Hatches & Dispatches

It’s so hard to discipline yourself to sit down at the computer when all you want to do is to get outside and visit gardens, pubs and cafes with outside seating, the beach, quaint villages, animal homes, riverbanks, dig holes or just sit outside enjoying the sun while it’s here.
At least the sun is helping to dispel the blues after some sad news this week. Remember that little family of Robin chicks from my last post?


And their proud mother?

Sadly the nest got predated by a Magpie and the little chicks are no more. Simon King captured on film the Magpie looking at the nest. Thankfully he didn’t publish the actual predation.

So very sad, I had a real lump in my throat when I read the news. Simon did say that he had also witnessed a Crow taking Magpie chicks. It is the circle of life but a cruel one at times. I have a fondness for Magpies as well since I helped rear a nest of abandoned Magpie chicks to where they all fledged. This is one of the little characters sitting on my hand.


The second piece of news also refers to a previous post – little Button the black and white stray cat who got the all clear from Feline infectious peritonitis was finally rehomed to a very loving home, then sadly only after a couple of days in his new home he took a bad turn and had to be put to sleep. His new owners were devastated as so was I, but at least he did finally know what it was like to be in a home if only for a very short time.



To cheer up the mood of this post, I think I’ve been adopted by a Herring Gull. He has cottoned on to where I put out the food for my foxes and has started getting there before them to grab it. This afternoon I had some left over cat food chunks from my cats’ breakfast which I threw to him one at a time outside the front door. He got closer and closer and more trusting too. My cats were out as well but they stay clear of the gulls. I know he has young so I’m pleased the cat food will be recycled and go to a good cause. Sort of evens the balance with the robin predation.

Now I have been busy with other animals too. Let me introduce Suarez (thanks to my friend Michael for the suggestion) the crocodile.

I used the pattern from the book Super, Super Cute Crochet. Amazingly the instructions for the teeth were missing from the pattern and the publisher didn’t post errata for the book. So I improvised. I’m quite pleased with how Suarez has turned out. He’s currently sitting beside Eric and Ernie’s tank sizing them up.
Then in the absence of any British sports wins recently I decided to fly the flag myself and embroider this very British pouch.

It reminds me of one of my favourite Michael Caine films, The Italian Job! You’d have a hard time blowing the b****y doors off this Mini, they’re firmly stitched on. And for the lining I turned up the Britishness of it and used this fabric.



I love it! The designer was inspired when they created this. It makes me smile every time I look at it!
Well that’s enough of smiling for the mo, I’m off to catch up with Keifer Sutherland in the latest episode of 24.

Slàinte Mhath xxx