Home for Christmas

We have been waiting for the deer to spend more time here at home since we moved here in the fall.  Neighbors have told us that they always camped out in our yard, but alas, we have furkids and they have been a deterrent.  My friend with a flower garden has them eating lunch and dinner in her beds and really doesn't welcome them.  So this week, the herd came "home".  This little buck came to the Mr.'s coyote call, nearly up to the back door. We had over 20 here yesterday.

 After having lunch last week with old friends, I was requested to post pictures of the outside of our home.
We had snow this week and lots of cold temps, but the sun was shining yesterday, so I trudged through the snow to get a couple of pictures.  We are out in the country, although we are only a few hundred yards from the highway that leads to both Saratoga and Encampment.  It takes about 10 minutes to get to either town.  We have experienced a recession here as work has mostly depended on the saw mills in the past.  The mill here has been closed since we have been gone, but is now preparing to open with new computerized equipment and with the hiring of 60-80 people, we are hoping for change.  We have been seeing old friends left behind when we left and since this is our third time to take up residence here, we are finally feeling like we are "home". 

It looks a bit barren here with just a few leafless trees for the winter rest, but it is serene and relaxing and especially cozy this Christmas.  With friends and neighbors heading off to work, (we are a bedroom community with people traveling several miles to their workplaces) before the sun is up even, we are blessed to be able to enjoy our warm home and the only thing that could be better would be to have our children here at Christmas.  But again, we are thankful that they are able to be with friends and family and that they have their health and are "home" for Christmas. 

Lessons in glass and life

One of my good friends here and I started a project over 5 years ago, probably closer to six that she had seen  somewhere.  Although I have been dabbling for more years than I can remember in stained class,  this one was one of her first projects.  She had done a smaller piece at the studio we are so very lucky to have here.  We were using my equipment and since we were living over 2 hours away most of the time, it was nearly impossible to get together.  These projects take hours and hours.  There is perfecting the pattern, which we collaborated on, choosing the glass, cutting the many pieces, the hours of grinding each piece to fit perfectly, the foiling of each piece, transporting the project so she could do most of the work without get the pieces out of order or lost, tacking the pieces, soldering both front and back, adding patina and cleaning.  We chose to embellish to add structure to the piece and found a chain with which to hang it. She was a great student!!

The pictures really don't do it justice, photography isn't my strong point, but finished, it is lovely!  Good job girl!!

As I went to the door to let my furkids out today (15 degrees on the thermometer) this is what I saw.  No pretty sunrise as it was too early.  Just a sliver of the moon with one star shining.

As children, we were given lessons on the constellations.  I do not remember the details and do not have the interest that my dad had, but I remember many evenings sitting on the back slab of cement we called a porch getting these lessons.  My dad only had a 10th grade education, but he was a very intelligent man.  He knew the names of these constellations as well as their locations in the sky and how to find them.  We usually started by finding the "dippers" and the north star and from there we would navigate the sky as the early sailors must have done.  So daddy, I hope you realized wherever you gaze today, I treasure those memories on the porch as we had our schooling.

"We will be victorious if we have not forgotten how to learn." ~ Rosa Luxemburg

Bagged,tagged and.....

 Both the Mr.and I grew up in families that hunted.  Wild meat was a staple for our winter table!  As we raised our children, we continued to hunt. No longer do we apply for that license, and we do miss the meat, but it is hard work. We used to load our game and it was "bagged, tagged and gutted."
On occasion, we would also buy a tree permit and hunt for the perfect Christmas tree. That also was hard work!!  The tree always looks so perfect in the forest and after searching for the very best tree, it was cut down, dragged through the snow, (there was always lots of snow), loaded and hauled home.  Beauty is only skin deep thank goodness as these trees were always much more ugly when they were actually in the stand in the house. But they were fresh....not a month old as were those at the local tree sales.  So........this year, since we are so close to the forest, our friends and neighbors wanting a fresh, fragrant tree urged us to go get a tree with them.  With permits in hand (they are only $10.00) and lunches packed we went to breakfast first for a great start to the day.  The Mr. always questions what MARVELOUS adventure we might have.  We have always made it home, but we have been in some tight fixes over the years embarking on these adventures.  We have encountered bears, been stuck and cold and come upon fires in the forest among other things. We have no snow here...No moisture which is badly needed and the temps are moderate.  So as we made it deeper into the forest, alas-snow! We hunted in a large clearing, finding several candidates, but decided to go further into the snow covered roads.  Finally, as the snow deepened, it became apparent that we should go no further.  Although we got the truck turned around, it slid into a ditch..stuck.  Chains---yes, shovel..no!  Who doesn't throw in a shovel?  So after much effort (I won't go into details) and a few laughs, not to mention wet clothes, we were back on the search.  Our two men have been stuck a lot and have much experience at getting un-stuck.  We finally settled on two trees, but the chain saw did not want to cooperate so that provided a few laughs so we headed home with our trees in hand, bagged, tagged and GUTTED!

