Hummingbird Don't Fly Away

Hummingbird don't fly away, fly away. Hummingbird don't fly away, fly away.

The sweetness of your nectar has drawn me like a fly.

I just love you, love you, love you. I don't even know the reason why.

I like hummingbirds. It’s a treat when we are at the mountain house to get to see them cluster around the feeder. The feeder hadn’t been up long, so there weren’t too many this time. Just three or four that battled the bees and wasps to get to the sugar water. But now they know it’s there, they will be back, and bring friends!

Imagine my surprise when I was on my deck at home the other day and something buzzed my head! I thought it was the biggest mosquito ever and I’d better take cover! I watched for a minute and there it was. A hummingbird! She, because she wasn’t bright and pretty, was getting nectar from the blooming trumpet vine. I couldn’t believe it! I ran to get the camera and you guessed it, she was gone. I didn’t even know we had them out here in the desert.

Female Hummingbird

The next morning I was ready. I waited outside because I was determined to get a picture. No such luck. This little bird was camera shy! As soon as I got ready away she flew! Darn.

That's where it was before the camera was ready.

I didn’t think much about it until the other day I when I went out around noon. BZZZZZZZ. There was another one! This one was a male, beautiful green and yellow colored. Don’t you think Mother Nature has it backwards? The female should be the pretty one! He buzzed some hanging things I had put up, he buzzed another colored string of turtles in the corner, and then he went to the trumpet vine. Soon he was joined by two more, both dull females, and I ran to get the camera. Alas, they sensed it and again, left as soon as I got the camera positioned.

There were three then there were none!

I do know why the females are dull colored. It’s to protect them while they nest. They blend in instead of sticking out and trying to take center stage. They usually only lay about two eggs and after they lay they become single bird parents and don’t need the mail around. Hey, maybe Mother Nature had it right after all! That male bird is gonna need something catchy to snag another friend!

I did manage to get some pictures of the birds at the feeder at the mountain house. Not good, mind you, but you can see a little black dot that IS a hummingbird! Maybe I need a better camera!

My friend Lydia has a cabin in East Texas. She’s recently posted a video of the hummingbirds at her feeder. You should check it out. It’s awesome! That is if you like hummingbirds!

Not Lydia's. It's what I wish a feeder here looked like!

Oh hummingbird, mankind was waiting for you to come flying along...

I’m having serious knock you out stress here so I have been trying to keep busy, so I’ve been crocheting and knitting. While sorting and trying to store some yarn I happened across the ugliest yarn ever, black and orange striped, which would be great if you were a Bengals fan, or lived in the rival town about twenty miles away. But I was neither and really am not sure why I got it. Anyway, I’m turning it into a small Halloween blanket for the Littles. It’s ugly, but hey, it’s Halloween!

A Halloween blankie in the making

I also blocked…yes, really, and actually finished a shawl. It’s little, and I’m not sure I like it although I really liked the yarn when I made it. But that’s the beauty of knit and crochet. If you don’t like it you just rip it out!

Pinned and blocking.

Up close pinned loops.

Back view of shawl.

Front. A little dark on the color.

I also started another of the magic granny square jackets, this on lighter and in a more subdued color. I think I am truly ADHD! Come to think of it though, the shawl colors remind me of hummingbirds.

Small enough to become a scarf!

Hummingbird don't fly away, fly away. Hummingbird don't fly away, fly away.

In you I've found a fragrance. I'll love you 'til I die.

I just love you, love you, love you. I don't even know the reason why.

Wild Thing

You make my heart sing.
You make everything groovy,
Wild thing…

I saw an ad on the side of my Facebook page the other night about 100 things to see or do in Midland/Odessa. (Now that I want to see it, is it there? No!) While I was sitting here in bed, not feeling the best, I started thinking about things I might want to do but most likely would never do. (I say most likely because you never can tell!) I came up with a few wild things I’d do if I was brave…or someone else! Here you go.

