Bird watching (with video) and a new garment WIP

The rain has cleared, and that means back out forest-walking with my pup. These last couple of days have been amazing for sighting birds. I think a combination of fine weather and few people gives critters the courage to make an appearance.

In a previous post I mentioned that I knew about three ponds in my area; in fact, it’s four. I had forgotten about one of them, which happens to be one quite close to campus – behind the Law Building. I spotted a male pheasant there today, and captured some video, below. These guys are plenty noisy, but so hard to spot! I was lucky today.

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Before I caught pheasant footage, I was near the pond and smelled what reminded me of Dentyne gum (Americans might know this – it has a cinnamon aroma). Only minutes later, I observed misters around the pond come on, and spray what I soon realized was a cinnamon oil solution, intended to kill mosquito larvae. I hadn’t known this was happening here, and I’m grateful for it, because mosquito season is its own special hell in Korea. Apparently cinnamon oil does a great job eradicating mosquitoes, so I’m going to find some for my oil diffuser this summer and alternate it with lemongrass and citronella.

At the “big pond,” I’ve been watching a duck family and a family of Eurasian coots sharing the space. Luckily, I haven’t seen any squabbles yet. These waterfowl are a treat to watch. I love the black coots with the white swoop on the front of their little heads. This area is where they commonly breed.

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I’ll leave you with a WIP that is going ever so slowly, In fact, everything seems to have slowed down these days (in particular, my productivity), and I can’t explain it well. This yellow panel will eventually be a kerchief top that my sister requested. I can’t wait to finish – it will be a nice piece. I might make a similar garment in a cardigan shape, next. I’m using the same Banul Hi-soft 4-ply cotton-viscose yarn that I used for the Frontier shawl.

Happy that you stopped by! Stay safe and see you again soon.