Summer of Love

Summer of Love
Originally uploaded by PhoebeJ

These socks are knitted from a pattern called "Summer of Love", the August offering of the Rockin' Sock Club. I'm a bit behind. Finished these a week or so ago and I'm on the heel of the first October sock, a pattern called "Lenore" in a colorway called "Raven". I like this pattern a lot. It's the work of Stephanie Pearl McPhee, also known as the Yarn Harlot.

As for Summer of Love, I had imagined that they were going to be tricky to knit, but they turned out to be quite straightforward and knit up in no time. I got behind working on Christmas presents and the thought of the holidays looming in front of us has made it clear that I'm going to continue to be behind. Oh, well. Hope those who are lucky enough to receive handknit presents are suitably grateful! I'll show some of those after the holidays. No family spoilers here!

Lattice Walker

Lattice Walker
Originally uploaded by PhoebeJ

This is Nora in the guise of an lolcat. These cat photos are captioned in a sort of a "cat pidgen" that you can learn by looking at a few other lolcats on line. They are pretty funny or sometimes just cute and occasionally incomprehesible to the uninitiated.

I found that when I posted these photos, they got a lot of views on flickr. While I realize that Nora is adorable, there must be something about lolcats that amuses people.

Thoughts of Gary Larson

Vultures
Originally uploaded by PhoebeJ.

What's the Gary Larson cartoon? Setting: a couple of vultures sitting on a dead rhino. One says, "What a great day. The sun beating down on us, a dead rhino beneath our feet and friends flying in from all over." Well, this is the Connecticut version. The dead critter was a raccoon, probably a young one. I captured these three turkey vultures and one black vulture (the one on the right) enjoying a meal. Several other turkey vultures circled overhead as these kids feasted. Life is good.

Socks

Monsoon Sock
Originally uploaded by PhoebeJ.

This is my "Socks That Rock" sock in progress. I finished both socks the other day without suffering too much second sock syndrome. I did have a small bout of "SSS" since this is a fussy pattern. I was particularly irritated at having to do a different rib for the sole and the instep. Meant I had to pay attention! I like knitting on automatic pilot or following a complicated pattern. This half-and-half business was just tedious. Anyhow, they are done! Alas, I agree with those members who thought this colorway looked like camoflage.



The finished product is above. I am modeling both sides--the inside and the outside of these reversible socks. The patterning on my socks was stripey while some other club members had pooling. There's actually a little pooling on the sock on the left even while the stripes predominate. Hmm...



And here is what I am working on now: yarn from Great Adirondack. I didn't know this company until recently, but I love their colors. I'm a primary color person more than a pastel or muted girl. GA has yarn with intense colors and lots of blues, my favorite. I have a skein of their "Blueberry" colorway waiting for me when I finish these socks. (It may have to wait until I finish the April Socks That Rock offering. I don't want to fall behind and spend December and January playing catch up.) Just how many socks can a girl have? Or give to friends? Lots, I think.

Nora in the Ficus

Nora in the Ficus
Originally uploaded by PhoebeJ.

Nora loves to sit in all the flower pots. She also likes to destroy some of the plants. But look how cute she is. It's hard not to just let her do whatever she wants. (Natural lighting helps, but she knows how to pose and find her key light making the work of the photographer easy.) She's climbed the ficus several times, but lately she's decided there isn't anything interesting up there and seems to just like sitting in the pot--or splashing the muddy water when I come with the watering can.

Travelling Sock

Travelling Sock
Originally uploaded by PhoebeJ.

This is the start of sock #2 from the STR (Socks That Rock) wool from Blue Moon Fiber Arts' Rockin' Sock Club. I took it to the Fashion Institute of Technology to see Stephanie Pearl-McPhee give a talk at the launch of her new book Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off. Steph is the Yarn Harlot, a knitting-humor blogger. No one knew there was such a thing until she invented it.

The talk was delightful. The auditorium, which seats 750, was nearly filled. Each attendee was given a bag containing a ball of yarn, #8 needles and instructions to knit a 7X9 rectangle that would be sewn into afghans and given to people made homeless by flood and fire.

Steph gave the knitters a lot to think and laugh about: why don't knitters get any respect; why do "muggles" (non-knitters, a word appropriated from Harry Potter) think it is wasteful to knit socks when you can buy them in Wal-Mart rather than the other way around; why is there more an one way to size needles (metric and American); why are swatches lying little scraps of yarn; why, if you knit, it is assumed you want to date men regardless of your gender? I'll add, "Why is there no decent sock wool in Wellington, NZ, in a country with 30 million sheep?"

It was great to see so many socks in progress, so much beautiful yarn, so many enthusiastic knitters--some from Switzerland, England, California and even western Massachusetts! If you're a knitter and Steph comes to your town, run--don't walk--to hear her talk. Buy a book too.

Socks That Rock

Socks That Rock--Monsoon Colorway
Originally uploaded by PhoebeJ.

I joined the "Rockin' Sock Club", a sort of a sock-kit-of-the-month club. Well, every other month. The first kit of the year included this yarn, the little skein on a keychain, a bumper sticker for "Notorious Sock Knitters" and instructions in a binder.

