What You See Is What You Get. This is a journal blog, an explore-blog, a bit of this and that blog. Sharing where the mood takes me. Perhaps it will take you too.
COMMENTS: If, this morning, the problem with not being able to comment on each other's blogs is continuing, and further to my etherwobblies emergency post yesterday, please note that the issue has been raised with Google/Blogger, and an official thread is now open. You can log a vote for "I have the same question" to add to the complaint numbers... even better, if you can, leave a comment with your experience and which browser/s you use/d.
I'm baa-aack (AND SO ARE COMMENTS!) Okay, confession, and probably no surprise, there was very little stitching undertaken during the hiatus. It was a hot and sticky summer, even in Dunoon. Not conducive to working with yarns. Even cotton ones...(ugh... that turquoise number is well on the back burner now...) As for the Lorinda jacket that I was working on while staying with Aitch, I am finding the bottom-up construction...interesting. The sleeves were worked as rounds (magic loop on circulars), then knitted into the main body at the start of the yoke section...
...it is much further on, but still unfinished. I hope to bring you better results next week, as I am focusing only on this project at the moment.
Meanwhile, the video I was watching appeared in my viewing list through the algorithm, and I think you might enjoy it too. The presenter is a professor emerita in psychology but has this fantastic side hustle with her 'Eweniversity'! I've checked out a couple of her other posts and am now hooked! Here's the one I was watching... Happy stitching, whatever your project!
Joining with the LLB Gang for our once-a-month shared meme day, Nature Friday and Final Friday Feature.
Last Friday and yesterday's posts introduced you to the Lochwinnoch bird population. Permanent residents. They have learned it is a place of safety and plentiful food. I admit I am a bit conflicted at the level of over-feeding that may be occurring, particularly with inappropriate stuff such as loaves of supermarket bread and potato chips, but there is no denying the joy this avian community brings to the human one. What is more, the birds themselves all seemed to be pretty content with the state of play.
Of the Gulls present, there were Lesser Black-backed, Herring, and Black-headed represented. I want to focus on them a bit today because there were also examples of each juvenile stage. ...oh, and can I just emphasise that there are no such things as 'seagulls'. Gulls can be found a very long way from the coast, right into the country and farmland, in fact. Yes, they favour waterways, but they are opportunists and are actually adept foragers/scavengers, as much as they are fishers.
Most of the Gull species will form lasting mating bonds, and Herring Gulls and Greater Black-backed Gulls in particular are known to be life-long monogamous (bar the occasional 'amicable divorce' that occurs if they prove ill-matched for breeding purposes). Breeding occurs once a year in or around April (Northern Hemisphere; antipodean Gulls can vary from late August to early November). The majority of layings are between two and three eggs, and for most clutches, at least two of the hatchlings will survive. Parent birds will take turns to tend the nest in the first few weeks, with the other going to gather food. As fledging takes place, the young will continue to beg for food, and may do so for quite some time even after taking flight. It is that piping sound you hear most in the video. "Feeed meee"! The vast majority will be weaned and self-feeding by the end of three months, but occasionally a parent will continue feeding for another few weeks. The chicks are most vulnerable during this transition from nest to self-care, because quite often they just stand around in the most inappropriate places (like roads or pavements) and this can result in injury or death.
While there are some subtle differences between the different species of Gull, overall the first four seasons produce roughly similar feathering. Maturity is only attained in the fourth or fifth season, depending on species.
First Year. All over brown colouring, almost duck-like. Beak is black.
Second Year. Mottling still very much present, but the chest and underparts start to whiten, beak less black.
Third Year. Mottling remains marked on the wings, legs will change colour according to species, beak likely to change also, but may retain black. Head and chest distinctly white.
Fourth Year. Almost transformed to adult plumage. Still mottling around head and shoulders, but legs and beak more or less complete. Full maturity is reached when the gonydeal (red) beak spot appears.
