Friends

This is Jake. He is my morning alarm clock. Jake taps at my bedroom window to let me know that it is breakfast time for him. So, I load his feeder with whole peanuts and he is a happy Scrub Jay.

Dear Friends

I know, I know, it has been a long, long time, but you all know what a hectic and joyous time of year this is. We had company for five days, cooked many meals, and had lots of great adventures. I am hoping that your Thanksgiving was wonderful and filled with love. Ours was. We celebrated our first Thanksgiving with a little boy who fought hard and long for life. He is our blessing.

Thanks so much for your letters, cards, and gifts. I can't believe how thoughtful you all are. Oh, and a wonderful gift was this autographed book from the author herself. It was a surprise, but oh how welcome in my library. 

Marta McDowell's book, Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life, is scholarly, but homey, elegant, and filled with information for all the fans of Beatrix and her works. I LOVE this book. For those of you who are Beatrix lovers too, please visit my blog posting I did on Beatrix's beloved Hilltop a few years ago.

Thanks dear Marta. I wish you great success. YOUR book is brilliant!

And to my dear Cousin Julie Marie at Idyllhours.blogspot.com. Thank you for the little squirrel friend who is doing her best to get me through my separation anxiety with my little Audrey.

As I work through 280 pages of what is called First Pass on my new middle grade novel, Running Out of Night, (Delacorte Press/Randon House, Fall 2014), the sights outside my window keep me going. What could be tedious and trying is punctuated by the beauty and grace of the birds in my life. I love them.

What better gift for a youngster than a simple feeder or a birdbath? Such a great way to introduce a child (or someone who is infirm and housebound) to the nature right outside a window. I treasure my bird friends and love them so much.

The shy Hermit Thrush visits a few times a day for berries and baths.

The Yellow-rumped Warbler ...

... drinking daintily.

Dear little Chestnut-backed Chickadees and White-crowned Sparrows feasting at the wooden feeder Jeff built for me. Such a busy stop for so many birds.

House Finches try to run the show...

...but the chickadee never gives up. (A good lesson for us all?)

An immature White-crowned Sparrow

Jeff shows our little guy how to feed the birds.

And at the window feeder he drops in seed by seed. Phew, that took awhile. This is a great feeder with heavy duty suction cups to hold it on the window and an easy fold out front for quick cleaning. This comes with my book My First Bird Book and Bird Feeder (Workman Publishing).

You're never too young to enjoy nature. And, never too old.

This is my girlfriend, author Sherry Shahan. Her grandsons used the recipe for my bird booster, which can be found in Toad Cottages and Shooting Stars and My First Bird Book and Bird Feeder.

Bird Booster Recipe: 

Note: please replace peanut butter with almond butter IF your child has an allergy to peanuts.

1 cup almond or crunchy peanut butter

1 cup canola oil

4 cups yellow cornmeal

1 cup white flour

A few tablespoons of shelled sunflower seeds and/or raisins.

Mix together and stuff into a pine cone. Hang the cone from a wire or string. Place it where you and your children can enjoy all the activity. The birds need protein and fat during the winter months. Feed them and feed your soul!

NEWS FLASH!! The winner of Susan Branch's new book, A Fine Romance, has never responded. So Jeff did another random number generator choice and the winner is number 67, Bonnie K at Birds, Bees, Berries, and Blooms. Bonnie is a Grimy Hands Girls' Club member so she'll be receiving a bonus gift.

Joys to you and love across the miles,

Sharon

Holding Them Close to Your Heart

This snowman is feeding his bird friends. A bucket of seed is being visited by woodpeckers and a nuthatch. An apple core necklace, mouth of raisins, and strings of fresh cranberries look tantalizing to the Cardinal. Broom corn hair, strings of cranberries and peanuts, and a hat topped with black oil sunflower seeds will entice many other birds to visit. Is that a chickadee I hear??

Dear Friends,

Are we all on a run right now? Running to the store, baking, entertaining friends and family, finishing  our craft projects, addressing cards, and wrapping the last of the gifts. 

At night, we like to slow down and sit quietly by the fire, the little fir tree lit with ornaments that tell some of the story of our lives. 

The quilt at the base of the tree was made by my Nonie Clarke. The starfish that tops the tree came from Laguna Beach in 1965. It was my first ornament and is the best tree topper ever.

