Coziest Season, Underground Fellows, Northern Flicker

  Thanks for visiting Neddy and me here at the Wooden House.

Our pond had the thinnest layer of ice laid across the top of it on Thursday morning and most of it has remained. This was a signal that winter is truly on its way and we should prepare ourselves.

  To that end, all the hats, scarves, mittens and gloves have been brought up from the basement to the front hall closet for easy reach. I start out the season with it all neatly organized but it isn't long before it is a jumbled mess. If any of you have organizing tips for this, please share!

These little guys have now disappeared underground. I sentimentally like to think of them snoozing and lounging while snacking too on the sunflower seeds they gathered from my feeders all summer. Like this one, cheeks full.                              

Sort of like this... Lore Pemberton's wonderful piece called "Holed Up". 

Check out more of this fabulous artist's work here.

This is the season that always makes me think of coziness, warmth, looking through LL Bean catalogues, sipping hot tea and building a firewood wall on the verandah. 

The feeders have been very busy. Though a lot of birds have disappeared, a number overwinter here and keep me busy spying on them. 

Love the way this fellow was using his tail for stability.

And that same morning by the pond, a Northern Flicker stayed around long enough for a couple of photos. 

I tried hard to capture the heart shaped red markings, but not quite.  Half a heart.

I've wondered why I love watching birds so much.  I must adore them is my conclusion. 

Hope there is something in your life you adore too!

Happy to link with Viewing Nature With Eileen and Our World Tuesday. 

Building Rabbit Houses, Making Stoup, Spying Blue

Neddy and I have been busy adding to /creating more rabbit houses scattered around our 10 acres. This is a fun activity in the fresh air and younger grandson joined me a few times last fall to help out.  He was eager to apply more design elements, LOL.

It will be fun to check on them after the snow falls to see if there are any tracks. 

With unusually warm temperatures this fall the chipmunks have been around a little longer but will soon be heading underground for the winter. 

It is especially fun to see them in spring when they race about with obvious excitement at being topside. They are a gentle kind of creature as far as I can tell. Feed quietly alongside the other critters and I've never seen any aggression from them. I've spied them far from the house twice, both emerging from old moss covered rock piles and I made sure to sprinkle extra peanuts there.

The blue jays squawking alerted me to the presence of a barred owl twice this week. I feel doubly lucky.

Sometimes I find a blue feather and keep it. Blue is such an unusual colour to find on the forest floor here in Ontario.

Neddy is growing; he is almost 70 pounds now. What a good dog he has been for us old folks. So quick to learn the necessary commands and especially lovable with us. 

 I made a pot of stoup...too thick to be soup and too thin to be stew.  I love to add whatever vegetables I have on hand; in this case cabbage, broccoli, carrots along with chick peas and a handful of pasta.  I added a container of chicken broth and a can of tomatoes too.  With grilled cheese sandwiches, it made a good supper for us with leftovers for lunch the next day. 

Has that happened to you?  You start out making soup and wind up with stoup?  

I hope your Sunday is going great!

So happy to share this post with Viewing Nature With Eileen, Our World Tuesday, Paying Ready Attention, My Corner of the World and I'd Rather B' Birdin".

Three Things Bird Lovers Will Love

 Our little pond hosts many visitors in spring, summer and fall.

 Spring and fall the chin strap Canada Geese drop by usually in pairs. 

And Mr. and Mrs. Mallard have visited every spring to date.

I love birds and here are three things I love and think bird lovers in general would enjoy.   

1. I follow this YouTube site, Lesley The Bird Nerd and love her plain talks about North American birds. I have read different views about feeding the birds, which I do, and enjoyed hearing her take on this topic in this video.

 2. I bought this book, Bird Cottage by Eva Meijer, which is a novel based on a true story.  The true story is intriguing and marvelous too.  At age 40, Len Howard decided to leave her life in London and retire to the countryside and devote the rest of her life to her great obsession, her love of birds.  Here is a link to it on Amazon.

3.I have gotten endless enjoyment from having a bird bath in the back yard. It has attracted so many different birds and I have been able to capture photos of several lifers for me. If you love to watch birds, I think you should consider getting a bird bath. 

Meanwhile the season is changing. Many of our leaves have fallen and our trails now look like this. Neddy sure enjoys his walks.

Daughter dropped us off these Halloween treats. 

And I finished my Halloween Sampler quilt in time to snuggle under it on Halloween night.

Thank you for visiting Neddy and me here at the wooden house. Have a great week all!

Happy to share this post with Paying Ready Attention, Our World Tuesday,  Viewing Nature With Eileen, I'd Rather B' Birdin' and My Corner of the World.