Bye Charlotte

I set Charlotte free this afternoon. She was more than ready, fluttering around in the cage. She did not hestitate for a minute, once out she flew around to the back yard probably looking for shade as it is miserable hot and muggy.  I showed her where the milkweed is and the petunias that are so fragrant.  I did not want to let her go but I had to.  It was one of those best days of my life to be a part of something so fragile and beautiful.  I hope there are many more to come this summer.

Charlotte

It's a girl.  Meet Charlotte.  As she was beginning to work her wings this morning I was talking to her.  For some reason the name Charlotte popped in my head as I was thinking of Charlotte of Charlotte's Web (my fav book) and all the baby spiders came tumbling out and she named them.  She is beautiful and will be let go tomorrow.  I will post pictures.  She can go out and lay eggs and hopefully I will find her children and hatch them and help populate the butterfly population.  I have a lot of new milkweed coming up this year and have some seeds i need to get in the ground this Fall. 

Worth the Wait

I woke up this morning to my first butterfly. Now to let the wings dry and figure out if it is a male or female and eventually let it go this weekend.

I lost the first one it was parasitized.  Now on to the next batch.

Animal Farm

If you have not read the book Animal Farm you need to. I read it periodically to remind me that we are closer and closer to the book.

So you all know about that knitting website which shall not be named.  Seems pajama boy and his snowflakes just can't stand to abide by the First Amendment and this has happened. Seems like his inclusiveness does not include anyone who supports the POTUS.  What a bunch of little cry babies.  You may remember in 2008 this happened to the McCain supporters who were removed from that place because of the snowflakes and their fawning love for their annointed one.  They got pajama boy to remove almost everyone from the group. Now we see shades of this only worse.  One lady created a Trump 2020 hat and the snowflakes were so upset that it got removed, yet the F Trump and the Trump voodoo dolls and much worse than that are allowed to remain.  Where are my rights as a conservative knitter, well they simply don't exist because the "pigs" (reference to Animal Farm) are in charge and the whole website has become a political shit hole, not a place for knitters and crocheters to gather and enjoy the craft. 

In fact the left has gone so far over the edge it is hard to enjoy the craft anymore.  There are so many designers, yarn dyers, etc out there that are spewing the left bullshit that there is hardly anyone to get a pattern or yarn from. I realize the number of conservative versus left is small but we do have money and we do spend a lot on our craft.  It is your loss. 

So this happened this morning.

5Skeeter Becker, Marie Halstead and 3 others

To say I am pissed is putting it mildly.  I could care less what they think of me, but they are denying me my First Amendment rights when they are allowed to use theirs and then some.  IF you think the country  is divided because of Trump you are so wrong.  The left is doing this because it is one of their steps to making our great country one where only the elite rule the rest of us.  Wake up sheeple if they can destroy a knitting website, what will they do to our country.

2nd Cocoon

I got up this morning and the second caterpillar had cocooned.  You can barely see it hanging down from the top.  I did not want to disturb the cage and move it around to get a picture, so now we wait for a week or so. 

D32 Update from SOAR

~ 20 June 2019 D32 Update ~
D32 is remaining quiet and content. The splint / cast seems to be staying in place. Still being offered cut-up food so no need to stand on food to rip / tear. Kay will not worry about a weight or a beak depth measurement until possibly the next trip to the veterinarian (no the appointment is not scheduled). Limited handling means limited stress. So... basically, no news is good news.

Week 18 The Gentle Art of Domesticity

* Which topic spoke out to you? Why?

* Who would you consider a style icon and what do you admire about them?

*  Do you gain inspiration from trends or are you confident in your own style?

* Do you collect anything kitschy? Tell us about it. I'm sure many would consider my collection of vintage linens as kitsch.

 

Great style should appear effortless.  In this week's reading she talks about Cary Grant and Doris Day movies.  If you know me you know my fondness for Doris Day and she just passed.  TCM had all her movies on last weekend and they are on my DVR for one of those days when I need to escape from the world and watch them and knit.  I loved her clothes in the movies, the suits, shoes, hat, purse, perfectly coifed hair, etc.  That is not me, but I loved her because she seemed to just slide into the clothes and it was sheer perfection.  Cary Grant, now there is a man who was gorgeous but in a tux, well be still my heart.  (Too bad women today only have those man bun soy latte drinking boys to look at).  

 

I am a jeans and tee shirt girl. In the winter I live in my sweats and feel like wearing a pair of jeans is dressing up. When you are retired there is not reason to dress up.  I do dress to go to church just because I don't believe jeans or sweats belong in church, but that is me.  

 

She puts a recipe for Jam Tarts in the book.  I made tarts once, they were just awful.  We were in Oklahoma City where dad was attending the FAA Academy. I was in high school and wanted to make a dessert. I made an oatmeal shell, too thick, and used what was in the frig, green grapes, peanut butter, jello, and something else. Dad made me eat one and he ate one too, but mom and my brother took one bite and threw them out.  That is my one and only attempt at making tarts. Perhaps it is time for me to try them again.  

