Simple Woman's Daybook for September 7

These writing prompts are available from Simple Woman's Daybook where each Tuesday we're invited to join in celebrating the beauty of everyday moments around us.

FOR TODAY September 7, 2010 ...

Outside my window...



The hummingbirds are busy at the feeder. In another week they'll be starting their long trip back South.

I am thankful for...



A package from Brother Dave's SO Karen. It contained kind, encouraging words, a beautiful silk Lantern Moon knitting needle storage roll, and a skein of wonderful soft soothing alpaca. Most of all, it contained love.

From the kitchen...
It's time for some grocery shopping, but we have plenty of the most important thing - dog food.

I am wearing...
Jeans and a Monette Trumpet tee.

I am creating...



It didn't take long for my new alpaca to tell me it wanted to be a soft, caressing scarf.

I am going...
To get more alpaca to knit. I love the way it feels in my hands.

I am reading...
Just finished listening to the new Stone Barrington book, Lucid Intervals by Stuart Woods. Funny and entertaining. My only complaint about these books - they're over too soon.

I am hoping...
For a minimum amount of snow this coming winter.

I am hearing...
Dire predictions about the coming winter.

Around the house...



According to an Old Wives's Tale, if you see acorns falling by Labor Day (that's yesterday in the US - the day this picture was taken) it's an early sign of a long and cold winter ahead.

We have acorns everywhere and they're still falling. This does not bode well for my hopes of a minimum amount of snow this coming winter.

One of my favorite things...




A few plans for the rest of the week:
Aqua Arthritis class, lunch with a friend, getting my exhaust system replaced, getting my washing machine repaired, grocery shopping, lab work for DH Bob, mowing, weeding, housework, buying more alpaca.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...


Waiting for a ride?

Chat Back for September 4

Answering questions from comments and email.

Judy S. asked . . .

I wonder where the third bird went? Do the parents tend to such things?

And Lynn asked . . .

So what happens to the birds that don't make it? Do the parents get them out of the nest?

And Jean asked . . .

Did the parent birds remove the little ones who did not survive?

Yes, the parents take the dead chicks far away from the nest and leave them.

---

Judy S. asked . . .

How long before they fledge?

The chicks are in the nest 17-18 days before fledging.

When they fledge they're strong enough to move themselves with their wings, but not able to flutter more than a few feet at a time. The parents help them out of the nest and herd them into woods. There they finish maturing and learn to find their own food.

---

Snowbird commented on this post . . .

I love butterflies and I hope you can post some pictures of the Monarchs.

This is the only clear Monarch picture I've been able to get so far. Butterflies are even worse than birds about staying in one place long enough for me to get a good focus.

---

Judy S. commented on this post . . .

Your pool sounds wonderful; ours is often freezing for water aerobics, and it's hard to go.

My Aqua Arthritis pool is in a large sports medicine and orthopedic surgery rehab building. It's so warm I doubt it would be good for aerobics, lap swimming, or any activity that raises the body temperature.

I used to swim laps at Western Michigan University's pool and it was much colder. Getting in was a shock, but the cooler water was just right once the lap swimming was underway.

Monday Miscellany for August 30

While not blogging I've been doing some thinking about this blog. Sparing you all my introspection and angst, I'll jump right to my conclusion:

Even though I'm not knitting right now, I want to keep the blog active. I plan to update at least once a week with pictures and events I want to preserve.

So, jumping right in with a list of totally unrelated catch-up items . . .



When we bought this house nineteen years ago, there were butterflies everywhere. Swallowtails, monarchs, and many others. There were so many it was almost impossible to drive down the road without hitting one.

The past decade the butterflies have been very scarce and I miss them.

For several years now I've been watching a large patch of milkweed at the edge of the pond. Milkweed is the only plant monarchs will use to reproduce.

This year a few monarchs found the patch, laid their eggs, and the caterpillars are happily gobbling down the milkweed leaves. I'm so pleased.

---

It's goldenrod season. The plants are about five feet tall and have overgrown everything else in the back three acres.

Beautiful, but it always makes me a little sad because it means summer is almost over.

---

In the hot weather Glory likes to go in the creek multiple times a day. In previous years she has ended up with a smelly skin infection from sitting around wet all day.

This year the groomer suggested we "cut her down", and we did. ("We" means the groomer did the cutting and DH and I paid the bill.)

Glory is cooler and smells better. We wish we'd started this years ago.

