Vermont Green Threads

Red Fox and Cat

2011-12-06T16:43:00.001-05:00

I was upstairs in my sewing room, near the window, when I saw movement and something big and red out of the corner of my eye. Looking down towards the yard, I saw a red fox by the dog house. Then he jumped onto the roof. I ran out of the room, flew downstairs and grabbed my camera. Looking out the kitchen window, I took this picture.

He's standing on the roof of our large dog house (it's large in size and we had 4 large sized dogs when Gerry built it). And yes, they have a deck. Back to the fox.........

I noticed he was looking at something. That's when I saw the neighbor's cat. So the cat chased the fox and now there was a stand-off. Shouldn't it have been the other way around?!

Trying to get an even better shot, I opened the door to go outside. Needless to say, the cat took off in one direction and the fox in another. I'm not sure what would have happened, but that's one brave cat!

A Good Day of Birding!

2011-10-13T19:36:00.000-04:00

Savannah Sparrow

Most birders check www.birdingonthe.net each day. This is a great site that posts bird sightings in every state. I regularly check Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and of course, Vermont. Last Sunday there was a post that a red-necked phalarope was spotted in Brattleboro (not too far away). Of course, this doesn't mean the bird is still there, but there's always a chance. So Monday morning I went to Brattleboro and checked the area around the Retreat Meadows (where the West River meets the CT River). No luck on the target bird but a walk around the cornfield served up lots of sparrows. Sparrows, aka "little brown jobs", are a tough group to identify especially when they fly quickly down into the grasses! Even in plain sight, they can vary in their plumage. The first picture is a typical Savannah Sparrow, one of the identifying marks is the yellow lore (the line between the eye and the bill). The next picture is also a Savannah, note the yellow lore, but the coloring is different.

Savannah Sparrow

These two were sitting on the same branch so the comparison was easy; same size, same shape, bill color, streaking on the breast and sides, shape of head, length of tail...........................all combine for another Savannah.

My birding friend Snickers, rests quietly while I bird!

Heading for home, I decided to stop at another cornfield, hoping there might be some shorebirds. We've had so much rain lately, there were lots of big "puddles" in the newly harvested cornfields in the area. Geese, crows and shorebirds love these areas.

Stilt and White-rumped Sandpipers (photo credit Don Clark)

When I got to the cornfield, my birding friend Don was there with his scope and camera! I thought "something's good here" and there was! Shorebirds galore! Stilt, pectoral, white-rumped and semipalmated sandpipers, black-bellied, semipalmated and American golden plovers, killdeer and a dunlin. We hit the jackpot. And the best part was the "puddle" was pretty close to the road so we had great views. It made for a great day of birding, especially since the Stilt Sandpiper was a lifer (I did my lifer dance)!!


Semipalmated Plover (photo credit Don Clark)

American Golden-Plover and Black-bellied Plover

Dunlin

Stilt and Pectoral Sandpipers

Berkshire Crafts Show, August 12 to 14

2011-08-07T15:14:00.000-04:00

Bell Flower Frond

I am getting ready for the Berkshire Crafts Show, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Friday August 12th through Sunday August 14th. Hours are 10 to 5 at the Monument Mountain Regional High School on Route 7, and it's air conditioned!! Click on berkshirecraftsfair for directions and a list of the 89 artists.

Blue Bud

I've made three new pieces since I updated my website www.joannerusso.com As soon as I get some time I'll have Rachel Portesi professionally photograph them, but for now my own attempts will have to do.

Flower and Buds

This is the first time I've exhibited at the Berkshire Crafts Show. It's been around for 38 years and looks to be a very high-quality show. I'm excited to be going to Great Barrington and I hope to see you there!

Biking the Coast of Maine!

2011-08-05T13:42:00.000-04:00

"Explore Maine by Bike" is a fantastic spiral-bound book of 33 loop bicycle rides. You can pick up a free copy at any Maine information center along the highway, it's published by the Maine DOT.

My bicycling friend, Rose and I started at Portland's Back Cove at 6:30am. We started along the Eastern Trail but missed a turn and ended up riding through the streets. The trail signage is small and some signs were faded but it was early enough that the traffic was negligible. We were following Tour 14 - Portland-Cape Elizabeth- Lighthouses, about a 52 mile loop.

We rode around the Eastern Prom, then over the Casco Bay Bridge and out to our first stop at Bug Light.

Onto Portland Head Light, it was pretty foggy so not much of a view, the tolling of the bell was pretty loud.

All along the way we had great Maine coast views.

On the way to Prouts Neck, we saw this amazing stone house.

Looks right out of a Winslow Homer painting.

Tri-colored Heron (taken in Florida)

At the point where we would have looped back north to Portland, we side-tracked to the Scarborough Marsh (I always pack my binoculars). Lots of shorebirds (forgot to take pictures) in the marsh along with a tri-colored heron, a bird not usually seen there.

We continued to the Portland Greenbelt biking/walking paved trail. This took us back and we recrossed the Casco Bay bridge into Portland. Here we found the Eastern Prom Trail that had eluded us on the way down. We followed this back to the Back Cove.

Another biker on the trail told us that rte 1 north had a wide breakdown lane and that would take us to Falmouth so we kept going. We stopped at Maine Audubon's Gilsland Farm for a break.

Bedstraw Hawkmoth caterpillar was crossing the driveway at Gilsland Farm.

We kept going along route 88, which took us through Falmouth Foreside, then turned back to our friends house in Portland. We rode 65.5 miles and stopped at Beal's for a frozen treat!

Biking Northampton's Rail Trails; Norwottuck and Manhan

2011-07-19T13:46:00.000-04:00

My friend Rose, an avid biker, and I decided to ride the "rail trails" around Northampton, Mass. We parked at the Damon Road parking area in Northampton which puts you right at the hub of the trails. The Norwottuck trail goes east to Amherst, it's about 11 miles. Go west, and the trail goes thru Look Park in Northampton and north to Leeds. Go south and the trail leads to Southampton and there is another spur that goes out to Holyoke and the CT river.

One of the picturesque stops along the trail going towards Leeds, it's an old dam. The stonework was pretty amazing.

We followed this trail to the end, turned back and biked around Look Park, a very nice place for a picnic! Heading south, we biked down to Easthampton. We crossed the newest section of the trail, which is a bridge that linked the Norwottuck Trail to the Manhan Trail (the southern sections). Here's the story: new bridge

There are kiosks on the Manhan Trail that display a large map of the trail as well as maps for the taking. It's a very well paved, pretty ride.


double pink echinacea

At the end of the trail in Easthampton, you can see where the trail will eventually continue, right now it's under construction. According to a source online, the trail will go all the way to New Haven, CT and it's 72% done! Won't that be a great ride!!

A victim of "yarn bombing"

We headed back and took the spur to Holyoke, it comes out on Rte 5 but we decided to return the way we came. Back in Northampton we stopped for some cold drinks and a rest before continuing on the trail back to where we parked and onto Amherst.

Northern Water Snake

This trail goes over the CT River, is very picturesque but is older and has some bumpy sections. It's a really pretty ride, especially the part that goes through the Lawrence Swamp. Last year when we rode this way, we saw Great Egrets, this year it was a big, black snake!

Since I'm not up on my snake identification, I didn't get too close to take her picture. I sent it to the Mass Wildlife and New England Herp society sites to get an ID. It's a northern water snake and most likely a female.

All in all, we rode 52 miles. The weather was perfect, the trails are very interesting and surprisingly, not many people were out on them. Of course, we did go on a weekday, I imagine on weekends the trails are busier.

Pitcher Plants at the North Springfield Bog

2011-06-29T19:12:00.000-04:00

This morning we visited the North Springfield Bog, a type of wetland characterized by a thick mat of partially decomposed plant material and highly acidic water. The North Springfield bog is a boreal, kettle bog, a remnant of the last glacial age, 10,000 years ago.

Bogs have poor drainage and no supply of fresh water other than rain. A wide range of plant and animal species are adapted for bog living, including carnivorous plants! This particular bog is known for its carnivorous pitcher plants.

The Northern Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea) has pitcher-like leaves that collect rainwater and excrete digestive chemicals. When insects, attracted to the colored lip of the leaf, walk into the structure, they become trapped and eventually drown. The bacteria and enzymes digest the insects and the plant absorbs the nutrients. Like all carnivorous plants, they grow in locations where the soil is too poor in minerals and too acidic for most plants to survive.

