A Bird's Gotta Eat

Even on a rainy morning like this one there are still birds at the feeders, especially the platform feeder, favorite of the Cardinals.  He's good at sharing; she's not.  I spied her a few minutes later pecking around on the ground under the feeder giving the cold shoulder to any mourning dove or sparrow that dared come close.  See how rainy it is?  The birdbath surface is all dimpled and I guess I didn't have to hurry out last night to fill it up, Mother Nature did it for me overnight.

 







Last night's sunset was a symphony of pastel light.  I saw the clouds turning pink and grabbed the camera thinking that the western horizon would be vivid.  It wasn't.  Instead the pale pink suffused the clouds and sky, making the neighborhood look very peaceful.



This is why I spent the extra bucks for the double-sided suet feeder.  Even after all these years Durwood gets a bit snippy when he spies a squirrel or grackle having a snack.  I try to tell him that I buy 12-packs of suet cakes when the birdseed store has their annual sale and usually don't have to resupply until the sale rolls around again.  I can afford to feed the marauders when I'm spending less than $15 a year, besides who doesn't enjoy the sight of an acrobatic squirrel or a frantically flapping grackle?



I did a little sweater yoke knitting yesterday.  See the pink stitch markers?  They measure off the parts that will become the body of the sweater after the 5 or 6 more rows of yoke/cap sleeves are done.  I'll be adding the dark purple yarn for the body but I've got a skein of the same yarn in orange and am sorely tempted to add a tiny stripe of orange where the yoke becomes the body.  After all, orange is LC's favorite color.  I think I'll grab the skein before I leave and give it a whirl.


I also couldn't resist casting on Helical Sock SOCK #2.  I'm starting with the remains of the same three yarns I used on the last one but in a different order and I'll pull from the other end of the ball to introduce a totally different color.  Can't have matching socks now, can I?  I'm going to work a different short-row heel on this one too since I'm less than thrilled about the heel on the first one but, hey, it's a sock.  It'll get shoved into a shoe so who besides me will see it?

April 27--Gentile Bellini, The Miracle of the Cross.

A bridge over a canal
flowing with blue water
the curious line the bridge and street,
gondolas gather,
Cardinals gape and pray,
watch swimming angels
display the Crucifix. 
~~~~~

Okey-dokey.  Today I will wear my new coat and stay dry also warm because last night's low is supposed to be today's high.  All this upping and downing, warming then cooling then warming again is confusing.  I feel like I should have three different outfits per day--one for cool mornings, another for warm evenings, and a third for the hot and sweaty midday.  Crazy.
--Barbara