"Properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit, and it doesn't hurt the untroubled spirit either." ~ Elizabeth Zimmerman

8/31/07

Turkeys?

I decided to skip Friday's Feast this weekend. I didn't have the time or the inclination.

We have new visitors to the Parkarosa Wildlife Motel. Eight young turkeys showed up in the back yard Friday morning. We haven't had turkeys in my yard in years. We can thank Silver for that (said with sarcasm). In the mid 90's we used to have a couple who had babies every year. But then Silver decided he liked turkey and killed a whole brood for his eating pleasure. The turkey couple moved out. Actually, they moved down the road about a mile west of us. So I get to see them on occasion, if they're near the road as I drive by. (They avoid my place like the plague.) This year they had 8 babies. Those babies have grown big enough that Silver wouldn't even think about trying to catch one. Now they're coming by for visits. It's rather exciting. Wild turkeys are so beautifully colored. When the sun hits their feathers just right you can see every color of the rainbow. I've tried getting pics of them, but they are very very shy (and rightfully so-this being Silver the Turkonators house) so as soon as they see me they take off.

On Saturday we had a family bar-b-que at nephew Scott and Stacy's house. It was a combination Labor Day weekend annual family get together/birthday party for nephew Nathan (he's 11 now!). I had a good time. Lots of laughing, and loads of good food as usual. I love to sit and listen to my favorite guys talk. That would be Sweet Hubby, his brothers, and the adult nephews. They have such fascinating and humorous conversations.

Yesterday Sweet Hubby decided he's going to finish the deck. It still needs railings. Railings are important for the upper deck because it's 5 feet high and the Iggy's want to jump off it. Iggy's have very slender legs that break easily, and vet bills for fixing said legs run in the thousands of dollars. I do not want them jumping off the deck! We went to Home Depot for supplies.

Home Depot is having a clearance sale on all their trees. I've been wanting to replace the two trees the moose killed last year. They had two gorgeous 10 foot tall flowering cherries for $19.88 each. Now I have two gorgeous 10 foot tall flowering cherries. I also picked up some chrysanthemums to plant where the pansies got eaten. I'm hoping they're spicy enough that no one will want to eat them. You may wonder where I got that idea? The marigolds have gone untouched all summer long. They smell similar to chrysanthemums. I can hope.......if it doesn't work, I'll know not to get them again.

On the knitting front-I made great progress on my cover up back. In fact, I had 13 inches done-until yesterday morning when I discovered that 6 inches back I had screwed up the stitch pattern MAJORLY! Bad enough that I absolutely could not live with it. The only way to fix it was to tink back. So, I'm back to where I started the last time I posted a progress report. Sigh....2 days of knitting wasted. Oh well. As we knit, so shall we rip.

We got the third clue for the mystery sock, so I've knit the heel flap and turned the heel. I'm working on the gusset now.

I also did some beading. I'm working on a Cellini spiral in shades of blue. I want to teach a class on the subject, so I'm going to make up a bracelet to show Gayle. Hopefully, we'll schedule it for some time in October.

We're going camping next weekend. This will be our first camping trip without our kids, and after school has started. Hubby said something about it being the last camping trip after July's family group camp. I said it didn't have to be. We are footloose and fancy free. We can camp in the early fall when the kids are back in school if we want to. Imagine a campground free of noisy children. We're going to try a park on the St. Joe river, south of St. Mary's. Rumor has it the fishing is good, so I'm taking my pole and my kayak.

Well, I've got trees and chrysanthemums to plant. Have a great day!

8/30/07

The Thirsty Moose starring Miss Molly

We've been wondering why our sprinkler heads have been breaking lately. We aren't mowing them, walking on them, or hitting them with pickaxes (did that once-accidentally). We were starting to think that maybe they were just plain wearing out, until last Saturday evening. The mystery has been solved!

Hubby took a video of a very thirsty Miss Molly. I wanted to post it Sunday morning, but it took a little while for me to learn how all this video stuff works. Then it took all day for me to get it to upload onto the blog. It's not the best of quality because the camera doesn't like taking evening pics. It's one of those tiny Canon digital cameras. Besides, we're amateurs. There is no sound cos we didn't want you to hear our conversation whilst watching Miss Molly. I can't believe she puts her whole mouth over the sprinkler head. The water pressure coming out of there has got to hurt!





We now know Miss Molly comes by every other evening for a drink. I should say night, because after we took this video, we changed the sprinkler timer so she'd have to come later at night, after the dogs have gone to bed. (The barking was getting unbearable.)

Last Monday morning sweet hubby woke me up to tell me that Nubs and Antlers were out front. I got up to see. They were munching on choke cherry trees along the side of the driveway. While they were hard at it, the doe with twin fawns wandered into the driveway. So now we had 2 moose and 3 deer standing in our driveway discussing the merits of nutrition in choke cherries. Hubby was worried he wasn't gonna be able to get to work on time cos they were blocking his way. Antlers was greatly intrigued by the twins and kept trying to follow them around in circles. So Doe with twins went on their merry way. Then Nubs and Antlers decided to create a traffic jam. They slo-o-o-o-o-owly wandered into the street where they caused a great deal of brake screeching, then nimbly hopped over the fence on the other side of the street and went on their merry way. About 5 minutes later ANOTHER doe with a fawn showed up in the driveway to munch a bit. She was just passing through so she took her fawn and went on her merry way. Sweet Hubby went on his merry way while he could.

About 20 minutes later, along comes Miss Molly. Our driveway was like grand central station!

I am making good progress on the knitting. I finished the right front and I'm halfway through the left front of the baby aran cardigan. I've got 7 inches done on the back of the swimsuit cover up. The third clue for the mystery sock was posted yesterday, so I can continue that project too. However, I have some beading obligations to deal with. I have no 'project' figured out yet for next months tubular peyote class. I need to whip something up that's easy and fairly quick so Gayle can take a photo for the newsletter. Arrrgh....I really have no idea what to do on this one. Pattern in it? Or just a plain ol' tube. Plain would be easiest, and it is only a 2 hour class. Hmmm......

Speaking of classes, I had the second session of the cabochon class last night. Didn't go quite as well as last weeks session, but it was fine. I had one student who was having a really hard time with doing the basic edging. I think, perhaps, it was a sight problem. She was using dark beads and was having a hard time finding the holes with her needle. I felt really bad for her cos she didn't finish the project. But I've made arrangements to meet her next week for a personal lesson. The other 3 finished their cabs, and were quite pleased with them. I finished mine too (I made one right along with them). Daughter Ruth helped choose the color of beads I used. I have to say, she's got good color sense. I really like how it turned out. I'll post a pic later.