A pitcher plant will produce a single flower that has 5, red petals that quickly drop off, leaving the seed pod.

The Ascutney Mountain Audubon Society constructed a boardwalk through the bog for great viewing. More information including directions, can be found on Ascutney Mtn's website: ascutney mountain audubon society

Moths are attracted to lights, I am attracted to moths!

2011-06-27T12:37:00.000-04:00

Luna Moth

When I was young and learned about the 4 stages in the life of a butterfly or moth, I thought "now that is really science fiction!" What a transformation; from egg to caterpillar to pupa to adult. The caterpillar stage doesn't even come close to resembling the adult. This is a cecropia caterpillar I found on Putney Mountain last September.

Look at those spiky horns and those orange and yellow round nubs with black dots. Now here's the adult cecropia moth. They don't look the least bit related. I would have imagined a green moth.

Here's another example. A Virginia ctenucha caterpillar I found this spring in the leaf litter along the road.

And here's the adult moth. Except for the antennae, it hardly looks like a moth.

I've been having fun finding moths. I leave the porch light on at night and in the morning, there's a good variety on the walls. Moths are mostly out at night but there are varieties that are out in the day like this one, the Nessus sphinx. This moth resembles a hummingbird in size and manner as it takes nectar from flowers.

The caterpillar just eats; the adult moth mates and lay eggs. Some moths don't even have mouths to eat, like the Luna Moth. The ones who have do eat only drink nectar through a proboscis. Most moths only live a brief time, just long enough to mate and lay eggs on the host plant. This is important so when the eggs hatch, the caterpillars have their specific food to eat.

Here are some pictures of some of the moths I've seen this month. Certainly not what you think of when you picture a moth. Their patterns and colors are amazing!

Hickory Tussock Moth

Northern Pine Looper

One-eyed Sphinx

Rosy Maple Moth

Walnut Sphinx

The end of migration, now it's time to reproduce!

2011-06-01T11:43:00.000-04:00

Bird migration was really great this year. I had 2 lifers in one field in New Hampshire, a Ruff and a Red Phalarope. The phalarope spends most of the year out at sea, so an inland visit is quite rare. The ruff (it was a female so she's a reeve) is an Eurasian bird, so she too, was well off course. Unfortunately I left my camera at home (I was in such a rush to see the birds).

Two sandhill cranes were in a still-flooded field in Vernon, VT. What a rare treat that is. Cranes are ancient birds, a 10 million year old fossil was found in Nebraska! In 2007, a pair successfully fledged a single chick in Vermont. So what will happen to this pair, the sexes are hard to determine, will they stay and nest or will they move on north? Here's a very interesting link to an article about them cranes in VT

At Herrick's Cove in Rockingham this morning, two snapping turtles were laying eggs in holes they dug near the side of the road. Don't mess with one of these turtles, they have vicious dispositions.

Last night, two beautiful Rosy Maple Moths, were hanging out under the front porch light. As the name implies, she lays her eggs on maple leaves. Rosy-maples are one of the most widespread moths in the East.

Around our house, besides this Eastern phoebes nest (pictured above), we have nesting bluebirds, tree swallows and house wrens. I'm sure there's more nests that I just haven't stumbled upon. Later in the summer, juvenile chipping sparrows, rose-breasted grosbeaks, northern cardinals, ruby-throated humminbirds and eastern towhees (to name a few) will be out and begging for food!

Process: Working on a Commission

2011-05-10T13:52:00.000-04:00

Torah Pointers from the Barr Collection

When I was asked at the Smithsonian Craft Show if I would make a 'torah pointer', I had to admit I never heard of one. A "yad" (Hebrew for 'hand') is a long, stick-like object used to point to the text while reading from the Torah scroll. Clay Barr has a collection of both old and new pointers and is commissioning artists to make more. The collection was established as a memorial to her late husband, Jay D. A. Barr, who died in 1994. It now numbers about 200 pieces. Clay will eventually have a museum show along with a catalog of her collection.


sketch

While talking to her I got a good idea of what she liked about my work and how it would translate into a torah pointer. I made some quick sketches and took lots of notes so when I returned home, I would remember all the details. Then I made a more detailed sketch (above) and got to work. I decided to make two since I wanted to play with the color combinations which were black, off white and red.

beads planned out for the pod

I wove two small, pod shaped baskets about 1 1/2" by 3" out of black ash, then figured out the number and sizes of the beads I would sew on. The beads for this one are black, wood discs, red, vinyl discs, fish vertebrae and seed beads.

beading the pod

I sew the beads onto the basket with nylon thread using a curved needle. Once the beading is finished, the next step is the coiling.

coiling the pointed end of the Yad

The coiling is attached directly to the open end of the basket. I wrap waxed linen thread over paper cord, and stitch every 5th wrap to the row below.

At the end of the coiling, I added the pointed end of an African porcupine quill.

The stem is coiled separately, then stitched to the basket.

The stem is sewn onto the basket, it's almost complete!

Pointed ends with quills

I made a small hand and attached it to the end, I did the same for the black pointer.

Here are both finished Torah Pointers. The red one was chosen for the Barr Collection.

Butterflies, Moths and Orchids

2011-04-23T16:06:00.000-04:00


African Luna Moth (photo credits Renee Harris)

   Last week when I was in DC doing the Smithsonian Craft Show, (after I set up my booth and before the Wednesday night preview party), I had time to go to a few museums. First stop for my friend Renee and I was the museum of natural history. Renee gets credit for all the photos as I forgot my camera back in the hotel.
   We were in the Butterfly Pavilion where butterflies and moths flitter around, landing on flowers, fruits and visitors. There were so many flying around, we kept saying "look at that one", "omg, look at that one".
   In the above photo, notice how the tips of the African Luna moth's wings cross. This species isn't as big as our American version, but the color is similar.

Great Mormon Swallowtail

Atlas Moth

How cool is this Atlas moth from southeast Asia! Look at the tips of the wings, the pattern looks like snake heads.


Great Egg-fly Butterfly


Banded Orange Butterfly

Blue Glassy Tiger Butterfly in foreground

After we left the Butterfly Pavilion, we went to the Ochids, A View from the East Exhibit. According to Wikipedia, orchids compromise the second largest family of flowering plants with between 21,950 and 26,049 currently accepted species found in 880 genera. The number of orchid species equals more than twice the number of bird species and about four times the number of mammal species.

A really nice selection of some beautiful orchids.

Pink-footed Goose

2011-04-04T12:38:00.000-04:00

Don Clark photo

April 2nd was our annual spring waterfowl trip, led by Don Clark and attended by novice and skilled birders alike. We started at Herrick's Cove in Rockingham, VT, went north along the CT River to Springfield, crossed the river into New Hampshire, following it south along route 12. We had seen a good number of species including Northern Pintail, American Wigeon, Rough-legged Hawk and a Bald Eagle sitting on her nest.
Next, Don decided to stop in Walpole at the Malnati Farm which always gets large numbers of geese and other interesting birds. Once there, Phil Morgan called our attention to what he thought was a juvenile greater white-fronted goose, but when Taj Schottland saw it, he said it looked like a pink-footed goose. For non birding-fanatics, a PFGO is an UNBELIEVABLE find! (Excuse me for shouting) We grabbed our scopes, cell phones, field guides and cameras to record and confirm what we were seeing.

Don Clark photo

The pink-footed goose is aptly named for the bubble-gum pink legs. This European goose who ranges in Greenland and Iceland, occasionally turns up along the east coast of North America. In fact, this sighting is New Hampshire's first. And when one does show up, the birders come from all over to see it! It gets crazy!

JoAnne Russo photo

In Vermont, where I live, there's been one report in 1999 on Grand Isle. So of course, as Vermonters, we hoped this goose would fly across the river into Vermont. Taj devised a plan to watch and see where it flew to roost that night. Most waterfowl will leave the fields at night, where they are easy prey, to find a sheltered water-spot. Directly across from Malnatis field is Allen Brothers Marsh in Westminster, VT, which has been getting hundreds of waterfowl roosting at night. So Don, Taj, Martha Adams and I waited, watched and sure enough, the geese began to fly across the river and into the marsh at dusk.We saw our pink-footed goose fly over our heads and into the marsh! A second (hopefully, if the review committee accepts it) record in Vermont!!

photo JoAnne Russo

Some in our group had never been out on a birding trip before, they had experienced a bird that most seasoned birders live to see. The rarity of the pink-footed goose was appreciated by everyone! What a great trip, can't wait for the next.