The long farm table is filled with the last of the gifts to be wrapped. It may look like chaos, but I have piles separated and labeled for each person. I better finish wrapping these tomorrow because we have company coming this weekend.

The stockings aren't hung by the chimney with care–yet. I'll hang them up on Christmas Eve. The stockings were all  done by Christmas Cove Designs in Maine. One knitted stocking for each of the grands. Little Luke, who just left the NNICU (after four and a half difficult months), has the newest one with Santa and a reindeer.

And, finally, my little German stick sheep are flocking on the mantel. I am thankful that they survived the big earthquake in December of 2003. They were lined up along the mantel in our Cambria cottage when the big San Simeon quake hit. All the sheep, the trees, and greenery shot across the living room and landed about ten feet from the mantel. Some were broken, others lost their ears or legs, but these survivors are still a part of our family traditions.  

Tomorrow will be baking day with a final wrap up and delivery to neighbors and shut-ins. When the grands come, they'll be whipping up my special "Bird Booster" to satisfy all the birds in our lives and the lives of our friends. We plan to smear the mixture into pine cones and into the dried halves of oranges, but you can simply smear this onto tree trunks and branches.

Kids love to smear the "Bird Booster" into pine cones. This is my good friend, author Sherry Shahan, who is showing off the pine cone her grandsons filled with booster for her for her birthday.

This recipe provides fat and protein, which will help keep birds warm on cold winter nights. This is a simple project for the children in your life and will help connect them to the magical world of nature.

Recipe for Bird Booster from My First Bird Book and Bird Feeder.

1 1/2 cups of peanut butter

1 1/2 cups of shortening, bacon grease, or suet

3  cups yellow cornmeal

1  cup flour

1  cup sand

Mix thoroughly and enjoy watching the birds feast on your offerings.

Sending love across the miles,

Sharon

P.S.

This is a live stream of two radio personalities in Cleveland reviewing my bird book and bird feeder. Jeff found their site online and took a photo of them talking with me in California. They were a part of a 23 city "radio tour" that was arranged by Workman Publishing. Yes, 23 interviews, which began at 4:18 a.m. and went on for over 8 hours. Jeff and I got up at 3:30 and prepared for the onslaught.

Yep, I'm in my robe and in bed and talking with radio hosts around the country. The headset is a necessity. It is almost impossible to hold a phone for 8 plus hours, sip tea, drink lemon water, and locate things in my book without fumbling. Click here for a list of stations. Scroll down to December 13, 2012. Some interviews were taped for later broadcast.

The Sweet Song of Rain

Old Mr. Crow ALWAYS thinks he knows the answer to every question, but here he is arguing with a Purple Finch. Yes, I know the finch isn't purple, but I am not the person who gave it that name.  Nineteenth century naturalist John Burroughs first described this finch as being dipped in poke juice. 

Naturalist Roger Tory Peterson described this finch as looking like he had been dipped in raspberry juice. For those of you who confuse this bird with the House Finch, you'll find that the colors are different and the HF has a darkly streaked belly.

Dear Friends,

I've been away for so long because I have been spending my daylight hours drawing and painting and talking for hours at a time with my editor at Workman Publishing. Workman is one of the most amazing companies for making books. They care about every step of the process, examine illustrations, text, and everything that goes into a book. I know that when I work for them they will promote my book for many years to come, so it is not only an investment in time, but also an investment in the future for the new bird lovers I hope to reach.

All the hours I've spent watching Eastern Towhees and Northern Flickers paid off when I picked up my pencil and brushes, and started to draw and paint them. The strip of paper to the right is where I test colors for the feathers.

The beginning drawing of a kestrel, a finished painting of a Western Bluebird, and a feisty little House Wren building her nest in one of our birdhouses.

Our dear friends the Bassettis threw a small dinner party at their ranch and vineyard in honor of the finish of my finished (almost) bird book. 

My grandson helped me prepare our potluck offering of homemade floral cheese. Mo went out to my little kitchen garden, harvested edible flowers, then made a confetti of them for the cheese. Yummy. See my posting on how to do this simple cheese. It is simple enough for a five year old to concoct!