Let me know what you think of my little video.

Have a nice day.

8/29/07

North Idaho Fair 2007 Report

I won ribbons on all 14 of my entries this year. I entered 6 knitted items, one crochet, and 7 beaded. Here are pics-I took most of these at the fair. I missed a couple items, so I've posted other pics for them. For a better look at each individual item, click on the links (they go to my flickr album)

In the beaded category I entered the following:

Far left-West African Netted Necklace. Blue ribbon

Middle- Red Beaded Knit amulet bag: Blue ribbon

Right- Bead Crochet Lariat: Blue ribbon and Grand Champion. That one was a big surprise, since it's my first bead crochet project.



Another angle.


Sculptural Peyote Chevron Bracelet: Blue ribbon


Purple Victorian Ornament Cover: White ribbon (and I thought they were incredibly generous). My bugle ladders were a little too tight, so the fringe loops wouldn't lay quite properly.



Grace Victorian Ornament Cover: Blue ribbon.


Upper left- Dream Catcher earrings: Blue ribbon.

Center-Peyote Spiral necklace in green: Blue ribbon

Right- Dichroic Cabochon in Black: Red ribbon. I need to work on my fringe laying better.


Knit Dog Sweater: Blue ribbon. I made this for Morgan. The pattern is Dogs In Knits by Judith L. Swartz. It's the sweater on the cover of the book.


My Monkey Socks: Blue ribbon. I'm especially proud of this one.


Lace knit mohair scarf: Blue ribbon.


Piggy Piggy won Blue too!


Slip Stitch Hat: Blue ribbon. This is a pattern in a Vogue Knitting magazine. Unfortunately, I don't remember which issue. I used Cascade 220 for the main/solid color, and Noro Kureyon for the variegated. I got a point deducted for not weaving in the ends of my pom-pom knot. I don't do that because I like to untie them and take the pom-pom off when I wash the hat. But the judges have no way of knowing that.

Last, but not least, here is a pic of my sweet daughter petting an Australian Dragon Lizard (or something like that). They had a display of live reptiles, amphibians, and owls that was really fascinating. I pet the lizard too. He was quite friendly.


There wasn't as much knitting and crochet as there usually is, which is a little disturbing. Hopefully, the entries will increase next year. I saw some awesome entries though. There were a couple of knit lace tablecloths that were absolutely stunning. I'm a long ways away from doing something like that. Some day though.

Have a great day.

8/27/07

Dear Miss Molly

Dear Miss Molly,
I have but one question to ask. What have I done to deserve this? I went out this morning to let the boys do their business only to discover that you have helped yourself to 8 feet of planter boxes worth of blooming pansies and a pot full of petunias that were on the deck. You can not know how much you have hurt me.

I have not complained to you (maybe on my blog, but never to you) when you ate the branches of my baby Honey Crisp Apple tree, demolished the last half of the Yellow Twig Dogwood bush, or stripped all the green plums off the plum tree up as high as I can reach without a ladder. Not even when you stabbed me in the heart by eating my beautiful Star Gazer Lilies just at the peak of beauty have I abused you in return.

All month long you have been provided not only with vitamin stuffed exotic vegetable goodness from my landscaping, but I have provided you fresh, cold, clear pure water from the Rathdrum Prairie too. Even when you stepped on the sprinkler in the front yard and broke it I did not take the water from you. No, instead, sweet hubby replaced it so you could continue to have your much needed beverage.

When you decided you would use our luscious soft green lawn for your bed at night, I have not abused you. Quite the contrary, I have gone to great lengths to make sure your sleep is not disturbed. Even going as far as to put the dogs on a leash and drag them to the other side of the house for their business so you can get your beauty sleep in peace.

Wasn't it me who rescued you when Tommy managed to escape the house and attempted to bite your heals? Did I not scream at him until I was hoarse to get him back in so you would not suffer from his tiny little teeth? Sure, I chased you away afterward, but it was for your good. I did not want your ears to suffer damage from the high decibel barking coming from Tommy's mouth or be injured from possible flying glass as he flung himself against the living room window. He may be small, but I did not know the strength of those windows.

So tell me, Miss Molly, why would you eat the pansies and petunias on the deck? Why would you hurt me like that? You know how much work I put into those planter boxes to make them bloom beautifully. Have I not provided you with enough? Is your tummy not fat enough, and your coat not sleek and shiny enough?

I think you should know that I talked to the Idaho Fish and Game department over the weekend. They are going to contact the hunters who have won Moose tags for our section (2) and give them my phone number. After the shock of finding all of the pansies and petunias gone this morning, I think you'll be getting what you deserve.

Sincerely,
Your host, the Parkarosa Moose Motel

8/25/07

Project News

Todays post will be full of pics. Click on them to enlarge.

This is the back of the baby aran cardigan. I am lovin' it! I did this whole piece without a cable needle. I am really lovin' the freedom. Freedom, freedom, freedom....!


This is the Oregon Red Clover Honey lace yarn I got from Blue Moon Fiber Arts for the Honeybee Stole. Scrumptious! I just wish I had a jar of the honey to put beside it so you could see how close the color is.


This is the mystery sock so far!


I need to do one more repeat of the pattern, which I will get done this weekend. The 3rd clue was going to be posted Friday, but it didn't happen. I'm assuming our hostess is busy busy busy this week. I'm also seeing it as a small reprieve so I can catch up. No cable needle used here. Freedom, freedom, freedom........

This is the new sock yarn I bought Thursday. It's a yarn called Shi Bui. I've never heard of it before, but the hand is very very soft in this yarn, and I just LOVE the color. I'm gonna use this for the "I Love Gansey" sock--which is a pattern for yet another sock KAL I've joined.


This is the Cascade 220 I've bought for my Uncle Jimmy's felt slippers. It's a denim tweed sort of thing. A nice masculine color.


This is the Tatamy Tweed DK for my swimsuit cover up. The color is called Oatmeal. The picture is whiter than the yarn actually is. That's what I get for taking the pic in the sun.


This is my swatch for the cover-up. A better idea of the color too.


It's a fairly simple lace pattern that I've got memorized, which makes the project so much more portable. The cover-up pattern is in the Spring/Summer '07 issue of Vogue Knitting.

Of course, I don't look like this gal. In fact, even when I was skinny my body didn't look like this. It shouldn't look bad on my fluffy body though. It's got a nice slimming line to it. I cast on for the back yesterday and I've already got 4 inches done, so it's a fast knit, which surprised me. I'd forgotten how fast lace knits up.