Our redneck tree is decorated below the elk horn mount with it's holiday lights and we came to our home and ate our peanut butter "sammies" and laughed about our adventure.

The good and the bad

The good... I just can't resist these glorious sunrises and this was today...looks like fire!!!  And just as the sun emerged, three deer walked gracefully across the pasture in the foreground.  I couldn't really get a good picture.  Now for the bad...this is the burn I received on Thanksgiving.  MY own fault for not being a little bit more cautious but the bird was really heavy and a little dripping splashed out.  I will heal and it has never been painful.  Lesson learned!

Critter stuff

 First of all I hope everyone had a great, safe Thanksgiving!  Stuff....My stuff(ing) not in the bird was a little dry but some of us like crispy dressing, so that was OK I guess.  No one complained.  Secondly, I spilled hot drippings on my foot when I was taking out the turkey from the oven.  I have a pretty good tolerance for pain and after cleaning the floor, continued with my tasks.  I had lots of help of course and we had a wonderful day with friends and a niece and her husband who were visiting. That night, when I pulled my sock off, I discovered this humongous blister on the top of my foot.  It jiggled--it was so large.  Fearing that it would break in bed, I drained it and dressed it and went to sleep.  It did not hurt.  Living in a small berg like ours, I called the clinic early yesterday (Friday).  They had me come in and I was able to see the DR.  He dressed it and it seems just fine!  So much for that STUFF!  So my animals have stuff too.  Spencer above has his stash of bones which he hides all over to keep the others away and the cat found this drawer to be a comfy spot when I was working on that cupboard.  No black Friday for us.  Just a wonderful day in the country and a walk by the river to see the aggressive beaver chopping down unbelievable large trees!!!!

NOT construction

 Those of you who know me (us) well, know we have been doing construction jobs in  past homes. Finally, we are just doing small projects and decorating.  We have hung cellular blinds on over 20 windows and on solid oak floors, we wanted an area rug for the living space above.  COZY!!!  It is COWBOY HELL again, but we live in the west, and our property is bordered by a working ranch.

Glass tiles grouted and finished...It is jewelry for the kitchen although again the pictures don't do justice to the glass tiles. If you are curious about the counter tops, they are sprayed concrete. (?)  

Thanksgiving wishes

 I just get such a high from these sunsets and sunrises and they are never as spectacular here as from my home.  The colors are always so brilliant!!

The back splashes are all done!  We went to Cheyenne on a flying trip to get more as we loved the tiles so much that we decided to put them on the computer desk area also.  We also needed a large area rug in the living area.  The floors are solid oak and although they are not cold, we wanted a more cozy area. Two more projects are on our short bucket list...a chandelier for the dining area, which was ordered yesterday and blinds for one more room.  Then done!!!!

Now, one of my very good friends decided to try a Martha Stewart project.  This is a large candle holder...well, a container for a large candle.  The frosted area here still has some glitter to be brushed away, but with some special glue and some fine glitter, and a computer generated pattern we have pine trees, deer and stars.  I still need a candle, but what a fun and a pretty craft to make a personalized gift for someone!  I may suggest that this might be a project for our summer retreat.

 As always, my furkids warm my heart and here these two have cuddled up on the sofa..which is why I have LEATHER upholstery on nearly everything.  The two little guys really don't shed but poor Hildy's leavings would have made several coats, had I spun or felted hers.  At age 11, she is really starting to show her age.  An old injury as a pup keeps her limping now even with meds, she falls on occasion and wants to act like a puppy again but just can't. Little Spencer here is attached to her at her hip so it saddens me to think what he might do when her time comes. 

But for now, we enjoy all of the love they give us and the laughter we share at their antics.

We wish all a happy and safe Thanksgiving!!!

