color of the year

 behr's color of the year for 2023 is called blank canvas

i only know this because someone i know posted a scathing opinion about it on fb. i'm not typically inclined to pay any attention to such posts, but for some reason, i did. and then i sat and thought about my own reaction to the color.

i commented (in part):

"It's Zen garden sand before applying the rake. It's my journaling paper before I apply the ink. It's the color of Pausing before an action. It soothes a (potentially mistaken) sense of urgency. It is actively attending/waiting yet undemanding and not at all pushy."

my interpretation was scoffed at, and that bothered me. but it was on someone else's post, not my own, and continuing the comment thread seemed unlikely to change anyone's opinion, so i made it my personal header photo with this additional explanation:

"my word of intention for this year is "reflect" and what better color to reflect light than white?"

i was feeling somewhat defensive at the time. since time has passed, i find the whole thing mildly amusing.

sheep

to be honest, i would love to have a couple of sheep pastured in my yard. heck, i wish i could have backyard chickens, or maybe a goat. alas, our choice to live in suburbia, with a restrictive hoa, means i cannot.

but i can have cory's sheep come to me as landscapers. so i do. again and again. even in november when there's a light rain.

farm

every once in a while, ander asks me to take him to the farm. he loves to see the boars and sows and piglets. snuffling snouts and wagging tails, cloven hoofs and floppy ears. the grunts and the squeals. the wiggles of active nursing and finding a place in the napping pile.

last month, when i took these photos, i got to watch a farrier. i had seen videos of what farriers do, but it was much richer in sensation to observe in person. the smell of the barn, the sounds and movements of the horse and the person holding it while the farrier was busy at work. great care is taken in this job, and i appreciate viewing that care between and among humans and horses.

puzzling

 i've done more puzzles since i began doing them late last year. i eventually had to move inside, as it became too cold (even for me) in the sunroom.

jigsaw puzzles are curious things, and assembling them tells me something about myself. i like to search for edge pieces and put together the border first. i generally prefer square-shaped pieces with innies and outies. i like pieces that have smooth, clean edges, and that are sturdier than cardstock or sheet cardboard so that the outies don't bend or tear off as they rub against other pieces. i like slightly shiny/glossy surfaces where the image is displayed, and it makes me smile when the backsides are colored in deep hues or blue or green or purple. i like larger-sized pieces that are easier to handle. i dislike puzzle dust.

as the puzzles increased in number of pieces, so did the dimensions, to the point that i had to shift puzzle assembly to different surfaces that could accommodate the border length and width. and that changed how i sorted through pieces. i remember dumping entire boxes onto a table, flipping over each and every piece to have top-side-up, and then starting with edge pieces. for the most recent puzzles, though, it's been unexpectedly pleasurable to rifle my fingers through the pieces while they are still in the box. it's an entirely different experience to have pieces catch my eye, which prompts me to pick them up and see if i can place them.

and, i am using the puzzle box photo on the lid less and less often, preferring to see how the images develop as more pieces are put in place.

i'm looking forward to starting another puzzle soon, though i am taking a break to work on some projects, like posting here on my blog. fortunately, i think there will be another local puzzle swap/sale soon so i can get more goodies very inexpensively.

ander kindly put in the last dozen or so dog pieces to save me from my frustration

sandra boynton's animals are always good for a laugh

this one had images from the cornell bird lab, which i love

this was a gift from steve and ander on their trip to hamtown

bird buddy

 steve backed this bird buddy kickstarter for me a couple of years ago, and the unit arrived late last year.

tufted titmouse

eastern bluebird

cardinal (female)

cardinal (male)

blue jay

wren

european/common starling

house finch (male)

white-breasted nuthatch

chickadee

the feeder cam doesn't get photos of some frequent visitors who tend to be ground feeders, or larger birds that don't fit into the feeder well or aren't comfortable.

just a day or so ago, i noted all of the birds i saw coming to my yard, which is a designated audubon at home wildlife sanctuary:

• dark-eyed juncos
• carolina wrens
• eastern bluebirds
• blue jays
• cardinals
• mourning doves
• house finches
• tufted titmice
• white-breasted nuthatches
• downy woodpecker
• red-bellied woodpecker
• northern flicker
• european/common starlings
• chickadees
• american robin
• house sparrows

other birds that have come by rarely, or i've only seen once

• mockingbird (just the other day!)
• red-winged blackbirds
• pileated woodpecker
• fish crows
• hawks (probably red-shouldered)
• golden eagle
• vultures (black and turkey)

reflect

 word of intention for 2023

reflect

transitive verb:

• to prevent passage of and cause to change direction
• to give back or exhibit as an image, likeness, or outline (mirror)
• to bring or cast as a result
• to make manifest or apparent (show)
• realize, consider

intransitive verb:

• to throw back light or sound
• to think quietly and calmly
• to have a bearing or influence

reflect suggests unhurried consideration of something recalled to the mind

“reflect,” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reflect. Accessed 1/3/2023.