Bedtime for Woodie

Bedtime for Woodie is around 5:15 this time of year. Tonight was slightly delayed because of my presence on the patio—here he is leaving the tree, instead of going in, because he saw me; I had to sit on the ground behind my chair before he would come back.

Have a Very Brown Recluse Day! or Night, Actually: I Present to You At the Cabin's 9th Recluse of 2008.

Found in our little office room last night. Hugh was working at his desk; I had been making Cornish pasties in the kitchen. I needed to get into the office and sleeping dogs were in the way, so I moved a floor lamp to get by and underneath was this guy. He was perilously close to dog feet; perilous for recluse and dogs alike. He is very large—definitely rivaling 2008's recluse #8 for biggest yet. It's been 3 months since then with no more sightings till now. Sigh. I had hoped it might be over.


Pedipalps




His little head


Here's looking at you, kid

Water Droplets

He is Still Here: Russet Hummingbird

Spotted again on Boxing Day afternoon, from afar

Spider, VERY Tiny

About half the size of a penny, if that; spotted on Christmas night

Pod, Burst

I love these pods. If I were any good, I'd know where they come from, but I don't, and maybe it's for the good that some mysteries just remain mysteries.

Boxing Day: Evening Sky

A lovely puffy cloud

Happy Christmas Hummingbird!

This little bird was around last year, too, but in September. I still don't know if he is just migrating through or is one of our regulars in his winter outfit. Even as I type, he is at the hummingbird feeder on the porch, which is left up all year round ever since a hummingbird needed a nosh in the middle of an ice storm one year.

Happy Christmas Eve!

He was waiting for me on top of the utility pole by the driveway when I got home this afternoon...




...then he flew away.

Cardinals in Winter

Or "winter," as it's Texas we're talking about here...

The Missus can barely be seen in this photo, but she is to the right and below the Mister, behind some branches. The cardinals are hanging about in a flock for the season; the other day I counted four females in the tree beside the birdfeeders.

Iridescent Insect

Wolf Spider in Bathtub

Or, False Alarm!

I thought this spider found in the bathtub today was a brown recluse—the shape is similar—until I got a closer look with the camera. I think he is a wolf spider; he seems to be most like the one called Schizocosa Avida.

OK, Now It's Later, and It's STILL Snowing!!!

It Is Snowing Right Now!

Those white things in the picture are snowflakes! Huzzah!! While I was out front taking pictures of the already-icy porch, below, the little flakes started coming down.




Those very white, very round little sleets (if that is a word that way) are what prompted me to grab the camera in the first place.

Geranium and...Snow!

Three days ago it was sunny and the geranium was in bloom....tonight I drove home through SNOW! It is true! It's turned to rain now, but it really was snowing, it was, it was!

My Husband the Cat

Bird Sheets, Part II: the Pillowcase

This is the pillowcase and honestly, I am utterly in love with it. Almost as much as I am in love with Woodie and Woodina and the woodlets. I couldn't be happier with this; in my mind, this is just exactly what they look like!


Woodina


The tree, with woodlets


Woodie


Woodie and Woodina, detail

Bird Sheets, Part I: the Sheet

I've just completed this project that I started back in September. (Sometimes it takes me a while to finish things; the artistic juices cannot be forced....or something like that. Ha.) Anyway, finally I have finished, and if we overlook the tragic outcome of the cardinals (which were the first and last birds that I painted, note to self, next time do a trial run first), I am really rather pleased with the end product. They are a set of sheets painted with Birds of The Cabin and as a (very late) birthday gift, will soon be given away, and so I memorialize them here.


The Bobwhite


The Scott's Orioles (her shape is more correct than his, by the way; he's too plump and roundy)


The Chickadee


The Black-crested Titmouse


Titmouse with Afghan pine stem and pinecone


The Scrub Jay


The Wren


Scrub Jay, Acorns and Wren

The cardinals are too sad to post. I'm contemplating redoing them on a little patch that could be sewn over their existing corner. Yes, it's that sad. The little finches are OK except their eyes grew too big; the previously-untried black fabric paint turned out to be excessively runny (which was also the cardinals' downfall).