Strawberry Ice Cream Ecological Region

Henry's establishment in the little village of Las Claritas in Bolivar state, Strawberry Ice Cream Cone. Just like the name implies, he did indeed provide ice cream for dessert. He and his wife also raised and sold miniature poodles, just in case you were wondering about the dog in the photo. Check out his website, particularly the Diversity page where there are video clips of many of the birds that we saw, some even with impressive audio of their calls: Cappuchinbird, White Bellbird, Crimson Topaz, Guayanan Cock of the Rock and the fabulous Scarlet-horned Manakin.
Henry has an impressive garden with many hummingbird feeders that attract a wide array of hummies, as well as many other species. He actually has Harpy Eagle on his yard list! Here, we saw toucans, parrots, and many other treasures, including a giant morpho butterfly. (Stay tuned for bird/butterfly photos)
Even with my little zoom lens I was able to get close enough to this highly sought after hummingbird, the Crimson Topaz. Note the long tail.
Note the size of the bird relative to the hummingbird feeder. It gives a good reference to determine the large size of this fellow.

Into the heartland, El Corazon

What a view! This stained glass window formed one entire wall of the Caracas airport.
Welcome to Ciudad Guayana. From here, we would drive south to Bolivar state and the little village of Las Claritas which would be our base for the next 5 nights while we birded in Canaima National Park, the Lost World.
Angel Fall is the tallest waterfall in the world, flowing from the top of Auyantepui, the largest tepuy in the Lost World. We didn't actually get to see it, lacking a helicopter or the several days it would take to travel there, but this large mural was on the airport wall in Puerto Ordaz.

Happy Valentine's Day

I awoke to a birdsong that I had never before heard, that of the Bananaquit, which I later came to call the Banana-cute, because they were so adorable. Yes, I know there isn't a photo of one shown. My camera takes great scenery shots, but two of the guys on the trip had very nice cameras with long lens. So, we made a deal and agreed that my part would be to capture the essence of Venezuela, and they would focus on the birds. I'll post bird photos as soon as I get them.
We weren't actually staying in Caracas, which is on the other side of these mountains. We stayed near the airport as we would be flying to Puerto Ordaz on the banks of the Rio Orinoco the next day.
The Marine Iguanas were quite skittish so I was pleased to be able to capture this. The reason for their fear of humans: If they can be captured, their legs are tied behind their heads and then they are attached to a stick and held up by the person who caught them -- sold along the street - for food. Obviously, this didn't sit well with a certain wildlife afficianado.
Even though the real ones get eaten whenever possible, there are still revered as shown by this little Iguana Park.

We found this colorful lizard living in a pile of trash in the corner of the park. He was beautiful, and also skittish.

A Quilting We Did Go!

It's that time of year again, time for the 16th annual Hawks Aloft Quilt Retreat. This year we were thrilled to have running water at the cabin, so we could actually really retreat from the big city. Above , you see Michele Hymel stitching the last seams on our quilt top.
As always, Ruth, ably assisted by Sam Sanborn, cooked up a delectable Friday night feast. Sadly, Ruth had to go home early so she missed the Saturday night festivities.
Veteran quilters, Steve Elkins and Patty Phillips, cranked out block after block using foundation piecing techniques.
After a full day of sewing, Quilter Mary Chappelle, takes a break.
We welcomed newcomer, Nancy Cella, to our little group. We liked her a lot, and we hope she will return next year.
Our youngest quilter was Lindsey Porter , age 12. She took to quilting like a duck takes to water.
Our cutting team, Ed Chappelle and Mike Hymel, take an afternoon break.
Oops! Another Lindsey photo!
Master quilter, Anita McSorley held down the fort in the sewing kitchen.
Chellye Porter also learned to quilt and cooked up a fabulous breakfast with her fellow kitchen slave, Lindsey.
In the end, we were 13 strong, the largest group so far! And, we finished the quilt in just over 6 hours, also a record. Shown above, from left to right: Sitting: Patty Phillips, Sam Sanborn, Steve Elkins, Yours Truly with Gabby the dog, and Nancy Cella. Standing: Ed Chappelle, Mary Chappelle, Mike Mymel, Michele Hymel, and Anita McSorley. Not shown: Ruth Burstrom, Chellye Porter and Lindsey Porter.

