Snow Queen Winner Announced!!!

Drum Roll Please.... the winner is #34

~*Andrea*~ said... 34

tweeted :) http://twitter.com/meadowsgrove/status/9636419614015488 shadygrove79 at aol dot com

Congrats Andrea!! i'll send you an email this afternoon. You'll have 48 hours to claim your prize or a new winner will be chosen!

Thank you all who entered!!!

First Snow of the Season.

Yesterday just after i filled up all the bird feeders and put out our birdseed cakes, it began to snow. It snowed, and it snowed and it's still snowing. i couldn't have picked a better day to fill up the feeders.

Purple finch and Amercan Gold finch have been flocking to the feeders. This was taken just a couple of hours after i put out our birdseed cakes.

The kids of course, couldn't wait to go outside and play! So we dug out all of our winter gear, bundled up and headed outside.

We made snow angels.

Threw snowballs.

Went sledding down the front hill.

and the snow kept coming down.

and down.

and the more snow that fell, the more birds appeared.
Here is a Cardinal and a White throated Sparrow.

This is the first woodpecker of the season!! See him on the side of the post? i think it is a downy woodpecker, but i'm not certain. The one of the top of the house is a dark eyed junco.

and winter begins.

Celebrating the Season; For the Birds

The holiday season has officially begun, and i find myself trying hard to embrace it. We do not celebrate on just one day of the month, we celebrate the actual season. One of my favorite traditions is putting out gifts for the wildlife. In the past we have made bird houses/feeder out of old milk cartons and made birdseed pinecones. The Birdseed seed pinecones is an easy craft for the kids. You just spread peanut butter on your pinecones and then roll them in birdseed. Attach a cord to the top and hang them in your trees. We Also usually put out a feeding table with fresh/dried fruits, seeds and nuts.

Yesterday i filled all of our bird feeder and made up some vegetarian suet/style cakes. i searched online for a 'vegetarian bird suet' recipe. i found a bunch here and then put together my own using suggestions from a couple of the recipes.

Homemade Birdseed Cakes.

1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1 cup cornmeal or cracked corn

1 cup bird seed/sunflower hearts/oiled sunflower seeds

1 cup whole wheat flour

* When using cornmeal and whole Wheat flour make sure it is NOT self rising, and does NOT contain baking soda.

Optional ingredients: chopped raisins, dried blueberries or cranberries.

Heat 1/2 cup vegetable shortening and peanut butter in a saucepan until melted. Add other ingredients and stir well until mixed.
Line an 8x8 pan with tin foil, and grease with shortening. Pour your seed mix into pan, and place in freezer till set.

After an hour or so, once set, you can cut into 4 blocks and use in a suet feeder.

Store the unused blocks in freezer, wrapped in plastic wrap/wax paper or in a freezer container.

My bird feeder has a built in suit holder on each side.

During the winter months, we offer these gifts to the bird and in return they bless us with the gift of color during the dark gray days of winter. Some common birds we see at our feeders during the winter are Gold finch, Purple finch, Cardinals, Blue jays, nut hatch, Titmice, chickadees, Pine-siskin, sparrows, Juncos and Wood peckers. We occasionally get a few others that are passing through, and stop for a snack.

During this season of giving, we like to give back to the birds and wildlife. Birds provide us with simple enjoyment, natural pest control and they help to disperse seeds. Providing them with food during the harsh days of winter is just one way for us to thank them.

Winter Snow Kingdom.

This is just a teaser i guess, because these are not really available. i had so much fun with my Winter snow queen, that i knew i had to make more in the same wintry theme.

i'm not ready for winter at all, i haven't taken down my Autumn nature table yet...but after making the snow Queen i started to picture lots of different icy/snowy bendy dolls.
The first is this lovely Ice Fairy. She has lots of icy looking glitter on her wings.

i decided she really needed a matching Unicorn with an icy mane. The yarn i used the mane and tail is an icy blue with a strand of silver running through it. The horn is created from a silver ribbon, and there is a bit of glitter on the hooves.
This set is already sold, but i couldn't resist posting pictures of it.

i also decided our Winter Snow Queen, needed a Winter King. i just finished him up this evening, and i will probably make him a staff similar to the Snow Queen's tomorrow.
He has lots of glitter on his crown and cape. He is $15.

Wouldn't they look lovely on a winter nature table?


Although the icy fairy is sold, i do plan to make a few more that are in the same wintry theme. ..along with some gnomes and maybe knights? i may have to make another Winter King and Queen too...although i'm not sure i'll have them for sale...i'm very tempted to keep them for myself! :)

Have you entered to win the Winter Snow Queen yet? The giveway ends on the 7th so be sure and enter!!

Our Yule Tree

For the past 10 years we have always had a live tree to celebrate Yule.
We've had three trees total, i believe. After the holidays are over we replant the tree outside, and the next year we dig it up and bring it back inside again. We do this until the tree is too large to bring in, and then we go out and chose a new one. The tree becomes a part of our family for a few weeks each year, and we always look forward to bringing it back inside the next year. It's like a familiar friend to spent the holidays with.

This was Yule tree from a few years back, it was the last time this tree came inside with us. It had grown too tall, and really filled in the following year. It is now growing nicely on our property and has become home to birds and other critters.

This was our newest tree. It was inside for Yule 2008 and Yule 2009. It was short and squat and smelled absolutely fabulous! i truly loved it. We were hoping to bring it inside again this year.

Earlier this year, we had about an acre of land cleared. We planted clover, and will eventually use part of the area for goat pasture and part for a small orchard. The folks that did the cutting did a good job. They didn't clear cut, but instead took down select trees. It really opened up the area, and opened up a lot of possibilities.
Unfortunately our Yule tree was planted on the edge of the yard/woods where they were doing the cutting. It was near the kids tree house and still in our yard, so it never occurred to me that it would be in harms way. When the cutting was done, i went out to assess the damage and that's when i saw our Yule tree. It had been backed over by one of the big machines, and broken right at the base. :(

The kids are eager to get out our holiday decorations, and even though Dec. has just begun, i am already missing the presence of our Yule tree. We haven't decided yet whether to replace it, or hold off until next year. There is a chance we won't be home for the holidays. So it seems a bit silly to put up a tree, and yet it seems odd not too. Decorating our tree in pinecones, handblown glass icicles and gingerbread has always been one of my favorite traditions.