These are the tomatos on my deck.


My mouth is already watering. Nothing tastes as good as a home grown tomato ('cept maybe cheesecake). I am pleased with the results so far of growing them on the deck. I've never had a ripe one this early before.

This is Chenille. She says MraaAOWww!


In cat talk, that means "Have a nice day, goodbye!"

8/24/07

Fridays Feast 8/24/07

It's Fridays Feast time. Sheesh! Where did the week go? Before we eat, though, I thought I'd give a brief report of yesterdays haul. I went into Coeur d'Alene for the day because the new tires I ordered for my car were in. I no longer have bald tires. I'm ready for ice and snow now--or maybe I should say, my CAR is ready. Not me. I want 3 or 4 more months of summer.

I also visited Harmony Yarns. I don't remember if I've mentioned this or not, but I ordered some Tatemy Tweed DK in the Oatmeal color. This is a cotton/acrylic blend that is very nice. I am going to knit a lace swimsuit cover up for the cruise. I'll get into more detail on that at a later date. While there, I also picked up 3 skeins of Cascade 220, cos I suddenly remembered I'd promised 2 months ago to make my Uncle Jimmy a pair of felt knit slippers (oops!), and I fell in love with a sock yarn-so I bought it. I need more sock yarn like I need a hole in my head. It's shades of the most gorgeous blue, and the softest 100% superwash merino. I'll take pics and whatnot for a later post.

I also popped into Hastings to use the gift certificate I won at sweet hubby's company bar-b-que. (Playing bingo) I got James Pattersons new book The 6th Target, and Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. I started reading the second one last night and had a hard time putting it down. I'm halfway through already. A very funny read-especially if you're a knitter. It's also reassuring that I'm not the only one who gets that obsessive about knitting.

Fridays Feast. Here it is, piping hot.

Appetizer
Say there’s a book written about your life. Who would you want to narrate the audio version?
Lauren Bacall. I just love her voice.


Soup

Take the letters from your favorite kind of nut and write a sentence. (Example: Perhaps every avenue needs understanding today.)
Cathy always sings harmony each Wednesday.


Salad

If you could go back in time and spend one week in another decade, which decade would you choose?
The 50's? I don't know.


Main Course

Name a song that brings back memories for you.
"Could I Have This Dance" by Anne Murray. I fell in love with sweet hubby while we were dancing to this song.


Dessert

Do you prefer to wash your hands in cold water or warm water?
Warm water. The soap works better in warm, and the hands get cleaner. (It's all about getting rid of the germs, right?)


72 hours with no moose damage or sightings. Could they have headed south now--she says hopefully?

Have a good day.

8/23/07

Cabochon Class

When I posted yesterdays entry, I had forgotten that I was teaching a class last night. I remembered later in the morning, thankfully. This was going to be my first class on beading a cabochon. I used this piece as the model for the class:



I made it about 2 years ago. I call it Rootbeer Fun. It is the first 2-part class I'm doing for Gayle, and the first time I'm teaching an evening class. As a rule, I don't do that because I hate driving at night. I have almost no depth perception in the dark. So driving is pretty scary for me.

I was pretty worried about how this class would go. For one thing, the students needed to show up with their cab already glued to some interfacing. I was so worried they wouldn't get that message. I wrote up a handout to give each student when they registered, but I'm not sure they all got one. Well, I know they didn't. But Gayle was able to track 3 of the 4 down and get the message to them in time. I contacted the 4th one myself. But still--you never know.

I was greatly relieved when all 4 ladies showed up with glued cabs. Halfway through class we had to reglue one cos she used Elmers, but it worked out okay. A mistake on my part. I had been told this gal was one of the beading judges at the Spokane County Fair, so I assumed when I called her that she knew what kind of glues are used for beading. I shouldn't have assumed, which in some way I find oddly disturbing, but it is possible that the information given me about her was wrong to start with.

The class went very well. The ladies caught on very quickly, and we enjoyed spending 3 hours together in deep concentration. I worked on a round pink quartz cab. It speaks pink and blue to me, so that's what I'm using. I gave the students homework. They are to come to next weeks class with their cabs trimmed and glued to the pieces of leather I gave them. I am very confident all will have it done. They are all serious about learning, which is thrilling from the teachers perspective (hooray!). There are so many times when I've taught a class and the students don't really have their heart in it. (Why would anyone pay to take a class they don't really want to take?)

I am teaching them the techniques I learned from the book Beading With Cabochons by Jamie Cloud Eakin. It is, by far, the best book on the subject on the market. The instructions are clear, well illustrated, and there are so many wonderful pictures of finished cabs to inspire the creative juices.

Next month I will be teaching 3 classes. One on tubular peyote, one on a crystal tennis bracelet, and a class on making a simple netted ornament cover. It's time to start thinking about Christmas stuff now--if you're planning on making gifts.

I finished the back on the baby aran sweater. The directions require the shoulder stitches be bound off. I decided to put them on holders instead. So I had to do a bit of short rowing. I much prefer joining shoulders with the 3-needle bind off. It makes a much nicer seam. Actually, to be honest, I do the same thing with the last stitches of the toe when making socks. I don't like the grafted toe (kitchener stitch) for some reason, even though I'm perfectly capable of doing it. I cast on and did a few rows for the right front before going to bed.

48 hours without moose damage. I'm lovin' it!

Have a great day.

8/22/07

Surprise Visit from Cousins

I was not having a good day yesterday. It was one of those days where everything I did went wrong. Murphy's law was reigning supreme. I won't go into all the details cos I'd rather forget everything.

I was 45 minutes late to bead group-but I made it! That's something. I worked on something new. I saw a bracelet a few weeks or so ago that was done in Cellini spiral, but it had a definite color pattern in it--white diamond on a field of black. I've been wanting to figure out how that was done. Cindy helped me with it some, and we figured it out--I think. I still have to make one up to make sure, but I know I've got the basic concept. That made me feel pretty good-despite all the times I dropped the beads on the floor, put the needle through the wrong beads, thread on the wrong color or size of bead--arrrghh....it was kind of frustrating. But it was one of those kind of days where the only thing I could do was persevere. So I did-come hell or high water.

