingray!

I had never seen a stingray swimming around before - so I took lots of pictures! The stingrays are actually quite cute.

Afterwards, we went to lunch in Ybor City (an historic neighborhood in downtown Tampa) before saying good-bye and heading back to Ocala.

Back at the compound, I've been busy sewing. This is a jacket that I made at a class over at a friend's house. It began life as a all black man's shirt.

We covered the collar, cut off the sleeves and added cuffs, tucked the back, cut off the hem and faced the inside. Later, I changed the buttons and added the handkerchief. It was fun to see how differently each of our projects turned out.

I've also been working on another quilt - this one will be as bright as the last one! I have all of the squares assembled and put together - I just need to add the border and assemble the back before it goes out to be machine quilted. My beginner quilting class starts this weekend so I can learn all the things I'm doing wrong.

We had a "minor" problem earlier this week. We were heading out and while I was getting ready, Bill decided to start the dishwasher. I had complained that the dishwasher wasn't doing a very good job - so he was checking it out. A few minutes later, I heard him yell that we had bubbles everywhere! Bill had added Jet Dri (or so he thought) to make it rinse better. Long story short: he actually added Dawn dish-washing liquid into the Jet Dri compartment. His reason? "It was blue."

This is Bubba - an adorable Havanese puppy that belongs to our very good friends Larry and Wendy. They were here visiting for the weekend. After returning home, Bubba fell into their pool and nearly drowned. Poor Bubba - I sure hope he's going to be okay.

I haven't forgotten about my birds. This is a Red-bellied Woodpecker and if you look closely, you can see the faint red on his chest that gives him his name.

Our back-yard feeders are busy all day long. I love sitting out in the Florida room watching them.

We have lots and lots of Bluebirds - and they get bluer and bluer the closer we get to Spring.

We enjoy the backyard feeders so much that I added a feeder in the front yard. Squirrels are not a problem, so I hung it in the Oak tree. Mrs. Cardinal found the new feeder almost immediately.

And so did this adorable Titmouse who paused from his lunch just long enough to pose for a quick picture. The bird on the left is a Chipping Sparrow and they arrive at the feeders in flocks.

I think I took this picture of a Common Moorhen on one of our walks. Funny, but my sister Beth seems to see the same birds at the same time when she walks the beach in North Carolina.

This picture is for my sister. This must be the year of the Armadillos! We've seen at least one on each of our walks - but none as cute as this one - standing up and posing for a picture. They do not have very good eyesight, so if you are very quiet, they just go on with their business. I thought they would be slow - they just LOOK slow - but once they hear you, they scurry off in a hurry.

Little Estero Lagoon

2010-12-26T09:35:00.000-05:00

These are the last of the pictures from my Fort Myers adventures with sister Beth. Our last birding trip was to Little Estero Lagoon on Fort Myers Beach. As we were walking along the path by the first body of water, a passerby told us there was a birder on the beach with a scope. He had shown her a rare "clam-catcher." She said the black ones are very rare. I said I had never heard of this bird and asked if she meant "oystercatcher" instead of "clamcatcher."

We never found the birder, but we did see this American Oystercatcher standing at the edge of the waves. He was standing and even hoping around on one leg - to the point that we thought his other leg was injured.

But all was well - he finally finally engaged his other leg and walked a short distance giving us his best profile. Oystercatchers can live for up to 20 years and don't mate until they are 3 or 4. All-black Oystercatchers are found along the Pacific Coast.

Both Beth and I love the Roseate Spoonbills!

These are youngsters and have not reached breeding age. Compare these birds with the one we saw at Harns Marsh with the dark pink wing strip and yellow head.

I still can't figure out how the Wood Storks got such an ugly head to go with that beautiful body.

I thought this was an interesting shot with the birds lined up-down-up-down-up-down.

We saw several dolphins playing in the waves. This one went over to see the Brown Pelicans in the tree. When he got right under them he jumped and splashed. It looked like he was trying to scare them away.

Back at the lagoon, the Pelicans were busy fishing.

This one was successful and came up with a big fish - which he promptly ate.

