Owling...

After the Big Feast that is Thanksgiving, I took the older grands outdoors with me to fetch the eggs from the chicken coop and then we went owling.  If you've never read Owl Moon, you should.  Then you will know what owling is.  What it means is to trek out in the trees to find an owl.  It requires;  Being quiet, Walking without much noise,  Watching closely,  Listening.  It was nearly dark when we went out and it was COLD and there was a skiff of snow on the ground.  We noticed how very many, many jackrabbit tracks were all over the snow.  We were bundled up, but the littlest Grandie was very cold and needed to be carried, so after a short walk through The Woods with no owl sighting, we turned for home.

(pic from Owl Moon)

This afternoon I took my walk through The Woods and found three owls.  All Great Horned.  I took some progression-type photos with my phone.  Some from a distance --can you sight the owl amongst the trees?  Some pictures are closer and some are of the owls flying low and stealth.  As I walked home one of the owls flew near to the houses.  I found Miss Peach playing outdoors and took her to the tree where he had landed.  She was thrilled to see this owl so up-close and personal.  He didn't mind us one bit, but just sat there turning his head this way and that,  minding his own business while we admired his size, feather patterns, colors, and his long ear tufts.  More owling adventures to come!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's been a busy Day of Preparation here.

The buns and pies are baked,

The cranberries are dipped in chocolate,

Potatoes are mashed and waiting for their oven-bake,

Cheese ball is chilling,

and the Ham and Turkey and Dressing are waiting in the wings for the big day.

The rest of the fixin's are coming with the guests.

Wishing you a great Thanksgiving! 

We have so much to be thankful for....

like teeth to eat Thanksgiving Dinner, 

and being together!
God bless your day.

Everyday nature...

 

Whitetail buck

Great Horned Owl

This time out I took the big camera with me and was able to capture a few more photos of the owl as well as a nice one of a whitetail buck.  Even though I see these animals and birds often while I'm walking, it still gives my heart a thrill to see them up-close or even far in the distance.  The sounds of the trees creaking in the wind, the scuffle of the jackrabbits out of their burrows, the brisk chill of a fall day, the silent flight of the owl, draw me close to the Creator of it all.

One of my granddaughters is very excited about all things nature.  When we are together she wants to look through the bird field guides with me and show me her nature drawings.  

She tells me, "Gram, there are so many, many things to learn about, aren't there?" 

Be still my heart,

someone who loves nature like I do!

(and she's my neighbor)

...............................................

What is the good of your stars and trees,

 your sunrise and the wind, 

if they do not enter into our daily lives? 

 ~E.M. Forster

Hidden...

   

 

Hidden. 

 In trees, in the grass, in my bird feeder.

Two little crab apples 

hanging in the forgotten tree in The Woods.

The Great Horned Owl.  

I see him when I have a phone camera and not my big camera

so my photo is not as crisp and clear as I'd like.

I'll keep trying!

A Jackrabbit 

(among many) lying still in the grass.

He thinks I don't see him.

A Pine Siskin

I'm not sure I've ever seen one here on the ranch.

I went to add some sunflower seed to the feeder and there he was.

Looking at me,  not moving, just waiting

for seeds.

The book says they follow the seeds no matter the weather.

It snowed a little today and it was cold, but the Pine Siskin was here!
Check out this article on their migration to the lower 48.
The Red Polls are Coming, The Red Polls are Coming, and Siskins Too!

...............................................

Nature is often hidden, sometimes overcome, seldom extinguished.

~Francis Bacon

Emmy's Wing-It Quilt...

 (lots of gray November days make my photos a wee bit dull)

Emmy's Wing-It Quilt is here!

(I feel like I just birthed something.)

Hubs bought me a new sewing machine,
the first new one in 30+ years since my Viking.
It's a Bernina.
It's wonderful. 

And I'm having fun learning and exploring all it can do.

