Ready for the Christmas Tree

With the Christmas music playing in the background, I've been busy tole painting my annual set of ornaments and am really starting to feel the spirit of the holidays. My favorite designer for the last five or six years has been a very talented tole painter, Kay Quist, who has kept me smiling while painting her adorable Christmas characters . . . snowmen, gingerbread men and women, Santas . . . Kay is one gifted woman. Here are this year's addition to our Christmas tree, along with a set for each of our daughters.

Set of three. I loved bringing them to life from a plain piece of wood.

My Michigan family will love this one, for there are cardinals in their backyard!

Joy to All this holiday season!

I love the detail . . . all the way down to the eyelets for the shoe laces.

 Okay, now all we have to do is go out and get a Christmas tree!

Life is good!

 

Procrastinating . . . but having fun!

With Christmas just around the corner, and three good sized projects to get done before that big day, one would think I'd be filling my time with the projects at hand. But, no, I've chosen to have fun with a project for which I can blame my daughter Jen. A couple weeks ago she spotted some "headbands" on her way up to the stands at Christian's football game. She told me about them and asked me to figure out how to make them and then teach her . . . right!

The next day we were down in Fresno and JoAnn's is like a magnet whenever I'm near that store. I purchased various yarns to try my hand at the headband idea and this is what I came up with.

Once I figured it out, the project became quite addicting and fun. I really have lots of yarn to crochet many more, but I do have to get on with my Christmas projects . . . plus what would I do with all of these cute headbands anyway. I made several of the purple/gold ones because those are the colors of Minarets football team!

Jen stopped by to take Ken off to the "Super Bowl" game in which Christian's team was playing. She had been to a holiday boutique before coming and was wearing those cute crochet pins, so her headband finished off the outfit!

Okay, now it's seriously time to get busy on my Christmas projects.

Life is good!

Tarantulas give me the creeps!

Up close and personal . . . photo borrowed from the internet.

Ken took this picture of one of several we've seen near our house.

A few facts about these hairy creatures:

• These spiders are harmless to humans (except for a painful bite), and their mild venom is weaker than a typical bee's. 

• Among arachnid enthusiasts, these spiders have become popular pets.

• Tarantulas are burrowers that live in the ground.

• Tarantulas are slow and deliberate movers, but accomplished nocturnal predators, with insects being their main prey.

• The tarantula's own mating ritual begins when the male spins a web and deposits sperm on its surface. Females seal both eggs and sperm in a cocoon and guard it for six to nine weeks, when some 500 to 1,000 tarantulas hatch.

We often seen them roaming around this time of year . . . I never know if it's the male looking for a mate or trying to get away from her after she's deposited her eggs! 

Harmless as they may be they still give me the creeps!

Life is good!

Chickens and Bobcats Don't Mix!

Bobcats are wild felines that can be found throughout most of the southern areas of America. They are about twice the size of a domestic cat and will hunt anything from small rodents to deer. Bobcats tend to shy away from human interaction and because of this do not pose a threat to human life. However, they are known to hunt and kill backyard chickens.

That's exactly what happened in our backyard the other day. We had let the chickens out for a day of free-ranging. They were doing just fine and having a great time. Toward the end of the afternoon Ken heard a raucous outside, jumped up and ran out only to see one lifeless chicken on the ground, and chased away a bobcat with yet another chicken in its mouth. The remaining six frightened hens were scattered all around the yard making quite a fuss.  We've had bobcat scares before but never have we lost a chicken.

It took quite a bit of coaxing to get the remaining six hens back in the coop where they will remain safe and sound. We would love for our chickens to be able to free-range, but living here in our mountain community just won't allow it. Natural habitants such as bobcats, coyotes, and foxes came first, and we've learned the hard way that we must respect that. no matter how hard it may be.

Life is good!