Witness-Protection Keegan, Does it Again!

The kid found mustaches here in town - at the Sav-a-Lot down from Knit Happy, this time. He asked me for some quarters for a treat and I am powerless against his big blue eyes so I gave him all I had. I do not know how much these silly disguises cost, but it's probably around 50 cents. Please go and get your kids some! These have really earned their price over and over again. Plus, they are great fun to leave in special places for Mom & Dad to find (unexpectedly) later. Like, stuck to the light switch in the bathroom before 6am when your eyes don't really open until the adrenaline hits your system when you think you've just touched the biggest hairiest spider in all the world...

He's still laughing over that one.

He found the awesome hat below at Wal Mart, after insisting that he needed vampire teeth. I was pretty impressed. I think he needs a gangster hat now. It certainly seems like a unique look he's coming up with for himself.




Ooh! Look what we found on the door at Ross'! This is without a doubt the largest Praying Mantis I've ever seen in person. She was exquisite and fearsome and I am -SO- glad I had the camera with us. She was just watching us as intently as we were watching her, but she wasn't moving and we weren't messing with her. I hope she had a successful hunt... but what does something that large hunt for? Toddlers? Birds? She was literally the size of my forearm. You can see our reflections in the picture below the close-up and kind-of tell how large she was.





ETA: I did a search online, and couldn't find the exact species this is, but I was able to confirm that at this size, their prey IS birds! I can't believe it's true, but it is! I was even able to find the following picture on a bird watching forum - it's part of a series where the mantis just grabbed the hummingbird out of the air; hooked its chest and ate it! Keep your toddlers back, ladies - this predator is no joke!




And finally, an update on my Krokus. I've got another set of "ladybirds" done - that's what the first chart translates to. "Mariehons pa blade" means "Ladybirds on Leaves". For some reason I find that especially enchanting and romantic. I'm extremely happy with this shawl. It's delicate and vibrant, it's challenging and simple at the same time! It is definitely one of the most unique lace shawls I have ever fallen in love with and I am beyond happy to be knitting it. I can't wait to show my girls on knit night.

That, and I wish I had about 5000 more yards of this yarn, it's very happy-making. I'm glad I had the foresight to get two skeins of it, I've got about 2200 yards total (I believe) so I should be able to make several smaller lace projects out of it if I'm careful.



Happy Knitting. Blessed be.
-Regan-

Garden Visitors & Tomato Blossoms

I found a lot of new friends in my garden this afternoon. I don't know what half of them are, or whether some of them are pest or friend, but they're all beautiful and I wish I had more time to watch them & see what they're all up to.


The little guy below had vivid, electric colors. I've had fish that looked like him!


Startled this wolf spider out while I was weeding. I love wolf spiders, they're so beautiful. When I find them inside the house I always gently take them outside again. Probably to their consternation, since they just seem to turn around & come back in right away!


This also was a NEAT looking spider. Loads of green & yellow on it's belly but he moved fast & I couldn't get a good pic of the exciting parts.


I have a special fondness for the Praying Mantis, I'm always excited to find one in my garden. This little girl was in my Chinese Red Noodle beans, which I have moved as of this afternoon to a more suitable place in my garden. I hope they will appreciate the move with loads of growth and beans!


And finally, these are my tomato blossoms I told you about yesterday. Any day now, they're going to open up and I'll take pictures and then we'll have baby tomatoes!