hello starlings, hello swans

from about october starlings start to appear in our area in large numbers. every evening just before it gets dark (which, sigh, is about 4.30pm these days), they all start heading towards the boats and perch on every mast available. their chattering gets quite noisy, then the horns start from people who would rather they perched on someone else's mast. as the light slowly fades, they all fly up, swooping and diving in the sky, creating beautiful swirly, changing patterns. it's truly an amazing sight. they always remind me of shoals of fish swimming in the sea. and as my mum said yesterday as we watched them in awe, it's amazing they never seem to crash heads, they must be so in tune with each other. then one last dance before bedtime as they dive underneath the local weatherspoons, of all places, to roost for the night.


we are very lucky with the wildlife we get to see here. there are also two swans that live in the marina and most days we try to find them or they find us and we give them some bread. i'm not sure how they came to be here or why they even stay in the salty water, but stanley absolutely loves them and as they approach starts waving frantically to his friends. i give him bits of bread to throw in too, which he prefers to munch on himself. then off they go to the boat across the way where a lady always has a bucket of fresh water for them to drink when ever they please.


i've also been making trousers, inspired by you little sis. these were made out of my maternity jeans. the fit is somewhere in between skinny and bootleg, poor child! i must remember next time to allow for more width in the leg for a looser fit and also in the waistband to allow more room for that fat tummy!


now the nights are drawing in i've had the urge to pick up my knitting. This wip is a scarf that i have been working on since i started to knit two years ago! so you would be correct in saying that i am a complete novice. my only finished project so far has been a dishcloth, which ended up much bigger and to my puzzlement very different to the picture from the pattern i was following. that was also the first and only pattern i have followed! i would so love to be able to knit a winter hat for stanley. little sis also taught me to crotchet last year, she is very good. but i think i need a refresher. it's no good me buying lovely wool if i'm not going to do anything with it. although that is what i do, as i have great ambitions! i don't think i'll ever manage a jumper, but i have hopes of making socks, hats and blankets some day! i'm not sure stanley will get his hat this year, but maybe i'll at least finish my scarf, after all i'm half way there!


sarada