Winter Geese in Vermont

2011-03-28T16:00:00.000-04:00

5 Canada geese, 2 mallards and 4 greater white-fronted geese.

My birding friends and I have been going to Herrick's Cove in Rockingham almost every morning to see the migrating ducks and geese. There's always a good chance to see a rare or unusual bird but there's a better chance of missing it unless you camp out there 24/7. Too cold for that!
As we were setting up our scopes, Don said, "this might be our last chance to see those white-fronteds". They had been spotted in the area but usually these rare birds don't stick around too long. As luck would have it, the four that were spotted days before, were right in front of us. Yippee!

close-up of the greater white-fronted geese

In the US, this goose is common only west of the Mississippi. According to all about birds "The Greater White-fronted Goose subspecies that breeds in Greenland usually winters in Ireland and Scotland. It occasionally turns up on the East Coast of North America. It is slightly larger than the typical American form, and has a brighter orange (less pink) bill, but telling them apart definitively is difficult."

Snow geese are another migrant who stop in Vermont on their way north. The typical Snow goose is white with black wing-tips but there is a dark form or morph, once considered a separate species, the Blue Goose. In the above picture, the smaller, darker goose is a juvenile blue morph, the other two are adult snow geese. In the next picture you can see the white this juvenile's head starting to fill in.

An adult blue-morph snow goose will look like this adult (picture below), that Don Clark took at the flooded meadows in Springfield. (note the gray body and white head of the adult)

There are also hybrid ducks and geese, some are wild/domestic mixes. We're not too sure what this one was that we found in Brattleboro swimming around with all the Canada geese.

Canada in the front and the hybrid (notice the orange bill and lots of white on head).

closer view of hybrid Canada.

There are web sites devoted to hybrids that are fun to explore. Here's my favorite; gobirding.eu

Bohemian Waxwings

2011-02-26T16:36:00.000-05:00

I noticed a flock of birds landing in the trees by the road and rushed to get my binoculars. They were definitely waxwings and looked to be all the same size. They were Bohemian waxwings! We have two types in southern Vermont, the cedar waxwing being the most common, is smaller than the Bohemian. In the winter, if we're lucky, we might see an occasional Bohemian in with a group of cedar waxwings. But this flock was entirely Bohemians and I counted 140 in this picture alone.

Bohemian waxwings are larger and grayer than the cedars but the best distinguishing markers are the reddish-orange color under the tail (undertail coverts) and the yellow and white pattern in the wings.

The destination of these beautiful birds was an old apple tree with a season of apples still hanging from the branches. They feasted for a while then something spooked the flock and they took off for destination unknown. I was lucky to be at the right place at just the right time.

Sharp-shinned Hawk

2011-02-21T09:04:00.000-05:00

A nice surprise this morning was a sharp-shinned hawk sitting atop the bird feeders. Moments before, the feeders were bustling with common redpolls, pine siskins, chickadees and goldfinches.

The Sharp-shinned is our smallest accipiter (long-tailed hawk with short, rounded wings). The typical flight is several short quick beats and a sail. The Sharpie is the most common accipiter in the East, the other two being the Cooper's and Northern Goshawk. The sharpie and the cooper's hawks can be difficult to distinguish, but the sharpie has a smaller head and square, notched tail which is easily seen in the photo.

I was just about to go out the front door with the dogs for our morning run, so Gerry snapped this action picture just as the Sharpie took off.

Birds of Broward and Palm Beach Counties

2011-02-14T15:54:00.000-05:00

Here's more of the birds I saw in Florida! Above is a tri-colored heron and glossy ibis. Love the tri's reflection in the water.

Anhinga and great blue heron.

Juvenile great blue heron and pied-billed grebe.

Cattle egret

Green heron (photo taken on the boardwalk looking down)

American bittern

Osprey

sandhill crane

Lesser black-backed gull

White ibis were probably the most common large bird we saw. They were all over the place; at the wetlands, along the roadsides, front lawns and the cemetery!

adult and juvenile white ibis

Burrowing owls at a ball park! We saw 5 owls and lots of their burrows.

We visited Wakodahatchee wetlands, Loxahatchee NWR, Plantation Preserve, Evergreen Cemetery, Green Cay, Brian Piccolo Park, SW Regional Library Trail, Chapel Trail Nature Preserve, Okeeheelee, Hugh Taylor Birch Park, Deerfield Island, Mills Pond Park, Snyder Park and the Fort Lauderdale Beach! Plus the accidentals we saw at other various locations around the area!! The best bird (and a lifer) was the spot-breasted oriole we saw as we were walking back to the condo!

Domesticated But Now on Their Own

2011-02-11T10:57:00.000-05:00

There's a lot of birds in Florida, especially in the southern part, that were released or escaped from captivity. The purple swamphen is probably the latest that has established a feral population and it's impact on the environment is being studied. Although similar to the purple gallinule, swamphens are larger and more chicken-like.

Muscovy Ducks are another escapee from domestic stock. The true, wild birds are found in Mexico.

African or Swan Goose (top) and Egyptian Goose (above) are becoming more common. Two years ago when I was visiting the area I didn't see any, this year we saw quite a few.

Blue-crowned, Monk and Nanday (black-hooded) parakeets are among the over 25 species of parrots, parakeets, macaws and others in the parrot family, now on their own in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area. The nice part about locating them is how noisy they are! Wow! The cooing of a mourning dove is a hardly a whisper compared to the raucous cacophony these birds create. But they are big and colorful!

Wakodahatchee, Del Ray, Florida birds

2011-02-10T09:54:00.000-05:00

Just got back from a week's trip to Florida to bird with my best birding friend, Ron. I saw 98 species in a week as compared to the 43 species I'd seen here in Vermont since January! I took this picture of a tricolored heron, as I was looking towards the sun, (something we are always told not to do) but the result was terrific.

One of the highlights of the 40 species we saw here was this beautiful Roseate Spoonbill. A large pink wading bird with a flat, spatulate bill that is swung from side to side when feeding in shallow water.

I added a few "lifers" while in Florida, the black-bellied whistling duck was one. In amongst the reeds are about 8 or so, we saw 22 at this site.

They have bright pink bill, white ring around the eye and are gray and chestnut colored with black bellies.

Moorhens like this one pictured and American coots were common as were blue-winged teal, glossy ibis and great-blue herons.
After our trip here we went back to Fort Lauderdale for a walk on the beach. As I walked barefoot in the surf I felt a pang of guilt knowing that Gerry was back in Vermont shoveling snow.................

Snow Birds and Dogs

2011-01-12T11:18:00.000-05:00

We're in the middle of our first big snow storm. An American tree sparrow is taking advantage of the suet.

A flock of common redpolls sit in the bare branches of the autumn olive bushes.

There's nothing brighter in the storm than the male cardinal! Here he sits with a goldfinch.

Besides this dark-eyed junco (aka snow bird), we've had black-capped chickadees, hairy and downy woodpeckers, blue jays, mourning doves, white and red breasted nuthatches and tufted titmice visiting the feeders during the storm.

Snickers and Pippin make their way through the snow. Notice what a smart guy Pippin is as he follows, using Snickers as a wind-break!

On the other hand, Merry stayed a little too long at the woodpile and had to race up the path all by herself.

Basket Progression

2011-01-11T10:55:00.000-05:00

I started a new piece the other day and thought I would record its progression. I start with a sketch - very simple with some notations for number and length of the spokes. This piece will have three small, pod-shaped baskets with coiled "stems" connecting them.

After dyeing ash, cutting and tapering spokes, the next step is weaving the 3 small pods. I use black ash, dyed black and the spokes have been tapered so I can form the wide to narrow shape.

Once the pods are woven, I choose what combination of beads I will use. I have boxes of beads that I have previously dyed to choose from. Here I have some beads, glass seed beads and fish vertabrae.

Using a needle and nylon thread, I sew all the beads onto the outside of the baskets.

I use waxed linen and coil over paper cord to make stems and finish the tops of the baskets.

The finished piece. It's about 12" long and 8" wide.