I got home after 3pm. And that was without any stops on the way home for groceries or whatnot. When I got home I ate a very late lunch, then puttered around doing bits of house work-like scooping the cat box, putting dishes away, picking up all of sweet hubbies dirty clothes and stuffing them in the hamper in preparation for Wednesdays official 'laundry day', gave the dogs some much needed lovin's, etc. Then I decided to tackle 'the mess'. When I'm beading, my dining room turns into a disaster area. I drag out boxes and take beads out I might use and stack them on the table, a chair, or the ironing board. Along with that will be little bags of beads I've purchased during that time too. Eventually, you need a tour guide to find your way to the ironing board. Once a month I make myself stop and put it all away where it should be. This usually results in a much worse mess before it starts looking clean.

I was right in the middle of the much worse mess part-sitting on the floor in the middle of bead piles segregated by color, when the phone rang. It was 6pm. I say "hello". Some guy on the other end asks if this is sweet hubby's house. I say yes. He says something about not selling anything, but he's from 'down south' (which to me could mean anything from the south end of town to the coast of Mississippi) and he's stayin' in a motel in Post Falls and he wants to get together with sweet hubby and on and on and I'm wondering 'who in the heck is this nut?' He must have figured out I didn't know that cos he then asked me if I was sweet hubby's wife. I said yes. He said we were cousins. He is the son of my father-in-laws sister. He gives me his name. I'm still clueless. Then he tells me he met me once--at the parent-in-laws 50th wedding anniversary party? Sheesh! That was 21 years ago and there were probably 50 relatives I met that day. There's no way I'm gonna remember any of them in particular ('cept Uncle Floyd. No one could forget him if they wanted to).

Eventually, though, we were able to communicate with each other and I figured out he and his wife were from southern Idaho. They were passing through just this one night and wanted to see their cousins who live here in Rathdrum. Could we meet at a restaurant--does Rathdrum have a restaurant? That one made me laugh. We do, but to be honest, none of them could handle a table big enough for this family. I got his phone number and said I'd call back. I needed to see if I could get a hold of everybody first. I'm starting to panic at this point. A stranger has called ME to get the family together and I'm the one person who is usually the last to know about anything, let alone what everyone is doing and/or where they are.

Then the real fun began. No one I needed to talk to was answering their cell phones. I called sweet hubby, in a panic. As usual, he knew just the right words to calm me down and set the ol' brain working again. He works at the same place as his twin, so he talked to sweet Dan and we made a plan. We'd all meet at Chet and Diane's (thankfully, Dan had Diane's new cell phone number). I called Diane to make sure it was okay. (We figured their house cos they are the only ones who actually knew these cousins) Then from there the word went out.

Doug came home right away cos he rode his bike to work and it takes almost an hour to get home when he does. I called back the mystery cousin and gave him directions to Chet's house. Then I tried to get some of the bead mess cleaned up before hubby got home. While he was taking a shower, I went to Nick N Willy's and got a boatload of take-n-bake pizza (best take-n-bake in the world). Then we headed over for the festivities. It all worked out great, and I got to meet some cousins from sweet hubby's family. I heard some really funny stories too. I love hearing funny stories about my in-laws.

I am 2 rows away from being done with the back of the baby aran sweater. I worked on it a bit after we got home last night. So the day may have started out badly, but it ended very nicely. Very nicely indeed.

Oh--no moose damage in 24 hours. How SWEET it IS!

Have a nice day--'cept for the moose who better have a big belly ache.

8/21/07

Know Anyone With a Moose Tag?

Okay, I've had ENOUGH! They have gone TOO FAR this time! I have waited all summer for my Star Lilies to bloom. I've had these bulbs for 14 years and this year they were just loaded--LOADED I tell you--with buds. They started opening a couple days ago. I went out yesterday morning to cut them and bring them in so my house would be filled with their heady tropical scent.

What?!! Where are they? The stems are still there, but the flowers are GONE! Every single one of them! Two large moose prints are in the beauty bark in front of my naked stems.

Is there anyone living near me who has got themselves a moose tag? If so--please CONTACT me!

How come there's never a gun around when you need one?

Have a nice day--except the moose who ate my lilies. I hope YOU get a great big belly ache!

8/20/07

Rain

Knitting update: I got another repeat done on the mystery sock. Also got a LOT done on the baby aran sweater. I'm about an inch above the armhole shaping on the back. The yellow color sure is bright though. I may have to start wearing my sunglasses while I'm working on it. I am so glad I changed to this pattern. Everything is working up to gauge perfectly, though I had to use size 6 needles instead of the requested size 9. I have NEVER used size 9 needles on this pattern. It's always been size 5 or 6 for me, and I'm not a tight knitter. The original designer must have been an incredibly tight knitter (probably could have used a bit of rum in her life-ha ha!).

It rained yesterday. We've had such a long hot summer that it was a joy to go outside and stand in it. Not a hard rain. A nice gentle steady rain that went on all day long and soaked things good. It was 57 degrees all day too-though it didn't feel cold. It felt really good. I enjoyed it immensely.

Sweet hubby and I spent the day together shopping and stuff. We went to the J.C. Penney store in the Spokane Valley Mall because they were having an awesome clearance sale on all the summer clothing. If we need summer clothes for the cruise, we gotta get them now cos in a couple more weeks there won't be any in the stores. For sweet hubby we found 3 pairs of very nice shorts-cotton, with zippers and pockets, and belt loops (not the yucky nylon sport shorts he usually wears)- for a price total less than it would have been to buy just one of them at regular price. I got an actual rush and little high from the whole experience. Finding clothes to fit him is rather difficult because he's a big guy (6'5", about 290 lbs). Finding them on sale at that good of a discount? Priceless!

Then we wandered around the mall. Well, I just had to stop in C.J. Banks. It's my most favorite store for clothes. I found 2 very pretty twill shorts, an awesome tank blouse in jewel tones, a purple shirt with little bird houses embroidered on the top, and a rusty sort of orange shirt with fall leaves embroidered in sequins. That last one sounds really gaudy, but it isn't. Just 3 small tasteful leaves on the chest. Really pretty.

We'd just about seen enough of the mall, so I called Sarah and Frank to see if they wanted to go see 'The Bourne Ultimatum' with us. Turned out they were in Spokane too, shopping for model train supplies. So we met at the Red Robin for dinner. Then Sweet Hubby and I went to the movie, and the kids went home. They weren't interested in a movie. They had fresh hot model train treasures they'd just bought waiting to be installed in the little village and they wanted to go home and play. I can certainly understand that.

Have a great day!

8/18/07

Surfing Around

Don't have much going on. Worked some on my mystery sock. Got 2 pattern repeats in the leg done. 2 more to go and I'll be caught up for clue 3.

