Winter Has One Last Laugh

Three inches of snow this morning.

Early Spring, First Week in April

The Goldfinches are making excellent progress in their molting back to yellow.

Another sign of spring in the above picture - the window needs washing.


The grass is turning green and threatening to need mowing even though the daytime temperatures are still around 40F and the extended forecast is for rain, rain, and more rain.

For wildlife interest in this picture, I chose a mole hill.

AccuWeather has promised us a warmup, going as high as 80F on Sunday. With rain and possibly violent thunderstorms. In April in SW Michigan, violent thunderstorms translates as tornado weather. Our houses have basements for just that reason.


I love the look of the sedum buds in the spring.

Each year I've been increasing the garden areas devoted to sedum because the deer don't eat them.


This is a wobbly picture of a muskrat in the creek taken by someone with two pulling, leashed dogs who dream they can catch a muskrat without getting wet.


Sometimes a muskrat comes up on the land.

For this picture I only had one leashed dog pulling on me, so it's a bit less blurry.

Late Spring - End of March

This has been the coldest March I can remember.

Last week we had six days in a row when it never hit 40. Even when the sun comes out, the temperatures are staying around 40 and nighttime temperatures fall into the teens.


Some geese stopped by to see if the pond might be a good nesting spot. Fourteen, almost fifteen, year old dog Glory earned a "good girl" by chasing them off.


After goose chasing, it was time for a polar plunge.


The deer stop by daily to check if the hostas are up and ready to eat.

Hostas can't take freezing and know enough to stay in the ground for now.


Daffodils are just the opposite. They grow under snow, they grow when frozen, and they're determined to bloom in the middle of April even if warm weather hasn't arrived by then.

Early Spring, Late March

It's been colder than normal for March. Still, the signs of spring can't be ignored now.


The Phoebes are back.


Some of the Goldfinches have started their molt from winter drab olive to spring bright gold.


Sandhill Cranes are flying over on the way to their nesting sites.

Their constant trilling is so loud it can't be missed.


Many nights are still below freezing. Wednesday night we had some snow and the roads were icy enough to cause a few accidents on Thursday morning.

Early Spring, Mid March

We don't have much color yet in SW Michigan.


Instead of hanging around the feeding station, the birds are spread out claiming their nesting territories.


I've heard that Chickadees will use nest boxes, but I've never had a Chickadee nest in one of mine. Maybe this will be the year.


The Hellebore plants are evergreen, but after they've been buried under the snow for several months the leaves look totally beat up. Still, they put out the earliest blooms in the garden.


I think everyone in the Midwest has Snowdrops. They bloom before the Crocus, the rodents don't like to eat their bulbs, and they're always a welcome sight to see on the first sunny day after the snow melts off them.

More Very Very Early Signs of Spring

It's really late winter, but it's more fun to pretend it's very very early spring since we're having a February thaw this week.


It was in the fifties for the second day in a row. I'm trying to enjoy the warmer weather but the gray skies, stiff wind, dirty snow, mud, and gloom are making it a challenge.

The picture above was taken at lunch time to demonstrate why this weather makes me want to go take a nap.


Things aren't looking much cheerier on the ground.

The white trail is were we walked when there was snow. The walking packed it down so it's the last to melt. During thaw time, we have to walk off the slippery path.


The paper box is still slowly sinking. If the ground thaws enough, I'll go out with a shovel and re-plant it. If the ground doesn't thaw enough I may need to prop it up with some cement blocks.


Spotted this Woolly Bear Caterpillar on the side of the house.

It's not a sign of spring, it's an sign of Woolly Bear bad timing. He needs to find someplace to shelter until the real spring. I'm surprised a bird hasn't had him for lunch.


Daffodils are so amazing. They know spring is coming eventually and they start growing under the ice and snow so they'll be ready for April blooming.

The snow and ice was holding the oak leaves tight to the ground so the daffodils just pierced through them.

By the end of next week the daffodils will be under the snow again, but I'll know they're there and I'll smile at them as I shovel out to the car.

Pressure's On

Earlier this week we scheduled our annual Louise Lunch for May 8, a week from Saturday. Immediately I realized I needed to get daughter Heather's birthday socks done by then and they weren't even started.

Luckily I did have the yarn and was able to cast on immediately.

There's a little bit of knitting time pressure stress, but I think I'm up to the challenge.

Pattern: Little Shell Rib stitch pattern
Multiple of 8 stitches, 4 rows

• Row 1: k7, p1
  
• Row 2: k7, p1
  
• Row 3: k1, YO, p1, p3tog, p1, YO, k1, p1
  
• Row 4: k7, p1

Yarn: Stalwart Sock from Slackford Studio. 75% Superwash Merino, 25% Nylon 4 Ply Fingering Weight Sock Yarn.

Color: Woodgrain.

Needles: Options 2.50mm circulars.

