On Wednesday morning I caught a glimpse of the two blackbird chicks waiting eagerly for their food delivery which my presence at the window had delayed. The father had arrived but flew off as soon as I moved to take a photo.
On Thursday morning I looked up from my breakfast to see one chick standing high in the nest. I snapped a quick photo through the glass. Within seconds it flew away.
My photo caught the beginning of the flight - not an award-winning photo, but nevertheless a captured moment. There did not appear to be another fledgling left in the nest. The flight took the young bird well clear of my balcony, in the direction of the trees behind.
It seems I captured his/her flying the nest. They have not been back and the nest appears empty. There seems to be some expert disagreement about whether or not they will use the nest again, or come back to the same area. Guess I'll find out.
To complete the transition, within a couple of hours, a magpie visited for water. Soon the doves were back. The coast, it appears, is clear for other birds.
After successfully swivelling the mattress on my new bed as recommended, I spent most of Wednesday (in between checking the balcony for any activity in the nest) completing the gift project I began last week. Now it is in the hands of the intended recipient I can reveal it is Floe, the penguin doorstop from the cover of Inspirations No 123. It's been a great project to work on. Details, of course, in my embroidery blog.
On a 'complete-a-project' roll, I finished the embroidered flowers I began several months ago on Ink and Spindle linen for yet another tote bag (bottom left in composite photo). On Thursday I ironed several lengths of linen, and cut out lining for 3 bags that I had in pieces. Over Friday and Saturday I stitched them. The Flannel Flower one in the lower right is embroidered a little on both sides, the other two, only on one side. The blue bird is a Nicola Jarvis design repurposed from a worn out bag. I experimented with this one, creating a bag with a zipped top and a shoulder strap. Again, details in my embroidery blog.
A completely different 'complete-a-project' involved recycling plastic bottle lids I have been collecting for 3-4 years. I had intended to take them to an Adelaide City Council recycling station, but when I checked, they no longer had a specific collection box for plastic lids. Further investigation revealed instructions to place the lids inside a plastic milk container and put the full container into the regular recycle rubbish collection. Sorters can see the lids in the milk container and easily direct them appropriately. This seems an ingenious solution for the smaller soft drink lids, but I couldn't see it working for the milk bottle lids. It didn't take me long, however, to work out that if I used my faithful Stanley knife to cut a triangular flap in an empty soft drink bottle, I could fill it with the larger lids (which are used by several charities to make a variety of recycled plastic products). I was hoping I'd found a solution that is convenient to the recycling depot as well as me. A friend, however, assures me the larger lids can be forced into a milk bottle, so I'll try that next time I have an empty milk bottle.
The 'replant the empty pots' project continues.
I was able to eat left-over Chicken and fried rice on Tuesday and Wednesday, so visited the Queen St Cafe after Pilates on Thursday for a milkshake and very late lunch. The lunch special was Marinated Rindless Pork Belly with Gingered Hoisin Sauce and Mango Salsa. It was excellent.
The jacarandas are in full bloom all around the city. I am intrigued as to why there is such variation in the colour, coverage and timing of the transitions from flowers to leaves. The explanation seems to lie in soil type and water, yet it’s hard to see how these two, side by side in a city street, could have such different conditions. I need to talk to one of the City Council gardeners!
On Saturday morning while the Christmas Pageant was taking place in the CBD, not far from me, I did a big shop, mostly for the ingredients for Monday night's dinner -Crispy Gnocchi with Sausage and Broccoli - a recipe from the New York Times suggested by Katherine, which proved to be a success, and will join the Monday night meal rota.
Sunday was BookClub. We tried meeting in a cafe again, but didn't like it. The noise level in a popular cafe is not conducive to group discussion. We were agreed that The Death of Dora Black was interesting, but would have been better as history than fiction. Our second book, In the Blink of an Eye is a really interesting projection of the use of AI, in the form of an avatar, in police crime solving. Next month we're retreating to a home.
I’ve finished another Galaxy Dreaming panel. It’s been my ‘grab and go’ while the more ambitious projects were happening. I have two more to go before making a tablecloth.
I’ve moved on to an Irish harp by be Alice. I could finish it tonight, but decided it would be a good project to work on tomorrow while performing my hostess duties at the Guild, so I’m back to knitting up the leftover Rowan wool.
My cleaners have COVID so today I vaccuumed. The making of bags and penguin had left a trail of threads, fabric scraps and crumbs (yes, a girl needs coffee and a biscuit while on a stitching binge) throughout the apartment - and repotting hadn’t helped. Although it has rained on and off all day, the front balcony doesn't benefit, so I put the hose on again, this time pulling too hard and wetting the carpet in the sitting area. My brother had also requested some specific research, so that is what I was doing while the Melbourne Cup was being run. This bit of the nation, at least, was not stopped by the race.
There is also a curb-side pickup scheduled for tomorrow morning, with unwanted goods to go out from 4pm this afternoon. I'd been saving a few things in my carpark storage, so had to get them out and package them for leaving out with the threat of intermittent rain. It was fine at 4pm, so my old vacuum cleaner, mop, mattress protector (containing polyester which isn’t accepted by charities) and defunct light box are now all awaiting collection in the morning (mine circled). So far it hasn't rained since 4pm so they might stay dry.
I am still processing the recent deaths and illnesses in my small community. This week there was an unexpected death in my extended family, a friend travelled to New Zealand for a funeral and a Book Club friend is having her bladder removed to counter a cancer diagnosis. It feels a bit like an onslaught.
I am fortunate to be alive, supported and in reasonable health. I am trying to make the most of every moment.
On Wednesday morning I caught a glimpse of the two blackbird chicks waiting eagerly for their food delivery which my presence at the window had delayed. The father had arrived but flew off as soon as I moved to take a photo.
On a 'complete-a-project' roll, I finished the embroidered flowers I began several months ago on Ink and Spindle linen for yet another tote bag (bottom left in composite photo). On Thursday I ironed several lengths of linen, and cut out lining for 3 bags that I had in pieces. Over Friday and Saturday I stitched them. The Flannel Flower one in the lower right is embroidered a little on both sides, the other two, only on one side. The blue bird is a Nicola Jarvis design repurposed from a worn out bag. I experimented with this one, creating a bag with a zipped top and a shoulder strap. Again, details in my embroidery blog.
The jacarandas are in full bloom all around the city. I am intrigued as to why there is such variation in the colour, coverage and timing of the transitions from flowers to leaves. The explanation seems to lie in soil type and water, yet it’s hard to see how these two, side by side in a city street, could have such different conditions. I need to talk to one of the City Council gardeners! 
