Bird Nest Mother's Day

Mommy bird choose to build her nest in between the bathroom window and the bamboo shade on our back porch.

We secured the blind so the nest wouldn't fall..

First there were three eggs, then four and finally five.
A couple of weeks ago, the eggs started hatching...

Each egg cracked opened... and little babies started moving around inside the nest.
We thought that the mother had abandoned the nest at one point. We had not seen her. Then a few days ago... we saw her sitting on top of them again. She must have taken a short vacation... or maybe she was letting them know that the time was coming when they would have to fend for themselves.
A week ago the babies were looking like they were sporting Mohawks. They were still mostly fuzz without feathers.

 Now...they are so big that they are filling the nest with feathers... and they can hardly move. Mom should have built a bigger nest, but this small nest may have a purpose. Kind of a subliminal message... When you outgrow the nest... it's time to go.

I don't know how many have survived. I only see two.
One is looking for bugs on the window sill. It is wearing tail feathers, from the other bird, like a pair of rabbit ears. It's pretty tight quarters in there.

 and the other is looking for Annie Cat through the slats in the blind.

 Wait... what's that? Another little eye and beak underneath one of the birds.
Yes, there are three of them...

Do you see it, underneath the baby on the right? He looks a little smaller. And, maybe it's my imagination, but I think I see another head above the one on the left too.

 Oh, I hope they all learn to fly before they grow out of the nest. I also hope that all five hatched and that there is one more underneath.
Mom was making a lot of commotion this morning. She was telling them to get ready. It's time for flying and she is ready for a vacation.
Happy Mother's Day momma bird. You did a good job. They may be gone and on their own by Sunday and then you can really celebrate.
I will have my sons and grandsons here tomorrow and Mother's Day... so I will have a full nest too.

Happy Birthday, Matthew

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“Sometimes,' said Pooh, 'the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.” 

From a small child who took on life like a tour de force,  to the little boy who challenged life and always needed an explanation for everything...

To the Bay to Breakers racer, computer wizard, runner, wonderful uncle, brother and amazing son.
We grew up together. We learned to be parents with you, good and bad. It all came out in the wash... and we will always loved you more than you ever know.
Happy 46th Birthday, son. We wish you love, happiness and many years filled with blessings.
Love, Mom and Dad

“Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”  ~A.A. Milne~

Happy Birthday Jesse

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“How do you spell 'love'?" - Piglet
"You don't spell it...you feel it." - Pooh”

He's 41 today. Were did the years go?

Our barefoot little boy... (we called you "toad".) who grew into a wonderful man.

With love and many wishes for happiness,
Mom and Dad

“What day is it?"
It's today," squeaked Piglet.
My favorite day," said Pooh.”
― A.A. Milne

"Today is far from Childhood..."

Last Tuesday the Prospector left me. He drove to the airport and flew to Seattle, where his old buddy picked him up. He was gone for a week of fishing and visiting with his long time friends. I had the rest of the week all to myself, which I always like. I'm a bit of a hermit and when I'm here by myself I never feel alone. Actually, I'm not really alone. I have Carl and Cutter, Annie Cat and the chickens. So technically I'm not "home alone". I also have some really great neighbors that would be here in a heartbeat if I needed them and the Sheriff dept. if things got seriously crazy.
And ... I just don't mind being by myself.
On Saturday afternoon, my sister arrived. Now, as much as I like being by myself, it's always more fun when my sister is here. I relax and I'm not so aware of my vulnerability in the middle of nowhere.
She and I are seven years apart but, as we have gotten older, we have become good friends. As children, we were close... but seven years is a great distance when you're young and she was always the little kid sister that had her friends and I was the older sister that loved being the boss and I had my friends. She started kindergarten when I went into the 7th grade.
Now, we are almost the same age.

We use to fight about stuff, like who sat where, in the car and who had to wash dishes... but now we've  decided that life is too short to argue, so we just have fun.
This weekend we tackled a rather large project. We refinished my old dark coffee table with Annie Sloan's Chalk paint and soft wax. We didn't have to strip the finish. This paint is applied over any old finish. Annie Sloan is right, in her video... it's addictive. My coffee table went from a very dark and scratched up finish to this...

We were able to do the refinishing right in the living room, on an old plastic tablecloth. The paint dries quickly (we did two coats because of the dark old finish) and the table was ready to wax on the second day. We applied a first coat with clear wax and let it dry overnight. Then a second coat was applied with a mixture of half clear and half dark wax.
The results were amazing.

I'm so happy with my "new" coffee table.

