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

8/6/19

Chicka dee dee dee.

When we got home from our camping trip in June there was something new over the front door, specifically on top of the outdoor light fixture. A birds nest. We've never had a nest there before, and I was wondering what idiot bird would put a nest there? It's not really a good place for one.

For about a week or so I ignored it, though we did shut off the outside light so no one was in danger of electrocution. Every time we open the front door, a very fast little bird would fly away from the nest to the plum tree. It's so fast we haven't been able to tell what kind of bird it is.

A little over a week ago my curiosity got me so Ruth climbed up on a step stool and held up a mirror over the nest so we could see if anything was in it. There were three teeny tiny little eggs, all white with brown spots. I did some research using the nest construction and eggs as guides and came to the conclusion it's Chickadees, which are one of my favorites. There's quite a bit of moss in this nest and Chickadees are well known for using it to build with. I've been paying attention since then and there is definitely a pair of them hanging around the front of the house all of the time. If I'm in the front yard they sit in the plum tree and chirp angrily at me, so I'm fairly sure I'm correct.

Yesterday Ruth and I checked to see how the eggs are doing. Two of them have hatched.



Two adorable baby Chickadees have entered the world. Arrows point to the two little heads.



I got up on the step stool to take pics with the camera and this little one turned and looked at me. Poor little thing looked miserable. It was horribly hot out (95F). I hope mother is providing proper hydration.



It's kind of exciting to have babies here. I filled the buffet feeders so mom and dad will be well fed.

This morning the air was much clearer than yesterday, though still a bit smokey. It's 95F degrees out. I'm staying indoors, except when I went to the Rathdrum Library for knitting, and the grocery store following.

Speaking of grocery shopping, I've brought something in to my life to help the earth in my very tiny way. I am getting rather concerned about one use plastic and it's affect on our environment. I've been using canvas shopping bags for years, but still have been bringing my produce home in plastic bags. I finally got reusable produce bags from Amazon.



I've been using them and I like them a lot. They're washable, they're clear enough that food can be scanned without taking it out (The clerk tried it. It works!), and they each have a little tag that says how much they weigh so it can be subtracted from the weight of the produce inside. I was a little concerned how the sales clerks would react, but it turns out I'm not their first customer to have them. That made me happy.

The only problem I have had is what do I store the produce in after I get it home cuz it's not in plastic bags? Lettuce, broccoli, celery, etc doesn't do well just sitting in the veggie drawer in the fridge. I googled to find out what other people do about it. Today I ordered some containers specifically for this purpose, and I'm learning some produce can do just fine without a bag/container. I found this pdf about how to store produce without bags. I am learning so much.  It's a big change, but if we all did it, it would sure have a fantastic impact on the earth.

I am almost done with the last sleeve side panel. Only about 20 rows to do. WOO HOO!

Live long and prosper. \\//



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