Our newest grandbaby was born in September and as is my tradition, I wanted to make a quilt to celebrate her birth.  Her mommy asked if I could make this particular quilt pattern "Interwoven"

 in Moda's *Just Wing It* fabrics.

Finding the Just Wing It was a little tricky since it is now OOP, but there were a few Etsy sellers that still had charm packs and yardage left for me. 

I didn't bind this quilt in the traditional manner.

Instead I made a quilt with no binding according to this tutorial. 

I like the clean, modern look of it.

I did some free-motion machine quilting in loop-d-loops.  

I have done a very little free-motion quilting, and I am still a novice at it.

But I figure if I don't try, I won't get better.

Emmy won't mind my imperfection.

Keeping Christmas simple...

Brita as Iduna.                          Christmas Morning
Art by Carl Larsson

Dear Friends,
I know it's not Christmas yet, but if you're like me, you are already hunting for those special little things that you want to give to your loved ones.  Things that tell them they are loved and special.  Sometimes it's hard to find just the perfect gift and sometimes the big holiday can't be attended by every family member.  What do you do?  Well, tonight I found this little love letter from a mother to her daughters (and son), and it meant so much to me and said pretty much what I feel in my heart, so I wanted to share it with you too because maybe you feel this way, and you wish your children could know it.  I passed it on to my grown-up kids.  They were glad, I think.

Dear Daughters (On Keeping Christmas Simple)

Be blessed,
Jody

Nature walk...

 

Tree Sparrow (or Winter Sparrow)

 

 

Golden Eagle

 

Jackrabbit (white-tailed)

I took another walk through The Woods today, but along the way I found a few creatures that caught my eye.  The first was the Golden Eagle.  My DIL called me after breakfast to say that there was a huge Golden Eagle in the Cottonwood tree below our houses.  Sure enough, he was perched right up towards the top of the tree and didn't budge at all when I walked right underneath him. It's that time of year once again when we see the eagles come back for the winter to hunt jack rabbits, cottontails, and mice.  We have a plentiful supply of all three so I hope they eat their fill!

As I was walking into the shelter belt, I spied the cute little American Tree Sparrow or winter sparrow.  There was a pair of them, but this one perched nicely for me to take her picture.  Many of the summer songbirds are gone now, but the tree sparrow comes for a winter visit.  Our American Goldfinches sometimes stay for the winter depending on how cold it is.  They have changed their clothes from bright yellow tuxes to their tweeds of gray and white.

Do you see the white fur starting to color in the jackrabbit's coat?  The jacks are hanging close to the shelter belts now and that usually means that the weather is going to change -- likely cold and probably snow.  I haven't seen the Sharptail Grouse in the trees yet, but when they arrive, that is a sure sign of winter weather coming.  They like to nibble on the Russian Olives.  

I saw an owl fly by twice today, but again, I didn't get a good look at him.  I will though.  You can be sure.  I got to thinking that it might be a young Great Horned Owl too.  Stay tuned.

Morning fires, fall walks, recipes and more...

 

The mornings start out downright chilly now, even in the house. It's a great comfort to get up and start a fire in the stove and just sit there and sip coffee with the man.  I have found nothing so radiantly warm and mesmerizing as a wood fire.  I can stand with my backside to a fire for a long time before I feel like I'm heated through, and I can sit before a fire for an hour just gazing at the flames flicking this way and that and changing from red to yellow to blue.  We've had no snowy weather yet, but with the sun so low in the sky, it never seems to be bright and sunny anymore.  It's mostly gray and hazy with a sharp wind.

The colder, biting weather keeps me from walking up the road or through the open pastures, but instead I like to take to The Woods.  The Woods are really shelter belts planted long ago to block wind and snow from homes and for livestock.  For me, The Woods make for a quiet, mostly wind-free place to walk, and the scenery is altogether different from the open prairie.  I have to take my time walking there because there's quite a lot of down trees and limbs lying around and the grass is fairly tall and lays over certain branches.  The trick for me is to keep track of my footing whilst looking up in the trees to spy out owls and grouse and raccoon.  

