pond bond

This can be a challenging time of year for outdoor photography.  The trees are bare and the grass is dying. The flower garden is flat and empty. We have beautiful blue skies, but Indiana winters are brown, brown, brown. 

Except...I can still find flashes of color if I try!

Leaves are still vibrant beneath our front bushes.

I see flits of color in the bare tree branches.

A few bright berries are still clinging!

A cedar waxwing left behind a few colorful yellow-tipped feathers.

Even our fallen apples provide some nice texture and color, along with a hearty meal for possums and deer!

Even without color, winter foliage can be really dramatic.  Great shape and movement by the back pond!

Fireworks!

Softness and sway.

Life goes on, right along with the falling temperatures.  All in a day's work for Claudia:  drinking from the front pond...

...keeping us "fed" with her bounty...

...and guiding us around the property on short walks.

She missed this mouse!  We have live traps in our barn and they're checked at least once a day, but sometimes a mouse will literally die of fright in containment.  They get tossed in the field for the animals.

Todd's hard work in the fields has made it easy to see and enjoy the back pond.

Even in chilly weather, it's fun to congregate there.

Blue skies, sunshine!

Have a great week!

Drink your tea!

A lot of smiling faces around here!

We've settled into a more "typical" Southern weather pattern - temperatures in the 40s and 50s.  This is perfect hiking weather, so we've been able to get out quite a bit.  Some nice discoveries, like this white-tailed deer jawbone...

...and many signs of spring.  Not only did the Eastern Towhees start singing their spring song this week, I see shoots coming up everywhere. 

I love going to the Botanical Garden this time of year to get ideas for "winter interest" plants, both those with color and those with interesting seed pods.

I've been moving along nicely on indoor projects.  I started a cross stitch weeks ago and have been slowly plugging away at it evenings.  I stitched on a water-soluble grid.

It washes away, leaving only the stitched image.

I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with it...make it into a pillow?  Frame it?  No rush.  I'll fold it away until I figure it out.

I finished my Farm Girl Sampler quilt!  It's hard to take a photo of the whole quilt, but...

Some pictures of the various sections:

I quilted 1" horizontal lines.  Since it's a little less densely quilted than my other quilts, it's wonderfully soft.  I absolutely love it and I'm so glad I went the extra mile to add those 100+ red gingham flying geese around the body of the quilt.  It really makes a difference! 

I've already picked out my next quilt and am just waiting for the fabric to arrive.

Meanwhile, I'm working on other little projects and enjoying the nice weather.  We all are, even though the cats pretend that it's still cold by curling up on quilts and hot water bottles.  They're a little bit spoiled.  :)

Have a great week!