I've decided to hand wind my lace yarn. I really don't want to divide it into 2 separate balls. This will take some time, so I will put on one of my favorite DVD's when I do it.

No moose sightings in the last 24 hours, but we know they've been here. There are branches and leaves missing on my Japanese Willow.

The air is thick with smoke this week. I'm not sure where it is all coming from. I know there's a big fire down south, near Lewiston, and a couple smaller fires north of us (less than 200 acres each). It has to be the latter cos the wind is coming from that direction. I've had 2 small asthma attacks and my eyes and nose are itching me into insanity. At least they won't be burning the grass fields this year.

This morning I decided to sit out on the deck and knit while I drank my coffee. I opened the big umbrella over the table and there were 3--thats THREE yellow jacket nests under construction. I finished off the can of wasp spray. I have been stung enough this summer.

While surfing the web, I've come across some things I have found interesting and/or amusing. Click on the bold underlined stuff to see them.

First is what I call "The Sock": a blogpost on YoYo Knits about some adventures of a small sock that was knit by her very cute husband. It's quite humorous.

A tutorial on the Twisted German Cast on: I've heard of this cast on before, and one of my employees even showed me how to do it once, but I forgot. It's supposed to be very good for socks because it's so elastic. I decided to try it on my mystery socks. I love it. It will be my cast on of choice for all socks in the future.

Ever wondered what happened to all those old beige office phones of the past? I've found the answer.: if you are a fiberholic like most knitters, spinners, and crocheters are, you will LOVE this sculptural artwork.

I call this "Someone Has Way Too Much Free Time": Actually, my oldest told me about this site. They have knit a GIANT pink wool bunny. I'm talking HUMUNGOUS!!! You can practically see it from space. Even with several knitters working on this project it still took 3 years to make. It's 'artwork' in Italy somewhere. My question is "Where in the heck did they get that much pink wool in all one dyelot??????"

Then there's the "Bad Sweater Project" : a fellow was given 25 sweaters by a friend who was cleaning out the closet. The captions for each sweater are pretty funny. Unfortunately, I actually found a couple of the sweaters rather pretty. What does that say about me???

I found a Blog that is so funny I couldn't stop reading it for 3 hours straight yesterday (and I was supposed to get some housework done-sigh). Behind the Counter : it's written by a gal who works in the customer service department at a Walmart in Florida. I was SO able to relate to her experiences with customers, having had some of the same things happen at my shop. You start wondering is the world really that full of stupid people??? The sad answer is---yes.

Last but not least, I've entered a blog contest. If I post a link on my blog to it, my name gets entered again. So in the interest of self interest, here's the link: Golden Purl contest.

Have a great day.

8/17/07

Fridays Feast 8/17/07

After much thought, I've decided to not tell the horror story about Tommy and Wednesday's moose. It is sufficient to say I'd forgotten the doggy door was open and he survived without injury. My wits suffered a trauma of course (cos I was scared out of them). As of that moment, the doggy door will no longer be open until snow comes.

Oh yes, and we had yet another moose visit last night. This was a very small female. She was sleeping on the lawn under the fir tree by the corner of the garden. We left her alone. So now, not only is my yard a buffet restaurant, but it's a motel too. Sigh. I'm going to be so glad when they all move south for the winter.

Yesterday was a most pleasant day. I met some friends for lunch. As I was leaving I stopped and checked the mail and my lace yarn had arrived. I ordered a skein of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Laci (100% extra fine merino) in the Oregon Red Clover Honey colorway. Wow! I didn't really know what to expect because every monitor shows colors differently. Looking at it with two here at home one showed it as being more red and brown. The other sort of orange. Neither was right. It's a wonderful warm gold with rusty browns-just like Red Clover honey looks in a jar. And so soooooooofffffttttt. My fingers will be very happy knitting this stuff.

So why have I bought a skein of lace weight yarn? I'm gonna knit some lace! When I saw the new lace stole pattern on Knitspot's blog, called Honey Bee Stole, I HAD to knit it! I haven't knit any serious lace since high school. But this stole has got to be one of the most beautiful lace patterns I've ever seen. It's all I can do to not start casting on right now, especially now that I have the yarn for it. First chore, though, is figuring out how I'm going to wind this 8oz. skein into a single ball with a 4oz. ball making winder. I do not want to weave ends in on this project any more than necessary.

I also got a skein of their Socks That Rock sock yarn. There's so much talk about it in Knitblogland that I decided I need to try it out. It isn't as soft as I would have expected it to be, and it has an interesting twist to it, but we'll see after I've knit it up and washed it. I'm not sure, yet, what pattern, but since the yarn is semi-solid green, I think leaves are in order.

Lunch was wonderful. We went to a restaurant called Dukes, which is right on Hayden Lake. I've lived here 15 years and never saw Hayden Lake before. It's a beautiful lake. Dukes is a cool place. It overlooks Toblers Marina. It has a large dock full of tables, or you can sit in the outside/inside-a dining room with one wall open and facing the lake. It's great! It reminded me of a place we ate at years and years ago when sweet hubby and I went to Hawaii. I had good conversation with my friends and the food was good. I had the Hawaiian burger. Seemed appropriate. I'd like to go there for dinner with sweet hubby sometime. I think he'd like it.

I went to Sears and ordered new tires for my car (the current ones are almost bald!), and I stopped in Fashion Bug to discover they are having a great clearance sale. I got a few things for the cruise including a new swimsuit. After that I popped into Harmony Yarns to check on the status of the Tatamy Tweed yarn I've ordered (It should be in soon). I bought a skein of black sock yarn, then I went home.

Now, on to Friday's Feast.

Appetizer
Describe your laundry routine. Do you have a certain day when you do it all, or do you just wash whatever you need for the next day?

I used to have one I followed religiously cos I am a creature who needs routine. Since closing the shop I haven't really had one, but I need to develop one. Usually I find myself doing it on Wednesday. So I've decided that that will be the official laundry day. When I do it, I try to get it all done in one day.

Soup
In your opinion, what age will you be when you’ll consider yourself to truly be old?

70's??? I think it will depend on how I'm feeling at the time.

Salad
What is one of your goals? Is it short-term, long-term, or both?

To remodel the inside of my house. New flooring, paint, window treatments, the works. As much as I'd like it to be short-term, I'm gonna have to say long-term. There's only so much we can afford per year.

Main Course
Name something unbelievable you’ve seen or read lately.

The story of Blue Moon Fiber Arts and their trouble with the bank that came to the conclusion that there couldn't possibly be that many people who knit socks, therefore their sock club MUST be a fraud. This floored me. I read it on Yarn Harlots blog.