Glass tile backsplash

 Just posting a quick demo of the application of glass tiles without using mastic.  We had seen (on TV) the use of this product and were pleasantly surprised to find it at our favorite box store.  We really thought we were finished with home improvement projects, but the previous owner had several small projects that were never finished in this home as they couldn't decide what to chose.  There were no window coverings, no dining room light fixture, no backsplash....you get the picture.  So the sheets of adhesive are covered on both sides with paper.  Peel off one, press it to the wall and peel of the front, add the tile.  We have a few more to apply above the range, and then grout.  Will post that picture later.

My father's influence

Within the week, my father would have been celebrating his 99th birthday.  Although he has been gone for a number of years, his influence molded my life.  His sense of humor, his ability to live knowing right from wrong and his love for his family and life in general--those things were the foundation for our lives.  So again, I post a picture of his favorite color--sky blue pink.  This was a sunset this past week taken from my front porch.  Happy birthday dad.

 I will always be thankful for his frugality.  Today more than ever, we are encouraged to re-cycle.  As I have mentioned before, that is how we always lived.  Nothing was thrown out that might be re-purposed.  So when I found this cabinet at a thrift shop, it was apparent to me that it was a "make do".  My love for primitive and the history behind make do items, those re-purposed things, inspired me to make the purchase and use this in my kitchen.  It was formally part of a Hoosier type cabinet.  With two small drawers and 3 larger metal bins all mismatched materials, someone patched together this small cabinet.  It had a broken leg which had been reinforced and screw holes where a door had been.  The baked porcelain top is chipped and over sized for the piece and I have used it this way for a couple of years.  I decided to give it a new life last week and with some glue for the leg, sanding and new paint, I now have a wonderful new island for my kitchen and the bins now hold my flour, sugar and baking supplies.

This is my make do and I love it!  This picture really does not give it justice...I think it is prettier in real life!!!

"Other things may change us, but we start and end with family." ~ Anthony Brandt

Wonders of the prairie

Never ceasing to amaze, we are fortunate to be witness to some regal sights.  Yesterday for several hours, we watched this bald eagle as he soared overhead perusing for food.  More than once, it seemed he had spotted a small critter which would make a tasty morsel for his lunch, only to see him eventually land in this barren tree a short distance from our back yard.  Like the moose, deer and antelope, we never tire of the fact that we see them often and share this land with them.

 Now the other critters which share this "land" with us are perhaps not so regal as the eagle, but they live like royalty in our home.  After dinner nearly every evening, they move into our bedroom and take a snooze.  As you can see, they share our space with an attitude that seems to make one think they expect the bed to be made for them.  Ingrid this picture is for you.

Our sunsets and sunrises have been spectacular of late.  As the sun rose out of the east one morning this week, I couldn't resist trying to capture the brilliant colors.  With Halloween bringing this month to a close tomorrow, stay safe, watch for the little witches and goblins and don't forget our brothers and sisters who are struggling to deal with the horrific aftermath of hurricane Sandy.

"Make it a rule of life never to regret and never look back, we all live in suspense, from day to day, from hour to hour, in other words, we are the hero of our own story." ~ Mary McCarthy

Breakfast with the does

Snow was predicted for sure and these ladies were munching the sagebrush just a few feet from my back lawn this morning and I watched them rip at the foliage.  We have been watching a small herd here consisting of one buck and 8 does.  But a few days ago, he had lost track of about 3 does.  Over the years, we have witnessed the ritual of the creatures in the fall.  The antelope have their young in the early summer or late spring and the bucks gather in small groups away from the does and their young until fall. 

Then the fun begins.  Trying to keep their small herds together can be quite comical.  The does will graze with their young and might wander a little farther away from the buck's control until he realizes it and then he will run like crazy to gather the roaming females until he has his small herd in order.  Under his watchful eye, they will eat anything they can find.  My dear neighbor has lost most of her flower garden to the critters.  However, with this snow now, all of the gardens are gone to frost and the herd will have to be content with the prairie provisions. These two girls who have temporarily escaped the herd, can continue to roam and munch until their "buck" finds them.

Since the picture above was taken about six hours ago, we have had about that many inches of snow.  This is our first storm this year and although it is a wet snow, predictions call for another dry winter.

Hope the weather people are wrong!

Wyoming sky

 First, in the previous post, I mentioned a trip last weekend. With friends along, we drove to Walden Colorado, just across the state line and the purpose of the trip was to purchase lotto tickets.  Of course we had to eat and I mentioned that the place where we ate didn't disappoint us.  But we gals, also found a couple of antique, junk, shops open, much to the chagrin of the guys.  They always expect that we will insist on perusing these places for the perfect "buy".  The architectural pieces above were only $2 each and are the just the right size for a birdhouse. Also I love the patina with the chipped paint.  Hopefully we will be able to start these soon.

