never a dull moment

My tomato seedlings are getting too big to live inside, it is time for them to make the move to the outdoor house....to the grow house, or home made greenhouse. My husband made a "house" out of "cast off" sliding glass doors. It serves as an over sized coldframe and is a great place to finish off plants before setting them out in the world to fend for themselves. Some critters (or maybe even the cat!) had been wintering over out there, and made a mess of things...pots were pushed over, trays upset..I had to do a big clean up before I could begin to pot the tomatoes. In the process of moving things, I uncovered this "resident" living in a six pack planter. Good thing I don't scare easily.

I carefully set the snake outside the greenhouse, so he could find a new home. I suggested the stone wall would be suitable. I told him to check it out, I would look the other way. But he seemed content to sit in the sun and enjoy the afternoon. Before long, the guard roo noticed him.

He sounded the alarm first (sounds like a horn honking call). He flapped his wings and knocked the six pack over. Then he used his, "I found something good to eat" cluck, and a few hens came by to check it out. They were not impressed.

Finally, they all wandered away... except for one Barred Rock hen, she stayed around and kept coming back to check on the snake. This one was just a bit too big to eat.

I finished up my work, and checked on the garter snake before walking back to the house, but he was still in the six pack. I guess it just isn't time for him to wake up yet. He didn't seem ready to find a new home.

forcynthias

The Forsythia is blooming. Forsythia is named in honor of William Forsyth, a Scottish botanist...but when I was a child, I thought that it bloomed for me..."forcynthia". Look at these blooming "forcynthia", I heard them say. (A touch of narcissism..)and more yellow.

The ones that bloom around the riverrim are 50 year old plants and older. The big bush shown above suffered during a late winter snowstorm when a branch fell from a tree above. Still, it flowers profusely in spite of the fact that the branch still weighs heavy on top of it.

At the advice of my sister, I took these cuttings for my window box in late February. There was still snow on the ground that day. I bundled the twigs and stuffed them in coffee cans filled with water. Surprisingly, even after the water has frozen and thawed several times over, the cuttings are now blooming...and I expect they may have rooted at well!

The Narcissus are blooming yellow too. There are two different origins, of how this plant got its name. One derivation is that they are named from the Greek word to grow numb..based on the narcotics contained in the bulb.

The other derivation is based in Mythology...

and this photo demonstrates the story beautifully!

I am working on several projects at once, and my worktable is cluttered, from left to right...bottom corner, silk/angora lace shawl, alpaca locks and combs, alpaca handspun being woven, plying of angora/silk on russian style support spindle (I worked the shawl as far as I could and then had to spin up more yarn...what a very bad habit!.....haven't I learned my lesson by this point in time!)

From my vantage point, I can gaze out the window and watch the yellow.

perfect imperfections

A few months ago, when there was snow on the ground, I was reading about the Knitted Lace of Estonia, by Nancy Bush. What a terrific book, the photos, the descriptions, the history...all of it is so interesting! Thanks to Grace, a knit-a-long was arranged, and I started my journey into learning some of the Estonian patterns and techniques.

Grace selected a smaller/ scarf version of the Queen Silvia Shawl for the KAL, and I followed the center panel (leaving out the gathered stitches and the lace edge). I worked the pattern in one direction. I was having so much fun knitting merrily along that I passed the mid-point and forgot the other side and the graft in the middle. There are imperfections, but I still like the way it turned out.

Most of my satisfaction was due to the lovely yarn that I was working with. 315 yards of "Zephyr" from Ball and Skein. Gorgeous Hand-Dyed Merino and Silk Lace Weight threads that slip through the fingers, and pour down from the size 3 needles. I had first intended to gift this yarn, as a yarn package...but I am very glad to have decided to knit with it and gift the finished object. It was a pleasure!

Captivated by lace, I begin to plan another project. This next lace work will be constructed from my handspun angora.

I have plied a single strand of angora with a single strand of silk. ..both singles have been spun on the Russian Style support spindle. There was not much information available to me on how to ply the singles onto the support spindle. From what I could gather, a plying card or disk is used to hold the singles that are first wound together. A found tea box is used in place of a disk. I had to reverse my hands for plying, funny and odd to me that I just could not get my flick on for a z twist with my right hand- so I switched over to using my left hand.

I'm sure I could have created a yarn with a better ply if I had used a suspended spindle to do the job, but I wanted to stretch my skills. Sometimes the best way to do that is to embrace the imperfections!

time flows by

And spring is arriving along the riverrim. The above video captures the Thames River in Canada, but it could well be the river that flows behind my cabin. When I first saw this time lapse version of the seasons changing on the river, I found it to be very beautiful. I still do!

The transformations that take place are subtle. As water flows by, it sculpts and changes the edges of the bank. So much water flowing by... The ebb and flow of life...

...the forest and the creatures are waking up, and the seasons turn again. One ends, another begins.