Extreme Knitting Redhead: Who dunnit?

Friday, June 22, 2012

Who dunnit?

In our patio there is a hole into which I stick my rotary drier. There is a rubber cover that fits inside but it blows away so I often don't bother putting it in. Sometimes when I go outside in the morning there are splashes around it and I've often wondered why.

Hole with splashes

Then I saw the culprits in action. Here's a clue......

Footprints

..and here they are - the ducks stick their beaks into it and drink the water! I wish I could get a photo of them actually doing it as it looks ridiculous. We have 2 large ponds and 2 drinking troughs nearby so why on earth would they bother sticking their beaks down a tight pipe? I've also caught them drinking out of the watering cans so I don't know why I was surprised. I did chuckle when I saw them in action.

The culprits

The other day I spent ages taking photos of the ducklings. They are so cute. Mrs Duck has them marching all over the place and she's really anxious and on the look out for danger all the time. I feel honoured that a wild bird comes so close to me.

Sadly though, despite her vigilance, the 4 have now become 3. I did notice that one of them was flagging a bit the other day so perhaps he was a weakling and just didn't have the strength to survive.

I'm having a bit of a Bargello moment as a break from knitting and crochet.

This is going to be a sampler cushion based on the colours of our lounge curtains.

I've completed a strip of tiny samples in neutral colours all down one side and am now debating what to place in the large strip down the middle. I'm fancying a stepped wave pattern in shades of green. Then the far side will be larger samples in red, blue, green and neutrals.

It's very absorbing.

I can't decide what my next knitting or crochet project should be. I have so much yarn and too many choices!

I am writing this before I venture out for a run. I am procrastinating as I am anxious that this run goes well. Mary Massage Lady has pummelled my right leg to within an inch of its life so I'm hoping it will be better now. But will my breathing be OK? I hope so but I am nervous about it. Fingers crossed anyway.

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Mum's Story

In 1997 my mother, then aged 81, had a series of minor strokes. Shortly after that we started to notice behavioural changes notably memory loss and confusion over everyday items. We thought it was just old age finally catching up with her. Then she started wandering and had violent mood swings. Although she already lived with us it became obvious that she couldn't be left alone for long and so I left my job to care for her. The next few years saw a gradual decline into the blackness that is 'vascular dementia'. My normally placid mum became violent and aggressive. She had psychotic incidents where she would see imaginary people (children hiding in her wardrobe, Russians sitting on the stairs, women stealing her clothes) and she would shout at them and sometimes throw things too. She was so convincing that we used to go and check that there wasn't anyone there! When my sister died mum did not know who Judy was or that she was her daughter. There came a point when I suddenly realised she no longer knew that I was her daughter and this was a terrible time for me. In the last 2 years that she lived with us, life for us all became almost unbearable as she needed 24 hour care - she couldn't be left alone at all because she would either wander off or hurt herself, she never slept for more than 30 minutes at a time during the night, she became incontinent and incapable of doing anything for herself. Finally my husband and I realised that we could no longer provide her with the care that she needed and she went to live in a special care home where the team did a splendid job caring for her in the last few months of her life. There she lived a zombified existence unaware of who she was, what she was or where she was. It was heartbreaking. She died in March 2005, the day after her 89th birthday.

Thank you for taking the time to read mum's story and I hope you'll dig deep and sponsor me using the link below to help find a way of beating this destructive disease.