Baby Wrens

We have babies!

The old cigar box proved to be the cutest little house

and those eggs were laid, hatched and babies fed in

a matter of days!  The other wrens in the tiny bird house

are just now sitting on eggs.  Dad comes and goes....

pictures of them on another day.

♥

Fresh Lavender

♥

Baby Squirrel

The baby squirrels have been weaned and are feeding themselves from the

bird feeders.  So cute to watch!  Hard to tell the size from a photo but he's a 

little guy....or gal.  I love the color of this one.

♥

Finger Desserts

I spent last week baking for an order for finger desserts for someone's 

anniversary party.  Fun, fun!  And yes, I tasted and sampled way too many!

♥

Carolina Wren

Speaking of wrens (see previous post),  I've been watching a lovely

wren couple making a nest in my sweet antique box I put on this

 ledge on in the top corner of my front porch.

Only one nest has ever stayed up there because the wind circles

up in that spot and knocks it down.  Well, I attached this box there

last evening and the wrens have already turned it into a little home.

I guess they like antiques as much as me!

Mrs Wren must have liked this spot because she is helping build the

nest.  They don't seem to notice me watching with the front door

open a few inches...just enough for my camera to capture them at work!

♥

Northern Wren

I believe this is a Northern Wren.  Tiny little thing and oh so loud!

I took this picture this morning through my kitchen window.  He's been nest

building all over the yard and this little house is one of his picks!

For those of you who may not know, the male wren

will build 3-4 nests all on his own even before meeting 

his lady!  Then he will call and call for as long as it takes!

Once she shows up, he changes his calling to a romantic,

soft song and takes her around to all the nests he has made.

She gets to choose which ever nest she likes!

After she chooses, she starts tearing it apart

and then the two of them rebuild it together!

What a man, huh, to put up with all of that!?

Just after reading all of these facts a few years ago,

I got to witness it right in my own yard.

That obnoxious call that had been going on for days

suddenly turned into the sweetest little cooing!

I couldn't believe it was the same bird!

I'm so happy that we get to watch another romance.

Hope the lady picks this spot so we get to see babies right

outside the window!  I'll keep you posted!

♥

Bird Hunter

I spy

With my little eye...

A ginger boy

Trying to be coy.

♥

Pink Dogwood

Taken from my front porch this morning!

♥

Stenciled Windows

One of the biggest selling items in my antique booth are these vintage

windows that I stencil.  They are so much fun to do and no two are

exactly alike!  I love the look of the old wood windows and the wavy

glass.  The most popular stencil theme seems to be coffee and that's not 

really surprising with all the coffee bars going into kitchens these days.

This window was a custom order and shipped to New Jersey.

I had never shipped one before and was so glad to hear it arrived safely! 

♥

Monday....

....otherwise known as Plant Day around here.  Time to water,

snip, wash, and pamper.  A few lovelies got repotted over the weekend.

Happy plants!

♥

Mid Century Pottery

I mostly collect green and white, but a few other colors sometimes sneak in. 

And a new collection has started.....antique original water color paintings of

landscape, cottages and water.

Here's a peak at the green shelves in my studio.

♥

Latte Love

Shall I make you one?

♥

Leaving Drawers and Doors Open

So, does this happen at your house?

Father and son do it here and the son that moved out does it!

I looked on Google to see if there might be a name for this...this disorder, 

I'll call it! hahaha.  Lots of complaining about it but no official name.

At least I know I'm not alone!

♥

Sparrows

♥

Socks

♥

Betsy's Antique Booth

If you aren't on Instagram, you might be wondering what has been keeping

me so busy!  Well, at the end of last November I rented half of a booth at

an antique mall.  It was so much fun that I expanded to a full sized booth

last week.  Lots of work but a great way to enlarge what I already do

on etsy....sell vintage and antique items.  

I'm also finding it's a great way to pare down my growing personal collections

of lovely things. (because you can't keep it all, right? haha)

 And it's a creative outlet in painting furniture.  I loved doing that

blue buffet and a few other pieces that aren't featured in this photo.  

♥

Ohio Winter

This winter loving girl has been pretty happy with the season!

We've had some beautiful snowfalls, icy temps, and brilliant sunny days!

This is my favorite photo I took this winter....taken from my jeep with my cell phone. 

♥ 

Paparazzi

They follow me everywhere! 

(not!)

hahahaha!

♥

Happy Birthday To Me!

57 years old today.

I know!  I can't believe it either. haha.

♥

Slate

He's such a beauty.

And could he be any more photogenic?

♥