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A junco and a nuthatch in the snow · 80/20 ring-spun cotton fleece · seven garment-dyed colors · Comfort Colors 1566 · printed graphic, nothing stitched on
Garment-Dyed Crewneck · Seven Colors · Designed in Colorado
A dark-eyed junco and a red-breasted nuthatch on snow-laden pine, painted in watercolor with no text — the two birds that tell you winter has properly arrived.
Shown in Orchid. Garment-dyed fleece, 9.5 oz, soft from the first wear.
Two winter regulars on one snow-laden pine bough. Low on the branch, a dark-eyed junco — slate grey above, clean white below, the small pink bill — sits settled and round against the cold. Above it, a red-breasted nuthatch does what nuthatches do: works its way head-first down the branch, blue-grey back, rust-orange belly, the bold black cap and eye stripe with the white brow between them. A pinecone hangs beside them, the needles carry snow, and a few flakes are still coming down. The painting is watercolor the way a field guide is watercolor — each bird in its true markings — and there is no background panel, no frame and no words. The shirt color is the winter sky.
The Design
Large front-centered chest print — not a back print
Subject: a dark-eyed junco and a red-breasted nuthatch on snowy pine boughs with a pinecone and falling snow
Style: watercolor bird illustration, each bird in its true colors and markings
No text. There is no lettering, slogan, place name or wordmark anywhere in this design
Technique: a printed graphic — the ink sits in the fleece with no background panel, and nothing is stitched or sewn on
Shown in White. The field-guide page: slate, rust and pine green at their clearest.
Juncos are the original snowbirds. They spend the summer in the northern forests and the mountains and come down to backyards with the first cold weather, so reliably that for generations people have called the day the juncos arrive the first day of winter. They feed on the ground beneath the feeder, flashing white outer tail feathers when they scatter. The red-breasted nuthatch works the other half of the picture — the trunk and the branches — walking head-first down the bark the way no other small bird does, and calling in a flat little tin-horn note that carries through the pines. Some winters they are scarce; in a year when the northern cone crop fails they pour south by the thousands and turn up at feeders that have never seen one. A junco below and a nuthatch above is not a painting's invention. It is what the pine outside the window looks like in January.
The Story Behind It
✦ ✦ ✦
She never trusted the calendar for it. Winter did not start on a date; it started the morning the juncos were under the feeder, a dozen small grey birds hopping in the frost as if they had been there all along. She would see them from the kitchen and say it out loud to no one — they're back — and go and find the heavier coat.
The nuthatch was rarer. Some years it never came at all. But the winter it did, it was there every afternoon on the big pine, upside down on the bark, taking one sunflower seed at a time and wedging it into the crevices for later, scolding her with that small flat note whenever she opened the door. She started leaving the door closed and watching through the glass. A junco below, a nuthatch above, snow on the needles between them. She did not need the calendar after that either.
✦ ✦ ✦
Wear it for the morning they come back.
Shown in Butter. Low winter sun on the snow.
A gift for the one who marks the seasons by what is under the feeder, for a mother or grandmother who knows the juncos by name, for anyone with a big pine outside the window, or for the person who already has the Winter Cardinals and wants the quieter birds too. No holly, no Santa, nothing written on it — it is right from the first snow to the last.
Details
Large front print, centered on the chest — not a back print
Relaxed unisex fit with a dropped shoulder, roomy through the body and sleeves
Crew neck, long sleeves, ribbed collar, cuffs and waistband
Set-in sleeves, twill-taped neck, double-needle stitching throughout
Seven colors — White, Butter, Chambray, Orchid, Grey, Watermelon and Terracotta — sizes S to 3XL
Ready-made design — choose a color and size, nothing to upload or customize
Made to order in the USA, printed and shipped in 2–5 business days · free US shipping, no minimum
Fabric
Printed on a Comfort Colors 1566 garment-dyed crewneck sweatshirt blank
80% ring-spun cotton / 20% polyester fleece, 9.5 oz — midweight, with a brushed inside and a soft, slightly textured face
Soft-washed after dyeing, so it arrives already broken in
Dyed after the garment is sewn, using salt-free pigment dyes; OEKO-TEX certified
Holds its shape through the wash, with almost no shrinkage at home
The graphic will not crack or peel. It is printed flat into the face of the fleece — no heavy vinyl patch, no rubbery texture, nothing to pull loose
Choosing a Color
The design is slate grey, rust orange, pine green and snow white, so it sits well on the pale winter colors and holds its own on the warm ones.
White. The field-guide page. The snow disappears into the shirt and the birds do all the work.
Butter. Soft pale yellow — low winter sun on the snow, the warmest of the light colors.
Chambray. Soft pale blue. The sky on a clear cold morning; the classic choice for a winter bird.
Orchid. Soft lilac, the one on the hero photo. Rust and slate on lilac is the unexpected pairing.
Grey. Mid grey that matches the junco's back — the quiet, tonal one.
Watermelon. Warm coral-red. The snow and the nuthatch's rust glow against it.
Terracotta. Earthy burnt orange, currently in 2XL and 3XL — the pinecone color, carried across the whole shirt.
Garment-dyed colors look softer and more muted in person than on a screen, and each piece varies slightly. That lived-in tone is part of the charm.
Sizing
Fit at a glance: relaxed fit, dropped shoulder · length hits at the hip · long sleeve · 9.5 oz midweight fleece · runs true to size, roomy
A relaxed unisex cut that most people wear true to size. True to size with a relaxed unisex fit. For a closer fit, size down one; for an oversized look, size up one.
Adult sizes only, S to 3XL. Between sizes? We will make it right, free.
Care
Machine wash cold, inside out. Tumble dry low. Avoid bleach, high heat, and ironing directly over the artwork.
Pairs Well With
The rest of the feeder birds, and the Christmas pages.
Winter CardinalsThree Winter ChickadeesAll Bird DesignsThe Holiday EditThe snowbirds are back. Winter can start.
The Known Pack Promise
Beautiful things from the natural world, on a sweatshirt you'll reach for all season long.
Butterflies, birds, wildflowers, and the quiet stories behind them. Detailed designs in the spirit of vintage botanical plates, each with a true fact from nature on its page.
Printed on garment-dyed Comfort Colors fleece, 80% ring-spun cotton, broken in from the first wear and softer with every wash. Relaxed, roomy, and made to be your cold-morning favorite.
Why we choose it →Money is set aside from every order to help protect the trails and wild places our designs are drawn from, so the meadows keep blooming for the next generation.
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