We are having the most wonderful fall weather, a bit windy, but it is after all Wyoming.  So yesterday morning this is the scene that greeted me as I watched the sun rise in the east.  The antelope have been absent for a few days, but the herd is back and the cattle have been moved to another pasture and the horses have now replaced them in this pasture. 

This is a difficult post as Coalette, is lying on her back between the keyboard and the monitor, chasing the cursor.

Furbabies

 My two little guys, Roger on the left and Spencer on the right have become such buddies!  I have posted pictures before, but I just couldn't resist this snap above.  And below, this cat of mine is always good for a laugh.  We had to leave her at a kennel in Cheyenne while we were waiting to get in our home and luckily, the people in charge, took excellent care of her.  She even went home with one of them.  We were told that she would "ride" on the broom when they were sweeping.  Anyway, she didn't much care for the 2 hr ride home, but as you can see...she adjusted and the queen marches around in her royal manner sometimes packing a clear plastic bobbin. A bobbin from my sewing machine gives her a constant amount of entertainment.  When she swats it with her paw, it flies through the air and being round, it will roll across our wood floor forever.  It is small enough, but not too small for her to pack it upstairs and back down again. Cheap entertainment. She loves to perch here and sun herself during the day.

This past weekend, my good friend and neighbor and I both scored some architectural pieces at an antique shop about 60 miles away. Our plan is to use them to build birdhouses and I am trying to decide how to proceed with my design.  That will be the next project I hope to post..stay tuned!

Back up and running

OK folks, after a month nearly, I am back up and running.  We have moved and are getting settled in our house, but it has been somewhat of an ordeal.  We had to leave out kitty for a month, we have had a couple of electical glitches, a plumbing issue and since none of the 25 plus windows had coverings which we have ordered and are trickling in.....I could write a book.  We love, love the home and location and will deal with the little things of course as we always do. The view is spectacular and our furkids are in heaven with the antelope and deer and moose and multitude of smells here.

 For our craft retreat at the cabin next summer, this stepping stone above is an example of one of the projects I have been asked to plan.  It is a concrete stepping stone with a moose inset of stained glass.  This particular piece is about 12 years old and is a little stained.  However, it has held up amazingly well! 

 This is an example of paper piecing, which is really a very old technique used by women who sat and hand pieced quilt squares.  By using a paper guide and sewing the fabric to the paper, it allows for an incredibly precise method to assemble a quilt. It is one of the projects I am working on and it will provide a way to use up all of the little scraps of fabric that I cannot discard.

We have had our first guest!  One of my quilting buddies came to spend a couple of days on her way back from a class reunion in Fresno.  We had a great time and I gave her a tour of the communities here.  She is one of my quilting buddies and I am ready to get back into the swing of things.

So above is one corner of my current sewing room.  I am still trying to "find" things, but the light in this room is wonderful! I have had to downsize a little and we have a crawl space full of items that will probably end up in a garage sale, but I find myself going down to retrieve items with which I cannot bare to live without.  My junk is I guess, an extension of my personality.

"Dull women have immaculate sewing rooms."  NOT ME

This is just a short post to let everyone know that we are in our new home awaiting the arrival of our furniture today.  It has been nearly a month.  My kitty is still boarded in Cheyenne and I hope to get her today.  Yesterday morning a moose walked up from the river past the neighbor's home where we were staying headed this way.  Awsome sight!  More to follow when I am a little settled.

Do you remember?

Do you remember the humble hollyhock?  I love these flowers and this year I have this beautiful pink beauty.  But what I really, really remember is staying with my grandmother when I was a wee one.  Because she passed away before I was out of elementary school, it was a long time ago.  She had such a wonderful garden of these hollyhocks in every color imaginable. To amuse me and the neighbor girls, in the hot summer afternoons we would go out and sit in the shade of the trees among the hollyhocks and she would fix us soda crackers with butter.  While we had our afternoon snack, we made hollyhock dolls.  With a few toothpicks and buds and blossoms, we transferred the humble flowers into beautiful "ladies".  The buds were their faces and adorned with bonnets of half-opened blooms atop full skirts of brilliant colored blossoms, they danced on the garden floor among the ferns.

Since I will be moving soon, and since I have only this one hollyhock this year, I am seriously thinking of planting these in many colors in memory of my "granny".  I have grown these before in deer country so it may be possible.  As we pack and sort through years of accumulation, I continue to collect seeds and every home I leave has a beautiful flower garden to pass on to what I hope will be an avid gardener. 

