Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Fowl preparations for fowl weather

We had a beautiful, warm day yesterday but there's another snow storm on the way. Not just a bit of snow but another snow storm. It's not supposed to hit until overnight but we're already getting the leading edge with the low clouds and cold temperatures. The storm is expected to bring 6" to 8" of snow in this area, with blizzard warnings from Castle Rock to the eastern plains and up to the Kansas border.
Here's a shot of the low, cold clouds moving in.
I filled the bird feeders just before taking the photo. The deck was swamped with birds last week during the snow storm but I wasn't prepared for them with winter wild bird seed. They had to be satisfied with tiny Italian bread cubes mixed with chopped walnuts. This week I'm ready with milo, millet and sunflower seeds. I'd barely come inside from filling the feeders and taking the photo when the first visitor arrived. It wasn't one of the sparrows or chickadees I have in abundance. It was a female Steller's Jay and, despite her large size, she managed to hang onto the feeder quite well. I can't say the same for her mate. I didn't get a photo of the male because he kept flopping and slipping from the perches until he gave up and flew away. I was chuckling too much to be able to get the photo!

 Oh - and there's another snow storm scheduled for Saturday. Who makes these schedules? I'm not tired of the sun and warm deck weather yet.

Warm colors on cold days

I've only been working with stashed yarn lately and was running out of colors that reflected the season and projects that have caught my eye. I came across some new fall colors that I thought looked warm and inviting and would lend themselves well to a crochet pattern I liked. I decided to give it a go and here's the result

The knit pattern called Feather & Fan has always been one of my favorites and I was impressed by how well this crochet pattern mimics the knit pattern. Maybe I shouldn't put the picture out here on the blog - I'm thinking this afghan will make a nice Christmas gift for someone.