I think the Killdeer must be the most common plover. I see them at the beach, in our backyard here in Ocala and even at our summer home in Colorado Springs!

It's the day after Christmas and the weather has gone downhill. The sun is hiding behind dark clouds and the wind is mean - too strong for Bill to fly. The freeze warnings are out for the next two days - so guess I'll have to head back to the sewing room and work on another quilt!

Christmas Morning

2010-12-25T08:38:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas! It's a beautiful sunny morning here in the OTOW compound so Bill (here's a shocker) is already up and out at the RC flying field crashing his planes so he'll have a project repairing them later in the day. I'm not sure how he will survive without heading to the hobby shop - but hopefully his other hobby (feeding me) will keep him busy.

Son John is still asleep after losing a wild game of combat dominoes last night. We played until the wee hours of the morning - probably past 9:00 PM!!

My bird feeders in the backyard are a hive of activity with Goldfinches, Bluebirds, Titmice, Cardinals, House Finches, Doves and Sparrows. The Killdeer are playing out back and there are Blue Jays in the tree out front. I love my life!

So before I get started making chocolate chip cookies for Johnny, I think I'll finish posting some of the backlog of pictures from our trip to Fort Myers.

We've made some great new friends here at OTOW and two of them, Peg and Bob, came down to spend the weekend with us in Ft. Myers. Peg is a fabulous quilter, so I knew she and Beth would hit it off (the three of us hit all of the quilt shops in the area - what a blast!) and Bob is a RC flyer so we took them over to the Cape Coral RC field. Naturally I had my camera - but I wasn't looking at the planes.

I watched these two friends sitting on the fence at the end of the field - chatting it up and ignoring the activity on the field.

The talkative bird is a Meadowlark and his friend is a Loggerhead Shrike.

I guess the shrike got tired of listening and decided to check the wind direction.

Deserted, the lark found comfort in food and plucked a juicy worm from the grass and ate it. Don't you think he looks guilty?

This Bald Eagle felt no guilt as he finished his meal high in a pine tree. He is a teenager on the verge of adulthood with some of the brown on his face still visible.

Over at the ball field where we see the Burrowing Owls, I watched these two Osprey torment a noisy nest of Monk Parakeets high atop one of the stadium lights. It looked like the Osprey were hoping one of the parakeets would make a tasty meal, but despite their efforts, the parakeets were safe.

I hope all my readers will stay safe this holiday season. Merry Christmas!

Harns Marsh

2010-12-24T13:11:00.000-05:00

We always enjoy visiting Harns Marsh in Lehigh Acres. While Warren and Bill power-walked the 5 miles around, Beth and I took our time (and lots of pictures!) meandering around the upper ponds - meeting the boys about a mile from where we parked. There was lots to see and Beth added several birds to her life list.

This Roseate Spoonbill was just magnificent! The yellow head and dark pink wing indicates it is a mature (breeding) adult. They, like the Wood Storks in my last post, have beautiful bodies and rather ugly bald heads.

And talking about ugly heads - look at these Black Vultures.

There were THOUSANDS of Tree Swallows flying around. I've never seen so many - and they are almost impossible for me to photograph as they are never still. I was thrilled when some landed so at least I had a fighting chance to get a picture...

...or two

...or a hundred.

We saw this Osprey as we were leaving. Check out his fish!

This is a Greater Yellowlegs. When Beth and I saw it, we didn't know whether it was a Greater or Lesser Yellowlegs, but she consulted her Stokes Field Guide to Birds and properly identified it for her blog - giving credit to her reference. After posting her entry, she was thrilled to get a comment from birding authorities, Don and Lillian Stokes, the authors of the field guide!

Just a couple of neighbors hanging around discussing politics.

I think I see this photogenic Tricolored Heron every time I visit Harns Marsh.

This was one of Beth's sightings - an American Bittern. I saw one on my last trip, but this one was closer.

What a beautiful place!

Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge

2010-12-24T11:32:00.003-05:00

On a recent trip to Sanabel's wildlife jewel, Beth, Bill and I had the rare opportunity to photograph some endangered Wood Storks up close and personal. They were at the shoreline just feet away from the road.

