Babies and Bermudas

I’ve been watching baby robins fledge for many years now. The process follows a pattern. One baby is always itching to go and gets out of the nest and walks around on the rafter until it decides to take off. The others usually follow in short order, but one baby is always reluctant to go. It stays near the nest crying for mama until it realizes that it has no choice but to leave.

I was washing dishes yesterday morning when all of a sudden, the last baby robin flew off the rafter and into the kitchen window screen, where it hung on for dear life. Just as I got outside to the porch to rescue it, it fell off the screen onto the porch behind the glider. I edged the glider aside and it flew off into the grass where it went ass over teakettle a couple of times and finally righted itself.

Sigh.

Mama Robin was out in the yard calling to it, so I thought the baby probably would be fine. A bit later, I was coming back from the greenhouse with a couple of pieces of trash to put in the burn barrel. I had to step over a stack of pallets to get to the barrel, and as I did so, the baby robin flew up and out from underneath one of them. It sailed over to the grass outside the herb garden where it landed—none too gracefully—and sat for a few minutes.

I’m hoping that it gets the hang of being on its own. The husband says that the forest animals were fine before I got here and don’t need my assistance. Doubtful.

I had about an hour yesterday afternoon before I had to start dinner, so I cut out a top from some a bright raspberry pink rayon batik. I’m using my self-drafted top pattern with a V-neck for this one. I like seeing the pile of fabrics transform into tops hanging in my closet.

At some point, I am going to want to work on something a bit more challenging, but I need clothing, first.

Burda just released its new line of patterns and I spotted this one:

I am no longer of an age where I can rock dressy Bermuda shorts, but this pattern reminded me of a pair of hot pink wool Bermuda shorts I owned (and loved), much like the ones on the right. I bought them at the Benetton store in Seattle in 1990 or 1991. We were still living on the east coast at the time and I was on a business trip. That was my first visit to Seattle—or any place west of the Mississippi, really—and I stayed at either the Hyatt or Hilton downtown. (DD#2—in 1991, the Benetton store was located at 5th and Pine across from the Rack before moving to the indoor mall where Din Tai Fung is and eventually going out of business.) I think back to that visit and how weird it is that now I have a child living and working in downtown Seattle. I can assure you that it’s a very different place now, and not in a good way, although I still love to visit.

I also remember a Japanese deli/bookstore next to the hotel that carried Japanese knitting magazines. Several of those came home with me, too. And it was very rainy while I was there.

Today’s big task is making sure all the plants in the greenhouse are labeled and ready for sale on Saturday.