BEAR encounter!

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

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

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!

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.