 

 

Week 17 The Gentle Art of Domesticity

How much pressure have you put on yourself to keep a perfect house or provide an endless stream of homemade meals?

* Have the epiphanies which Jane writes about from personal experience and observation offered you a different view of how to love your domestic life and let go of perfectionism?

* What made your heart happy in today's study?

 

I keep my house clean because that is who I am.  When it gets overly cluttered I take a day to unclutter because I have been busy or involved in a project and just let stuff lay around until I was ready to take care of it.

 

She talks about bread making. I think it takes the right temp and humidity and the proper yeast and kneading.  Anyone can make bread, you truly can, but you need to be careful of the yeast needing the right conditions to rise properly.  There is nothing better than the smell of yeast bread and then when done, smear butter on the top, cut off a piece and slather it with butter. It truly does not get any better than that.

 

Haberdashery:  that is a mouthful. I always wanted to spend time in one, but are there any left?  There is a 4 story store in San Francisco that I think comes close full of fabric, trim, buttons, etc.  You can spend a week or more in there. It is a magical place.  Can you imagine working in a Haberdashery, all the little things to keep track of, all the things that you probably would never see all of, and just the sheer magic of finding unique items for just the right project.  I like going to antique stores and finding old sewing boxes which is a mini Haberdashery in itself.  I keep the wood thread spools because they don't make them anymore, the plastic i use as cat toys.  It is fun to find old needles cases, buttons, etc and you have a new sewing box as well. Sometimes I find a penny or dime in them, who knows why were they found in a pocket of a garment that was being mended?  Antique stores often have old buttons, old lace, etc, all the things that you would find in a haberdashery.  

 

Ironing: I hate it. I learned how on pillow slips and tea towels, and my dad's handkerchiefs. I hate ironing shirts, the sleeves and yoke, no thanks. I rarely iron anything but fabric i buy and wash and iron for a project.  Please make it go away.  

 

Clotheslines: I remember hanging clothes as a kid.  You wet a paper towel and ran it along the line to clean it especially the bird poop.  My mom would fill her mouth full of clothespins and down the row she would go. I was too short so I handed her the items and the pins and soon they were flapping in the breeze. How I loved to smell clean sheets on my bed that night, sheer heaven.  There are hardly any lines anymore, we have dryers and that is not a pleasant smell except I use dryer balls and put a drop of essential oil on them.  Plus there is the possibility of someone stealing your stuff.  Then when we brought everything in there was more ironing. Did I mention I hate to iron?

 

 

Cocoon

This morning when I got up I still had a hanging J, 3 hours later I have a cocoon and the other one has been at the top all night and hopefully will J soon.  So exciting.

Hanging J

So this one did not eat much today but spent the day at the top of the cage which is really the bottom, but anyway I went to check on them this evening to see if the needed food and he is in his J formation right before the cocoon comes on.  The other polished off 2 leaves and proceeded up to the top as well. I am hoping when I get up in the morning I have 2 J's.  So excited to have monarchs and I will be sad when I release them.

D27 on the Move

Raptor Resource Project

11 hrs ·

D27 started her spring migration on May 20, leaving a spot on the Upper Iowa river roughly 10 miles northeast of her natal nest and flying north! Between May 20 and the afternoon of June 4, she flew an incredible 683 miles northwest, ending up in northwestern Ontario, not far from last year's summer range. Her longest continuous flight took place on June 3rd, when she flew 135.9 miles in 20.97 hours, yielding an average speed of 6.4 miles per hour. She also achieved her fastest flight during this time, averaging 33.93 miles per hour between 12:19 PM and 18:19 PM. Her big day was aided by clear skies and favorable winds out of the south!

She appears to have reached her summer range, but she could still have some surprises in store for us! Will she leave as early as she did last year? Will forest fires once again push her south? Her route north was later but a little more direct than it was last year. Will that hold true when she returns? The more we watch her, the more questions we have. Thanks for the postcard, D27! We wish you the best of luck in the north!
To follow the travels of all of the eagles we've tracked, visit our website at https://www.raptorresource.org/learning-tools/eagle-map/. A thousand thanks to Brett Mandernack and the staff of Eagle Valley for sharing their data, maps, knowledge, and expertise with us!

Monarchs

I was looking at all the milkweed plants coming and what did I see but 2 caterpillars. Where have they been cos i have worked in that flower bed. Which reminds me tomorrow I am planting the seed I saved from last year.  I need a whole bed full to feed them. They eat a lot and poop even more.  So they are in the house in their cage and happily eating.  How long til they cocoon?

D33 Update It's a Girl

Great News from SOAR:

The first eaglets ready to move from ICU to the nursery are D33 and a hatch-year 2019 bald eagle from Allamakee County. These eaglets are reliably eating, drinking, and pooping. Any medication routines needed are complete. Patients will often "telegraph" that they are ready for a change of scenery.
Moving days like this are the time when eagles are weighed, a beak depth measurement taken, blood drawn for a blood lead level (if not already done), and a dose of ivomec to control external parasites. (We'll post separately about parasite control!)
D33 weighs in at 11.5 pounds and her beak depth measurement indicates she is a female. (Again... we'll post separately about beak depth measurement).