Not a Word, There are Visitors to the Table

 

 

 

 

Check out other bloggers that carry cameras all the time and snap photos of Camera Critters.

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Sky Watching on a Dreary Day

At the beginning of the week we had a rainy day, and I mean a rainy day.  The temperatures rose to an unusual +9 Celsius for the end of January and it poured and poured of rain.

 

Under a dark and gloomy sky the snow in the garden vanished quickly and was replaced by large puddles of water very quickly.

One of my favourite places to take sky photos is from the front door looking north.

It was about mid morning and all I saw was fog and rain.

By late afternoon the rain is stopping and the sun is trying very hard to break through the clouds.

Close to 5:30 pm and the rain clouds finally started moving out and a bit of blue sky is showing through.

This morning I had a treat when I opened the curtains as I was able to see the full moon.  So it is off to take some photos.
If you love sky photos be sure to check out the other participants in Sky Watch Friday.

Labels:  sky

 ©Crafty Gardener
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How are you saying 2010?

A couple of weeks ago my thought for Thursday was how were people saying 2010.are you saying two thousand ten?or are you saying twenty ten?
The poll is now closed and here are the results.48 people said they say twenty ten
and37 people said they say two thousand ten Thanks to everyone that voted in this poll. It was fun to watch the votes come in and try to predict which would win.
According to this website the correct way is twenty ten.  They say it has been easier, faster, and shorter to say dates like 1810 (eighteen ten) and 1999 (nineteen ninety nine) and we should continue this way into this decade with twenty ten, twenty eleven, twenty twelve etc.  We didn't say one thousand nine hundred ninety nine as that would of been a mouthful.  In fact all through the last century the year was nineteen and what ever number it was.  So how did we get into the habit of saying two thousand ... guess it was when 2000 came around and that is exactly what the year was.
 I don't actually think there is a standard way to say the year. You can Google how to say 2010 and you will come up with all sorts of sites with varying opinions.  I like saying twenty and the year number and I think as we progress more into this century more people will say it that way too.  But the choice is up to you.
 ©Crafty Gardener
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The Rainbow Invitation

In the Garden has sent us all a rainbow invitation to brighten up the winter days by posting photos of blooms that match the rainbow colours.

What better photo to start with than the gorgeous arch of the rainbow.  After the deluge of rain we had from yesterday afternoon to about mid afternoon today I would of loved to see a rainblow.  Unfortunately all I saw was clouds and more clouds.  So this photo of a rainbow was taken sometime last summer.  And if you look very carefully you will almost see a double rainbow.

The photos are not in any particular rainbow order.
I'll start off with yellow, and what better flower than the march marigold, which lefts our spirits after a long winter and is the first to bloom.

Green is for the trees and their leaves that give us cooling shade in the hot summer weather.

The drumstick allium is perfect in purple or violet.
Red for the gorgeous zinnias which I grow from seed.

Orange for the common ditch lily.

 Blue for the delphiniums that bloom in spring.And last but not least the delicate pink on the daylily.
What a fun time I had searching through photos for find ones to share today.  The choice was hard as there were so many uplifting photos to choose from. I hope you will join in and accept the Rainbow Invitation also.  Be sure to stop by In the Garden and see who else is participating.  ©Crafty Gardener
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Looming on the Horizon

There is a huge weather system looming on the horizon which will bring us lots and lots of rain.  We will be having temperatures of +9 Celsius and for close to the end of January that is very mild.  I much prefer the rain to the snow that we would usually be getting at this time of the year.
But this is also looming on my horizon.

Knifty Knitter Looms

I actually got these looms awhile ago with a 50% off coupon at Michaels but they got pushed away into the craft closet until the past few days.  I've finished all my knit and crochet projects and decided to get these out and see what I can make with them.  Some searching around the net led me to some Yahoo groups devoted to loom knitting and some free pattern sites.

This isn't a totally new craft for me and I bet it isn't for you either.  Remember years ago the knitting sets, sometimes called corking (and I don't know why) and sometimes called Knitting Nancy (and again I don't know why).  They may of had other names but those are the two that spring to mind.  I dug further into the craft closet and found these ones that my daughters had used when they were young.

I even remember one made from a wooden cotton reel and some nails.  And here it is complete with a face drawn on by one of the girls at some point in time.

 

But what did we ever do with that long, long tube of knitting that came out from it.  By the looks of what I found in the craft closet it just got wound round and round.  Sometimes it made scarves for a dolly and sometimes it got twisted into little carpets for doll houses.

But today the looms are more sophisticated and you can make all sorts of things with them.  I'll probably start out with something simple like a hat and see how I like it.  And then maybe I'll progress to something a little harder.  I've been reading you can make socks on these looms.

Now that seems like a project looming on the horizon.

©Crafty Gardener
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Inuky and the Dove

My digital camera is my constant companion while I'm working in the garden, walking by the water, or just out and about on my travels. Over the winter months it is always set up by the kitchen door ready to snap some photos of the birds.  You never know when that "Kodak Moment" will happen.
 
Inuky is in full view of the kitchen window.  Some days he has white fluffy snow on him and other days he is a perching spot for birds.  Right now he is bare as we are still in the midst of a January thaw.

