Winter Mood

 The weather has been pretty dreadful these past few days. 

So l have been at home snuggling with the dogs and trying to get some stuff done.

I took these photos in my garden between the rain falls. 

I haven't gotten much in to making anything yet, but l did manage to photograph this gorgeous vintage bag that we had sourced in the US during our last trip.

The details are amazing, l would keep it but l already have a crazy amount of bags 😃 Available in our bag shop.

And if you wonder how it is to take pictures of a mirror when you have dogs.

USA Trip: Green Cay Wetlands

We have been staying in Delray Beach these past 4 nights, for a house/pet sit through Trusted Housesitters. We always try to do a few sits to safe some money, as hotels for 5 weeks get very expensive. It is also a great way to meet people and sweet pets.

 

We have been mainly thrifting, weather has been warm but rainy not ideal for the beach.

But yesterday we went to Green Cay Wetlands. It was drizzling so not many people and apparently also not many animals but we saw plenty and it was very peaceful.

It is a boardwalk so you walk over water and forests without disrupting anything.

The sounds of the birds was also very peaceful and sometimes funny.

It was a pleasant two hour walk, we were lucky as it started to pour as soon as we got in the car.

It is open from sunrise to sunset and is free.

Two Iguanas were having some spousal issues it seemed :))

If you ever have the chance to visit, I highly recommend it, it was magical.

Newly Listed: Knitted Wing Cowl

Knitted Wing Cowl, Feathers Flame Cowl, Scarf Reds and Pinks Scales Wrap, Flower Leaves, Vegan Cowl by StarsWear
Hummingbird Photography, red and blue hummingbird on branch, summer, hummingbird wall art, home decor by LynnLangmade
Cardinals on Tree Branches Photo, Red Birds in Gray Cloudy Sky Photography, Birds in Tree Branches Nature by MicheleBlanche
Red Berries Bittersweet, Red Brown Blue, Simple Style Nature Photography, Earthy Woodlands, Fine Art Print by DebbraObertanecArt

Newly Listed: Bird Bag

Woodland Bird Bag - Golden Oriole, Vintage Embroidery, Blue Green Colors, Patchwork and Leather Bag by StarBags
Completely coincidental: the bag we've made has the exact kind of bird as my new friend (hope she's doing alright). The embroidery is vintage, funny how things fall in place sometimes.

Making Friends

3 days ago I found this little guy in our garden, while it tried to get away from me it clearly could not fly. I could barely grab it before one of our dogs got hold of it, our spaniels have never hunted in their lives but they do unfortunately have a hunter instinct.

Not sure what to do with it I brought it between our two front doors, safe from our dogs but also a door between it and the street cats!
I brought some water and seeds but when I cam back for it an hour later 2 cats were looking at it right in front of our gate, and our dogs were looking at it from the other door, the poor thing didn't know what to do.

Fearing that the cats would make a meal out of it as it was already dark and they were lurking at it. I brought it to our laundry shed. Put a towel in one of the laundry baskets along with water and seeds and it slept in there the first night. The next day I had to go very early to the new house so I couldn't take it anywhere but I checked on it and it was now standing on a handle.

The next day I read that a broken wing could take anywhere from 2-4 weeks to heal and as our situation was not ideal I rang our vet who informed me that the directorate of national parks takes in birds and other wildlife and brings it to vets, so I brought it there, this is their lovely office, right in the park.

I had made a box with a wooden stick and air holes for better transportation, I hope it will recover fully. I still have no idea what kind of bird it is, if anyone knows, I'd love to know as well :) Thanks to someone on Instagram I now know that it is a female (or immature male) Eurasian Golden Oriole.

Newly Listed: Knitted Wing Cowl

Knitted Wing Cowl, Feathers Cowl, Scarf Soft Peacock Iridescent Scales Wrap Cowl, Birds of a Feather by StarsWear
Large Blue Green Feather Print, Iridescent Bird Wall Art, Modern Office Decor, Nature Photography by EchidnaArtandCards
The Nicobar pigeon, the closest living relative to the Dodo bird by John Williams
Nicobar Pigeon by Vinayadass

New Orleans Aquarium

The other day it was raining so a perfect day for an indoor activity. We went to the aquarium and took the tram as it is right at the French district where parking is expensive and hard to get a spot and the tram also took us right to the door which was perfect as it was raining.

Noticed the Christmas decoration on its front? :)

The aquarium entry fee was 30$ which is kind of ridiculous, especially as a lot of locals will never be able to go with such a high fee, San Francisco even though an expensive city, its aquarium was 19$.
They also took photo's of us right away, which they were selling a little further for almost 40$, it was all very business orientated with a huge gift shop, even a snack bar and such, which takes the magic off a bit but it was still beautiful and I loved the statues built out of plastic found on the beach to educate about plastic pollution.

It was strange to see a bunch of lionfishes swimming super fast when I dive they always stay still and alert, you never see them swim. The spread out to basically all the seas which is a problem as they are not much eaten by other animals but they are pretty destructive and poisonous as well. In a lot of places, they are specifically killed to keep their numbers down and people do eat them as well.

There were quite an amount of aquariums.

But also an ' amazon' part.

There were frogs and turtles here.

And also some birds (not in cages).

This owl desperately tried to sleep but some kids were trying to get its attention, eventually, it just turned its head and the kids wandered off.

There were some penguins, it saddens me to see them in a not very large place, but the babies do grow up without becoming a meal, still, we people intervene too much with nature.

I loved the many sea horses.

The one below is not pregnant, but is the potbelly seahorse :)

 A big Eel, also something I see while diving but in nature they hide between rocks with their mouth open, waiting for food :D

Another impressive plastic sculpture.

A big white alligator (not an albino). Our first we saw, we haven't been to the swamps and during Winter Alligators are less seen as they go through a process called brumation (similar to hibernation); they slow their metabolism down and stay under in furrows and dens.

This fish kind kept swimming with its mouth wide open, in the background you can see how it looks with its mouth shut.

Beside the professional art, I like the kids' art as well :)

There was also a huge tank with some shark and equally large fish and a huge turtle in it.

They were all moving around fast so it was hard to take any decent photos.

We have had many more fun days here, I'm a little behind in blogging :)