Weekending

Did you remember to spring ahead this morning? I didn't! *grin*

Our day started with my usual lighting of the woodstoves, making sure everyone got breakfast, puttering around the kitchen tidying up, planning for lunch and today I popped on a pot of bones and veggies for chicken soup. Just before we reached lunch which was now past lunch I realized that I was truly running an hour behind. I had joked on my twitter page that I had been living in the past all morning but the truth of it was that I never caught up with the time today!

So I decided that I was not going to set my clocks ahead today since I simply just could not catch up!! That's right I had my own personal time zone for the entire day and tomorrow we'll catch up to the rest of you LOL. I swear sometimes it's a good thing we live in the sticks where we can march to the beat of our own drum *grin*.

We've had quite the run of weather to with sun, rain and snow flurries and sometimes they were happening all at the same time. The temperature in the shade today was just above freezing so the kids had to do a lot of running and jumping to keep warm but when they realized that just wasn't working for them they came up with a new plan to help keep themselves warm....

Chicken warmers!

I bet you didn't know that chickens make great hand warmers *grin*. The kids would run into the pen, pick up the closest chicken, tucking their hands around their warm fluffy bodies and warmed up a bit. Plus the chickens just loved the extra attention :)

In payment for providing warmth for their little hands my youngest two collected pine cones from the mugo pines in our front yard and blades of grass to create a soupy treat for the chickens. You've got to love their imaginations! The chickens weren't to keen on their treat but did pluck out the odd blade of grass for a nibble :)

Before my husband left for work on thursday he had been a busy boy demolishing my old clothesline stand. It had been getting pretty rickety and rotten and he knew that I really wanted a new one so he finally tore it down. I can't wait for my replacement stand. The warmer days are just around the corner and I can't wait to get the laundry out to air dry again. For now though the scrap lumber has been stuffed in the back of our horse trailer so we can haul it down the the bottom of our property for a big bonfire when he returns :)

I've been making a lot of homemade yogurt to. It is sooo good! I just have to remember to make sure I put it on in the evening so it's ready for our granola in the morning :)

How was your weekend?

Hugs,
Rosina

Nature Walk ~ Bald Eagle Spotting

On our nature walk this week we were treated to a spectacular show of bald headed eagles :) We have a network of trails that wind up the mountain behind our house and to our bottom field and it was down there that we came across a good half dozen of them.

A few of them were skittish and flew away but the others that remained eyed us curiously from their tree top perches. I would have loved to have gotten a little closer for a better photo as these ones are a little grainy but my little guy was so busy stomping tracks into the snow that I didn't dare go any further into their comfort zone *grin*.

Speaking of tracks we found these great bird tracks!

Now I'm not certain if these were from the eagles but we found them nearby and they look like the tail feathers of a large bird as it sat in the snow. I should have put my hand or shoe by them as they really were quite big. I have never found anything like this before so it was so neat to share it with the children :)

We hung around as long as we could before we became to cold to stay an longer but we got to see a few of them soaring back and forth between different trees and even a few juveniles that joined the older eagles. I wish I could have stayed much longer just admiring their grace and beauty. A true winter treat :)

Hugs,
Rosina

Taking In The Beauty Surrounding Us

Talk about disbelief this morning! This was the scenery that greeted me when I looked out the kitchen window as I made breakfast. It didn't last long but it has brought below zero temperatures again despite the gorgeous sunshine that graced us today :)

I wanted to treat the kids today so we went down to the little corner store and they got to pick out a little candy and we drove the end of the road where it narrows and stops abruptly...

where the wooden planks and rocky edges join as one with the Johnstone Strait :)

The hues of blue welcomed us and the icy wind whipped around the car but the view was divine. We are so blessed to live only minutes from the ocean. It has to be my favorite place on earth to be :)

So while the kids munched on their treats I enjoyed the weekend edition of the paper...

and they all took turns using the binoculars to look for ships and signs of whales and seals. We had an amazing experience of seeing one of the young bald eagles testing out its hunting skills as it swooped down and attempted to snatch a fish from the ocean's surface! It missed but still very cool :)

Crew boats heading out to the nearby camps had a bit of a bumpy and lumpy trip today as they crashed their way across the strait through the white caps and I was just happy. Oh so happy taking the beauty in around me and listening to the giggles in the backseat :)

Hugs,
Rosina

right now, I AM

....listening to the frogs croaking *grin*.

