Backyard Feathered Friends

Sometimes it's the simple things that bring joy. For us, it's sitting outside and watching nature. Our favorite thing to do is watch the little animals and birds that visit our yard. The birds that we have here in Texas are so varied and beautiful and I thought I'd share them with you.
American yellow finch and lesser gold finch flock to the thistle socks in the spring. They can't resist them! About 19 or 20 fit on the socks and the rest of them wait their turn in the branches above.

The is a Great Roadrunner. We used to have two that came by, but now it's only one. He's very shy and it's difficult to get a good picture of him.

Very common to this area is the gorgeous Cardinal. This is a male. I forgot to get a photo of the female. She is grey-ish brown and not nearly as colorful as he is.

I think this is a Carolina Chickadee. They're not exactly supposed to be in our area, but I'm not complaining when they visit. They're so cute!

These two little love birds are Common Ground-Doves. They're much smaller than the Mourning Dove. They're always together. So sweet.

This is the female Painted Bunting. She's an overall grey-ish green. Take a look at her handsome husband below...

This beautiful bird is the Western King bird (I think). They don't come to my feeders, they come to the pond. The way they take a bath is by doing a cannon-ball into the pond. At first we thought they were after the fish, but after watching them, it was obvious they were diving in to get wet, then fly up to the branches to preen.

Although this male Summer Tanager is supposed to be in our area all summer, we only saw him and his lovely lady (below) for a few days. They're spectacular in real life. He's almost a neon red and she's the brightest yellow. Beautiful!

It's a hoot to watch this Ladder-backed Woodpecker eat. He pops back and forth to see if you're watching. We had a little family of them in late spring. The babies are even funnier as they peck at everything to see if it's edible.

This is the Black-Crested Titmouse. They're all over the place and very brave. I'll be out having lunch under a tree and they will sit within an arms reach to get at sunflower seeds in the feeders.

You've already met the painted bunting. The much larger, and very aggressive grey bird in the upper right corner is a Northern Mocking bird. We have a pair that nest very close to the feeders and can be quite aggressive towards other birds. (Which is good because they keep away Grackles - boisterous, noisy and gang-like birds). We were very surprised to see the mockingbirds leave all of our desirable birds alone.

Hope you enjoyed "my" pretty birds!

Blessings,

Patricia :o)

What does it mean to you?

The other day, I was at Lowe's throwing my money away on, Ooops! I mean buying, a few Little flowers for my dead garden. I was wearing a tiny gold cross that I usually wear when I'm not wearing "fashion" jewelry.

The clerk and I were making small talk, when all of a sudden she asked, "That's a pretty cross. What does it mean to you?"

No one had ever asked me that question. So many things went through my mind that I wanted to say. "It's an outward reflection of my faith." "It's a reminder of what He gave up for me." "It's a symbol of His strength." There were lots of things I should have/could have said. I wanted to get it all out in one simple but powerful statement. But all that came out was, "He is my savior" but it almost sounded like a question. She just nodded and smiled, gave me my receipt and told me to have a great day. I said, "Thanks. You too, and God bless." And that was it.

In a way I felt good that my little cross had attracted some attention in a place that used to sell "holiday" trees. In a way, I felt terrible that I didn't have the answer I would have liked to give.

What does it mean to you?

Love them Hankies!

I love vintage hankies. They're beautiful, practical, and the best thing about them is that they're easy to find and pretty inexpensive. I seem to find them everywhere: antique stores, thrift shops, flea markets, garage sales. But what do you do with them once you get them home. I used to put them in a hanky box and practically forget about them. It's a shame to but them where they can't be enjoyed.

There's lots of ways to use hankies. Beside using them for their intended purpose, you can also use them to:

1. Use a hanky, instead of tissue, to line a gift box. I took a pretty 99 cent box covered in purple and lavender florals and lined it with a matching hanky and tucked in my gift. All it needs now is a ribbon bow on the top. The hanky becomes part of the gift.

2. I often use hankies as doilies when I want to add a touch of color. It's easy to change them out to match the season or holiday. The hanky is covered in large pink carnation and the teapot has pink roses. Even though the flowers are different, I think it looks great together.

3. I use hankies as gift quiet often. When it's a friend's or teacher's or neighbor's birthday, I tuck a pretty hanky into their card and mail it away. It's not always possible (or affordable) to buy and send gifts. Sending a hanky with the card is a great economical way to tell them they were thought of.

4. Ever have a odd shaped little gift, but no box? Wrap it up in a hanky, tie it with a ribbon and pin a rhinestone brooch on it. So Cute! Problem is that your friend may not want to open the gift because it's wrapped so sweetly.

5. I tuck hankies everywhere, even under teacups. They look so pretty to display this way. They're like tiny napkins that can catch drips and spills. Easy to clean, too.

So if you ever come across a hanky that you love but don't know what to do with it, Get It!! You'll find a way to enjoy it.

Patricia :o)

BLUEBIRD embroidered runners

It's been a while since I posted about linens, so I think it's time. While sorting linens, I noticed that I seem to pick out a lot of bluebirds. They ARE among my favorite embroidered animals, though truth be told, I love it anytime I find an embroidered little dog, cat, horse, etc. I occasionally pick up other colored birds, but they just don't seem to be as cute.

SOLD

SOLD
OK, so this little bird isn't blue, but it's sooooo cute! We have lots of cardinals in our yard, so maybe that's what attracted me to this one. Or maybe it's because it's just so sweet.

