Episode 35 of Knitting Pipeline is about Comfort Knitting

Show notes are at Knitting Pipeline.

Looking for water fowl at Banner Marsh.  The sweater Bob is wearing was a Stash Buster, Norwegian Style, that I made several years ago.

Snow Geese at Lake Springfield from Dave Heinzel on Vimeo.

In the Sunday edition of The Peoria Journal Star there was an article about snow geese migrating through our area. After church Bob and I ate a quick lunch, gathered our binoculars, and drove down to Emiquon to witness this phenomenom.  We are so glad we did.   Although the video  I have posted is actually from Springfield IL, it does capture the wonder of what we saw.

Eagles!

Road along the Illinois River near Shade Lohman Bridge.

It didn't take binoculars to spot these two.

I played a funeral in Pekin this morning.  On the way home I detoured along the river under the Shade Lohman Bridge.  We've seen Bald Eagles here before.  I had the foresight to bring my binoculars and camera.  I was rewarded by a fine sighting of two mature birds (one a little more mature than the other) perched for a long time in a big tree along the road on my side of the river.  I also saw eagles flying above the river but this was the closest sighting I've ever had in the wild.

Back from Vacation

We just returned from our annual R & R in Door County WI. The weather was perfect for biking and hiking and we did plenty of both. Of course there was also time for knitting (me), reading, running (him), and general lolling about. Since I never posted photos of the second Aestlight Shawl (designed by Gudrun Johnston) I asked Bob to take some on our last day. The blue is Dream in Color Smooshy and the variegated in the Bird's Eye Lace is a left over from another shawl. I believe it is Mountain Fiber in the Pheasant colorway. With temperatures in the 60's during the day and 40's at night, we were wearing our woolens a good deal of the time during our vacation. We came home to 90 degree heat, so although expected, it is a bit of a shock to the system.

We always keep a bird and butterfly list while we are in Door County. We didn't break any records this year in our 5 days but we had some good sightings. I've starred our favorites, either because they are unusual, numerous, or firsts in Door Co.

Birds Seen 6/6/10 through 6/10/10

Kingbird

Cardinal

Bluejay

Ruby Throated Hummingbird

Red Tail Hawk

Sandhill Crane*

Mallard

Barn Swallow

American Robin

Black-Capped Chickadee

Redstart*

Redwing Blackbird

Kestrel

Goldfinch

Flicker

Red-eyed Vireo*

Bobolink*

Eastern Bluebird

Common Yellowthroat*

Downy Woodpecker

Indigo Bunting

Pelican

Mourning Dove

Turkey Vulture

Song Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow

Crow

House Sparrow

Gulls and Terns

Butterflies:

Monarch

Painted Lady

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Spring Azure

Sooty Wing

Cabbage

Skipper (not sure which kind)

White Admiral* (First time we have seen in Door Co)

Mourning Cloak

Birds we heard but did not see:

Wood Thrush

Oven Bird

Rose Breasted Grosbeak

House Wren

Phoebe

Black Throated Green Warbler

Pileated Woodpecker

Meadowlark

Field Sparrow

As we drove down the lane, past the old apple tree and along the green and white fence, toward our home in Illinois, I thought of the old Scottish saying, "Haste ye back". Indeed, we will.

Summit Stole

Summit is the teaser that I posted about a few weeks ago. It was a gift for my little mom for Mother's Day. When Dad opened the package and showed it to her, they both gasped. Isn't that just the reaction we knitters are looking for?

Summit is a free pattern from Knitty.com. I used an alpaca/silk blend that was left over from a shawl I made. My version is only 9 columns wide so it is considerably less wide than the original. Once the intial set-up rows are established, the pattern is easily memorized. Next time I'm going to try garter stitch as the reverse side reminds me of calamari. There are more notes on my Ravelry page.

Yesterday the knitters from my Prayer Shawl group came over a Porch Morning. We sat in the sunroom with steaming mugs of coffee and tea, watching the busy birds flitting back and forth from the feeders. I suppose a little knitting was done also. Rose-breasted Grosbeaks have been migrating through and were constantly at the feeders and in the nearby trees all day. This morning I am watching them as I sit at my laptop. How could one not be impressed by such a display? These birds (the males, of course) seem to be aware of their magnificence and love to show it off. I would love to watch these birds all summer but I know we are just a stop on their way to northern breeding grounds.

What's that Thumping Outside Our Window?

Yesterday morning I awoke to one of my favorite sounds, bird song. I lay in bed half-awake, listening, and then hearing an intermittent low, resonant thump. It sounded a bit like a ruffed grouse mating call but different. I walked quietly to the window seat and called Bob over for a look. Below us was a tom turkey, strutting his feathers and wattle, in fine display. Turkeys look very strange up close. It's amazing we even consider eating them when you see one like this up front and personal. There is a window at ground level below our bedroom window so we reasoned he was displaying himself to "the other fellow" in the window. The whole sight was so comical, and yet, quite interesting. The prim and proper female stood nearby, though at a safe distance. Who can blame her for being a bit wary with this guy acting so strangely? He clearly was dancing for her and a potential rival. The photos are quite poor as I was taking them in dim light, through both window and screen. About 15 minutes later it began raining and the two birds stood in the rain, Tom totally deflated and looking very unpuffed up.

Fairy Garden of Fun Fungi

The rains came. We had record rainfall in the wake of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, although no personal flooding in our home. Oak Creek, at the bottom of our ravine, was overflowing and dark brown.

