Baby Sweater

I started this project in February of this year for a baby born in April. I didn't work on it consistently and just finished it yesterday. So, rather than it being a birth present, or even a christening gift, it will be a first Christmas gift. Good thing I made the 12 month size.

The pattern is on the Lion Brand website, Lullaby Layette #90060AD. It was easy and the lace pattern was easy to remember after a few repeats.

I used a self-patterning yarn for the yoke, to get a faux Fair-Isle-look. I wasn't happy with how it came out uneven, but by the time the patten started to emerge, I didn't want to frog all those stitches. The baby won't care. I hope her mother doesn't mind. To visually balance the pattern, I added a crocheted flower.

All in all, it didn't turn out too badly for my first sweater.

It's that time of year

The mad rush to the end of the year. So much to do, or rather, so much I want to do, and much more that I don't.

volunteering

Tomorrow is my first Girl Scout meeting as a leader. I've put in many hours preparing for the meeting. I'm looking forward to meeting and working with all 14 girls.

I really like my co-leader. She's been a great help getting us set up. I think we will work well together.

I'm really excited and hope all goes well.

What I have been frustrated about, though, is the apparent disorganization of the Council. Yes, there is help, but only if I ask for it. It would have been better if I was handed a New Leader packet with all the info to get started. I just hope our Troop parents are not too frustrated with the delay.

I just remind myself that it's all about the girls.

Fall

A new season and new adventures. I signed up to be a Girl Scout leader.

I am very excited about this. I will be leading a troop of Daisy Girl Scouts (kindergarten girls). Punky is in the troop. So far we have 9 girls registered, and there may be three to four more.

I wanted to lead because my experience with Girl Scouts left an impression on me, although not a good one. I wanted to be sure that Punky and the other girls have a great experience full of fun and discovery.

Our first meeting is in October. I have lots of great ideas and can't wait to get started!

Winged Beauties

Visitors to the pink phlox in the front yard yesterday.

Hummingbird sphinx moth About the size of large bumble bee, but the photos don't show the brilliance of the colors.

Eastern tiger swallowtail

Black swallowtail

June

The common orange day lilies started blooming this week. They're so easy to grow, but they do multiply. I like them, so I don't mind having more. The flowers are edible. I haven't tried them, but supposedly you can eat them in fritters, like squash-blossoms.

Thursday evening, Punky and I picked about 3 cups of black raspberries. I have no idea how many she ate while we were picking them.

It's been hot so far this month, and rained either in the morning or evening most days which is good for all the plants that I've transplanted and our vegetable garden.

This month is busy with family birthdays: aunt, grandma, nephew, niece, dad and uncle. I'm only knitting one gift, a shawl for Grandma. Her Christmas-gift scarf is still not finished, but it's 85 degrees, so she wouldn't wear it now anyway.

Went to Hoosier Hills Fiber Arts Festival after work today with Punky. It was interesting. I told myself I couldn't buy any yarn, as I have a huge stash already. I bought a felted purse and some stitch markers instead. Maybe next year I'll sign up for a class or two.

Coincidences

Monday, I was thinking about writing a friend. When I got home, a letter from her was on the kitchen table.

Wednesday, I was reading in the local paper about a woman named Judy W. who was starting a quilt making charity. Later that afternoon, I took a phone call from a woman who was interesting in the well testing program through my office. I said I would mail her information, then asked for her name and address. Her name was Judy W.

Yesterday as I walked to my office, I noted the blank space on the wall where usually a picture of the current POTUS hangs. Mysteriously, we have not yet received an official portrait of President Obama. I thought to myself that I should write to him and request a photo. Later, I was going through Punky's school papers. There was a photocopied portrait of the President and another of the First Family, along with a letter that was sent to her school.

I'm sure these kinds of coincidences happen all the time, but I seem to be more aware of them at at a certain time of the month. Coincidence?

Stewardship

April 25- May 2: 55th Annual Stewardship Week

I spoke to some kindergarten students from St. Malachy on Monday during their field trip to a local farm. We played a game I found on the National Wildlife Federation website using a ball of yarn to illustrate how everything in Nature is connected, including humans.

"When we try to pick out anything by itself we find that it is bound fast by a thousand invisible cords that cannot be broken, to everything in the universe. " -John Muir

I had fun making the game with Punky. I wanted to use plants and animals the kids might see in their own backyards. We found most of the pictures in magazines we already had at home. (That's reusing, one of the three R's.) I took some pictures in my own backyard and thought they turned out nicely. (I'll post them if I can find my camera cable.)

Friday, Punky came with me to McCloud Nature Park to plant 15 oak trees (red, swamp white, bur, and Shumard) near the new bridge to replace some of what were cut down to install the bridge . Six Master Gardeners volunteered to help with the planting and ended up doing most of the work. I was occupied with talking to first grade students from Eagle Elementary about what we were doing and answering their questions. We also had red oak saplings to hand out to visitors to the park. Any that were left are going to be planted at the park. Punky and I took one home.

