Naked Ladies

Made you look, didn't I?  Yesterday it was 75 and I played outside.  Today it is cloudy and in the thirties, really?

My trees are budding out and my bulbs are coming up.  I found all these naked ladies and some catnip growing.  This winter has been so up and down in the temps and less than 5" of snow (which is fine with me).  We need some rain though.

Don't Make Me Roll My Eyes at You

https://www.yahoo.com/makers/never-say-this-to-a-knitter-really-just-dont-do-108914213375.html?soc_src=mags&soc_trk=ma

This article talks about why you don't tell a knitter you should sell that in a store.  Basically the cost of supplies and the fact that most crap you buy is crap.  I also don't like the I can buy that at Wal-Mart.  Well no you can not for many reasons but if you want something at Wal-mart instead of paying me for a hand made garment, go ahead. 

I know most people don't mean anything demeaning by these comments of you should sell that at a store but it is.  So if I make you something it is not cheap because just my time alone is worth more than I would have paid for a similar garment and most likely it is made with love and you just can't buy love. 

My Money is on the Eagles

There is a pair of Great Horned Owls invading the Decorah nest.  Seems they are getting quite cozy at night.  The other early dark morning the eagles and the owls had a little tussle.  So according to the RRP blogpost below we will just have to wait and see.  Mom Decorah is about nearing egg laying time, so who gets the nest and will we be able to watch the eagles this season? 

My money is on the eagles.

http://raptorresource.blogspot.com/2015/01/owls-in-n2.html

So What Do You Do All Day?

If I had a nickel for every time I get asked that, well I could buy...

So people always wonder what I do since I am retired, well let's see in 2014 I knit or crocheted 22.26 miles of yarn, that is a lot of yarn.  So what did I make last year that kept me busy:  Socks:  11 pair.  Books read:  15.  Table Runner:  2, journal cover:  1, trash can liner:  4, pin cushions:  1, pins:  11, cowl:  2, lap robes:  5, embroidery project case:  1, slippers:  149, washcloths 99, dishcloths:  38, hat:  12, boot cuffs:  1,  scarf:  2, dragon:  1, quilt:  1, toy bag ties:  27,  shawl:  3, poncho:  1, towel:  1, afghan:  2, bracelets:  2, sweater:  1, mittens:  4.

Other than that I manage to stay busy doing what I want.  Who knows what 2015 will bring. 

Holy caffeine

There is a new refrigerator in town, it makes coffee..  Yep you can have a new frig that makes your morning coffee.  Scroll down for the price.  For that price it better cook me a meal too.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/home/ge-cafe-refrigerators-get-in-door-coffee-makers/

Hey Get in Line!

I bought myself a new bird feeder for Christmas and put it where I keep the hummingbird feeder, it is a winter feeder.  Well the House Finches have claimed it for theirselves and I do believe they had a ton of babies this year.  They sit on the dead trees in the flower bed waiting to get on one of the 4 seats at the new feeder.  (Excuse my dirty windows)

The little finch huddled under the window sill well I am not sure what her story is.  I don't think she is a fully grown yet as she has a lot of soft fluffy feathers.  Wednesday morning I went out to fill the feeders on the front porch and she was sitting in the safflower seed feeder, she let me pick her up and I brought her in.  The wind has been fierce this week and I wondered if one of her wings was messed up.  After a few hours I found her on the windowsill in the bathroom where I had her locked out of paws way.  So I opened the window and she flew off and seemed fine.  Last night she was back on the feeder about dusk sleeping.  When I went to bed she was still asleep there.  This morning she was huddled up on the window sill.  I am not sure what her story is but I am keeping a watch on her.  She is off somewhere now but I wonder if I put out a birdhouse if she would sleep in it at night. 

Flushing Ourselves Down The Toilet

The truth from our Canadian friends:
GOD HELP US!!! Very true observations:
A Canadian Top 10 List ----- A MUST READ
Canadian's Version of David Letterman's Top 10. Just makes you want to shake your head in disbelief. This is Canada's Top Ten List of America's Stupidity Of course we look like idiots .... because we are....
Number 10 Only in America could politicians talk about the greed of the rich at a $35,000.00 per plate Obama campaign fund-raising event.
Number 9 Only in America ...could people claim that the government still discriminates against black Americans when they have a black President, a black Attorney General and roughly 20% of the federal workforce is black while only 14% of the population is black 40+% of all federal entitlements goes to black Americans - 3X the rate that go to whites, 5X the rate that go to Hispanics!
Number 8 Only in America...could they have had the two people most responsible for our tax code, Timothy Geithner (former head of the Treasury Department) and Charles Rangel (who once ran the Ways and Means Committee), BOTH turn out to be tax cheats who are in favor of higher taxes.
Number 7 Only in America...can they have terrorists kill people in the name of Allah and have the media primarily react by fretting that Muslims might be harmed by the backlash.
Number 6 Only in America...would they make people who want to legally become American citizens wait for years in their home countries and pay tens of thousands of dollars for the privilege, while they discuss letting anyone who sneaks into the country illegally just 'magically' become American citizens (probably should be number one).
NUMBER 5 Only in America....could the people who believe in balancing the budget and sticking by the country's Constitution be thought of as EXTREMISTS.
Number 4 Only in America...could you need to present a driver's license to cash a check or buy alcohol, but not to vote.
Number 3 Only in America...could people demand the government investigate whether oil companies are gouging the public because the price of gas went up when the return on equity invested in a major U.S. Oil company(Marathon Oil) is less than half of a company making tennis shoes
(Nike).
Number 2 Only in America... could you collect more tax dollars from the people than any nation in recorded history, still spend a Trillion dollars more than it has per year - for total spending of $7-Million PER MINUTE, and complain that it doesn't have nearly enough money .
And Number 1 Only in America...could the rich people- who pay 86% of all income taxes - be accused of not paying their "fair share" by people who don't pay any income taxes at all.

Congratulations!

This is the person who has been taking care of our D20.  If you have not been to the SOAR website, take a look at all they do.  I am not sure when they sleep.  Much thanks for all you do.

~ Well Deserved Honor ~
We learned today that Kay Neumann, Executive Director of SOAR, will be presented the 2014 Iowa Association of Naturalists / Iowa Conservation Education Coalition Ada Hayden Conservation Education Award for Outstanding Efforts to Educate About Preservation, Land Management, or Natural Resource Conservation! These awards are named for some of our heroes in Iowa conservation. (Learn about these folks here: http://iowaee.org/ContentPage.aspx?id=4) The award will be presented later this month. Kay, Terrie, and Linette have been members of both of these groups off and on for the last 20+ years.

BRRRRRR!!!!!

Yesterday we had 39 and today it is 12 right now but the wind is howling so bad it feels like about -15 out.  We had some snow and this is how I felt this morning.

I'm Melting

My aunt got me this snowman who melts.  I put him together and guess what he really did melt.  The snow is kind of like silly putty.  I don't know how this works but it is pretty cool.  Now to find out where she got it.