HOOT HOOT

 I fondly remember a walk through the woods and discovering a great horned owlet with a broken wing. Although the owl was in my possession for only three hours, I will always remember "Hootie" and my desire to protect him and not leave him on the forest floor. 

You may have heard about the family that had an owl in their Christmas tree for over a week. The family had purchased the tree from a store about two days after Thanksgiving, and the family left their windows and doors open that night, hoping the bird would leave on its own -- but it didn't. The next day, they called the Chattahoochee Nature Center, and an employee there told them to leave the owl some raw chicken, concerned it may not have eaten in a few days.The owl was safely removed from the home the next day, was skinny and hadn't eaten in over a week. 

Hootie was taken from my arms by a wildlife rehabilitator in our area, and was later was transported to Cornell in Ithaca where his wing was repaired. After rehabilitation, I was told that Hootie made his permanent home at a zoo. As an injured owlet, he never learned survival skills to make it in the wild. Male and female owlets look alike, so for no particular reason, I decided to refer to Hootie as a "he". In the picture below, these fluffy owls look just like Hootie did when I found him.

from the internet

After the "rescue" of Hootie, co-workers gifted me with a book that I have enjoyed reading again and again. In the book, "Bubo" was a baby great horned owl that was found buried in the snow in the Vermont woods by a scientist, and he was able to get permission to keep the owl and study its development. If you can find the book, I know you will enjoy it. An Owl in the House - A Naturalist's Diary 

This is a table I set a while back using owl print fabric to make napkins and a small table runner for the table.  

The glass owl vase was filled with greens and branches, and then I added some red roses for our dinner. Whoooot loves ya Mr. Mountain Breaths! Happy Birthday to You!! 

Thank you for stopping by! We are heading to Lake Placid for a few magical days to celebrate Joe's birthday. The Mirror Lake Inn and Lake Placid are truly our "Disneyland". 

WHOOOOT LOVES YOU.....I DO!

I know there are a lot of owl lovers out there. 
HOOT! HOOT!
 I fondly remember a walk through the woods and discovering a great horned owlet with a broken wing. Although the owl was only in my possession for about four hours, I will always remember "Hootie" and my desire to protect him and not leave him on the forest floor to die. 

Hootie was taken from my arms by a wildlife rehabilitator in our area, and was later was transported to Cornell  in Ithaca, New York where his wing was repaired. After rehabilitation, Hootie made his permanent home at a zoo. As an injured owlet, he never learned survival skills to make it in the wild. Male and female owlets look alike, so for no particular reason, I decided to refer to Hootie as a "he". In the picture below, these fluffy owls look just like Hootie did when I found him.

from the internet

After the "rescue" of Hootie, co-workers gifted me with a book that I have enjoyed reading again and again. In the book, "Bubo" was a baby great horned owl that was found buried in the snow in the Vermont woods by a scientist, and he was able to get permission to keep the owl and study its development. If you can find the book, I know you will enjoy it. An Owl in the House - A Naturalist's Diary 

I used owl print fabric to make napkins and a small table runner for the table.  

 The owl plates were also used in a Halloween tablescape. 

Since owls live in the woods, the glass owl vase was filled with greens and branches, and then I added some red roses for our romantic dinner. Whoooot loves ya Mr. Mountain Breaths! Happy Birthday to You!!

The owl napkin rings/place card holders and the owl vase were found at Hobby Lobby last year. 

As I was setting the table for Joe's birthday dinner, I snapped one last photo and it was during Blue Hour.

Thank you for stopping by! 

Debbie

SWEET OWLS AND CAKE POPS

The owl plates at Homegoods flew to my table this week, and along with them, came some cute spiders from Hobby Lobby, scary spiders, dirty ole rats, spider venom and vampire blood.  EEK!

I love the eyes on the owl plates. Not scary at all.

Would you care for some spider venom or vampire blood? How about a cup of coffee with a dirty ole rats tail? Eek!

I used rubbery spider webs, rats and spiders from the Dollar Store to embellish the table. I attached spider webs to the canning jar candleholders that I used in my yard all summer. To attach the spider web, I used invisible thread that I bought at Joann Fabrics. Added two orange votive candles, and enjoyed a candlelight dinner.  Well at least I tried to...there were too many rats and spiders for my liking.

Look at that dirty rat hanging on for dear life. He needs to be shooed away before dinner can begin. Eek!

No rats allowed at the Black Widows' Ball!  On the invitation, I asked the ladies to wear their little black dress (no witches allowed) with spidery accessories. After the party next weekend, I'll show you the spider skirt that I made for the party ;o)

I found a recipe for these adorable Cake Pops in Everyday Food, Oct. 2011, and bought the festive sprinkles in small quantity in the bulk section at Wegman's. Some of the pops were decorated with mini M&M's and candy corn. Very easy to make, I assure you.

Store bought pound cake, melted chocolate, sprinkles and lollipop sticks is all you need to make these CAKE POPS. I had to transport the pops 90 miles, so I can tell you they travel well!

Instructions for CAKE POPS:

1)  Cut pound cake into 1-inch slices and cut into rounds with a 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter.

2)  Microwave semisweet chocolate chips until melted. (I used chocolate bark since I had it on hand, and it worked very well)

3)  Place one round at a time on the tines of a fork and submerge in chocolate. Transfer to a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet and let excess drip off, 5 minutes.

4) While chocolate is still wet, transfer rounds to a parchment-lined baking sheet with an offset spatula. Carefully insert lollipop sticks. Decorate with sprinkles or small candies. Refrigerate until set, 10 minutes. (I recommend keeping them in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve them so the lollipop stick stays secure)

I will be joining the creative blogger Susan for Tablescape Thursday and fantasic author Michael Lee West for Foodie Friday.

Thank you for stopping by! If you leave a comment, I'll know you were here and will be sure to visit you!

Debbie