Feed the birds, Feed your soul by Sandra Russell

The recent more than chilly temperatures make it very tempting to pull the wool socks out, put the kettle on and simply hibernate for the winter, alas; we are not bears. We are more like birds. Some of us 'fly south for the winter' and some of us have jobs to do, ideas to hatch, and bodies that just need to get moving whether we really want to or not? I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's not only our world that needs supporting, the Northern birds and other wildlife are out there and food supplies are scarce once the seeds have fallen and are covered in snow, foraging and shelter changes.

I have shown here as an illustration, a lovely quilt piece done by my cousin K. It is a sweet reminder of the challenges and the benefits available to us in winter. One of those benefits is an awareness of our variety of Ohio birds, we look more carefully at them and notice feathers and personalities we may not have noticed in the busy colorful landscape of summer. For me it invites the sort of focus one applies to Springtime blooms, noting every new color and contour of a lily or a crocus. This quilt features our State bird, the Cardinal, against a frosty background of greys and icy looks, but the bird is perched on a branch of golden flame-like stitches, and he himself is a cozy quilt of red, gazing at the fireplace. Winter affords us to contemplate these contrasts and to share our comforts to warm others.