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The chicks are almost too big for the nest now.
And today I saw them testing their wings.
Work with me. It's hard to get a good shot through the window.
I also discovered the best time of day to shoot photos is between 4 and 5 in the afternoon. That way they're completely lit, still basking in the sun, and the background is not so bright.
But by 6:30 p.m., and out of the direct sun, they were all tucked in for the night.
Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
THERE IS TOO MUCH TO DO! Always, but particularly so this week. I've been out of town three weekends in a row and still have two suitcases that aren't completely unpacked and put away. 
So, this coming weekend I will stay home as much as I can, although it doesn't look like a pajama day is possible for a few weeks. But a girl can dream, can't she?
On Sunday, I cast on a new project for ISE 6.
It's the Spindrift Scarf from Lucy Neatby. I already like it more than words can say. The yarn? It's a BMFA Rare Gem. Yummy.
HOME!
Upon my return from the Pacific Northwest I flew south over San Francisco Bay, which (with an east-facing window) afforded me a GREAT view of Berkeley. It was clear and, at just before 7 p.m., still light enough that I could see all the familiar landmarks. Out came the camera and I snapped several shots.
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.
For homework, we received a bag of yarn scraps and were instructed to make a toilet paper cover using the yarn.
My TP cover was in honor of the hummingbird nest.
It actually started with wanting to make the mochi mochi land slugs and snails.
And then evolved into a hummingbird extravaganza.
Complete with two tiny pearl eggs in the nest.
(courtesy of purls just wann have fun's photostream)
The TP fits right inside the felted stump.
Here's Ann (hizknits mom), who received my TP cover in the exchange.
And here's the TP cover I brought home.
(courtesy of eaglesnest's photostream)
I've also been trolling the blogs & flickr, catching everyone else's impressions and finding photos I didn't or couldn't take.
That's me and Holly, knitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Cat Bordhi & the Yarn Harlot, courtesy of Lavendar Knits, and red velvet cupcake's photostream.
I yodeled (courtesy of Aesox's photostream).
And if you'd like a little snippet of a yodel. Go here.
That's it. I won't bring it up again.
Mr. Celia and I are having an overnight in Pacific Grove. He is off playing golf, and I am at the beach. Surfers in wetsuits are waiting out beyond the breakers for a rideable wave, dogs are frolicking in the foam, and a party of girls in bikinis and the brightest green "grass" skirts I've ever seen is playing volleyball. The sky is an unimaginable shade of blue.
I have nothing better to do than to sit right here and drink it all in. I really needed a day like this, and now I have two.
Yesterday, the mama hummer was busy defending the nest from some nosy sparrows.
She is one fierce little mama!
The babies (I have confirmed there are two) seem to be growing exponentially. Two tiny beaks are peeking out of the nest almost all the time.
I can see their downy feathers blowing in the wind when Mama is gone from the nest, catching insects to feed the hungry babes
Remember camp? Sock camp is your childhood camp experience on steroids, complete with cliques, big personalities, heart-to-heart talks late into the night, lots of knitting, general mayhem and fun. It was an exhausting week. Good exhausting, but I really did need some recovery time after I got home.
My week away got a balmy start in Seattle on the first sunny day there in six months. Eighty Fahrenheit, and everyone was out and about, including me and my high school chum, Holly.
But the temperature dropped over twenty degrees overnight, and the weather reverted to a more typical cloudy and wet pattern on Sunday. Good thing Seattle is such a nice indoor city. We saw the R.Crumb exhibit at the Frye Art Museum and then took in a movie: In Bruges, which was good but not great.
On Monday, we headed north toward Anacortes, where I'd have to catch the 3:15 ferry for Orcas Island. Even though rain was threatening, we stopped along to the way to enjoy the Skagit County Tulip Festival.
The tulips were just starting to bloom, but a beautiful sight nonetheless. (Go here to see more tulip photos.) Then we met Erika of Red Shirt Knitting for lunch at Seeds in La Conner, a charming seaside town.
