Cabin Fever!!

Brrrr......

Well it is 60 some degrees colder (with wind chill) today then it has been the past couple of days. Old mother nature is reminding us that it is only February and it is still winter. We are having a good old fashioned blizzard here today in Iowa. At times the neighbors homes are just blurry images. Think it is too nasty to venture outside today. I will just stay at home, do some design work and take care of my dear feathered friends. I had so many visitors today....just a few pics to share with you!

Mr. Cardinal decided to feed on the ground because the feeder above is loaded with house finches. In about mid to late February this guy will start to sing his beautiful courting song. He can also be seen feeding the female during their courtship....what a great guy! These are beautiful birds and I spend lots of time watching them throughout the year.


Here is MaMa Cardinal and a lone little Junco....



A American gold finch dressed in his Winter feathers. His feathers will turn a brilliant yellow as Spring approaches. These little creatures visit the feeders in small flocks. Iowa's state bird.


The little downy has decided he is going to have some suet for lunch. These little guys get very tame...will just sit on the post and watch me fill the feeder.

Here is the little Downy's big cousin the Hairy Woodpecker. His coloring and markings look just like the Downy, but this guy is much bigger. He is in for some suet as well.

I have spent the day filling feeders and keeping the birds fed....now it tis time to put a pot roast in the oven for our dinner.


Stay warm,
Brenda

Snowed In!

Such a treat it is to have a cardinal visit the feeder! By far my most favorite bird. In about mid to late February he will start singing his courting song. He sings the song only during the mating season. The cardinals do mate for life. During the mating season a male cardinal can be seen feeding the female...what a guy!

A female cardinal visiting....brrrr she looks cold!

A Downy Woodpecker enjoying some suet. The Downy's and the Hairy's look the same but the Downy is larger in size and has a much longer beak. These little guys visit the suet blocks several times a day.

Here is a Hairy Woodpecker...going to have some suet for lunch.

e is a Goldfinch dressed in her winter colors. This is our State Bird and as Spring approaches his feathers will turn a brilliant yellow. These birds visit our feeders in small flocks.

Hop on Over!

We have begun to upload the new Spring 2008 pattern designs onto our website. They are on the last page of the NEW ITEMS category. We are now taking advance orders for these patterns and will begin shipping in approximately a week.

Keep an eye out for a FRESH NEW LOOK to our website in the real near future. We will have some new and exciting features to the site. A email newsletter will be sent out to our subscribers announcing the GRAND OPENING. The current site is up and running right along as we work on our new site, so feel free to shop online. Sign up for our email newsletter if you already haven't!

Think Spring,
Brenda

Looking forward to Spring....

New Springtime patterns are coming real soon! Patterns for punch needle, punchneedle rughooking & cross stitch too! We will keep you posted as to when the new designs are released!

Website troubles....

For the past 10 days I have been unable to login into my website to make updates as my webhosting company is doing some maintenance. The website is still up and running and we are receiving orders without problems. We are sold out of the Create & Decorate magazine and I am unable to go into the website and mark that item as sold out.

Winter Wonderland!

I've decided it would be a good day to curl up in a warm cozy chair next to my big window and work on my new spring pattern designs. It may be cold and snowy outside but my thoughts are of spring time flowers, bunnies & gardening.....

Ah yes, winter has arrived! Makes me want to put Christmas music on and start decorating the house. Decorating at the Gervais house will begin this weekend. The tree will come in on Sunday night and lights & decorations will go on on Monday evening. I will spend the rest of the week decorating the rest of the house.

How does a kitty spend a snowy afternoon?? Agassi is enjoying this snowy afternoon curled up on my wool rug that sits on my old bench next to the big window in our living room. He is being entertained by the squirrels (who are up to their chins in snow) scury around looking for peanuts.

Decorating with Spruce Tips

Filling my flower pots with spruce tips is a holiday tradition. Two pots are filled and ready to be placed on either side of our front door. What are Spruce Tips you ask? We Minnesotan's (even though I now reside in Iowa, I still consider myself a Minnesotan) have the pleasure of using these for our holiday decorating. Spruce tips are white or black spruce that are harvested in the bogs of the Northwoods of Minnesota by the DNR (Dept. of Natural Resources) and then auctioned off to local green houses. They are actually a regenerative crop that can be harvested again and again. The tree tips, though quite small, have the form and foliage of the more mature trees, often bearing tiny cones.

I use the same pots that my summer geraniums were in, leaving the dirt. I simply poke the tree tips into the dirt. Each pot contains one larger tip at the center with 3 or 5 smaller tips filled in around the larger one. This year I chose to add stems of fresh winterberries to my pots for a bit more color. A red ribbon bow will be tied around each pot, before placing them at my front door. The Spruce Tip pots make a great winter yard decoration. After the holidays I simply remove the red bows and leave them out all winter.

As the winter comes to an end the Spruce Tips start to dry out and drop their needles, making for a wonderful brown sticky looking tree with small cones still hanging from its branches.

Avon Lady is calling....

As a child I spent many hours on these front steps, pretending I was the Avon lady of all things! This is the house that I grew up until the age of 7. My childhood home is a sad sight to see today. I know the day will come when we drive down the blacktop and the house will be GONE and the farmer will be farming the land that I knew as home. The barn where Mama kitty always had her babies in is gone, the feed mill where we looked for baby mice is gone, the corn cribs that we made mud pies behind is gone...but the house still stands. Perhaps the owner doesn't have the heart to tear down the house, just wish he would paint it a bright white with green trim as I remember it to always be.

A fun little snowman...

Our shipment of the NEW February 08 issue of Create & Decorate arrived yesterday. Pictured on the cover of the magazine is a great snowman rug designed by Tina Payton. I just new I HAD to punch this little guy up. I came home last night and dug in and had the rug (pictured above) done in approximately 5 hours. I drew the design onto monk's cloth and with the Oxford size 10 punch needle and our hand dyed wool yarns I went to work. Today I packaged the rug up and sent it off to our daughter as a little Christmas surprise. Really I made it for her kitty to curl up on...my kitty LOVES curling up on the little wool rugs that I have throughout our house. I hope Erin & Bella (her Birman cat) enjoy the rug.
\