Month: October 2018

Monsoon weather

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Today I took a lovely little white Ferret down to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, from the Salt Lake County Animal Shelter. It was a biter that had been returned to the shelter several times due to its temperament. Thankfully, there is a person who is a ferret expert that lives and works at the sanctuary and they will be fostering the little one until it’s deemed safe to adopt out. If I had to live my life in a small cage, with dogs barking around me and people poking at me, I’d be biting them too. Ferrets love big spaces to run around in and companions to play with or they get a bit of a temper. Much like a child that is kept indoors for days on end, they want attention and play and lots of space to run around in.

I saw several Turkey Vultures sunning themselves in the trees along the road in Mount Carmel, Utah, so I pulled over, jumped out, and walked back to take a few pictures in the cold drizzle that was hitting our state. Turkey Vultures, Mount Caramel, Utah, 10-4-18

I also saw a lot of migrating Swainson’s, Ferruginous and Redtail hawks clinging to the top of posts as they waiting out the inclement weather. I even saw a juvenile Golden Eagle hunkered down, waiting for the rain to let up.

 

Juvenile Golden Eagle
Juvenile Golden Eagle
Redtail Hawk

The weather didn’t give me great photos but it’s not often I see Goldens that close to the road. They usually don’t stay long on the poles and this one flew as I pulled up to take it’s picture as did the Redtail. Typical behavior for wild birds.

The weather has become like our normal Monsoon fall weather. Rain has been coming down throughout the state, causing flood warning in many areas that were hit by fires earlier this summer. It’s put out the fires that we still had burning for which I’m thankful. I will be posting pictures of the areas that were burnt along Highway 6 in Spanish Fork Canyon. It’s pretty sad to see the devastation.

I got home to find a package waiting for me with the three quilt books I’d ordered from Fat Quarter Company. Two Pat A. Sloan books and the Christmas Fig BOM book also the 80 weight Aurifil thread that I’m going to try out on my applique. If I like it, I will be ordering a few of them!

Tomorrow I will be finishing a quilt that my daughter and I made for a wedding. It’s a Spooky Courthouse Steps quilt. Wedding is on Sunday, rain or shine, outside at a campsite in Big Cottonwood Canyon. My daughter told her about the quilt so that they can have people sign the label as they come to the reception. It’s going to be a lasting memory of their special day. I’ll post a picture of that lovely couple with their quilt when we gift it to them. I hope they love it. First time my daughter and I have made a quilt together but I see many more in our future, come rain or shine!!!

 

Letting go ….

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Let’s try this one again. I’m learning a new way to post my blogs and it’s been a real learning curve for me.

Recently I got a good lesson on letting go. I transport injured wild animals, mostly birds, to a wildlife rehabilitator in Price, Utah. I took some time and volunteered at her place last month while her helper was on vacation. It was during this time period that she let me see the sad side of her work. I had brought her a Cooper’s hawk that was badly injured and through the stress of it’s injuries and the two hour ride to the center, it was dying. I held it as it was helped on it’s way to a peaceful death. During it’s last few minutes of life, I listened to it’s heart beat, it’s breathing and watched as it bade life farewell. It is not something I want to do on a regular basis and I cannot imagine how hard it is for my friend to do this as part of her daily work. It takes a real dedication to helping animals to know that sometimes death is the best thing for them. We cannot put our human values of life on wild animals. We have to think of their quality of life if we tried to keep them alive. Some animals just cannot make it in captivity.

I also sent a couple of my quilts to the local county fair. I did well there but not so well with the same quilts at the state fair. Oh well, it is what it is. Next year I will be putting in some totally different quilts compared to anything I’ve ever done before and hopefully they will get a good reception from the judges too.Great blue herons 2, Lee Kay Ponds, 9-7-18

I recently took a short drive over to the Lee Kay Ponds Conservation area just as it was getting dark and  got this beautiful shot of two Great Blue Herons in the sunset. Nature often reminds me of the glorious colors and textures around me that I can use in my life. Now back to quilting. I have a deadline for several small wall hangings that are going over to England in 10 days. Working on the quilting part today with my Aurifil thread collection.  Life is never boring!! More to come!Badger, Rest stop Evanston WY, 7-31-18.jpg

This is a badger that lives at the state park in Evanston, Wyoming. One of several that make it their home. Taken on a recent trip to Yellowstone, it’s one of my favorites and one that may show up in a quilt in the future!