They're back! Over the last couple of days nature has made a sudden and very vocal comeback and it is music to my ears :) There are so many more birds now visiting the feeder and chirping away, dozens of robins can be seen scouring the fields all the time as they look for bugs and turn the manure piles over and tonight the frogs are singing. And not just one frog but a chorus of them. Not long and there will be multitudes of eggs clinging to the reeds and grass around our pond ready for little fingers to poke at and inspect :)

Hubby and I were just talking and making plans for future camping trips to. He figures it's a little to cold to go now but come the end of April I think we'll start venturing out. I'm looking forward to going further north to one of our favorite spots where we can camp right at the top of the beach along the ocean. It's a little chilly in May but is the only time that we can just pop out whenever we want and get a front row seat to the ocean. I love to spend the afternoons scouring the beach with the children looking for shells, crabs and other cool things that we come across and then at night we get to sleep to the sounds of the waves crashing up onto the rocks :)

There are so many things I am looking forward to :) How about you?

Hugs,
Rosina

Click the frog to learn more!

Snow Sculptures & Candle Light

The other day when I was reading Marcia's blog Child in Harmony she had shared a wonderful snow sculpture of a bird that she had made and invited others to join in :) When I mentioned it to the children they were completely gung ho to create something that we could share with her family so we got busy!

I decided to create a snow angel with a crown of Japonica blooms upon her head and her arms folded nicely together in front of her...

to create a little nook for seed to go for the winter birds. I loved how Marcia's had a little hideaway for seed so I just had to do it to *grin*.

Sticking with the bird theme my 7 year old created this fantastic bird sculpture. She was so happy with how it turned out :)

Next she went on to create a little birdie hotel complete with a bird seed cafe on the top surrounded with a little bit of camouflage bush and a cozy little nook in the bottom with a comfy leaf nest :)

This evening we took a candle outside for our snow angel to hold and lit it. She was so pretty glowing in the dark outside of our family room window. So wonderfully peaceful to sit and watch it flicker and dance as it illuminated her face.

Hopefully the snow will stay just a little bit longer so that we can enjoy a few more nights of our glowing angel before she melts away :)

Hugs,
Rosina

Holiday Package Ready To Ship

Ta-Dah!

All finished :) My little holiday ornament turned out even better than I could have hoped and I'm seriously going to have to make one for myself now *grin*.

Here is everything that I'm sending to my secret swap partner for the holiday edition of the potholder pass. Both of the potholders have the appliqued bird design on the front and the candy cane striping for the backing. I wasn't sure how I was going to add the potholder hooks but I decided on using red rik rak and embellished them with a tiny red heart and to accompany the potholders is my little stumpwork ornament.

I sure hope my partner will enjoy it as much as I did making it for her :) The whole package is all wrapped up and ready to be dropped off at the post office tomorrow morning and I can't wait to see what I get *grin*.

Hugs,
Rosina

Potholder Progress

I am seriously falling in love with this potholder!

The little birdies turned out even cuter than I thought and I can't wait to get stitching tomorrow :) I think that I'm going to replace the one tear dropped shape on the bottom left that has the multi colored stripes as it sort of looks out of place with the rest but hindsight is always 20/2o right?

I was thinking that when I'm finished this I'm going to turn the pattern into a lino block print and use it for my Christmas cards this year to *grin*. I haven't made a new print in quite some time and I'm just itching to put all of the great info I learned from Richard to more use!!

How about you, have you started any of your Christmas projects or cards yet? Yes I said cards to! I'm already starting to write my holiday letter because I know that if I don't finish it by the end of this month it will never reach everyone before Christmas LOL.

