Dyeing with my sister

I just got back from a wonderful visit with my sister, Beth, in Kure Beach, NC.  Beth is a dyer and we spent the day Thursday with one of her friends, Dianne, learning some techniques.

Beth describes the process better than I could on her blog at  http://quilterb-bethsblog.blogspot.com/ The blue in the upper left corner mixed with the first yellow equals the first green in the second row. The middle blue in the first row mixed with the pink in the upper right equals the first purple in the forth row and so on.

These are the gradations I did - the first in blue and the second in yellow.

These trays are full of white ready-to-dye (RTD) cotton with leftover dyes poured over them.

Beth has two cats. Here we put the empty kitty litter buckets to great use!

Dianne and Beth showing off their dyed arms. We all wore rubber gloves but still managed to look black and blue when we were done.

We also managed to get some birding in while I was there. Beth had seen a young Great-Horned Owl a day before I arrived so we went back to where it was spotted.

I know, lousy picture but it was the best I could do. This is a beautiful Prothonotary Warbler.

I've shown lots of pictures of the Fox Squirrels we have here in Florida - but this adorable creature is a North Carolina Fox Squirrel. I love his white face and ears!

Our mission to see the baby Great-horned Owl was successful! He was a huge ball of fuzz.

Beth heard there were Painted Buntings at one of the parks. The Boy Scouts have put up a feeder and, sure enough, on our second trip we found this beautiful bird. He looks like he was designed and painted by kindergarten children with his gorgeous primary colors.

He posed for some time while we took pictures. This was a life bird for Beth as was the owl.

 Back in Ocala, there are signs that it is time for Bill and me to head north - back to Colorado Springs. The Swallow-tailed Kites signal the arrival of warmer weather.

Although not a life bird, this Great-crested Flycatcher is a first for our yard. He's been hanging around with a friend for over a week but this is the first I've been able to get a picture.

Birds, Birds & More Birds

 The last couple of days have been amazing! We can't look out the window without seeing Western Tanagers (half a dozen at a time), Bullock's Orioles, Yellow-rumped (Audubon's) Warblers and a nice variety of other birds. I've taken too many pictures. The Western Tanagers decorate the bushes in our backyard, but I know they will only stay for a short time before moving on.

To add some variety, we decided to see if the warbler migration extends beyond our backyard. We went walking at the Fountain Valley Nature Center. They have made quite a few improvements since out last visit including a large viewing patio behind the center and lots more feeders along the main trail. This House Wren was foraging for insects to feed his youngsters.

I believe this is a Veery but welcome discussion.

Another view of the Veery showing the upper chest markings.

The House Wren found a tasty insect to feed his family.

I don't get the chance to photograph a House Wren too often so bear with me.

And look who popped out while I was looking at the Wren!

I think I take this same picture of a Barn Swallow every year at the center.

There were a couple of Downy Woodpeckers playing in the pines.

Down by the lake, the Red-winged Blackbirds are all over - yelling back and forth to each other.

Well, my sister is right: Yellow-rumped Warblers are everywhere! This one is a "Myrtle" variety with a white throat.

The Yellow Warblers like to stay in the tree tops.

But every once in a while I can catch one closer.

I always forget how colorful the Song Sparrows are.

Another Yellow-rumpted - but this one is an Audubon's variety with the yellow throat. He was no where near as colorful as the ones in our yard.

This pompous looking female is a Red-winged Blackbird.

I believe this is a Hermit Thrush. He looks very similar to the Veery.

A nice group of White-crowned Sparrows. We only saw them in one spot - down by the river.

These bushes were beautiful and smelled delicious - but there were no birds on them.

Our find of the day - a Great-horned Owl! We talked to another birder along the trail (thanks Luis!) who told us where to look.

The Yellow Warblers are just so cute.

I thought this was an interesting shot.

Just a common American Robin - but isn't she beautiful?

I didn't expect to see White Pelicans on the lake! One of the other walkers told us there were about a dozen earlier in the week and they huddled together during the cold & snow - looking like an iceberg.

