February 01, 2018

Zentangle® – January 2018

February 01, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

I created 101 Zentangle tiles in January! The number surprised me so now I am thinking up reasons that I created so many. It was probably a combination of things:

I was at home more and creating tiles is something I enjoy doing when I have time.
There were new pens involved. I had bought a package of 24 Ultra Fine Point Sharpies and was trying to use up the last of the old set…which I did toward the end of the month. Then I was keen to use the new set. What a luxury to have pens full of ink…no skips!
The cleaning out of office supplies resulted in a lot of materials that could be made into tiles (via my paper cutter). I am overwhelmed with a variety of tiles at this point and a pile to of sheets still to make into 3.5 x 3.5 inch squares.

With the 101 to choose from – picking 31 was a challenge. 10 are from old business cards and 21 are from recycled materials (card stock, file folders, Seltzer water boxes).

The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. "Zentangle" is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.

January 31, 2018

Ten Little Celebrations – January 2018

January 31, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

This month was mostly cold…mostly spent at home…but I easily found lot of little celebrations!

I celebrated the model trains at Brookside…on the very last day of the exhibit – January 1. I enjoyed volunteering to help the exhibit run smoothly…and experiencing the trains through the eyes of the children.

I made a lot of progress on the collection of botanical prints eBooks area of my website. I am adding to the list of links as I work back through the annual lists of books I read/browsed…picking out the ones that contained botanical prints. So far, the books I found from 2013-2017 are listed – each with a link to the free eBook and a sample image. I celebrated the beauty of the botanical prints the whole time I worked on the collection…and may have the ones from 2012 ready later today.

We had some very cold days early in January and I celebrated my well-stocked pantry, freezer and refrigerator – as I stayed warm at home!

The were three Winter Wellness sessions this January hosted by Howard County Conservancy for their volunteers. Each included a lecture and hike…worth celebrating.

Conowingo was not as scenic for birds as it has been at times in the past…but the ice on the rocks and railings was worth seeing. I enjoyed being out and about….maybe that was more what I was celebrating.

I had a cold earlier in the month – so of course I celebrated as soon as a started feeling better.

In November I got my box of Foldscopes and was so busy I didn’t put one together until recently. I was pleased to finally do it…celebrated my origami-type success with the pieces and my initial results.

My area of Maryland has been very dry. We’ve only had dustings of snow…but we had a day recently that is rained gently for most of the day. We needed the moisture….and I celebrated that it came in an easy-to-handle form.

I had a dental appointment as was pleased that I had no cavities! It’s been a long time since I’ve had a new one and I celebrate after each appointment.

I started out on my weekly grocery shopping drive and notice the sunrise over our CSA buildings. I pulled off the road to take a picture. It was a good way to celebrate the day’s beginning.

January 30, 2018

Zooming – January 2018

January 30, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

I’ve been at home observing birds a lot during January and my camera works as well as binoculars for me…so why not go ahead and take the picture too! My favorite is probably of the flicker – savoring the drink of water from our birdbath.

There were some other reasons to use the camera’s zoom – the full moon in early January (there will be another one the last day of the month),

Ice crystals in a stream (better to use the zoom than making a mistake – taking a very cold step),

A stump that was on a slope of boulders (to hard to get close), and

In camera cropping of the morning light on the trees behind our house.

It was a good month with my Canon Powershot SX730 HS with 40x Optical Zoom!

January 26, 2018

Birding through a Window January 2018 (2)

January 26, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing from yesterday….

The goldfinches come to our bird bath frequently. They are still drab in their winter plumage. Maybe it is wishful thinking but sometimes think they are looking a little more yellow.

The house finches keep their color even in winter. They seem to like the sycamore and the maple more than the bird bath.

Northern Flickers visit our yard during this time of year. They are hard to see with a back drop of pine needles or fallen leaves….but stand out at the bird bath. The amount of yellow in their wing and tail feathers can be seen sometimes.

The dark-eyed juncos are winter visitors to Maryland…and come in groups to our feeder and bird bather. They explore the gutters too.

The pileated woodpeckers are infrequent visitors to the woods behind our house. If I added a suet feeder maybe they would come….but I’m content to see them in the forest. I got a fleeting glimpse of a red-bellied woodpecker this month as well….but was not fast enough to get a picture.

There is a red-tailed hawk that visits the edge of the forest – watching the open area between the trees and our house. Typically, the small birds leave the vicinity when the hawk is around.

The Titmouse always seems to have bigger eyes than other birds of its size.

January 25, 2018

Birding through a Window – January 2018 (1)

January 25, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

I was at home more in January than December…and saw a lot more birds through the window. I posted about the bluebirds back on the 16th but they have continued to visit our bird bath and deck; most of the time I don’t have my camera but I did manage to photograph one just yesterday – perched on the old weather station pole.

