Little Cotton Rabbits

Fledglings

 

 

 

 

The robin chicks fledged the nest in our garage on Sunday morning. It's all happened so fast - just around a month from the eggs being laid to the chicks flying and I'm so pleased I managed to get one grainy photo of the five of them before they departed. I also made a video of the adults taking wax worms to and from the nest last Saturday.

When I opened the garage back door to get the chicken food early on Sunday there was a tiny fluffball perched on the floor just inside. And when I looked in the nest there were still two chicks there but the other three had made the big jump, so I came straight back inside and made a 'No Entry' sign for the door. The door was kept shut as it was important that the chicks made their own way out once their wings were strong enough for them to fly through the open windows. Human access to the garage was strictly on an 'essentials only' basis, so did not include getting ice-creams from the freezer -  I was not popular as it was so hot here!  I checked this morning and it looks like they've all made it out, so for now we have our garage back, although Mrs Robin has been sighted carrying in new beak-fulls of moss so is obviously getting ready for a second brood - apparently they can have up to 4 broods in a year if the conditions are right.

I'm struggling to find the words to convey just how incredible and special the experience has been. Nest building, egg laying, chicks hatching and flying the nest to disappear out into the undergrowth of the big wide world - it has been a true privilege to watch it all happen and to be so trusted by the adult birds. The best moment for me was early on Sunday morning when the male flew down and perched on my big toe as I was sitting on the deck having coffee - quite an awesome moment.

Now I'm on magpie alert, we have a lot around here and their favourite food is small bird fledglings, chicks and eggs. I've got to know the alarm whistle that the adult robins make when there is a threat nearby and then go out to wave my arms around and be a human scarecrow - probably amusing any neighbours watching! 

Thanks so much for your kind comments on my previous post - I am in the process of replying to them all and they've helped enormously - I am feeling a lot more upbeat. Hope you're having a good week where you are, see you again soon x

 

Properly Spring

 

 

 

Well, it's been a long time coming but Spring has arrived at last. Although the weather has still seemed a little undecided at times, the countryside around us here has been pressing ahead with new growth and everything is now transformed from dull, twiggy brown to bright acid green. I headed out to the orchard at Tewin earlier this week and there found beauty in many forms; blushed pink pear and apple blossoms; drifts of forget-me-knots shimmering in the breeze and ramsons (wild garlic) pungently carpeting the woodland all around the badger sett. Some of the ancient apple trees are covered in lichens and moss and look almost fossilised, creating an amazing contrast between the boughs and the delicate newly emerging leaves. The whole orchard was alive with birds and bees, everything busy with various stages of raising their next generation and it was the perfect tonic for the positivity problems I seem to have been struggling with lately.

It seems that many of us are feeling a little anxious and stressed so I know I'm not alone - the times we are living in seem to be full of peril, duplicity and deceit. For my own part I'm steering clear of the news for a while - and instead knitting, listening to music and reading more and just trying to appreciate some of the small and simple things. Recently the biggest mood improver for me has been a pair of robins choosing to nest in our garage. The nest has been built on top of some bottles of car wash and oil and we watched it grow, expertly crafted by the female alone while her mate provided her with food to keep up her strength. That was around a month ago and since then 5 or 6 eggs have been laid and at the beginning of last week they hatched. Because I'm a softy I ordered some live meal and wax worms and both the adults now fly down whenever I go out into the garden - they know that I have some tasty treats and it's such an incredible privilege to be so close to them. Hopefully the chicks will fledge in around a week and will be safe in the garage for the few days before they find their wings so to speak - robin chicks usually leave the nest a few days before they learn to actually fly. I'll let you know how they get on.

Sorry to be a bit down, I'll try and be a bit more upbeat when I come back next time. I've had some gorgeous new yarn recently and have lots of knitting plans, so that will help!

Hope your days are happy this week x

 

 

 

blossoming time

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so very much for all of the kind comments on the previous post, I am still processing the amazing win and happily my wrist seems to be completely back to normal now, so knitting is back on the menu.

