It's Sunday, so it must be time for pictures

And here they are...

First of all, I have the habit of tossing out seeds, apples cores, etc., to the birds in the bird feeding area out front. All sorts of odd things pop up and grow there. Recently a vine started growing that I knew had to be a member of the squash family. I recognized the vining characteristics, the leaf shape and most importantly the flower structure and color. I just had no idea what exactly it was. I've been occasionally checking for fruit, but I never expected this. My hand is in the picture for scale...

Yes, it's a baby watermelon! Imagine our surprise.

Now onto knitting content. This includes stash enhancement, works in progress and gratuitous cat pictures, complements of Grey (a.k.a. Princess Plumeria because she has a very plumy tail, and I just love the word plumeria, which is a kind of flower.)

From top to bottom, Grey checks out the sock yarns from Spinning Bunny. They are 50% merino and 50% tencel. They have a very lovely sheen to them. I can't wait to start using them. Grey was very wiggly, and I caught her briefly not blocking the yarns from the camera. Needless to say, I put the yarns up right after the shot. On the right Grey stops her sun stretching long enough to sniff one of the needles on Keith's sweater. I'm slowly making progress as I do a few rounds each night. I forgot to photograph his sock that I'm also knitting. Last night everything I knitted on was for Keith. He should feel very special.

Here on the left we have my second Cherry Tree Hill sock that I'm doing toe up. I believe I wrote a short post about how taking copious notes while working on the first sock doesn't do a darn bit of good if I neglect to even look at them before starting the second sock. I have frogged the entire toe once because obviously I didn't check my notes. Second time's a charm in this case. On the right are 2 sock yarns from Toasty. You can't read it well at all since I took the photos later in the morning than I usually do, so I had to contend with the sun on the stone bench. The lower yarn is named "Olive Oil for Eve." All the Toasty sock yarns are named after foods you can put on toast. Anyone who has eaten at the Macaroni Grill knows that warm bread and olive oil with pepper can spoil your dinner faster than Superman can outfly that speeding bullet.

I did spend a little time on Etsy this morning. I found a sock knitting bag there last night that I decided I couldn't live without. I had to visit another artist too that does these cute tiny little pictures. I know some of you may not consider it "real" art, but I just love it. So check out Ashley White Jacobsen and White Willow.

In less than 2 hours it will have been an entire week since we had to take Brownie on her final trip to the vet. Keith mentioned that earlier today and said he missed her. My feelings about Brownie are mixed. This is nothing new - they've been mixed for about 17 1/2 years. Brownie has caused me a lot of worry over the years. She used to run off for several days at a time, coming back after I was almost reconciled to the fact she was gone or dead. She would climb trees and get stuck, usually 30 or 40 or more feet up. I was outside some nights at 1 a.m. talking her out of trees. She would climb a different tree and get stuck on the roof. I would go stand on a chair and hold a laundry basket on my head for her to leap into (she always did!) On one hand I feel relief that I don't have to worry about her anymore. On the other hand, I really do miss the terror she once was.

Another emotion that you have to deal with when making that decision for a pet is was my timing right? It absolutely is the right decision to make, but I find that I second guess the timing. I had no questions at all about Ripper. He was ready to go. I find I've wondered a little bit about Brownie. Not much, but just a little. This isn't rational or logical, because given the facts the decision absolutely was right. I have this tiny little part of me that thinks, well, if we had done the surgery... I'm intelligent enough to know that bit of doubt is also the part of me that really misses Browniedamnit!

On that note I need to run outside and see what Keith is doing. I asked him to refill the birdbath. All of North Georgia is on a total watering ban. We haven't watered any of our plants in months (and it shows). I do, however, fill up the birdbaths once or twice a week, depending upon rate of evaporation. Wildlife suffers in the drought, and it's my duty to provide drinking water for birds, bunnies, squirrels, chipmunks, feral cats and possums. I'm guessing the bats I see swooping around at dusk get enough from the insects they catch. Maybe the bats use the birdbaths at night. Wouldn't it be so cool to see a bat or an owl at the birdbath? I left insects off the list, but they need water too. I'm not sure how to provide if for them in a way that they don't drown in birdbath. Let's be honest, I'm not worried at all if the yellowjackets get enough water.