Last year, a couple of hawks nested in one of the trees in our front yard. We so enjoyed watching them go about their lives, and then trying to catch glimpses of the babies once they were born. Last year we saw as many as three babies at one point, but as they grew older, we only saw one. I was very excited this year when we began to see them back at the nest again.
This year, unfortunately, we were able to see one of the babies up close. It had fallen out of the tree and was lying dead at the base of the tree when Mr. Fiber found it. They are still pretty small - his body was a little smaller than my fist - so we can't see yet how many others are left.
It just makes you think a bit. That's just a part of their lives. Not all of the babies make it. These guys are birds of prey and they still have it hard.
We've been having some, let's say, challenging times here lately. I guess it makes me glad though that my babies haven't fallen out of any trees. Things aren't great, but they could be worse.
Another sad thing to happen recently is that my local yarn shop has closed. This past Friday was its last day. I think I'm still in denial. Read NeighborKnitter's post about it. She's better with words than I am. I am really going to miss having a source of yarn nearby (5 minutes from my house), but even more, I'm going to miss meeting up with all of the amazing ladies that I have gotten to know through the store. I hope we are able to continue meeting every now and then.
Back to the hawks. I was able to get a picture of one of them (I think it's the male, but not really sure about that) the other day. I set my camera to it's highest resolution and took this picture:

The hawk it standing up on his nest in the center of the picture, right beside the roof. Below you see the zoomed up sample of the hawk. It makes me really wish I had a lens with more zoom. I've not been able to identify it yet, because the books mostly show you their differences when they are in flight with the wings and tail spread out. I don't usually get to see my hawks that way. They are generally sitting on the nest, on a nearby branch, or sometimes even on the roof of our garage. One of my mother's friends is a big birder. Mom has relayed as much info about it as she can to her. She feels that it might be either a Cooper's Hawk or a Sharp-Shinned Hawk.
If any of you out there know birds and can identify it, I would appreciate it!

Finally posting a picture of my Brea bag. I still need to find a belt for the handle. I have the button that I am going to use for the closure. I am quite happy with it.

Below is a picture of a fabulous little corduroy outfit for Flora that my friend, Lindsley, found for her. She won't be able to wear it for another year or two,but I can't wait! It looks like the kind of thing I wore and loved when I was growing up in the 70s. I may have to make up a pattern to make a smaller pair for sooner.

Weekend before last we went for a long weekend visit to Mr. Fiber's 98 year old grandmother's house. She still lives on her farm out in the eastern part of the state. We always love our time there and wish we could just live there with her. During this visit, we cooked her fish stew, oyster stew, and fried oysters. It was just yummy!
Here is Bruce riding an old trike that is there. Here is my older post from a visit there last year.

This is the bag in which my younger sister put my birthday present from her and my older sister. It's a Victoria's Secret bag. I love the t-shirt that she made for the model.

This past birthday (I'm a Pisces) was just fabulous. I recieved so many great things from friends and family. Beer, pottery, and a plethora of dvds. We don't get cable and our plaster walls deter good reception form rabbit eras, so we usually give each other dvd collections for birthdays. This year, Hubby went all out. He says I deserve it for being pregnant and giving birth this past year.

We tend to be a bit Anglophiles, much like NeighborKnitter, and this year my presents reflect that. I received the Upstairs, Downstairs collection, the Jeeves & Wooster collection, and Edward the King. My sisters gave me the Monty Python's Flying Circus collection.

Who needs cable with such great weekend tv viewing possibilities?

Would like to type more, but Flora is screaming. Knitting is occuring, as well as some sewing plans. Hope to have time to tell more soon.

WooHoo!!!
Another Potter themed activity to keep me busy while I wait so impatiently for Book Seven's release!

I have joined up with the Hogwarts Sock Swap, hosted by the most ingenious Rebecca. She has included in the fun a house contest where we can earn points for our respective houses.

The first challenge is to answer the swap questions ASAP.
Here it goes:

Hogwarts Sock Swap Questionnaire

1. What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into?

Ravenclaw (The raven, by the way, is an extremely intelligent bird. Take a listen to this Diane Rehm interview with John Marzluff, the author of "In the Company of Crows and Ravens". Scroll down the page to find it.
Fascinating.

2. Shoe size?

7 1/2 - 8 (one's a bit too big, the other is a bit too small)

3. Foot Length?

9

4. Foot Circumference?

8 1/2

5. List your three favorite double-point needle brands, including size and length.

I'm happy with just about any brand. I usually prefer metal because the points tend to be a bit sharper. I've been interested in Knit Picks new dpns. No shorter than 5 inches and ranging in size from 0000 to 0. I like to make my socks on small needles. They tend to last longer that way.

6. Would you like to try a new brand needle? If so, which brand? Size? Length?

I really am up for trying out anything, as long as there is a decent point on them. Any materials would be welcome!

7. If you are a RAVENCLAW, do you prefer the colors in the film or the book? Do you have a strong preference?

As a Ravenclaw, I strongly prefer the house colors as described in the books - blue and bronze.

8. Are you willing to have an international Hogwarts Sock Pal?

I would love to!


This swap looks like it is going to be a lot of fun! My younger sister (a 5th grade teacher) was just this morning making fun of me for my interest in HP and HP knitting. I love being able to let her know that there are other adults out there with the same - shall we say - passion.
I can't wait to get my swap partner and begin her socks!

Brooke tagged me for a meme last week. I just haven't been able to get to it since we took a long weekend out to Granny's farm. (pictures to come)
So here it goes:

Seven Things To Do Before I Die
1. Enjoy my grandchildren
2. Watch my children become parents
3. Get organized
4. Learn to be a good housekeeper
5. Visit Scandinavia
6. Have a few-months-long trip in the British Isles
7. Find something I can make at home in my spare time, enjoy making it, and sell it for a reasonable price to many, many people.

Seven Things I Cannot Do:
1. Watch scary movies
2. Separate myself from the characters I read about in books
3. Trust "The Man"
4. put things back where they belong (I try, really I do)
5. Live in my hometown with the rest of my family
6. Leave a short message on an answering machine
7. Take the Bible literally

Seven Things That Attract Me to…...North Carolina
1. Mountains
2. Piedmont
3. Coastal Plains
4. Some great history (interesting fact: NC is the site of the first documented discovery of gold. We were known as "The Golden State" for a while before California had their gold rush.)
5. trees
6. wild daylilies (or "outhouse lilies" as my great aunt used to call them)
7. Intelligent men with North Carolina accents

Seven Things I Say
1. Come on, Bruce
2. Socks and shoes on Bruce
3. Let me finish this row
4. Pooters
5. Are you finished with your breakfast?
6. Hurry up Bruce!
7. Please, girl, don't spit up again!

Seven Good Books
1. Orlando by Virginia Woolf
2. Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake
3. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
4. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
5. Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody mysteries
6. Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis
7. The Godfather by Mario Puzo

Seven Good Movies:
1) Dreams - Akira Kurosawa
2) The Seven Samurai - also Kurosawa
3) My Man Godfrey - William Powell is just so fabulous! Carole Lombard was hilarious!
4) The General - Buster Keaton
5) Strange Brew
6) M - Fritz Lang
7) After Life - Hirokazu Koreeda

There are so many more books and movies I could list. It's so hard to stop at seven.
I've finished up my Brea Bag - all but finding an appropriate handle.

So much going on here and not enough time to tell. Should really go clean house.