Juggling life through a bi-polar lens. Sometimes up, sometimes down. Mostly trying to tread water in the middle. Creating a likeness to a normal life. Whatever "normal" is...

Wednesday 27 February 2008

ABC Wednesday....


F is for feathers............


...Like the ones on this European Eagle Owl.

His name is Sid.

A close up of Sid's feathers..........and one that he decided he didn't need any more:Some people can paint birds onto discarded feathers....they must have buckets of patience!

This one is an inch high. We bought it in Edinburgh:
These two were gifts from Nicaragua:

(This one is my favourite. I like the look on his face.)

Here are a few more feathers, these ones found in my garden.......
first, from a wee goldfinch (see the gold?)
this one is from a sparrowhawk. Those are white lines, on the top edge....
Lastly, here is an unusual Christmas decoration: a wreath made of feathers!

The sales assistant was trying to encourage purchases by telling people it would also make a great Easter Centrepiece. Hmm... not sure! But it's lovely and soft and fluffy.

And speaking of Fluffy, here's one of my cat, "Fluffy"! She's a fantastic friend!
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You can see more of Sid The Owl and his friends on this video of my Falconry Experience Day, where I met him:




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I bet there are lots of feathers in this week's ABC Wednesday! If you'd like to check out the other participants, or find out how to join in, please visit Mrs Nesbitt's blog!


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49 comments:

BumbleVee said...

Wow what an amazing thing to be able to do; must have been great fun to be so close to them all. Aren't they all beautiful and such a little tiny one at the end...how cute.

Was Sid pretty heavy to hold up?

Great F posting....

Leslie: said...

These are absolutely fantastic fotos!!! I love the owl shots. So clear! Mine's up even if it is still Tuesday evening here! Come on over. :D

Mrs Mac said...

Bumblevee,

No!!!! Sid was mostly feathers! He was no weight at all to hold up. "Emma" was heavier! The owls look quite solid but if you go to stroke them your hand just goes in and in! LOL!

Mrs Mac said...

Leslie,

Lovely photo's of the birds- taken by my partner. He got some really good close ups.

OK I'll be right over. I wonder how many people did feathers. LOL!

mrsnesbitt said...

Love the first picture...was he winking at you???? LOL!

ABC was late today.....we had a MASSIVE powercut.....and the winds were absolutely awesome! Jo, our gander was really freaked out and was "honking" quite a lot!

ArneA said...

Like your Fs.
Falcon and feather was on my mind but I had no photos taken by myself so I had to use some other

Lana G! said...

Sid is gorgeous! Great idea for F!

FO - 2 said...

Fantastic collection of F`s! :)
The pictures of the Eagle Owl is very good! :)

Mrs Mac said...

Mrs Nebitt,

Oh, it was high winds that caused the power cut? I wondered if you'd been affected by that earthquake last night! That certainly would set the goose honking!

Mrs Mac said...

Arnea,
Never mind, if you had, we'd never have seen your photo of that lovely Fireplace!

Lana G
He is indeed- and very cheeky,

Ida, I do love the photo's we got of SId. I must get round to printing some off properly and framing them.

Kyanite said...

Hi Helena!

What a fun F!
I loved the range of feathers.
Furry friend is cute too.

Blue

Vi said...

Wow, I've never seen birds painted on feathers before. Very cool!

Gerald (SK14) said...

your feathers tickle my fancy!

Anne-Berit said...

Lots of great Fs from you today.Love your Fluffy cat:o)

Shrinky said...

I have never seen feather paintings before - they are absolutely beautiful, so inticate and detailed.

A sparrowhawk trapped itself in my garage a few weeks ago - up close, it's feathers form an incredible pattern. I was on my own that week, so I had no choice but to catch it with a towel. It was an amazing feeling to release it from my arms and watch it soar up to the sky. (Smile)

Juliana RW said...

wow...fantastic shot. I love the first and second pics

Will you visit mine :D Thanks

Miss_Yves said...

