What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

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. 

This is the last sign of the mystery pond animal. Something broke through the ice to make a path right to the hole in the bank.

Well, how are you and are you feeling festive finally? 

 Thank you so much for the comments and emails on my posts. Several of you asked about Tony's lack of appetite. It has been slowly waning. But that does not bother him like I think it should as he always enjoyed being thin. However, it is his lack of strength and feeling tired after only minutes of doing some chore or other that really bothers him. We just had yet another appointment with the doctor who reviewed his recent tests. No, nothing has been discovered; everything is status quo ...

Now comes the hard part, dividing up all of the cookies for several families and getting them into containers.

Now it is time to start making the Chex Mix.

They are predicting light snow twice this week but no white Christmas.

My rain gauge had a half inch of rain in it from Saturday.  Then there was ...

 I have the bird feeders filled and the wood brought in for the day long fire.

This is the leftover block that didn't get used in the layout.  It will go into the orphan block box most likely.

 When walking Ned one day, we spotted a Barred Owl. I say "we" because it was on the fence and Ned stopped and watched it too. I took Ned back home, grabbed my large camera and headed out to where I'd last seen it. It had moved across the driveway and then as I watched, it flew much further into thick bush and I could get only so far. I couldn't find it but there was a very large shape in a tree I assumed to be my owl. I knew it was unlikely any photos would be ...

View out my sewing room window. The deer and the turkeys take turns dropping by.