The damp earth produces a fairy forest of toadstools in our mulched beds. There are several hundred on this cool damp morning. By 9 a.m. they are all shriveled.
Beautiful, aren't they? I made a feeble attempt at indentification but gave up. If anyone knows what these are, please let me know. I am not planning on eating them, just curious.

Those are tiny fungi in the center of the photo, about 1/4 the size of a pencil eraser.

Even better than the fungus: I saw a pileated woodpecker today outside our porch windows! I first heard it's call and raced to the window just in time to see this prehistoric-looking beauty scuttling on the trunk of a maple tree. My camera wasn't too far away but I didn't want to risk precious time viewing the bird. I had a feeling the pileated woodpeckers lived in this woods but we had not seen one until now.

I am a Monogamous Knitter

We had a wonderful trip visiting our youngest son in New Mexico. My current knitting project, the gansey for our son Torben, was too large to take as airplane knitting. I didn't feel like starting something else that would not be finished while on the trip. Many knitters have multiple projects in progress but I don't work well that way. (Kudos to those of you who have so many going on at the same time and you know who you are.) I do usually have a smaller project going and in this case, it was a pair of socks which it seems I have been working on forever. My dishcloth supply was getting low so at the last minute I stashed some colorful cotton in my carry on and made four during the flights. I did get quite a bit done on the socks once we got there but then I lost one of the dp's. I am knitting one sock on dp's and one with the Magic Loop. I think I am slower with ML but at least you can't lose one of the needles.

On our first night in Santa Fe we stayed at a B and B located 5 miles outside of town. The garden, complete with koi pond and loads of hummingbird feeders, was so beautiful that we didn't want to leave. It was so cool that I needed to wear my wool socks (Knit Picks Essential) that can be seen in the foreground of the photo as I stretched on a chaise lounge enjoying the view.


We have hummingbirds at the feeder on our deck, but none so aggressive as the rufous hummingbirds that clamoured at the feeders. The ruby throated hummers were constantly chased by the rufous.
I am absolutely certain that if I had held a feeder in my hand, the hummers here would have eaten from it. They flew right up to my face! One flew so close to me that the hair on my arms blew in the breeze from his wee wings.

Once home, I continued on the gansey project as we watched bits of the Olympics. The color does not photograph well. It is a deeper green than shows here. I know my son is going to LOVE it!

In the Woods

There are several finished projects to photograph but I'm too lazy for that right now.

About noon today I was sitting on our deck taking a break with my knitting when I heard a rustle in the woods. The woods is only about 25 ft from the edge of the deck. I beetled over to the railing just in time to see a red fox chasing another animal. The fox took a flying leap over the gulley and suddenly I heard and saw the great flappings of a wild turkey. It was as if the turkey was running along and the epiphany came to her: "I have wings! This must be what they are for!" Thankfully she made it away in time. Turkeys are not good at flying, what with all that body and the wattle and all. I know foxes have to eat too and I don't begrudge them a morsel in the woods but a whole turkey seemed a bit over-indulgent. It would have been an untidy mess in my little woods.

Another bit of woodsy drama occurred last week. There is an Eastern Phoebe that built a nest on our downspout, under the eave. Mind you, she has a whole woodland at her disposal but apparently yearned for the city life. The babies had hatched and were peeping away, asking for lunch. One day I noticed the tail feathers of a red tailed hawk hanging down from the eave. He had a phoebe tender in his mouth. When I ran out on the deck he flew off with his catch. Again, the predators have to eat also. There are still babies in the nest and hopefully the rest of them will be safe.

Now I am thinking of the books by Thornton W Burgess that I read as a child. I read copies that had belonged to my father. All the woodland characters had names: Reddy Fox, Granny Fox, Danny Meadow Mouse, Grandfather Frog, Old Mister Toad, Sammy Jay, Mother West Wind...I read those books over and over. My children didn't enjoy them nearly as much as I did, which was a disappointment.

I finished reading The Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith. I've been reading this series since the first book came out and savor each one. If you have not read about Mma Ramotswe and her #1 Ladies Detective Agency, I urge you to get the first book in the series ASAP and read them in order. (The first one is called The #1 Ladies Detective Agency.) The next book for my reading pleasure is The Miracle at Speedy Motors. I'm saving that one because I like to space them out a bit. The audio versions are also excellent, even if you have already read the books.

Our Saturday Morning Visitor

This fine fellow was preening himself on our deck when we awoke on Saturday morning. I believe this is a male, but I'm not entirely certain. One would think it would be easy to tell the difference.

Turkeys are coming out of the woods regularly to eat the bird seed that falls below the feeders.

Snowflakes and Soybeans

We are having another snowy winter with over 20 snowfalls since Thanksgiving. In addition to that we've had tornadoes, thundersnow, and snowfog--all unusual weather phenomena. Monday night we went to bed with a forecast of snow during the night. We awoke to a very wet snow clinging to every branch, acorn, and bit of ground. The shoveling was tough because the snow was so wet. My husband got a good start on the driveway before he left for work and I finished it off in two work sessions during the day.

The birds would say "thank you" if they could. They do thank us with their energy, antics, and music. They are beginning to sing these days as the mating season approaches.

Although I've had very busy days recently getting ready for an Open House for my business, I did sneak in some knitting time to start on another Garter Stitch Baby Cardigan. The true color is a bit softer than it appears in the photo. I am using Bernat's Soy Natural Blend. I love the feel of this yarn and I like the idea of using soybeans which are grown all over my home state.