It HAS been a while...

I'm loving the shed as much as ever, and tweaking here and there as we go along...we have MORE birdfeeders, and the little creatures seem to especially love raw peanuts and black oil sunflowers.   These titmice are sharing a dinner...

Lots of little downy woodpeckers, too...

Yep, another one...

Sparrows feed on the ground, on the feeders, at the suet...omnivorous!

The wildflowers are almost gone...these have puffy seed heads now instead of flowers.

Some of the trees have changed, but the soft maples are still mostly green...with lovely red stems!  This was taken with my new Canon camera, with the zoom function, way overhead.  Cool...

The damp wood by the door appears to FINALLY be dry, and I gave it two more coats of spar varnish...hopefully that will protect it over the winter...and we're looking to get the insulation under the floor fixed THIS WEEK.

I've shot a number of videos and painted a lot, in and around the shed...it's quiet, no phones, and a good place to work, still...

This one's down the alley, just beginning to look like fall...

Quiet Easter at the shed

It's been a busy, crazy time for us...J had surgery early this month, and I've had a rotten cold, so we've spent a LOT of time at the shed, recuperating, resting, reading...and of course, sketching.

There's been SO much rain here that on Easter Sunday, we were very grateful for a quiet day with a bit of sun...even the robin was napping on his perch!

The yellow patches on the white-throated sparrow were like drops of pure sunshine.

J. just got the new birdhouse up on the fence outside the shed door...hoping it attracts something!  It has a larger opening one one side and a smaller one here, for different kinds of birds--I wasn't sure which to pick, so we'll see.

We're adding more bird feeders and making this little spot into a real nature sanctuary...looking forward to being able to start the planting, when it stops raining and we can get together with our friend Keith, who owned a greenhouse and is advising us on what will grow best in this shady area, and be food for birds.

I can foresee sketching subject for a long time to come...

Late winter wildlife

The shed collects more and more bird feeders, and they seem to attract a wide variety of critters.  The new woodpecker feeder takes a combination of peanut butter and pieces, and the raccoons have cleaned it out twice in two days. 

I love raccoons, but I think we'd better find someplace else to hang this thing!  They climb right up the little redbud and feast!

I have a new peanut feeder and a finch sock, as well, and we're going to be planting some shrubs and things that the birds will like...fun planning!

(And yes, that IS still the ugly blue insulation on the ground under the shed.  SOOOOOON.)