SOLD

What amazes me so much about these vintage linens, is the workmanship! I tried embroidery several times (and I'm not giving up yet), but I just don't have the talent and/or skill to make my stitches look like this. It's much easier to just find them and buy them than it is to make them. Plus there's still the crocheted trim to worry about. And that's something I can't do.

All the items listed are table runners and are in great condition. If you're interested in purchasing them, please visit my eBay site. Some are listed as auctions and some as Buy-it-Now. Be sure to let me know if you have any questions.

Hope you had fun looking at these pretty art works.

Blessings,

Patricia :o)

More finds...and then some

We live on the out skirts of San Antonio just barely in the country so there's not too much close by around here. Recently we were going to lunch to near-by Castroville, a tiny town about 15 miles or so from us. We decided to go the "long" way on country roads and went through a strip of road that was almost a town. There was a general store and a few homes and that's it. Luckily for us they were having a neighborhood yard sale and we picked up some great finds for next to nothing. Everything shown above came out to $11.00!! My favorite is the Elsie cow creamer. And the roses have little clips on the back so you can clip them on just about anything to add a touch of romance.

This cement cherub was only $30.00 at Round Top earlier this year. Doesn't sound like a bargain unless you've been out pricing large garden statuary. He's about 1 foot long and is VERY heavy. I love how cute he looks tucked into the bushes.

Not exactly pertaining to the found category, though they did find us...

Are these beautiful and amazingly colored little birds. They're painted buntings that visit our area in summer. We found out that they love millet so, of course, we go running to the bird store (only 25 miles away) to buy this not-so-cheap seed in the hopes of attracting them. We were shocked that they found us by the next day!

They're pretty shy, so we couldn't get close to get pictures. These photos don't do them justice at all!! They're to bright and colorful. The females are a solid green color that come to the pond and are much braver than the males. What's funny is that I haven't seen the males at the pond where the females are, and the females don't go to the feeders. I feel so blessed to have these beautiful little birds visit my garden. God is always giving me little gifts of His creation and it always thrilling to me.

Hugs and smiles!

Patricia :o)

Some Pretty Finds

I love buttons, but try not to buy them because I just don't know what to do with all the beautiful buttons I see. BUT, I found this little stack of mother of pearl buttons for $1.00 and I couldn't resist them. I sat them next to some shiny trinkets when I came home and they've been there ever since.

This is a man's Stetson hat. Now you may ask, "Why did you buy that?" My answer is because it was only $0.39! It's in really nice condition and it's a true Stetson with the little bow inside and everything. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it, but it was such a great buy I couldn't pass it up.

I was with my favorite thrifting buddy Deanna (of Timeless Things) when I found this Homer Laughlen (sp) plate for only $0.39 and of course I can't pass up anything cheap, I mean, thrifty especially if it has a pretty pink rose!

This lovely rose covered soap dish is an I.W. Rice that I found at a thrift store. I don't remember how much it was but I know it was under a couple of dollars. The picture didn't turn out to well, but it's adorable in real life.

Here's another Deanna find. Of course I was with her when I found these adorable little puppies for only $0.99. Deanna is such good luck!! I always find the best bargains when I'm with her.

The two (larger) rose decanters I found at an antique store marked down to $9.95 which I thought wasn't too badly priced considering that they have roses on them! I'm not sure what they were for. Perfume maybe or just pretty decorations? The little salt shaker I found at a flea market for only $1.00. Love it when that happens!

Hope you all have a beautiful and blessed day!

Patricia :o)

Government Canyon State Park

I've been trying to loose weight by dieting for the last seven weeks and haven't lost a single pound. I truly have been eating right and very healthy, but the pounds won't budge. So, a couple of weeks ago, Floyd and I decided to start hiking. We're lucky enough to have a little state park just a few minutes from our house. It's really hot here in San Antonio (over 100 degrees for the last 30 days), so we thought we'd visit the park near sunset. The photo above was taken just as we drove out of our neighborhood.


This park is only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 7:00am to 10:00 pm. It's been closed since 2005 due to a flood and only just opened this June. We bought a state pass last year, so we get to come and go as we please. It's so nice to be able to do that!
Anyway, when we got there, we saw this sign with a picture of a guy hiking on the trail.

It's so funny because it looks just like Floyd from the back. The picture above is from the sign, the picture below is Floyd! I knew he was cute, but he never told me he was a model!!

I was so surprised to see how beautiful this place is. This is one of the easier trails (perfect for me) and is almost like a tunnel because the trees grow over the path. It was warm, but not really as bad as I thought it would be. There was a slight breeze that ran through the trees which made it very nice. Plus, the sun didn't really shine down on us since it was close to sunset. Perfect hike! We done several since we found this park, and so far they're all beautiful. Some, of course, are tougher than others, but all have been very do-able for us.

The whole time we're walking along the path, I'm trying not to think about rattle snakes. This little guy was laying across the path as we came along. He was very beautiful and not scary at all.

Just look at this gorgeous old oak tree! It split right down the middle many years ago and died, but has never lost its beauty. You can't tell by the picture that it's huge, but it is!

This is one of those places that will be very fun to visit at different times of the year. Because there are a lot of trails, and we have the changing seasons, there will always be something beautiful to see here.

Blessings,

Patricia :o)