My Feathered Friend

Good Sunday morning to you.  It feels like Summer here!  Of course, I enjoy the being outside part of this weather, but truly, I wish we had some real winter! This is crazy!  The trees are all blooming too early, and the grass is already growing as if it were Spring.  And my feathered friends are beginning to look for places to nest and raise their young already.  I always keep my feeders full, and I have noticed an odd fellow visiting my hummingbird feeder lately.  So yesterday, I opened the screen and window, and perched at my kitchen sink to wait for him, to get some photos.

He has, what appears to be a very damaged beak.  I don't know if something is on it, or if it is a birth defect?
He didn't seem to have any problem extracting nectar from the feeder though.  He is a bit of a bully, shooing all of the other birds away, so he can have the lion's share.

I actually switched out my lens, for my zoom to get as close as I could to view the beak.  
As the sun began to set, I watched as more and more hummers crowded around the feeder.

There were as many as 15 at one time, circling and waiting for their turn.  At another seed feeder, this female House Finch was loading up on goodies.

In the bottle brush tree in the back yard, there were dozens and dozens of crown sparrows chittering along.

This is a Mandevilla in my front planter that my girlfriend Joyce gave me, in honor of my Nana.  It is blooming beautifully, and I think of both Nana and Joycie, every time I see it.

The handsome rusty Rooster was a gift from my friend Denise.   I love to see him standing guard in the planter.
While I was taking photos of birds, the sun continued to set, and Noah called me over to check out his mad hand ball skills.

The moon was spectacular last night!

Good Night Moon!
I made another cowl.  I got the pattern from my friend Priscilla's blog.  She posted the link, and I also posted the link on a previous post, if you want to find it, scroll down a bit.  The first one I did, seemed different than Priscilla's.  After chatting with her, we realized that I was simply crocheting much looser.  I did my next one with more tension.  It is the same pattern, same hook size, and same weight yarn, but you can see the size difference.  I like them both, and they fit nice and softly against your neck.

I made a simple crochet rose to put on it.  But the next one I make, I think I will do flowerless.
Here are the two, side by side, so you can see the size difference.

I like them both ways.  My natural tendency is to crochet loose.  So my next one will be more like the pink one.
On Super Bowl Sunday, Joann's was having a deal with their flannel 50% off, and 48 Cents for shipping.  They didn't have the same selection that they do in their stores, but I found a few to order.   My order FINALLY arrived on Saturday.

Couldn't beat the price!

That's about it from my neck of the woods.  Didn't even go see a movie this weekend.  Lots of yard work going on over here.  I am sitting in my bed still, nursing my sore body before I get back out there again today.
See you soon.
XO  Kris