Finch and Stitching Update

The "Bird and Breakfast" is a little quieter now. My beautiful Queenie died right before Christmas. I noticed she was sick and moved her to a nice warm "hospital" cage to try to figure out what was wrong. She only lived 2 more days. I think she was egg-bound. Everybody else seems to be fine. She was a sweetie and I'll miss her.

I suspect, however, that Monty will miss her even more. I was playing with my new camera today and snapped a pretty good picture of him. Is it my imagination, or does he look sad? Poor Monty is even more lonely now that I adopted out his daughter and her cousin (Snippet and Ort). I found a nice girl who was looking for a pair of finches to live with her canary, Weep Weep. I'm sure they will be very happy and well cared for. Now, the search begins for a new mate for Monty.

On the stitching front, I've been working on "Lauren's Voice" by La-D-Da. I don't make New Year's resolutions as a rule, but this year I plan to take better care of myself. I love the old-fashioned look of this piece and the soft colors. It will hang in an area of my kitchen where I can see it every morning when I make coffee. I'm getting pretty close to the finish.

I just had to play with close ups since I'm still trying out my new camera. I think I'll keep it.

Happy stitching, and remember to treat your self well!

Cats and Birds

One of my zebra finch pairs have two babies in the nest. They're old enough now to peak out of the nest and take an interest in the goings on in the flight cage. I finally got a picture of one of the babies peaking out while Daddy Monty keeps watch.


Yes, Monty fans from Berri Patch. He is a daddy now! He took up with Queenie, the white chick of Harry and Smyrna that was still a baby when I closed the shop.

Anyway, the first pic was yesterday morning. Yesterday afternoon I found a little one out of the nest. Somehow it made it onto one of the treat plates and just wallowed there the rest of the day.


I just couldn't resist picking it up. Such a cutie!!

It was such a beautiful day, so I had the sliding glass doors upon across the back of the house. The birds chirping must have attracted the neighbor's kitten into our yard. He just sat there turning his ears this way and that! Then he was spotted by Daisy. . .

Such a beautiful, friendly, and playful kitten. His name is Blaze.

We have another beautiful day today. I'm off to dig around in the flower beds a bit. Maybe Blaze will come keep me company!

Ring Bearer Pillow and Finches

I finished the stitching part of the ring bearer pillow topper for Elizabeth's wedding. Just a few beads to add then stitch up the pillow. I used perle cottons on antique white cashel linen. This was my first real whitework piece and I had a great time stitching it. I think I'll be doing more whitework. It wasn't easy to photograph, this was the best I could get.


For all you Harry and Smyrna fans, let me tell you they're at it again! Smyrna laid 5 eggs last week and they are diligently tending them. Aren't they adorable peaking out of their nest? I hope the chicks this time are as pretty as the last ones.


Daisy enjoys watching the indoor birds more than the outdoor birds. I guess it's because she can hear them sing and chirp. She only gets to come into this room during the day when I'm home. I make her repeat after me "finches are friends, not food".

Little Finches!

Harry and Smyrna were successful this round. They hatched two beautiful little finches that came out of the nest on Monday. They are both so beautiful I won't be able to give them away. Until I know the sex of each, they are named Seed Bead 1 and Seed Bead 2. Here they are poking their heads out:

This is Seed Bead 1 on the perch with Daddy keeping watch from behind:

Here is Seed Bead 2 in the bottom of the cage. Such a pretty color!

The entire happy family:

Poor Monty is no longer left out since he has a new mate to share his bachelor pad. She's a female black cheek and was selected because her feathers stay ruffled up just like Monty's. They spend lots of time snuggling and grooming each other, I just could get a picture of it today.

All six finches will be making the move to Texas with us and are looking foward to moving out of the cages into a nice new aviary with plenty of room.

Sad news

We all hoped we'd be passing out cigars at this point, but Smyrna and Harry's nesting round has come to a sad end. One of the eggs did hatch and the little cheeping sound of the hatchling was adorable. The poor little thing only lasted a few days and none of the other eggs were viable. Our little mom and pop abandoned the nest over the weekend. Now they're back to hopping around and chirping happily just like they did before this whole thing started. I think we'll let some time pass before trying it again. Meanwhile, I'm keeping Monty in his bachelor pad until I find a mate for him.