Now, the quilting begins, but I won't be a part of that for a while. Ed and Mary are layering it, then moving it along to Patty for the anchor quilting. Then, it's off to Michele for more quilting.
Me? Well, I can't quilt right now. I am off to Venezuela along with Sam to search for the world's largest eagle, the Harpy Eagle! Wish me luck!

Cartwheel Constellation

Donna and I finally finished our latest quilt, Cartwheel Constellation. The pattern is scheduled to appear in an upcoming issue of American Quilter Magazine, so keep a watch. I don't yet know which issue. In addition to the borders you see on this quilt, I also designed a series of other borders that I will post as soon as I edit the images down to a manageable size. This quilt measures 50" in diameter. All the quilting was done by Donna Barnitz. The hand-dyed gradations are by Starr Fabrics and the hand-painted fabrics are by Skydyes.

Gifts for Harmony House

Donna and I decided to brighten up the Christmas festivities at Harmony House, where my mother, Sylvia, and Donna's friend, Ruth, live. The group home houses eight elderly women, almost all of whom have varying degrees of dementia. If you have an elderly relative that lives in a full care facility, you will understand how challenging it can be to think of a meaningful gift for the residents. So, we thought bright and cheerful. We thought socks! What could be more fun than tie-dyeing a whole bunch of anklet socks! And that's just what we did! However . . .
We didn't stop there! We thought it would be great fun to make Christmas pillowcases too. On Christmas eve, we arrived right at dinner time with a gift bag for each resident. All the ladies were seated at the dining table and we think they really enjoyed their goody bags. Donna also had made quilted pocket tissue holders and we added some chocolate to the bags. While the ladies were eating, we sneaked into all their rooms and slipped on their holiday pillowcases! Not to forget the hard-working staff, we also made socks for them and fixed up a gift bag for each.

Should you ever need to find a good home for your elderly relative, I strongly recommend Harmony House or one of its two sister homes, all located within one block of each other in Rio Rancho, NM. Owned by Margaret Surrock, the homes offer round-the-clock care, in a loving environment that feels just like home. We couldn't have found a better place for our loved ones.

Convergence

For my nephew, Michael, for Christmas 2008. Michael is sixteen now and very involved in sports, particularly Lacrosse. Michael has already worked two summers for the Parks and Recreation department in his community through a special program in which youth work outdoors during the summer. I designed and stitched this quilt for him. I am so proud of him and all that he does.

Turquoise Trail

For my niece Mary for Christmas 2008. Mary is sixteen now, and will soon be off on a grand adventure to Europe sans parents. It's part of the People to People program. Mary will be traveling with other students from her community and will learn about and visit many European countries. I am so proud of her. The quilt is a twist on the more traditional Bargello quilt patterns. I began working on it with my friend, Pam Sisk. I thought it might be a good gift for Mary.

And, the Winner is. . .

Each year, we make and raffle a quilt to raise money to help purchase food for the educational raptors of Hawks Aloft. A group effort, the label above which was designed and stitched by Twila Bastian, using Bernina Embroidery Software, lists all the names of those who helped with this year's effort.
Here's the 2008 quilt in all its glory, with all the quilting completed!
And, the winner is Marilyn Cimalore of Albuquerque, NM! She purchased 6 tickets at Weem's Artfest in November. We are thrilled with the new home for our quilt. Marilyn is a nature-lover, and is the gift shop manager at the Rio Grande Nature Center. She has a high ceiling in her living room and plans to display her new treasure there! Congratulations!