A site for my handmade cards, accompanied by my photos and written meanderings which are occasionally witty, often tongue-in-cheek, and rarely profound. Beginning in June 2013, you'll also see lots of NBUS, which is an acronym I coined for Never-Before-Used-Schtuff. Note: my Privacy Policy can be found at a tab below and you can find my NBUS Challenge online. I hope you'll join in the fun there! Thanks for coming by! Have a beverage and enjoy!

July 12, 2012

CASology ~ Sun; CR84FN58 ~ Red, Yellow, Neutral; Pixie's Crafty Snippets Challenge #28

Thursday Tweet,

I say that because there is going to be bird talk later with lots of bird photos.  You know, tweets, like the sound birds make, not the silent texting of inane nonsense.  Oh, was that outloud?

It's a triple header again in my (what some might call inane nonsense) world of card challenges.  Finding Di and her little band of pixie's has made that third link possible.  The only rule is that you use up some of your snippets of paper, ribbon, and whatnot and her challenge "push" has gotten me to do that, which is a very good thing!

I'm entering the first-ever challenge at the brand new blog, CASology, hosted by some of my favorite card makers.  Ever Tuesday we will be given a new "cue card" with one word and off we go.  This week the word is "Sun."


I'm also entering the CR84FN #58 color challenge, thanks to seeing the adorable entry by my friend, Shirley-Bee, who linked the two with her card.  The CR84FN colors of yellow, red, and neutral just happen to work perfectly with the CASology challenge:


I hope you will join in the challenges from these three great sites!!  Here is my card:



I made the sun from a scrap of DSVW designer paper and SU punches:


The Birds

Great-Horned Owl:

First up, a follow-up of my post about the great-horned owl we saw at the 4th of July party.  Shawn sent me a copy of the photo he took:
©Shawn Wagoner

The picture quality isn't that great because it was after sunset, but isn't that cool?!   It was HUGE!  I don't understand how such a giant bird could sit at the tippy-top and not have the tree bend under his weight!   The kite hawks in my neighbor's yard do the same thing.  I should have taken physicians in school, I guess, in order to understand weight versus height.  Not for nothing, however, I do know that my weight is not excessive, it's my height that's undergrown.

Kites:

Here, BTW, is an updated photo of said kite hawks, two of them!


What makes the above photos so noteworthy is that we live in a large Cosmo and Metro Polotinarea, not up in mountains.
 
Hummingbirds:

I don't think I've yet introduced you to our "pet" hummingbird, "Hitler." 


Yes, that's right.  As with most male Anna's Hummingbirds, ours is very territorial.  That is HIS feeder, by gum, and he guards it constantly from a wee leaf just above.  Other little hummers fly in and, zoom, out comes Hitler to ward them off.  It looks like they are going to collide in mid-air at times! 

At other times, but rarely, Hitler will allow a female to have a sip, just to show his romantic side:


Sorry it's blurry.  I got so excited that Hitler was letting her have a drink, I just snapped it before the camera could focus properly.

Finches:

And equally unusual, this morning I quickly snapped a blurry photo of rare yellow finches at the bath:


I think I'll get to see more of these beautiful birdies because my neighbor has hung a fancy squirrel-proof feeder.  They're hardly much bigger than the hummers and such a treat.

I know.  I don't get much done between the birds and the garden.  But I was a good domestic fairy yesterday and everything is whistle-clean, so I'm, well,  free as a bird. 

It's such a pleasure to be semi-retired and "smell the roses," as it were.  We all know we're supposed to do that, and little kids do it naturally, but then life gets in the way.  It's too bad, but if you're fortunate to live long enough, you start to enjoy nature again with childlike wonder.  I know I sound like a really, really old person, but I especially feel bad when I see people walking around ourdoors, or sitting in a park, with their heads down and their eyes pixelated on their phones.  At the park!  Maybe they are looking at Google Images of birds.

