Knitting + Some Birding, Too

{I announced the giveaway winner in that post--congratulations again to Naomi! My son has a fever but as soon as I can get out of the house during the PO's office hours, it'll be on its way!}

Friday night I did some clearing-the-decks knitting, getting the current, almost-done project out of the way so I could start a new one.

I finished the Branching Out mitts from Coastal Knits. I used Cascade 220 for these, which is a worsted weight, not the called-for sport weight, so they're a little off, but I thought they'd be okay, considering the total number of cast on stitches is only two less than what I cast on for my favorite worsted-weight mitt pattern (Evangeline, of course). These are still a little big on, though. (No cables pulling them in, of course.)

And the thumb is funny. Pouchy, almost. But it looks that way in one of the photos in the book, too...I probably should have adjusted it a bit for the heavier yarn...although I think partly it's that the gusset starts right after the cuff, instead of a few rows up, like I'm used to. You know what fits your own hand, you know? But even still, I'm happy enough with these gloves, and I love the purple against the light grey.

I was clearing the decks, of course, so I could begin Azami.

Which I did, Saturday night, several times. Don't ask. I think I've got it now. (ETA: Nope, I frogged it again.) The yarn--I'm using the called-for yarn, Valley Yarns Southwick--is very soft but loses its twist easily and then it's just a bunch of strands. Sigh. I do like wool best for knitting with.

I wasn't the only one making things this weekend. Friday I noticed a bird flying back and forth under our deck. I didn't see anything there when I looked, but Saturday morning I saw some vegetation, by Saturday afternoon it was definitely nest shaped, and this is what it looked like Sunday morning.

The orientation of the photo is funny because I basically just stuck the camera up there and clicked blindly. The nest is built on a crossbeam underneath the edge of the deck. I'm pretty sure it's a phoebe who's building it; I've gotten just glimpses as she flies back and forth, but she looks phoebe-like, and the nest site is consistent. (The rest of this post is about birds, so you can skip it if it's not your thing!)

The birds in our yard are making me so happy. This is the first year I've put out a feeder; the advice in heavy deer tick areas is not to have a bird feeder because it draws mammals into the yard, and they bring ticks. Well, we have ticks in the middle of the grass where they have no business being anyway, plus I hung the feeder off a tree on the edge of the grass, near the scrubby, figuring it would make the birds feel more comfortable if they didn't have to leave the shelter of the trees. The result is that we are seeing more of the birds that we hear every year. If we want an even closer look, we still need binoculars, but this is the first year I've seen, for instance, a red-bellied woodpecker. (No, it's belly isn't red. Don't ask me.) I saw a pair of downy--or maybe hairy, I can't tell them apart at that distance--woodpeckers on the bird-feeder tree, too. The towhees like to walk around at the base of the bird-feeder tree or sit in the branch and sing. And the white-throated sparrows (Oh, Sam peabody peabody peabody!) are at the feeder all the time.

This is in addition to our usuals: titmice, cardinals, chickadees, goldfinches, and nuthatches, who visited the feeder all winter, too; the goldfinches have packed away their dull winter feathers and replaced them with their bright yellow ones. They travel in a mob, flitting and chasing each other all over the bushes. Mrs. and Mrs. Cardinal visit the feeder together. The veerys (veer-veer-veer) and woodthrushes (eee-o-lay!) are back, but deep in the scrubby, where I can only hear them, not see them (yet, anyway--maybe I'll see them this year, too!). There's something that sounds maybe like a worm-eating warbler, but I'd like to get a look at it. My younger son likes the teakettle song of the Carolina wren best, and the catbirds are back, mewing away.

I don't know what it is about them--but whenever I'm near a window on that side of the house, I look towards the feeder. It feels pretty special to catch a glimpse of these creatures going about their business and deigning to do so where I can see. When we're waiting outside for the school bus in the morning, the birds provide a raucous, cheerful soundtrack. I don't mind hearing them when I'm still in bed (or the barred owls at night, either, and I'm hoping the whip-poor-will comes back, too, they're so cool to hear at night). The birds are part of why I love where I live, and loving where I live is a big part of who I am and what inspires me.

Do you watch the birds? Do you have any favorites?