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch in stockinette.

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The tree tops are turning green.

It looks like we're going to get through spring without an April snow storm. I like that. A lot.

Celebrating Spring

We're all loving spring so much I was even happy to have to mow the lawn yesterday.

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I've been knitting in the evenings. There isn't enough progress on anything to bother with a knitting picture, so here are some apple blossoms instead.

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Mom Bluebird has four eggs and has begun her two week stint of nest sitting.

I took this with the zoom lens so she wouldn't feel the need to leave the nest box.

She peeks out and watches us during dog walks, but she sits tight and we don't go too close. It's a little chilly yet and I want those eggs to stay warm.

Blue Balls

The Featherweight Sweater is frogged and I've started a loosely knit pullover with the yarn. It looks a bit lumpy since the yarn has kinks from its previous life as a cardigan. A good wash and blocking will take care of that.

Two of the four skeins of Cote d'Azur Hedonist yarn are lighter than the skein I'm knitting now, so something needs to be done design wise to make it look like it's planned for the sweater to have two different colors of yarn.

I'm thinking of knitting the border pattern I was using for Featherweight as a lighter color yoke. Most of the sleeves will need to be light as well. I have many ideas on how to make that look intentional, but don't need to decide on one until I get to the arm split.

Meanwhile I'll soothe my nerves each evening by knitting an inch or so of soft, gentle, very blue, very pretty yarn.

Pattern: A pullover mystery sweater. I don't even know what it's going to be.

Yarn: Hedonist Sock from Slackford Studio, 80% Superwash Merino, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon, 4 Ply Fingering Weight

Color: Cote d'Azur

Needles: US #4, 3.5mm

Gauge: 6 stitches/inch, 9 rows/inch in stockinette.

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More Blue Balls



A Bluebird egg a day for the last three mornings.

Mom Bluebird won't start sitting on them until she's done laying. We've been having frosts at night so I hope they're not freezing.

Start of Sprout

I'm pretty sure it's not good form to hold down one corner of a knitted piece with a handy sock blocker in order to get a picture. Probably not what Kathy in Iowa is going to learn in the "Photographing Your Fiber" class, with Franklin Habit she's taking in Minneapolis this weekend.

I'm not pleased with the way the color is displaying, either. Sprout, the color of the yarn, is a bright summery green. Not as bright as Kelly green, but much prettier than what's showing on my screen.

The sweater has been named Sprout after the color of the yarn.

Sprout is turning out to be a relaxing knit purling round and round on the circular needle with six interruptions for the "vine" motif. I purl slower than I knit, a fact I considered when deciding to knit the lower two-thirds of the sweater in the round.

Pattern: Cultivated Vines by Sara Louise Harper in the May, 2010 Creative Knitting

Pattern Modifications:

• Knitting lower two-thirds of sweater in the round instead of separate front and back.
  
• Pattern goes from size 38 (too small) to size 42 (too big). I'm knitting a between size, size 40 on 240 stitches.
  
• Plan to use neck shaping for size 38 and sleeve shaping for size 42, fudging if necessary.

Yarn: Knitpicks Cotlin, a DK weight 70% Tanguis cotton 30% linen yarn.

Color: Sprout, a summery green.

Needles: Options #4, 3.5mm.

Gauge: 6 stitches/inch, 8 rows/inch in stockinette.

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Marsh Marigolds are in bloom along the creek.

Chat Back for April 3

Answering questions from comments and email.

Lee commented . . .

(In a whisper, to Mrs B.Bird) the box... pick the box...

Keep whispering.

There are two boxes with frequent bluebird sightings, but no nest building has started yet.

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Kathy B asked . . .

If I knit sock yarn on 1s it is good. I don't like 1s. If I knit them on 3's do I need a pattern to make the gauge work? I'm confused. NOT by you. My math mind is trying to grow........

Sock fabric takes a lot of abrasion and needs to be tightly knit, so when knitting socks with sock weight/fingering weight yarn I would never go larger than #1, (2.5mm). I often use the smaller #1 (2.25mm). It's not unheard of to knit fingering weight socks on 0s (2.0mm).

If you want to knit socks with #3 needles, perfectly beautiful socks can be made with sport weight yarn.

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Jan commented. . .

The daffodils must look a cheery splash of colour to you.

Yes indeed.



And the Goldfinches are making good progress with their molting.

Many of the Goldfinch bellies are all yellow now, but the backs still have a ways to go before the males are handsome enough to attract a mate.

A Few Monday Thoughts

I'm still searching for the perfect front band for my Featherweight Cardigan.

This picture shows the difference between a pretty little stitch pattern knit on size 1, 2.5mm needles for a sock and the same pattern swatched on the size 4 needles, 3.5mm, that I'm using for the sweater.

