(Do Knitting and Birdwatching Go Together?)
A few weeks ago, I had major surgery. No complaints. I feel really great, and I’ve lost significant weight in the days post-surgery. I can’t lift anything heavier than my kitty (and she’s pushing it!), so I’m working to get caught up on paperwork in my office for my music studio, my public-school teaching gig, and for my knitting passion.
Since Ivy (the above-mentioned kitty) likes to get me up at 5:30-6:00 a.m. for her breakfast, I like to get her fed and then go out on my back deck to watch my bird feeders and enjoy the cool morning weather before it heats up out there. I started carrying my knitting out with me a couple of days ago—just a pretty little lavender baby blanket that I’ve been working on for several weeks.
I had no idea that a person could knit and watch birds at the same time! (Although I wouldn’t recommend combining the two activities if you’re knitting a complex pattern like lace or certain cables!) I’m using the softest acrylic yarn I’ve ever knitted up for this baby blanket, and the pattern is one I found on the internet with beautiful texture. It’s a two-row pattern with moss-stitch/seed stitch borders—an easy pattern to memorize so I don’t have to keep consulting the pattern. (Yes, I use paper patterns…the topic of a later blog.)
The morning coolness is perfect for knitting! I like to take a protein shake or bottle of electrolyte water along with my knitting, then kick back and listen to the birds waking up. My bird feeders are set up to provide bird seed, black oiled sunflower seeds, hummingbird sugar water and woodpecker suet in various size cakes and balls. The cardinals usually show up first—vivid red and pale brown with orange beaks. The titmice, chickadees and mourning doves are usually next, followed by buntings and Carolina wrens and up to a dozen ruby-throated hummingbirds. The woodpeckers then make their appearances: downy woodpeckers, red-bellied woodpeckers, hairy and red-headed woodpeckers. Once in awhile I might see chipmunks, squirrels and rabbits slipping through the yard, as well!
So I sit there on the back porch with luxuriously soft acrylic yarn slipping through my fingers, watching these graceful and beautiful examples of nature, sipping my morning drink and thinking how very blessed I am to have a place to enjoy two of my favorite things—knitting and birdwatching—out of sight of all my neighbors.
Pretty much a perfect way to start the day!
Happy knitting!
Anita