You might gather from all this that I am a bit of a Larophile. All waterbirds are fascinating to me: well, all birds, but I do have a particular fondness for the shore and pelagic species. It is possibly something to do with having read Johnathon Livingston Seagull (guilty of misnaming for the sake of alliteration) back in my teens. Or, perhaps, that so many people seem to want to hate on them (same with Corvids, and you must know I also like those!) and I have always been one to support the underdog.
Anyhoo, hope you've enjoyed this little look at the life stages of Gulls, and might view them a little differently next time you meet one.
Sharing with the LLB Gang on their hoppity-hop Nature Friday meme. Today, just a brief video clip from the stay beside the River Tweed that was just a mere hoppity-hop from the park-up I shared with you yesterday. Blue Heron flying in to claim another part of the bank, then a mother Common Merganser and her brood (one on her back), scuttling against the current. Not the best quality shot, I'm afraid, as I had the zoom to max and that tends to pixillate.
Joining in with the LLB gang on their Nature Friday hoppity-hop. It is also the last Friday of the month, so time to post something just a little bit more special.
Bees. We pretty much all know the importance of bees to the ecosystem, and that bee populations are under threat from environmental and climate challenges. It is always a joy, then, to see not just one or two but many in one place. Whilst staying with Barney at his home, I went out in the morning to find out what the lovely dark plum-coloured plant was by the side wall (Cirsium rivulare, or Plume Thistle, for the interested). Getting near, I found that nearly every blossom had a bee or two at it!
Mainly, it was the Buff-tailed Bumbles and Carder bees... There were one or two others I didn't manage to capture for ID, plus there were wasps and hoverflies. They were busy, busy, busy! Worth taking a little video then, don't you think? Yup... sound up, and you'll hear some pretty birdsong too
I could, I suppose, have kept this for a Nature Friday offering... but I have nothing else to share today, so here it is... Easter Sunday outside The Hutch. Yup. During the night, with Storm Dave, the snow came (and then went, because, you know, rain...) Enormous winds. Early, early doors on Sunday morning, sunrise almost fooled us, just before another snow shower. Then another brief (half an hour) brightness, before, by 9 am, it all collapsed into the grey again. It was so cold, the snow fell as graupel (snow pellets, aka soft hail). And the day got greyer from then on...
Over at the LLB gang's Nature Friday linky, you'll find a few of us stretching the connection to 'nature' a tad - and I gladly own up to being the worst offender! Today's filmy post is about a dog breed with a misleading name... (NB, down under, the key 'true blue' breeds are the Blue Heeler and Kelpie - if you discount the fact that all, including the Dingo, are immigrants).
The galdogs at LLB have let me get away with some cheeky connections to their Nature Friday meme! This one continues my current theme of sheep and shepherding, but today, a little puppy fun. Sean has three of the traditional black and white Border Collies working with him, but recently added a fourth member to the pack, a red and white BC named Copper. She showed interest in doing her work very early on, so she is presenting him with a slightly different training challenge. Watch her go!
In keeping with my ongoing intro to sheep breeds, the flock being used here are of the Hebridean variety. Little but mighty! Although when crossed with other breeds, these can be good commercial sheep for meat, the Hebridean has mainly found a place as a conservation grazing breed, and is also suitable for training sheepdogs.
These are technically full black sheep, but exposure to the elements and ageing can both alter the black to dark brown and shades of grey. There can be minor patches of white, but this is generally seen as a 'fault' for the purists.
The wool is double-coated, with a longer length, courser fibre, and a shorter undercoat which is dense and extremely warm. The staple length of a Hebridean sheep's fleece typically ranges from 5 to 15 cm (2 to 6 inches)... although, strangely, the Society page linked above states '3-37 cm', which I have to say is an extraordinary difference and causes me to wonder if there might be a typo! All the salesrooms and the British Wool Board state the 5-15cm. The crimp is variable, and any yarn produced would be for jackets, rugs and furnishings. The fleece is also one of the best for felting, if that's your thing.
In The Grey, I have a Hebridean sheepskin to keep me cosy as these wintry days arrive. It's brilliant and keeps me well-snug.