1. I’d have tattoos…yes, more than one but they would be in places that required an invitation for viewing. And they wouldn’t be of ‘normal’ tattoo things. I saw one once that was really cute and I asked the girl if I could use it should I ever decide I wanted to. She said yes, but not to copy it exactly. Anyway, it’s a mummy and the mummy is knitting with a string from her leg. I thought it was hilarious! She said she designed it because she’s the ‘mummy’ at her house and is a knitter.

Original tatoo from Jenny Lee on Ravelry.

2. I’d buy some killer shoes that cost $500.00 or more and wear them proudly. I wouldn’t blink when I paid. They’d look good, too, and they would never hurt my feet!

Jimmy Choo...not in this lifetime!!

3. I’d sing Karaoke. I’d get up and sing and I wouldn’t be scared. I wouldn’t mess up either. Both of my boys have done this. In fact Bryce does it regularly. Don’t know about Callye.

4. I’d put a pink or blue steak in my hair. Well maybe not blue because I’ll be the old lady with blue hair soon enough!

Drawing by Evan. Streaks by me! ha ha

5. I’d bungee jump. And I wouldn’t have to go to the hospital afterwards.

6. I’d be in a play. A big one that a lot of people came to see. I’d act in my role, and not be inhibited. (Hmmm…am I noticing a trend here? Do I secretly wish I was a star? Ha ha)

7. I’d be someone important. I know lots of people who are very important, in their own minds! I’d really be important, though, for the day anyway! In my own mind!

8. I’d get liposuction. I’d only do that if I was wild. I hate needles.

9. I’d get a fancy sports car and drive fast. But not to work. If I had enough money to get a fancy sports car I wouldn’t have to work!

10. I’d go to Mardi Gras. I’d have a lot of beads that I didn’t have to buy at the souvenir store! Ewww….

These are actually Ty's. I'm not asking what he did to get so many.

This isn’t a bucket list. I think a bucket list is things you want to do before you die. Chances are I wouldn’t do some of these things even if I could. But then there is always that chance! So fess up! What’s one of your ‘wild’ things?

Wild thing, I think you move me

But I wanna know for sure

I was looking for a new project the other day ran across a pattern on Ravelry that is a woven ball. I know you’ve probably seen them in stores, made of plastic. I worked on some of the strips at the fiber fest because it’s kind of mindless knitting, except for keeping count of the rows. It was hard to explain how the strip I was knitting was going to turn into a ball!

Six strips. 20sts wide, 68 rows long.

I finished all the strips and put one together and it turned out really cool. It was a fun knit and since I have a lot of scraps this is a good way to use them.

First step. Weaving four strips together.

Finished ball. Cool!!

I got the beads for the bias shawl but haven’t put them on yet and I’m still gearing up to block the crocheted shawl.

Beads will be added to the fringe on each end.

I guess I’m getting a bucket list of knitting, things I need to finish before I die! And if I wanted to add knitting to my ‘wild’ list I guess I could always knit a wild bikini!

Wild thing, I think I love you.

But I wanna know for sure...

Oh come on, come on wild thing.

Check it, Check it wild thing.

Life Is A Highway

I wanna ride it
All night long…
If you're going my way, I wanna drive it
All night long…

Road trip! We’re packing for yet another quick trip of 2000 miles in five days! We’re going to Utah this time to see Ty. I haven’t seen him since October and we both miss him. I’ve never been to Utah so I’m looking forward to it.

We left the house at 3:30pm. We made a couple of stops then took off for Utah. Yes, it was a very long ride. We stopped as needed and did pull over and rest for about an hour. Alan did most of the driving but I didn’t sleep. He has this annoying habit of running over the Mallory strips and scaring me as soon as I doze. A Mallory strip is what we call that bumpy area that lets you know you are running off the edge of the road. Mallory’s dad had a big part in creating these bumpy patches, hence, Mallory strips. Some states have them on the edges of the road and in the middle so I got it from both sides. We drove into Vernal about 20 hours later, 10:30am the next day. Actually on our time it was 11:30. We unloaded, had lunch then rested. Alan snored as soon as his head hit the pillow. I went into Mom mode and started straightening up Ty’s room and doing laundry. I couldn’t sleep but did manage to relax some.