After another cold snap bringing snow our way last week things have turned more spring-like here. Not much is flowering in the garden yet (the plans I had for autumn bulb planting remained as an un-ticked line on my to-do list) but the plum tree is, as usual, heralding a change in season. I know I do it every year but I can't resist taking photos of the blossoms. They are radiant in the morning sun and at night are illuminated by the light of the moon and their delicate beauty is so short-lived that I feel the need to capture their fleeting charm before they are gone for another year.

The birds have been answering the call of their seasonal instincts by jostling for territory, paring up and becoming more vocal. These last few mornings when I've gone out to let the chickens out I've been greeted by a tuneful robin. He has a twinkle in the black bead of his eye and when he cocks his head to watch me from the tree above it seems like he is asking for some breakfast - and I'm happy to oblige with a handful of dried mealworms and sunflower hearts.  I love it when the dawn is full of birdsong, it's an enchanting start to the day and it will build now until May, when it reaches it's most choral.

It is nice to be knitting again and although I'm behind a self-imposed schedule I am still working on a new pattern and full steaming ahead with a finished batch of bunnies - though they won't now be ready in time for Easter. I'll send out an email to my mailing list when they are ready but it will be a good few weeks yet.

Lastly, but not leastly, I'm very excited to be taking over the instagram feed of Love Knitting tomorrow. If you're on instagram pop over and say hello - I'm going to spend the day sewing together bunny bits and sharing photos as I go and it would be nice to have your company.

Thanks again for all of the congratulations and compliments on the previous post, I feel truly privileged to be on the receiving end of such kindness. 

 

 

 

Where are you Spring?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When spring suddenly seems a distant dream, thanks to the arrival of bitterly cold winds and drifting snow, the best option is to snuggle and I'm doing just that. Knitting in more of these pretty spring colours helps too and I'm slowly working my way towards a little batch of spring dressed bunnies and lambs.

It has been really beautiful outside though. Unusually the snow has come in very localised showers and at times we've had bright sun light shining through the flurrying snow as it whispers it's way to the ground. Thanks to the sub-zero temperatures it's been that dry fluffy kind of snow rather than the slushy wet stuff that is more usual here and that's created the perfect canvas for stories to be written across - stories written by the fox that trotted up the driveway in the night on silent and slender paws, circling around the car and searching for some supper, and stories from the birds who are up at dawn to begin the busy task of breakfasting, leaving a delicate trace of their dartings here and there. Finding these tracks in the morning when I go out to let the chickens out of the coop is one of my favourite things about freshly fallen snow.

Well, hope you're keeping warm where you are and enjoying what the seasons are bringing your way. I'm off to do some more knitting and snuggling :)

 

October ramblings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the end of last week I went walking in a local nature reserve at Broxbourne woods where I was delighted to come across a slow worm sunbathing on the path. Although he looks very snake-like and does have a forked tongue he is actually a legless lizard (apparently his ability to blink and shed his tail make him not a snake). He was so blissed out in the patch of sunlight that I had to step over him and even though I took lots of photos of him he didn't seem bothered by me. He'll probably be starting his winter hibernation in the next month so I expect he's extra bold on these last sunny, warm afternoons while he tops up his tan!

I also met a group of lovely ladies. These beautiful Red Poll cattle have been introduced to the pasture in a habitat conservation project involving legacy grazing. The Red Poll breed is native to the East of England and they certainly looked very at home and were completely relaxed about me walking through their field.

Whilst out and about I've been enjoying the cosy warmth of the void shawl (pattern and yarn details in link on my Ravelry project page). The yarn is really soft and comfortable to wear and the shawl is pretty flexible, looped twice or three times depending on how cold the breeze is. The pom-poms are still in place despite Toby's attentions and I'm hoping he'll be able to help me to make him some pom-poms of his own to play with as a distraction from playing with mine.

Back at home I've been finishing off patterns, starting new socks and getting winter woollies out of storage ready for wearing. I've also been enjoying the October issue 79 of Knit Now magazine which has an interview with me as part of the Knitter of the year awards that I won a prize in earlier in the year. The awards nominations for 2017 have just opened so if you'd like to nominate someone then head over to their page for more details.

Well, I'm off to continue with pattern writing, won't be long now I promise - hopefully I'll be back with news in the next post, til then keep well - there seem to be coughs and colds everywhere at the moment so fingers crossed you avoid them x