Hugs,
Rosina

Potholder Planning

I've been digging through my fabric piles looking for Christmasy prints so I can get right down to business working on my holiday potholder for the PP5 swap :) I happened to just purchase a charm pack of Moda's 12 Days of Christmas so that is going to come in mighty handy and I have the name of my secret partner and what she likes so I'm ready to roll *grin*.

Originally I planned to do something with cathedral window blocks for the top of the potholder but being my usual indecisive self I thought that maybe that just wasn't going to be creative enough for my partner so I got to sketching :) So far I've come up with these chubby birdies and some random shapes surrounding them with the heart on top which I thought was cute.

What do you think? If it's done in the Christmas fabrics and maybe some freehand embroidery to embellish the bird backs....

I haven't worked out all the kinks yet but I've got it started so that's one step closer to the mailing date at the end of the month *grin*.

Hugs,
Rosina

Nature Spotting

There have been quite a few cougar sightings again near our home but fortunately we haven't come across one but we have seen TONS of black bears. They just seem to be popping up everywhere! A couple of years ago we had a run in with one we lovingly named 'Dennis the Mennis' which some of you will remember reading about as I chased him with pots and pans, watched him stand on my front living room window and I even had boogers blown on me by his evil counterpart that was caught in the bear trap placed in our yard *grin*. Yes it was definitely something I will never forget or the kids! Cute and cuddly... I think not.



We've also had a pair of barn swallows that decided to take up residence in a fan outlet on the side of our home this spring and have so far successfully raised two batches of babies but I have never actually seen the nest! I'll be in the bathroom doing my hair or brushing my teeth and I can see the parents swooping in at break neck speed followed by the frantic peeping of the babies. It's sort of fun to listen to but all is silent now so I'm sure they have all left the nest again.

While visiting my cousin last weekend though we got to watch the above swallows in the most incredible nests. Just look at the structure of that one! It's amazing, like a mud pillar *grin*. Her entire home was covered in the nests anywhere there was a spot under the roof that would accommodate a nest :) I just love watching birds with the kids but I think now that the nesting spot on our home is vacant I'm going to plug the hole with some chicken wire to keep them from returning. I'm not sure what sort of damage they could eventually cause so unfortunately they will have to be evicted.

The boys have been trout fishing again and they have a bit of a competition going on to see who can catch the largest trout. K was in the lead but I think on their last trip he was topped by Opa and now he must try extra hard to catch that big one that got away *grin*.

They have so much fun going to the lake together and recounting stories of lost bobbers, tangled line, rain squalls that plague every trip and don't ask me how they do it but they have each completely wrecked their rods at least twice. There's got to be some really hard fishing going on in order for reels to fall right off! LOL. Oh well, it's all in the name of fun right?!

How about you, what sort of nature spotting have you had the pleasure of seeing?

~ Rosina

Build Your Own Bird Blind

Anyone who has met our family will know that we are without a doubt crazy about nature! One of my children's favourite hobbies is to watch the birds that come and visit our feeders throughout the year. So what sort of craft do you make to keep a couple of bird brained nature lovers happy? Why you construct a simple bird blind of course for hours and hours of bird watching fun that keeps you up close and personal while incognito.

You will need:
A large cardboard box
A small cardboard box
Masking tape or clear packing tape
Exacto knife
Scissors
A glass
Brads

Start by finding the largest cardboard box that you can. A great place to get a box if you don't have one handy at home is by visiting your local grocery store and asking if they have a banana box or another large box hanging around in their stock room that they could spare. Quite often I have gone asking for boxes for school projects and I've never been turned down yet. Once you have your box, carefully open the top and bottom flaps and then cut vertically down one of the side seams so that the whole thing lies flat on the floor, then cut the box in half and stack the one layer above the other creating a large square. Now grab your tape and tape up the center seam where you are joining the two box halves together on both sides of the cardboard and any other spots on the box that appear to be weak. It may take a couple of strips of tape layered side by side until you have a good six inch width of tape to create a nice sturdy seam that is going to stand up straight when you set your cardboard upright.