The blue jays are regular visitors too. They come to the bird path, the maple, the sycamore and the tulip poplar…staying still long enough for good pictures.

The cardinals alert me to their presence with their chirps. Both the male and female come to the deck for seed and I often see them in the trees around the yard and into the forest.

When we had the very cold days, the Carolina Wrens were entirely missing; I didn’t see them or hear them. But they have returned now that it is a little warmer. They are heard more often than seen.

The doves were missing during the cold days as well but now they are back and frequent visitors to our deck.

More birding through the window from this month in tomorrow’s post.

January 24, 2018

Downy Woodpecker

January 24, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

We have a pair of downy woodpeckers in the forest behind out house – at least, I think that is where they come from. I’ve seen then closer than the forest and photographed them over the past month: At our heated bird bath where they stop for sips of water on very cold days (frost forms on the rim when it is very cold),

On the deck railing where they seem to pay attention the knots. There is one know that is now a hole…must have been some goodie that the bird was keen to eat there, and

At the bird feeder where the bird managed to extract a sunflower seed.

I like these little birds. The little patch of red always is eye catching.

January 21, 2018

Neighborhood Walk

January 21, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

A few days ago, I took a walk down to the storm water retention pond in our neighborhood. It was my first time out of the house after some exceedingly cold days and a head cold/ear ache. It felt good to be bundled up and crunching through the light coating of snow on the sidewalk. The pond is still rather barren looking after it’s refurbishment but there were a few dried cattails at the edge that were surrounded by ice. They had caught some of the snow. It was the ‘artsy’ image of the walk.

Across the street, the gutter is labeled…whatever goes down, is on its way to the bay. I was surprised at how rusted and cracked the cover for the gutter looked. It’s probably the age of the neighborhood – about 25 years.

I noticed some of the limbs that had been cut off our street crews by the county to reduce the possibility of equipment damage if fire trucks had to come down our street. The tees have healed in most cases, but I noticed at least two trees where the wound resulted in part of the tree rotting; that’s not good. I’m glad our oak was not one of them.

January 17, 2018

Soups for Winter

January 17, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

Homemade soups are my winter lunch favorites. I like Root Soup: easy to make with fresh beet, potato, and carrot…seasoned with onion, garlic and basil. I let it cook long enough for the vegetables to become soft enough to mash a little. The pumpkin seeds on top provide just enough crunch (and protein too).

I’ve already had a cold (and ear infection) this year and Homemade Chicken Noodle soup tasted so good. I made it several different ways. This one started with chicken bouillon with orange peel, dried onions and garlic, soba noodles and canned chicken. The soba noodles only take about 5 minutes to cook. While the soup bubbled on the stove, I use the scissors to cut up some arugula into the bowl. At the end of the 5 minutes, I poured the hot liquid over the greens – gave a stir. The arugula was part of the soup but not overcooked! So good… and just what I needed to get better.

January 16, 2018

Bluebirds at our Birdbath

January 16, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

We have a group of Eastern Bluebirds frequenting our birdbath on these very cold days. The first time I saw them there were 6 birds gathers around the rim. By the time I managed to get my camera there were only 3 left.

I was taking pictures through a window, but one seems to know exactly where I was!

The bird’s attention was a little diverted by another bird flying away.

Then it returned to me.

The last bird seemed very comfortable at the birdbath. Its feathers were fluffed and it was savoring the bit of warmth from the heated rim. Its colors were muted – a female. It was the last to leave.

I’ve seen groups of bluebirds at the bath several times since on very cold days. I’m glad we can provide a source of water for them. Bluebirds are in our area year-round. Their numbers are the result of an aggressive nest box program … dedicated people that help maintain the boxes.

What a joy to see these little birds on a cold day!

January 15, 2018

Winter Tracks

January 15, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

We are getting another round of very cold weather now and I’m remembering some tracks I saw from my front door during the cold just at the year began. I took pictures through the narrow windows from either side of the door – it was too cold to open the door. The tracks stayed for days until the snow sublimated rather than melted! The ones on the front sidewalk include deer…not sure what the rounds ones were.

The ones on the front porch were smaller but came right up to the front door! Maybe a squirrel? I thought of a chipmunk at first but haven’t seen any recently. We have lots of squirrels.

We are well supplied with food and have no appointments for the next few days…so we are staying warm inside and recovering from colds until it warms up. Our forecasted high for today is 30 degrees and cloudy. A good indoor day!

January 14, 2018

Moon in the Treetops

January 14, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

Earlier this month, I noticed the moon shining through my office window like a spotlight from the sky first thing in the morning. The first time – on January 2 – I didn’t wait around for it to sink into the treetops.