Dessert
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how happy are you today?

About an 8.


Have a great day!

8/16/07

"M" stuff

"M" one---Mystery Sock

Here is the yarn I've chosen for my Socktopia mystery sock. It is Fearless Fiber fingering weight 100% merino wool in the Navajo colorway. This is not superwash-a mistake on my part. I didn't notice that when I ordered it. So these socks will have to be for me cos I'm the only one I know who would bother to hand wash their socks.



This is how it looks wound into a ball. It's so pretty!



I started the sock last night. I tried a new cast on, called the Twisted German cast on, because I've heard that it is very elastic and great for socks. I really like the look of it. I've linked to a tutorial for it in the side bar. I knit the 1.5 inches of ribbing. It is, by far, the most perfect ribbing I think I have EVER knit. I will have to take a pic.

"M" two --- Moose (what else????)

Late in the afternoon I was sitting in the living room casting on for the new baby aran sweater. The sun was shining on the blinds, which were closed so I wouldn't be blinded by the bright. Suddenly, a large shadow crossed the blinds. Naturally, I grabbed the camera. This is who cast the shadow. Introducing Molly Moosy. I went out on the upper deck (facing the garden) to take her pic. She didn't seem to mind.



She posed for a profile pic. By the way, that horizontal board to the left of her face is 4 feet from the ground, so as Moose go, she's on the small side, but definitely bigger than the two boys who visited last week.



Chenille was stalking her for a bit (she must have thought I said large mouse?) but changed her mind and settled down to watch with me.



Miss Moose decided I was not a threat and came over for a Birch snack.



She was panting pretty hard because it was blistering hot out. Then, the sprinklers in the front came on. She investigated. She stood in the sprinklers for a good 10 minutes to cool off, and even drank from them like they were drinking fountains. It was great fun to watch (from the safety of the front porch of course).


She turned to say goodbye before heading back into the woods.


Now, there is a horror story that goes with Molly involving a very very bad Tommy who managed to get out of the house and almost got stomped on. But I will address that later, when I've got more time. Right now I've got to get ready to go. Meeting friends for lunch!

Have a great day.

8/15/07

Lets Start Again, Shall We?

I've been working on the baby Pea Pod Cardigan and it just isn't working. The yarn is too thick for the pattern. Initially I was going to just knit it anyway, adjusting the pattern as I went along for the inappropriate gauge I was getting, but the more I knit the less I liked it. This is supposed to be a baby sweater. Not something for a 4 year old. Sometimes that happens, yarn just doesn't fit. So I have completely ripped it out and dived into the pattern stash for something that will work with this yarn.

For the most part, I hate this yarn. It's old acrylic, and it's like knitting with nylon rope. I'm hoping it will soften up when it's washed. There are tricks I can try when I come to that step.

The pattern I have chosen instead is an Aran Baby Set from a 1972 magazine issue of McCalls Knitting Book 5. I've scanned the photo. It's pure coincidence that it's yellow.



I've made this set many times over the years. Makes a great gift for baby showers. The last time I made it, I used some Fizz Multi (S.R. Kertzer) fur yarn for the collar (the baby was a girl) and around the front edge of the bonnet. It turned out gorgeous.

Had a nice time at bead group yesterday. I made a lanyard for Ruth's little magnifier that she carries with her when she's out in the field looking at rocks. She came home yesterday to pick some things up that were forgotten and I gave it to her. Should have taken a pic, but didn't think of it. I used lots of stone and jasper beads like yellow jasper, rain forest jasper, black onyx, snowflake obsidian, turquoise, yellow turquoise, and whatnot. So the basic color scheme was limy green, black, silver, and turquoise. She really likes it, which pleases me no end. Next time she comes up I'll snag a pic.

Have a great day.

8/13/07

Sock News

I finished the second Monkey sock. Hurray! I've got a pair. When I went walking with C and J I took them along for a little show and tell. J asked if I was going to enter them in the fair. Oops! Is it fair time already? I wasn't going to because the stitches where I changed needles looked really sloppy. I washed them when I got home-they're first washing on the gentle cycle, then a trip in the dryer on the knits cycle. Then I steam blocked them. They came out beautiful! What's more, the uneven stitches had evened out. I gathered them and all my other fair offerings and headed for the fair grounds. I forgot to take a pic of the socks before going. So we'll have to wait until fair time is over. Maybe there'll be a ribbon to include in the pic.

I've entered 5 knitting projects (red mohair scarf, Monkey Socks, slip-stitch wool hat, Morgans red cable sweater, and a beaded knit amulet bag), 1 crochet (bead crochet rope lariat), and 7 beaded items (2 Christmas ornament covers-one green and one purple, West African netted necklace, peyote chevron bracelet, tubular peyote necklace, dream catcher earrings, and cabochon-in-black necklace).

It's been a few years since I've entered anything in the fair. I used to be quite involved with it. I entered stuff all the time in the hand and machine knitting, crochet, and counted cross stitch depts, and even offered special coupons for people who won ribbons at my shop. But when the girls started college I found myself unable to go anymore. At fair time I was helping pack, load, haul, and unpack my daughters to school. This year, though, Ruth went down a week early.

Now I need to start a new pair of socks. If I'm gonna be in a Sock a Month KAL, I better knit socks! I was trying to decide whether to start a pair of mens socks (which would require a less than exciting stitch pattern cos the man in question is pretty conservative) or maybe a pair of wild hot pink variegated Jaywalkers cos I'm dying to try that pattern? Then I popped over to the Socktopia blog, another sock KAL I've just joined. Ooooooo----a mystery sock for this month. My interest is peaked. I'm going to make that. Now to pick a yarn, cos the hot pink ain't gonna work.

Bead group today. Have no idea what I'm gonna work on. It is Kathryns birthday though, so we'll have cake. Goody!

Have a good day.

8/12/07

The Promised Moose Pics

Today we are moving daughter Ruth back to college. She is starting her Junior year as a Geology major. This particular move is of great significance. Her first apartment. She is sharing with 2 of her friends. This should save us a considerable amount of money because living on campus is very expensive in comparison. But, more importantly than that, it should instill in her a sense of independence.

When Sarah went off to college she already had a desire to be independent. She couldn't wait to be on her own. Not because she hated it at home, but because she's just one of those independent kind of people. Ruth, on the other hand, is more of a homebody. It's going to take a little longer for her to leave the nest completely. But that's okay. We all take flight in our own time. Just as long as she takes flight eventually. (I may have to shove her out--heh heh.)

On Friday I promised moose pics. Saturday I wasn't in a blogging mood. Therefore, I did not blog. A day late, but here are the promised pics.

These are the two moose we saw last Monday night. They returned Friday during the day. We thought we were looking at a young male and female-possible siblings. We were wrong. They're both males. The one we thought didn't have antlers actually has some-nubs though they be. What's interesting is that the one with nubs is larger than the one with actual antlers, which just goes to show that antlers don't necessarily make the moose (? Did I say that?).

We first saw these moose at the bottom of the hill, but they were kind of hard to see in the bushes. I could tell, though, that they were headed toward us, so I waited until they got closer to the house before I turned on the camera. Here they are coming out of the bushes just off the lawn. (I was standing on the deck.) Click on them to enlarge, should you so desire.



Nubs was a lot braver than Antlers so he just went where he wanted. This was his warning look to me. Antlers kind of hung back, and watched me with a great deal of mistrust. So, instead of following Nubs out, he circled around behind the trees just behind Nubs.


Antlers came out near the corner of the garden.


Nubs joined him, and they feasted on Thimble Berries for awhile.


You can see how nervous Antlers was. He put the fence between us before he felt safe enough to eat. Meanwhile-Nubs is oblivious.


After a bit, Nubs decided to walk across and try out some of the landscaping. Antlers followed-but stayed in the bushes, so you can't see him, but he's there.


Here Nubs turned to say goodbye before going back down the hill and on their way.


Such magnificent animals. These guys are little as moose go, but they're so big!

Over the last few years the building has been out of control in this area. Housing developments are going up right and left on Rathdrum Prairie. Even the Meyers have put their huge blue grass fields up for sale-something I didn't think I'd ever see. This is shrinking these guys habitat and forcing the wildlife toward us. I feel really bad about that. The prairie was so beautiful before. I hate to see it swallowed up in houses and mini malls. Sigh.....

What price progress?

Have a nice day.

8/10/07

Fridays Feast 8/10/07

Ah Ha! I remember-it's Friday. Heh heh........



Appetizer

What is your favorite kind of pie?
Pumpkin!

Soup
Name something that made you smile this week.
I can only name one thing? Looking at my daughter after she got her hair cut yesterday. (We gots our hair done.) She's so darn pretty.

Salad
What do you do to cool off when the weather is hot and humid?
Usually I stay indoors, turn on the air conditioner, and drink lots of beverages with lots of ice. But sometimes me and hubby seek the coolness of a restaurant for dinner, or a mall, or go see a movie in an air conditioned theater.

Main Course
You receive $1,000 in the mail with a letter that says you can only use the money to redecorate one room in your home. Which room do you pick, and what do you buy to spruce it up?
It would be the down payment on new flooring! Our living room carpet is a light aqua blue (which I hate) and it bears many stains of many pets and spills-not to mention it's almost completely worn out. I want bamboo flooring in the worst way!

We live in a double wide mobile home, though it looks like a house. When we bought it, new, my choices for carpet were pink, grey, or blue--none of which I could live with. So we 'upgraded' our carpet. I wanted green in the worst way. In the light of the office, what I picked looked green. Sigh....it wasn't. We didn't complain cos it was better than any of the other choices. But ever since, I've wanted new flooring.

I want bamboo cos it's really durable, pet messes are easily cleaned up, and it's gorgeous to look at.

Dessert
Fill in the blank: My __bedroom clock__ says __it's 7:10am__, but I _know it's an hour slow cos I didn't change it when daylight savings time started_.

Had moose visit yesterday. Will post pics tomorrow.

Have a great day.

8/9/07

Monkey Report

Thankfully, no visit from the Moose last night. I am trying to think of a way to protect my baby apple tree (Honey Crisp--this years Mothers Day gift). They've nibbled on the top, but not enough to affect its growth. I'm thinking of that bird netting stuff that keeps birds out of fruit trees. Maybe make a tent around it-if I can find a 6 foot high 1x1 in Sweet Hubby's stash. Yes-that should work.

I've been reading in the forums on Ravelry. There's lots of interesting stuff. One item in particular was a post by someone who wonders if we should be politicizing knitting. Now, I willingly admit, I'm not so sure I know what that means-politicizing, but I got the general idea of this persons concerns. She doesn't like the traditional stereotype of a knitter-little old granny in a rocking chair making a hideous sweater. There are legitimate business owners in the knitting industry who have run into some serious discrimination because knitters are not taken seriously. Take for instance, the fiasco experienced by Blue Moon Fibers-something I didn't know about until yesterday which you can read about in Yarn Harlot's January 11th blogpost. I am shocked by this and other stories I've heard. I know when I tell people I'm a professional knitter I do NOT like the reaction I get. It's insulting.

Anyway, they were discussing ways to overcome the stereo type and someone talked about how we all should KIP whenever we can. There's a term I was not familiar with. What is KIP? The answer is Knitting In Public. If more people saw us who are not old ladies in rocking chairs knitting, the stereotype would eventually go away. I took this to heart.

Ruth and I took the Echo to Jiffy Lube for an oil change yesterday. I took my Monkey Sock and worked on it while we waited for the car. It was busy. Standing room only in the waiting room. (Fortunately I had a chair near a little table where I could lay my pattern and row counter) I got stares, and eventually inquiries. People are fascinated by the fact that my Dad taught me to knit. I finished the heel flap and got about halfway through the gusset before the car was done.

However, later in the evening I discovered, while watching Last Comic Standing (which was boring-sigh), that I'd somehow screwed up on the decreases at the very beginning of the gusset, so I had to frog everything I'd done at Jiffy Lube. Well, at least I KIPed. I'm going to do that more often. KIP, not frog. Heh heh. Since I've gotta be knitting at least one pair of socks a month (because I joined the SAM4KAL) I might as well haul them around with me. I've got a cute little leopard print purse that a sock project fits nicely in.

Oh yes. I should tell you I have ordered the Bee Fields Rectangular Stole pattern from Knitspot. I have not knit a lace shawl in years, but I HAVE to make this one. It is SO gorgeous! I've also ordered the Oregon Red Clover Honey Laci yarn from Blue Moon Fibers to make it. What do you think the chances are of me getting it done in time for the cruise?

If you knit, KIP! Lets educate the public out there.

Have a great day.

8/8/07

Day 2 -The Cloven Hooves War 2007

One of the benefits of living in the wilds of north Idaho is you get to see beautiful and amazing wildlife in your back yard-literally. But, at the same time, one of the drawbacks of living in the wilds of north Idaho is you get to see beautiful and amazing wildlife in your back yard.

August is when things get dicey around here. The woods get dry and crunchy, the weather is hot and sunny. The fire danger soars through the roof. The animals get a lot more daring in the search for water and green food. We are invaded.

Over the course of the 14 years we've lived in this house, I've seen porcupines, skunks, squirrels, chipmunks, mice, moles, coyotes, turkeys, pheasants, grouse, cougars, raccoons, deer, elk, bear, and moose-just to name a few. It's quite a thrill. However, I've also had-- my cats and sheep attacked and/or killed by coyotes, my garbage raided by 'coons and bears, to stop a racoon's attempt to get in the house, to chase a coyote out of the house with a broom, to catch squirrels running around my living room, been trapped in my car by a moose in the driveway, Morgan kicked by a deer requiring surgery last year, Tommy mauled by a coyote, my children stalked by cougars, and my landscaping attempts destroyed by the deer and moose.

Most of the time I love living here, but there are times when I hate it. In August I stop feeling safe. I'm not complaining. I'm just saying, with the good there is a bit of bad to put up with.

Last night the moose returned after we went to bed and demolished half of my very large rose bush (well over 8 feet tall and 6 feet wide), and have nearly finished off the Yellow Twig Dogwood. They tasted the Japanese Willow. I wouldn't mind this, but every year something gets eaten to death. I lost 2 young trees last year (trees aren't cheap!). Sigh.

During the day, while I was beading away at Cindy's shop, my daughter Ruth caught these pics of a deer and her fawns, mowing the lawn for us. (Click on the pics to enlarge)


Mmmm.....so tasty.


Cute little ones.


Don't they make a nice family?


Time to go, kids!


Goodbye!


Have a great day!

8/7/07

Ravelry and Some Cool Pics

Yesterday I got nothing done during the day-well, that's not completely true. I did take an hour break to get the boys nails trimmed at the groomers. Other than that, I was on the computer for the whole day. No knitting, no beading, I didn't even get out of my jammies until after 2pm-when daughter Ruth pointed out I was still in my jammies. Sweet Hubby was an hour late getting home from work and I hadn't even started dinner yet. Why you may ask?

I GOT MY RAVELRY INVITE!!!!!!!! Hurray!!!!!!!

What an absolutely cool place for knitters! I found out 132 other members are working on the Monkey sock. How cool is that? Suddenly, we who live in rural areas are no longer isolated and alone. There's tons of yarn info, pattern info, book info, tool info, gadget info. There are forum groups for like minded knitters to join (I joined two. Idaho Knitters and the SAM4KAL group). You can link your blog, and your flickr album. There's email too. You can make a journal of all your projects, finished or not. Make a catalogue of your books, patterns, and yarn stash. All in all, a wonderful wonderful place on the web. I am SO glad to be a member, and I hope the creators get filthy rich from it.

I spent quite a bit of time filling out my own profile and notebook info. I've still got a long ways to go to getting it done, but I wanted to look around and find out just what Ravelry is all about. That's when I got excited about it. I think this will change the knitting industry-the way patterns and yarns are marketed and sold. And I think it will benefit knitters more than anyone else. I also see it being a great tool for the local yarn shop. I would have loved having this kind of resource for my shop.

They're still in beta, so you have to ask for an invite. They should be going public soon though. If you haven't asked for your invite, I recommend you do. It took 2 months for mine to come through, but it was worth the wait. Go to Ravelry.

After hubby got home, and I was 'forced' to turn off my laptop and join the world of the living, I made dinner. After dinner I got going on my Monkey sock. Finding out 132 other people are knitting it at the same time as me was very inspiring. I worked until I finished the leg. This morning I started the heel flap. I'm on fire now!

And now, for the pictures. Let me preface this by saying that two nights earlier this week something ate the lower branches of our trees, and upper branches of a couple of our bushes during the night. Something that can reach up 8 feet. I know what that is, but on to the story.

Last night, around 9:00pm, Tommy started acting agitated. He kept looking out the living room window and running around in circles. He didn't bark, but clearly, he was upset about something. The lights were on outside, but we couldn't see anything out there.

A little later the boys wanted outside, I thought to pee. I opened the door and all the motion sensor lights were on. Tommy shot past me. He ran all the way down the hill, past the satellite dish, then circled back up the hill barking his little head off all the way. I grabbed a big flashlight, but there was nothing there. So, after barking a bit more and hopping up and down, he ran into the house. Morgan peed, then strolled back into the house. It was then that I saw it. A moose, standing just off the lawn by the garden-opposite direction of Tommy's little bark fest. I quickly got in the house and shut the door. Best if the boys don't see that.

Who was it that called Italian Greyhounds SIGHT hounds??? Neither of them saw a thing. Obviously, they'd heard and smelled something though.

About 15 minutes later they wanted out again. Well, I'm not taking chances. Moose can make an Iggy into a flat pancake with one stomp. So I grabbed the flashlight and squeezed out the door, leaving the dogs inside for a bit to check things out. No motion lights were on. I waved my arm to turn the one on nearest me, then clicked on the flashlight just as a small female moose came charging up the hill straight for the Yellow Twig Dogwood bush. Whoa! I ain't letting my dogs out!

I squeezed back into the house and told Sweet Hubby and Ruth about it. Then I grabbed my camera. We all squeezed back out the door to watch the mayhem. This is the pic I got. I am surprised I was able to get anything at all, cos I could not see the moose in the little video screen used to set up the pic. But the flash went off, and I had guessed pretty good.


Click on the pics to enlarge.

Then hubby told me to point my camera toward the satellite dish and take a pic. I did-with flash of course. There was a pair of eyes down there. A second moose!



Seconds later a young male came charging up the hill to join the first in the destruction of the Yellow Twig Dogwood. We think they are siblings. Small for moose, but big as animals go. Definitely larger than a horse. I stepped down onto the lawn to take this pic. They didn't like it at all and started moving toward me, which scared me so I hightailed it back up the steps. You don't mess with Moose! They took off down the hill after that.



You'll notice the top of that Dogwood has been stripped bare of leaves. That was a much bigger moose that had visited during the night over the weekend. It's what ate everything 8 feet high. I noticed my baby apple has been nibbled on a bit. Yikes! It must be August. This is the month of the moose and deer invasions. The woods are dry and crackly. Our green yard suddenly looks like a smörgåsbord of delightful juicy tasty tidbits. The battle begins.

I have bead group today.

Have a great day.