Living on the Edge of a Wetland

We live on the edge (and I DO mean a steep hill kinda edge that goes down for 20 feet of our property before it joins the public property) of the Thornton Creek protected wetland/stream/ waterway. The kind of area our neighbors had to hire goats to clear of brambles and ivy:

It's amazing what a thorough job they do, and steepness don't make no nevermind to them. Each night they just camp out on the hill, even in the rain - 'til they've run out of edibles. Fellow blogger Jessica of "Rose-Kim Knits" used the same goat vendor (mainly because many people who rent out goats to clear weeds want to bring out large numbers to huge lots, and this person will just bring 2 or 8 - whatever you need. You can see her adventure here if interested.

The bennies: no one behind the house - lots of lovely bird calls albeit annoyingly early in the morning. Lovely sounds of the wind blowing in the trees. However, bugs hit the seasons running when you live on the edge of land with water. Other people tell me the moths and mosquitoes aren't really out there yet - I must be imagining it. I'd invite them to come view the light on our front porch on any given night when a zillion or two of them are flying around. I can't stay out there long, even to break the boxes down and do the recycling - without getting chomped. Also, the Piliated Woodpeckers and Northern Flickers love this area. They love to chomp down (peck up?) heartily on the house. Partly to make noise and attract a mate, and also to work their way into the attic and find a new home for the hoped-for family.

After having a friend/contractor Dan fix the entire top board level around the house two years ago from damage:

Here's the kind of thing they do - just mow through the wood until they get a hole big enough to get in.




So, two years ago he replaced all the boards, put rat-and-bird-proof mesh behind all the vent holes and we were good to go......we thought.

Until last year. 9 a.m. every morning, rat-a-tat-tat over and over. Do birds have an alarm clock? Finally caught him in the act by peeking around the corner with the camera...

Friend Flicker. Do you believe the size of that hole? Then the sound of the birdie feet wandering around the attic space at night (!) which just happened to be right over our bed. Once I had waited long enough to figure out there were no Mrs. Flicker and little flickers early this Spring (cause I'm too much of a sap to disturb a family you know...), had to pick up the phone again. Daaaaannnnn! Help!

While he was out rehabbing the spot with a board and a secret discouragement board underneath, he built new back steps and did all kinds of wonderful things. I'm not holding my breath that we're done with woodpecker invaders though - they are very territorial and love to return to the scene of devastation they caused last time.

Ryan blogged about us Dye Day Dyenosaurs this week - go here to check it out. Instead of going back to the Oregon Cardigan, I've been working on a Truly Tasha shawl for Mom in a lavender Koigu and am basing it on the original Nancy Bush pattern (free, here) only changing the neckline to match the neckline shaping on Evelyn Clark's Landscape Scarf pattern (picture here) which you'll have to buy to get the techie bits on it - it's a Fibertrends pattern and the shawl version on the picture doesn't show the scarf version (included in pattern), which curves around flatteringly in the front and never falls off (original pattern picture here). May add beads and a second layer of edging. Trying to have it done by the time we go to the 10th annual Sleeping Lady Retreat that Acorn Street Yarns puts on in June in Leavenworth, Washington. The baby mystery item is temporarily back on track gauge-wise but dead in the water for now.

I'm cleaning house with the aid of Dear Friend Beryl and emotionally it's taking its toll. Years of sorting and letting go of stuff. I thought it would be easier with just one person helping me at this stage before hiring the squadron of professionals who march about, asking you to choose if it stays, gets trashed, or donated. It is a "bit" easier, but still exhausting. Good thing I've made a start though. Unfortunately it slows down the knitting. With a good DVD in my computer (or 2, or 3) I can usually get 2-4 hours knitting done at night - but it'll have to wait until David's back on Tuesday and this latest saga of clean-out is done.

One of the hardest things to get rid of conscientiously is magazines. If they are craft - no worries - some friend will take them or I can sell them off. But the husband's tastes are wide-ranging, and libraries no longer seem to want back issues. I can of course recycle them but if I fill that recycle bin up every week it'll be almost too heavy to lift up over the truck. And their holiday Starbucks card may not make up to the recycle guys in cheerfulness for our excess. I've thought of listing them by type on Craigs list to see if anyone interested in various subject matters would be interested. Any ideas?