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The collage above is actually the collaged cover of our Lair Log that we keep in our guest room and in which our guests write about their encounter with the land and wildlife here. It is a wonderful collection of poems, letters, notes, cards and photographs that are a delight for us and our guests to read. We will share occasional excerpts from The Lair Log as well as from the Nature Journal that we keep about special encounters with nature at The Lair.
One Sunday Farris and I were rocking on the front porch, looking out over the sun-filled land which was hazy and lazy looking, when suddenly, a beautiful big Red-tailed Hawk arose from one of our meadows with a four foot snake clutched in his talons! He circled and soared quite a while with the snake dangling and only flew away with it when another hawk came and showed interest in his prey. I learned later that a bird of prey with a snake in its beak or talons is a symbol of the impossible combination of heaven and earth, a perfect blending of the spiritual and the material--and there, we had that symbol acted out in real life right in front of our eyes!
Black Crested Titmouse
May21, 2009: I had an email from a friend asking for a Lair Log update. I tend to neglect my web site now because due to health issues and resulting lifestyle changes we do not travel much any more and do many things that I think might be of interest to others. However, I will report on what is going on at the Lair in response to my friend's request. We have had some nice surprises during spring bird migration. One day our playmates Tipp and Sharon were visiting and Sharon spotted three electric blue birds in the front yard and called us to the window. We had three Indigo Buntings feeding on the ground under the black oil sunflower feeder! The only other time I have seen Indigo Buntings was about twenty years ago when five of them visited our back yard in New Orleans. Another day, to my surprise, A Rose Breasted Gross Beak visited the feeder. This is a northern bird. I have only seen one other and that was during a trip to the Gulf Coast, again during migration. A picture of that bird is in the Wildlife Gallery. Research shows me that a pocket of them winter down on the Gulf coast and I imagine the one who visited us this spring was on the way north for the summer. Several days later a Baltimore Oriole appeared at the humming bird feeder. I have only seen one of those at The Lair previously, and it was at the front of the place. They like nectar feeders, only the nectar should be mixed six cups of water to one of sugar, weaker than for humming birds. Their beaks are too big to feed at the humming bird feeder. They also like oranges and I was so frustrated because I didn't have an orange to cut and put out and could not find my Oriole feeder. If I had, I might have enticed him to stay around for a while. We have had brief visits from Eastern Blue Birds and on Easter Sunday, we saw a special gift in the form of a pair of Painted Buntings in the tree outside our dining room. We do not have as many humming birds as we have had previously in all the years we have lived here. I usually have six feeders out and they are emptied every day; this year two to four feeders have been ample. I don't know if this is due to loss of habitat in their winter location, or whether the aggressive bees piling up at the feeders have discouraged their return or whether it is due to the fickleness of migrating birds. I doubt it is the latter because we have had large numbers of them for 15 years. We still have plenty, both Ruby Throated and Black Chinned, but I am concerned. I continue to spin and have been spinning silk. Spinning is to me what yoga is to some people, a calming, relaxing activity. I think spinning silk is the ultimate experience. I decided I wanted to finish all my ongoing needlework projects so I can begin to buy fiber and yarn only for specific projects (the influence of the Wall Street crooks and the sagging economy). So I rummaged around and found something unexpected and forgotten: A bag containing squares for a sampler afghan that I knitted back in the 1970s! It is a collection of various stitch patterns, all finished and edged with contrasting thread. At the time I made it, I knew nothing about gauge so some of the squares weren't of the same size as others. Once before, I tried to get someone who knits professionally to block them for me but she didn't want to fool with it, saying it would take too much time. So they sat in their bag, neglected, forgotten, and moved from house to house in city after city for many years. Knowing more about blocking wool now, I got out my trusty steam iron, blocked those squares to matching size in a jiffy and put that sampler afghan together in a day. I was amazed at the complicated stitches I had made, cables, lacy pieces, all kinds of designs that I am not sure I could execute now. I immediately became fascinated with the beautiful stitches and also became emotionally attached to the afghan and declared it mine for my exclusive use. That isn't hard. Farris doesn't like wool. I do have the gift of perseverance, even though I may not use it swiftly sometimes. Here is the 30 year afghan:
The above pictures attest to the durability of fine wool
and the beauty of allowing My other unfinished project was another afghan called the "Let it Snow" afghan. When I decided to make it, I remarked to my sister Lynette that it shouldn't take me more than five years to make it, and sure enough, it is my five year afghan. I prefer smaller projects such as socks and scarves and hats and have made many of those during the five years. However, I bit the bullet and worked on only the motifs for this afghan the last two months. This one is crocheted and the motifs are various snowflake patterns surrounded by a field of navy blue that for me symbolizes the night and joined by a marled yarn of medium blue with white dashes that I fancy symbolize falling snow. This particular afghan is made of acrylic yarn so that Farris will use it on the cold winter days when he is "resting his eyes" while lying on the navy blue couch. Here it is:
In my last entry (now in the archives) I mentioned the
Bosworth hand spindles and that if I learn to hand spin on them to my
satisfaction I will reward myself with one Golding spindle at Christmas. I can
confidently say I am already eligible for the Golding spindle. But it is not due
to my developing skill as much as due to how beautifully balanced the Bosworth
spindles are and how well they spin. Now I am thinking seriously of
rewarding myself with the Bosworth's mini spindle as well as the Golding
spindle when Christmas rolls around. Last revised May 21, 2009 |
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