I took this photo in Warren, CT, at a place that some call Eel Pond and many locals call Warren Flats. It is part of the local land trust which is a good thing because it is a lovely place to see wildlife. It's right on Rte. 341 with part of it on each side of the road. I'd love to be able to visit the far side of the pond, but I have no idea how to get there. There are white waterlilies and another variety that are yellow.
I really want to write about knitting, but I don't have the photos to show right now. I finished the Windowpane socks, and I am pleased with them. This is not to imply they are mistake-free. Somehow there are some subtle errors in them. The Persian rugmakers always had errors in their rugs because "only God is perfect." Lord knows perfection eludes me! I have a whole ball of the pink yarn left over so perhaps I will make a second pair and make different errors.
Tomorrow I should hear about a knitalong and swap of the Big Bag pattern that I have been knitting of late. We'll have 6 weeks to knit it and ship it to the designated recipient. Shipping is easy for me since I have a UPS account at the store. Selecting the goodies to go with the bag should be fun. The knitting doesn't take long--less time than the political conventions--but it takes about three days for the felted bag to dry so I have to figure that into my calculations.
Meanwhile, I am trying valiently to finish Cleopatra's Stockings, the June/July offering from the Rockin' Sock Club. I hate the pattern so I am having a serious bout of "second sock syndrome." Today I started the second one, weeks after I completed the nasty first one. Talk about errors in my knitting! There are far too many charts in this pattern. No sock pattern should be 11 pages long! Especially when the finished product is so ho-hum. Oh well, they can't hit one out of the park every time.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Friday, August 08, 2008
A Little Knitting, A Little Birding, A Big Spider
Just came back from the Wild Bird Center Annual Convention in Annapolis, MD. I had a great time and even had a little time to work on my Windowpane socks. I started this sock just before I left on Sunday. Sock #1 is done almost up to the toe. This pattern is quite easy to do--although that didn't keep me from reading the charts from left to right rather than the other way. It didn't really make a heck of a lot of difference, fortunately.
Saw lots of birds in Maryland. We traveled to Blackwater National Wildlife Reserve. There were eagles everywhere and osprey too. Lots of great blue herons, great egrets, snowy egrets and Carolina wrens. We saw about 38 species from red-headed woodpeckers to red-eyed vireos. We did not see the endangered Delmarva fox squirrel although we did see a sign that said "Caution-Endangered Squirrels".
The weather co-operated. It was hot and sunny, but there was a light breeze which kept it bearable. The insects weren't too bad. Some of our colleagues didn't want to come for fear of mosquitoes and other biting insects so they missed out on some great birding. There was the occasional deer fly, but no worse than the ones we get on our summer walks in NJ.
We saw this spider making a web by an informational sign. I'm told it is called a black-and-yellow spider (surprise!). It's not something we get in the northeast (thank you!), but it is apparently not that unusual south of where I hang out. I was glad it was making a web and not jumping out from a tree or shrub. Its body is about an inch-and-a-half long. This specimen seems to be missing a leg.
Saw lots of birds in Maryland. We traveled to Blackwater National Wildlife Reserve. There were eagles everywhere and osprey too. Lots of great blue herons, great egrets, snowy egrets and Carolina wrens. We saw about 38 species from red-headed woodpeckers to red-eyed vireos. We did not see the endangered Delmarva fox squirrel although we did see a sign that said "Caution-Endangered Squirrels".
The weather co-operated. It was hot and sunny, but there was a light breeze which kept it bearable. The insects weren't too bad. Some of our colleagues didn't want to come for fear of mosquitoes and other biting insects so they missed out on some great birding. There was the occasional deer fly, but no worse than the ones we get on our summer walks in NJ.
We saw this spider making a web by an informational sign. I'm told it is called a black-and-yellow spider (surprise!). It's not something we get in the northeast (thank you!), but it is apparently not that unusual south of where I hang out. I was glad it was making a web and not jumping out from a tree or shrub. Its body is about an inch-and-a-half long. This specimen seems to be missing a leg.
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