Ty and his roomie took us to eat lunch at a local restaurant. They are both petroleum engineers and just moved to a new apartment. I’m a people watcher. While we were waiting for our food to arrive I noticed that every girl who came in had puffed up hair. It was like there was a sale on Bumpits and everyone bought one! I finally mentioned it and Ty told me it’s actually called the “Vernal Poof”. It’s ‘the’ hairstyle to have. Isn’t that funny?

The advantage of driving all night is that you get there. The disadvantage is that you are exhausted when you do. We took it easy and looked around at some of the local sites. Vernal is located in the Unita Basin which is famous for its dinosaur fossils. Alan had an appointment to get some new seat covers put in the Dodge. We dropped the truck off as we looked around. The Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum was right across the street from the seat cover place. I didn’t go in but I did walk over and get some pictures of the outside dinosaurs. I know the littles would love to see it!

Dinosaurs in Vernal

Camo Seatcovers

Lots of hiding places!

Utah is a very pretty place. At least where we were it was. But it sure didn’t seem very spring like! It was cold and the mountains still had snow. We drove around and saw some beautiful scenery. We went out to the mountains and saw an operational mine. They do a lot of reclamation to restore the land so it wasn’t a barren ugly mess like I expected. Their tailings pond boasted that it was crystal clear. There were streams and a lake. Everything was crisp and fresh looking. It was really a nice change from the dry, ugly dessert we come from.

Reflections on a lake

The view from the top...Utah

Looking down from the mountain in Utah

Up high with the aspins...Utah

Too soon it was time to head back. We decided to break up the trip home into two days. The countryside through Colorado was real eye candy. There were many snow topped mountains. We saw literally hundreds of elk. We saw deer and wild turkeys. We tried to stop in Silverton. It’s a quaint little village with lots of shops and restaurants but it seems everything is closed on Monday. Seriously, even the gas station/convenience store was closed. There were kids, bundled up, playing outside. I don’t know what they do if someone who actually lives there needs something! We also went through Durango, where we spent our honeymoon. It’s changed so much neither of us could even remember where we stayed. We wondered if the place was still standing! We drove on to Santa Fe and spent the night. After a good night’s sleep we headed home the next day.

Silverton, Colorado

An old mine office in Colorado

Rocky Mountain High...Colorado

A tunnel in Colorado

The rest of the trip was uneventful except for the depressing changing scenery. Soon it was no longer cool with temperatures in the 80s and higher. The mountains were replaced by wide open spaces. The green trees and snow turned into sand dunes and mesquites. We agreed that even though it’s home we sure live in an ugly place!

I started a crocheted shawlette called Summer Twilight Shawlette on the way. It was with the Madeline Tosh yarn I got in Dallas.

Madeline ToshYarn

Wound yarn.

It’s not big and I was sure I could finish it on the trip. Turned out I did. Twice! It was really pretty but it was the size of a doily! It was more like a collar than a shawlette. I made a few of the shells on the final row and decided to take it all out and make it again, with a bigger needle.

Started shawlette...the first time.

On a hook two sizes bigger than what the pattern recommends I started again. What a difference! Now it looks like a shawlette even before it’s blocked. I finished it, again, and this time I’m happy with the results. Now I just have to block it!

Finished product...unblocked

Even though the road trip was long, it was fun. We saw a lot of things and enjoyed our own company. Now it’s back to work for a couple of days. But we’ve already decided we’ll get back in the car and head off again, somewhere, soon, going through all these cities and all these towns. We’ll make the journey and we’ll go the distance. And we’ll enjoy the ride.

Well, life's like a road that you travel on.

There's one day here and the next day gone.

Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand.

Sometimes you turn your back to the wind.

Life is a highway, I wanna ride it

All night long.