Mo's creation

Mo's floral cheese in a bowl wearing a collar of fragrant scented Pelargonium leaves

My dear friends Marilyn and Libby compare notes about life

Finally, after a scary drought, a big rainstorm has hit the central coast of California. I am overjoyed by the sweet song the rain plays on my roof and into the buckets and barrels I have throughout the yard. Plink, plink, plunk, plunk, plink, it was a concert out there last night. My garden already looks more vibrant and all the fruit trees are flaunting their colorful blossoms.

This post will be short, but I do have TWO wonderful give-aways. One is donated by Gardener's Supply Company in Burlington, Vermont–a 100% employee owned, green company from the green state. They've offered a $44.95 Deep-Seat Garden Kneeler. Give your tired knees a break and visit their wonder site to learn more about them.

 Leave a comment, and I will pull a name out of a hat for the drawing on March 25th.  Good luck!

Also, my friend and author Karen Weir-Jimerson has written a wonderful book called So Much Sky. If you've been a fan of Karen's writings (I know I always read her column in Country Home BEFORE anything else) or if you're just learning of her, you'll love this book. She now writes for Country Gardens magazine, a Meredith publication.

Karen has donated an autographed copy of this book of country life that will be loved and treasured by farm folk to wannabe farmers (like me). Karen and her husband live on a small farm with an historic home that they've renovated and filled with antiques, extensive gardens, a fabulous pond, and a circus trainload of animals. Cats (11 at last count), three adorable donkeys, horses, dogs galore, you name it and they have them in their menagerie. Oh, and lest I forget it, two handsome and accomplished sons.

I'll pull a second name on the 25th for this book give-away.

Karen's book will touch your heart and kindle (or rekindle) your love for country life. Speaking of Kindle, it will also soon be available on Kindle if that is what you're hankering for.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I've been away from blogs and blogging for a few weeks now, but I will soon get back into gear and try to keep up.

All joys across the countryside tilting toward spring,

Sharon

Some P.S. "Thank you"s:

Carol S. Y. THANK YOU for the fabulous old book on the islands of Maine. I love it and I love reading about places that are so much a part of our life now. One of the islands is featured in my first novel. I found facts in the book that I had never heard of before. Your gift is a joy as are YOU.

Mary Rae, your rainbow of handmade cotton dishcloths brightened my day. When I opened that envelope full of goodies, I let out a hoot of joy. Thank you so much, dear.

Karen Weir-Jimerson, a big thank you for the donation of the autographed book AND my personal copy. Jeff will read it to me every night after my weary eyes give out.  I already read some of the stories and love them.

Welcome to Mockingbird Studio

When we first began searching for a home in town, I naturally gravitated toward old houses with charm, but it seemed like all the houses I loved were in noisy, crowded neighborhoods. When we drove up to a little Spanish Revival home on one of the busiest corners in San Luis Obispo, I said, "NO WAY!" I didn't even want to get out of the car.

We finally stepped inside the door to the house and I loved it, but still I said, "NO WAY!" Well, I lived to eat my words. I could see the possibilities with it all IF we built a high wall around the garden, and if we could find space for a tiny studio for me. 

We stepped out a little French door and into the back yard. There stood a small cottage, and I said, "I can't live this close to a neighbor," and turned to go back inside. The co-operating realtor (Jeff is a broker) said, "that's not a neighbor, that's your studio." I nearly collapsed. "Uh oh," I said,  "This might be it." and it was.

Follow the sign, stay on the pathway, and walk to Mockingbird Studio with me. This little "commute" video takes a few seconds to load, so please be patient.

Please come inside for a visit and pardon the mess. I am in full production for my new children's bird book for Workman Publishing. Click the arrow to start the video.

Here are a few close-up views.

Thanks so much for the visit. Sorry I've been out of touch, but there aren't enough hours in the day, not enough days in the week! I do so love hearing from you.

Oh, and the WINNER of our gorgeous house numbers give-away is Sara of Whimsical Wonders Nursery. We don't have your e-mail or snail mail address, so please send us an e-mail. CONGRATULATIONS! These handmade Danish porcelain enamel numbers from Ramsign are lovely. I hope you enjoy them!

I wish you a pocketful of joys,

Sharon

P.S. Please visit my new Lowe's blog posting to see a before-and-after video of the transformation of our backyard in my posting "Mud, Sweat and Tears." I value your comments.