Idyllwild Nature Center & Lake Hemet, CA

Bernie & I decided on a trip the mountains today to Idyllwild driving up from Banning and driving back into Palm Desert.  The trip takes you up along the steep mountains with views down into the valleys. Have I mentioned I have a fear of heights along the side of roads, when I feel the car might fall down the mountain?  It can cause me to laugh uncontrollably.  Today, I wasn't too bad.  After we birded at Idyllwild Nature, we decided we would also stop at Lake Hemet to see what birds would be around.

Here we found the best bird of our trip and a life bird for both of us ~ Lewis's Woodpecker #442.

Mountain Chickadee

Lewis's Woodpecker ~ Life Bird #442

Lewis's Woodpecker

Moon raising over Palm Desert on NY's Eve

Morongo Valley, CA

Joshua Tree in the yard

Costa's Hummingbird

Eurasian Collared Dove

Cooper's Hawk

View from the yard

Another view from the yard

Joshua Tree National Park, CA

Black-throated Sparrow

Sagebrush Sparrow

Sagebrush Sparrow

Sagebrush Sparrow

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Greater Roadrunner

Big Morongo Canyon Preserve, CA

Anna's Hummingbirds

Anna's Hummingbirds

Lincoln's Sparrow

Nuttall's Woodpecker

Nuttall's Woodpecker

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Cactus Wren

Big Morongo Canyon Preserve, CA

CA Thrasher

I always enjoy hiking Big Morongo Canyon Preserve and today, I also got to introduce it to my friend hoping she would like it as much as I .  Not as many birds were seen as I've seen in the past but a really big highlight was spotting the Bobcat along a trail.  This was my first ever Bobcat sighting.

Red-shafted Flicker

CA Towhee

Fox Sparrow ~ Sooty variety

Morongo Valley, CA

View from the house

We are staying the a really neat 1940's type house in the Morongo Valley which is about a mile from the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve and the Sand to Snow National Monument.  The views are 360 degrees. The birds are plentiful in the 1 acre yard with the one seen most often ~ the White-crowned Sparrow.  There is a very old Joshua Tree in the front yard and cactus all around.  The owner is fairly new and is working on adding fruit trees and other vegetation back into the yard.

White-crowned Sparrow

Fabric Postcard Swaps

Made for the JOY Swap with Art4Mail

Made for the Christmas Tree Swap with Art4Mail

Christmas Gift Quilts

The 3 quilts are almost ready to be gifted.  I made the tops and Elena did a wonderful job quilting them for me.  They need labels made and sewn on and they will be ready but time is running out.  I think that perhaps they will be gifts for 2018 rather than 2017 but the 3 special girls that are receiving them are young so it will be fine.

Close-up

Hand-dyed Quit

The blocks in this quilt started as a swap with my dyeing group but I made more and more and more.  In total, enough for 3 quilts.  So, I made one top for a special young man and I am keeping 2 quilts for myself.  I had the young man dye the fabric for the back this summer.  All three tops are being quilted by an awesome quilter and friend. Here is the first one done with an all over pattern.  The next 2 quilts will have custom quilting on them.

Cape May Meadows ~ Snowy Owl