Pests, macarons and knitting.

Crows. Ugh. That pretty much sums up what I think of them.

 

Unfortunately, the couple who live in the units two blocks down don't share the same sentiments. Through our mutual neighbour, I found out that they feed the birds - crows, ibises, bush turkeys, you name it - not just birdseeds, but actual MEAT and other kinds of substantial food. Why wonder the crows in the area are so large and fat! You could imagine the sort of problem that ensued, following this unnatural feeding activity. My backyard, and those of my adjacent neighbours, used to be visited by rainbow lorikeets, kookaburras and other pretty birds, but all of these have since been scared away for good by the murder of crows that have seemingly taken permanent residence on the large tree in my neighbour's backyard. Even their collective noun sounds awful!

 

Going off on a slight tangent here, according to an online forum I came across, which revolves around word ancestry, this collective noun for crows finds its origin back in the 15th century. There are many stories out there that seek to explain the choice of wording, most of them from old folklore or superstition; but, for the most part, it's related to their presence in battlefields, cemeteries, roadkill, etc, where they would execute their scavenging activities. Because of this, and I suppose the fact that they have black feathers, a gathering of crows is also considered to be a bad omen. I am not normally superstitious, but I swear that my 2 years of very bad luck started when these scavengers of the sky started to form a clan out the back.

 

Back on track, these awful pests are dislikable in more ways than just their mere ugly, bad luck-suggesting presence. From morning till dusk, all you can hear is their incessant cawing and squawking. One can no longer sleep in, because the crows also like to sit atop the eaves of the rooftop cawing, and making thudding, tinny sounds on the metal-based eaves. We also have a satellite dish out the back, which now, thanks to the pesky crows, has a dislodged cap. Most annoying of all is the fact that now I have to inspect every inch of every side of a garment I hang out on the clothes line, because, more often than not, there would be at least one item of clothing - usually belonging to me, and usually one of the more expensive pieces - stained by bird poo. Remember how I mentioned that the birds are very large in size? Well, their droppings are accordingly XXL too. It was the last straw when I noticed that they were starting to pick on the daffodil sprouts that I had planted around little Teddy's (my late pet) plot (only about 6-7 of the bulbs of the 10 survived the repeated attempts of the bush turkeys to dig them all out).

 

Since, for some very odd reason that is totally beyond me, crows are federally protected birds, I hopped on the www to do some research on legal pest control options. All factors considered, I decided on a fake owl with reflective eyes and a pivoting head, which I saw listed on ebay.

 



Teddy's guardian owl

Ideally, I would like to mount the owl onto a fence or somewhere in clear view of the birds, so that they would know to back off from afar. As this was not possible, the owl ended up being placed directly next to Teddy's plot, so that this area at least was hopefully not going to be disturbed. Was this strategy effective, you ask? Well, on the days when I am at home, there does seem to be fewer birds in my backyard, and even when there are birds, they seemingly try to keep their distance from the plot. I don't know how long this is going to last for though, because, since it's made of plastic, the owl gets blown over by the wind some times, and due to it's placement on the ground, the head of the owl can't use the breeze to pivot around and look active, and the light doesn't catch the eyes to make them look reflective and real. Crows are, unfortunately for us, quite smart creatures, so I am worried that, sooner or later, they will catch on.

Yep, a lot of weeding needs to be done soon!

Two weeks ago, when I went to the West End markets, I bought one each of chives and dill in a pot. I've always wanted to grow my own herbs, because I love using them and want to have a variety of them at my disposal. However, I've never gone through with this, because I know that my pet dog (at the time) would more likely than not knock them all over or nibble at them. I decided to start off with these two herbs and see how they fare, before I invest in more. I placed them at the top of the back steps, where they would still have some sunlight, but would be away from where the birds normally swoop around.  

 

 

 

But the very next afternoon, this is the site I was greeted with:

 



The crime scene

My beautiful pot of dill unpotted and shrivelled :( The pot itself was found further down near the fence.

Clearly, placing the pots closer to the house was not going to keep the birds away. They even broke the magnolia egg plant that my sister bought me for Christmas (see top of stairs)! I managed to salvage the chive plant and repotted it; however, the same thing happened the next day, and this time the plant was too damaged to survive. Either the crows were trying to search for worms in the potting, or they were just being a menace. Either way, that is sadly the end of my herb-growing venture for now.

On to brighter matters, I also visited the Delice stand that day at the farmers markets to buy some macarons. I was very happy to discover that they had introduced a new flavour - macadamia!



Macarons! Macadamia (brown), pistachio (green) and bubblegum (blue).

 

It has a more toasted, nutty flavour than the pistachio, and is just scrumptious! It's my new favourite flavour for sure! The tops of the macadamia macarons are also dusted with edible gold powder, which makes them all the more alluring. You can read more about these macarons in my other blog post, Regional Flavours 2012. 

 

 

The shimmery gold tops

I've been trying to pick up my knitting needles more lately, since the change of season calls for new garments to be made. Okay, so you will notice that below is something I've started knitting ages ago... but I'm making progress!

Knot-sleeve blouse slowly taking shape

 

I've done the waist shaping and am now up to the bust shaping section. I was initially a bit worried about the size of this garment. I cast on for the smallest size, just because the next size up seemed like it would be too big for me, and, being a fitted blouse, I was worried that it would hang loosely on me and look dreadful. The smaller size measurements, however, are smaller than my body measurements. I hoped that by knitting at a more relaxed, but even, gauge, I would be able to somehow achieve the right size. After knitting the twisted rib section, I was struck with the idea of measuring it against one of my fitted Alannah Hill cardigans (yep, I'm a cardigan girl), and was relieved to find that they were about the same length across, unstretched. Hopefully the increases in the bust shaping section is enough to offset the preceding rows of decreases, and allow for a good fit.

 

Meanwhile, I'm loving the yarn (Blue Sky Alpaca Royal); it is an absolute joy to work with. The fibre is luxuriously soft, and I have not, thus far, had any problems with it at all. It's also quite light, so even though I am knitting the garment seamlessly on circular needles, the weight isn't burdensome on my hands. I am also realising the benefits of working with yarn that comes in skeins as opposed to balls. Even though it may be a bit annoying and time-consuming at first, having to wind the skeins into balls before use, it allows me to knit confidently, without having to worry about finding random knots mid-row.

 



I love that the twisted rib panel sits nice and flat!

I know I said that I would try to practise project monogamy, but I wanted to knit a Summer-compatible Great Gatsby Dress in time for the warmer season. I decided to knit this with Belle Organic DK by Amy Butler for Rowan. This is a blend of organic cotton and organic wool, which forms a smooth and light yarn. Knitted up, it creates crisp stitch definition, which also somewhat helps to open up the lacework. I do notice, however, that the zigzag tips don't lie completely flat, possibly because, unlike the RYC Silk Wool DK, it is not weighty enough to keep the stitches down. It is also because of this relative lightness, though, that ensures me the completed dress won't be pulled down by its own weight.

Clean stitch definition

 

Speaking of knitting, I better head off to do more of just that! Adieu!