Welcome once again to that one Friday of the month where both the LLB Gang's Nature Friday and my own Final Friday Feature share something just that little bit extra special.
In previous posts, some of you had observed and commented on the coloured markings to be seen on sheep. Then I showed you the Andy Goldsworthy piece at the gallery, where he'd made a stair runner from found fleeces, each with the flock markings.
Now, I could write a whole post myself about the use of different colours to tell when farmers' ewes had been 'covered' by their tups and at what point in time. But why bore you with words when you can listen to a good Ayrshire accent, see some pretty scenery, and learn from watching? Here, Sean tells you he is working with Texels and Beltex breeds. The first is the solid little sheep from the Netherlands that I have mentioned, which helps create the Dutch Spotted and gives it that very square appearance. The second is a cross between the first and the Belgian sheep, which is also quite square but more muscular and larger all over. Hope you find this fun and informative!
Another that stretches the claim as a Nature Friday post... but you know me by now. Elastic! I'm claiming a position based on the presence, once more, of sheep and the obvious country life setting. It's a tale you may well know and understand, but here it is beautifully retold - hankies at the ready, please!
I wondered what to bring you that could tie in with the flock of sheep I am going to flood some posts with this month... then this turned up. It even qualifies - at a stretch - for LLB's Nature Friday!
Bringing you a 'guest video' today... One thing that is moving at a rapid pace in the world is AI substitution. The writing world is littered (particularly on the biggest platform you can think of) with absolute pulp created to grab your hard-earned and, quite likely, scraped from authentic authors' works. I admit that I had been spotting a few things when looking at crochet patterns that had me wondering... and then along came this delightful wee presentation on that very subject. You don't have to sit through the entire parrot part (you'll understand when you get there), but the first seven minutes or so are definitely worth listening to, as are the closing comments... but the parrot bit is fun if you are keen on understanding the frustrations.
Yesterday, you caught a brief glimpse through the van door of the shoreside parking spot in Banff, where I spent a glorious few days and nights. Today, a longer video, taken the night after the Solstice - this was 2345h... the sun may have been below the rim, but I could still read!
More 'home movies' for the film club this month. Clips of nature I've managed to gather this summer. Busy bees, a very fleeting Red Admiral butterfly, and the perfect coastal parkup.
...and let's not forget the floral display in honour of the NF hosts, Rosy and Sunny, over at Living the LLB Life.
As promised from yesterday's post, the last of the wee videos from Pets Corner Aquarium. Here you will see three Tangs - the Yellow, the Blue and the Royal...
Another wee interlude from Stitches for a look at the Pleco at work (see yesterday's post for more info on this fish). The audience is made up of Clownfish and Tinfoil Barb - and proper aquarium bubbling for the 'music'!
A little break from stitches and a fleeting return to a nature video; in this, you will see first the Clown loach, followed by the Kribensis Cichlid, then an Angelfish. Not sure about the wee dark one, but the two at the back end are Tetra. You can hear some of the bubbling from the tank, though the acoustics do tend to enhance the human sounds.....
There was a little flurry of interest in the Tunisian stitching I shared with you last week... this week I thought I would share with you one of my favourite tubular channels for the crochet art. There are many different offerings for learning Tunisian crochet, but Toni has bags of character and is a really good teacher. This intro in fifteen minutes to the basic stitch is sure to get the fingers twitching for those of you who are so inclined!
Today's Nature Friday offering is by way of a short video, taken a couple of weekends back when I was at Falkland. There's a little bit of wind sound as I rotate, but listen out for all the birds... Merlin tells me all these were singing at the time...
Here's a bit of vibrant colour to brighten the oncoming winter days (at least up here on the northern end!) Ghana, like most of West Africa, shines with its fabrics and sense of style. The images are interspersed with some words of wisdom... "Allumuah [Pronounced: ‘A-Loom-Wah’] is a short film by Curtis Essel that explores the path of intersectional/generational relationships which vividly depicts the beauty in culture and the characters within it. A tribute by the director to his late grandmother."
