Hummer Report:  just entering Maryland.. get your feeders out!

I spent more time than I want to admit, writing a post longer than would hold any one person’s attention, or at least anyone with anything else to do, at least in part about bloggers who have recently posted that they are finding blog writing (and probably blogging in general) to be huge time drains.  This is, the part about it being a time drain, mostly true.  Even if I could type faster, using all my fingers instead of the five or six that I use while looking at the keypad.. all the time, even while I backspace.. it would still take a lot of time.  But, it IS time well spent. The argument against blogging.. think of all the knitting that you could get done in the time it takes to blog. Yep, that’s true. but blogging helps to inspire me, introduce me to new yarns, projects, ideas, and think of all the virtual blogging buddies out there.  They keep spirits up (mine), act as cheer leaders, send raspberries when necessary and often helpful information when I’m just plain stuck.  I’m not saying that time away isn’t a good thing.  Sometimes you just have to clear your head.  But, since blogging, my knitting experience is much richer, my ideas flowing at the front, ’cause I’m always thinking about new things I’ve read and want to try.  (hmmm… this is also getting long winded.  The blogging world was saved from my earlier attempt at a post because I posted it to the wrong blog, then lost it entirely.  Feel lucky, this is the abbreviated version.  I type slowly.)  I look forward to blog reading the way some people look forward to the morning newspaper.  Coffee and the morning posts.. 
In the same spirit, I won’t go into detail, but my niece’s visit was great fun.  She (not me) did buy yarn AND BEADS to make a lacy beaded shawl.  Good luck, Nena!  Anyone know of a knitting group near York PA?  She just may need you.  We did get all the beads strung and cast on before she left Saturday morning. 
Saturday afternoon I tied up 16 skeins of the merino / silk in preparation for dyeing Sunday.  It was good.  I got 8 skeins dyed in each of two colorways… Atlantic (that’s the one that I used for this shawl)

and  Peony.  Pictures will have to wait until they dry and are sorted out.  Dyeing this many at once leads to a mess o’ yarn. 

Thursday morning C had some outpatient surgery done, which gave me several hours of knitting time in the waiting room (the olny knitting time of the day).  I had put the long ago put aside Broadripple Socks into my bag the night before.  I need to finish up a a whole lot of few projects and make some room around my chair.  I counted eight project bags, not all filled with projects, some just holding yarn and leftovers.  My niece and I went through them last night  before I brought her down to the stash under the stairway and really had her going.  Today, we just may hit a yarn store, for her… not me..  maybe.   I didn’t count my stash when many bloggers were doing just that.  I can’t, I’m afraid…. very afraid.

The hummingbirds are in North Carolina, working their way up the coast.  The way I figure, they should hit SE Pennsylvania in another 7-10 days and be in New England the tail end of April.  I put my feeders out nearly a week before I expect them, just in case there is a speedy little rascal that arrives exhausted and has no energy left for foraging.. or worst case… has arrived before the food here is ready.  Get your  feeders out and ready.  If you haven’t ever gone the Hummingbird site, check it out now.  Pay particular attention to the migration charts.  You can look at the arrival date in your area for many years past and make your own predictions.  It’s fun.  Hummers return to the same area feeders year after year.  It’s their home, afterall.  My little hummers usually arrive in VT the end of the first week of May.  The 7th to be more exact.  Year after year, the same day, or only a day or two off if it’s been particularly lousy weather.  They find me in the house too, checking through all the windows and chattering to me, letting me know they have arrived.  (I’ve had them do the same thing if the feeders go empty, yelling at me to get on the stick, fill ’em up.. bossy little things.)  They are the original garden fairies.  If you haven’t had a feeder before, treat yourself.  You won’t be sorry..  promise.

I have started the seashell scarf.  I’m placing only one bead per row, 30 sts wide,  just for a bit of sparkle.  What a pain to keep pushing all 240 beads down the boucle every row.  They don’t move easily.  I’ve already dropped a couple sts. putting on the shells and had to frog back an inch after only four knitted.  It’s not terribly slow, but you definitely have to pay attention.  No pics yet, it’s going to be hard to show the beads.   I haven’t had much luck showing them off on the other beaded projects. 
I’m posting early.  C has an out patient appt. at the hospital first thing and we’ll be gone by 6am.  I’ll get him home then run back out to pick my neice up from the airport and taking her to her meeting in Newport.  We’ll have the day to hang out together on Friday, maybe hit some LYS.  She’s a knitting newbie.  Fun stuff.