Today is my brother's birthday! He was just a baby when our grandmother passed away so he has no memories of her. But he does have grandbabies of his own now,  and as I sit on the sidelines and observe (with the miracle of computers, facebook, etc.) and although he is in Alaska, I can see that he is creating memories for those little people.  Happy Birthday Jim!

Moving

Much has taken place since my last post.  This will be one of the last posts for a few weeks perhaps.  I am not sure.  The picture above shows one of the projects my great niece completed while she was here with us.  A trip to Denver to pick her up, Frontier Days Parade, activities and a visit to the State Museum along with the crafting kept us busy.  We had friends here during that week also and then a death which came unexpectedly that week.  I took Eilish back to Denver on that Friday, our daughter flew into Cheyenne the following Monday as I again trekked to Denver for the funeral.  We spent last week with Erica doing lots of activities and in addition, her friend from Virginia was here with her husband and two little boys and we all stayed busy.  On Friday, Erica and I drove to Centennial Wy for my school employee luncheon, mostly retired teachers and then we drove on to Rawlins.  This past weekend was her 20th high school reunion and I spent the two days with one of my best friends.  Yesterday, I drove back with Erica to put her on the plane at about 10:15 a.m.

Today the home inspector comes.  That is an entirely different tale.  On the 11th of July we drove to Saratoga to get away from the activities here and take a break.  On a whim, we decided to look at a home that was for sale out of town on 4.5 acres.  It was beautiful and the price had been reduced and we decided to make an offer.  It was accepted the same day.  We came home, put our house on the market and it sold in 4 days after the first showing and counter was made and accepted.  We spent the past 3 weeks with mortgage paperwork, real estate, insurance agents, now inspectors, arranging movers etc.  We have a family reunion in California and have to be out of this home in 3 weeks.  So another marvelous adventure begins!

Summer sunshine

Look at these sunny faces!  My flower garden is just bursting with color.  I have been picking some veggies as the zucchini, lettuce and peas are putting on.  But this gaillardia was a gift from a friend my garden guru),  and I will be saving seeds.   There are about 30 species and from this one pot, I have the typical orange "blanket flower" and the more common burgundy color, but I personally have never seen the completely gold color above.  What a surprise for me and what a wonderful addition to the flower bed.  Our lives have been a whirlwind the past week and until the end of September, it appears that the merry-go-round won't be stopping.  We have a great niece coming in this week from Texas and friends coming for Frontier Days festivities.  Then our daughter comes for a reunion and we go to California later for one of our own.  In between, the Mr. will be participating in the Senior Olympics and we have some other events to which we must attend. I haven't seen much of my quilting friends as my schedule hasn't allowed it and we have also had some finishing up projects around the place. 

Hopefully, things will slow down soon.  I am still here so don't go away!!

garden

 A few posts ago my garden was but a twinkle in someone's eye.  Now it is bursting with joy.  A gift from a dear friend, the old wooden ladder serves as property space for Peter Rabbit's bed and breakfast.  From the front door of each bird house stands a magnificent view of radishes gone to seed due to hot weather and now fodder for finches.  My peas are ready for picking and the beets and carrots are thriving along with zucchini, potatoes and tomatoes.  The spinach is long gone except for a few small new plants and the lettuce is ready.  The herbs are mostly blooming and really, I cannot possibly use them up fast enough.  We especially have a great cilantro crop.

Our retirement has not been retirement.  With the large amount of renovation and remodeling we have done, some of the smaller projects had to wait until good weather.  Re-routing the dryer vent, venting some plumbing, fixing a soffitt which became home to an industrious bird who built a nest in a portion of it and had babies--all had to wait for summer.  One project leads to another always!!
We are fortunate to have been able to do these things, but alas, we are getting older and need to be done.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but sometimes it seems a bit dim. 

Week after next is Frontier Days, the grandaddy of 'em all! With concerts, rodeos and parades among the festivities, our western town is always hopping.  There is so very much to do and see for a full week and we will be having family and friends in now for some of those activities plus more.  We hope to take some time away from the "job" and enjoy!

Mother nature and construction

 The wildfires in our state and Colorado allow smoke drifting our way to change our sunsets.  Last evening this was the view from my front porch as I watched the red sky turn to black.  There is a fire west of Laramie in the area where my parents used to camp and fish near Lake Hattie and Woods Landing.  Many have been evacuated and the fire is not nearly contained and has burned tousands of acres so far.  The rains are being predicted for sometime in the next few days.  We hope so. Below, the after picture of our privacy fence.  It needs to be stained yet and we hope to get a vine on it. 

