B is for Blog about Baby Birds

I know I've been talking about Birds for quite a while...

but that's understandable if you live where I do!!!

Now your guess is as good as mine.  It sort of looks like a baby bird

in a feathery, slipper... Not.  Some kind of a duck for sure, getting lots of 

new feathers.

Then I spotted these babies... definitely ducks!!!

She's giving them directions!!!

"Come on babies, I'm going to teach you how to swim.  

If you follow close behind me, it will be easy as you will

be able to "draft" in the "wake" I create."   (I bet she enjoyed

the Indy 500 and learned these new "drafting" skills.)

We've seen lots of baby birds around here, but yesterday afternoon

we saw this in a neighbor's yard.  Looks like it's getting walking lessons.

Introducing a female wild turkey and her very new baby!!!

(We've never seen a baby wild turkey before.)

With my i-phone in hand, Don and I headed out in pursuit.

Mama noticed us right away and headed for garden foliage.

Baby said, "Hey Mom, is this what you mean by take cover?"

(Remember you can click on any photo for a closer view.)

She quickly responded: "you've learned your lesson well", as she

checked out the surroundings.

Then she let baby turkey know that the coast was clear.

Hey Mom" I feel like flying, but these wings don't

seem to work yet".

"Don't worry, just smile for the camera!!!)

"WOW - this is lots of fun, but I need a nap now."

 

Feathers and Friends

Our local "pond"is a beautiful place to walk around because

there are beautiful things to look at as you wander the short

1/4 mile mile loop trail.

One day I gathered these feathers from the ground and took

them home and put them in a vase.  

Don said "I don't think they're horse feathers, must be

turkey feathers." 

I voted for Goose feathers and here's the proof.

Any "turkey" could tell the difference, don't you think?

By the time I got around the lake,

here they all came!!!

Even those that don't have feathers enjoyed this

beautiful day (77 degrees at 11:00 a.m.).  This turtle

was sitting on a rock checking out his reflection in the pond

next  to a protective post.

And then he gave me his best profile shot,

or maybe he was flirting with a nearby turtle who 

had just ducked out of site... Remember you can click

on any photo for a larger view.  Check the center right edge

to locate the mystery turtle.

Later I had to pause for geese crossing

the path... but I made it home safely anyway!!!

 

It's All About the Color

When I went to the  Quilt Show with my friend Julie I spotted

this packet of 10" x 10" fabrics that appealed to me, but I told her

I wanted to see the rest of the vendor area before I purchased 

anything. 

This is a view of what the individual fabrics looked like, too

beautiful to resist.   The packet was called Charm Pack-Prism 

 which included a total of 42 squares.  They were designed

by Kaffe Fassett, someone I had met during my live as

 a weaver,  (check out Kaffefassett.com)   

At the two Quilt Shows that I attended recently, 

(detailed in a prior post),

I was drawn to several  quilts that featured houses

in a variety of styles,

shapes and arrangements.

So, as usual, I started my designing process at my computer,

which you see here.  I designed some houses of different

 sizes based on the dimensions I wanted for the final piece.

 I printed them out in a gray scale and arranged them

on the kitchen counter.

As it turned out I could use 2 large houses, I medium

and 1 small on each of the 5 rows.

So I got out my beautiful fabrics and cut out some test pieces...

  Each house would  include a roof, a facia board,

the house front and a front door.

I started to play with various color combinations after

I cut out the 4 elements for 10 large houses, 5 medium and 5 small.

Then I moved them around to check out a possible layout 

that I thought looked colorful & exciting.

And as usual, I selected a "wild" piece of  fabric for the

backing of the quilted piece,

which wraps around the front to become the 1/2" edge binding. 

I used a thread color that matched the background fabric

to stitch a random  quilting lines between the rows of houses.

This is the finished 15" x 35" piece  (in it''s final resting place)

in our living room.  Remember to click on 

any photo for a larger view.

 

Something to Do - Grass Valley CA

Located in Grass Valley, CA, the Nevada County Fairgrounds has

 been declared  “California’s Most Beautiful Fairgrounds”.   It is covered 

with hundreds of towering pine trees on almost 90 acres.  It is home

 to the annual Nevada County Fair, the Draft Horse Classic, 

the Country Christmas Faire, and world-class music festivals. 

As you enter the Nevada County Fairgrounds you will see

the "Gentle Giant" monument.

It is is the largest bronze monument of its kind in California. 

The Gentle Giant weighs 10,000 pounds, is more 

than 18 feet tall,  44 feet long, and eight feet wide.

Remember to click on any photo for a larger view, if

10,000 lbs isn''t big enough for you!!!! 

Perhaps I should move...

Artist Todd Andrews and Cosa Mikiska (now deceased) teamed up and 

presented the idea of the Gentle Giant monument to former 

CEO, Ed Scofield in 1987, and the fundraising for the statue began 

that same year. Ten years later it was  mounted on its concrete base.

The original logs pulled by the Gentle Giant were furnished 

by saving an ailing Sugar Pine from the Nevada County Fairgrounds. 

The current logs are from a cedar tree from the 

Nevada County Fairgrounds.

Before Don and I headed into the quilt show, I couldn't

resist a "nostril shot"of the gentle giant.

As we entered the doors to the Pine Tree Quilt Guild's "Quilt Show",

called Springtime in the Pines, I couldn't resist taking a photo

of this year's "raffle quilt".   Each year a generous quilter donates

one of their quilts as the "raffle quilt"!!! 

Each house had a tremendous amount of detail and they

 all had their own personality and charm.

This piece won "Best of Show" in the art category.  There

were many categories into which the quilter could enter their work.

Each year the committee selects a "Featured Quilter" who

is invited to display a body of her work...

This year it was Christine Barnes, who had a beautiful

display of some of her magnificent quilts which

were displayed on the first several rows as you entered the

showroom. 

t

This one was one of our favorites!!!

This quilt was created by another quilter and featured 

 ice-capped mountains, pine trees and a

moose family.  My favorite part was the dark blue outside 

border which featured a parade of hand embroidered bears.

And what weaver would not stop by to take a closer look

at this piece, which looked like it was woven.  It was

not... Those are individual 2" squares quilted together

to replicate a woven cloth on a black background.

Another fascinating piece was this beautiful "tree scape"

which looked like a photograph.  Actually in the artist

description it indicated that she had edited one of her

photos in photo shop and then exported it to a service provider

who printed it on a single piece of cotton fabric and returned it to

her.  Then she did hundreds of rows of top stitching to

create the texture!!!   HMMM...

Don enjoyed Hens & Chicks & Eggs....  

while I enjoyed "Trumpeter Swans" gliding effortlessly

along a pure blue lake.

But this came in a close second.  "Fire Life" was made

and quilted by Lynette Lester.  It is a collection of T-shirts

her husband accumulated while working on these wild fires!

OMG more houses, different sizes with trees intermixed.

 

Who wouldn't enjoy these nine colorful "Schnauzer" puppies.  

Loved the border fabric which was black paw prints on white!!!

This was my favorite piece in the show.  It will

be the raffle quilt next year.  I may have to go back to

the show next Spring and buy lots of raffle tickets!!!