---

Granddaughter Sydney also got a hair cut recently. She has an awesome head of natural curls.

Anybody remember Sydney as a baby? She's five years old now, has lost three baby teeth, and is four feet tall.

Sydney, along with her Mom and Dad, is coming to visit in October. I haven't seen her in over a year and am very excited about this.

---

I've been going to Aqua Arthritis twice a week. An hour of stretching and gentle movement in a ninety degree pool. Although I don't have severe arthritis, I do have flexibility challenges. And the hour in the heated pool is better than a tranquilizer for worry and frayed nerves.

Heaven for Dogs?

A few weeks ago our local paper ran an feature article asking if our pets go to heaven. For those of us who love our dogs, this is an important question and I clipped out a few of my favorite answers to share.

Billy Graham said . . .

God will prepare everything for our perfect happiness in heaven, and if it takes my dog being there, I believe he'll be there.

Do animals have spirits that live on after death like humans do? I think so, yes. Jesus came to redeem the entire world - and that, in my mind, means everybody and everything. So why not the four-legged creations sent as our companions?

Martin Luther said . . .

Be thou comforted little dog. Thou too in resurrection shall have a little golden tail.

John Wesley, the 18th century Anglican cleric who was co-founder of Methodism, believed . . .

in the general resurrection and that animals would be resurrected and would be sentient beings and that they would be able to reason and relate.

I'm glad I'm Wesleyan, not Lutheran. There's going to be lots of tail wagging to great me in heaven and I prefer fur tails to golden tails.

Baby Bluebirds Day 12

They are old enough to act like wild birds now. They can't fly yet, but when faced with a human invader, they hurry to the corner of the nest box and try to hide.

When I worked a corporate bluebird trail, this is the age the Kalamazoo Nature Center would band the chicks.

The two survivors of the excessive heat and mosquitoes are both female. Read what you want to into that.

I wish these little ones a happy bluebird life with many bright sunny days of freedom outside the box.

Baby Bluebirds Days 6, 8, and 10

This has been a week of extreme heat and humidity. There's been occasional light rain which steams up off the ground to create more humidity while not lowering the temperature at all.

It's way too hot and not the right time of year for nesting bluebirds. But they did it anyway.

6 Days Old . . .



Three of the four chicks are still alive.

The chick with the open beak is not as developed as the other two. I'm guessing it's not going to be strong enough to make it through the heat. Maybe none of them are.

---

8 Days Old . . .



The hatchlings are old enough to be freaked out when a human opens their nest box.

Two are growing pin feathers and looking strong. The weak one (front right) is looking doubtful for survival.

A few days ago when I opened the box the adult male was on the nest with his wings spread over the chicks. To keep them cool? To keep the mosquitoes off? The mosquitoes are so thick this summer I can hardly stand to be outside and the naked little birds are an easy blood feast.

I always knock on the box before opening it to give the adults a chance to fly out if they’re inside. Dad bluebird wasn’t moving off that nest. I shut the box and left as quick as I could get the flap down.

---

10 Days Old . . .



And then there were two.

These two have been through the worse in weather and mosquitoes. Their feathers are quickly growing in and they will likely live to fledge.




Here's a close up of the emerging wing feathers.

In just three more days these little ones will have enough wing to practice being airborn by jumping up and down in the nest box. After day 12, I won't open the box again to keep them from jumping out prematurely. Their first flight into reality should only be initiated and monitored by their parents.

I'm guessing they'll be very happy to get out of that hot box.

Chat Back for August 8

Answering questions from comments and email.

Marie asked . . .

Will you knit each pair of sleeves simultaneously?

Occasionally I do, but usually I don't. I only do it when I'm sure there isn't going to be a sleeve fitting challenge. I frequently frog sleeves to get a better fit.

Even for simple sleeves I need to recalculate the decreases - or increases if I'm knitting bottom up - because I have shorter than normal pattern length arms.

---

Judy S. wrote . . .

Great robin photo; I hope she hangs in there.....

The robin nest in the front yard was abandoned. I think the eggs got cooked in the heat.

---

Judy S. asked . . .

Have you read the Mrs. Pollifax mysteries....they're fun!

And Jean asked . . .

Have you ever read the Mrs. Pollifax mysteries? They are a light read and well written, reminds me of Miss Marple.

Not yet, but I'm looking forward to doing so. Thanks for the suggestion.

The first in the series, The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, isn't available at my usual library, but I've located it at the Paw Paw Library and will picking it up next time I'm in Paw Paw.

