Bird Brain

Use the talents you possess - for the woods would be a very silent place if no birds sang except for the best.

~Henry Van Dyke

I have birds on my mind.  I guess it starts with the new chickens which should start laying soon.  Then it moves on to the turkeys we are raising for Thanksgiving & Christmas dinner; are they big enough yet or should we let them go another couple of weeks.

Then it meanders like a flooding stream to this little bird. 

#2 son nicely paid for him after he broke my last knitting bowl three weeks after I bought it.  I acquired him this past weekend at the Endless Mountain Sheep & Wool festival.   He is still just a passing acquaintance as I have yet to sit down and have a conversation with him. 

The garden is being a very domineering child, demanding my full attention.  I had been dealing with approximately 100+ of tomatoes and two grocery bags of beans that we picked late last week so I felt confident that ignoring the garden over the weekend would not be a problem. 

But like a spurn lover jealous of no longer having my attention it went crazy, inundating me with three more bags of beans and 50+ pounds of tomatoes. 

Not willing to give into these jealous fits, I said to hell with it and I went out Tuesday night in pursuit of yet another fiber hobby, tatting.   

 It is one of those things that is beautiful and I have wanted  to learn but didn’t pursue further.  When the chance was given to me to have hands on demonstrations (read HELLLLPPP!!!)  I jumped.  

So far I have only learned the double stitch.  I attempted a picot (yes that small thing that looks like a pimple) before we had to call it a night.  I still need a ton more practice to get the stitches more even and my picots more defined but this is a very portable craft.  My socks were evicted from the sock bag so it could carry my cotton, scissors and shuttle.  And check out these Handmade tatting shuttles…beautiful!  I think they would love to come live in my sock bag! 

So Wednesday morning I woke to nightmares of being buried under tomatoes.  I sent the man to work and the kids to school.  I entered the kitchen determined to beat the tomatoes into submission only to find I no longer have any empty pint jars!  But I was not to be beaten by that minor detail, salsa tastes just as good in a quart jar as it does a pint, so does V8 and tomato sauce. 

Today finds me still at the tomatoes, I would say I was making some headway but I did sneak a peak into the garden while walking by.  The jealous fits continue, but in a weaker form.  I will not be defeated, I will not give in, I will emerge ready to knit, spin, or tat again. 

It would happen sooner if for once the kids did NOT listen to me and left the garden gate open!