Hints of Spring - Return visitors and some fresh starts

Spring is just around the corner. I hear it and I see small signs. We've been opening the windows a crack in the morning to air out the house and during this time each day I've heard the increase in bird activity. Clarisse has noticed too as she cries to us to open the bedroom blinds so she can get up on the sill and better watch the comings and goings. During the miserable weather lately we've had very few visitors to the feeder but there has been a flurry of activity this past week. Just look at all the return visitors!

Mr. and Mrs.

 A Gold Finch wearing his winter clothing

 Mrs. Downy

In the spirit of new beginnings I've had two new starts this past weekend. 

I started off with a design that has a real spring feeling to it. With Thy Needle and Thread Three Tulips.

We've had some overcast days lately so the light really hasn't been all that great for my pictures. I'm stitching this on Picture This Plus 32ct Legacy linen. It isn't the called for fabric and consequently I ran into a problem with the called for floss. I've swapped out just about every floss that is required for this design. The original floss either looked washed out on my fabric or the dye lot was considerably different. I spent an hour going through my existing stash and matching colours before I could actually start stitching. The floss I'm using for the bunny is one of Nina's threads which I won in an earlier giveaway. It's perfect and I'm really liking it. No knotting or twisting so far.

Hot on it's heels is Plum Street Samplers Love Thy Neighbour.

I've chosen another Picture This Plus linen for this stitch. It's 32ct Earthen. So far I've only had to change two floss due to the fabric colour. Paulette charted this design in a UK/Canadian version to accomodate our difference in spelling neighbour. I mentioned something to her in an email and within a very short time she sent me the file attachment containing the new chart with our spelling. Thank you Paulette!

I'm starting to feel a little house bound on account of the difficulties with my hip. I've been having an increase in pain since the new year and just the thought of going out with all that it entails (putting on boots, getting in and out of the car, driving, etc.) stops me in my tracks and I stay home. I've seen a surgeon now and an MRI has confirmed severe osteoarthritis of the joint. My right leg is now shorter than my left due to the wearing down of the head of the femur as it rubs bone on bone. I'm on the list for hip replacement and was originally scheduled for March but now I'm told it will be sometime in April. No definitive date yet. 

This past Monday my hubby took me for a drive for a change of scenery and then out for supper.  I brought the camera despite the fact that it was getting near twilight.  We spotted two owls on our travels. This first one was a fair distance away and I zoomed in for the pic which is why it's not all that focused. I also find the extreme temperatures make it difficult for the camera to focus properly.

We thought perhaps the owls had left our area but it appears not. It was a very cold afternoon and we were on the hunt for a pizza restaurant in a nearby village. Unfortunately the restaurant had closed for our Family Day holiday. So we switched direction and headed west to the town of Kemptville.  On the way there I spotted these two horses foraging in the snow, for what I'm not sure. They each wore blankets and looked so miserable. I wish the light had been better. Then you could see that one wore a red blanket and the other a green.

As we neared our destination the sun was slipping away from us and I grabbed this last photo.

A heavy rain is slowly washing away a good portion of our snow today. I'm hoping the white stuff doesn't make another appearance this season but I have my doubts. No robins yet!