Ice Storm

An ice storm in Bellingham - though it is not in the entire city.  This is about 2 miles from our house - but we have none at our house - which is unusual, as we are a much higher elevation than the rest of the city and usually get the cold/snow/ice more often.

 Branches thick with ice - it looked almost like they were in bloom from a distance.

 Some flowers left from summer, in the parking lot of JoAnn Fabrics, covered in ice.

 A truck encased in ice - but not all cars in the parking lot had ice on them

 A Bald Eagle in an iced up tree - she's watching the pond below for a duck dinner

Saturday's Critters
I'd Rather B' Birdin'

Ducks

There are large flocks of ducks over wintering here.

 American Wigeons - with the occasional Red Headed Eurasian Wigeon mixed in.

 They run about in the field - looking for something good to eat.  They make the nicest little high pitched peeping noise.

And spend a lot of time in the seasonal ponds that form in the farm fields when we have heavy rains.

Another flock of them in front of a barn on Fir Island.  Notice the eagle's nest high in the tree above the  long white barn roof.   There were no eagles in the nest that we saw - though we did see two eagles flying over the fields - perhaps hunting to feed their young.

Wednesday Wee Ones

We've had some snow - brrrr it has been cold - so we all got dressed up in our winter clothes.

 Abby keeps her rain coat and rain hat handy - snow often turns to rain here in NW Washington State.  Poppy and Kyla are ready for some winter fun - and look who is joining them - their new sister, Samantha.  She was a christmas gift from our Auntie Lori - Samantha hasn't seen snow before so she is very excited.

 Sally Jo and Donnie like the snow a lot.

 OH nooooooooo - the snow  is so slippery - everyone better go indoors and get warmed up.

 Poppy will make us some warm cookies - or cakes - or pies, with the new christmas gift baking set.

 Poppy is a very good baker!

 A good shopping list.

 Tarts would be good Miss Poppy - we like apple tarts best.

 Kyla likes her boots and red leggings.

 Abby has a plaid blouse and blue leggins - and good sturdy black boots

 Sally Jo like to dress up in her fancy winter outfit

 And Samantha loves her nautical outfit - complete with a ship's whistle.

 Donnie is a tough Pacific Northwester - he wears his flannel shorts and crocs all year 'round.

 Well, look here - another gift from our Auntie Jamie in West Virginia - a piano - let's all sing some songs to warm up after playing in the snow.

Donnie will play some songs for us on our new piano

 

 Hot chocolate is ready - who wants some hot chocolate?

 I think everyone wants some hot chocolate - it is perfect for these winter days.  And the tea set is from our Auntie Jamie too.  She finds the very best gifts.  There are some new spring clothes from Auntie Jamie that we can't wait to try on when the weather warms up.

  Diane has some christmas fun with her dolls at Little Jo's Doll Party.

Tuesday's Treasures

Do you have a doll blog?  We'd love to share.

Barns Again

Barns in our area - I seem to find more barns to photograph whenever we go for a drive - many family farms are now being sold - some to big farm conglomerates - some to families that want to live in the country but don't want to farm.

 This one is  in good condition and still in use.

 This one has been long forgotten and recently hundreds of acres surrounding it has been planted to massive blueberry fields.  The little red twigs in the foreground are a portion of those blueberry plants - they turn red just before they burst into flower for the new crop of berries.

 Near Hamilton/Lyman, WA - perhaps used for storage but not for farming any longer.

 Fairly new paint - windows in good condition - the apple tree will soon be blooming.

 Can't decide - used or unused?

 Excellent

 Goodbye old barn!

 Another goodbye.

On an unsually clear day - the Canadian mountains, covered in snow and visible behind a large farm.  We don't often see the Canadian mountains so clearly.

Barn Collective

Hats for the Homeless

It has been cold so far this winter, here in the Pacific Northwest - the upper left corner of Washington State.  Not as cold as some - and we've had two fairly good size snow storms for our area - and the snow has lasted for weeks, with very cold temperatures.

Each night when I snuggle in my warm and cozy bed I think about the homeless - wondering how they keep warm.  I've met several wonderful homeless people - their stories are sad - but they themselves seem to have a good outlook.

I wanted to do something during these cold days - for the homeless and low income - crocheted hats - that's just the thing.  I had a big bin of yarn so I started.

 I love the way the variegated yarn works up - such pretty stripes.

 I finished up all the yarn I had - and then others began giving me yarn to crochet more hats

 Bright yarn

 Some solids for those who like solids colors.

Even enough yarn left to make a tiny hat for a baby.

It has been a great project - I'm still crocheting and just finished hat number 90.  I have yarn left and I'll crochet until it is gone and then get more.

I'd love to hear what charitable projects you are involved in.  We each can do our part - no matter how small.  A happy week ahead to all of you dear folks.

Mosaic Monday