Well, aren't I all judgmental this morning?!  I shall go sit in my rocking chair on the deck and be quiet.  Maybe I'll take some flower pictures for tomorrow.  Life is good.  I hope you have a terrific Thursday!

Enjoy!   As always, thank you for stopping by to visit.   Special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower or leave a comment!

Paper:  PTI vintage cream;
  SU poppy parade;
  DCVW background paper
Stamp:  SU Pursuit of Happiness
Ink: SU poppy parade
SU:  circle and swirly (?) punches

33 comments:

Tracey McNeely said...

What a beautiful card Darnell. Thank you so much for joining us this week at CASology.

Redanne said...

Hi Darnell, I have to, sadly, agree with you on the phones, it is not more than 20 years ago when we all managed fine with mobile phones - ah well. Love your card, very stiking and the bird photos are beautiful, thank you for sharing. Yes, life is quite good....Anne x

Ardyth said...

As always, you make me laugh! Love your card - that dp is the perfect sunny design and I love your sun's rays (I'll have to figure out which punch that is - I'd love to have one in that shape!). I too am a member of the 'too short' club - when my doctor measured me and I turned out to be 1/2 inch taller than I thought, my first thought was that my bmi went down and that's almost as good as losing weight! lol! Thanks for playing CASology this week!

Monika/Buzsy said...

What a sweet and pretty card. Love the paper-pieced sun. What a great way of using the CR84FN colors.

Rosemary said...

fabulous card, darnell!! amazing use of your punches... thanks for playing along with CASology!!

Mrs.B said...

Hi Darnell, great 'sunshine' card.
Loved the bird pics, love to watch them in my garden too - such characters.
Avril xx

Bernie said...

Hi Darnell! This is the first time I'm commenting but I have been keeping up with you. I can't tell you how many times you've made me laugh when I really needed to while my Jim was so sick and I thought I'd forgotten how. Thank you for that and your comments. Love the (s)tweet photos of those fabulous birds. Oops almost forgot to say how great your card is.
Hugs
Bernie

Di said...

Super card and some great photos Darnell. And, a laugh as always, which is good :)

Hugs, Di xx

Bonnie said...

This is definitely a sunny card, Darnell! I love those wild papers you used and the sunshiny layout!

Carol L said...

Your card is so pretty and I really like that one-word challenge! I may have to check that out :)
I love all the photos of your birds! Retirement is wonderful when you don't have to stick to schedules or daily routines! Keep on enjoying - and I'll do the same :)

Deborah Frings said...

I really like how you've combined the two challenges - I love your sun, and fabulous sentiment! Thanks for playing along with CR84FN this week!

Really like the bird pictures too!

stampwithsandy said...

Great card, Darnell! I love how you created the sun with the DSP. Also enjoyed your wildlife pictures.

scrappymo! said...

your card is great! The pictures are even better! How I look forward to your posts!

Kara Lynne said...

Love the rays of sun! Very fun patterned paper you used and perfect sentiment too. Amazing owl! I think he knows it. I love goldfinches and hummingbirds. I knew exactly why you named him Hitler!

Michelle said...

Such a sweet card, Darnell! I love it! I also love your bird photos. While I often have my face towards my iPhone (reading blogs, taking photos, posting photos to Instagram, checking FB, reading email, doing the banking...) I am with you in being a big believer in taking time to smell the roses and enjoy what is around us (no matter how busy our lives). My family get a bit frustrated with me saying things like, "Oh wow, look at how the light is landing on that leaf! It's so beautiful!" or "Look at the sky, it's so pretty!"

Jean said...

I love your punched sun and the perfect sentiment. Thanks too for sharing all of your bird pictures.

Pauline said...

Fab CAS design, your sun looks so cheerful!
Great pics of the wild life in your garden too!
Thanks for joinin gus at Cr84Fn this week!

Unknown said...

Adore your card Darnell, especially love the comment..........just wish we water logged folk in the UK could actually do it! Fantastic photographs of the birds........the photo of Hitler is amazing.