Now that you have the backbone of your bird blind built you will want to put in some viewing holes. Place your bird blind on the window sill where it will be used for bird watching and have each of your children stand right in front of it so that you can mark exactly where their eyes meet the cardboard. Take a glass and use it as your template for drawing nice uniform circles. Using your exacto knife carefully cut out the circles slightly within the lines.

With a rambunctious four year old that wants to be just like big brother and sister I thought it was pertinent to create a way to cover up some of the viewing holes while they weren't in use to keep him from startling the birds as he bounced around behind the blind. To do this we used a smaller cardboard cereal box and using our glass again we traced out more circles to be cut out as covers for our viewing holes.

Using the tip of your scissors poke a hole above each of your viewing holes on your bird blind and through the top of each of the viewing hole covers. Then place a brad through each of the covers and in turn through the holes on your bird blind creating little flaps that swing open and closed over your viewing holes.

We had fun drawing on ours so that they looked like eyes looking back at us. We also thought it would be neat to use our bird blind as a bulletin board (see very first photo) for our nature drawings as well. So we taped up a bunch of our bird drawings from out of our nature journals and photos from bird articles in our local newspapers so that the we could try and spot different species as we watched our feeders. The entire project from start to finish took us about an hour to complete and it is amazing to be able to sit less than a foot away from the feeders watching unnoticed as the birds munch away on their bird seed. Don't be afraid to get creative with your bird blind either. Take it outdoors on a nice day and have your children cover it with branches and leaves to really camouflage it or let them paint it to blend into the surrounding shrubbery. Set it up near a place you know the birds always gather at, bring along a couple of lawn chairs and some snacks and have fun!

If you decide to make one let me know. We'd love see how you make your bird blind special :)

~ Rosina

Bird Attack ~ Outdoor Challenge Day 22

Oh such a sweet looking but so terribly naughty bird.
Yes... I said naughty and I meant it!

Remember all of those wonderful broccoli, cauliflower & cabbage plants that we planted just a little over a week ago?

GONE! Decimated, destroyed, wiped out, eradicated, annihilated, ravaged, eaten and in the end vanished. I've run out of words to describe what happened to our little vegetable babies *grin*. One day we were watering them and the next day there wasn't anything but the leafless stalks in the photo above. An entire patch gone.

Apparently this isn't the first time that the Golden Crowned Sparrow has struck so I've been told and they like to munch on fresh greens as they migrate to their breeding grounds. We have never had trouble with them before and maybe it's because of the mild winter and we planted just a little to early this spring before these little plant eaters had passed through but whatever the case may be we were hit.

From now on I will be very wary of the yellow stripe!!! LOL

Do you have photos of your children enjoying the outdoors? Visit The Great Outdoors Challenge to join in the fun and you can also visit other participants and see what sort of nature fun they have been having by clicking on the names below :)

~ Rosina

Nature on the Go ~ Outdoor Challenge Day 11

We had to head into town again today so we had nature 'on the go' :)
Hubby headed down to the wharf to check out the new tug boat so we got to watch all of the fishing vessels, sail boats and tugs come and go in the harbor.

We even had a chance to do a little wildlife viewing *grin*. Well a pigeon isn't exactly exotic but the kids found it amusing to watch them strutting around on the wharf :)

And don't forget about the flowers! Isn't the giant teacup super cute?! I had a hard time talking the kids out of begging for me to take it home *grin*. I must say I was mighty tempted to buy it myself! So even though we spent most of the time in the truck and in stores we still had a chance to sneak in a little nature :)

Do you have photos of your children enjoying the outdoors? Visit The Great Outdoors Challenge to join in the fun and you can also visit other participants and see what sort of nature fun they have been having by clicking on the names below :)

