Happy New Year!

It's that time again -- already!

A brand new, shiny year feels a little like a pristine supply of #2 pencils and blank notebook paper at the start of a new school year.

Setting new goals (or revisiting old ones that haven't been accomplished - yet), fresh hopes and plans.

I don't have any big resolutions - just things I'd like to keep working on. Things like continuing to improve mandolin playing and harmony singing, carving new images for printmaking, and chipping away at organizing my house - it got out of hand in a few places, somehow.... 

If you are thinking of any goals or plans, I wish you success. And generally, I wish  you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2024!!

 

 

The Model

I thought I ought to give credit where credit is due. After all, I wouldn't have been able to carve the Christmas Cardinal without a handsome model to work from. 

 
Here he is. I enjoy having him (and several of his friends) hanging out in my yard for most of the year.

 
I love seeing his brilliant flash of color any time of year, but it's especially welcome during the winter, when the color palette is dominated by neutral grays and browns (and white, when it snows).

He fluffs himself into a scarlet feather ball in cold weather.

And peeks out from the safety of brush tangles, where hawks can't penetrate, creating delightful visual surprises.

So, many thanks to this marvelous model for inspiring this year's holiday carving. I couldn't have done it without him!!

Christmas Cardinal

I thought it might be fun to share the print (three blocks) I made for my Christmas card this year.  I printed about 85(!) of them and when I ran out of the usual people on my holiday mailing list to send them to, I chose other folks for whom I had addresses. Local people, Carving Consortium people, RAPS people, letterboxing people and Myrthian merrymakers.

 

Since I always enjoy art surprises in my mailbox, I thought it would be fun to share a few random acts of Christmas (I went a little overboard).  Let me know if you would like to be added to my Random Acts list - you never know when I might have a stray print lying around looking for a home. :)

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the Christmas Cardinal and, as the card said on the inside:

May your Christmas be
Merry and Bright
And your New Year
Filled with Delight!

Merry Christmas and Happy Carving!

 

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

I ran across this poem the other day and Robert Frost's words have struck again.  Especially on this solstice - the darkest evening of the year.  So, here's the poem with a few snowy pictures to go along with it. No horses or harnesses, though. Sorry about that. :)

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Somehow, his words capture the peaceful hush of the snowy woods and trails.

And the solitude, with only the horse and whisper of the wind for company.

The "miles to go before I sleep" lines made me feel a reluctance to leave the quiet of that wood to dive back into the holiday season's bustle with all the preparations for gathering to celebrate with those we love. Things do get a little hectic at times! (I thought the turkey tracks went well with the bustling....) 

Happy Solstice!! The days start getting longer again from here and I'm ready for the shift.

Winter Waterbirds

Most of the birds that hang out in the bay all summer long have flown south to bask in sunnier climes for the winter. A few intrepid (or foolish) souls have decided to hang around a little longer, in spite of inclement conditions.

 

Snow falling around this Canada goose made an interesting combination, especially with the reflection in the water.

It seemed to be wondering what I was looking at!

An immature seagull has stuck around the neighborhood, too. Perhaps it hasn't figured out that it was supposed to leave with the rest of the flock. There are only a few left to travel with at this point.

I enjoyed the pose atop the snow-covered rock. They match, don't they? The rock has the darker base with the snow on top and the seagull has the darker body with the light feathers atop its head. 

Yes, I am easily entertained, but you knew that already.
 

Fortuitous Feathers

This picture put a grin on my face. It captured an industrious little chickadee with a perfect sunflower heart in its beak, as it took off from the feeder to go enjoy its prize somewhere safe and quiet.

Yes, you know me and the action photos. 

This wing fanned for flight and the purposeful stance, when I usually only catch a blur as the birds fly to and from the feeders was so exactly "chickadee" that I hoped it might spread the grin around a bit. :)

It's a Gray Day

This morning I want to highlight one of my favorite unassuming little birds.  Juncos hang out in my yard all winter long, utilizing the shrubbery and the brush pile I have built for cover, while taking advantage of the ground feed I put out (and the sunflower hearts the finches toss from the feeders).

 
They are fickle little rascals, disappearing as soon as the weather shifts in the spring (although, they do come back if there's a late snow).

Unlike the finches, they don't squabble with other birds over their food. They aren't big talkers, either. Chickadees and finches chatter all the time. Blue jays raise the roof and even the cardinals chip at each other as they feed.

Juncos just quietly fly in and have their snack before taking cover again. That's one of the reasons they seem so hard to photograph - they like to hang out deep inside the bushes when they aren't scratching around for food. 

These sweet little gray birds manage to sing to me without even making a peep. :)

Trail Cam Tuesday

I have been meaning to share a few trail camera pictures that were captured on the family property over the last couple months. It's always fun to see who is sneaking around at night while we are back at the house instead of wandering the trails to see them going about their business.

 

Momma bobcat had a successful season, raising a pair of youngsters and teaching them the finer points of night stalking.

There were also several young coyotes we caught trying to make their way, once their parents had turned them loose to fend for themselves.

The different trail cameras actually caught quite a few pictures of them as they tried to learn to hunt.

Black bears also made a few appearances in various spots. I am just as happy to have missed an encounter with one of them - especially the enormous male. Yikes!

Oh, the Snow

 Snow is such a beautiful backdrop for almost anything.

Remember the Robert Frost poem post? The old railroad grade trail above was also featured in that autumnal ramble - it's just as beautiful covered with snow.

Critters in snow are beautiful, too. This yearling deer standing knee-deep in the white stuff is pretty striking.

Wild turkeys are standouts, too.

The action shots seem even more dramatic surrounded by white powder.
 

Then, there's the occasional majestic picture where the subject just dares the unwary viewer to turn it into a Christmas card carving.  

Maybe next year. :)

 

Crab Apple Crisp

There's a lovely little crab apple tree in my front yard. Some years, it is loaded with fruit and this is one of the very fruitful years.

 
The birds hadn't been paying much attention to it until yesterday's snowfall.

Suddenly, the branches came alive with finches and juncos.

The apples must have been frozen, but sometimes freezing makes fruit sweeter, so perhaps that's what they had been waiting for.

The neighborhood wineries wait for grapes to freeze so they can make sweet ice wine, when conditions allow, so that hypothesis makes a little sense, right?

Doesn't madam finch just look happy, with apple bits smeared all over her beak?

It was almost as if the birds all decided to eat dessert first, because after they had their fill of little apples, they flew to the back yard for sunflower seeds and scratch.

I can relate to pie for breakfast, I must admit.

Anyway, I enjoyed watching them feasting in the snow.

 I hope you did, too. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

The wild turkeys on our family property are enjoying a few sunflower seeds and some scratch feed.

 

 The girls are feasting directly under the feeding tree.

 

While the boys are strutting around, feeling pretty chuffed.

And not without reason. They are quite handsome.

I love the way the sun catches their feathers, lighting them up with unexpected metallic copper, blue, bronze and gold.

The lads have the choreography very well rehearsed! The best Thanksgiving Day parade ever!

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are all sharing a special feast with friends and family!

A Few Finch Friends

The finch contingent is out in full force, emptying feeders just about as fast as I can fill them.

 

These house finches add a nice background chatter to the yard. They make me smile because they always sound like they are asking questions. Tweet? Cheep?

As with many species, the boys are much showier than the girls, though they seem equally matched with their earnest questions and voracious appetites.

While some of the flock will fly farther south, a fair number will remain, providing a welcome splash of color during the gray winter months. 

I don't begrudge them their sunflower feasts. :)