But on the 3rd I was more patient. The tall tulip poplars behind our house were catching the moon before the sky brightened.

By the 6th the morning was already well underway before I took my picture.

Catching the moon is a great way to start the morning.

December 21, 2017

Birding through a Window – December 2017

December 21, 2017/ Gwen Morrison

The high-point of ‘birding through the window’ this month happened too fast for me to photograph! I was working at my PC and looked up to see a bald eagle fly over and then down into the woods behind our house! Awesome…but fleeting.

I’ve seen red-trailed hawks more frequently at the edge our woods – surveying the scene. This month there was a smaller bird – a red-shouldered hawk. Its feathers were fluffed from the cold. While it sat in our tulip poplar, the smaller birds kept their distance.

Even the crows gave the hawk wider birth. The crows seem to enjoy sorting through the gutters of our neighbor’s house looking for tasty morsels. Their numbers have recovered from the low when West Nile Virus arrived several years ago.

We had a frustrated chickadee on one of the very cold mornings early in the month. I need to get our heated bird bath out so that this won’t happen again.

The cheerful song of the Carolina Wren lets me know when the bird is around. I think he stays nearby all through the year.

The juncos are here for the winter and seem to be the most frequent birds at our feeder although they don’t seem as numerous as in previous years. We have had a small flock that use our feeders (and those of our neighbors) as their winter feeding ground.

The finches have not been as numerous either. I see them occasionally but not every day.

I am savoring the comfort of bird watching from my cozy office on these cold days.

December 19, 2017

New Fitbit

December 19, 2017/ Gwen Morrison

Last week my Fitbit One started to fail (stopped counting steps and blank screen…until reset); after the second failure, I decided to replace it. I thought I wanted one that could be worn somewhere out of sight – like the Fitbit One, but quickly discovered that the trend was bracelet styles.

I was thrilled that my husband had bought an Fitbit Alta HR for himself and then decided he wanted something with more function linked with his phone. All I had to do was get his unused Alta HR linked to my ID and phone. Within a couple of hours of deciding to replace the One, I had the replacement up and running without having to leaving home. A few days later I threw away the old one.

I thought for a little while about buying another brand of activity tracker, but I’ve had a Fitbit since 2010…a lot of history there. And it felt good to reuse something that had already been purchased (and that would not have been useful otherwise). I wore it for about 24 hours with the large band that my husband wore. It was too clunky. I spent $20 and got a very nice wire mesh loop band that is held snug with a magnet; the reduced bulk helps a lot.

Like all new devices – there have been some new discoveries. The most positive one so far is that my sleep (REM, light, and deep) is better that average for my age and gender!

December 18, 2017

Keeping Warm on Cold Winter Days

December 18, 2017/ Gwen Morrison

We’ve been having winter weather for the past few weeks and I’ve been applying the usual tactics for keeping comfortably warm.

Wearing thick socks in my house rather than going barefoot (my feet are most comfortable sans shoes). My sister had gotten me ‘cuddle socks’ the past two Christmases and they are my favorites for ‘at home’ days.
Enjoying sweaters and sweatshirts. The T-shirts and lighter weight tops are put away for the season. We keep our house comfortably warm…assuming we are wearing our winter clothes.

Most skirts are packed away. I have one heavy brocade skirt that I wear for special occasions with tights or leggings under it.

Hurray for corduroy. Heavy jeans are OK too.
If I want to be warmer, I wear a sweater cape or cardigan. If I am moving around enough, I don’t need it.

If I am going outdoors for a short time – the essential outer layer includes coat, gloves that work with my cell phone, a scarf/hat, and boots (either hiking boots or dressier lined boots).

If I will be outdoors for longer – birding for example – I add to ‘quick trip’ gear: wear ski bibs over leggings, a balaclava for my head, and a hoody under my coat and then over my head. Handwarmers and footwarmers are well worth it to. A thermos of hot tea is welcome too!

December 11, 2017

First Snow of the Season

December 11, 2017/ Gwen Morrison

We had our first snow of the season on Saturday and I got up early enough yesterday to catch some color from the sunrise.

It was the non-disruptive kind of snow: melted quickly on the streets and sidewalks but stuck to the trees and grass. On our asphalt driveway, there were clumps of snow on Sunday morning and they all were associated with a leaf!

It was very cold on Sunday morning, so I took pictures through my office window of the backyard – the sun making the forest look rosy in the background, the pines and tulip poplars holding clumps of snow, a junco comfortably sitting on the snow-covered deck railing waiting for a turn at the bird feeder.

2017 12 IMG_6952.jpg — A few minutes later – I took a few pictures through a picture from another room. The color of the morning light was fading but the pines and forest were still a pleasant scene.

