Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Bunnies & New Pets.

 Last week was an off week, to be sure, and I'm glad to be done with it. Just a bunch of small things to start the week off and then it ended with the husband's grandfather passing. He was 95 and it was less of a surprise and more of a blessing, but sad nonetheless. Another WWII vet gone. We always visit the husband's father at the veteran's cemetery  for Memorial's anyway so it was doubly poignant this year.:(


In between times, I busied myself with knitting bunnies. I do love a good obsessive knit to take my mind off things. Something you can get lost in. These patterns were just released by Julie of Little Cotton Rabbits the week before and, originally, I purchased them just to support her with not much intention of knitting them up. (She uses her bunny sales to help with the cost of caring for her autistic son.) I've done a few similar toys years ago for my niece but she's a full blown teenager now and has no more need for my stuffies. *sad* 


 
But then I thought, why not? They're fun and intensely detailed (read: lots of work to weave in 351324123 yarn ends) and a few extra bunnies around the house isn't exactly a BAD thing, right? And I know from past experience that her patterns are impeccable.

So I got myself a sack of worsted weight inexpensive wool yarn from Knitpicks and set to work. (Which I would not recommend. It is cheap and it is wool but it's works as well as you would expect from cheap wool. Should have sprung the extra $$$ for some Cascade 220. Live and learn. /shrug) Of course, I still have a sackful of yarn left so I might have to knit a few more of these guys to burn through more of this yarn. I'm already working on another batch of bunny bits to be sewn up when I have time. :)

Also, we have some new 'pets'. Not very cuddly ones though. Heh.

 A pair of Cooper's hawks have come back to nest in our yard again, after a year's absence, this time RIGHT over my bedroom window/driveway.

(unzoomed view from my window)

The leaves *just* finished filling in so you can't see the nest as well from my bedroom anymore but I still have a clear shot of them when sitting on the deck. (Luckily, there are no branches in the way from that angle.) We've had great fun watching them build the nest out of twigs and switching off on hunting and incubating the eggs. Unfortunately though, I think there is another pair of hawks nesting nearby because there has been a lot of fighting this week, with adults zooming all over and tons of squawking, etc. I think they keep trying to attack one another or something. The fighting was so bad on Monday that one of the adults seemed stunned or something because I found one sitting - not standing- in the driveway for a long while, maybe gathering his wits? He flew off and seemed ok though.  Can't wait to see if any of the eggs eventually fledge. They can have as many as five babies survive. EXCITING. (And NOISY. Very, very noisy. Wow, do these guys make LOTS of noise all_day_long!!)

Not as fun: I think they are picking off and/or scaring off a lot of the birds that come to our feeders. 0_o
But on the plus side, I haven't seen any squirrels around either. lol
Also: Maggie is no longer allowed on the deck by herself. Too big for them to eat but I'm not taking any changes. :)


14 comments:

Cath said...

Those bunnies are adorable , love them.
Hope the birds fare well .x

Anonymous said...

I am so sorry for your loss. Hugs to you and your husband.

Your bunnies are adorable. I may have to check out that pattern. They are too cute.

valerie said...

So sorry to hear of the pssing of your DH's grandfather. =( Love the new bunnies! I have to admire knitted stuffies. I know I wouldn't have the patience to try but they look so cute! Wow, hawk's nest. I hope they all start behaving!

Annie said...

Sorry about your grandfather, especially occurring around Memorial Day.

Those are the cutest bunnies ever! You always do such perfect work.

Hawks in the backyard are something I can't even imagine. What a soap opera!

Annie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Catherine said...

Sorry for your family's loss. Wow, your bunnies so are cute!! I imagine the hawks are amazing to watch ~ with my three boys squeaky at each other all the time, I probably wouldn't even notice the birds!

Beth said...

The ups and downs of life - I am sorry to hear of your family's loss. Your bunnies are too too cute (and cuddily looking too). How exciting to have the Copper's Hawk nest so close by - observing the babies as they become fledglings will be great fun - though I'd not look too closely at who they are eating for lunch!

Margaret said...

Wow! Those hawks are impressive. Love your rabbits. I agree, it's never a bad thing to have bunnies around the house. I'm sorry to hear about DH's grandfather. He had a good long life though. My condolences to you both.

Vickie said...

Sorry about your DH's grandfather.
What excitement with the hawks!
SQUEE!!! Those rabbits are soooooooo adorable. Fantastic job Melanie.♥

Julie said...

So sad to read of your family's loss.
Adorable and cuddly bunnies, they are stunning.

Marsha said...

Sorry to hear of your loss. The bunnies are adorable!

Gabi said...

How sweet! The bunnies are more than adorable.
Sorry to hear of your loss.

Carol said...

Oh, your bunnies are the cutest, Melanie!! I just love her little shoes and his two-toned face--adorable!!

The hawks sound fascinating, but annoying. We have a ton of birds around here, too (in fact a great blue heron is stalking koi in our pond as I write this!)...

No matter the circumstances, it is so sad when one of our older relatives leaves us...Your husband's grandfather sounds like he will truly be missed.

Dani - tkdchick said...

Sorry for your loss.

OMG those bunnies are da' bomb! The cutest things I've ever seen!!!