Nature Abounds

     First it was turtles; now it's rabbits.  Without all the cars squashing critters trying to cross the road, my back yard is overrun with wildlife.  Mardi alerted me to the bunnies.

Did Mardi want to play or eat a snack?  

I'm sure this little guy was frightened.  The bunny must have fallen into the crawl space access well.

I turned and found this one cowering in the corner of the foundation.

     I shooed one rabbit into a bucket and took it to the woods next to the house.  The other one was more energetic, and it leaped out of the bucket.  Mardi gave chase.  I managed to get ahead of Mardi and herd this cottontail to a place where it could squeeze through a gap under the fence.  From there it disappeared under some shrubs.
     A little later, I spied an adult rabbit on patrol.  It investigated under the shrubs and went into the woods.  Since I don't normally see rabbits out in plain sight during the middle of the day*, I'm assuming Mama was hunting her wayward offspring.

*What I learned about rabbits:  Rabbits are crepuscular creatures.  That means they are active at dawn and dusk and sleep most other hours of the day.  People think rabbits are nocturnal, but that is not the case. 

Eastern Box Turtle Hatchling

     There must be an Eastern Box Turtle nest close by.  On Saturday, I was walking through my high grass, hoping things would be dry enough for the lawn guys to cut the grass tomorrow.  I looked down and saw a tiny box turtle.  The little guy (girl?) was about 1 to 1.25 inches in diameter.  Since fresh out of the egg hatchlings are about the size of a quarter (.95 inches), this specimen must have been very young.
      While it's probably best to leave the natural order alone,  I foresaw a gruesome death in this reptile's future if it hung around my yard - or any of the neighbors' yards - or the road.  A little googling told me that hatchling turtles have a high mortality rate.  Most don't live past the first year.  Besides fatal encounters with humans (and their lawn equipment and cars), they are food for snakes, birds, and other animals.  If they don't dig deep enough into the ground for their first winter hibernation, they freeze and never see their second spring.
     I figured the best shot for this little one was to be relocated to the park, away from the parking lot and the trails, near water and soft earth.  So, that's where we went.

So Little
Remember those green turtles that were popular pets in the 1950s and 1960s?  They disappeared from the stores in 1975 by order of the FDA.  Just about all turtles carry salmonella.  Children, who love to touch small animals, then go about their business touching their faces and putting their fingers in their mouths, never having washed their grubby, little hands, were getting sick.  Box turtles, while healthy themselves, carry salmonella on their bodies.  I used a handy dog poop bag to grab this guy.  I deposited him in a crumb butler (which serves as an ash tray for visiting smokers) that sits outside on a table.      

I headed to the park.

Eastern Box Turtles have an average life expectancy of 50 years, but some can live to be 100 years old.  I hope I did the right thing by taking this turtle to the park.  Maybe it will still be there in the year 2100.  After sending a few more positive thoughts out into the universe, I went home and scrubbed thoroughly, up to my elbows.        

  

The Pay Attention Shawl

     I don't know if this shawl is the most difficult thing I ever crocheted, but I did have to pay attention.  Pay attention to row numbers.  Pay attention to stitch counts as the rows are worked.  Pay attention to the total count at the end of each row.  There was no TV watching during this one, so this shawl, called the Ana Lucia Shawl by the designer, was renamed the Pay Attention Shawl by Beverly.


     Here's the YouTube tutorial:

     You can get the written pattern here:  https://wilmade.com/ana-lucia-shawl/     

     My sister claimed this project, and she rejected the tassels.  She also liked the addition of the picot edging along the neck edge.  You gotta give the people what they want.

My Version of the Ana Lucia Shawl
I used Harbor by Fair Isle.  The Color is Platinum #66.  This is a fine #2 yarn, 50% cotton and 50% viscose from bamboo.  The label recommended using a K hook.  That seemed huge for this yarn weight, so I ignored the recommendation and used a G hook.  The strands tended to separate as I worked, so I didn't like that.  However, it feels nice, and it has a nice drape.  Instead of blocking, I held a steam iron over the finished piece and puffed shots of steam through it.  That flattened and separated the stitches.  It shaped up nicely.

The bottom edges have a pretty scallop.

The pattern directions left the neck edge unfinished.  The picot edging dresses things up.

Crescent Shaped Scarf

     Here's the latest item of Covid Crochet:

     The scarf turned out great.  It was easy to make.  After you get going, you can watch TV.  It's not a project that requires lots of counting and constant attention.  I used Red Heart Ombre - Sea Coral colorway.  The project  used one 10 ounce/482 yard jumbo skein plus a teensy bit more from a second skein.  I have plenty of skein #2 remaining if I want to make a matching hat.  I used a 6 mm/J hook.
     I used this YouTube tutorial by Fiber Spider:

 

Dispatches From Elsewhere

     Is anyone watching AMC's "Dispatches from Elsewhere?"  It's inspired me to call myself -

B to the ever to the ly

     Straight fire.  

To Paraphrase the Rolling Stones

     I hate to get my lazy backside out of bed.  That's the way it has always been.  I'm not a morning person; however, I am a breakfast person.  The best incentive for getting up in the morning is, knowing when you turn in the night before, that a yummy breakfast awaits you.  Lately, I've rediscovered bran flakes.  Bran flakes, fat free milk, and a sliced banana make me kick off the covers and run to the kitchen.
     Three weeks ago, I noticed that the box of bran flakes was getting low.  Two weeks ago, I planned to replenish my supply on my weekly shopping excursion.  Gol dang it, the cereal aisle was empty except for a few boxes of Lucky Charms.  Even a pandemic won't make me buy those.  There was an end cap of on-sale Cheerios, but I didn't crave Cheerios.  Like a frustrated zoo animal, I paced up and down the cereal aisle and the adjoining baking aisle.  No cake mixes, no muffin mixes, no flour.  Then I spied a box of low fat, heart smart Bisquick.  I have a zucchini quiche recipe that I love that calls for low fat Bisquick, and zucchini quiche is worth getting up for.  Problem solved.  This week, the bran flakes were back.  I was tempted to buy two boxes, but we mustn't hoard.

     So, you can't always get what you want, but if you are flexible, you'll get what you need, and you might like it even more.

Zucchini Quiche

3 cups grated zucchini, skin included
1 cup low fat (heart smart) Bisquick
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 tsp. each oregano and basil, dried
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder or 2 cloves fresh garlic, finely chopped
4 tbs. chopped fresh parsley or 4 tsp. dried parley
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup vegetable oil plus 1/4 water
4 large eggs 

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix.  Pour into a 9" pie plate sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake at 350° for about 45 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve and enjoy.  This warms up well in the microwave. 



     

Petite Shawl

     I saw a pattern for a small shawl.  The designer called it a Summer Shawl, I suppose because her choice of yarn was a cotton/acrylic mix and because the shawl is just big enough to keep the shoulders warm.  That's good when restaurants and other public spaces have the air conditioning cranked up high.  This little accessory would also make a nice winter scarf.  It's big enough to cover one's head and wrap around the neck.

The shawl is about 16" deep and 72" long.  The shawl section was easy, but the ruffled border was a pain in the neck.  It took FOREVER to finish.  I also, made a few mistakes.  A missing stitch here and there in the midst of all that ruffling was not noticeable, so I did not correct some of my boo-boos.  Young Beverly would have frogged (rip it, rip it, rip it) until it was perfect, but elderly Beverly is not so inclined. 

So, how does it look paired with a lousy, old long sleeved T-shirt that I have been wearing for two days?