Windy Days

 

Hello Gentle Readers. Here, the unfolding Spring is marked by many windy days. I have no scientific documentation but this April seems like one of the windiest ever. Now and then we have a quiet day but more often the wind blows a gale. Dead branches and twigs are being cleared from the trees. This must be part of nature's spring cleaning. It should be so easy. Could we turn on a fan and magically dust the house? Just kidding.  

Sunday was a rare day of bright sunshine, temps in the high sixties, and no wind. Lance and I drove to a trailhead east of town and spent a few hours walking. The air was full of bird song and wild plums bloomed. Every now and then, I caught a hint of their fragrance. On our return to the parking area, we surprised a coiled bull snake sunning himself in the middle of the trail. He raised his head and gave a loud hiss. We got out of his way. It's surprising how fast two 70+ year olds can move when motivated.  

This Wednesday with Kat and the Unravelers finds me working on the same projects. I'm knitting on the Sophie Shawl. This weekend I learned to pay attention to catching the thin strand of mohair, especially on the i-cord edge. I took out an inch or so - twice to correct that mistake. Otherwise it's a sweet project. I've worked on the shortie sock in odd moments and decided to try ribbing around the instep to keep the sock in place inside my sneakers. 

I've done a bit of stitching on the table runner. I have no grand plan but am just playing with some free hand embroidery in the spirit of "slow stitching." Next time I'll try to take a close-up of some of the embroidery. 

I'm almost finished reading North Woods by Daniel Mason. The structure of the novel, twelve chapters each representing a month of the year, interspersed with poems, other articles, and artwork is interesting. The nature writing is elegant and Mason is quite witty. The novel reads like loosely connected short stories with some having more appeal than others.  As usual, I sometimes wish for more about a particular character or story. The house and the woods are the constant and sometimes more important than the human beings who come and go. I've enjoyed the book but I know reviews are mixed. 

This week I hope to finish cleaning up the garden beds. I'm going to try sowing salad green seeds in a large pot, covering it with some kind of mesh to keep out the critters. It's an experiment. Because readers asked, so far forks in the pansies have kept the squirrels out of the pots. They aren't fool proof but a bit of a deterrent. Last year, they jumped the forks.

Take good care in these last days of April.