January visitors

Here is the state of snow. We do not have much this year as you can see, and rather than getting more new snow, the weather has merely been creating winds which move the existing snow around. I have drifts of snow behind objects, some very inconveniently formed across walks and the top of the driveway, but the hilltops are almost bare.

This year we are lucky enough to have flocks of hoary redpolls visiting. We don't get them every year. They migrate from the extreme north. They are a type of finch that has a bright red patch on the top (poll) of the head, their underside is a golden cream, and their backs are stripey. They love niger seed, and as I noticed this year, the seeds from tansy. Alberta ruled that tansy is a noxious weed, agriculturally speaking, though it was a herb imported from Europe (not indigenous to north america) used medicinally. Modern agriculture can't find a use for it, so it encourages farmers to remove it. However, complete removal would likely interfere with the redpoll migration, so you see there are consequences attached to the ravenous belly of humanity.

I love rocks. I collect them from the pastures on my property. I collect them as both geological and anthropological samples. I have some interesting specimens -- in the anthropological category, I have two types, painted and formed. The last rock I found in November was of the "formed" category. It is red granite, about the size of my hand with fingers extended. It has a furrow carved around the top, and a groove or v gouged in one end. I found it on a bare hillside just northwest of the house. I have found many rocks here that were used by some neo-lithic people, tools, arrow heads, spear heads, and about a dozen rocks with paintings on them. I'll post pictures in a future post. Maybe this one is a hammerhead? Any ideas what it could be?

Just as I was preparing this post, there was an unbelieveable ruckus in the house -- my usually near-sighted mastiffs had spied from the comfort of the sofa this coyote sitting on the hill behind the house. I prefer to let him be, so I delayed their inevitable police action until he was a bit farther away. I don't like to discourage their visits too much because they are great rodent control, plus they have a hard enough life as it is. Anyway, the mastiffs don't chase them, they just run and bark until the intruder moves off.

On the knitting front, I've completed these two sweaters. One fringed cardigan, "cowgirl" style, and an almost finished scoop neck pullover. I made the last one without a pattern or calculations of any kind. It took me about a week to finish. I have yet to finish the neckline -- I'm thinking I will just knit I-cord around it. It looks even better on me than on the judy. It's knit of Araucanica Magallanes, purchased online from elann.com. It's 100% wool, made in Chile, and has the consistency of a thick and thin handspun, and the dye quality of hand-dyed. It's fun to work with as there is so much variation. It's not itchy to wear, at least I haven't found it so.
Stay warm wherever you are!