Trust

Day 267: And then there's this. The feeling I get when a wild bird places its trust in me is indescribable. I know I am privileged to have experienced it even once, but it repeats, and not with just one species. Chickadees can be coerced into taking food from a hand. Canada Jays ("Grey Jays") will land on your head if you're having a snack on the trail. There are some wild species who are more accepting of humans than others, but if you asked any birder or ornithologist, Evening Grosbeaks would not be on their list. Pine Siskins might be, but Purple Finches would not, and there's one female who watches very carefully from nearby when my little Grosbeak friend is having lunch: "If he can do it, maybe I could, too!" I can tell she's giving the idea serious consideration. As for the Grosbeak, he is completely comfortable. He didn't even mind that I had forgotten to turn off the flash on the little silver point-and-shoot I used to take these photos. And this is how I want my friends to remember me, if for nothing else: the woman who held birds.

A Friend of a Friend

Day 266: These are Rob's photos from a couple of days ago. Some of you may have already seen them on Facebook, but since I had not yet blogged them, and since there are updates, they are my choice for today's post.

Y'see, a couple of decades ago, I rehabbed an Evening Grosbeak with a broken wing. He was in my care for a month before I returned him to the wild. I dubbed him Friend (some of you may know where to find "Friend's Story" as an adjunct to 365Caws). After his release, he returned to visit me throughout the season and, I firmly believe, the following two or three years. Since then, I have always wondered if he somehow related the circumstances of our relationship to his offspring, because almost every year, there is at least one Grosbeak who shows no fear of me. That said, the closest I had ever gotten to any of them was when Follower tagged along behind me as I went out to the garage, and I had to shoo him gently out.

That's the backstory. This little feller had already eaten out of my hand while sitting on the bird feeder, but I wasn't expecting him to get ON the hand, and especially not in front of company. It's enormously difficult to document these events, and people tend not to believe you unless they have witnessed it. But there you have it: bird in the hand, worth way more than two in the bush! Today brought another surprise. When I went out to fill the feeders, my little pal hopped onto my forearm, walked down it, took a seed from my palm and then settled in on the edge of the feeder while eating from the handful I was holding. I think I've made a friend for life...a friend, perhaps, of Friend.

Marsh Violet, Viola Palustris

Day 265: Violas are notoriously difficult to tell apart, but when I'm in the general area where Viola pluviae is known to occur, I get excited by every pale lavender member of the genus I observe. Alas, after noting several features and checking them against the description when I got home, I am sorry to say that this didn't turn out to be what I'd hoped it to be. It's good ol' Marsh Violet, Viola palustris. I have yet to find V. pluviae. Despite my disappointment, these are still a lovely little alpine species, with one or more of the three bottom petals daintily inscribed with "bee guides" in darker purple.

Taxonomy

Day 264 (bonus): This was sent to me by a friend who obviously understands my dilemma.
It's sung to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic:

Mine eyes have seen the splitting of the genus I adore,
It’s been slyly subdivided into families galore,
And with every publication comes another genus more.
The names go rolling on!

Hemstitching a Tube

Day 264: If anyone knows how to hemstitch a tube or double-wide cloth on the loom, I would appreciate a detailed description of the procedure. I always hemstitch both ends of my pieces, and it's a right pain when the fabric is not under tension (i.e., off the loom). To hemstitch on the loom if you're using a floor loom, there seems to be no way to do the bottom layer at the beginning unless you want to lay on your back underneath the fabric. In this case, I'm working on a rigid heddle, so I flipped the loom over. Even so, it was awkward working in amongst the brace pieces. This is a "stash-busting" project. I'm trying to use up some 3/2 cotton I was sent by mistake. It's substantially heavier than anything I would normally weave, so I'm making seamless bags with it.

Pilophorus Acicularis

Day 263: Anyone who comes to visit me should know to expect at least a few botany lessons, so when Rob, Mike and I went up to Longmire, I just had to introduce them to Pilophorus acicularis, aka "Devil's Matchstick Lichen." It's one of my favourites. A "pioneer" lichen, it is one of the first to colonize the surfaces of freshly broken rock, although the definition of "freshly broken" can extend twenty years or so into the past. This particular specimen is on the road cut just south of the wooden bridge between Longmire proper and the volunteer campground. The bridge is currently in need of repair, and Rob and Mike checked it over thoroughly, studying the architecture and welds while I worked my way along the ditch trying to remember exactly which bump of rock held my pet Pilophorus. When I finally found it, I called Rob over to show it to him. Pffft! I don't think he was sufficiently impressed! But then, National Parks hold different attractions for people with a wide variety of interests, don't they?

Rob's Quilt

Day 262: I figured I'd already spoiled the surprise before they left New Zealand. I mean, you can't ask questions like, "How much room are you going to have in your luggage when you leave my place? Will you have space for something about the size of a briefcase?" without someone getting suspicious. I think Rob knew this hexagon quilt was going back with him before he got here. I was ready to suggest wrapping themselves up in it on the plane (after all, it's winter in New Zealand), but they managed to fold it to fit inside a wheeled suitcase. And like I told him, this is his combined birthday/Christmas gift this year, 'cuz I sure as heck wasn't going to mail it!