Sunday, October 14, 2007

Ducks and frogmouths and goats. Oh my!

I've been awake and up since just before 6am after getting to bed just on the downside of midnight ... and I'm not complaining. Not by a long shot. Not this little black duck!
You see, I've been a dreadful sleeper all my life. I couldn't tell you the number of nights spent tossing and turning trying to drop off. The countless times I've watched the same DVD through closed eyelids three times, drifting in and out. Never quite getting into deep enough sleep to actually ever wake up feeling rested.
The nights where I've just given up, snapped on the light, and read a whole novel between midnight and dawn.
Not any more
instead of torturing myself, I can just get up, make a cuppa, heat a bottle and go commune with the goaty girls.

This morning, after all that was taken care of, seeing it was already full light, I went for a bit of a wander up the top of the hill to try and track down the Tawny Frogmouth I've been hearing but couldn't quite zero in on it.
Very strange birds, Frogmouths.
They have this strange, almost subsonic, booming cry that you feel as much as hear, usually at dawn or dusk; an 'Oom-oom' that resonates behind the sinuses, and I find it really hard to tell exactly where it's coming from. Of course when I DO get close, the little beggars shut up, and do their impersonation of a dead branch. They're largely nocturnal to boot, so not easy to find. In fact pretty much the only way you'll see one is if you are actually looking straight at it as it starts to morph into a dead stick. Here's one I prepared earlier or rather two - there's a baby tucked in under Dad's breast feathers and if you click for large , you may be able to make him/her out: sorry about the fuzziness but it was
a] two summers ago with the old camera and
b] on about x7 zoom

Anyway, after my typically fruitless frogmouth foray, I collected some wood for the fire, talked to the goats some more, and offered some bread to the ducks from the other day who are still hanging around. They're not silly. Free food. A nice big dam for paddling in. Maybe they'll stay. In any case, after consultation with the local poultry guru Graham, who was here yesterday, I've tentatively named 'em Fred and George. It'd be better if George was Georgia, but Graham says no. He thinks they're both boys. Very BIG, very handsome boys with a glorious teal sheen that the photos haven't captured.

and in a lame attempt at a segue, we have yet another photo that I have to make excuses for:

the current knitting: a lace scarf for my aunt in beautiful italian angora [ Louisa Harding Kimono Angora Pure ]
You may remember that this is the aunt who turned 80 a couple of weeks ago, right? I'd bought her a largish rhododendron because she's very fond of her garden and has beautiful azaleas but then with David getting crook, we didn't make it down to Melbourne for THE PARTY. Large plants in pots aren't exactly the easiest thing to post, and Other Aunt suggested that Fay would probably prefer something I've made myself
of course she would ... and the fact that I now have a rhodie that will not survive up here is irrelevant ...
deep breath
of course I can whip up something nice
deep breath
in all that free time I have at the moment
deep breath
so
I figure a nice, 'totally out of season seeing we're heading into summer' scarf won't take too long and the angora will still make it a special gift... right??? [ even though said aunt won't have a clue that I paid nearly $14 a ball for it ]
I'm using my Garter Lace Mittens pattern, [ free in the sidebar to the right ] because it looks good but I can do it with my brain in [almost] neutral.
cast on 38 stitches
5mm needles
and it's actually much more open and lacy than the photo appears and a very dark charcoal.

It's 9am.
David's still in bed. I'm still in the jammies with a jacket over the top because I'm about to go feed Ruby again. Talk to you soon :]

13 comments:

Rose Red said...

Mmm smooshy angora scarf - looks lovely, I'm sure she'll love it!

catsmum said...

ohh I hope so

Sheepish Annie said...

That actually sounds like a pretty nice way to spend the waking hours. Given the choice, I am a nocturnal. It's the pesky job that forces me to go to sleep when it gets dark. Someday, I'll be able to enjoy the nightlife and go on critter hunts!

crazyhaberdasher said...

No photos showing up at this end....but I am sure it is all fabulous.
Have you ever discussed this sleeplessness with a doctor?

catsmum said...

when I read your comment Maz I went racing back expecting that Blogger had eaten the photos again but no - still there.
The sleeplessness has been discussed many times with many doctors and I've been to one of those sleep labs at Monash Med Centre. Basically it's tied into the FMS. With fibromyalgia a lot of people never enter enter rem state sleep. That's why I rarely dream too.
I DO have sleeping tabs but hate taking them so a month's prescription lasts me 6 -9 months.

crazyhaberdasher said...

Thank goodness - I can see the pics now!
Scarf looks fabulous.
Fred and George look like the ducks that visited us this winter...perhaps they decided to try Castlemaine for a change of scenery...!
Has it been since the FMS and not when you were a child?

catsmum said...

always been pretty bad but kicked up a notch with the FMS - The stress associated with Marc's illness and death pushed it over the edge to where it was diagnosable [ if that's a word ] but looking back I'd had it since the mid 80s. A loooooooong history of chronic fatigue symptoms and strange misdiagnosed pain. Other things didn't help - a husband who was a chronic snorer, a daughter who had sleep apnea for her first 2 1/2 years, a son who only slept 3 or 4 hours a night. End result = years of sleep deprivation and a pattern that's too ingrained to break.

Mia said...

Sounds like a perfect morning to me :) And thanks for the link.. I wondered why my site hits shot up :)

Belly dancing ya say??? hmmmmmmm hehehe.

Bells said...

none of the photos are showing up. how very disappointing! I will have to log in at work and see if that helps. Bugger.

I'm a poor sleeper too. I'll fall asleep in front of the TV, then be unable to replicate it when I crawl off to bed. And I don't have goats. :-(

catsmum said...

no it's not your computer Bells my sweet - Blogger ate the photos again. Maybe this lot will stay put.

MadMad said...

I can see the pix, now, too! Can't wait to show my son the cool bird! I think someday you are going to wake (or already be up?) and find him and me on your doorstep, ready to move in. (On second thought, maybe I'll leave him at home!)

Loved the scarf/rhodie story - I'm so sorry!

TinkingBell said...

Lovely photos - always love a morepork! Empathise re the insomnia - I'm hopeless too - but hate getting out of my nice warm bed....!!!

obabydotcom said...

Susan---
I will trade you one ugly 6" foot iguana for one of your frogmouths!
Lol... I thought I'd seen everything.
Wow! That frogmouth is something.
Love you little booties and goats.
I'm going to try to make them.

Melody
Oh Babydotcom
http://ohbabydotcom.etsy.com