It's like a new piece of furniture. I couldn't have done it with my sister. She had done some of her own furniture and she really knew what she was doing. Also, I found it hard to get into the spaces underneath and even though we tipped the table over for the painting, we had to lay on the floor and do some upside down work as well when we did the waxing. This was hard for me because of my hip. Sis was a big help and did most of the buffing for me as well.
This was our "project" for the long weekend, so on Sunday, to reward our hard work, we took a drive to Sutter Creek, walked around and spent a few hours just goofing off. On Monday we drove up to Electra Road on the Mokelumne River. I wanted to show her the poppies. She had never, in all her visits, been up this beautiful road before.
It was a gorgeous day...

And she fell in love with the river, as I knew she would.
She walked down the trail to the beach...

I could tell that this old river was already working its magic on her.

She sat down on a rock...and I knew that we were going to be there for a while.

I could see the little girl again.

We drove up to the end of the road and walked out to the power plant.  There use to be homes up here and there are still old foundations, Sycamore trees and pyracantha, growing around the hillside where houses and remnants of buildings use to be.
An old staircase on a retaining wall is one of my favorite places to photograph.

 A bird watched us from a tree.

The poppies were still in bloom.

 I found the mystery flower that a friend had photographed. It was so beautiful.

On Wednesday I asked if anyone knew what this beautiful plant was. I put the images on Facebook as well and, as if by magic, my question was answered.

Katherine Evatt of our Foothill Conservancy answered my call for help.

She said the plant is called a Styrax redivivus or snowdrop Bush.

This uncommon plant has showy white flowers which stand out against its darker green foliage. It also has an exceptional fragrance, which smells similar to oranges. I'm so tickled when I can find the name of a new plant or flower that I don't know. This one is a beauty.

Sis left on Wednesday. I will miss her. We had a happy and productive visit. 
The Prospector came back on Tuesday. It's so good to have him home.
The prospecting couple that were living in their truck and digging in our creek are gone. They must have gone to Alaska. That's where they said they were heading.
The weather is really warming up... too fast.
Time to take early morning walks. My hip is feeling better.
It's time to start doing things in the early part of the day and after the sun goes down.
Summer is coming. 

( The title quote is from a poem called  ~One Sister have I in our house~  by Emily Dickinson ) 

Wordless Wednesday: Does anyone know what this wildflower is?

Ariel on the porch

Today it's raining... but two days ago it was sunny and warm. I'm not complaining. I love the rain. We need as much as we can get.
But, on Wednesday, Ariel wanted to go outside.
So we took the air... on the porch.

I think she's tired of being poked and pulled and sewn into. So we both took a break and sat on the porch together. I never left her side because Carl would just love to use Ariel as a pull toy and he was right there watching her every move.
She enjoyed the warm weather and the sun on her feet. I even think she closed her eyes for a moment.

 Ariel's hair ribbon is sewn into place now. Her hair is kind of a mess for all the pulling and sewing. She needs a little brushing and some hair spray. Human hair is hard to contain in place. I'm thinking that yarn or some other ribbon, or dread locks made with wool roving, might have been a better choice. But this is my first doll, so I can always try something else down the road.
The scarf I made for her is keeping the spring breezes from her neck.

I've made her a gold Lamé jacket and a blouse out of gold chiffon fabric...
and "tutu" skirts in bright colors. I'm going to add more skirt.
Faerie's can't have enough beautiful, flowing skirts.

It was recommended, in one of the sites on doll clothes, that you burn the edges of any synthetic fabric to give it a more wild look and to keep it from unraveling. This is kind of dangerous. You must be very careful.
I used a votive candle in a glass votive holder. I held each piece of fabric with both hands and ran it quickly through the flame. It works well, but does catch on fire if you stop moving the fabric. Also if a small piece of burnt synthetic fabric falls on your hand, it will burn a nice little spot right through your skin. I know, because I did it. You have to be very careful. This takes practice, but it gives a fun, kind of ragged edge to the fabric.

I'm so proud of her little Nuno scarf. I felted it twice because I didn't have enough wool in it the first time and the pieces of sequined fabric that were cut into leaf shapes, didn't catch. I had  loose leaf ends. So I wet it again, added a bit more roving to the scarf and felted it a second time.
Now, I'm happy with it.

Ariel is happy... So happy in fact, that she got up and did a few ballet steps. Give a girl some sunshine and new clothes... that's all they need... oh, and maybe some ballet slippers.

But...She still needs her hair combed.

Wordless Wednesday: Springtime

Oh, what a beautiful morning...

Yesterday we had a wonderful day with friends across the canyon in San Andreas. They invited us to join them for a bar-b-que. We had a great time. I brought Cream cake and Tapioca Pudding. They had an Easter Egg hunt for the children. That's when I started missing my Beans, my grandkids. Didn't get together with my family this Easter. Missed them... but being with these friends and their family was a nice way to spend the day.
Today...I'm trying to walk more to help a damaged hip that keeps giving me fits... so it's down to the country road again for some exercise.

