I brought these deer bones home from Ohio. The deer had been poached in Mom and Dad's woods several years ago, and we had been watching the progression of the body's return to nature. Finally, these few bones were all that was left, and I collected them. I have a friend who makes tool handles from bone, so maybe he can use these, and show me how to work them. 

I especially love all the little teeth marks made by tiny critters over the years.

MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2013

 It was with immense pleasure that I found the swallows had returned while I was in Ohio - they're so pretty soaring in the sunlight!

Apple blossoms also glowing in the sunlight!

Springtime in the northwest - rain and vine maple flowers.

The self-seeding borage is beginning to bloom - mostly they are blue, but this one has lots of pink in the blossoms.

OK - I finally got caught up with my blog! You will need to go back to April 10th to see all of my photos!

 Cory and I went out to dinner tonight - walked across the ferry to the Diamond Knot Brewery in Mukilteo. They make a lot of beers, and the steaks come out with a super-hot stone in the platter - you get to cook it and the veggies. It was fun, and very good!

Afterwards, we walked down to the beach before heading for the ferry home.

Full moon rising!

 Sunny and warm! What's going on? Pollen floating in the swamp with the sun streaming through the leafless trees.

Saw the mountains, so I headed down to the boat ramp, where a heron was wandering around terrorizing seagulls.

TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2013

On the flight to Detroit on my way home. This is Kelly Island in Lake Erie - the peninsula beyond is where East Harbor State Park is, one of our favorite camping places when we were growing up.

MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013

Elvira's favorite spot outside - under the bird feeder! And, no, she hasn't been able to catch a bird yet. She does chase the wild turkeys away, though.

SUNDAY, APRIL 21, 2013

 Mom and I went driving in the valley, stopping for lunch in Peninsula and watching the herons at the rookery. Apparently there were hatchlings, but we couldn't see them yet. Fun to watch those big gangly birds fly in and land on those skinny branches!

 Back home, I chased Elvira around to get some photos of her. She just didn't like my camera!

I went out to use the wi-fi, and on the way home the sunset was spectacular!

SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2013

 85 two days ago, now we'll be lucky if it gets to 45! AND it snowed overnight! The poor flowers are gathering their leaves around them and shivering!

 It was the Medina Spinning & Weaving Guild's Retreat day at Furnace Run Park. A very nice facility. There was a circle of spinning wheels, and Cris is working on the leaf dying table.

 Silk pieces and piles of dye plants.

 Unwrapping the bundles after they were steamed for an hour.

Another dye project used silk scarves and craft tissue - quick and easy and very colorful! 

 Cris, Becky and I walked the trails in the cold, and it snowed on us off and on. This is a dogtooth violet - can't quite bring itself to open fully in the cold!

 Black cohosh.

The Daffodil Trail.

FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2013

Before and after the panel box change out. Fuses above, breakers below. Much cleaner. Also, they made it a 200 amp service, so there's plenty of room for all those modern conveniences/necessities!

THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2013

 Spent the afternoon at Cris's house while the electricians changed the fuse box to a breaker panel. Kathy joined us.

 When we got back home, I headed down into the woods. It got up to 85 degrees and was quite muggy! The swamp is full of skunk cabbage, and the weeping willow tree is traveling around! It is the green in the photo above. It grows quickly, and when it gets too big it tips over, and new shoots grow out of the trunk, until they get too big and tip over and repeat. So it is quite a distance from where I remember it as a child.

The squared stones in the center foreground mark the old spring, with the house up the hill in the background. Mom planted the daffodils 50 years ago.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2013

 This is the deconstruction of the dining room ceiling where it had leaked. It's all dry now, and they will be replacing the roof, and patching up the interior. New carpet and paint!

TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013

 Detroit Airport - I love this tunnel under one of the runways! There are lights behind these etched glass panels which change colors to music as you ride the moving sidewalk. I could have stayed there for hours!

 Cris picked me up and took me to Mom and Dad's. Mom and I went out for lunch and brought a burger home for Dad.

Then we walked in the yard and looked at all the blooms!

Travel day - on my way to Ohio!

 It looks nice and sunny in the swamp where the skunk cabbage is getting ready to bloom,

  but,

it snowed last night!

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013

Driving down the road I saw the sun peeking out of the clouds, so I stopped at the boat ramp just in time to capture a tanker heading out of Puget Sound.

 Earth Day sculpture by my doctor, Toni! It features one of David's "Peace on Earth", and he also made the stand for it. There is a showing of Earth Art at the Bayview Corner.

  Basket weaving Guild meeting tonight. Sue brought her "Sally" Bags and talked about her inspirations, materials and techniques. She was entertaining and had beautiful pieces!

This is a photo of a South American textile with jaguar images. Sue and another weaver, Jan, modified the design in different ways for the bags above.

Haven't seen a pretty sunrise for quite some time.

 Just me and the deer in the driveway enjoying the early morning. 

And, I did manage to snap a quick photo of the duck in the swamp - turns out it is a hooded merganser in full breeding glory! They also are cavity nesters, like the wood ducks, so maybe they will find a nice spot in our woods. They aren't rare, but I haven't seen any around here yet. So, another to tick off my life list!