Birds in the Winter

 As our  winter  temperatures take its normal roller coaster ride from the 60's to the teens within several days, I watch out little bird friends and wonder how they tolerate the frigid part of the ride.  Their tiny little bodies seem as if they would freeze solid in those sub freezing temperatures.  I replaced my Christmas flags with some winter bird garden flags and then did some research. I found that nature has given them lots of tools to help them keep warm.

Their feathers are perfectly made to help keep them warm and work even better when they do their fluffing, which creates air pockets among their feathers to create even better insulation.  Who doesn't love to see them all puffed up, they look so adorable.  They also use dense bushes where we've all seen many birds in one bush filling each available cavity and all fluffed up, it makes such a
wonderful vision.  Also I read, special scales on their legs and feet help slow heat loss and that if food was readily available for them in the fall, they have a nice little layer of fat that also helps to keep them warm.  These and other gifts from nature help them through the winter, but there are things we can do also.

Offer a good quality winter bird food and keep the feeders full.  Make sure they have access to plenty of water.  During continuous below freezing temperatures, they may have trouble finding water sources that are not frozen.  There are even warmers you can put in bird baths to make your job easier.  Give the birds shelter in both the form of bird boxes and in your landscaping. 
Bushes and shrubs offer refuge as do brush piles.  We keep an ongoing brush pile in the back corner of our property.  We have constant debris in our yards from all our trees.  Instead of worrying about having it hauled away we just keep an ongoing brush pile.  There is always a lot of chattering coming from the pile, especially in the winter.  We know it is well used.

Welcome Winter Birdhouse Garden Flag




Here is another of our decorative winter flags that features a carinal perched on a snowy evergreen branch.

Thank you for reading.
Marilee & Josie
Custom Flags and Gifts

Let it Snow Decorative Yard Flags

The holidays are over and it is time to take down the holiday yard flags.  We are now facing those

remaining weeks of winter.  In my mind, those weeks are dreaded.  I am not a fan of cold weather.  I tend to avoid going outside and look forward to warmer days.  On the other hand , I do try to be a cheerful person so make an effort to pull myself out of my funk.  I get involved in projects and am famous for having several going at once.  Usually at least one craft project, I pull out an afghan I have been knitting for years, paint and redecorate a room in our house and last but not least decide on what decorative yard flags I want to put out for the winter.

 

The winter landscape does tend to be a bit dreary, I always hope for those rare southern Virginia snowstorms to brighten things up.  Since snow is so rare here I favor a winter flag that features snow in some way.  There are so many to choose from.  Decorative flags that say "Let it Snow" are very popular.  I also love a good snowman garden flag.  Some of these can also become a personalized flag.

 

 

 

So as I say Happy New Year to you, I would also like to wish you a happy a cheerful winter.

 

Thank you for reading.
Josie and Marilee
Custom Flags and Gifts

The Miracle of Snowflakes

As I was trying to come up with some new winter garden flags and had decided I wanted to design a snowflake monogram flag I started scanning the web for inspiration.  I came across a website about a most incredible man whom I am surprised is not more widely known.  His name is Wilson A Bentley otherwise known as "Snowflake Bentley"  This wonderful quote by him from his website http://snowflakebentley.com/index.htm got my attention. 

"Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty; and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others. Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated., When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind."
Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley 1925




He captured over 5000 snowflakes and photographed them.  It was he who came to the conclusion that no two snowflakes are alike.  Do check out the website for lots of wonderful information and gifts pertaining to snowflakes.

 

I can remember as a child catching snow on my mittens and trying to study an individual flake.  They are truly very magical.  This decorative yard flag is in honor of all those little miracles. 

Winter Solstice 2013

Even though I've already had enough cold weather, winter hasn't even officially started.  This year the winter solstice is Saturday December 21st at 12:11 PM (EST).  Although, obviously, I am not a fan of winter, I do look forward to the winter solstice as I know its uphill from there.  As that is the shortest day of the year, I know from then on the days will be getting longer.