Wonderful ! Very artistic photos and activities !Fabulous !
I dont'paint on feathers, but I sometimes use them for some mailart, I stick them on envelopes
Miss Yves

Silly Goose said...

I can't imagine the patience it must take to paint on feathers. Love the photo of Sid. ;-)

Petunia said...

Wonderful photos! I love Sid! I really want to meet him!

hpy said...

Hello Sid.
And hello Cat.

mrsnesbitt said...

Can i borrow the first one?
Would love to use it on a card!

DeeMom said...

The feathers are awesome. The cat is adorable. Neat post

Liz Hinds said...

Amazing paintings on something so small. I like the Eagle Owl best though. He looks suitably unimpresed with his name!

dot said...

Your pictures are fantastic, especially the owl! Nice interesting F post.

Unknown said...

I loved the fotos of the owl's feathers... beautiful

Daryl said...

your feathered and furry friends are fabulous!

Lilli & Nevada said...

Great bunch of photos, they beautiful

Kerri Farley said...

Wow...Your post is the first I've seen on Feathers....but I have LOVED it! Those Feathers are FANTASTIC! And so is SID!!!

Dragonstar said...

Wonderful feathery (and fluffy!) post. Sid is incredible.
How do people have the patience to do such delicate work on feathers?

Anonymous said...

That's an amazing collection of F shots. I especially like the ones of Sid and Fluffy. And the artwork is amazing. Happy ABC Wednesday!

Katney said...

Your owl photos are amazing. I normally can't get birds and animals to stay still enought o get a picture. I assume the owl was not in the wild, so that might have helped. The faether paintings are incredible. I've never seen anything like that.

Outhouse Capital of Canada said...

Thanks for visiting my blog.
I was looking at your previous post about the civil war, interesting. I could have, for E, posted Edward Whalley, cousin to Oliver Cromwell, Whalley signed the death warrant of Charles I, my surname is Whalley.

Neva said...

A stunning display of feathers!

VP said...

Hi Helena - what a fantastic F and experience too by the look of it!

Eagle Owls are soooo spectacular aren't they?

Thanks for all your comments today over at my blog, especially the advice about squirrels. I'll certainly make sure we're opting for a humane 'disposal'. Quite right too about still needing to be careful about sourcing at farm shops.

Have a great Wednesday!

HildeS/Frøken Fryd said...

Wow, how fantastic and amazing:)

Mr. Mapper said...

fantastic feathers!

Barbara said...

Lovely post for 'F', Sid is gorgeous.

Diana S said...

yep, I managed to ponder on a feather too. but not from on OWL! very cool.

Kim said...

That is amazing art on those feathers. That bird is beautiful as well. Great pictures. Your cat looks a lot like my cat, very cute :)

kRiZcPEc said...

Hmm...interesting post. Thanks for commenting my entry. :)

A.Bananna said...

that is talent! wow! loved the F today!! Fluffy is so beautiful! :)

AVCr8teur said...

I guess great minds think alike although I like your feathers better. I don't think I ever got a close up look at an owl before. That decorative feather with an image is just absolutely lovely.

Mrs Mac said...

THANKS for all your comments! I'm still visiting all the ABC entries but I'll get round to them all in the end!

Mrs Mac said...

mrs nesbitt,

Yes of course- I'll email it to you!

gma said...

Fantastic F post!!!

Rune Eide said...

Interesting and entertaining!

I am a bit late in commenting, but better late than never!

Kyanite said...

Hi Helena!

I hope you don't mind but I've tagged you for a 'booky' meme! Play only if you feel so inclined, or pass it onto Bob or Dilly!

Best wishes
Blue

James Higham said...

Yippee! A new blog friend and a great blog. Just looked at some sketches and will come back later.

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

what are fascinating collection of feathers. That is an interesting interest! Thanks for sharing.