Finally got this one out of the way!

True to form, the North Carolina winter is keeping us on our toes. We’ve gone from 50s-70s the last couple of months to bitter cold, ice, and snow in the last few weeks.

The birds apparently love us best, since we’re keeping our feeder full. We added a suet cake and it’s taken the birds several days to give it a shot, but now it’s bringing quite a few new species to our balcony!

I counted 13 species today during the snow, including 2 species that I only saw on the ground below the feeders (American Crows and Eastern Towhees). Here’s a rundown with pics (not the best quality…sorry)!

House Finch (male) — These guys are regulars around here all year. They’re not nearly as annoying as the House Sparrows we had in Massachusetts. The males are a lovely shade of pink, and they sing their little hearts out.

Carolina Chickadee — Another resident species, and Peter’s favorite bird. 🙂

Tufted Titmouse — Arguably the best bird name ever. We see these guys all the time! They’re the first ones to yell at us through the window when the feeder is empty.

Carolina Wren — Another tiny resident with a lovely song. We’ve seen them sneak into our screened-in porch to snap up bugs.

White-Breasted Nuthatch (male) — Another bug-hunter! They have a distinctive call.

Northern Mockingbird — This is probably my favorite bird…there’s nothing like waking up on a warm Southern spring morning with a mockingbird singing outside your window.

Dark-Eyed Junco (male) — We don’t see these guys terribly often, but they appear occasionally year-round.

Downy Woodpecker (female) — This shy species is another that we see every once in a while, usually from a distance.

Red-Bellied Woodpecker (male) — These noisy guys seem to love dried fruit more than suet or meal worms! We have two visiting our feeder recently, both males; one is noticeably larger than the other (smaller one pictured).

Pine Warbler (male) — This is a new species for me this winter! It’s so exciting! I thought at first he was a Goldfinch until I really paid attention. (We have had Goldfinches recently too, but none today.)

Yellow-Rumped Warbler (female) — My second new species this winter! This little lovely puzzled me at first. Her most prominent feature when I was observing her was the bright yellow area at the base of her tail, on her back. Turns out it’s her namesake!

Lola is 4 1/2 now, and her pearly whites aren’t quite as pearly-white as they used to be. She has a VERY healthy mouth, but she’s at the age now where we need to be proactive about her health so she’s with us for a good long time yet. She had her first dental cleaning on Wednesday, and it didn’t go quite as well as we’d hoped.

She had some mild gingivitis and a little tartar on her back molars, but otherwise she looked great, the vet said. It seems, though, that she’s one of the few dogs who is very sensitive to one of the two sedation drugs they use during the procedure (asepromazine). It took her a long time to wake up from anesthesia and she was pretty out of it for more than a day afterward. The doctor was concerned enough that she wanted to keep her a little longer to make sure everything was good.

Thankfully, the crew at our Banfield loves her to pieces and were very diligent in helping to make sure she gets back to normal. She’s doing great now, and now that we know about her bad reaction to asepromazine, we can make sure it’s never used on her again — in case we have to take her to another vet for an emergency, for example.

And now, for your entertainment, a picture of dopey Lola, keeping it classy!

This series of posts will focus on crafting supplies that are must-haves at my table! Many are common sense, but a few might surprise you…

First of all, I’m really loving my Flush Cutters. I’ve used various cutting pliers since I started making jewelry, but flush cutters have been a “Why didn’t I get these sooner?!” item. 🙂

They are excellent for trimming beading wire incredibly close to a crimp bead. Trying to trim wire with more bulky cutters often resulted in uneven, frayed ends that weren’t nearly as short as they should have been. The thin, sharp blades of a flush cutter let you get right in there and make a nice, clean cut.

Don’t be afraid to spend a few more dollars on a nicer pair — you’ll get a more sturdy blade and a longer-lasting tool.

Since this week’s color is in the same family as last week’s, I decided to continue with the lilac stone rounds and create a pair of earrings to match last week’s necklace!