I Really Should Be......

Really should be working on Halloween and Christmas goodies for the up coming fall/winter season. So hard for me to do when it's 90º outside. I get so caught up with photographing everything outside, like flowers and wildlife that I normally don't get to do in the winter. And I love just playing in my gardens, pulling weeds transplanting plants, watering. You know all that stuff that goes along with caring for a garden. I hate being indoors in the summer, even if it's hot out!! 

And I love, each Summer watching the baby deer grow up right before my eyes. I see Mommy and baby practically everyday now. She drops baby off at my next door neighbors backyard in the ferns and leaves for the morning. She usually comes back in the afternoon to pick her up. Baby is now old enough to venture out in the backyard on her own while mom is away. I captured an awesome shot of her today while mom was away. 

I think I may print out this photo for myself and frame it!!!

I've been playing around with my camera a lot the last month, capturing very cool images and turning them into IPhone cases. I've just started listing them in my Red Oak Images Etsy Shop. Click HERE to check out my new designs!!

Here's a few of what I have to offer!

This one is a vintage camera that I own. 

I have this one, the Blue Ball Jar case for my iphone and just love it!!!!

From a wooden bench my hubby uses for a foot stool

A Baltimore Oriole photo that I took this Spring

This is an old Elm Tree stump that is on our property. Very cool I think!

Like some rust? This was taken inside of a huge tractor rim that my neighbor has.

And my fawn that I get to see everyday!!!

These cases are available in IPhone 4, IPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy 4

*New* Primitive Scrappy Birds!

Look what just flew in! These birds are a new design for me! They have the most cutest rusty wire legs, I think. They all are for sale right now in my Etsy Shop

In other news, I saw the mama deer and baby that I saw a couple of weeks ago in my neighbors backyard. Little one sure has grown fast since I last saw it.

And look who landed on my deck railing the other day! It's a young male cardinal just getting his bright red feathers and black mask around his beak and eyes. 

Making this short for today. Will be listing more of my new primitive birds in the future posts.

Primitive Squirrels!

I've finally gotten some time to sew after getting my flower garden in! I have a few new items newly listed in my etsy shop!

These sweet primitive squirrels can be seen here --->Rock River Stitches etsy shop

I just had to make one squirrel black like what we have around here. They are my favorites!

And another new item!!! I just love making these big crows!!

You can see this guy in my etsy shop too!

Almost forgot another new item I made last week!

If you are a follower of my blog, you know that I live in a residential area that has a over population of deer. A couple of weeks ago saw a Momma and baby walking through my backyard. The baby had to be no more then a couple of days old.

 I had to hurry and get the shot as they were walking fast! Excuse the blur of one of my flower pots on the left of the photo.

Mom was walking pretty fast and this little one was having a hard time keeping up! It laid down one time in my neighbors front yard before crossing the street. I held my breathe as the little one crossed the street over to mom who was quite a ways ahead of it.

And the birds have been busy in my yard raising families!

Chickadee with lunch for it's young!

Cleaning up after the kids!  

House Wren busy building a nest!

Wishing everyone a Happy Weekend!!

More Like Spring!

Hope I didn't jinx it by saying it's been more like Spring around here! Was a gorgeous 72º day today!!! Even went for a motorcycle ride with hubby for the first time this year.

Saw this beautiful creature in the raven by our house when coming home from our ride.

 

I believe she was nibbling on the daylilies down there.

 

Took a couple pictures of the Alcoa Eagle's nest from the Illinois side of the river looking over to the Iowa side where the nest is located in Davenport Iowa.

 

 

In the close up shot you can see the Eagle sitting on the side of the nest. Gives you an idea how really big the nest is!! You can also see the white webcam pointing down at the nest. Right now they are having technical problems with the webcam after we had a storm the other night. Here is a link to the Eagle webcam if it ever comes back on, if you want to view the eagles and eaglets. Aloca Webcam

 

In this shot you can barely see the nest. click on the pictures to get a closer view of the photos.

 

Earlier this week I ventured down to Sunset Marina and found American White Pelicans.You know it's Spring when the Pelicans come back!!

 

 

And this Robin seemed to pose for me. I was very close to him!!

 

 

So that's about all for now!

 

 

 

Still Here!

I know its been quite awhile since my last post. Got caught up with getting everything ready for Christmas and family arriving. Then I've had a setback with chronic neck pain since about Christmas Eve. I believe to much sewing did it. So I've been making trips to my chiropractor several times a week. I am slowly getting back to normal. Very frustrating to not be able to be in my normal creating mode. I can only do a little, then have to take a break with my ice pack on my neck.

I've managed to create a few new necklaces in my Red Oak Images etsy shop

I received a new camera lens from my sweet hubby for Christmas. I did manage to get some amazing shots before the problem with my neck happened. 

This amazing buck was in mine and my next door neighbors yard for a whole afternoon chasing away another smaller buck from his girlfriend. Isn't he magnificent! It was the most amazing thing to see this happening in my yard! Over the past 5 years of seeing deer in our area, this was a first to see a couple of bucks! Surely made my day!!!!

Here he is about 6 feet away from me through our living room window. He was between our house and the neighbors house. You think we lived out in the country with how many deer we have. We live in a residential area!!! If you look close you can see a little bit of cracked corn stuck to this guy's nose. I had just put some out for him to eat. He loved it!

And here are a few bird pics I captured with my new lens.

Tufted Titmouse

Pair of Carolina Wrens 

Female Northern Cardinal

Red - breasted Nuthatch

And can't forget my squirrels friends!

Gray Squirrel

And my favorite Black Squirrel 

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What am I to Do?

So the last couple of days, I have been noticing that, something has been chomping on some of my flowers all around my yard. I am pretty sure its deer. I don't think rabbits can jump up and eat impatiens in a hanging basket that I have on a Shepard's hook. First it was my tulips that they ate all the flower buds off before they could bloom. Now they are eating my petunias and impatiens and all the way down to the dirt in the pots. Err. I've been living in the same house for 24 years and never have seen any deer until 2 years ago. And never had them eating my flowers until this year!!

So, today I am getting ready to go outside and I open my back door and there is one standing in my next door neighbors front yard and another right across the street. So they both walk down our driveway into our backyard nibbling along the way and disappear. Looks like its going to be a long summer trying to keep the deer from eating my flowers that I spent so much time and money on.

Deer?

I am so mad! It doesn't look like I am going to have tulips blooming for the second year in a row. Last year a hard frost got them and now something has eaten them!! I am guessing deer, because the way they are eaten all the way to the ground. Don't think a rabbit can do that on a whole row of tulips, that I have planted behind my garage. I have never had this happen before. I live in town, in a residental neighborhood. I've been living in the same house for about 24 years, and in the last 2 years have been seeing deer when we have never had them around here before. Just 2 weeks ago around 7 a.m. I looked out my front living room window and there about 6 feet away from my house was a deer looking into my backyard! The deer population has really gotten out of hand around here. Back in January I saw a coyote walking down the middle of our neighborhood street! I've only seen them out in the country. Poor animals don't know where to go anymore. Ok...for anyone that reads my blog, maybe you can tell me if this looks like deer that have eaten my tulips, and if there is anything that I can do to prevent this from happening again?