And across from the shed...

Not the shuttlecocks, of course, that was the day before, in the city...but this gorgeous doe walked right down the alley, then stopped across from the shed and regarded me calmly before bounding off into the woods.

Magic...

Sketching at the Shed

Pepe is SUCH a good model, even when he's lying on my lap!

Very quick sketches in the snow, on the Winter Solstice...

Some of the "tree people" near the shed...

Spring is coming!

 

And we're thinking about our mini-nature sanctuary!  Our friend Keith used to have a garden center and nursery, so we asked him for advice about our very-shady lot where the shed is.  I want to maintain an illusion of wildness, since it HAS largely grown up in the years I've owned it--the shed feels a lot like it's in the country, right here in town.

I specified things that would look natural, offer privacy, and that the birds and butterflies would like...

Mostly I want a crabapple and a couple of red-twig dogwoods right now...we'll start slow, what we can afford and what won't take much maintenance--both of us have bad backs and I've got arthritis, so hoping to have really hardy, mostly maintenance-free plantings, shrubs and perennials mostly.

Here are some of Keith's suggestions, many of which I wasn't familiar with, so I'm browsing the 'net and checking out what these are.  (You can click on the image to see it larger.)  Blue Muffin Viburnum is COOL, and the birds agree.

Sooooo...we'll see how much we can afford, and go from there!

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.)

WINTER!

It's been cold, snowy, and icy for days now, but J. makes sure I can get to the shed.  This morning, since they're calling for Snowmageddon and ice, he's gone out with the Ice Melt!

He's been joining me more often since we got a comfortable chair for him, too, and it's lovely! 

I've been working on a series of new mini-classes out there, and it's the perfect place for it.  Not so many distractions, no Internet, no Facebook, no Flickr, no email (though J. did bring the netbook out to work on taxes one day, and said he got the 'net on it, SSHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!  I'm pretending I did NOT hear that!)

I've got a pretty good setup for shooting mini-videos for the classes, but the photo I shot of it didn't work--will try again!

Nature continues to amuse and amaze me, there...who knew how much I was missing, in the house! 

I never realized till now that gray squirrels are such gourmands!  They only eat the germ and discard the rest of the kernel like picky kids at the dinner table.  No worries, though, the blue jays, raccoons, and fox squirrels don't mind cleaning up their plates!  I keep an assortment of magnifying devices at the shed to help me see these details better.

All in all, I've been working hard and playing hard, and it's great!

Where we are on Earth

No wonder we get so much wildlife at the shed...and just to the south of this a couple of blocks is a large wooded city park with a river and walking trail.  It's right on the very edge of town, which is why I bought this place 30 years ago.  It's STILL on the edge of town, how cool is that?  It would be hard to build on that steep wooded hill!

The Shed's a great observation blind

He came cautiously down the tree, then peered around the vine, then stood at attention near the platform feeder until he was SURE the coast was clear.

Normally when I reach for my pencil the squirrels scatter, but not this time. I got to do a LOT of quick sketches in various mediums...soft graphite, ink, a mechanical pencil...even got a few photos through the big French doors...

I've been told that gray squirrels and fox squirrels won't inhabit the same territory, but no one's told the squirrels!

Christmas Day + One

Christmas Day +, originally uploaded by Cathy (Kate) Johnson.

What a glorious way to start Christmas Day, sitting in the shed and watching the feast of birds and animals...

outside light...

This is the one I really like...hey, it's "only" $100...but the faux RevWar Colonial look ones just don't work, on the shed! (The other one we both liked-it was small and square--was less, but WHITE. Um, no.)

I don't know where I saw the $500 one...must have been made of platinum...

This one has a motion sensor, which I find I really like after a few burglaries in the neighborhood. NOT that I plan to keep anything of any worth in there, because I'm not stupid...the rehab house is fully alarmed but we won't do that on the shed. (Maybe!<;-p)

*Ooops. Joseph just looked at it's NOT a motion sensor. OK, back to square one...)



Meanwhile, here's my morning visitor! He was after mulberries right over the deck, and every time he moved he made a shower of raindrops.

Joseph, taking care of details

Both the old door, which was free, and the used window have to be refurbished and repaired; J. took off all the metal stuff on the door so he can sand it, and had to knock layers and layers of paint off the window's hinges before he could get them off!

Yesterday, after the storm, we sat out in the shed with his Guinness and my shandy, reading. Suddenly I heard birds squawking and fussing, and two (robins? Who knows, they were FAST!) flew right in the door hole and out the front opening, chasing eachother into the woods! We could feel the wind from their wings...

I've sat out there and watched a fat squirrel harvest mulberries, and the turkey vultures fly over at treetop level...I'm going to like this, a lot. I've always loved our back yard, but there's almost no way to just sit by a window and delight in it, in our house. There's a door with glass in it, in the hall that leads outside, but no way to sit there and dream...