Slow and Cold

 The day before yesterday was cold, yesterday was cold, today is cold, and tomorrow will be cold.  All this cold weather is not too bad if you get dressed up for it and get moving.  But who wants to do do that?  All this cold weather also means that our woodpile is getting seriously low.  We got dressed up and cut wood today.  We will probably cut some wood tomorrow too.  It is good for us to get outside.  

I have the regular birdfeeder visitors coming to our deck gourd feeder.  In addition to the wrens and  the white-crowned sparrows and juncos, there are  tufted titmice and white-breasted nuthatches that visit regularly. They are my favorites and seem to be very hard to get pictures of.  I did get one passable picture of the titmouse. We do not feed birds a lot.  We only put food out when it is very cold, or icy, or snowy. I also like to feed in hanging feeders that discourage some of the lazier birds.

 I thought I would watch and try to get pictures of them all.    But the nuthatch and the titmouse are very annoying.  Seriously...I only need to start moving towards the window and they fly back to the white pines.  Sigh.  The wrens and juncos and sparrows, and the downy woodpecker are not so shy.

 

 After several attempts to get the more shy birds, I just gave up and went back to knitting.

These are called 2-end mittens because they are knit with two strands of yarn, alternating stitches throughout.  Traditionally you can knit from both ends of a ball of yarn.  I knitted these from commercial yarn. However,  I have some handspun wool I want to try in this pattern.  These mittens  were sort of a trial run, so I could get the hang of it . It is very easy and gives a very firm knit suitable for warm mittens.  The yarn is some very old pink...yes...pink..or peach sport weight yarn that I inherited.  It is not a very good picture.  I will try to do better later. 
I am glad it is still mitten weather.  I am always more motivated to make hats and mittens when it is cold.