American Avocets way on the other side of the lake.

This one came a little closer.

Bill spotted this Wood Duck almost out of reach of my camera. I need a new lens like my sister has!

I was excited to see a Spotted Sandpiper on the island.

...and a very common Killdeer.

This one had me baffled until I posted the picture on one of the birding sites on FB for identification. I was looking for thrush and was directed to warblers. It is a Northern Waterthrush - a new life bird for both Bill and me. I wish the picture was better, but he was sneaking along the shore of the creek hiding under brush.

Another Yellow Warbler.

I started this entry yesterday and today (again) the Western Tanagers are everywhere. I literally cannot look out the window without seeing one or more.

At some point I have to stop taking their picture - but they are just so beautiful!

Owls, Woodpeckers, Hawks, Alligators and More - Playing Catch-Up

Bill and I have been busy since my last post. We visited Six-Mile Cypress Preserve, Fakahatchee Preserve and Boardwalk, the Burrowing Owl Festival and toured owl nesting sites in Cape Coral - so I have a lot of catching up to do!

This is a Pileated Woodpecker and being able to see and photograph this beautiful bird is a personal treasure. I've gotten glimpses before but on this trip to Six-mile Cypress Preserve there were two out in the open. These are large birds, about 18 inches tall, and have a powerful voice that sounds like Woody Woodpecker.

Pileated Woodpeckers can excavate large holes in trees looking for insects and, unfortunately, they can also do a great deal of damage to homes if they set their minds to it.

This is a Brown-headed Cowbird - a nasty parasitic bird. The "parasitic" refers to their practice of laying their eggs in other birds' nests. Since the young Cowbirds are so loud and demanding, the surrogate mother may feed them to the exclusion of her own babies - which can harm some already endangered species. These birds are everywhere here in Florida - especially in the Wal-Mart parking lot.

Down at the Faka-hatchee Preserve we saw this big guy sunning in a wet area by the road.

As we were driving back along Jane's Scenic Drive, I yelled for Bill to stop as I saw this gorgeous Barred Owl sitting in a tree. The last one I saw at Corkscrew was pointed out to me - but I spotted this one without help!

We took lots of pictures and he seemed to enjoy the attention.

In one of the canals, these turtles were lined-up sunning on a log. They quickly jump into the water as soon as they detect your presence, so I had to move very slowly to get their picture.

At the end of the Fakahatchee Boardwalk was an observation area overlooking a pond. This Wood Stork was sitting in a tree overlooking the pond.

This alligator was in the pond. Behind her were three very small alligator babies - but they were too far away to get a good picture.

On the boardwalk this small brown frog (or is it a toad?) almost got stepped on.

After our walk we ate outside at a great Cuban restaurant in Everglades City. This Mockingbird sang to us during our meal so I had to take his picture.

On Saturday we went to the Burrowing Owl Festival in Cape Coral. We sat in on an educational presentation on owls. This Great Horned Owl was sitting at his station waiting to meet the audience.

Suddenly there was a great commotion outside the tent. This Red-Shouldered Hawk and his mate were not pleased to have the owl near-by and voiced their disapproval loudly. Once they decided the owl was not a threat, they moved on.

This is a Screech Owl - a small owl (7 to 9 inches tall) that eats mice, insects and sometimes other birds.

This is a Barn Owl taking direction from the speaker. All of the owls he showed and talked about had been injured and could not be released back into the wild. This one had a badly injured wing.

After enjoying the festival, we decided to drive around Cape Coral and see if we could find some active burrows. I had never seen a Burrowing Owl and was determined to find one!

These cute birds were sitting and waiting for us. Burrowing Owls are the pride of Cape Coral and the city goes to great lengths to educate the public and protect them from harm. They are small owls that nest in empty burrows all over the city - empty lots, back yards, parks and along the side of the road. Volunteers rope off the nesting sites and put up signs - which make them easier to spot.

I see why photo-graphers love these birds. They don't seem to mind people as long as you don't get too close and it's easy to take some great pictures.

Have you ever seen anything so adorable?