wild refuge

'located in california's most secluded region, the carrizo plain national monument has remained relatively untouched by human development for well over three centuries. featuring over 250,000 acres of protected terrain, providing an array of rare plants and animals with miles of natural habitat and unspoiled environmental splendor.'

this refuge lies only ninety miles away from us, yet when we cross over into the carrizo there is a feeling of traveling hundreds of years back in time. the immaculate landscape comprised of (sometimes) blossoming flowers and awe-inspiring views, the migratory birds, and the wildlife, these are the things that draw us back again and again. this california 'serengeti' is the perfect place to 'hear the quiet'

please join us as we experience...

 lark sparrows

eschscholzia californica ~ the lovely california poppy

pronghorn antelope! one day in the far, far distance we spotted them. a herd of eight was moving from the south to the north across the plains. oh how we wanted to drive closer to see them, but just like in the serengeti, you must stay on the road (even if it is a narrow dirt one). so we turned around and headed north too, maybe a mile ahead of the antelopes, until we found a road that led out into what we hoped would be closer to their path in passing...

and so we waited. and on the horizon we saw them approach. moving, it seemed, right towards us.
yes! they were! they walked and ran in the exact direction of our truck, where we sat motionless except for the click of a camera.

they ran right to us before bolting off. i've never seen a herd before, and so close! and gorgeous, such beautiful eyes

the next day we found three tule elk. a newborn calf was just outside this photo

breakfast on the plains and time for a little knitting. i am working on my elizabeth zimmerman pi shawl. i have just found out i'm about to run out of wool, with only eight more inches of sideways knitted on border left. poo

unfinished and unblocked and oh so many stitches that i love. i think, when it's done, i'll call it my plains shawl

from the borage family, the forked fiddleneck

selby camp

lesser goldfinch, we counted fifteen on this little tree, at one time! one youngster fell, to the ground, in a pile of disheveled feathers

we picked it up. chuck held him, while i ran for the camera and a bit of peanut butter. i offered it to this young bird and he took one peck of the treat and then flew away!

this photo is from the year 2010, an epic year for california wildflowers in the carrizo

i am standing in the same spot now. the beauty of a good wildflower season is it's unpredictability and so it's all the more special when it does occur

a curious western kingbird

in place of wildflowers we found tumbleweed bouquets. lovely, but sometimes needing relocating out of the road

knitting alert (hee hee): chucks hat can be found on purl soho and ravelry here.

then one night, out on a crescent moon walk, this western toad hopped in front of us.

i wanted to hold him too

chuck caught him as he leaped! back to the meadow little one.

party of house finch, your table is ready

your big table.

hee hee

an undetermined bird of prey on a large tumble weed

one tidy tip and an experiment with photo editing.

san joaquin antelope squirrel pretending to be invisible  :)

long-billed curlew a long way from home

us, giving thanks. thanking you too for coming along.

xo lori

~

what we saw:

diablo loco

tiny amount goldfields, tidy tips, poppies, phacelia

coyote melon

forked fiddleneck

silver bush lupine

desert cottontail

black-tailed jackrabbit

san joaquin antelope squirrel

california ground squirrel

(we heard) coyotes

tule elk

pronghorn antelope

turkey vulture

red-tailed hawk

california quail

long-billed curlew

mourning dove

burrowing owl!

say's phoebe

western kingbird

horned lark

common raven

mountain bluebird

loggerhead shrike

lark sparrow

western meadowlark

brewer's blackbird

western toad

bird bath

 rain fell off and on for days

  the sun came out, how nice!  hello!

 drawn outside by chirps and tweets (and sun)

 i saw one little sparrow

 discover a newly made rain puddle

 peeping around a leafy tree (which gratefully hid me)

 bird bath!

 peaceful wading

 splash!

what's that?

 

a cat. a cat came out to warm in the sun.

hello cat, said the bird. bath time is done, that was fun. but from now on, i think i'll stay here to enjoy the sun.  :)


going camping, hoping to find more birds, see you in a few days!
xxx lori

making wishes

last night three of my kids and one grandchild came together for dinner (to a favorite mexican food restaurant) and cake (here) in honor of my girl and my son too, celebrating his from last month and hers on sunday. happy birthday my babies. my grown up babies. i can't believe thirty two years ago yesterday i became a mom. i was twenty three on that best day of my life. it's kind of shocking to have a child this age, and then to be my age. well, cake helps.  :)

i have some links to share, there is so much goodness in the world, just look...

can't stop watching this and wishing it to be me someday too ~
some of you liked mine so i found some for you here ~
a lovely blog and look at this give away (i'm wishing)! ~
we'll be staying two nights (in may) here! ~
hee hee here ~
went here last week for a lecture, learned so much,  he is an inspiration (see here).
loved this movie, it's a true story, i wish i were that good! ~

i hope you enjoyed, and i hope you have a wonderful week ahead, we're going camping! thank you so much for all the lovely words on my last post, the blue shawl. i do want to make one for me, but right now i'm finishing up (finally) the last of the pi shawl, an eight stitch sideways knitted on border. all the way around one thousand one hundred and fifty two stitches. it is definitely jameson knitting.
xxx lori

bird's egg blue

dear friends, this post began in my mind last week when a friend requested a blue
hand knit scarf. the pattern and wool were found at quince & co. and two days later the wool
was in my hands. three days later, the shawl was complete. as i was thinking how
i'd like to photograph this before sending it on it's way, i received this email from a favorite
local yarn store in santa barbara...

 

Loop & Leaf News

You won't want to miss out on Gale Zucker's fun upcoming class here at Loop & Leaf. You will first meet here at the shop, then hit the streets with your cameras in this Photo Safari. Gale will help you find inspirational backdrops fitting for your most beautiful hand-knits right here in front of you!
Gale has photographed knitted objects in many familiar books, such as Craft Activism, Shear Spirit and Mason Dixon: Knitting Outside the Lines.
Class will be held Tuesday, March 20th from 10am-1pm - don't forget to sign up.

and that very minute, i did! knitting and photography? and to have a chance to learn from a professional? it's like a dream come true! below are a few photos from today, the above photos (of me) were taken by classmates. thank you mirna and celeste!

 our first exercise was to choose a color and shoot it. i decided on yellow. for the first day of spring today.

we learned about different types of backgrounds to shoot our knits in front of. isn't this shawl beautiful?

 gorgeous

 look how the design in this beautiful shawl mimics the metal gate. and isn't this a clever way to
display and photograph this shawl?

 knits clinging magically to fences and trees

 here are my mittens modeled by my new friend mirna. she makes them look so pretty, even though
this photo didn't turn out well. now if gale had taken it...her photos are truly beautiful.

we learned about light and how to use it to its best

 i learned so much, made new friends, and spent an afternoon with knitting and photography.
it was a perfect day. thank you so much gale and joan (she joined us later for book signing).

shawl : piper's journey - quince & co.
designer : paula emons-fuessle
wool : chickadee
colorway : bird's egg
shawl pin found : here
ravelry notes : here
i loved knitting this, the pattern was fun and interesting. the shawl part is made first and then the lace is knitted on sideways after. i'll make it again, and with chickadee, what a beautiful wool it is.
 julie, i hope you like it   :)

the book i'm reading is craft activism by joan tapper and photographed by gale zucker. i still can't believe the happy coincidences, (is that a word?), i bought the book, then learned about the workshop, finished the shawl last night (it was even a touch damp still from blocking.) and came away with lovely photos and new inspiration. all in time for yarn along. hee hee.

joining with ginny and the yarnalongers here.