Patio Umbrella Finial

I rounded the corner into the kitchen this morning and there was a new temporary finial on the patio umbrella.  One of the Red-tailed Hawks came to survey the buffet on our patio.  I talked to the neighbor, they have seen them too of course, and their bird book identifies our pair as juveniles.  Seeing all the white feathers on this one I'm inclined to agree with her.


But much to Durwood's dismay they haven't eaten up all the chipmunks.  I'm not sure why he doesn't like them but maybe because they burrow in the garden and can get inside in the winter.  I think they're kind of cute, and I always liked Chip & Dale cartoons.  (all I could find were movies with Chip & Dale cartoons on first so be warned, clicking this link can be time consuming)


The apples on the tree in the lot behind us (it's an eye doctor's parking lot) are starting to look like apples.  There might just be some applesauce or pie in our future.

I finished Pool Fish #2 last night at knitting.  I picked up the stitches on the body instead of knitting the dorsal and pectoral fins separately and then trying to sew them on securely.  It worked very well, except next time I'll pick up them all up from back to front so that the fins are the right shape, at least for my picky eyes.  LC won't mind or even notice, plus I have no illusions that these pool fish will look anything other than seriously bedraggled after a time or two in the kiddie pool.  I wove in the tails on the warshrag I finished yesterday afternoon and knitted a few rounds of ribbing on the Dobby Hat(s) brim but neither of those are worth wasting film on.  (remember film?)


This morning I made a batch of breakfast burritos for Durwood.  This is 10 6" flour tortillas and 1 8" one, a roll of pork sausage, diced bell peppers and onions sauteed together, with a dozen eggs scrambled over them, and a half-pound of grated cheese sprinkled on before rolling and wrapping.  I really hate the sick yellow plastic wrap I use but Mom had at least one package of each of the colors and I'm determined to use them.  I thought the yellow would be the least noxious looking.  I think blue or green would be even worse, don't you?  Well, we'll see when the yellow runs out.  But Durwood loves having them in the freezer for a quick, easy breakfast and I don't mind making them.  I'd much rather do that than buy the salt and fat filled ones in boxes in the grocery.

July 25--Chris A. Crumley, Reef Sharks.  They come out of the blue, far out where there is no visible bottom.  Three gray and silver shapes, iconic shapes every cell in your body recognizes from the broad toothy mouth to that triangular dorsal fin that starts the "Jaws" music playing in your head.  The first time you see them the voice in your brain shrieks a falsetto "shark!" and you forget to breathe or kick.  Your eyes are fixed on their sleek and graceful forms as they swim past going about their business with barely an eyeroll in your direction.  It happens so fast that you find yourself hoping they'll circle back so you can pay more attention to their color, their entourage of remoras, and their air of ultimate ownership of the space they occupy.

And now I'm going to go to the library because there's a book about hunting for a sunken pirate ship waiting for us there.  I might even let Durwood read it first.  I am just that nice.
--Barbara