Hugs.

Karen x

shirley-bee said...

Thanks for the friend link-up, Darnell, that was really sweet of you.

I love the way you've got the sun rising from the bottom of the card and I love the patterned rays - now I wouldn't have thought to do a paper-patterned sun.

We have a pet blackbird called Missus. As soon as we go into the kitchen she swoops onto the window ledge waiting to be fed sultanas and raisins, and takes them back to her two hungry kids. She will feed from my hand, and even comes into the conservatory if we're ignoring her! I'll have to get some pics of her.

Victoria said...

I love the little hummingbird and LOVE that you have called him Hitler!! I love all your other bird photos as well because I love bird watching and they are all so different from what I see over here :) (There are a lot of 'loves' in those sentences... hmm... must dig out thesaurus!)
Unfortunately though my height is not undergrown while my weight is a little excessive.... what could be my excuse, do you think?
Anyway, this is a crafting blog so I'd better talk about your card: Well these are my favourite colours so a big thumbs up from me! I love the funky sun design and the sentiment is perfect!

Amanda said...

Fabulous card, love the sunshine, wish I cold see the sun but the rain is blocking it lol. Such gorgeous birds too, love th humming brd not something I have ever seen in real life. Unusual name too. Off to find the domestic fairy pill. Hugs, Amanda x

Anonymous said...

That's a great card Darnell and a fantastic way to use up the little scraps. Love all the birdy photos, keep them coming! We have a lot of finches in our garden as we have a finch feeder for them, the Green and Gold ones are really beautiful.

Hugs
Brenda

Paper Creations by Shirley said...

Love the pretty sunny card and your bird photos are great ! I enjoy watching & listening to the birds, but at times my retirement schedule is too busy, how does that happen? It's my fault and I realized it when I fell while rushing around like an idiot. Lesson learned. At least I don't sit in parks with a Iphone. Don't own one :) Have a great weekend, Shirleyx

Arielle H Gordon said...

Love you card!!! So fabulous! Love all the little birdie pics, too!

Melissa said...

This is so vibrant and pretty, Darnell! Love the DP you used to create your sun and the sentiment is lovely! Thank you so much for joining us at CASology this week! :)

Marion said...

Hi Darnell - Love your very summery card! Wish it were summer here! Thanks for your very lovely comments on my blog. What a lovely garden and crafting space you have. Rocking on your chair on the deck sounds heavenly. Enjoy :-)

Kim S said...

The dsp is a wonderful touch!!

I love the pix...owls are really magnificent...just make sure everybody guards their small pets cux it's astounding what an owl can haul away!

Stamps and Paper said...

stunning card and love your take on the SUN challenge...great pictures of the humming bird

Anne

Jen W. said...

Darnell, I LOVE your sun! That patterned paper was such a fun choice and I love it matted on the Poppy Parade card. Thanks for playing along with CASology this week!

Your bird pictures are fantastic and I love to watch the ones in my yard too. The lizards here are also particularly entertaining. :)

And I'm totally with you in the Twitter and cell phone department. Can. Not. Be. Bothered!

Sarn said...

I always enjoy your posts Darnell. LOVING your sunshiney card . . .has cheered me up, as very little sun around here at the moment.

I agree with you about people's phone obsession and I also wonder if people realise how much birdsong they miss when the plug themselves into their headsets and deafen themselves. And I'm only 46, so there! Call me old before my time if you like!!! I won't care.

Love your pretty bird pictures. Thanks for sharing.

Hugs
Sarn xxx

Debbie said...

love your great clean and simple card design! Really enjoyed the photos also!

Shannon White said...

Simply Darling! Love your Sweet Cheery sun! And what Terrific pics of the Sweet birdies! Love the shots of the hummingbirds. to Cute! So glad you could join us at CR84FN! 8-)

kingstonmama said...

Fabulous card, Darnell. Love that sun! I also love your fabulous bird pictures. We love to watch the birds at our house. :) Ann Y.