It’s a rainy cool day, today. This morning is the fourth time a big group of American White pelicans, all ready for breeding, landed on our pond. They are really cool to see but their presence spells disaster for all of the fish we stocked in our pond. When pelicans get moving in a group they are like a rhythmic mass moving in incredibly accurate hunting unison. Over the last few days I’ve glimpsed many a bluegill and crappie flipping into their big bills and throat pouches.

I hope they don’t plan on staying too long and raising their young here. There are lots of geese and ducks that rely on the beach and the little island on our pond for the nests. Now the pelicans have them surrounded. Plus, there are many bald eagles, red tail hawks, and great horned owls that reside here with a well-known preference for pelican eggs. I might have to muster myself and walk down to the pond to get them to fly away, again. The geese and ducks are used to seeing me and don’t fret my presence too much.

Well, I’m still knitting this lace-weight pullover. I’ve been relatively diligent, though I have to divide my time between it and other non-knitting related pursuits. A couple of days ago, I decided to include some eyelet stitches at the bottom before the hemline to make the neutral yarn a bit more prominent. I think it turned great. Yesterday, I decided to add some ruffling as the hem. I hope it turns out well. A little part of me wishes I had thought it through more because it has really added a lot of extra work.

The body of the project was already over 300 stitches around. To do a ruffle from the top down, you have to increase the total number of stitches by, at least, double. That will usually make a really soft and barely noticeable ruffle. To make a more pronounced ruffle you have to work another round of increases to double the stitches again. So, I have now have more than 1200 stitches on my needles! It would be a real shame if I am not fond of the ruffle after it is done but I’m just going to have to push through and hope for the best.