Well, wouldn’t you know it, the robins have all flown the coop!

I discovered that the nest was empty, and knowing that they would be staying close to the house, I was able to find them easily. One was staying close to the weeds along the edge of my house, using them for shelter as she searched for food. Nearby, the two parents were supervising the two other baby Robins, going from ground to fence.

They chose a poor day for their departure, we had a few storms this evening and I worried about them. Hope they all make it, it’s a rough world out there! And now I’m without my little porch friends, although it’s still early enough, perhaps the nest will be home to one more brood before summer’s end?

A trio of baby Robbins, protected from the elements by my porch.

Trio of Baby Robins

Had to use the zoom, hence the rather crappy picture, but there you have them. Three baby robins, American Robins to be exact. They are a delight, both ma and pa taking an active role in feeding the hungry little critters. They make me nervous in that I worry about them. Will all three survive? What about that feral cat that has claimed more than one bird from the feeder area? I’ve read that squirrels prey on young Robbins (as they have my insulation). Are they hiding, spying, waiting to kidnap them? I’ve seen what squirrels can do to a feeder when they are hungry, perhaps they are satisfied with seeds for the moment.

Ah, nature!

My order from Amazon France arrived in only 8 days!

Recent order from Amazon France

This was my second experience in ordering from the French version of Amazon, and it was just as pleasant. I ordered La bible des lettres au point de croix : 844 alphabets et suites de chiffres, tome 1, de 1 à 55 points de haut by Valérie Lejeune, an author who has renewed my interest in cross stitch by compiling vintage French designs, letters, and motifs from rare vintage French sources.

“Cross Stitch Letters Bible” is a thick, chunky book, 711 pages hot of the presses and full wonderful alphabets, and a pleasant surprise is that this edition includes multilingual versions of the authors introduction.

From the same order is Broderie et dentelle sur carton perforé by Véronique Maillard. There is a revival of the art of creating with perforated paper underway in France, unfortunately the paper used to create these lace-like projects is of a higher holes-per-inch count than is readily available in the US, although there is at least one vendor who will ship to the US. I will post  more information on the subject shortly.

If you already have an account with Amazon.com, you can log into Amazon.fr and should find all of your shipping information carried over. The layout and navigation is nearly identical, and translating French into English is easy with the help of Google. I have never used the “one click” ordering feature, I recommend disabling that if you have it on, just to avoid accidentally purchasing a book if you are not yet ready.

You can also find some answers to shipping questions for Amazon.fr in English here.

As for the cost, when I checked out this time there was an option to use Amazon’s currency translation tool, something that I did not notice when I first ordered back in April. The currency of Amazon.fr is Euros, you can use Yahoo’s tool to get a rough idea of the cost. At the time of this posting, the Cross Stitch Letters Bible cost 29,45 EU, translated by Yahoo here.

Next time I place an order, I’ll try to take some screen shots to illustrate the process, although you may find this link on ordering a product from Amazon France to UK addresses to be useful in the meantime.

I hope you found this post to be interesting. Cross stitch is such a rewarding and often inexpensive pasttime, and the right alphabet can give your project just the right personal touch. While ordering from Amazon France is a bit expensive, I have found that when these books are available in the US, the price is often higher. I recommend finding a few books or teaming up with some friends to place your order to save on costs.

R.I.P Sulphur Shelf Mushroom.

R.I.P Sulphur Shelf Mushroom

You can see the rocks that the local trash children used to destroy this once fabulous sulphur shelf mushroom.

“I don’t regard myself as an artist. I am a craftsman. Fuck art.” - Clifford Harper

A bright orange fungus, growing along Creek Road in Upper Darby, PA.

Bright Orange Fungus

I really need a better camera, and a tripod would come in handy. I love macro photography. All I have at present is a dinky Kodak Easy Share.

My found mushroom is the Sulphur Shelf Mushroom. I have been tempted to harvest it, but it’s a little too close to the side of the road. Three roads converge at that point, and when it rains, all of the fertilizer, gas, oil, and other street funk pours down the road and soaks the area where this mushroom is growing.

http://americanmushrooms.com/edibles4.htm

http://mushroom-collecting.com/mushroomchickens.html

http://blog.mycology.cornell.edu/?p=52

I wonder if there is a way for me to transport the thing–log and all-to my place. It’s only a matter of time before one of the local idiot children find it and destroy it.