---

Alwen wrote . . .

It's hard to take pictures when you're smacking mosquitoes!

A week or so ago the number of mosquitoes went back to normal for a few days. Last week we had another hatch and it's almost impossible to be outdoors again.

Some days I find myself wondering what it would be like to live in the city with closed windows and air conditioning and a hired dog walker. I probably wouldn't like it, but it might make for a nice vacation.

---

Alwen wrote . . .

I would call your blackberries black raspberries (hollow in the center when you pick them). I have those and what I call blackberries (the center stays in when you pick them).

Yes, the stalk I called a blackberry here is a raspberry. A wimpy stalk with wimpy thorns compared to the real blackberries that make up most of the wicked stalks in our field.

Alwen, who lives nearby in SW Michigan, posted blackberry tutorial in this Thorny Post.

---

Then Judy S. wrote . . .

I put some WA blackberries on my blog for you....

Check out Judy's post here.



My thickest canes are only a half inch in diameter. Washington blackberries with the one inch canes put my blackberries to shame.

My blackberry thorns draw blood and grab my clothing, but eventually I can get free and win the fight. I don't think I could win a fight with Judy's thorns.

---

Dorothy wrote . . .

I also agree that it's probably way too hot to be thinking of knitting cardigans. Perhaps a nice sock would be in order.

Oh, I agree.

This is a skein of Stalwart Sock from Slackford Studio that I won in a contest. It came without a label, but I think the color is Skydive. I picked out an interesting basketweave pattern for it, not realizing it was going to make such pretty stripes. By the time the ribbings were knit, I knew Skydive just wanted to be a plain sock.

---

Shirley asked . . .

I love the hummingbird photo. Is it a Ruby-throated hummer?

Yes it is. Ruby Throated Hummingbirds are the only ones that range in SW Michigan.

It's amusing to see them perched on the power lines like the big birds. They look like a little bump sitting up there.

Late Summer Bluebird Hatch

I was doubtful these eggs would survive sitting in a nestbox in the sun with most days hitting ninety degrees or more. But they did. Wednesday evening the chicks were rolling out of the eggs.

The first one out, on the left, is looking for his/her first meal.

The second one out, in the back, is uncurling.

The third one out, on the right, is still folded in the shape of his/her egg.

And there's one more blue egg to hatch.

---

By late Thursday morning, all four chicks are out and being fed. Mom Bluebird doesn't need to worry they're going to get chilled.

That's a third little beak behind the two obvious beaks. The fourth is face down on the right.

The first few days of post egg life, the hatchlings will open their beaks when I open the box. They know someone is there and they hope it's with food.

Hard to believe in less than three weeks they'll have feathers and leave the nest. I never tire of the miracle.

Simple Woman's Daybook for August 3

These writing prompts are available from Simple Woman's Daybook where each Tuesday we're invited to join in celebrating the beauty of everyday moments around us.

FOR TODAY August 3, 2010 ...

Outside my window...



The evening temperature is 87 degrees and the humidity is dripping.

I am thankful for...
Ice cream.

From the kitchen...
It's too hot to be in the kitchen.

I am wearing...
Denim shorts and a blue stripped tee.

I am creating...
Last week I finished a sleeve for the navy blue cardigan I'm knitting and don't like the way it fits into the sweater body. Since I knit to both stitch and row gauge and followed the pattern without variation, I found this annoying and have stopped knitting completely in protest.

I'm sure this will all get resolved when the weather cools off a little.

I am going...
To "Aqua Arthritis" in an 89 degree pool tomorrow. A class "suitable for easing and unloading those aching joints while enhancing your individual fitness level."

It sounds wonderful. Will it live up to expectations?

I am reading...
Just finished "Murder Makes Waves", a Southern Sisters Mystery by Anne George.

These mysteries are well written with likeable characters and plenty of un-forced humor so they're actually funny. The mysteries are well plotted, but the books are so much fun to read I'd read them even if there wasn't a mystery.

Highly recommended. And thanks to Sherilan for suggesting I read them.

I am hoping...
For a break in the non-stop political ads and phone calls after the primary today. No doubt there will be another obnoxious glut for the November election.

I am hearing...
Quiet except for the oxygen concentrator.

Around the house...
Glory and Pappy got groomed today and they are napping.

Sunny couldn't go to the groomer because she has non-infectious tracheobronchitis caused by allergies. Late last week she couldn't stop coughing and gagging. She's on good drugs and getting better. There was hardly any coughing today.