Yesterday I took a long walk through several shelter belts around the houses and barnyard and I did find one lone owl.  Actually, I didn't spot it on my own, but I was making so much noise stumbling  amongst the branches that I scared it from its perch and it flew away.  I couldn't identify it, but it was smaller than a Great Horned Owl and did not have ear tufts that I could see.  I'm anxious to go walking again and see if I can get a look at it again -- maybe close up.  It could be either the Short-eared Owl or the Eastern Screech Owl.  If you have time, there is a short video on the camouflage of the Screech Owl.  They are HARD to find when perched because they blend in so well with the tree bark.  See this one below.

Eastern Screech Owl, 

Wikicommons by Zach of Gamboa, Panama

From the Garden: 

I roasted the last of the tomatoes tonight.  I had a box full of green and slightly ripening tomatoes that I plucked a month ago and hoped would ripen soon or later. Most of them did, but some of them just went bad and I fed them to the eager chickens.  I've decided that I like roasting and freezing tomatoes best of all methods of preserving.  They tend to be sweeter and less acidic than canning.  I brought in a big bucket of carrots from the garden and covered the rest that are in the ground with a heavy layer of hay mulch in hopes that they can stay there awhile longer.  I've found that carrots tend to stay crisp and fresh longer in the ground than any other place, but I can't let them freeze or they will turn to mush.

The butternut squash were plentiful and are especially delicious.  I found a really good recipe in my cookbook by Ina Garten called "Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics."  I involves roasting the squash  with pancetta (or bacon) and garlic and sage.  Oh is it ever good!  Click here for Maple Roasted Butternut Squash!

About Weaning Calves:

All of the calves are now weaned and eating feed -- ground hay and a very little cracked corn.  We used the calf weaning nose flaps on one bunch and that seemed to work out pretty well.  We decided that next time we will keep them in for 6-7 days in hopes that the calves don't wean as hard as they did.  It takes time for the bawling part to subside even though the pairs are together in the pasture.  We've had a few sick calves, but very few.  Those who do get sick are the calves that won't eat.  They tend to pout and sulk and stay away from feed and water and that makes for sick animals.

Wild birds -- in felt

 

 Black-capped Chickadee, Lazuli Bunting (blue), Downy Woodpecker

 

American Robin

Guess what?  I found DownEastThunderFarm!  And you know what Susan does there?  She makes patterns for wild birds -- made of felt.  Lots of them.  And you know what else?  She lets you print her patterns for FREE.  The only stipulation is that you don't sell them for profit.  I am so excited because each of my eight beautiful grandchildren are going to have a wild bird ornament clinging to their Christmas tree this December.  So far, I have these three made and another black-capped chickadee ready for its wire feet.  I've got an American Robin, Meadowlark, Burrowing Owl, Wren, and Red-winged Blackbird printed, and there are so many more to choose from.  Susan's patterns are clear and easy to understand.  I think the birds look very life-like, and as a bird-watcher, this thrills me.

If you're not into birds, there are also a few patterns for wild animals.  I'm especially smitten with the Whitetail Fawn, and the Christmas Moose is really sweet too.  I hope you might find your favorite bird at DownEast Thunder Farm.  Even if you don't intend to stitch up any birds, take a look around the farm anyway.  I think you'll appreciate the beautiful birds Susan has created.
 ..........................................................

Bread and milk for breakfast,
  And woolen frocks to wear,
And a crumb for robin readbreast
  On the cold days of the year.

~Christina Rosetti

Halloween Fun!

Dressing up

Trick or Treat

Eating "bones, skeletons, and monster cookies"

Chili and Cauliflower-Cheese soup

Pumpkin Ale

Jack-o-lanterns

Candy

Grandkids

Halloween!