~ Rosina

Fellow Nature Players:lisa, sanders, angelina, phyllis, sarah, christie, jennifer, debbie, dong dong, denise, luisa, joy, stephanie, cori, alex, dawn, kristen, catherine, tricia, becky, christy, ruth, kari, courtney, branflakes, jessica, renee, haiku, brynn, amy, clemencia, sherry, leslie, lise, renee, anet, jenn, marina, amy, ella, marcia, karen, beth, julie, kyndale, kelly, lizzie, eileen, ag, mari-ann, cindy, robin, nicole, debbie, julia, anita, lisa, jenn, montessori, marita, jeannie, hallie, mandy, kangaroo, andrea, joey, carmen, teena, stephinie, gidget, elizabeth, emma, rosina, saminda, melissa, katie, becca, atouria, barbara, ariella, missy, elizabeth, sarah, eileen, lisa, stacy, jennifer, tulsileaf, lisa C, morticia, angela, rana, jamie, lisa c, luz, charley, heather, valerie, kirsten, rachel, annie, kendra, beth s, lindsey, michelle, megan, renee

Flickr Favorites ~ Spring

1. I'm Really Rosie..., 2. #575 黃鴝傘彩, 3. Spring Blossoms, 4. The Spring corner

I think that we have finally broke through from the dreary days of winter and sprang right into SPRING!! Well at least for now *grin*. It has been so warm and sunny that it has lightened my spirits immensely.

I think that I may have had a touch of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) with the non stop gray rainy days we had this winter. There wasn't even any snow this year to shine brilliantly during the day to make things brighter :( But the bees are buzzing, the blossoms are opening, the birds are chirping, we're enjoying nature, singing & dancing and feeling 'springy'. *grin*

So today it's all about spring!

Want to join in the fun and share your flickr favorites? Head over to Misty's blog and join in!

~ Rosina

Daylight Savings Time Warp

Anyone else get caught off guard by the time change today?
I had totally forgotten all about it until hubby came to wake me up and tell me that he had somehow mysteriously lost an hour between getting out of bed and making coffee! LOL.

I must say that I was so happy to see that it was still daylight tonight at 7pm though. The darkness is finally receding. I think that the birds are even more chipper! They're flocking the bird feeder in droves and tweeting up a storm lately :)

We'll have to see just how chipper I feel in the morning though. I've got company coming early and I'm still running on the pre daylight savings so of course I'm not feeling tired enough to sleep yet *grin*. Maybe I should put it to good use and find a place to stash all of the piles of fabric that are out and about!

What do you think... Maybe if I put a long tablecloth on the dining room table I can stash it under there. LOL. Wish me luck :)

~ Rosina

Pictures Around The Farm ~ Spring Has Sprung

Just when I thought that we would escape any form of winter this year it went and tried to snow today! Thankfully it was only a dusting of snow and the rain & wind quickly swept it away but it is icy cold out there and it's threatening all of the signs of spring that are popping up everywhere :)

I've been sewing up bundles of my reusable cloth snack & sandwich bags for the last couple of days to fill the larger orders that came in earlier this week and I always find that when you know you have to do it you can think of a million other things that need doing *grin*. So now that I got the last of them shipped off today I can't wait to tackle the new spring dress I'm working on for my daughter!

It's a really cute jumper pattern but I'm adding in a couple of pleats to both the front and backside of it and sewing in a bright contrasting fabric inside the pleats. It's a challenge as I've never done it before but I've bot my pleats measured out and figured how much fabric I'm going to need for my contrast colors and it has been calling my name :)

Besides dreaming of sewing projects I've been planning my new raised bed that hubby is going to make for me and a new potato bed that I want to create :) The tomato seeds are in need of planting and by the end of the month I'll be able to get my broccoli started and soon after plant the peas outdoors. Time is moving swiftly!

We found the rhubarb in the above photo is starting to poke through the mulch again and all of the plum & apple trees are coming out in leaves already. If the snow and frozen weather holds off a little while longer we just might have a bumper crop of fruit this year as there a tons of bees buzzing around just itching to get some pollinating done *grin*.

I just love this last photo :) My son was fixing his bike the other day and the darn cat just wouldn't leave him alone. Nothing like a furry helper getting in the way!

What's sprouting and blooming around your home right now?

~ Rosina