Bob is reading a Reginald Hill mystery and I'm writing this post.

One of my favorite things...




Woodpeckers. We have many. This is a little Downy.

SW Michiganders who build beautiful cedar homes in the country are constantly at war with woodpeckers, and the woodpeckers win. Always.

We live in brick house.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
Wednesday: Aqua Arthritis, grocery shopping, library.
Thursday: Airlink coming for oxygen concentrator maintenance. Bob needs blood draw.
Friday: Aqua Arthritis.

I'm hoping for some rain so I can mow without creating a dust cloud. If it hasn't rained by the weekend, dust cloud it will be.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Wednesday Wings - Late Summer Bluebird Nest

The first bluebird nests of the season in spring normally have five eggs. With late season nests like this one my bluebirds have always stopped at four.

So four it is. As of tomorrow they're one week into the incubation period. Hatching will be on or about Thursday, August 5.

---

Mama Bluebird takes the occasional break on the power lines.

---

Daddy Bluebird proudly sits on the nest box happy that he doesn't have to sit on those eggs for two weeks.

Monday Miscellany for July 26

This may look like a pretty cloud, but it's actually the humidity boiling up in SW Michigan.

It's been very very hot and humid for the past few weeks. Today high was in the mid 80s and it felt like a cool spell. 90s returning mid week.

---

When I hear the word "frontier", I think about Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier, an old Disney series from my childhood when Walt Disney was still alive and TV was black and white.

So imagine my concern when we received a letter last week informing us that as of July 1 (a little late with notification, don't ya think?) Frontier, "more than just a communications provider, we're a conversation company", was my new land line telephone service provider. It was the first time I'd ever heard of Frontier.

After a little investigation it appears Verizon has sold our middle of nowhere, antique and inadequate phone lines to Frontier who "wants to bring high speed internet to rural America." Well, that's us. Bring it on.

Seriously, has anyone ever heard of Frontier? Could this possibly be worse than what Verizon was doing for us?

---

One of the advantages of aging is not having to go the polls and stand in line to vote. Anyone 60 and over can get an absentee ballot and vote at home in leisure. I love my absentee ballots and have the August 3 primary version sitting here by my side.

In Michigan we have a governorship up for grabs with so many candidates it's difficult to keep them straight for those of us who aren't serious political followers.

As soon as I get this posted, I'm going to look up a few candidates online and get the ballot marked.

---

Judy S. left a comment on blackberries:

Your blackberries must be gentler than ours are! Ours have the most wicked thorns and are not to be messed with. We often joke that they form the infra-structure of our state.......

If Judy's blackberries are nastier than ours, she's in serious trouble!

Ours have the ability to sense human warmth, grab the human to draw blood on bare skin and snag clothing where the human tried to protect itself. Unless the clothing is leather, a blackberry thorn can do both at the same time - pierce and snag the clothing and draw blood under the clothing.

This time of year, the blackberry stalks are arching over the mowed paths where the dogs and I walk. Before I mow the paths again, I need to go out dressed in armor and prune them back or they will attack me and the tractor.

And, even wearing armor I know they're going to get me.

Summertime Blues

I keep looking for reader comments and haven't been getting any. Is that because I haven't posted in eight days?

It's the middle of an exceptionally hot summer here in SW Michigan. Day after day of temps in the 90s with high humidity, occasionally just enough rain to make steam, and a bumper crop of mosquitoes.

I haven't been knitting. The dogs and I take short walks without the camera. They're sweat and swat walks.



The hostas are chewed. These former beauties are/were three feet from the house.

The deer know they can outrun anything that lives here, so they're not shy about walking up to the porch for the good stuff.

---

On a happier blue note, a bluebird couple decided it's not too hot for some bluebird love.

They needed a nest in a hurry so they built a dainty grass bluebird nest over the top of a partial wren stick nest.

The second half of July is extremely late in the summer for a bluebird nesting. I'm hoping the eggs don't cook before they hatch.

---

I walked out without the dogs this morning so I could sweat and swat and snap a picture.

Daddy bluebird obliged by posing on nearby mullein while mom bluebird lay the second egg.

The Dogs Take a Short, Hot Walk Out Back

What some old dogs do when the temperature is over 90 and they get taken on a short walk out in the field:



Sunny, the youngest dog at nine years, likes to bask in the sun.