The road was lined with Chinese Lanterns. They are more productive than the Lupine right now and they are so delicately beautiful.

The first bend in the road turned into an orange wonderland.

The hills are still alive with Poppies.

I'm still having a love affair with these wonderful spring flowers.

We have a couple and their dog that are living near our creek. They seem very nice. We told them that they could stay there as long as they don't start any campfires. They are panning for gold. So far, they have been rather successful... enough to put gas in their truck. They are thinking about going to Alaska.
I told them to watch for rattlesnakes and poison oak... and to dig under tree roots.

Their four month old pup is a beautiful black lab. It was interesting talking to them. they have been all over. The Prospector told me that they were there. He met them last week and has talked to them a lot. I hope they find enough gold to seek their dreams. I wish them well.
A photographer friend stopped to say hello. He showed me some images that he had taken earlier in the day. Lovely shots of a succulent that grows right out of the rocky soil and blooms this time of the year and a beautiful globe lily image.
I found one of these succulents that didn't have anywhere near as beautiful a flower as the photo friend's flower did. I'm always amazed at the tenacity of these plants, growing in between the rocks, with very little soil, on the hillside. I think this is called a Canyon Dudleya.

Then my neighbor, heading for town, stopped me on the road. We talked and discussed the affairs of the weekend.  All in all my 20 minute walk turned into an hour or more. But that's what I love about where I live...the pace...and the people.
 Half way up our road I had to stop. I found another wildflower.

 This one is called a globe Gilia or the blue field Gilia.  It such a pretty, pale blue.

 As the day went by, the wind picked up and the clouds moved in. We may get some rain this week. I hope so, because with this heat come the snakes. I saw a racer snake in the garden a few days ago. It was rustling in one of the bushes near the composter. I heard a noise and turned around to look. It came out of the bush and whipped past me, into the grass below.
Then there was the huge gopher snake at the back door, just down the steps, one hot afternoon last week. It startled me. Our gopher snakes always seem to have markings like a rattler... but the heads are, of course, a different shape and they don't have rattles.
This one poise for me while I took a few photos. Then it moved away and into the old goat run.  It was quite a specimen.

Can the Rattlers be far behind?

She has a new name... and hair.

Now that my Fairy doll has a mouth, it seems that she want a different name. She says her name is Ariel. 

I decided to look it up, because I thought I better have another answer for people than "That's what the doll told me." That kind of answer could lead to all sorts of speculation on my sanity.

So... the name Ariel means an archangel found primarily in Jewish and Christian mysticism and Apocrypha. The name Ariel, means "Lion of God" and if you keep reading the information on Wikipedia it gets kind of heavy and religious.

 My thinking was more "Hail to thee, blithe Spirit..."or "Spirit of the air"... but the name seems to be rather powerful and filled with mysticism. In one definition she is "a governing angel with dominion over the Earth, creative forces, the North, elemental spirits, and beasts." Elemental spirits are like gnomes, undines (look that one up!) and sylphs. OK! I don't know what a sylph is, but it sounds awfully mythical to me.

I think I will stick to my "Spirit of the air" vision and go with it.

Anyway..... It's what she wants.  Really!

Ariel has hair now. (back view)

I sewed rows of it, one on top of the other... twisting it at the ends (behind the ears) so I would have one continuious row of hair and not pieces at each end. This means that I didn't cut short pieces.I wrapped it back and forth. ( My friend MJ's idea.)

Then I sewed the edges to the scalp. It went well.

The last layer was attached as a separate piece going foward over her face, so I could pull the hair to the side and in front of the ears. Elf type ears are an issue with this doll, because they stick UP and you have to work around them.

The seam between the last hank of hair and the one going foward over her face is covered up by a ribbon with bobbles attached. I only have it pinned on (Those are the tiny white balls that you see.) right now, but I will sew it down and secure it soon. The beads are wonderful. They even look like earrings and the ribbon holds back her hair on each side.

This morning I made her a Nuno scarf. Got out the bubble wrap and the soap...

Found some wool with silk in it and some really pretty fabric...

Cut out the leaves and sparkle... and made her a little neck scarf. It's drying in the kitchen window. It was fun to do something so tiny. It went fast and didn't require a lot of felting.

You will be able to see it better when Ariel is wearing it..

Now, on to the clothing. My art group was here yesterday and gave me all kinds of ideas for Ariel's pretty little body. She's taking on an attitude, so I have to get this right.

I don't want the "Lion of God" to get annoyed.