Holly dropped me at the ferry in plenty of time and I was on my own. As I boarded, I worried that I wouldn't find my ride (arranged on the Rockin' Sock Club blog). I needn't have worried. I just sat down and started knitting and, once the cars boarded, in no time was surrounded by a lively crowd of knitters. An almost overwhelming tide of knitters, really. It was just a matter of asking around, and I found Casey.
All good, so far. But here's the thing. It seemed like most of the people were there with at least one partner. It was easy to feel a little out of sync, with so many animated conversations going on all around me. And that sensation didn't abate once we got to the resort. All through check-in I wondered if I'd get into the groove, meet some people and feel part of the larger group.
Serendipity brought me Casey and Holly. Casey of the ride, and Holly, her other passenger(not my high school chum). We three, who had all come to camp on our own, stuck together when we could. Our rooms were in the same building. Casey was very generous with the rides and the wine, and we ended up talking late into the night every night of camp.
Together we were AWESOME. You gals ROCK!
By now you may already have read the Yarn Harlot and Cookie A. If you haven't, go take a look. I won't reiterate their posts. You may also want to take a look at hizknits and The Gorgeous Ladies of Sock Knitting, which will give you an even better idea of how silly things could get.
Here's what I have to add:
There were TWO Celias.
And we were both in the same group so we had all our classes together. Rare, in my world.
My sock monkey, named for Casey's mom, "Barb" (quotes intended -it's an in joke):
My favorite sock monkey (complete with AmEx card), because it sums up so much:
Not that I'm criticizing, I came home with my own little stash:
The Yarn Harlot and Cat Bordhi as cedar trees:
And the view from the top of Mount Constitution in Moran State Park:
We all had our moments with the hoi polloi of sock knitters. The Yarn Harlot, Cat Bordhi, Cookie A., JC Briar, and all the Sockateers were generous with their time and patient to the utmost. And then there was all that glorious knitting time. Relaxing the week was not. In fact, I got less sleep than I do at home. Busy, I'd call it. But not hectic. Full.
Finally, here's what I learned about having digestive issues, and multiple food sensitivities: take care of yourself. I brought snacks and treats for myself but not real food, because I haven't had much trouble before while traveling. But events like this at a remote resort that has to prepare mass quantities of food for a large group don't have the capacity to take care of individual needs, especially my quirky needs, no matter how much they try. I shouldn't have expected them to. Food issues can be very isolating, and most people have no concept of just how tough it can be. Next time I'll bring my own food. I craved bananas and there were none to be found. I would have kissed you if you could have given me a banana. I finally found plenty at the ferry terminal in Anacortes.
I wasn't expecting much at the Seattle airport in terms of lunch but Wolfgang Puck came through with a bowl of butternut squash soup:
M-m-m-m-m! Nice return to civilization!
You will notice that she's sitting on the side of the nest. That's because she's feeding BABIES IN THE NEST.
I think there are two babies (what do I call 'em, chicks?). It's hard to get a good picture, because the nest is about 25 feet away from the window and she has her back turned twards the building while they are feeding. But I've been watching her all morning and it looks like she's feeding two. It's created quite a stir in the office. We've been watching the whole thing with binoculars.
Here, you can just barely see the beak of one of the babies peeking out over the left edge of the nest. Wow. That's neat.
I'm still digesting the Sock Camp experience and going through photos. Being back at work is taking up most of my brain cells at the moment. I'll get to a post as soon as possible.
So, I'm back in the land of reliable WiFi with a little time to kill before I board the flight home. I've been on the road for seven hours now, and this is the last leg of the trip. An awesome man and a birthday dinner await me at the other end.
The ups and downs of sock camp with photos tomorrow.
My bags are packed and I'm ready to go. I'll spend a couple of days visiting a high school chum in Seattle. Then on Monday, I'll catch a ferry to Orcas Island for Camp Crows Feet - aka Blue Moon Fiber Arts Sock Camp. I know I have packed too many projects to work on. But a whole week of knitting time? Without having to go to work? A girl could finish a lot of WIPs in that time...
I'll catch you on the flip side.
