In the beginning of the month, I went on a trip to Mt. Lassen, which was hiding behind a cloak of fog and rain, so I'll have to return in better weather, but I found a place with a good cup of coffee; out behind was this old Ford with charming flames...
I wandered in the woods a bit and came upon these lovely horses, waiting for riders:
Now, back to the hummingbird...here is the one who built a nest in the apple tree, then fled because of a nasty encounter with a crow. She abandoned her nest but came back one day to say hello and pick up some stuffing from the old nest to take to her new abode, but she didn't disclose the location:
And here is how that story played out in my imagination. It's called "Hummingbird considering the risks of living in a neighborhood with crows." I'm happy to say this piece has gone to live with a good friend.
That's all for now...
Charming birds! nice post lol Angela
ReplyDeleteThanks Angela...it always seems a special honor when a bird lets me take a photo...these two were definitely keeping an eye on me...
ReplyDeleteis this all felted? lovely!
ReplyDeleteHi Jude! It is! I made the background from wool fibers that I felted using soap and hot water and lots of elbow grease, then needle-felted the designs into it...the story spoke itself into the geometry. I wanted the crows to appear somehow and suddenly there they were...
ReplyDeleteYour bird pictures are stunning. How do you do it? Your interpretation of a contemplative hummer is charming and beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThis is story of crows and humming birds is magical - what a lucky friend!
ReplyDeleteSuzanna, your felt pieces are just gorgeous. So glad you had a successful sale event.
ReplyDeleteI'm worried about the humming birds here...it's been so cold and they haven't been around for some days now.
Hi Elizabeth...I'm so glad your computer is alive again...this story was quite real to me and now, through the blog and the way my friend was drawn to it, it seems that it has spread outward, and perhaps in some way the hummingbird knows and feels supported, and maybe the balance of things might shift in her favor. I love the crows too, but there have become so many of them...it's a big 'maybe', I know...
ReplyDeleteHi Penny...thank you! I really have become very curious about the hummingbirds...they are so tiny are fragile seeming and yet they persist...they must have a secret way of keeping warm in cold weather. It's been chilly here too...I sometimes think I hear her, but there've been no sightings lately.
ReplyDeletehi Suzanna, a note to let you know i think your felting work is beautiful, as is your photography. the little birds are amazing aren't they. i'm from Australia(victoria), and we have a tiny bird similar to the hummingbird. it's called Eastern Spinebill. they hover around the red flowers on the pineapple sage bushes outside my kitchen windows. when we are sitting on the verandah, we are very close to them, they're the sweetest little things. ox
ReplyDeleteHi Margaret, thank you so much for visiting...I looked up the Eastern Spinebill...what a fine little bird! You've given me the idea of putting a red flower by the kitchen window...right now there is wisteria, but perhaps a little red would attract the hummingbird, and sparkle up the view...
ReplyDeletehi Suzanna, the pineapple sage plant is very hardy,and flowers even in winter, which is a great supplement food scource for honey eaters. you can also make beautiful herb tea with the flowers and leaves(fresh or dried) and you can flavour and colour vinegar with the little red flowers. very versatile! also it grows great from cuttings. ox
ReplyDeleteMargaret...thanks...I've never heard of that but it sounds perfect...I love the idea of the herb tea!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely felted story cloth! Poor little hummingbird. But I love crows so much. Nature, go figure. I never know who to feel bad for.
ReplyDeleteDoes the towhee get mistaken for a robin, sure looks like one, doesn' it?
Great photos, Suzanna!
Thank you Peggy! Me too...I love the crows and their variety of speeches and their strutting and shininess. Yes, the towhee looks a lot like a robin...this one was very friendly...I have to learn more about them. That bee fabric on your blog is very bee-ish and lovely.
ReplyDeleteLove this! Birds are such a wonderful inspiration. I saw a very small towhee on the way to work this week. Thinking maybe young? I'm trying to plant lots of flowers that attract hummingbirds in the garden, just love them for all their seeming contradictions.
ReplyDeleteHi Deb...yes to 'seeming contradictions'! Last weekend I planted a begonia out back, but no one has visited it (at least while I was looking), so today I'm going to look for the pineapple sage that Margaret (above) mentioned...this has become a new challenge...
ReplyDeletelove being caught up. and bless that little
ReplyDeletehumming mama, remembering where to find the
good materials.
thanks for all the above and now i feel
like everything is in place,
xoxo g
Hi Grace, you're right, everything is in place, and the place is always changing...this is what I struggle to stay grounded about...a prayer to accept the changes...
ReplyDeleteLove your hummingbird! And the actual bird ... so cute. I'm kind of a bird girl. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Cobalt Violet! They are amazing...lately I've noticed a new bird in the late afternoon...singing a very cheerful song; it is so much better than listening to the radio...
ReplyDeleteLovely felting! I like the symmetry of the elements and those tiny little houses in the design - with smoking chimneys? My boys and I saw a hummingbird several times a few days ago. He came closer to us to check us out - so bold for his size. We always talk to the boys about the defenses animals possess and these guys have speed and confidence! I love their hum - also loud for so small.
ReplyDeleteHi Susan...thank you! Yes, the chimneys are smoking...it was a cold day and I was thinking how nice it would be to have a fire in the fireplace...we're having a relatively chilly summer so far...
ReplyDeleteAngelle, Thank you...I have been really lucky in getting these photos! Sometimes it's as though the bird wants to be photographed and we enter into a contract of sorts...
ReplyDelete