Gray Spring Morning

Hello on this gray morning. A light rain begins to fall and the air smells like damp Spring. The wind has died down and the morning feels very quiet. The ornamental pear trees in our neighborhood begin to leaf out. A starling builds a nest in the scraggly bushes in front of our home. Her work poses a dilemma. The bushes need to be replaced. We left the job until spring because little birds shelter there during the winter. Is it better to remove the nest before she lays her eggs or will that leave her without a place to raise her young? And who I am to destroy this creature's home? I know the starlings aren't in any danger of dying out but still. Perhaps it would be better remove the bushes and replant in the early Fall. I don't think the world needs anymore bullies. Ironically, several years ago on another chilly Spring day, I began writing a poem about a starling needing a nest.

Today I link with Kat and the Unravelers for Wednesday posts about making and reading. I have made some progress on a few projects. I crocheted one more potholder since I had the yarn leftover from the first one. I haven't used it yet to know whether it protects hands without being too bulky. Honestly I don't think I'll make any more potholders. I like to knit a wash/dish cloth to use or give as a gift but I'll buy potholders. Crocheting with worsted weight cotton quickly became a chore.

This first sock has a heel. The magic of turning a heel and creating a gusset is my favorite part of sock knitting.  

This week I devoted my evening knitting to the Prairie Shawl. When last I wrote about this shawl, it looked a little different. When I knit shawls with multiple colors, I use a trial and error approach for adding in colors. Knitting with this handspun is a fun adventure. The slight stickiness of this Polworth yarn makes ripping out rows and slipping stitches back on the needle very easy. I may add in a little commercial yarn if I run short of this batch of handspun. 

In honor of Poetry Month, I'm reading Everything Comes Next, a collection of poems by Naomi Shihab Nye, who served as the Young People's Poet Laureate. She is one of my favorite poets. This book contains both previously published and new poems. One of my favorite prose poems, "Gate 4-A" is included in the collection. I also love the epigraph by Gregory Maguire: "May we regard the reading life of the young as the most vital homeland protection strategy going - for our home is this planet and our family the wide-flung tribes who shelter therein."

I finished rereading The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich. Erdrich's beautiful writing contrasts with the sometimes difficult subject matter. The ideas of love, forgiveness, and miracles are woven into stories about Ojibwe and a Catholic Priest driven to serve the residents of a North Dakota reservation. I look forward to the Erdrich-along discussion about the novel. 

On this gray Spring day, I wish you warm days to come.