Waiting out the storm

We have been hit with 2 major storms in as many days, and so far we have over a foot of snow with another 8-12 inches due over the next 24 hours. With that in mind, I took these pictures... showing our 2 cats and a bunch of the local birds waiting out the storm:

That's Double, on the pillow in the back, and Bubba in front. Couldn't keep the eyes from glowing! Double is feeling really spoiled... I usually don't let him into the main part of the house, but with the snow so deep, I felt sorry for him.

Here are the birds, hanging out on the fence. Down at the lower left is a birdseed block. Boy have they been hitting that over the past couple of days!

This is one of the trees I planted a few years ago... looks really Christmas-y, doesn't it? Tucked into the branches is a suet feeder, but for some reason the birds aren't going for it. I put another one on the ground near a tree in back, and they have been feeding off of it, but they don't like the cage on this one... go figger!

Here's one last picture, to get everyone in the mood for winter:

This is a rare one where the fire is actually burning! I'm having a dickens of a time keeping one going... the wood is dry, I use newspaper and kindling to start, but it just takes forever to get it to really start burning! But when she does, it's mighty pretty, isn't it?

Stay warm!

Bluebirds

This year, we have been visited a lot by a flock of blue colored birds... not sure if they are Arizona's version of Blue Jays or just bluebirds. Anyway, they swoop down in large numbers about twice a day to feed at the bird feeders I have put up. What a beautiful sight!
They're a pretty noisy bunch, and tend to push aside the smaller birds. But they only stay a short while, then they are off on another adventure! We get a flock of smaller black birds that are fun to watch too, but I haven't been able to get their picture yet. It's almost time to switch from loose seed to the seed blocks for snowy weather! We actually got some snow on the peaks yesterday... and I turned on the furnace this morning for the first time since about May!
I spent some time working on a commission quilt this weekend, as well as finishing up some shirts for a client. Then I used up a bunch of dye on some long-sleeve T-shirts. I have a craft show next weekend, and figured it won't hurt to have a few extras. Now I'm all out of my hangers, so guess it's time to wait until I've sold some of my existing stock, which has grown a lot this year!

August in Flagstaff

It's August, and with August comes the Brown-eyed Susan, a medium-sized sunflower that grows wild here. Our whole valley turns a bright, sunny yellow. The plants grow to at least 6 feet in most cases, so when you drive or walk down the road towards the highway, you are surrounded by them! It's really incredible. I love that they sprout up without any urging on my part. Oh, and this year, we got a lovely shrub that I haven't seen before, with yellow daisy-like flowers.

Here's what it looks like in front of our storage shed looking southeast:

And here is the 'mystery shrub':

And of course, we have the perennial crows hanging around the bird feeder:

My poor bird feeder... it's warped on the bottom, the lid has to be weighted down to keep the wind from blowing it off, the birds have figured out how to remove the plexiglass to get at the seed. I think it's time to replace it!