Son John, who is here for the holidays, says this looks like a drag queen of the animal kingdom.

Look at the way their legs bend to sit. These majestic birds are beautiful in flight, but up close they sure do have ugly heads!

Three Wood Storks posing for the people who stopped to take pictures.

We also saw other large shore birds: a Snowy Egret,

a Great Egret,

and a Yellow-crowned Night Heron standing just off the road. He never moved while we took lots of pictures.

The Double-crested Cormorants are very common and I usually don't bother taking too many pictures, but I thought this one was especially cute.

Spiders, snakes, lizards, frogs, butterflies, armadillos and, of course, birds!

2010-12-24T08:48:00.000-05:00

I'm so far behind in my blogging that I hardly know where to start. We were without Internet while in Fort Myers and I will never let that happen again! I can't believe how much I depend on something that didn't exist for most of my life!

The following pictures are from trips to Corkscrew Swamp and Babcock Webb.

I have no idea what kind of spider this is - but he's big!

Naturalists stage themselves along the boardwalk at Corkscrew so they can point out something special hiding in the trees or nestled in the weeds - especially if it is dangerous like this Water Moccasin.

You really have to look closely to see the lizard in this picture. Look how long his tail is!

The swamp lily is a native plant and we often see them growing in the swamps.

This is a tiny tree frog - only about one inch across - that was sitting quietly on a leaf. I turned the picture so he could be seen better.

A Great Egret trying to stay warm in the unusually chilly southwest Florida weather.

There were lots of pretty butterflies in the butterfly garden at Corkscrew.

These two were fun to watch as they played in the sun.

Another lizard...

This Great Blue Heron was far away but I liked the way he was framed by the trees.

Finally a hawk other than a red-shouldered! This is a Northern Harrier. We spotted it at Babcock Webb and it was a life bird for sister Beth. I took this picture through the window of Warren's van.

All the way at the far end of the Babcock Webb drive (open only during hunting season) we saw this beautiful Bald Eagle in the distance.

This was a nice surprise! We actually saw three Nine Banded Armadillos along the side of the drive.

More Trip Pics!

2010-12-22T08:27:00.002-05:00

I have no clue what this biker is towing - but I couldn't resist taking a picture as he rode by us in Cape Coral. I assume these are his art works and he was returning home after displaying them for sale at a local venue. Are they fish? birds? I may never know!

The weather in Ft. Myers was cool so the Manatees were gathered at Manatee Park in the warm waters by the power plant. Sister Beth had been to Manatee Park before but never when the Manatees were there, so Bill drove us over.

Beth had her new camera and took lots of pictures, but you will have to check her blog to see them.

Afterwards, we drove over to Cape Coral to try and see the Burrowing Owls. We didn't see any owls out in the chilly air mid-day, but I did see this Mocking Bird.

And we saw the Monk Parakeets at their usual spot by the ball fields.

On an early morning visit to Lover's Key to walk and pick up sea shells, the Osprey were out in force. They are building their nests getting ready to settle down and raise a family. Look closely and you will see this guy has a fish in his left talon.

Beth and Warren have two cats, George and Chaney and they shared the beach house becoming Florida cats very quickly. This is Chaney. He usually hides when anyone he doesn't know is around, but for some reason he decided I was okay and even let me pet him - but only for a few minutes.

Where has December Gone?

2010-12-22T07:46:00.001-05:00

Bill and I spent a fabulous couple of weeks at our condo in tropical (not so much) Ft. Myers. Sister Beth and her "dh" were staying on the beach so we spent lots of time together shelling, birding, visiting with friends and the local quilt shops. Since we did not have Internet at the condo, I was not able until now to post pictures. Check out my sister's blog at http://quilterb-bethsblog.blogspot.com/ for a sneak peak of what's to come here at Parker's Barkers.

Out first outing late in the day was to Six Mile Cypress Slough where we walked the boardwalk through the swamp visiting and taking pictures. Anhingas are common at the swamp, but I always like to see them posing for the camera with their wings spread out to dry in the afternoon sun.

We don't have Cardinals in Colorado, so they are a treat to our eyes.

I love the colors in the background behind this beautiful Red-shouldered Hawk.

This Great Blue Heron was really displaying his colors in the sunlight.

Two of them were flying back and forth over one of the ponds.

No, this White Ibis hasn't injured his leg - they often stand on one leg, resting the other. This time of year his bill and legs are pink but in the Spring, when thoughts of love dance through his head, his bill and legs will turn bright red.

Boy did I have a hard time getting this Yellow-throated Warbler to stand still long enough for a decent picture. I also took pictures of a Blue-grey Gnatcatcher and a Common Yellowthroat, but those pictures were not good enough to post. Maybe next time.

Another busy, busy bird - a Black-and-white Warbler.

And busy, busy describes the rest of our vacation with trips to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Lover's Key, Port Charlotte, Ding Darling, Babcock-Webb, Harns Marsh, Cape Coral and Manatee Park. Ocala friends Bob and Peggy joined us for a weekend of fabric shopping and I have lots of pictures that I will post later.

Thanksgiving and My First Quilting Projects

2010-12-01T08:53:00.000-05:00

Bill and I spent Thanksgiving week in Maryland with daughter Pamela and her family.

This is my youngest grandson, Sebastian. We were at a birthday party for one of their friends.

One of the activities was pony rides - and Sebastian wanted nothing to do with them! He wouldn't even pet one. The entire time he was playing on the slide he kept telling me "no pony, drandma."

Pamela had a good time visiting with the other parents. Here she is showing off her baby-belly. Leandro is due to arrive in April. Yep, another boy.

The only time Gabriel will sit still enough for me to get a picture is when he is watching TV. He's still very active, but since starting kindergarten, he has matured quite a bit. I was thrilled to see that he is learning to read and write. Two of his classes - math and creative writing - are with the first-graders.

On Thanksgiving, we had 16 people for a sit-down turkey dinner. Pamela did a beautiful job and set a wonderful, warm and welcoming table. We all pitched in and helped with the food - but Pam did most of the work. By evening, we were all stuffed and exhausted.

Our plan was to stop in Kure Beach, NC to visit my sister and her "dh" (dear husband) but we were both battling nasty bugs and decided to head back to Ocala early and recuperate.

Before we left for the holiday, I bought myself a new sewing machine - and I LOVE it! I had wanted to try my hand at quilting for sometime and a friend advised me to get a better machine so that I will really enjoy it. My cheap Singer was not the machine. This is a portable Janome (so I can easily carry it to classes) with lots of cute stitches, a needle threader and automatic thread cutter.

My first attempt didn't turn out too bad. It still needs binding, quilting and backing - but it's a start. At least I learned how to use the machine so I will be ready for the beginner quilting class in January. The pattern is Yellow Brick Road and I selected the fabric from a batch of fat quarters I bought on sale from the local quilt shop.

This is my next project - a purse. I'm really happy with the way it turned out. The squares are part of a "charm pack" - so I didn't have to pick the fabric, but I did have to arrange them. Fabric choice and arrangement, I fear, will be my greatest challenge.

This is the quilt top I'm currently working on. I'm afraid it's going to be too busy - but I'm making it for a busy boy so maybe it will be okay.

There are three different squares - I have two sets finished. I'll work on the third set later today - but now I'm headed to exercise class!

Playing Catch-up

2010-11-13T19:52:00.000-05:00

As I write, Laura, Tim and the kids should be half way back to Colorado after their Florida vacation - but I'm still working on all the pictures I took on our various adventures while they were visiting both here in Ocala and at our condo in Ft. Myers.

Lovers Key State Park is a must visit. I love walking the beach, collecting shells and watching the shore birds. The water is great for wading - but not for swimming as it drops off too quickly. Some days there are so many beautiful shells - you can't collect them fast enough and other days the beach is clear. We arrived just as the tide was beginning to recede - the wrong time to collect - but that didn't stop the kids from finding some neat shells and several sand dollars. We walked out to the point on the far south end of the beach where I watched these little Sanderlings play at the water's edge.