Westies and Squirrels

2011-01-05T17:21:00.000-05:00

Merry and Pippin think they've discovered squirrels! Since our last furry "squirrel catcher" died, the population has sky rocketed! I'm a "live and let live" type of person but this spring those 4 footed rodents ate all the little green peaches on my one peach tree! I wanted them dead.............or relocated.

Since I started working more in my basement studio (the house is built into the side of the hill so the windows are ground level), Merry and Pippin are spending more time in a room with a view. All those nose prints on the window need cleaning..............ugh!

I put one of the dog beds on a box which makes their perch pretty comfortable to see all the activity.

There's a pretty pink ball out there but these two don't care, it's that big, fat gray squirrel that they want. When Willy (squirrel catcher extraordinaire) died, the population was pretty low, but he took care of the slow and weak so what was left were the fastest. In other words, we have a super race of squirrels.

This is as close as these two will ever get to those rodents. I let them outside on occasion to give chase but they make so much noise getting out, the squirrels are out of sight by the time Merry and Pippin get there.

Who knew watching squirrels was such tiring work!
.

Snickers could care less.

Three Weeks!

2010-12-13T19:16:00.000-05:00

Merry and Pippin have been here for 3 weeks and they've adjusted really well! For the first few days they wouldn't leave my side, I'd go upstairs followed by the little troopers, up and down, all day long. Gradually they became more comfortable and would be in one room while I was elsewhere.

Merry really loves to play with a ball, not a stuffed hedgehog or a squirrel, only a ball and preferably a felt or soft rubber one. Pippin doesn't care for that but he enjoys running after Merry as she chases the ball.

Snickers is very happy he doesn't have to share his toys!

They all LOVE being outdoors exploring the woods. They go for a run in the morning and a hike in the afternoon.

Life is good in Vermont!

The First 3 Days

2010-11-24T15:31:00.000-05:00

Pippin and Merry

We adopted two 6 year old westies (west highland white terriers), a brother and sister, litter mates, three days ago. They were in a very good home but the owner worked and couldn't spend enough time with them. She made the really hard but right decision to find a home where her sweet westies would have a better life.

Day 1. Merry and Pippin (named after the hobbits) are at our house, they have met our Australian Shepherd mix, Snickers and everyone likes each other. Whew!
We've adopted 5 shelter dogs since we moved to Vermont and the first day is usually the one where we're all a bit anxious to see if we've made a good decision. A couple of the adoptees had fit right in as if they had lived with us for years. Merry and Pippin were not so easy. They were wondering "what are we doing here? it's nice, but when are we going back home? and where did our 'mom' go???". Taking a nap was not an option. After a long day, they slept all night without a whimper.

Merry and Pippin

Day 2. What a difference a day makes. Merry and Pippin, while still very active, are now exploring the house, being more independent and laying down for a nap! We are still taking them out every hour to pee and taking them on walks to tire them out. In fact Pippin had a really hard time keeping his eyes open last night!

Merry

Day 3. Bath! It's the day before turkey day and they need a bath. Bath time was fun time for these cuties, they didn't even mind the dryer! Yippee! Today they are right at home, happy to see us, be with us, I even took them running with me and Snickers and they kept right up.
Did we make the right decision in adopting 2 dogs? No question about it!!

the back of Merry's head, Pippin and Snickers

A Rare Bird Day!

2010-11-16T15:50:00.000-05:00

A rare west coast bird has appeared nearby in Walpole, NH. I saw the Townsend's Warbler the day it was found and of course forgot my camera. The next day I had to pack my baskets and leave for Philadelphia to do the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show. I returned yesterday and today, my neighbor wanted to go see if the Townsend's Warbler was still there. Not only has it remained in the same area since November 7th, it's pretty much in the same spot, (right behind us!)

So this afternoon we drove to Walpole and sure enough the first year female or male Townsend's was still there! The best part was when Don and Lillian Stokes showed up to see it too! They are excellent birders, TV personalities and the authors of numerous field guides and nature books..............and the nicest people!!!

We all saw the warbler and Lillian got some great photos of it. Eventually, as Ron and I walked back to the car, I said we have to buy their book and get them to autograph it or we'll be kicking ourselves when we get back home. So we did, then we attempted to leave again. As we were driving by, I said "STOP, I have my camera and I have to get a picture of me with them for my blog!" Of course, Ron needed his picture taken too!

Even though I didn't get a picture of this rare bird, not even a blurry one, there's some really good ones on this blog beautifulflyingobjects.blogspot.com and soon, on Don and Lillian's blog stokesbirdingblog.blogspot.com

Evening Grosbeaks

2010-11-05T19:49:00.000-04:00

The first birds I remember really being "wowed" about were evening grosbeaks. I was young, our family had bird feeders right in front of the dining room and kitchen windows, we had my grandmother's pair of opera glasses and we had lots of backyard birds in Winsted, CT.

When the huge flock of big, yellow birds with white and black wings and huge bills descended on our feeders, we grabbed the field guide! They were pretty easy to identify. The only other yellow bird with a stocky bill was the goldfinch and they were just too small.

Evening grosbeaks were loud, noisy and ate all the sunflower seeds in minutes.........then they were gone ...........to return as soon as the feeders were filled. What pigs! But what beautiful birds they were and still are!

Since moving to Vermont in 1993, we have never had more than 6 evening grosbeaks at our feeders and usually for only a day. For the past week, we've had flocks of 12 to over 20 every day! They're just as noisy and hungry as I remembered!

The females are paler than the males.

The winter 2010/2011 finch forecast for evening grosbeaks seems to predict very few grosbeaks this winter, so I don't know why we have so many, but I am not complaining.

"Evening Grosbeak: Breeding populations are much lower now than 35 years ago due mainly to a decrease of large outbreaks of spruce budworm beginning in the 1980s. A very few grosbeaks may move south from northeastern Ontario and Quebec where coniferous and deciduous seed supplies are generally poor. If any come, there are large crops of Manitoba maple seeds and plenty of sunflower seeds at feeders waiting for them."

Birding the NH coast to Plum Island

2010-10-27T12:15:00.000-04:00

Even though it was raining when we left Vermont, the weather was supposed to clear and become sunny and warm by mid-morning.........and it did. A perfect day for birding!

Our main goal was the Curlew Sandpiper, a very rare bird that breeds in Siberia and the non-breeding season is spent in Africa, Asia and Australia. It is a widespread vagrant that appears in small numbers on the North American coast in the spring and fall. This "first hatch" juvenile bird had been seen for a few weeks at Sandy Point on Plum Island (Parker River National Wildlife Refuge).

We had great views of the curlew sandpiper, this juvenile was moving about the beach looking for food, digging in the sand and got very close to where we were standing for some good pictures.

This picture shows the curlew's long legs and facial markings. Similar to a Dunlin but slimmer and longer legged, the curlew has a white rump which the Dunlin does not.

I spotted this Piping Plover, an endangered species, on the same beach. It's quite late for this plover to be here, they usually depart for warmer climes by the end of September.

Lots of white-rumped sandpipers were also trolling the shores.

Semipalmated plovers (on right) and semipalmated sandpipers were also everywhere. What does semipalmate mean, you might wonder. Here's the definition: having partial or reduced webbing between the toes, as some wading birds do. Of course, that feature is rather difficult to see!

Blue Grosbeak

2010-10-18T13:12:00.000-04:00

Blue Grosbeaks are pretty rare in Vermont, for that matter, all of New England. They breed from New Jersey to California southward and spend winters in the tropics. But for some reason during migration, New England gets a few errant Blues! Most sightings in New England occur along the coast, so this sighting along the Connecticut River in Vernon was very surprising. And we had 2 females! (That's why they're not blue)

Fall Migration - Red-eyed Vireo

2010-09-12T11:45:00.000-04:00

During the spring and summer, the red-eyed vireo sings his song high up in the trees making him very hard to see. At that time of year, his song is this vireo's best identification. He sings all day even on the hottest summer days when all other birds are quiet. It's an endless series of short phrases, intoned up, pause, intoned down; he sounds like he's asking a question and answering it. A continuous conversation with himself; how are you? I am fine. Where are you? I am here. on and on all day! Reminds me of my inner dialogues at night when I can't fall asleep and I'm just rambling in my head.