As the holidays come and go and the decorative holiday flags come down it will be time to put up our winter garden flags .  This category of decorative flags is very versatile and many can be displayed from Thanksgiving right through Valentine's Day .  We even have one of our very nice mini flags actually called Winter Solstice.

As ironically as it is, even though we have already had frigid temperatures this year, the weather people are predicting temperatures in the 70's for us this Saturday on the winter solstice.  So put on your shorts or coats, depending on the weather where you are and shop our decorative winter flags at Custom Flags and Gifts.  Also stock up on Christmas flags for next year as they are all still 10% through December.

Happy Solstice and Happy Shopping.

 

 



Visit our store to buy our decorative yard flags to enhance your outdoor decor.


Winter Solstice Garden FlagWinter Solstice Garden Flaghttp://www.flagsandgifts.com/winter-solstice-appliqued-garden-flag

Personalize your Holiday Flag

The holiday season is fully upon us.  Most people already have their houses decorated with lights, their trees are up and adorned and their Christmas garden flags are in their yard. Seasonal flags are both fun and beautiful and come in many different themes.  A personalized holiday flag is definitely one way to make sure yours is truly unique and special.  Many decorative flags can have names added. You can make it formal with a family last name or in some cases more casual with first names. The choice is yours. Adding names to your decorative holiday flag is a great way for you to offer Season's Greetings to all who pass by with a very personal touch. These can also make great gifts. 

Thank you for reading,
Josie and Marilee
Custom Flags and GiftsPeace Love Joy Snowman Garden Flag

Christmas Flags

Christmas is such a wonderful time of year.  I love all the decorations.  There are so many different themes and types from Nativity Scenes to Snowmen. Christmas Flags too, are just as versatile.  Holiday flags come in such a variety of designs from whimsical to those with a more traditional religious message.  These seasonal flags are great for adding to your outdoor holiday decor.  They can even be used as beautiful indoor wall art.

Through December you can save 10% on all our seasonal flags.  Thats savings on all our holiday yard flags including Christmas garden flags and house flags plus decorative winter flags. Visit us at www.FlagsandGifts.com to start shopping and save.  View your cart before checkout and apply the code "holiday" to see your savings.

We have a great collection of seasonal flags.  Here are a few:

 Happy Holiday Season
Josie and Marilee
Custom Flags and Gifts

Thanksgiving - A Time for Friends and Family

Custom Flags and Gifts would like to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. To me as far back as I can remember, Thanksgiving has always been a relatively laid back day spent with friends and family and centered around preparing and consuming large quantities of good food. It was one of those few precious days in the year that you could pretty much be assured, unless you were a nurse or policeman, that you and all your family members would have the day off from work to spend the entire day participation in this American tradition. Anymore that is not necessarily the case.

The day after Thanksgiving has long been called among avid shoppers Black Friday and is known as the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season. The term “Black Friday” was coined in the 1960s to mark the kickoff to the Christmas shopping season. “Black” refers to retail businesses moving from the “red” to the “black,” back when records were kept by hand, and red ink indicated a loss, and black a profit. More and more each year Black Friday has been slowly creeping into the precious holiday hours of Thanksgiving Thursday. Lots of retail stores have started greedily opening their doors on Thanksgiving Day trying to snatch up those holiday dollars forcing employees away from their families and the precious little time they have to spend with them. It also entices prospective shoppers, in hopes of catching the holy grail of savings, out of the house and cutting short their time of relaxation and family bonding. The more we participate in this practice the more retail stores will continue to open on this holiday and stealing from their employees the treasured traditions of this holiday.

There are so many days available for shopping and so few holidays and limited time to spend with those that matter most to us. I hope you all will enjoy your friends and families this Thanksgiving
and save the shopping for another day.

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Marilee & Josie
Custom Flags and Gifts
Online source for unique decorative yard flags and photo gifts.