On a snowy day the dove has found a friendly place to sit and enjoy some afternoon sunshine.

I guess I'll have to clean Inuky's head and shoulders as we all know how messy doves can be.

Check out other bloggers that carry cameras all the time and snap photos of Camera Critters.

Labels: doves, inukshuk

©Crafty Gardener

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Winter

 Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle

...a seed waiting to sprout,

...a bulb opening to the light,

...a bud straining to unfurl.

And the anticipation nurtures our dream.

©Barbara Winkler

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When-sday Memories of the Hummingbird

When-sday Memories is a series of posts, mostly during the winter, to showcase some of my previous nature posts.  When were they previously posted ...  way back when.

This When-sday post is from April 19, 2008 and shows some of my better hummingbird photos.  I recently saw a fantastic documentary on hummingbirds on the Nature channel and it gave me the inspiration to share this post again.  What fascinating birds.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How exciting to have the hummers back in the garden.

I took a series of photos with my Olympus camera on April 19/08. I use a tripod to steady the lens.

The camera has 18x zoom so when the lens is extended it is heavy and my hands wouldn't be able to steady the camera.

These are some of the photos of the hummer which I got by using the rapid fire button.

What did we do without digital cameras?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm really looking forward to the hummingbirds returning to the garden.  How about you?

  I love the play on words, and hope you do to.  Why not check out some of my other daily features ... Monday Mysteries,  2sDay, When-sday memories ,Thiursday Thoughts, and Friday's Flowers and my latest play on words -  "purse"onality.


©Crafty Gardener
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It's January Thaw

We are having a few days which are labelled January thaw as the temperatures are just above the 0 Celsius mark.The squirrels are out taking advantage of the bare ground under the feeders and scooping up the seed that drops down.

 

It looks like he found lots to keep him occupied as he was there for quite a while.
 

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Tunisian Crochet Hooks

A Christmas gift came in the mail yesterday.  It wasn't late coming as I had received a gift card at Christmas time.  I had an idea what I wanted but had to search really hard to find it.  I wanted some bamboo Tunisian crochet hooks.  So of course when I did find them and place the order I had to wait for delivery.  The hooks were only one day late in arriving as I had been given a projected arrival date of January 14.  They were well worth the wait. Thank you Susan for a fabulous gift.

 There are seven hooks ranging in size from 5 mm to 10 mm.

I love the way that each hook is labeled in metric (which I use all the time) and in the US way (which I'm not familiar with) with letters and a number. So many patterns you find on the internet only give the US way and I'm always getting out my chart to convert to metric, which most of the world uses.

Here is my pattern for the Tunisian dish cloth. Remember I'm better at doing the crochet than at writing down the pattern - and it seemed harder to write down a pattern using the Tunisian stitch.  I made these dish cloths with a regular crochet hook and had to be carefull the work didn't slip off the end.  Now I'll be able to make more using the correct hook.

Chain 25 stitches. Pull yarn through each stitch so that you have 25 loops on the hook.
The next row (works from left to right), where you pull the yarn through the first stitch and off the hook, and then pull the yarn through the next two stitches and off the hook, continue till the end of the row. You end up with one stitch left on the hook.
Pick up 24 stitches (vertical stitches of the previous row, working right to left).
These 2 rows are the pattern and you continue until you have enough rows to form a square.
Around the edge of the square I did double crochet stitches to finish it off.

If you have never learned how to do Tunisian crochet, have a look at this teeny tiny tutorial at Homefree.
I also found this neat video on You tube showing you how to do this if you are a visual learner.

I think dish cloths made with the Tunisian stitch will be more sturdy and last longer than the simple knitted version. This is a great project to keep in a bag and take with you do do whenever you have to wait for an appointment, or to work on in the vehicle (if you can do that sort of thing). I've been making them while watching my favourite British soaps on tv (Coronation Street, East Enders). Labels:  crochet, dish cloths, The Crafty Side
 ©Crafty Gardener
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Zoom in on the Moon

The moon is fascinating to watch and I love to try to capture the mystery of it on my camera.

Early on the morning of January 9, 2010 the sky was clear and the crescent moon was visible through the trees.

It was time to zoom in on the moon.

Then again on the morning of January 12, 2010 I was able to capture the last little bit of the moon as it almost slipped from visibility for about another month.

The sky still had the dark clouds of overnight.

Zooming in gave an even closer view of the sliver of crescent moon.

Then I tried a different setting on the camera and took the same shot with a different effect.

I'll be looking for the next cycle of the moon to appear in the evening or morning sky.

If you love sky photos be sure to check out the other participants in Sky Watch Friday.

Labels: moon, sky

©Crafty Gardener

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Thursday Thoughts on 2010

2010 has been here for 14 days now. I'm wondering how you are saying 2010?are you saying two thousand ten?or are you saying twenty ten?and does it really matter?
I've heard it said both ways.I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.Why don't you vote in the above poll.

©Crafty Gardener

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Two's for 2sDay

It's 2sDay - the day when I post photos of things I have captured in twos.

 On a bit of a foggy day awhile ago I captured two doves on the flat feeder.

 

And a little while later along came two juncos.

Labels:  doves, juncos, 2sDay

©Crafty Gardener

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