All that being said, it makes for a difficult time photographing this vireo until the fall. This is migration time when all the birds who came back north to breed are returning south. They come in waves, gleaning insects and berries in the bushes and trees as they move rapidly through. I finally was able to photograph this common bird of the Eastern forests. These pictures were taken with my point and shoot via my binoculars. Red-eyed vireos do have red eyes, sometimes you need the light to reflect just right to see it but the fall immatures have a brown eye.

This is the usual view of a red-eyed vireo in the spring and fall, the butt shot!

Baha'i Temple visit

2010-09-01T17:36:00.000-04:00

Last Tuesday, I packed up the Element to drive to Evanston, Illinois for the American Craft Exposition. As I was saying goodbye to Gerry and Snickers, I opened the door and Snickie hopped in! No place to go so he sat in the driver's seat. How cute!

On Sunday, the show didn't start until 11 am, so Darlys drove Renee and me to Wilmette for a visit to the Baha'i temple. What amazing architecture. There are only 7 Baha'i temples in the world, this one was started in 1912 and finished in 1953.

Such intricate work! It's a circular dome, with 9 sides and surrounded by gardens with walkways.

The temple doors were open!

Inside, looking up.

One of the gardens with a fountain, the flowers were gorgeous, the lawn was manicured to perfection.

I'm not sure what kind of flowers these are. They remind me of gomphrena (globe amaranth).

It was really getting hot! How lucky was I that someone had left their iced coffee on their bike! ha ha!

A Tour of Saint-Gaudens

2010-08-21T15:45:00.000-04:00

In Cornish, NH is the beautiful home, studio (pictured above) and gardens of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, sculptor of the American Renaissance. He summered here in 1885 through 1900 and lived year round until his death in 1907. Saint-Gaudens is considered one of the greatest sculptors and monument makers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

What gorgeous light and space in his studio! He worked here by himself, a larger studio destroyed by fire in 1944, was where his assistants worked.

The Shaw Memorial (1897) is probably his most impressive sculpture, taking 14 years to complete. It memorializes the Massachusetts 54th Regiment of African American Volunteers, the original is in Boston.

The Adams Memorial (1891) is my favorite. A bronze funerary sculpture commissioned by historian Henry Adams for his wife Clover who committed suicide, it's located in Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, DC. Gaudens called it "The Mystery of the Hereafter......beyond pain and beyond joy". It's pretty haunting.

One of the many sculptures on the property. In the background is Mt. Ascutney in Vermont.

There was scaffolding around sections of the house so I didn't get a good picture. But here's Gerry in front of a Honey Locust tree planted in 1886!

This was a pedestal detail on the Farragut Monument (1881) on which architect Stanford White helped to design, the first of many collaborations. I would love to have just this element in my garden (forgot to bring a chisel)!

Lake Champlain, homeward bound.

2010-08-14T13:04:00.000-04:00

Day 3 and we head for home. No vacation at Lake Champlain can be complete without seeing Champ, the Lake Champlain "monster". I love photoshop!

We decided to drive through the area of South Hero that we missed the day it rained. This was from the Grand Isle ferry south around the island. Gardener Harry Barber made these miniature, stone castles in the early 20th century. We located 3 while following West Shore Road and South Street.

This area had a lot of stone structures besides the castle.

The other interesting sight was this explosion of birdhouses! They were all approximately along the same level and went all around the tree line of a very large area.

Lake Champlain Islands north to Canada!

2010-08-09T12:04:00.001-04:00

Day 2 of our adventure started at 8 am. We biked north along the west side of South Alburg where we came across the Joseph M Mott house. It's probably built with local limestone from the Isle la Motte quarry. They don't build houses like this any more!! Love it!

We biked into Alburg where we picked up the Alburg Rail Trail which makes use of an old railroad line that goes through the Mud Creek Wildlife area. We saw lots of great blue herons.
The Trail took us into East Alburg where we left it and went north to Alburg Springs, then west back through Mud Creek to Border Road which took us into Canada.

It's funny how you actually cross into Canada before you get to the official crossing station. Here the roads were without a nice shoulder, and also not well paved.

We went through the border crossing without hassle. Continuing north through cornfields to Noyan where we headed west, crossing over Lake Champlain.

This is looking south and the next picture is looking north.

We headed south through more cornfields and one amazing sunflower farm!

Once again we hit the border before the official border crossing. Not much of a sign here! At the crossing, we were met by 3 border guards who asked more questions than their Canadian counterparts.Now we were in Rouses Point, New York and biked over the bridge back into Vermont. We headed south and back to the hotel, about a 55 mile ride.

Biking the Lake Champlain Islands

2010-08-06T17:07:00.000-04:00

We decided to spend a few days biking around the Lake Champlain, VT islands. It's hard to make hotel reservations too far in advance for biking since it's so dependent on the weather but the outlook looked good so we went for it. We left Saxtons River at 6 am and got to the Holiday Harbor Hotel in North Hero around 9 am. We unloaded our bags, gear and bikes and of course it started to rain! We waited until it was only drizzling and the sun looked like it was trying to peek through and hit the road.

We decided to bike to the south making a loop around North Hero, Grand Isle and South Hero. Our first bridge crossing was the Grand Isle bridge. As you can tell by the picture, it's still pretty gray but not raining................yet.

This old, round barn, converted to senior housing, is the point when it started to rain again but we kept going. When we got to the Grand Isle Ferry which takes you to NY, it started pouring and we decided to give up and head back. We had gone about 15 miles and had about the same to get back. Of course by the time we reached the hotel, the rain had stopped.

After a change of clothes, we decided to head north and bike around Isle la Motte, where Champlain landed in 1609, in 1666 the French built the first European settlement in Vermont and on the southern end of the island, is the world's oldest coral reef!

This is the Fisk Quarry which shows the successive ages of the Chazyan Reef exposed in the outcrops.

There's also an area where you can walk directly on the coral reef and see the fossils.

Here I am standing on the bedrock near a pond covered in green algae. We continued around the island, the sky once again grew dark and we made it back to the hotel, having biked another 20 miles.

Birding while Kayaking!

2010-07-29T20:24:00.000-04:00

You can't bird while driving a car. You can't bird while riding a bike. Unless of course you put on the brakes, but you have to be careful there's no one behind you. But, you can easily bird while kayaking, no need for brakes, just stop paddling and grab the binox!

That's me in the weeds at Manning Lake in Gilmanton, NH.

The last time I kayaked Manning, there were 4 loons, this time there were 3.

There was also a ring-billed gull sitting atop a post in the middle of the lake.

Back in Vermont, there was a record number of Great Egrets at Herrick's Cove in Bellows Falls.We saw 2 in the river/marsh area, then 3 flew over to join them and in the direction they came from, there were 7 more in trees. 12 in all!

A green heron on a half-submerged log posed for a picture.

or 2

These lily pads floating on Mannng Lake were gorgeous! They were very small, probably 2 or 3 inches in diameter, a lovely green above and a rich crimson below.

Under the water was pretty cool as well. This shot was taken pretty close to the lake's edge.

Butterflies

2010-07-19T20:37:00.001-04:00

I've been photographing all the butterflies in my garden this year. Even though they're all common varieties found in southern Vermont, you can't help but be struck by their beauty.

The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail is probably the most common and easiest to photograph as this butterfly lingers a long time on the flower.I don't know if it's a coincidence but most of the butterflies I've photographed are on Echinacea flowers.

The Black Swallowtail is certainly the most dramatic!

Monarchs are pretty scarce this year, this is the first one I've seen. I let milkweed grow in my garden to attract them.

The Painted Lady is another really gorgeous butterfly, open or closed.

The Great Spangled Fritillary is another large butterfly that's pretty common in my garden.

A much smaller butterfly is the Pearl Crescent, one of our more common meadow species who also likes to visit the flower garden.

Here's a pretty tattered Red Admiral.

This is a Silver Spotted Skipper. I chased him around but couldn't get a picture with his wings open.

The Common Wood Nymph is another who wouldn't pose with his wings open.

A pretty yellow butterfly is the Clouded Sulphur.

This butterfly is the Northern Pearly Eye. It is not attracted to flowers, rather it favors willow or poplar sap, carrion and scat. It often perches on tree trunks or in this case, sitting on a stump.