2017 12 IMG_6943.jpg — I opened the garage door and leaned out to take a picture of the milkweed that are still standing in our garden. In past years the plants have lost their leaves before the frost but this year the leaves are still there, and their curls catch the snow.

December 10, 2017

A Few Decorations

December 10, 2017/ Gwen Morrison

My husband and I decided to go light on Christmas decorations this year. We didn’t drag out the tree and ceramic Santa that always holds the candy canes. I did put Christmas card from years past under clear plastic on our table.

My husband decided we needed something festive on the door – so he bought a wreath with battery powered LED lights. I like it best during the daytime and it does provide a festive look on the door.

We have opted to savor experiences this season rather than presents that we wrap. The few presents that are accumulating from others are packed into a sleigh that is on the hearth of the fireplace.

Those few decorations are enough for us this year!

November 30, 2017

Ten Little Celebrations – November 2017

November 30, 2017/ Gwen Morrison

More than half the ‘little celebrations’ I’ve picked to showcase in this post are from the first two weeks of the month – spent in Texas.

2017 11 IMG_5055.jpg — During the first week there was **a big birthday celebration** for my Mother (with three kinds of cake!) and visiting **Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge for the first time**.

In the second week, the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival was one long celebration that include seeing two kinds of Kingfishers on one field trip!

2017 11 IMG_6504.jpg — I still am working on a post about the **San Antonio Botanical Garden** – it was the first time I’d been there and a place to celebrate.

I got to eat excellent Texas barbecue in three different restaurants during the trip too.

After every long trip – I celebrate getting home again; that was true for the November travel too.

We had company for Thanksgiving this year (daughter and son-in-law) so it was a shared celebration –something to savor.

And then there was the pre-staging of December activities that actually started in November: **volunteering at the model train exhibit** and

Garden of Lights at Brookside Gardens. I celebrate the season with every child that looks with awe at the trains or giggles with delight at Nessie blowing steam.

November 23, 2017

Thanksgiving

November 23, 2017/ Gwen Morrison

Our Thanksgiving always revolves around a big meal at mid-day. This one is no exception. I have a brisket curled and cooking overnight in the crock-pot I’ve had for my entire married life.

They’ll be winter squash as one side.

The relish is going to be pureed fresh beets with crystalized ginger with a splash of lemon vinaigrette.

There’ll be a leafy green side salad.

Unlike Thanksgivings when I was growing up, I’m not making homemade bread and pastries. I bought a loaf of Rosemary Sourdough for the meal instead.

The cranberries will be in the oatmeal cookies that will be around for dessert (and snacks).

I’m keeping a pot of mulled cider going in the large coffee maker all day: a cinnamon stick and lemon slices steeping in it. I’ll add a splash of cranberry juice – maybe.

Overall – a great meal is in the offing even without turkey and canned sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top and raisin buns and gelatin salad and cranberry sauce and kolaches and cobblers; those are the foods I remember from my growing up Thanksgivings. Good memories but I like my 2017 menu better!

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 16, 2017

Home Again

November 16, 2017/ Gwen Morrison

And some wire art in the atrium of a medical building (noticed when a was chauffeuring to doctor’s appointments). I’ve posted about that first week.

Over the next weeks I’ll post about week 2 in Texas – near Harlingen, Texas in the far south where we made the most of the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival…. lots and lots of birds. The Harlingen Municipal Auditorium was the headquarters for the festival with lots of buses and vans heading out to birding spots around Harlingen between 5:30 and 7 in the morning: birders are always anxious to get out in the field early!

We flew in and out of San Antonio so the last day, I spend the morning at the San Antonio Botanical Garden…well worth the visit.

As we took off just before 6 PM CDT, I took one last picture from Texas from the plane: a sunset just as the plane climbed above the cloud layer. We were headed home.

Yesterday I was challenged with a lot of catch up activities: groceries, laundry, verifying my 2018 medical plan selection, signing up for training for my December volunteer gig (it involves a model train exhibit) …and trying to get back to the east coast time zone. I put off the raking of leaves until today. They are a thick carpet in the backyard --- all the leaves from the maple and tulip poplar and sycamore are on the ground and the majority fell while I was in Texas!

November 01, 2017

Zentangle® – October 2017

November 01, 2017/ Gwen Morrison

Zentangles at Staunton River were done on a clipboard – newly purchased, with a compartment that was more than sufficient to hold all the pens and blank tiles. The light outdoors and inside the tent was very bright (sunny days). The Zen of creating the tiles different-than-usual. I picked 10 tiles I made during the 4 days.

I am still enjoying the tiles made from the Seltzer Water cardboard. The color and weight appeal to me. The paper cutter to process the boxes has a semi-permanent home on the island in my kitchen.