Copyright © 2007-2015 Foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, All Rights Reserved

Sunday, April 27, 2008

April Blossoms & Eastern Bluebirds Update

We had a storm last week with strong winds that caused half of my lilac bush to break off. I salvaged the broken blooms for several days by floating them in one of my birdbaths. (I'm an avid birder, so I have several baths for the little peeps.) This swallowtail butterfly found it a nice spot to rest for a while.I've neglected my azaleas the past few years, but as soon as these blooms fade they're in for the trimming of a lifetime. Snip, snip. They've become so scraggly it was hard to get enough blooms in a shot for a good colorful picture. They don't look like this all over, trust me. ;)
This creeping phlox smells wonderful.
Happy Bluebird family is in the setting stage now. Incubation takes 12-14 days so it will be awhile longer before the eggs hatch. Meantime, Papa makes regular trips home with lovely worms for Mama since she's the one staying on the nest. We/they/all of us had a little scare on Friday. A big, gawky blackbird lit on top of their house and bent over, upside down to look into the opening of their house. (They eat the young of other birds, ya know.) I happened to be watching from the kitchen sink and nearly broke a window banging on it, trying to get him away from there. Thankfully, he flew off with no harm done. Whew, that was close. Btw, the trees are completely leafed out now, so it's really hard to get a new picture of them. I went out to check on the bluebirds today & what do you think appeared at the opening of their house but little beaks reaching up for a meal! Mama & Papa were out looking for dinner so I took advantage & ran to get my camera. This is a bit fuzzy, but you get the picture. I have no idea how many babies are in there; I don't want to be too invasive. I'm just tickled pink the birds decided to nest here, since they usually nest in a box we tacked onto the side of the barn. (We checked that one last week, but there aren't any birds using it, yet)
Aw, aren't they darlin'. :)
Knitting? Um, not much...there's a little story there. Remember when I posted the crochet patterns? A rep from P&C saw them on Ravelry & contacted me about writing patterns for them. I was a bit skeptical but thought about it for a while, then reluctantly agreed to try to help out in exchange for yarn. Well, as soon as the yarn arrived my mind went totally blank. Go figure. So, I fretted & fretted, tried to come up with something for them, then fretted some more, but it was such a pressure (that I didn't need) I finally returned the yarn to the company just a few days ago. Now, guess what...a new design for a scarf has just come to mind & I hope to show it to you soon. When it's finished the pattern will be free, of course. ;) All I have to show in the knitting line is this lonely dishcloth...along with what's left of my lilac bush. It's the Dots In Stripes Dishcloth from Monthly Dishcloths KAL.
Hope there's lots of blooms in your path, Y'all! Knitlikeyoumeanit!

20 comments:

  1. Beautiful photos as always, and I'm glad the baby birds came out okay! I love how the dishcloth echoes the lilac.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I can almost smell the lilacs!
    love that double pink azalea!
    Beautiful "flowerdy" photos!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love your photos. I do miss azaleas, it is nice to see yours.
    Your dots in stripes cloth came out beautifully.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a nice weekly summary. I love lilac bushes and am dreadful sorry yours is broken! I think I remember my mom and dad rooting clippings, though perhaps after it has flowered. I'd love a lilac and a snowball bush!

    I have a birder friend that feeds her bluebirds little meal worms and raisins on a raised flat surface. They eat them up! Might help you get newer pictures of the happy couple.

    And it all figures about P&C. Seems half the time if one tries to turn a relaxing, loved hobby into something else, things get lost. I giggled with you and told the old man about it. We both understand. :D The cloth is lovely, by the way.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love the pics, our blooms are just starting to come out. It's cold here today though,high of 43. Burr! But we do at least have sun. Love the dishcloth, what a beautiful color. What is it! Sorry to hear you sent the yarn back, I'm sure you could do it!! Suzanne

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love your beautiful photo's and that dishcloth is amazing as well!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your photos are wonderful. You didn't tell us the name of your lovely cloth...let me guess...is it linen stitch? That's great about them contacting you to write patterns...I'd be the same way...don't like to be under any pressure. Zaps the creativity...but I bet once you do come up with some more you should contact them again.

    Looks like we have a robin building a nest in the rhododendron right outside our kitchen window. We have a bird's eye view of the nest building. In all of my life I have never been that close to a nest being built. Needless to say I'm pretty excited about it!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Such pretty pictures!!!!!! I'm glad your baby birds are safe. Your KAL is beautiful, I love the color combination.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ah look at the babies!! The boys will love seeing that picture.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh my! What big mouths they have! I hope they both/all (?) grow up to be big mommy and daddy birds!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Those baby bluebirds beaks are adorable. I'm so glad you were able to scare the blackbird away.

    I so understand how you felt about creating the patterns when it wasn't coming naturally. Good for you, what you did, and thank you for sharing the patterns you do create.

    Nice azalea picture, I do like them so much. I might try to find a pink azalea bush this year.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hey girlie!!! I think that old rain storm came to see me...my grass shot up overnight!
    Your azaleas are beautiful...mine are still young and aren't as pretty yet.

    Those babies are so sweet...good thing you were standing there to scare that dang old Blackbird off.

    Sorry about sending the yarn back...I hate pressure too. I have so many things going on at once right now...I'm kinda feeling that way too.

    Oh well..it will pass.

    Hugs!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi there. Can I ask a favor and ask for the link for the "bird" dishcloth you did in 2007? I haven't found it via google. I was nosing around your 2007 archives - many beautiful pics and lovely dishcloths.

    You have goats! I used to want to have dairy goats, but life here has not seen that possibility. I bought goat's milk for a while for #4 though (me when nursing and just him when weaned - he had some sensitivities). Give a doe some extra love from me.

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a lovely post, the photos are just beautiful and so is your new banner...lovely! Lilacs are not only beautiful, but smell wonderful! Continue to enjoy your flowers and your knitting too! Have a great rest of the week!

    Smiles...

    Beverly

    ReplyDelete
  15. The bluebird babies are darling! I got a total of 2 blossoms on my lilac. I think I'm going to give up on it. It's one of two that were on the property when we bought it, but I just think it's done!

    Manuela

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi - thanks for the pattern info! Have a great day. :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love lilacs. So sorry the storm broke some of yours.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I've wandered back through most of your blog and I must say it is one of the nicest I've come across. Good mixture of interesting things and you're quite generous with patterns. I look forward to visiting often.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh the bluebirds are so pretty, how awesome that you have young ones. What gorgeous flowers you have. That is one thing that surprises me I don't see any lilacs here in the Piedmont of NC wonder why?
    Oh I love that cloth design.

    Hugs!!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Love the Azalea! I've been thinking about planting them all over at the cabin. I really like this dishcloth too. I completely understand your creativity going away under pressure.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comments!