Day Trip to Sanibel

On Saturday, my mother and I drove to Sanibel and did the wildlife drive through the J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge (what a name, eh? I particularly like the quotation marks), basically just to get out of the house and go somewhere. We had though to go last weekend, but with the rain and clouds as Tropical Storm Sally went by, it wasn't fun weather for a day trip. Second time lucky: the weather was beautiful. 

And wasn't it nice to get out of the house, and off the familiar paths we've mostly been on for these last months. Even the parts of getting there that weren't lovely were at least different.

We stopped for lunch at Dante's, at the Sanibel Outlets, and the food was really good. We were drinking Cokes, but clearly they have others in mind as an audience. Look at the taps! And the list of what's available.

Impressive even to a non-beer drinker.

The Wildlife Drive itself is 4 miles, and given how slowly one goes, and how often one stops, it takes some time and is very enjoyable. At this time of the year, it's also not very busy, which was nice; I imagine that going through in season would require a lot more attention on the part of the driver to driving, while I was able to really look around.

Ibis

Very well-camouflaged black bird in the brush.

See him? Just left of center here.

Don't worry if you can't. Even I have trouble seeing him, and I know where he is. He was easier to see when he moved, and the light shimmered on his feathers.

I climbed a small tower, and saw some birds in the water off that way.

I managed to get a picture of them through the binoculars that were on the tower.

And of course, just down the road, there they were.

As was this bird on one side of the road.

And on the other side, what, an iguana, maybe? He moved pretty fast!

Lots of beautiful views.

After the drive, we drove on and around Captiva, and then back. And I had to circle back to get a picture of this sign! Wouldn't you?

We did not see any owls, though. Which may be for the best.

Maggie was quite cross that we had been out so long; is she ever out of the habit! Once she got onto my lap (after snubbing me for a while), she was not easy to get off.

"Stop leaving me. Ever."

Random Images, A Few Words

Anti-mask? What are you doing, reading here? 

Maggie relaxed on my lap last night so hard that she lost her head. And her front paws. (And I got an hour or two less sleep than I might have, being too soft-hearted to disturb her until way past my bedtime.)

I keep screwing up my knitting, but I keep fixing it and going on!

Speaking of knitting.

Yep, I did it again. (I'm not sorry, either.) Here's a hint as to what's coming:

Can you blame me?

Yep, More Yarn (and more thoughts of startitis)

 Look at the pretty thing that came in the mail!

It's hard to capture the hints of purple in the blue in some parts; it's a subtle, lovely effect. And so soft! you know how I love that bit of cashmere.

Meanwhile, I came across a pattern today that I think would work nicely for the Vegan Yarns Albireo that I got recently: Stephen West's Batad (Ravelry page). It's a similar idea to the Across the Waters that I made, but it will be fun to try a different pattern. Not that I'm casting on now! But it's on the list.

Yarn Came!

Storm update: the tropical storm went to the south of us and is just about past. We have been drenched with rain, there are floods where I've never seen them before, and I haven't seen the cat in hours, but nothing worse than that for us here, thank whoever you wish for that. We are grateful.

I finally got the yarn that I ordered back in July (there were a couple of snafus; I hated waiting, but in the grand scheme of things, no big deal). It's so pretty!

I first took pictures of the two skeins together, as you do.

But while they are both beautiful, they don't really complement each other, and I think they are better show separately.

The brightness that is Rainbow:

The subdued but still gorgeous shades of Whiskey in a Teacup:

Both skeins are Studio Seconds, meaning they may have slight color differences or knots or whatever else makes them get marked down. I'm willing to try them! Other than the delivery delay, how can you go wrong?

I have one more order on the way; the post office says it will be delivered tomorrow, but I am skeptical. We shall see!

Rolling with the Screw-up

I was knitting along on the new project when I realized I had made a pretty basic error in it.

 You know how patterns say to join in the round, being careful not to twist? Yeah.

I decided that before I ripped out the whole thing, I would try giving it a twist now, and going on from there. 

Who knows, I may like it!

I'm liking how it's knitting up overall, anyway. What more can one ask?

Hello, Ibis

 Aren't they neat? I love to see them.

I Fought the Startitis, It Won

As I teased the other day, I wound some yarn and cast on a new project. Yes, I have multiple projects that I'm actively working on, as well as a few in time out. No, I haven't finished anything recently. Just had to start it!

The pattern is called Top Notes (Ravelry link). It's got a pretty, lace/cable look going on, and can be made in a cowl or poncho version; I am doing the latter.

The yarn is from the stash, Maple Creek Farm Fredericksburg, which is BFL; I've used it before, when I got it at Rhinebeck, but the vendor seems sadly to have vanished (they weren't there last year, or the last time I went), and these two skeins came from a destash. I used this yarn in the Frost Diamonds shawl that I made a million years ago (Ravelry project page; blog blocking photos), and it's warm but lovely and light. I will admit that in person, this colorway is brighter than the previous owner's photos show, and I probably would not have bought it had I known. But almost all my photos mute down the colors, too, so I can hardly blame her for that. This first one is probably the closest, but it's a bit brighter than this appears on my computer, anyway.

Cast on.

Swatching! Got gauge on the second needle size I tried.

And away I go!