After McCloud, we hurried to Hickory Elementary to help with another tree planting. The students were basically finished when we got there, and were just mulching the trees. I took a few photos of the event, then we headed home. Not a bad way to spend Arbor Day.

Punky and I planted our little red oak in the backyard. I peeked through the fence at my neighbors' yard. It is so different from mine. There are no trees, just one small Chinese lilac in a see of mono-culture grass. I planted a red maple soon after we moved to our house nine years ago. I now have 19 trees counting the new red oak, soon to be 21 after I plant a couple of seedlings another neighbor gave me. She said she didn't have room for them. We have less than 1/8 acre, but I'll find room for two more.

We get lots of birds and other wildlife which I know is due to the diversity of plants growing in our yard. Trees make great habitat and are a relatively simple conservation habit that most people can do in their backyards. Besides providing wildlife habitat, when planted in the right place, trees can shade our houses, block winter wind, reduce flooding, and prevent soil erosion. I also think they are beautiful.

April Showers

It's raining this morning after several absolutely gorgeous, unseasonably warm days. It was in the 80s the last couple and since I was off work, I tried to spend as much time outside as possible. Punky said working in the yard is just that and it's boring, but I told her it's not work to me.

Even though it's been super nice, I played it safe and have only planted violas and pansies. Well, we did get two primroses for Punky in her favorite color-PINK. I planted potatoes, carrots, radishes, and lettuce yesterday, and accidentally grass in the patio rocks.

My daffodils are blooming and so are the tulips and crocus I planted last fall. The forsythia bushes are in full bloom. The pussy willow is shedding it's catkins for leaves. The curly willow, red maple, crab apple and rose bushes are leafing out. And, soon the "stinky trees" as Punky calls the Bradford pears, will be in full bloom, too.

I'm glad it's raining today, to help all the newly planted things grow, but it also means I should do some housework. I have a couple of new cabinets and a new prep area in the kitchen. Of course, it's already cluttered. That's entropy in action. But, after I get the kitchen in order, I plan to start some seeds. Hope and faith in new beginnings is what spring is all about.

Spring is in the Air

At the beginning of March the weather turned for the warmer. The first week of March had the kind of weather that is so pleasant you forget the long, cold winter immediately. A couple of days the afternoon temperature was over 70 degrees. The snow has now completely melted. Not a trace lingers even in the dark shady spots.
My grandma called that week to tell me that her snowdrops (Galanthus) were up and blooming. I told her mine were up and that I had seen a few red winged black birds, a sure sign of spring, even more so than robins. I also told her Punky and I had seen a large flock of sandhill cranes flying lower than we usually see them over our house in their migration north. I look forward to seeing the cranes each fall and spring. The Canada geese are also migrating in large numbers. The same evening we saw the sand hill cranes, a couple hundred geese flew over the backyard.
The second week of March has had rain every day and the ground is quite squishy. Yesterday both Punky and I noted the air smelled of earth worms. In exchange for snow and frozen ground, now we have mud. Ugh, I hate the mud and having to wipe Lucy's feet every time she comes in from the backyard. At least we have mop-able floors now, instead of wall to wall carpet in the main living areas.
I should have put straw down last fall in anticipation of the spring thaw, but I didn't get to it. I plan to get some this weekend, along with seed potatoes and some black plastic to kill off the weeds in the raised garden bed. Punky and I weeded the bed this week. We found some tufts of rabbit fur in one corner. I had seen a rabbit dart from there a couple of days before. I guess she was hoping to make a nest. Our backyard isn't the best spot for raising baby anythings because Lucy has strong terrier instincts. She's dug a huge hole under the lilac bush, I think trying to get to a mice nest. I filled the spot with some yard debris in an attempt to discourage her from making a bigger hole.
My snowdrops are blooming now and in addition, I have a few crocus blooming in the bed behind the house, where the sun warms the soil and the house reflects heat. Daffodil and tulip foliage is up, too. The pussy willow is covered with silky-soft catkins. The forsythias are covered with buds, as is the quince.
The backyard is busy with the song birds. We have daily visits from goldfinches, sparrows, a pair of cardinals, mourning doves, and a few grackles. The garden pond is ice-free and our two goldfish thankfully survived the winter.
There is a pond I pass every day and in the summers on my way home, I see the turtles sunning on the rocks at the shallow end. I saw the turtles the for the first time this spring when it was so warm.
Signs of Spring are in the Air, in the Trees, in the Water, and in the Ground. Even though the calendar says the Spring Equinox isn't until March 20, it seems to meet that it has arrived.