It's no wonder I have trouble keeping all the birds straight - this is an immature Little Blue Heron. According to Wikipedia, white Little Blue Herons often mingle with Snowy Egrets. The Snowy Egret tolerates the white birds more than Little Blues in adult plumage. The young birds actually catch more fish when in the presence of the Snowy Egret and also gain a measure of protection from predators when they mix into flocks of white herons. It is plausible that because of these advantages, they remain white for their entire first year.

Sure enough, a Snowy Egret was close by!

After we returned to Ocala, we took the family to Cedar Key. We arrived at an extreme low tide, so could not take the boat ride out to the barrier islands (Cedar Key National Wildlife Refuge) that we had planned. They have a small beach and a picnic area where we enjoyed our lunch and watched this Semipalmated Plover look at his reflection in the puddles.

Since I joined the camera club, I'm working on picture composition, instead of (or more correctly - in addition to) just getting a good picture of a particular bird. This is a common Laughing Gull with his twin behind him. One of the locals told me that when you see a group of gulls or terns - they all face the same direction - into the wind. Interesting!

On the way home from Cedar Key we stopped for a short hike in Dunnellon. The Piliated Woodpeckers were everywhere! Across the road, we saw a sign advertising kayaks for rent - $15 for the entire day.

We got all the information and the next day we kayaked down the Rainbow River. I did not take my camera so I don't have any pictures to share - but it was wonderful!! Rainbow Springs is a first-magnitude artesian spring, the fourth-largest in Florida, producing between 400 and 800 million gallons of crystal clear water a day. Rainbow Springs forms the headwaters of the Rainbow River, which empties into the Withlacoochee River. As we paddled and floated the five miles from the headwaters down to Route 484, we watched schools of fish, turtles and other underwater life. The birds were everywhere. At one time, glass-bottom boats took tourists down the river, but now it's a State Park. There were several snorkelers, fisher-people and even swimmers. I will definitely return - maybe with a water-proof camera.

The next morning as we relaxed in the Florida room I spotted this lone coyote walking behind the house. He headed over to the golf course and disappeared over the hill.

Bill spotted this cute little bunny trying to nap under the bushes in our front yard. Look how sleepy his eyes look.

The Mourning Doves are plentiful in the back yard - under the bird feeders. I thought this one had especially nice shades of blue on his wings.

Swamp Images

2010-11-11T15:09:00.001-05:00

Our first full day in Fort Myers was cool and a little drizzly - but it didn't stop the kids from enjoying the ocean and the beach. Bill and I dropped them off then headed to Sam's and Publix to stock up for the rest of the week. Feeding 4 adults and 4 teenagers was a challenge!

We couldn't wait to share some of our favorite places, so after the beach, we took the family to Six Mile Cypress Slough to walk the boardwalk. There weren't many birds out, so about half-way around, I handed Bill the camera and headed back to the restroom. On the way, I spotted 8 to 10 wild pigs routing in the weeds. They were right beside the boardwalk - I could have taken some great shots - but my camera was a half mile back and by now I had to hurry ahead. Bummer.

The next day was sunny - but still on the cool side, so we went south to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. This is a Zebra Longwing Butterfly.

Our most exciting sighting of the day was this Black Racer snake. The wildlife must have not liked the weather because they certainly were not out-and-about!

As we were leaving Corkscrew, we spotted two Sandhill Cranes in a fenced-in pasture on the side of the road..

As I was walking up to the fence to get some pictures, one of them started jumping around.

Next thing I new - he threw a snake in the air and jumped on it! It was quite a show.

By now, Hannah had had just about all the swamps she could handle in one lifetime so instead of going further south to the Everglades, we grabbed a quick lunch at McDonalds and headed for the seashell beach at Lovers Key State Park where we walked from one end to the other collecting shells.

A Visit to Remember

2010-11-11T10:18:00.002-05:00

It's been quite a week! Bill's daughter Laura, hubby Tim and their four teenagers arrived from wintry Colorado last Wednesday and we headed to Fort Myers to spend a few days. Three of the kids had never seen the ocean so the beach was our first stop.