The women who own Blue Moon Fiber Arts and created the Rockin' Sock Club had their bank account canceled because the bankers couldn't believe that 800 people (mostly women) wanted to join a sock club. In the end over 2000 people all around the world joined. In a few weeks there should be 4000 socks in this colorway which is called Monsoon.

Here's how the yarn looks when it's made into a ball suitable for knitting.



Stay tuned. Photos of the socks as they progress will follow.

Parrot Mania

I just finished reading The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill. The author is more than a bit strange. But it led me to a little websurfing and I found this blog about Brooklyn Parrots . More than you'd ever want to know about parrots in New York. Marie Winn reports that a parrot nest has been found under an air conditioner in a sixth story window on W. 103rd St. The first parrots in Manhattan in a long time. Some birders are snotty about these birds since they are "non-native". Fortunately, here in New York we have usually been welcoming to immigrants.

Is That a Yawn or a Laugh?

Is That a Yawn or a Laugh?
Originally uploaded by PhoebeJ.

Okay. I admit that this was a lucky shot. Nora was sleeping on the afghan on the arm of the sofa, a favorite haunt of hers. I grabbed the camera to get a cute shot of her snoozing. While I was waiting for the flash to power up she woke up, I took the photo and this is what I got. It looks like a cross between a laugh and the Rolling Stones logo.

Cat Fitness Magazine

Cat Fitness Magazine
Originally uploaded by PhoebeJ.

I made this faux magazine cover with the help of flickrtoys. Leslie is a customer and friend who is a devoted animal lover. Tomorrow is her birthday so I honored her with this cover of Cat Fitness magazine. You'll notice Nora on the cover keeping fit by snoozing on the back of the sofa.

Sometimes it's good to have a day off where you don't do anything significant.

New Kitten

Innocent Look
Originally uploaded by PhoebeJ.

Well, I got a new kitten. I wasn't planning to. It just happened. She is tiny and adorable. She weighed 1.5 lbs. when I got her. She's now 3 lbs. so she's doing really well. But she had a cold when I first took her home and she wasn't eating enough and her left eye was tearing. She actually lost a little weight over the first week she was with me. (I weigh her on the store scale every day.)

Now she strong and completely crazy. She can hide anywhere and if she doesn't want to be picked up, she gallops away. Fortunately she's not too savvy yet. This is a photo of Nora hiding from me or so she thinks!



She can't resist provoking Nicholas. He's gotten used to her although he hissed at her for about a week and slept in the back of the store all day for about 3 days when she first came home. He wouldn't take any treats from me. ("I'll show her! Bringing that kitten here. I'll refuse treats!) He's mellowed out now although I keep telling Nora she's riding for a hiding when she takes a poke at him.

Monarch Caterpillar

Monarch Caterpillar
Originally uploaded by PhoebeJ.

We went on our Saturday birdwalk at Walker Avenue in Wayne, NJ. There were lots of dragonflies and some butterflies. We found several monarch caterpillars--fat and colorful.

Well, it was a chance to try out the new macro lens as was this shot of a bud on the sunflower in front of the store.



More to come...

King of the City

King of the City
Originally uploaded by PhoebeJ.

Brother and niece visited New York recently, and we took the subway down to Battery Park. I found this monarch dining on the flowers in the Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Garden along the waterfront. I'm always amazed at the variety of wildlife one can find in the City--if you look.

We saw the Coast Guard Memorial in the harbor near Castle Clinton. This is the only piece of sculpture that I'm aware of where part of it is deliberately in the water. It's a fitting tribute to the Coasties even if the birds are somewhat disrespectful.



We had gone to Charlottesville to visit Monticello. We also took in the campus at the University of Virginia where the bull thistle was in bloom.

Sunflower

Sunflower
Originally uploaded by PhoebeJ.

This photo is of a sunflower that I grew from a seed of the type I sell in the store. I put it in a large pot in front of the store--sort of a good will ambassador to potential seed buyers. The anthers and pistils are now all gone and you can see the seeds growing on the head. Seems a new photo is in order. The colors won't be so intense, but the pattern of the seeds in the head will be more apparent.

I celebrated the Fourth in Kent, CT. I found a fireworks display at a local summer camp near my house. It was quite a show for such a small number of observers. I wasn't sure that I'd be able to get any decent exposures, but some of them came out quite well.





Off to Virginia for a few days with my brother and a niece. Monticello is one desitination. I haven't been there since I was about 10 which is more than a few years ago.

Plum Tomatoes

Plum Tomatoes
Originally uploaded by PhoebeJ.

Summer is here and the tomatoes are beginning to put out fruit. These are plum tomatoes, San Marzanos to be exact, that I grow to make into sauce. The ones in this photo are very early in their growth. They'll get much bigger and fatter as the summer wears on. It always amazes me that tomatoes take so long to grow. I'm trying to be patient with little success.

