Bristol Home Resident Presents “Earth’s Harvest”
In early March, Bristol Home resident Susan Trott will
unveil her amazing work of needlepoint titled “Earth’s
Harvest.” This life-like display of vegetables is a sentimental
work of art in a five-foot by five-foot octagonal custom
framed canvas. She recalls how she found the canvas and
it spoke to her. It was painted in France, with hundreds
of colors. Susan reflected on the joys of picking the
yarn colors to complete the masterpiece. Her goal was
to make the vegetables appear real,with a shine; “I looked
for a family of colors to emphasize the curves and colors
of the vegetables. It is like a painter choosing colors
from a palate. It is true art.
“Earth’s Harvest” was completed using about seven pounds
of Persian yarn. To emphasize the magnitude of this work,
a pillow for example would take only four to five ounces.
Susan, a former co-owner of Elmwood Needlework, a knitting
and needlepoint shop in the 1980’s, says her interest
in the shop allowed her access to all of the colors needed
for this project. “Color is used to give dimension and
provide realism to the work,” says Trott, who worked for
three years on this project. Now legally blind and still
an avid crafter, Susan describes needlepoint as a form
of relaxation. She is currently working on a Fairy Tale
growth chart for her granddaughter. A resident since just
November, Susan has many talents that make a great addition
to our Bristol Home family. She often displays her pianist
expertise by leading sing-alongs for other residents in
the facility. If you are interested in viewing “Earth’s
Harvest,” which will now grace the dining room wall of
the Bristol Home, call (716) 884-4371 for more information
Sharing the Love
Eugenia Green, a resident of The Bristol Home, is responsible
for extending a project called Hearts on Wheels to Bristol
Home. Upon reading about the project in the Buffalo News,
Green approached Megan, the Activities Coordinator to
plan the project. The article in the newspaper was put
out by Meals on Wheels asking for area groups to craft
homemade valentines that will be sent out on February
14th to area seniors who receive Meals on Wheels. As a
result of Eugenia’s effort, the arts and crafts class
gathered together to create valentines for other area
seniors to enjoy. The class handmade over fifty cards
in all. Thanks Eugenia for your efforts to extend joy
to those who need it most!
Feathered Friends
At the entrance
of both Bristol Home and Bristol Village an aviary full
of beautiful finches will greet you softly singing a welcome
tune.
Finches live across the globe. Each species has its own
behavior and color; however, in the wild all finches are
flock birds, making them allowing them you be comfortable
in the aviary.
Finches show their personality in unique ways. The interaction
between a bonded pair, or other finches in the aviary,
provides hours of enjoyment. These little birds enjoy
jumping from perch to perch, stopping only to sing or
preen themselves. Natural activities, such as bathing,
provide amusement for both finch and our residents and
staff. Just watching a finch as he shakes his tail and
rolls around in the water is enough to put a smile on
anyone's face.
Almost all species of finches will breed well in an aviary
situation, if you can tell the sexes apart. With most
finch species, the only way to tell a male from a female
is to watch them. The male will sing more than the female,
and will also perform little dances for the females.
The three most common species of finches are the zebras,
societies, and spice. Both Bristol Home and Bristol Village
have several societies. The society finch is the only
finch that has a truly domestic origin. It is believed
that several species of finches were bred together to
produce society finches. Nearly every society finch looks
different, each feathered in different variations of brown
and white. Several color mutations have formed in breeding
such as the white and the fawn colored society finches.
These birds are very low-key and are often used to foster
some of the rarer species eggs.
Feel free to come visit our residents and their pets.
If you are a novice looking to start an aviary or grow
the one you have, call Bristol Home at 716-884-4371 for
more information on how you can purchase some of our little
treasures. Proceeds help to defray the cost of maintaining
the birds.