It's finally sinking into my thick skull that the fabric is going to be loose and patterns I love at the "proper" fingering yarn gauge are not going to look as nice going to look different with the bigger needles.

After hours of stockinette fun, I'm almost ready to knit the bottom ribbing. I need to select a border stitch pattern soon.

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Many fat robins hopping around the neighborhood now.

This fence is all that keeps the neighbor's horses in their yard. It always amazes me that an intelligent animal like a horse stays home with such a poor excuse for a fence, but in the almost 20 years we've lived here they've never come over to visit.

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Mrs. Bluebird eyeing a nest box and debating the benefits of the box over an old woodpecker cavity.

Wednesday Wings - Possible Bluebird Tenant

Mr. Bluebird was hanging around one of the nest boxes Monday. He had Mrs. Bluebird nearby, but I didn't spot her until she flew away.

They're checking out the real estate, but they're not ready to start nest building yet.

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Now that we're all used to daytime temps in the 50s with an occasional 60, cold weather is going to return tomorrow. Thursday night the low is supposed to be in the teens. That should give some of the early emerging plants a taste of reality.

March is typically the battle of the seasons. Winter doesn't want to go quietly away without the last word, usually involving snow on the daffodils in April. We still have a full two months in SW Michigan before it's safe to plant annuals.

Early Spring Blooms

The first daffodil.

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The Hellebores bloom along with the Snowdrops. Sometimes before if they're not buried under a pile of snow.

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(Click on comic strip if you need it larger so you can read it.)

The flower pictures above were taken before the serious snow started this evening.

The Fairy Godmother For Women Who Have Put Their Children's Snowsuits on Just One Time Too Many who also works as the Fairy Godmother For Women Who Have Taken Dogs For Cold/Snowy/Icy Winter Walks One Time Too Many has been here and drawn the draperies for me.

I told her I was too old for a bikini so she refused to take a few pounds off my hips.

Start of Featherweight

This is the Featherweight Cardigan by Hannah Fettig

There are several reasons why I would normally bypass this pattern.

• In general, the style is too young for me.
  
• It's too short.
  
• It's too plain.
  
• I don't like rolled edges down the front.
  
• I have to wonder why the model needs to hold down the corners instead of showing them.

Then I saw what Ann did with the pattern. Ann's First Featherweight and Ann's Second Featherweight. Beautiful.

Her projects inspired me to see the pattern as a blank canvas instead of a bland cardigan.

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Still, I didn't seriously consider buying the pattern until Susan at Slackford Studio put her Hedonist Sock (80% Superwash Merino, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon, 4 Ply Fingering Weight) on sale.

I told myself I would go look at the available colors and if there was one I loved with four skeins available I would get them for Featherweight. And there they were - four skeins of Cote d'Azue, a gorgeous slightly variegated blue.

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The pattern is written for lace weight, but I was able to get stitch gauge and row gauge with the Hedonist. Row gauge is just as important as stitch gauge when knitting a raglan.

The wide band going up one side, across the back of the neck, and down the other side is about 3.5 inches wide. It will be patterned in some yet to be determined stitch.

I swatched one stitch pattern that flunked the "pretty in this yarn" test, and am looking forward to swatching a few more and picking my favorite.

Pattern: Featherweight Cardigan by Hannah Fettig

Yarn: Hedonist Sock from Slackford Studio, 80% Superwash Merino, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon, 4 Ply Fingering Weight

Color: Cote d'Azur

Needles: US #4, 3.5mm

Gauge: 6 stitches/inch, 9 rows/inch in stockinette.

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The Gold Finches are making great progress molting from olive to their summertime gold.

We've had a beautiful, springlike week to enjoy before winter returns on Sunday. But winter doesn't have much strength left. The nasty cold weather can't last long now.

Simple Socks and Snowdrops

Dog trainer Gail's second pair of birthday socks were done for delivery last Thursday.

Pattern: Basic cuff down sock pattern on 64 stitches. k7p1 ribbing on cuff and instep.

Yarn: Opal.

Color: Rainforest Emil, a furry monkey.

Needles: Options #1, 2.5mm

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch

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I've never used this yarn before. These socks are an experiment to see if Sister Carrie likes the Panda Soy as well or better than the Panda Cotton.

She'll be getting one pair of each yarn to be sure she receives something she likes in case she doesn't like the Panda Soy.

Panda Soy is nubby. I tried a few simple stitch patterns and they didn't show up except to make the socks look like they were full of knitting errors. Frog, frog. Now the socks are a simple k3,p1 ribbing.



Pattern: Basic cuff down sock pattern on 56 stitches. k3p1 ribbing on cuff and instep.

Yarn: Crystal Palace Panda Soy, 49% bamboo, 33% Cotton, 18% elastic nylon.

Color: Hazelnuts.

Needles: Options #1, 2.5mm

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Snowdrops, one of the first little bulbs to bloom in early spring.