"Full Hunter's and Harvest Moon" Spirit Doll for October

At the peak of this full moon's light, harvesting and hunting can be done into the night. Ready for gathering are corn, pumpkins, squash, beans and wild rice.  I hand-embroidered the face and glass seed beads adorn the body as well as the bow and arrow on the moon. Inside with the stuffing is the usual sprig of sage and polished river rocks for standing weight.

Needle-Felted for Fall

 

This a fairly easy need-felting project for Fall about the size of an orange. 

I need “easy” after working on my monster quilt a bit each day!

Watercolor Pencil Attempt

 Trying to get the feel of watercolor pencils has not been easy. I had to develop a lighter touch while drawing before brushing on the water. It was hard after randomly spreading a lot of acrylic paint with a palette knife in the past. This is not my first attempt, but at least it’s not trashed like others. I like the delicate look of watercolor, but I was never good with it. I’ll keep trying but don’t know if I’ll post more finishes here. 😂

Fall Tree Fungi

I saw these in the woods behind our house while retrieving my trail camera. I tried to find them online but there are many kinds with very long names, so I gave up. They are quite large. Are they the kind I’ve sometimes seen with hand-carved images? If you know what they are, please comment. 

“Full Corn Moon” Spirit Doll for September

This smaller 6” goofy-faced Spirit Doll was inspired by the abundant corn harvesting that occurs in September. Corn is abstractly represented by the beading on the full moon dangling from one arm.

King Top Finally Done!

It’s with poor lighting but this is the largest space I have to lay out this 96”x109” King quilt top. I made up the design as I went along. Laying out the square of string blocks prompted suggestions from others to make a center medallion quilt. I liked that thought and started to build around the medallion. I used only scrap and stash fabrics, sewed borders around borders, and over a couple months it really grew. I didn’t measure anything, just checked the size along the way by laying it out on our King bed. When it looked right, I knew I could stop. It has 88 fabric foundation string blocks and became heavy for me to handle, but I kept going to the end. Now it’s time to add batting and backing and decide how to “quilt” it to a true finish!

Another Teaser

My first post about this King quilt in progress was the beginning of July. I need about another week to finish the top and will show the whole thing then. It’s been fun using up scraps, but I will never make one this big again! 😂

Two very short Famous Seamus videos

 Then back to something creative

Awww…

Spooked by a marshmallow

FAMOUS SEAMUS — The “Treeing Walker Coonhound”

I’ve raised dogs with our family for decades and vowed no more. But my husband retired and wanted a dog. I didn’t want to be the one who deprived him especially in the boring days of Covid restrictions, so I finally gave in. Here he is, our beloved “Famous Seamus”. He is a rescue from Animal Welfare who told us at his age of 10 months that he was a Lab mix. Then after testing we learned he is 76% “Treeing Walker Coonhound”! I had never heard of that breed, but with his first baying bark in our home we knew he was a Hound of some kind. 😲 This wonderful boy has found his way into our hearts in a way I never thought possible at this point in our lives. He is good for both of us, and I love him more than any dog we have ever had! 

“Full Red Moon” Spirit Doll for August

Some Native American tribes called the full moon of August the “Full Red Moon” because of its reddish appearance as it rose through the sultry August haze.

“Big Tree in the Farm Field”

Gene’s post of his flower painting done with watercolor pencils prompted me to try using mine again. I bought them years ago and wasn’t happy with the results, but I have since researched the technique. I decided to use a familiar tree that stands alone in the middle of a farm field near our house for inspiration. It was a landmark for our young sons while hiking decades ago. My watercolor pencils are not good quality and my color selection is limited, but I like this painting enough to post it. I enjoyed doing this and plan to buy better quality pencils soon. Do any of you have a favorite brand to recommend?

They Are Gone 🥰

In spite of my diligent observation yesterday from morning till night, and even seeing one baby bluebird poking his head out of the nest at twilight, my trail camera picked up nothing all night long. However, the nest is empty this morning. They left under the cover of darkness, probably too fast for my camera’s infrared motion detectors. Although I’m sad to have missed their leave-taking, I'm happy their life in the wild has begun successfully. We will be watching our bird feeders for an influx of baby blues. 🐦🐦🐦

Backyard Baby Bluebirds Almost Ready to Fly!

A video of these Bluebirds when newly-hatched is in the post blow this one. I’ll try to get another video of their maiden flight. I need some luck for that! 

Backyard Babies

UPDATE July 31st

We were not sure these bluebird babies were being fed because we didn’t see any adults going to the nest, but today I did see one. I’ve placed my trail camera to keep an eye on things. Stay tuned…

“Full Buck Moon” Spirit Doll for July

 

New antlers of a young buck push out during July. The metal charm on the full moon of this spirit doll displays a buck image. The “Hag Stone” with natural hole is considered a protection amulet, and this doll’s sage is inside the tiny bottle. A buck can shed its antlers or even lose them in a skirmish. Here is one of my trail camera videos showing the result: