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

4/30/11

Evening Grosbeak Invasion

It has snowed every morning this week. On Tuesday we actually had a snow storm. It piled up high enough that I had problems getting out of my driveway, and the county dragged the plows back out of storage so they could plow the roads. Records have been broken for the coldest spring since 1917.

Through all this depressing weather, there is a shining beacon of pleasure. Because of the snow getting in the way of their usual food supply, the Evening Grosbeaks have been hanging out at the Parkarosa Bird Buffet. Yesterday Ruth and I counted at least 30 of them chowing down on black sunflower seeds. I say 'at least' because it was hard to get an exact count. They stay still for about 2 seconds. I got pictures.

On this day, the snow was melting as fast as it was falling. Click on the pics to embiggen.


This is a male Evening Grosbeak. I love the bright yellow eyebrows.

 
  This is a female Evening Grosbeak. Notice her beak is blue. Their beaks are blue during the mating season.


 The guys dominated the feeders. Most of the girls were on the ground, eating their leftovers.


Or maybe it would be better to say they were cleaning up the mess the guys were making?

I got some knitting done. I'm working on the ribbing of the second sleeve of the Knitwits sweater now. I should be able to block it soon. I also got back to work on the second of the first pair of Entrelac mitts. I want to get them finished. I plan to work on the second of the Rainbow mitts during the class I'm teaching on it.

Sweet Hubby wanted to know if we've had snow this late before so I was reading some of my old blog posts to find out (the answer is no). I ran across a post about a vest I'd started making with some of Jacquetta's Garden Party Fibers yarn. I completely forgot about that project. I think preparations for my daughters wedding shoved it to the back hole of my brain. I should dig it out and finish it. I could use a nice quick instant gratification project.

Live long and prosper. \\//

3 comments:

  1. Lovely birds. We get goldfinches here, love the bright yellow. Hope it warms up for you soon!!

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  2. You know your photography, especially that of your birds, is awesome. You could easily add
    another sideline any time. You
    should consider it. It is obvious by viewing your pix how much you love doing it... Not to say how much
    I enjoy this part of your blog.
    Hugs

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am so jealous! Beautiful birds and we don't have them in SW Michigan.

    Seems like if they like your climate they would like my climate. It's very similar to yours - winter that doesn't know when to stop!

    ReplyDelete