Posted in knitting, Living Life Well

Mary Delaney in the Garden

Yesterday I finished the first sock using KDDs design Mary Delaney. During a break in the rain, the sock and I took a stroll through the garden.

Pinned to a panicle of the Oakleaf Hydrangea. As you can see, the blooms are close to opening fully.

Mary Delaney on the rock edging surrounding the herbs. You see lemon thyme here. Very fragrant and excellent in chicken or fish dishes.

Hanging around with the garden peas. This variety is Sugarsnap.

Some of the paeonies haven’t bloomed yet, but buds are swollen. This stop resulted in a few surprised ants walking across the sock.

On the trellis with some clematis blooms. Notice some of the fluffy seedheads. They are fun to touch – springy, but soft as corn silk.

The sock has come to rest on my concrete statue of a garden cherub. I call him Dickon, after the character in A Secret Garden who charmed the wild animals.

I hope you were as amused as I was by this fanciful photo shoot uniting knitting and nature. When the rain starts up again, I’ll cast on sock no. 2.

Posted in Living Life Well

A Morning Stroll through the Garden

What a difference a year makes. This spring, we have had sufficient rainfall, and the plants are blooming madly. Bill and I both took photos this morning. Here are mine, taken with my little point and shoot canon.

  1. Solomon’s Seal under the oak tree. 2. Catmint with an onion background. 3. Chives growing in a concrete block. 4. Clematis with blooms the size of my palm. 5. A few paeonies. 6. Mouse-eared coreopsis nestled among various pansies. 7. Crepe myrtle shoots. 8. A collection of textured leaves. 9. Woodland columbines.

The bearded iris are just starting to bloom, but my photos of them didn’t turn out well. Perhaps I can persuade Bill to share a few of his.

There is a storm coming tonight and these blooms may end up shredded by wind. A life on the prairie has its trials. (sigh) It’s best to enjoy nature’s floral bounty promptly, for tomorrow it may be gone.

Posted in Living Life Well

Christmas To-Dos: TA DONE

My collaborators for the holiday festivities:

As we approached the end of Christmas week, it became clear that we wouldn’t be able to complete every joyous job. The weather was a bit of an obstacle, and we also ran out of time. Some in our group felt that we needed to recognize stuff we did that wasn’t on the list.

So we did.

Extra Stuff is Written in Black Sharpie.

Don’t forget to bring your black sharpie to Christmas week to write in your choices,