Spring Fever in Oregon

Today was a perfect day for lolling around on the deck in the warm afternoon sun.
And having a good long stretch always helps too.

oh boy! a wedding

So here you have the bride and groom on the right, and a goofy spectator on the left.

These are fun to make, but I must have jabbed my fingers 100 times with the felting needle in the process. Ouch!

Bird Bride & Groom

I've been elected to make a wedding cake for a friend's August nuptials. I haven't found a cake topper that suits me, so I'm thinking of making one myself.

Here's my first idea.

My thought is to make little felted bride and groom birds, and attach them to some sort of wood base that I can stick on the top tier with frosting.

Maybe I'll make a little net veil for her, and a top hat for him.

Mothers Everywhere

I know it must seem like I'm fixated on our geese babies, but I can't help it. They're like little fuzzballs, and so danged cute.

Here are mom, dad and babies on our lawn yesterday (Mother's day).







And here's one of mom on Saturday, with her gaggle of five and a tiny straggler that hung around with them all day.

I have no idea how she got all these babies to our side of the river. The nest was on the other side somewhere, and the river is quite wild and high right now.






This morning, Jim and I went walking in a park near our house, and guess what we saw on one of the ponds. More babies.

Ahh Spring!!!

All of these photographs were taken by Jim.

It's A Boy...or A Girl...or Three Girls!

They've arrived! Our baby goslings are here, and are they ever cute. We've spotted only three babies, but there may be more.

Oh joy!

Juicy Goose

Since moving into our rental house while ours is being repaired, we've had the educational experience of watching a pair of Canada geese that hang out on the grassy area next to the river adjacent to our house.

I started studying about them and discovered that they mate for life, unless for some reason they're unable to reproduce with their partner.

We've studied our pair since January, and have seen them watch each other's backs while they feed, chase away other geese if they come too close, and make friends with the little ducks that consistently come into their territory to feed.

When the female was ready to lay her eggs, they evidently found a hiding place for their nest somewhere in the brush across the river. The male would come back to our side to stand guard, and the female only returned twice a day to feed. When we didn't see her all day the first few times, I got worried, so I started reading about them. I learned to watch for her return in the early mornings and evenings, and sure enough...

I've read that it takes about a day for her to lay each egg, and that she'll come back to see her mate and eat during those days. When all the eggs have all been laid, she doesn't come back over. That's what's happening right now, I think.

For the past few days, I've only seen her once. She'll stay on her eggs until all of goslings have hatched, then the male will join her full time again, and help care for the babies. The babies can swim from day one, so hopefully we'll get to see them before we move back home. Can't wait.

I'm a Person with too Much Time

I've been goofing around with making wire sculptures.





Here's a replica of my hand. I started this by wrapping wire all around my hand and fingers.









I'm still trying experiments with fabric on canvas board. On this one, I painted the face with acrylics and then fused fabric pieces to it.

What a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

I'm happy!

The day is happy!


The view from our deck makes Oregon seem happy.









The ducks on the lawn are happy.
Phoebe tiptoes by the tulips, so she's happy.
Happier!
















Happiest!

Belated Blog

Not a lot of blogging time lately. It's been crazy busy.

Here's a shot taken yesterday from the new balcony off our bedroom. It's just about complete.



I decided that while the washer, dryer and freezer were out of the utility room (because of the tree damage repair), it was a good time to slap on some paint. I decided to go a little wild. Here's the result with one of my quilts auditioning for the wall space.

Try Try Again

I'm still goofing around with image transfers and using fabric as "paint" on canvas board.

I haven't really decided if this is something I like or not. It's fun to do, but I don't think I've quite found the best technique yet.