Watery Wednesday - A Forest Pond

A tranquil pond in the forest is a great place to rest and reflect.

For more Watery Wednesday fun go to

http://waterywednesday.blogspot.com/

Gilded Cage

I was on an errand with a friend looking for artificial spring branches to use in an outdoor display urn for the church, no luck finding the branches as the store was sold out, but I did find this cage and bird. 

I brought them home and made a nest of moss for the bird to sit in

 adding a whimsical touch to the front hall table.

Pussy willow branches will have to be used in the display urn for the church as there are

no shrubs in flower in my yard.  Some daffodils and pansies will also do the trick.

Have a great day!!

Mosaic Monday - Sugar Bush Trip

We went to Shaw's Sugar Bush near Orillia, Ontario to pick up our yearly supply of maple syrup, have a plate of pancakes and stroll through the sugar bush.  My mosaic this week contains pictures from our trip.

Join Mary at Little Red House for more mosaic fun

Tracking Hummingbird Migration

This shot was taken from my kitchen window last spring, the hummingbirds had just arrived in my area.

He is a bit out of focus as it was taken through the glass. Every year at the end of March I start tracking the migration of the hummingbirds at http://www.hummingbirds.net/.  On this site there are two maps, one of the United States and one of Canada, where watchers will post their first sitings.  It is fun to watch the progress of the dots as the hummingbirds migrate north.  So hopefully the end of April or early May I will be adding my post to the map.  Have a great day!

Morning Drink

This bluejay arrived at the birdbath early Saturday morning,  they do not spent the winter in my area so it was a welcome sight.  To view more critters head to  http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/

Have a great weekend:)

Little Red House Giveaway

Mary, our host from Mosaic Mondays, is having a giveaway.  A lovely ceramic plate with birds, butterflies and insects painted on it along with a woven dish the perfect size to hold small chocolate easter eggs.  Wonder over to Little Red House and enter her giveaway.  You could be the winner, how wonderful :)

A Frosty Morning

Yesterday a light, steady rain fell for most of the day, but the temperature never reached higher then 4 degrees Celsius so I spent most of day indoors, today arrived full of sunshine but Jack Frost had made an overnight visit.

As you can see my Helleborus orientalis is covered in frost.  It will be a few more days before I can enjoy its' nodding rose flowers. Helleborus orientalis or Lenten Rose, forms a tough clump of leathery, evergreen leaves. The flower stalks appear in early spring and the flowers come in shades of white, cream, pink, rose, red or marron.  It is excellent under trees or shrubs growing 40 - 60 cm tall and it likes well drained loamy soil. Many gardeners consider this cultivar the easiest to grow and I agree as I have it on the north side of the house.

The temperature this afternoon climbed to 20 degrees Celsius on the deck in the sun, so I put the pond pump running in the hopes of clearing the pea soup water.  I know it seems early but time will tell if my experiment works. 

I am hopeful tomorrow is also sunny and warm, Spring is certainly being fickle this year.

Mosaic Monday: Colorful Vignettes

I had such a wonderful time at Canada Blooms, in Toronto, I wanted you to also enjoy a visit.

Join our host Mary for other mosaics.

Go to Meeting Bag

I was attending my monthly quilting class and this display bag just kept calling to me, you know, just as that last forlorn piece of chocolate cake keeps calling...eat me...well it was saying take me home.  I resisted its' siren call for most of the day, until the last hour of class and I broke down, parted with my plastic and bought the pattern and material. With the weekend weather again snowy I retreated to the quilt room to finish that bag.

The finished bag!!!:)

I christened it my Go To Meeting Bag and I just love it.

The inside has pockets to hold pens, cell phone, ruler, rotary cutter or anything you would need in a meeting.

I covered a piece of plastic needlepoint canvas with fabric to give it a stiff bottom.

All that is needed now, is a meeting to attend.

Take care!

Romantic Evening

Strolling beside the quite water watching a fabulous sunset we came across these swans floating into the setting sun.

Visit Camera-Critters

 http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/

for more blogger photos

Eggs as Decorations

Easter is only two weeks away and I have been thinking about decorating the table. 

 

These two finds have helped me decide on an egg theme this year for the table.

I like the soft greens and blues mixed with the white very soothing, just what is needed for our rowdy group.

Irish Blessing

March 17 is St. Patrick's Day so let us celebrate with traditional Irish linen and Belleck.

A Wish for a Friend

Wishing you a rainbow

For sunlight after showers -

Miles and miles of Irish smiles

For golden happy hours -

Shamrocks at your doorway

For luck and laughter too,

And a host of friends that never ends

Each day your whole life through!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Summer Flowers

The yard is so bare and having just returned from setting up a display of colorful flowers at Canada Blooms in Toronto, summer flowers were just the thing to lift a sagging spirit.

Visit Mary, at http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/ for more mosaics.

The Joys of Club Class

Once a month my Neverending Quilt Club meets at a local quilt shop where we sew, laugh and eat.
Since quilters have such a giving nature one of our members is having a fundraiser to support Jamaican
Women and Children in shelters. So the group rallied together and here are some of their donations.

As you can see there are some very talented quilters in the group. 

They are all beautiful!!

Sitting in the Sun

This Mourning Dove was sitting on the deck railing soaking up some sun and was not the least concerned

with me taking a picture.

For more Camera-Critters visit

http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/ 

Spring Walk

The weatherman has said today will be the last sunny day for a few days, as rain will arrive
tomorrow.  So, I thought I would take a walk around the backyard, since most of the snow
has melted and see what I could come across.

Put on my new yellow wellies and took the camera with me.

The back of the property has a large native woodland, where I sit on the bench and listen to the trees.

As you can see most of the snow has melted, only a little is left around my bench.

 

The small pond is almost clear of ice, but will overflow when the rain arrives.

Wonder how the fish are doing?

Oh WOW, look the snowdrops are poking their heads out.

A sure sign of spring.

Have a great day!

Signs of Spring in My Garden

The Red Squirrel is the first spring arrival to my garden.  They are lively characters to have, but I have had to put metal guards on the entrance holes to all my birdhouses as they will chew the hole larger to investigate inside.  The nesting bird either moves on or loses their babies. Nature at work!!!!

Garden Art

These delightful pieces can be found in my friend Carol's garden.  It is
full of surprises around every corner, nice without being tacky.
Visit Little Red House for more mosaics.

Painting with the Camera

While at Allen Gardens in Toronto, I decided to try out some camera painting,
 abstract art done with the camera.

This is what the garden looks like before blurring takes place.

After blurring.

A different garden.  This is an easy way to make your own artwork, shutter speed 1/4 second at f22 moving the camera up or down, in a circle, side to side and this is the effect.  If you like a clear in focus shot this is not for you, but everyone needs to step outside the box and try something new. You never know you may like if after all. 

New Toy for my Camera

I do not own a macro lens for my camera, so I purchased a 58 mm Close-Up Lens Set

attached them to my 28-80mm lens and took some pictures of my orchid. 

I think the results are great, so some friends and I are heading

to Allen Gardens, inToronto, to play in the greenhouses. What

a way to spend the day!!

Medallion Quilt

I donated this medallion quilt to the Toronto Military

Family Resource Center to use as a fundraiser.  All

proceeds will go toward programming to support

deployed military families. Tickets can be purchased

from the front desk at the TMFRC or from the

Deployment Staff until draw date March 31, 2010.

It was a project from a class on how to make friendly

math borders.  I had it longarm quilted with an all over

pantagram design.