Frogs continue to abound in the vernal pool (which still has lots of water thanks to torrential rains throughout June) aan elsewhere in my yard. They sit around the pool and jump in when I approach. Occasionally they cooperate and pose for photos. Here's a leopard frog.



I got some nice bird shots--a red-bellied woodpecker where you can actually get a peek of the red belly and a male cardinal who had gotten drenched fulfilling his parental duty to feed his young offspring.

Yellow Iris

Yellow Iris
Originally uploaded by PhoebeJ.

The irises were particularly good this year. I have a lot of rhizomes that I bought at Presby Garden, a famous iris garden in Montclair, NJ. Every summer they sell unidentified rhizomes to the eager public. You never know exactly what you're going to get so it's always a surprise the following spring. This yellow baby is probably not a Presby offering since it is in a different bed, but it sure is pretty.

It's been a very interesting spring in Kent. The vernal pool has been a continuing source of interest. Since we've had a lot of rain, the pool is nowhere near drying out although that could change if it gets hot in the next week or so. This week I saw a group of tadpoles murder another tadpole. I have no idea what this is all about. A customer told me a story about "big-headed salamanders" killing other tadpoles, but I haven't had a chance to research this theory. The birds, bear and raccoon will have to eat a lot of tads to prevent a biblical plague of frogs, toads and salamanders.



The large amount of rain made Kent Falls run particularly strong. The state is rebuilding the path to the top so the park is very quiet. Makes for great photo ops.




Friends Cathy and Bing stopped by for a visit and we traveled to River Road along the Housatonic. As we neared the Appalachian Trail, a white bird popped out of the shrubbery. To our astonishment, it was a white peacock whose presence at this location was unexpected to say the least. It's probably an escapee from someone's yard, but I put it on my life list nonetheless.

Bad Hair Day

Bad Hair Day
Originally uploaded by PhoebeJ.

This downy woodpecker really enjoyed the suet log, but for some reason his head feathers were up giving him a bad hair day. There's always something amusing going on at the feeders if you just keep your eyes open.

The downy wasn't the only critter at the suet feeder. At dusk, this raccoon, now named Satan, was found atop the feeder taking a snack. I came out and yelled, but he looked at me as if to say, "If you are not actually going to come out here and run after me, I'm not moving." So I ran outside waving like a banshee. I had to chase him twice more from the vicinity of the feeders, but in the morning the feeders were still as I'd left them showing that raccoons are less persistent than squirrels.



This photo was taken through the glass door with the flash hence the glare.

Also in town was the blue jay. Very handsome if a little noisy and perhaps a tad arrogant. (Must we always anthropomorphize? Yes, I guess we must!)



And the titmouse.

Sick Chipmunk

Sick Chipmunk
Originally uploaded by PhoebeJ.

This is the sad story of a sick chipmunk and how tough life in the wild can be. I was in Connecticut on a drizzly spring day and noticed that some of the chipmunks in the yard were a lot smaller than the others. It seems there were quite a few chipmunk babies.

One chipmunk, the one pictured here, was lethargic and somewhat strange looking. (Its eyes were never completely open and its rear legs didn't move right.) I approached it to throw some birdseed right near it since moving seemed to be a problem. He (or she?) managed to pick up some of the seed, but the other chippers didn't even bother to chase him. They must of realized that he wasn't right.

At one point I saw him belly up under the pachysandra, and I thought he'd met his maker. But he managed to right himself. He ultimately disappeared under the greenery. I don't know if he found shelter for the night or if exposure and other critters hastened his departure, but I kept reminding myself that 75% of creatures born in the wild don't make it to their first birthday. It's a jungle out there.

The irises were coming into bud. More than 30 buds are about to bloom. Spring birds have shown up: hummingbirds, chipping sparrows, rose-breasted grosbeaks. New frogs too.





The wood frogs had laid eggs weeks ago. Those eggs are now tadpoles which are getting bigger by the day. There are also some much smaller tads who may be other frogs or salamanders. I can't tell!

Happiness Poster

Happiness Poster
Originally uploaded by PhoebeJ.

I love all the "flickr toys" that allow you to make stamps, motivational posters and all kinds of other amusing things in a flash.

This is a photo of the female Eastern Bluebird in my yard turned into a motivational poster. You can make sarcastic ones too, but these bluebirds have really given me a thrill. We'll see if they stick around for nesting season.

Happiness

Happiness
Originally uploaded by PhoebeJ.

I know why this bird is called the "bluebird of happiness". I was thrilled when I saw this guy sitting on my nestbox. Perhaps he and his bride will move in. They spent a lot of time there on Sunday and part of Monday. On Monday they even put a little nest material in the box, but then disappeared for the rest of the afternoon.

I got this shot of the male shooting out of the box. I didn't intend this outcome, but I love the result.



The first daffodils of the season were blooming. They are always a pleasure.



I had a huge number of "nature notes" for the two days I had off: visited a heron rookery right in town; saw belted kingfishers chasing eachother; saw the first chipping sparrow of the season; heard spring peepers; saw wood ducks and green-winged teals and a palm warbler. And much more. I love spring!