Loons on Manning Lake

2010-07-10T15:35:00.000-04:00

On day 2 of my New Hampshire visit, we kayaked around Manning Lake in Gilmanton. For years, Rose has seen a common loon pair, who've nested and raised young. This summer, she saw 3 adult loons hanging out together. When we arrived we saw 3 adult loons in the lake but heard another one in the reeds. That haunting call of the loon is beautiful!

Loons are water birds, only going ashore to mate and incubate eggs. Their legs are placed far back on their bodies, allowing efficient swimming but only awkward movement on land. One loon was flying overhead, circling the lake until it landed with the others. You can really notice the trailing feet when they fly.

Bike ride NH and ME

2010-07-10T11:21:00.001-04:00

I visited friends in New Hampshire this week. I graduated from UNH in Durham and had lived in York, Maine in the 70s and 80s, so Rose and I decided to do a long bike ride through familiar territory. It was going to be a hot day so we started early in Durham, where we rode over the Scammel Bridge into Dover Point, then into Dover. Our first photo op was at this bridge over the Piscataqua River. You can see how hazy it was but it was cool.

We crossed into Maine, going through Eliot, South Berwick and into North Berwick where we stopped for a photo op in front of the house Rose and David used to own.

From here we headed to Ogunquit, along the way going through the tip of York and the bottom of Wells. We rode along the coast, the sun was out now, it was getting hot but there was a cool ocean breeze (a headwind) but better than nothing! We rode along Shore Road through York Cliffs, then Cape Neddick into York Beach, detouring to visit Nubble Light, probably the most photographed lighthouse in Maine.

We rode along York Beach into York Harbor and finally York where we just couldn't resist this photo op!

Back along the coast through Kittery Point and into Kittery where we crossed the Memorial Bridge into Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Through Portsmouth into Newington, via the former Pease Airforce Base then over the bridge into Dover Point, over the Scammel Bridge and back to our car. 65 miles! A great ride!!!!!!!

I did bring my binoculars, the only notable bird was a female common eider.

Summer flowers

2010-06-25T12:06:00.000-04:00

A delicious sunny day today, thought I'd take some pix of my flowers.

I love astilbes! I have ones ranging in color from white to really dark reds. Love the flowers and foliage.

Gaillardia is also a favorite, pretty in the garden or cut for the house. They spread but not as rampantly as those yellow flowers (oenothera - evening primrose) in the background!

I love hostas too. Mostly for the foliage but the flowers are pretty.

Siberian and Japanese irises do much better in my garden than the larger bearded iris. For me, the bearded irises bloom and the leaves get skanky so I need to cut them back. While the other types have good foliage year round. (Notice more yellow flowers in background)

This is a perennial digitalis. It spreads! boy does it spread! But those flowers are loved by hummers and bees.

Snickers was also enjoying the cool morning while the grass was still wet. The dog days of summer!

Plum Island Birding Day

2010-06-08T11:49:00.000-04:00

Least Bittern (c/o webshots.com)

We spent 10 hours birding Plum Island (Parker River National Wildlife Refuge) in Massachusetts yesterday. Our main reason for going was to get another "lifer" and it would be a lifer for all 4 of us. Two black rails had been found in the marshes or rather "heard" on May 31st. A quote from Audubon explains; "Small as a sparrow and quiet as a mouse, the elusive Black Rail fascinates researchers and birders.Breeding and wintering in the United States, this smallest relative of coots and cranes inhabits a variety of salt and fresh water marshes dominated by grasses and sedges. With the precipitous loss of wetlands in the United States, the Black Rail may be in trouble." For this reason we were all content to just hear it! And we did!! As did about 10 other people waiting and listening too. It hadn't been heard in Massachusetts since the 1990's, a real rarity.

The least bittern was a lifer for me and we had a great view, the best view ever for some. It flew across the marsh for what seemed like a minute altho it was probably 10 seconds. Usually they fly up and dart back into the marshes and before someone can say "least bittern" it's gone.

piping plover

There were piping plovers nesting all over the beach and sections were closed off to keep people out. We managed to find one on a beach that wasn't restricted.

red knots and black-bellied plover

There were lots of shorebirds; red knots, black-bellied plovers, dunlin, semipalmated sandpipers, sanderlings, short-billed dowitcher, killdeer, willets, greater yellowlegs and spotted sandpipers. There was also an unusually high number (258) of Northern Gannets just off the coast plunge-diving and resting on the water. We heard Virginia Rail and Sora and saw lots of Gadwalls, Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets.

orchard oriole 1st year male (c/o webshots.com)

We also saw an orchard oriole nest and were lucky enough to have the pair return to see them too. It was a 1st year male and his mate. The mature orchard orioles are a very dark rusty orange color.

Purple martins were flying all over the area when we first got there. There were two of these houses for them.

Of course there were lots of Canada geese with young, this pair seemed to have the oldest group of goslings in tow. They looked like mini versions of their parents.

No fuzzy pictures this time! Here's a Bobolink calling from his perch. Their populations are declining because they nest in fields and if the fields get mowed before the young fledge..................... fewer bobolinks.

Island Pond Birding Trip

2010-06-03T10:10:00.000-04:00

We went to the Northeast Kingdom in Vermont yesterday for a day of birding around the beautiful Island Pond and Moose Bog areas. Some of the highlights were Wilson's Snipe, Common Loons, Northern Parula and boreal chickadee (altho we only heard his call). Near Moose Bog we came across this white lady's slipper, pretty rare!

We also saw a moose munching on greens right along the road, he/she hid behind a tree when we stopped the car to take pictures.

Even though it was very quiet (hardly any birds singing) Moose Bog itself is worth the trip, it's a gorgeous, pristine area.

Of course my blog wouldn't be complete without one of my blurry pictures, I could blame this on the weather (it was quite foggy when we arrived) but rather I think it's the photographer! This is a Wilson's Snipe atop a dead tree. There were at least 3 or 4 snipe calling and flying about doing their mating flight display.

Winged Warbler Hybrids

2010-05-27T18:22:00.000-04:00

Brewster's Warbler

The blue-winged and golden-winged warblers interbreed and produce beautiful offspring. The progeny of this mating is the Brewster's warbler. When the Brewster's mates with either blue-winged or golden-winged warbler, the Lawrence's is the result. Recently I completed seeing all members of this family with great views of the Brewster's warbler! That day all were present except the Lawrence's which is the rarest, but I had seen that one a few years back in my own neighborhood. The hybrids sing the songs of either parent, so you really need to see the bird to tell which warbler you're hearing.

blue-winged warbler

golden-winged warbler (photo from webshots.com)

Lawrence's warbler

The State of Craft - opening night

2010-05-23T11:00:00.000-04:00

Last night's State of Craft opening at the Bennington Museum was very well attended! It was a great celebration of crafts in Vermont, lots of the artists represented attended and we all enjoyed a potluck dinner (we were all asked to bring a dish) along with a pig roast (I didn't try the pig as my plate was loaded with everything else).
Here I am standing next to my piece "She's Come Unraveled". To my right is Deidre Scherer's wonderful work. "Three Women and a Dog", which is thread on layered fabric. It's just exquisite.

There are about 3 or 4 rooms, each with a different theme; 'living by making', 'inspirations' and 'communities and connections'. State of Craft is a multi-year collaborative initiative of the Vermont Crafts Council, Bennington Museum and Vermont Folklife Center to document, preserve, and interpret the history of the contemporary crafts movement in Vermont, 1960-present.If you're anywhere near southern Vermont, plan a trip to the Bennington Museum to see the show, you won't be disappointed!

The State Of Craft

2010-05-20T09:30:00.001-04:00

Opening this Saturday "The State of Craft", the major exhibition of the Bennington Museum’s 2010 season, will feature more than 125 objects by 86 Vermont craftspeople, including master artists, emerging artists, and key individuals throughout the more than fifty year time frame of the studio craft movement, c. 1960-2010. This history will be told in a series of vignettes spread throughout the museum’s temporary exhibition galleries based on the themes that have emerged from curatorial research and oral history interviews conducted by the Vermont Folklife Center. In addition, the exhibition will include audio tours, historical photographs and documents, and text describing each artist’s role in the larger cultural and social history of the studio craft movement. www.benningtonmuseum.org
I was invited by the curator, Anne Majusiak to be a part of the exhibit and my piece "She's Come Unraveled" will be featured.This piece is 35" tall by 12" and woven out of black ash splint. I then drilled holes and sewed on hundreds of hooks & eyes, sewed stacks of beads to the top and bottom and coiled waxed linen around wire for the top. It took days and days and days to complete! It's my favorite piece!
www.stateofcraft.org
I'll be going to the opening Saturday night and will post pictures of the event!