---

Pappy is an old male Papillon, but not too old to do his male dog duty marking his yard.

---

Glory is checking to see if the blackberries are ripe enough to eat. She loves them and will eat them right off the stalk when they're ready enough to pass her sweetness test.

---

Not yet. But almost.

This was taken last week. This week some berries are dark. Glory will be helping herself by the end of the week.

Simple Woman's Daybook for July 6

These writing prompts are available from Simple Woman's Daybook where each Tuesday we're invited to join in celebrating the beauty of everyday moments around us.

FOR TODAY July 6, 2010...

Outside my window...



The milkweed are blooming. Their sweet scent is pleasantly strong.

I am thinking...



How interesting that the only dog of our three who likes to lay in the sun and bake herself was named Sunshine before we knew this about her.

I am thankful for...
Dr. Mark Swank, our new Senior Pastor at Lighthouse Community Church. We've been a year without one.

From the kitchen...
Not much. We've eating cold things because it's too hot to cook.

I am wearing...
Denim shorts and a sleeveless apple green tank top. It's very hot today and we don't have air conditioning.

I am creating...



Sleeve 1 of 4. But not today. It's too hot to knit anything so I've been sitting in front of a fan eating sherbet and reading.

I am reading...
The first two Inspector Morse mysteries by Colin Dexter, "Last Seen Wearing" and "Last Bus to Woodstock".

They were picked randomly from the library stacks. They're very English and a challenge to my vocabulary. For example on page 3 of the first book I read, "Kilroy, inevitably, had visited this shrine in the course of his infinite peregrinations . . .". I had to look up peregrination: To journey or travel from place to place, especially on foot.

The books were entertaining but didn't leave me with the urgent desire to find more of them. Inspector Morse seemed to be always jumping to wrong conclusions which he explained in great detail just before having his solution disproved by some piece of evidence he should have discovered before the jump. After two books of this, I found it tiresome.

Tomorrow I'm picking up the first Anne George Southern Sisters Mystery expecting it to be lighter reading more appropriate for easy summer relaxation.

I am hoping...
It cools off soon. The last four days have been in the 90s which is too hot to do anything active. That's OK for a day or two, but we've had enough now.

I am hearing...
Fans.

Around the house...
The dog hair is piling up because it's too hot to vacuum in comfort and it's not piled high enough for me to to vacuum in discomfort.

One of my favorite things...




A few plans for the rest of the week:
Today I had lunch with a good friend of many years. Tomorrow is grocery store/errand/library day. Thursday is DH Bob's blood draw. Friday is a movie and snack with my Sisterhood group at the Portage Senior Center. I may skip depending on the movie. I've heard it's going to be Three Stooges which I totally dislike. Saturday is lunch with another good friend of many years.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...



If we were all as smart as Glory, we wouldn't be so hot.

I Need Four Sleeves

How did this happen? Sleeves are known for being the black hole of sweater knitting, and I need four of them. During a time when I've lost most of my knitting incentive.

This is going to require some super self-discipline. I may need to start a pair of socks for sleeve relief. Or maybe that's not a good idea if I ever want to get these sleeves done.



First in need of sleeves is the Cotlin Vines and Leaves Cardigan.

This has been a pleasant knit and I'm looking forward to casting on the sleeves and doing some more of the lacy pattern. It's the sewing in of the sleeves that I'm likely to procrastinate.



Pattern: Vines and Leaves cardigan from the May issue of Creative Knitting.

Yarn: Knitpicks Cotlin and I'm getting exact stitch gauge and row gauge with US 5 needles.

Color: Planetarium. (Navy)

Needles: Options #5.

---

I've been calling this sweater the unimaginative name "Hedonist Redo" because a) it's being knit from Slackford Studio Hedonist yarn and b) the yarn is frogged from a former project that didn't please me.

The body has that crinkly look because of the frogged yarn. Once it's washed it will look much smoother.

This yarn is soooo soft. And the contrast after knitting on the Cotlin causes it to feel even softer.

I have enough yarn left for 3/4 sleeves. Maybe even full length sleeves.



Pattern: A basic pullover. The border across the top of the back and front is Pattern #177 from The New Knitting Stitch Library by Leslie Stanfield.

Yarn: Hedonist Sock from Slackford Studio, 80% Superwash Merino, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon, 4 Ply Fingering Weight

Color: Cote d'Azur

Needles: US #4, 3.5mm

Gauge: 6 stitches/inch, 9 rows/inch in stockinette.