What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

 After several dark, damp cold morning walks, today the sun is shining and we are promised it will get to 13C. I'm mostly wearing my spring jacket these days. And I, being the tick magnet that I am, have begun spraying my waders with bug spray...it's supposed to help repel them. The trails are snow and ice free...cue the choir...hallelujah!  And the Trout Lilies are already sending up tiny green shoots down on the big trail. The frogs are croaking and the birds are singing. Which of the 43 types of striped sparrows that are ...

Spring is trumping winter-at last- as I write this. I saw our first robin on Sunday last. And the little chipmunk has emerged from the underground winter den, the one I imagine lined with my sunflower seeds. 

Just after the snowstorm this guy below appeared acting like this, a sure sign of spring. The flock of females that were with him had wandered off but he hung about showing off, just because he can, I guess. I'm curious about the mechanics of this- being able to lift all these feathers and change certain body bits to different and bright ...

 What’s for dinner? 

Good question! In my anticipation of retiring earlier than the Hubs, I promised to have dinner ready upon his arrival after a long day’s work. After 4 months, I’m keeping my promise—but it does cut down on quilting time. We were discussing his retirement plans earlier this week and he said he was ready to return to being the primary provider of meals. YAY!!!! I told him I’m happy to share the duties, but he said the magic words, “I want you to go sew…” That man knows me. I can’t ...

I recently joined a delightful new club in our Florida community called Girlfriends’ Happy Hour. The premise is simple and charming: the first 100 women to sign up bring an appetizer or dessert, their drink of choice, and spend a few … Continue reading →

The ground is starting to get that in between seasons look...grimy snowbanks and patches of old grass showing through here and there. Freezing temps overnight still and it was -14C here yesterday morning for a windy walk with Ned. They keep promising warm ups that don't happen. I gave my Geranium a deep trim-all my plants are getting a little "leggy" as they reach for the precious light. You can glimpse our snow free gravel driveway here so the sun is working it's magic even if the air is cold. Yah!

So what's new at the wooden house. Last weekend our fridge died. It came with the house and is old. I've moved things down to our freezer and the tiny drinks fridge downstairs. And this house came with a cold room intended for wine (our little joke is how ridiculous Tony's monthly box of wine would look in it) but now has come in handy to house most of the fridge stuff. Actually I'm quite settled into a routine of going downstairs with my basket for whatever I need in the kitchen. Logging more steps is ...

We had a snowfall warning yesterday which didn't materialize and now are under a rainfall and freezing rain warning. The ground is still very frozen so where will the water go is the worry. I'm hoping it won't get as icy as we have had it so often in winter. Turkeys from my sewing room window...

 From reading blogs, I'm quickly realizing I'm not the only one thinking February flew by. The weather outside my windows is back to frightful so nothing is indicating a new spring like month. Here March is an in between month anyway and can go either way, keep us snowbound or bring on rain and melting. Weather is not that important to me. I would never move somewhere just for weather though I might avoid some areas because of the kind of weather they have. I don't think I'd do well where there is high humidity a ...

 My eyes are drawn to the tops of trees these days. No leaves so I've been rewarded with a glimpse of something or other-birds, nests, etc. Lately I've twice seen a turkey way up in the branches. Especially up so high there, they look completely out of place. How do they rest that long neck I wonder. Surely it can't be comfortable. Once a week, a flock still wanders through the front yard area. And lately a small flock of Dark-Eyed Juncos has been around the feeders. They are on their southern holiday from the Arctic. What ...

The dig out from the back to back snow storms that dumped almost 18 inches of snow here was fierce. Here is Ned's path out the back...he needed encouragement to give it a go.

When we drove home from Robbie's hockey game last Saturday evening, we couldn't get over how light it still was for 5:30. The season is moving along we happily agreed. 

I had the pleasure of spotting and watching a young Barred Owl recently. There is one wooded area here where I've photographed Barred Owls a couple of times. I always look at the tree tops when I walk through there. This time I was lucky to spy him because this owl was quite tucked away, snuggled against a tree trunk and with its colouring, blending in ...

 I'll speak of weather and get it out of the way as it were. We got advance warning of a winter storm so I was able to fill the feeders, get in my bit of firewood to start the fire and have an extra long walk in the evening thinking I wouldn't get out the next morning.

I enjoy spying the white birch trees.

Last night we fell asleep to the faint drone of snowmobiles over on the the trails. It was a great calm night for it but would have been cold. I imagine they would know to be well covered. And snowmobiles these days offer heated handles and seats, all sorts of stuff, not like when I drove one in the late seventies. 

How did your last week and weekend go? We had a very long doctor's visit for Tony with much discussion about the failing strength in his legs. He has taken two ...

How are you...snowed in or sweltering in the summer heat?  The new year has started with wild and horrible weather around the globe. Heartbreaking to see devastation on such a scale in California. It makes us appreciate what is a normal winter so far here in the Ottawa valley. Wind chills of over -20 many days but you can have all the gear to layer up and keep warm on walks while out and about. I notice some folks have very fashionable, and what I would call, even beautiful winter outer wear. Mine tends to be more utilitarian and ...

 I'm feeling pretty good today as I successfully navigated the online Patient Portal at our doctor's website to renew a prescription, a cream I use infrequently but like to have on hand. The Portal has become notorious with having so many glitches it has increased calls to the reception desk, not lessened them as hoped. Now if only I could figure out Blogger.

I keep the binoculars on my kitchen window shelf and my camera handy there too. I took this photo of a small fluffy looking bird that turned out to be a very young Blue Jay ...

A crisp -23 C wind chill out there this morning. I'll bundle up for the morning walk, maybe even break out my balaclava. I'm now filling two bird feeders with black sunflower seeds. These little guys are getting snacks from the ground.