Mt Auburn Cemetery

2010-05-12T09:56:00.007-04:00

Four intrepid birders took a trip to the Mt Auburn Cemetery yesterday in Cambridge Mass, to see birds, especially warblers. Our highlights were Canada, northern parulas, Nashville, black-throated blues and greens and blackpoll warblers.
I love cemeteries! As kids, we always took a shortcut to school through a nearby cemetery with the hopes that the gate would be open at the other end, otherwise we'd have to go back.
Mt Auburn Cemetery consists of 175 acres, it was founded in 1831 as America's first landscaped or garden cemetery. It's gorgeous, a great place to bird or just walk around.

We went up to the top of Washington Tower where there are great 360 degree views. Here's looking towards Boston.

It was hard to take a good picture of most birds as they flitted in and out of the trees but this red-tailed hawk was being harassed by blue jays after just catching a gray squirrel. We spotted a nest with at least one young in it.

Here's a mallard with her 7 ducklings.

Tons of flowering trees and shrubs!

and sculpture! There's 30,000 monuments here.

great blue heron rookery

2010-04-29T20:14:00.004-04:00

We met friends in Northampton, Mass and they took us to Arcadia Audubon Sanctuary to see the great blue heron rookery. Each nest you see in the trees had a heron sitting in it. As we watched more herons flew in and out, we probably saw at least 15 to 20.

If you look closely at this picture, in the bottom nest, on the left and facing left is the head of a great blue heron.

Here's one who got up to stretch.

There was a lone Canada goose sitting on a possible nest right on top of a beaver lodge.

Another birder was there and alerted us to a great-horned owl nest (they had taken over one of the heron nests). The adults were out but the owlets were visible.
Here's my attempt at taking a picture of the owlets. They are the tan, fuzzy looking blobs off to the right in the center of the picture.

Smithsonian Craft Show - I'm back!

2010-04-27T19:22:00.006-04:00

The Smithsonian Craft Show was a long show with a Wednesday night preview party and four long days after that. Attendance was very good, lots of interest in my work and I made some good sales! My new pod pieces and wall pieces were really popular and that's always nice.
Here's my booth at the show.

My favorite piece sold and has a good home!

There is no better place to have a show than at the National Building Museum in DC. It is an amazing building, the columns are huge, there's a fountain and great architecture both inside and out. And I had time to visit some museums.

Birding and packing for Smithsonian

2010-04-19T17:05:00.007-04:00

I went back to Herrick's Cove this morning to see what birds were out. Saw the Eurasian green-winged teal along with 18 American green-winged teals. I didn't take these pictures, they're from Webshots, a photo sharing website. My picture of the Eurasian teal looked like a blur with a white horizontal line. The horizontal white line is what distinguishes the Eurasian from our American green-winged teal (he has a vertical white line, see pic below).

Then I returned home and packed up the Element with my baskets, ready to leave tomorrow morning for the Smithsonian Craft Show, held at the National Building Museum in DC. SmithsonianCraftShow

This afternoon my neighbor Ron called and wanted to go to Brattleboro to find the vesper sparrow that was sighted yesterday and again today. So off we went and met up with our 2 favorite birders to join forces and we found the vesper! A lifer for Ron and I! I took this slightly out of focus shot but you can see the white eye ring which is one of the field marks of this sparrow.

A great start to the week!

Monk Parakeets

2010-04-12T12:54:00.006-04:00

After I set up my booth for CraftBoston on Thursday, I hustled over to the Bremen Street Park in Boston near the airport. The first thing I saw was the huge stick nest the parakeets were building high up on a telephone pole. Then as I watched the nest, the 2 monk parakeets flew in and out with sticks and twigs. They would fly inside and weave the stick into the nest (just like making a basket). How cool that was to see!!

CraftBoston

2010-04-07T11:13:00.003-04:00

I'm heading to Boston tomorrow to do the Craft Boston show! CraftBoston
I've got lots of new work so if you're in the area stop by.

The Society of Arts & Crafts presents CRAFTBOSTON 2010. The show will take place April 9 – 11, 2010 at Boston’s Seaport World Trade Center. CRAFTBOSTON is the premiere New England exhibition and sale of contemporary art, craft and design. The shows will feature 200 of the most outstanding artists of our time,showcasing one-of-a-kind and limited-edition pieces in baskets, ceramics, decorative fiber, wearables, furniture, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed media, paper and wood.
Additionally, CRAFTBOSTON features work by emerging artists from leading schools and universities, an artist mentor program, a book seller, an educational lecture series, tours for guests who are blind and visually impaired and other special interest groups, and informational booths promoting non-profit craft organizations.

Teaching kids to knit!

2010-03-30T13:24:00.005-04:00

I belong to a knitting group that meets once a week, year round, to knit mittens, hats and sweaters for our local school children. We're always amazed at how many items are needed once winter is upon us. All our yarn is donated and we donate our time. We have given hundreds of sweaters, hats and mittens in the 5 years since our group was started.

Recently we were asked to assist at the Grafton Elementary School, teaching 9 and 10 year-olds how to knit. The first session consisted of Mary, me and their teacher, Mrs. No-E. We divided the 12 boys and 4 girls into 3 groups and each of us showed our students how to knit. They would be making a headband with large needles and bulky yarn and to make it easier, we cast on 6 stitches and knit the first row. Not too much progress was made that first class.
But when we returned the next week, a lot of the students had finished the headband and started another and some had started knitting scarves. Mrs. No-E told us how excited they were about knitting! They were knitting during recess, at home and whenever they had spare time. By the 3rd session they were all knitting like pros...and we couldn't be happier! It was a great feeling of accomplishment for all of us!

black squirrel

2010-03-19T16:42:00.003-04:00

The first time I saw a black squirrel was in Maryland when I was doing a craft show in the 80s. I then noticed them in Westfield Mass and in Canada but never here in Vermont. A few years ago I thought I saw one in the woods behind our house. Then recently I noticed one coming to the bird feeders to eat the sunflower seeds. He or she is as big as a gray squirrel and are a melanistic version of the gray squirrel. I finally took a few good pictures.

ruddy shelduck and greater white-fronted goose

2010-03-11T18:49:00.005-05:00

I know the pictures aren't good but we were birding today (Mar 11) in the rain and although it wasn't raining when we took these pix, it was late in the day and overcast..........
It's a ruddy shelduck, not native to North America and probably an escapee from someone's farm for exotic ducks. No matter, we were all thrilled to see it! He is a 'he' as he has a thin black line around his neck. He was still in the cornfield the next day on rt. 5 in Westminster, VT. A beautiful bird!!!

here's the greater white-fronted goose we saw the next day.

A couple of uncommon gulls

2010-03-10T09:39:00.005-05:00

We went to Turners Falls late yesterday afternoon to see the waterfowl. In a very close group of gulls, we saw greater black-backed, lesser black-backed, iceland, herring and ring-billed gulls. The lesser black-backed and Iceland gulls are uncommon in our area.
I got a great picture of the lesser standing in shallow water, just to the right of the greater. Great for size comparison!! The lesser is smaller, the back is not as dark and the head has dark streaking.

The Iceland gull with his head stuck under his wing, has no black wing tips, so we just look for the all white gulls of which we found this one. For size, he's bigger than the ring-billed but smaller than the herring gulls.

Pods on a Vine

2010-03-02T17:38:00.003-05:00

Here's the latest piece that I've had photographed. Rachel did a great job, we worked at it for quite a while trying different 'poses' to get it to look good. Overall, it's 28" long, the pods are about 4" by 7". The materials are black ash, beads, waxed linen, paper cord, carpet tacks and thread. I dye the beads with fabric dyes and they're sewn onto the basket.

more Florida birds

2010-03-01T10:56:00.007-05:00

OK! I'm back working on new basket pieces and I'll post pix soon, but here's a few more birds I saw in Florida.
Black-hooded parakeets, certainly not native birds but escapees who have become feral, are a noisy lot! Glad they're not residents in Vermont, colorful but LOUD!