 This is the "before" picture.  I do have garden pictures to post next, and a better picture of the ladder in the far background, which has become a bed and breakfast for the birds. 

"Life is checkered with shade and sunshine." ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

(Seems like a lot of shade right now, in spite of the heat and fires.)

Retreat

Feeling very revitalized after my fourth annual trip to Elk Mtn. Wyoming with 5 of the best friends, I returned home to very hot weather.  It is scorching and the wildfires in Colorado are vicious.  The smoke drifts our way and is choking us!  I cannot fathom what those poor souls who have lost homes, pets, belongings and businesses are doing.  Many have been homeless for at least 2 weeks and we are told that the fire won't be out until the snow falls.  What was previously gained was lost today with the low humidity, the high temps and the winds.

So, in the temperate weather, by the bubbling brook, we embarked on our projects this summer.  With 6 sixty lb. bags of mortar and sand from the creek bottom, we formed mounds,  and covered them with green plastic trash bags.  We choose foliage with veins and textures and placed them on the plastic, vein side up and proceeded to mix and apply mortar over the leaves.  We then shaped them to mimic a larger leaf with hopes that after they dried and were flipped over we would have bird baths.
Success! I made small ones and are about ten inches from tip to tip.  After they dried, we sprayed the bottom side with spray paint and using craft paints and sealer painted the top sides.  Love them!

 The second project we did down at the barn, witness to deer who were resting in the shade there outside where we work.  The Mr. drilled holes in the center of 32 pieces of glass which we gals collected at various garage sales and flea markets.  He also welded nuts to the re-bar and bent some of it to resemble flower stems.  We girls painted the re-bar and used bolts threaded through the glass pieces and those were threaded into the nuts on the re-bar.  (some would say we were all "nuts").
When the sun shines, our flower garden glistens.

More about the other project and our retreat to follow, as well as my gnome garden, veggie garden and flower garden.

The flower garden

 Just a quick post today.  I had coffee with a dear friend who is now gardening and had some plants and seat of the pants wisdom to share with her.  As I was giving some plants to her, I realized how pretty my garden is!  Above, daisies and purple salvia in the background and dianthus in the foreground are in full bloom.  Below, is a Maltese cross.  This plant was a freebie from an acquaintance in a garden club several years ago.  I brought it with me when I moved and honestly forgot about it.  This year, it sprang up and what a surprise to find it still in the garden.  I had totally forgotten about it. 

 The yellow lily is also a gift from a dear friend and I have another color which is budded and not yet in bloom. 

On another note, the fire just south of us has now reached 50,000 acres, destroyed over 100 structures and one life.  The smoke fills the air here when the wind comes from the south and I cannot imagine the destruction.  As a child, I remember having picnics with family nearly every weekend in that area and now.....it will most likely burn until the fall as a result of all of the beetle kill.

Critter antics

 Our kitten, Coalette loves, plastics, water, fabrics, and papers.  She loves to help me read the morning paper and it has become a real challenge to get it read in one piece.  I have been so busy that the merry-go-round I am on won't stop. (I want off!).  But this weekend we had guests and the male guest informed me that there was a paper nest of sorts beneath the guest bedroom headboard.  I was somewhat puzzled, and embarrassed to say the least.  I could not imagine what he was referring to as he seemed to think  that Coalette was the culprit.  She is not allowed in there normally, but if the door gets left open, she might sneak in.  I went to see the "nest" and this magazine and the shreds above were scattered beneath the headboard.  It took me a good while to clean it up, but we are still laughing at the little lady's mess and since she is visiting the vet this week, perhaps her nesting instincts will stop.

We were out of town last weekend and when we returned last Sunday, I checked on the babies below as they were 2 weeks old.  This snap shows them huddled together, but shortly afterward the one little guy had his claws on the edge of the nest and was standing proudly stretching his wings.  In less than 30 minutes, I witnessed him leave the nest, miss the brick ledge on our home and fall several feet to the ground.  He hopped under the pine tree near and seemed to be fine.

 The one obviously pushed him out as had the nest to himself, settled down for the night and was gone when I checked on Monday morning.  Two weeks from hatching and they were on their own...sort of.  Are the fledglings ever on their own?  I wondered about mine, but eventually, they do grow up.

We have a horrible wildfire burning south of us about 50 miles..more to follow.