What do you think of my crafty idea? Should I enter it in the county fair?

What am I?

It’s part mutant octopus, part over the top wreath. It might even show up on a Pinterest board entitled “Crafts Gone Terribly Wrong.”

So, can you guess what it is?

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Give up?

It’s part of my squirrel nesting experiment.  After destroying the slipcover in July, the squirrels returned to hand-pick the stuffing from the lining of the swing. I disguised the damage with a cotton shower curtain which only slowed them down. Now they carefully fold back the edge of the cover and continue to pluck the stuffing.

My sorry-looking garden swing

My experiment

I smoothed the curtain/cover over the exposed stuffing and placed two things on top:

The soft, exposed lining of the sunflower…

Exhibit A: Sunflower Fluff

The idea came to me this morning when I found a shredded sunflower head in the middle of the lawn. I couldn’t believe how soft it was. Maybe they’ll use the pulp for nesting.

…and my octopus wreath.

Exhibit B: Octopus wreath

My ‘wreath’ will not be entering any craft fairs, but with luck it will serve its purpose: Lining the squirrel’s nest.

Stay tuned.

Sunflowers in Art

Yesterday, Val at Nikitaland said “I love that flower painting on the glass as it makes a nice statement in the backyard, not to mention, I love how it adds instant color! I bet it looks beautiful when the sun hits it!” Thanks Val!

I tried capturing the light this morning with mixed success, but you can see why I hung the painting over the back of a trellis instead of the fence or wall. The sun pours through the glass window around ten in the morning. If I’m lucky enough to be home, I get to enjoy it.

Whitney Pintello: Reverse painted sunflower on salvaged window