The solitary Limpkin is a beautiful bird of the shallow water swamps and ponds, walking slowly looking for food. Great color and loooong bill!

We saw Wood Storks at the deSoto nature reserve. Formerly called "wood ibis" because of it's resemblance to the Ibis, it is really a member of the stork family. Looks like the kind of bird you wouldn't want to get close too. They hiss!

Florida birding

2010-02-27T09:37:00.004-05:00

We went to the St. Petersburg area of Florida for a winter break. Saw 85 species of birds on the trip. The yellow-crowned night-heron obviously couldn't read the sign! And the great egret in breeding plumage (I love the green near his eye).

northern hawk owl and gray jay

2010-02-15T17:33:00.006-05:00

Went on a birding adventure today, north to Island Pond, VT to see the northern hawk-owl. An amazing owl, has been in the same location for weeks and sure enough we spotted him right away! Then we took a hike in the Wenlock woods to see and hear spruce grouse, white-winged crossbills, gray jays and others.
The gray jays were almost tame, they came amazingly close to us, especially when we left some nuts and dried fruit in the snow for them!
The only disappointment was the lack of boreal chickadees. Oh well!

Smithsonian Craft Show

2010-02-08T17:38:00.002-05:00

I just heard I'm in the Smithsonian Craft Show in April. I had applied, was wait-listed and didn't expect to do the show. No one drops out of that show unless something serious comes up. Whatever happened, I'll be there and I need to get to work! with a few side trips to bird :)
Here's 3 new "teapots" I just finished.
Here's the show's website. www.smithsoniancraftshow.org

birding the coast

2010-01-24T10:40:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day so we went to the NH, MA coast to bird with friends. Saw lots of great birds; snowy owl, peregrines, common eiders, loons, goldeneyes, long-tailed ducks and many many others! We went hoping to see the Sage Thrasher but he was gone. I added a lifer to my list though, a sleeping Eastern Screech Owl. He was perched in his tree roost at Odiorne State Park and not at all perplexed by all the people staring at him and taking pictures. A great day!

Basketweaving and Birds

2010-01-20T19:45:00.005-05:00

In preparation for my interview tomorrow with Nicole from the Keene Sentinel, I've been weaving baskets. I want a nice assortment at various stages so I can explain my process when she gets here. And it's about time I do some new work :)
I've been keeping my eyes on the bird feeders too hoping for a new visitor. I would love to see some off-course migrant end up in my yard!
It's also been snowing the past few days amounting to less than 2 inches. My friend Ron is in Florida and he's been sending me pictures of all the birds he's seeing. This is his favorite shot and so far, mine too. White Ibises! Looks like they're keeping they're eyes out for dinner.

peregrine falcon

2010-01-17T16:17:00.002-05:00

I visited a friend in New Hampshire. We were walking around Concord this morning when I noticed a falcon flying onto the top of a church steeple. It was a beautiful peregrine falcon. There are plenty of rock pigeons around for a lot of meals for this adept hunter. Peregrines were on the endangered list in the 1970s brought about by pesticide use, mostly DDT. Now it's back, recovered and while still not common, it is finding a means of survival in our cities.

taste of the arts, tales from a community

2010-01-11T09:34:00.003-05:00

I'm giving a talk about my work as a basketmaker this Thursday in Saxtons River at Main Street Arts. It starts at 6pm with a meal and I start my talk around 7.
I'll start with the basics: how a basket is made from black ash, but I will also discuss those influences along the way that have changed my basket designs from functional pieces to today's works of art. Bits of history, family and porcupine quills - along with my obsessions with detail, perfection and collecting - make this an evening not to be missed!
http://www.mainstreetarts.org/tickets/index.html

Taste of the Arts
Tales From a Community
A fundraising series where you can hear unique presentations from local residents - Enjoy "good eats" from Harvest Moon with friends,
and support your local community arts center.

Thursday, January 14 at 6:00 PM

black skimmers

2010-01-05T09:39:00.004-05:00

My birding buddy Ron Romano is in Florida sending back pictures of the birds he's seeing. Here in Vermont, there's not too many species who enjoy the cold, snowy winters. Although there are some birds who think of Vermont as the 'warm south' (they usually spend summers in the arctic), most birds have left. So it's really nice to see these Florida birds; many never venture to Vermont.

This particular picture that Ron took, at first glance, looks like a flock of penguins. It's a flock of black skimmers, recognized by the remarkable bill; the large red and black bill is knife-thin and the lower mandible is longer than the upper. The top picture is a close-up of these beautiful birds.

sharp-shinned hawk

2010-01-02T13:38:00.005-05:00

New Year's day brought an unexpected visitor to our bird feeders, a sharp-shinned hawk! We were lucky to get a good picture; such a beautiful accipiter. A great start to a new year of birding! And all the juncos, chickadees, goldfinches and the other feeder birds escaped unscathed. Thanks to my husband Gerry Biron for the great shot!

Christmas Bird Count- Saxtons River VT

2009-12-21T11:22:00.003-05:00

I joined the Christmas Bird Count here in Saxtons River on Saturday. It was a cold day, about 15 people headed off in various directions to cover the most territory. The highlight for me was a flock of 10 snow buntings. My team had a total of 29 species and 540 birds. The total for Saxtons River was 58 species and 5827 birds. Also notable was a long-eared owl, heard but not seen. This is the 110th Christmas Bird Count but only my first but I'll be doing it again next year. Totally fun!

Easy last minute scarf with button

2009-12-02T17:23:00.002-05:00

This is a really easy scarf to knit and it uses yarn leftover from your knitting projects! I made it for my sister with yarn from a sweater I made for her. You use big needles, size 15 and double strands of bulky yarn. I made it in a few hours
Email me for the pattern.

knitted hat

2009-11-26T19:06:00.004-05:00

My niece emailed a picture of a hat she wanted me to knit. So I came up with one that highly resembles the picture. She tried it on today and it fits perfectly, it's exactly what she wanted! yippee!
I'll be glad to share the pattern if anyone wants it!

black scoter

2009-11-22T15:21:00.007-05:00

I am a birder and here's something we usually don't see swimming in a little pond in Newfane, Vermont. Black scoters are coastal ducks that breed in the subarctic and migrate south so you can see flocks occasionally along the CT river but this spot is unusual.
There are some great pictures on another birder's blog.

http://onejackdawbirding.blogspot.com/2009/11/black-scoter.html

I am featured on Greenopolis.com

2009-11-09T11:37:00.000-05:00

check out greenopolis.com! Joe Laur's blog features me!
http://greenopolis.com/goblog/joe-laur/become-real-bag-person

mittens

2009-11-07T16:27:00.000-05:00

Last winter I needed a pair of really warm mittens to wear on my early morning runs. So I shrank a few wool sweaters, made a pattern and sewed my first pair of felted wool mittens lined with fleece. I made another pair for Gerry and more for xmas presents. Soon I was going to thrift stores finding more and more sweaters, asking friends to send me sweaters and I was off on a new tangent...... a new business adventure. All year long I've been sewing mittens, I did a couple local craft shows and they sold very well.
Here's pictures of some of my recent mittens.

drycleaner plastic bag wreath

2009-11-06T15:29:00.000-05:00

My interview with Joe Laur (www.greenopolis.com) went well yesterday, I talked him thru the process of making my cosmetic bag out of plastic shopping bags. He took lots of pictures so we'll see how his blog turns out. I'll post it when it does.
Doing the demo reminded me of making a xmas wreath for my mother in the late 60s or early 70s from dry cleaning plastic bags! You use a wire coat hanger to form a circle for the wreath and tie lots of strips of plastic bags to fill it out. I think I remember adding glitter to it but I can't recall how we did it. I found directions on ruffledblog.com.

recycling plastic bags demonstration

2009-11-05T09:30:00.000-05:00

Joe Laur from greenopolis.com is coming this afternoon to do a 'step by step in pictures' for making durable bags out of those plastic shopping bags we all have too many of. It'll be posted on the site www.greenopolis.com.
I've started crocheting with plastic grocery bags this year, teaching a few classes and making bags for gifts. It's a very time consuming endeavor; one bag does not go a long way. We saw a TV spot months ago about a Vermont woman who's been teaching crocheting with plastic bags for 18 years! I remember making wreaths out of dry cleaning plastic bags when I was in grade school. It's nothing new but seems to be re-surging along with everything green and it's about time!