We arrived at Fort Myers Beach shortly before sunset. A cold front with fabulous billowing cloud formations was rolling in over the pier. The couple in the foreground was embracing - perhaps sharing their first kiss. It was beautiful. Click on the image for a larger view - it really is a pretty shot.

The family: Kyle, Quinton, Hannah, Tim, Laura and Nate.

Quinton is a senior at Hanover High School.

Nathan, also a senior at Hanover, turned 18 during their visit.

While in Fort Myers, we visited Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Lover's Key, Six Mile Cypress Slough; ate raw oysters at SOB's and mediocre Mexican at Times Square. The kids enjoyed their evenings at the pool, the hot tub and fishing the Parker Lake ponds. On Saturday, we drove to Ocala and treated the family to a catfish dinner at Stumpknockers on the Withlacoochee River. We visited Cedar Key and spent a day fishing and kayaking down the crystal clear Rainbow River in Dunnellon before they departed for Daytona Beach, Shades of Green in Orlando, Cocoa Beach and Universal Studios. It was a wonderful visit and I will post more pictures later.

Florida Fox Squirrel

2010-11-01T09:55:00.000-04:00

We have some interesting squirrels here in Florida. Along with the common Eastern Gray Squirrels, we have endangered Fox Squirrels. There are a couple of varieties of Fox Squirrel and I spend quite a bit of time trying to figure out if this one that was in our backyard was a Sherman's or a Big Cypress Fox Squirrel - but read that the only way to tell the difference is genetic testing.

They are about twice the size of Gray Squirrels - and look at the length of his tail! This shot isn't too bad considering I took it through the screens.

Bill went outside with the camera to try and get a better picture, but our little friend is shy and scampered off into the woods. We spread sunflower seeds on the ground hoping he'll return.

This picture was left-over from the zoo pictures I posted the other day. It's a Red-legged Seriema. I haven't taken many new pics as I have a cold - and don't want to share my germs. I need to get over it before Wednesday because Bill's oldest daughter Laura, hubby Tim, and their four teenagers are coming to visit.

Lowry Park Zoo with the OTOW Shutterbugs

2010-10-30T07:13:00.001-04:00

The OTOW Shutterbugs Photography Club took a field trip to the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa. At the next meeting we will share some of our favorite images from the trip. I did not stay with the group when they toured the park as I wanted to get different pictures - plus, I wanted to spend quality time in the aviary with the birds.

The Lorikeets are housed in a large, screened-in area where visitors can actually go inside to view the birds up close and personal. They are wonderful little critters and while I watched, one perched on the zoo volunteer's shoulder and pecked her ear.

This is not your run-of-the-mill city pigeon - but a Nicobar Pigeon found in Southeast Asia, New Guinea and the Philippines. He's wearing my colors!!

The Lowry Zoo was rated #1 by Parents Magazine and watching the children was as wonderful as watching the zoo inhabitants.

Tell me this isn't the neatest set-up! Of course, the zoo sells food that you can feed to the giraffes.

I don't know who was having the most fun - the children, the parents or the giraffe!

Don't you love to see fathers with their children?

This is Momma Orangutan.

And this is her greedy baby, begging one of the zoo keepers for a hand-out. How could you resist that face?

Just as the day was really heating up, we all gathered and went to PF Chang's for lunch. It was a fun day - thanks for driving Gary!

Quilt Shoppe Road Trip

2010-10-29T08:48:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I deserted Bill and headed to Trenton, Florida with two new friends. Our destination was the Suwanne Valley Quilt Shoppe. We arrived shortly after it opened at 10:00 a.m.

The complex is a restored 1925 Coca Cola building and you enter the quilt shop through the cafe where we had lunch.

The shop has over 5000 bolts of fabric in several rooms. This is the Asian room.

All of the fabric is 100% cotton.

Every color and print imaginable!

There is an entire room of books...

... and a long hall with notions.

After we finished our shopping, we investigated one of the other buildings - full of quilt and sewing-related antiques.

Beth, this is the small red Singer I told you about.

These are some of the beautiful fabrics I came home with.

Can you tell I like color? Now all I need is a sewing machine!

Information about this neat shop can be found here:
http://www.suwanneeshops.com/quiltshoppe.html