My friend V came over for coffee yesterday morning. She brought her applique and stitched away while I threaded up my loom. It was great to have some company and the small amount of distraction was more than compensated by the large amount of motivation and good-will.
One of the distractions was trying to identify a little honey eater who has been visiting my grevilleas. There were two of them there the other day and I'd managed to get a fairly clear picture without scaring them off. Usually as soon as I move to get my camera, my dogs jump up. Since the grevillea is just outside their favourite sunny window, that usually means that my shy little visitors take off. But the dogs were particularly lazy the other day, so I got a couple of good shots at them before they saw me and flew away--the birds, that is, not the dogs.
Now V knows a lot more about identifying birds than I do. To prove the point, she just happened to have a Field Guide to Australian Birds in her car! We decided that my little visitors are probably New Holland Honey Eaters, though one of the identifying features--a white tip to the tail--doesn't match up with the details in my photo. I'll have to have another good look when they next come along. Observing little details like that is easier said than done, since the honey-eaters bob and flit and fly off quite quickly, but I'll have a go.
A couple of hours sitting around the table tracing and cutting had us well ahead with that job. It's amazing how much can be achieved with half a dozen people working together, chatting and joking.
