Speckle the pigeon, watches warily from window ledge.

Tabby and white cat gives me an angry glare from neighbours shed roof.

Cat looks at me and meows silently with disgust. Speckle, my favourite pigeon settles on bathroom window ledge and watches cat, warily. There is an impasse.

I went upstairs, cos our windows are crap with condensation between the panes and I can open the upstairs one easier. Wanted to see if I could find where the fox went. No sign. But the cat was still there. Pigeons noticed I was there and start flapping about, but I warn them about the cat.

The squirrel climbed onto a low down branch, I'm guessing to taunt the fox, cos he was interested. I opened the kitchen window to distract the fox for a second, cos I love my squirrelly friends. The fox turns to look at me, the squirrel moves away & I guess the fox got bored because he sloped off.

Well, there was a lovely big fox in the garden. Sorry, didn't get a photo. I heard some of my pigeon visitors flapping and a squirrel visitor squawking and guessed something was bothering them. Watched him for a while and then noticed the cat on neighbours shed.

A sparrowhawk sits on a branch in a greengage tree, near a brick shed.

Sparrowhawk in the garden.

An Irish crochet motif, two leaves on a stem, in white cotton on an open book, showing the same motif.

An Irish crochet motif in white cotton, described as the "fifth leaf" (which looks like a stem with four branches to one side) resting on a book open to the page that shows how to make that same motif.

Irish crochet, buds and leafs, in white cotton. On a pink crochet hook case, on and open book about Irish crochet.

3 Irish crochet wheels (or flowers) in white cotton on a pink case.

An Irish crochet scroll, in white cotton resting on a pink case.

Two Irish crochet flowers and a fan motifs, in white cotton, resting on a pink case.

🧶More Irish crochet motifs...

Just for now I'm working my way through the patterns. I hope eventually to make something.

A flower motif, in white cotton thread on a pink background, irish crochet.

Flower motif, in white cotton, resting on a pink crochet hook case, next to the instructions to make the motif in a book.

🧶A couple of flower motifs, irish crochet.

Two motifs of irish crochet on a pink crochet hook case, on an open page of a book about Irish crochet, with a picture of one of the motifs.

I don't know, maybe my foundation cord needs to be thicker.

Three motifs from Irish crochet in black yarn.

🧶 Probably wasn't the best choice to use black yarn to learn this style of crochet.

My eldest just showed me a screenshot of the program (would you call it code?) and it had the diagram of the basic donkey Kong layout (levels and ladders and stuff), and I showed him a pattern in one of my books. Pictorial diagram, followed by lines of text. They look very alike.

So, both my lads are in to computing. I tried to keep up, I did my ECDL about 15 yrs ago. But most of the time, when they try to explain stuff to me, my eye glaze over. I get them back by telling them about crochet. But, there are many similarities.

Oof! 🧶 Bought a book on Irish crochet. It seems it is using archaic terms. To be fair, when it says "treble" I believe it means UK treble (US double). I like picture patterns over verbal. This will be a steep learning curve.

The squirrel, then came back & waved his tail around so the fox noticed him, & then ran off.
Definitely looked like taunting to me.

There is a squirrel taunting a fix I my garden. I noticed the fox sit under a tree & look up. Then I noticed the squirrel, where the fox was looking. The fox looked around, & while he did, the squirrel ran along the branch. The fox didn't notice & kept looking where the squirrel had been.

Female pheasant

Female pheasant.

This female pheasant visited last September.

Pheasant in a rather unkempt garden.

Pheasant

🦉
We have a pheasant in our garden...

Have just come back from the dentist. I feel like Gothmog.

🧶 I see a lot of posts on crochet subs, on other platforms, where people discuss the length of time it takes to make something. Maybe I'm weird, but I like the process of crocheting something. And then the bonus of having something at the end of it. What about you?

Yesterday, noticed a fox in the garden. He/she buried something. Then, a few minutes later, walked past with a squirrel in its mouth. 😔 Its nature. I can't be sure the poor squirrel was caught by the fox or one of the cats that come in the garden. Sad though.

Starting the basket weave crocheted blanket. Stripes of white and grey and just beginning the navy stripe.

Close up of the basket weave pattern in white, grey and a navy colour that looks almost black.

Finished blanket in basket weave pattern, repeated stripes of white grey and navy. Draped on sofa.

Partners niece wanted navy, grey and white. This one in a basket weave stitch.

Close up of chevron blanket with crochet hook, pinks and greys.

A few stripes of the crocheted chevron blanket. Pink, white, pale grey, dusky pink, white, pink and dark grey chevron stripes.

Finished pink, grey and white chevron crochet blanket draped over sofa.

Partners niece's daughter wanted pink and grey. This one in chevrons.

Star pattern, white, turquoise and blue.

Blanket showing how the holes in the pattern are star shaped, blue, turquoise and white stripes.

Blanket in star pattern draped over sofa, blues, turquoise and white stripes.

The aunt's daughter wanted one in blues, so used the star pattern, that I had found on the Internet, for that one.

Blanket in process of being crocheted. Dark and light greys and white. Alternate shell pattern.

Blanket and crochet hook, greys and white.

Close up of the alternate shell pattern in greys.

Finished blanket. Alternate shell pattern in dark and light greys and white stripes. Draped on sofa.

Partners sister wanted one in shades of grey and white. So this one was made in alternate shells pattern.

Folded blanket in virus pattern dark purple, light purple, pink and white.

Blanket on sofa, purples pink and white.

🧶Then some orders come in 😂 Aunt would like a blanket in lilac. Not entirely sure what is meant by lilac, I think light purple, some think dark. So this one was made in the virus pattern.

Icecream tub containing chopped pieces of apple, carrot and parsnip tops, grapes, walnuts and hazelnuts in and out of their shells, chestnuts and monkey nuts.

Squirrel, sat on a garden table, next to a tub containing his/her Christmas Dinner. There are a few peanuts and bird seed scattered on the table and another tub with water.

The critters get their Xmas Dinner too.

M̶e̶r̶r̶y̶ ̶C̶h̶r̶i̶s̶t̶m̶a̶s̶

Thank you! 🤗

The Judge overseeing Luigi Mangione's trial owns millions of dollars in stock, including in Unitedhealth.

Surely this is enough to get him kicked out?