Pictures of the Oops
A little dark, but I took them first thing in the morning.
The color is still there -- on the inside.
I have to admit, the fading didn't really break my heart. Worse things have happened to me. I'm not a big pink fan (despite the rose and green Fizzy socks), and the wristwarmer is still warm. Now I have to do a test exposure of some of the wool I dyed with Easter-egg coloring!
This little lady looked like she could have used something warm this morning, sitting on a rose cane with her feathers all fluffed up.
I meant to get out there and prune the rose tangle, but now I'm too late. There's a nest of chipping sparrows, Spizella passerina, in there and pruning will have to wait.
When we first bought our house, at the signing the previous owner asked us what we were going to do with the property. I guess his thought was development. Our answer was, "Live there," and I'm sure some people would add, "And let it go wild," but I call it "Managing the property for wildlife."
I keep a path mowed so I can get out there and keep an eye on it, which includes raspberry and wild strawberry-picking, birdwatching, and admiring wildflowers. Also hacking back autumn olive and discouraging the poison ivy from taking over the world.
We have an area where my husband built a fire circle, and we have room so people can camp back there when we have our once-a-year open house, come and hang out, get-together. (Can you tell this is not a highly structured event?)
Right around the house I keep the grass mowed, so the mosquitoes don't have nice long grass to rest in and rise up out of, and also because the combination of waist-length hair and elbow-high grass is just a tick ladder. No sense in making it any easier for the little bloodsuckers!
Edited to add handy link to Cornell's Chipping Sparrow webpage and Latin name -- oops, guess that ruins the meter!
Labels: birdwatching, knitting
posted by Alwen | 7:50 AM
9 Comments:
Did you know you write poetry? "I meant to prune the roses, but now it is too late./There's a nest of chipping sparrows in there and pruning will have to wait." Love it.
Very Emily Dickenson.
What are chipping sparrows? Chirping sparrows with a typo, or some distinct sub-species?
I love your wildlife habitat. Wonder if it's worth the paperwork to get made official?
I also admire the vintage look of those faded silk wrist-warmers.
Yes - not faded, just vintage!
Love your pictures and descriptions of the wildlife - I think it's great that you have this literally in your own backyard.
I'm with you on the management of your open space -- what a perfect way to ensure an endless supply of berries to eat and birds to watch! Alas for the ticks, but there's always something, right? Around here, it's the fact that with blackberries, there will be poison oak. It's a worthwhile price to pay for those sweet gems, though :)
Thursday I went "out back" to pick up some sticks so I could mow the paths and the Chipping Sparrows were going nuts so I decided to "manage the property for wildlife" and left.
I love living here, even with the ticks, deer flies, mosquitoes, and black flies. The deer flies are active (trying to get my blood) right now. They're my least favorite of the four. Their bites hurt! And there's no getting away from them.
Okay... now I'm curious. How much vinegar did you use when you dyed the silk, and what temp did you heat it to? And for how long?
That pink you're seeing is Red 3. Red 3 is the devil.
Oh, and I've been cruising Lacis and thinking of you. Hope your ears aren't burning too much.
I've been seeing chipping sparrows, too, hopping around in the yard, completely unafraid of me. I've long heard them, but this is the first year I've gotten a really good look at them. They are a striking little bird, aren't they? A departure from the typical sparrows, which one of my professors described as "little brown birds"--that was a whole sub-category of birds, in his book!
Finally - I have caught up with the postings from the time we were on holiday - I love your land management - oh - and weather - we're the same - wait 5 minutes! But we don't get snow - except in the mountains.
We are the same way on the property management. Just enough to make it liveable. My neighbors have beautifully manicured lawns and yards and we have patches of wildflowers and tall grass. No chemically enhanced grass. Just crab grass and clover and dandelions. I love dandelions (much to my neighbors chagrin)
Alwen, I really would love to see some shots of your property that give a sense of the space. You know I'm as much a fan of the macro shots as you are, but something more panoramic would be just great - I'd love to see more of where you live.
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