How wonderful to witness the land awaken from her winter's snooze. Each of her flora and fauna appearing at their accustomed time.
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| Pretty Spring-Beauties and a wee beetle beastie. |
Free for the picking (with leather or plastic gloves), wild stinging nettles are now at their tender best to make a tasty and protein rich boiled green. I also enjoy the water they are cooked in as a tea. They contain calcium and manganese, which promote bone health. A wise food choice given that I do have osteoporosis.
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| A lovely crop of nutritious and delicious nettles. |
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| Yummy nettles and battered cod. Disappointing Betty Crocker scalloped potatoes. |
The brown thrasher is back and happy to find that my property still has plenty of brush piles to forage around and for nesting in. He's a member of the mockingbird family which is evident when he sings his melodious, mimicking birdie phrases. Usually from a tree top.
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| At a glance he is quite hard to see amid brushy surroundings. |
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| In this pose, he reminds me of a road runner. |
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| What a talented 'cover' singer! |
Here are a few more April snaps of my wildlife neighbours.
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| The craggy, shaggy profile of a raven. |
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| Looks like a lease has been signed for Number Ten. |
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| A male Yellow-shafted Flicker foraging on the lawn. |
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| A blurry snap of a kestrel, our smallest falcon. |
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| A couple of bunnies speaking body language. |
Funny how an item can pass muster for many years, then suddenly scream out that it is completely the wrong colour for its setting! Demanding a repaint!
My grandfather, Roy, was a carpenter and built many things from barns to boats and everything in between. Decades ago, I had painted a little cabinet he made in a very dark, high-gloss green and the handles in silver. Last week I decided the colour was much too dark to live with. So I gave it a makeover with much lighter paint and handles in black. (Wish I'd thought to take a 'before' photo.) I also penned an inscription on the back for future generations to read.
I'm still enjoying the relaxing pastime of knitting. Over winter I made a good supply of comfortable wool socks. So I decided to make some cotton blend ones for summer. The yarn is 72% cotton, 18% polyamide and 10% polyester. Of course for really warm days, bare toes in sandals is the ticket.
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| Ankle and heel finished, foot and toe yet to be knit. |
