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.    

An April Poem

Hello Gentle Readers. 

Here is a little story about one of my poems. Now and then I walk by a neighborhood park adjacent to a school ground. Most of the park is wide open space where one has a dazzling view of the sky. However, there are several old elms at one end. One of them has a unique structure with a large limb that arcs over the ground or maybe it is two trees grown together. When I see the trees, I wonder how the limbs were formed and how, with children climbing on them, they continue to maintain their integrity. Someday wind, water, and gravity will bring them down.

During the pandemic year and especially in the Spring of lockdown, the school grounds were eerily empty and the park was quiet. At that time many of us walked to get out of the house and also for the solace available in the natural world. One of those April days, I walked by the empty park and noticed a kite hanging in the upper branches of one of the trees. When I returned home, I jotted down my observations and over the next months, I jiggled words and sentences into a poem. Off and on, I worked on it. The poem wouldn't gel so I set it aside. 

This winter I looked at the poem again. When I couldn't find a metaphor, I tried simile. I still don't know if the poem works but regardless I'm sharing it here. As the thoughtful extraordinary poet, Mary Oliver, wrote in her book, Rules for the Dance: A Handbook for Writing and Reading Metrical Verse, "Poetry, imaginatively, takes place within the world. It does not take place on a sheet of paper." (p.67)

At the Edge of an Empty Park, April 25, 2020 *

At the edge of an empty park under

a sky broader than any bank of glass

the wind carries a message

to a broken kite in the elm.

It is like standing on a prairie ridge

listening to grasses rattle

watching an unknown insect chirp

then launch itself over your ankle

which is nothing but a broken limb,

a clump of dung, a bittersweet vine.

Sensation know by hinge of joints

dusted with the breath of a dandelion. 

* copyright Jane A. Wolfe

This poem is part of a collection of poems that reference the Prairie. The photos were taken this week so the kite is long gone but the school grounds were full of the sounds from children at play. 

Old Dog, New Tricks

Hello Gentle Readers. Over the weekend the birch leaves opened and the catkins on the tree turned yellow green. They make a mess but I have a broom and after all, the tree is just being a tree. This morning I watch the changeable April sky. Clouds, shadows, sunlight and bursts of fresh green are everywhere. Monday evening and into Tuesday several thunderstorms rolled through bringing much needed rain. In the backyard linden tree, there is what I've thought was a squirrel's drey. Now and then a blue jay perches on the edge. Yesterday I saw common grackle peering into the drey/nest. It is on the smaller side of a drey or maybe it has always been a nest. I wonder how this story will end. 

This Wednesday post links with Kat and the other Unravelers. I am happy to report my sweater is finished and it fits fairly well. I enjoyed knitting the color work yoke and once I fiddled with the fit, I also enjoyed working with the yarn. Warm wool sweater weather is over for this year but it's nice to know it will be waiting for me in the fall.  I keep knitting on the Sophie Shawl. Last night I reached the widest part of the shawl and began decreasing. 

I frogged the textured sock in the blue/gray yarn. The texture wasn't showing well and honestly after the handspun shawl and the sweater, I wanted to knit with some other color. I cast on a shortie sock with some new-to-me techniques. This pattern includes a back tab created with short rows. I modified the pattern to incorporate a shadow-wrap heel. I've never knit this heel so as I get further down the foot, I'm interested in trying it on for fit. 

In the spirit of having three knitting projects on the go and trying another new technique, I cast on the Same As it Ever Was Hat by Sarah. The pattern is well written and includes an easy-to-follow tutorial for the cast on. This new-to me yarn is working well with the pattern. And yes, that is a lilac, a good three weeks early, from the yard.

Reading has been a little slow. I'm enjoying walking and working in the yard. All the fresh air means I read myself to sleep much more quickly these days. I've read the beginning two stories in the novel North Woods by Daniel Mason. The novel has an interesting point of view with the constant being a cabin and some land in New England. I'm reserving judgement until I get further into the book. 

So here you have an old dog in a new sweater learning a few new knitting techniques. For now, the sky has cleared and the wind is gusting. What are you making this week? 

Forks to deter the squirrels. It's worth a try. 

Happy Spring

Hello Gentle Readers. As I write this post, a light breeze brushes small pink buds on the Ornamental Pear Tree in the front yard. In the backyard, the tiniest of purple lilac buds are visible. Yesterday I saw a few wild violets blooming in a yard. These flowers are two and maybe three weeks earlier than in previous years. As the old song goes, "the times, they are a changing."

Wednesday is the day to link with Kat and other Unravelers.  In making news, the infamous sweater is finished and drying on the blocking mats. I had a little trouble counting decrease intervals and so did some re-knitting on the second sleeve. Such is the life of a knitter listening to an audiobooks. 

I'm back to working on the Sophie Shawl. It's a peaceful garter stitch knit. When I get to midpoint of the mohair yarn, I begin the decreases.  I finished the appliqué on the table runner. Perhaps in honor of the eclipse, although I didn't plan it that way, I added a little outline stitch (dark rose color) around the full moon. It doesn't show very well in a photo. The pattern doesn't call for any embroidery so I'm creating as I stitch. 

As for reading, I'm listening to Emma by Jane Austen via the CraftLit podcast. Continuing with a light reading theme from the last post, I'm reading a book my sister loaned me, A Bakery in Paris by Aimie K. Runyan. This is a novel of historical fiction with two storylines taking place in 1870 and 1946. Recipes for French pastries are a nice bonus in this story of two women faced with hard choices. 

Last Friday, I spent a glorious hour and a half weeding garden beds. The sun on my back and the smell of dirt and green plants is refreshing after a long winter.  This time of the year weeding doesn't seem like a chore. I plan to enjoy the feeling for as long as it lasts because come July it won't be so much fun. This week promises beautiful cool spring days perfect for being outdoors.  

Happy Spring.

Ravelry Link

Sophie Shawl

Hello April

Hello Gentle Readers. Here, April begins with cloudy cool days and blustery winds. The tulips in the neighborhood bloom, though the flowers are tightly closed against the cool days. I often walk past a small draw with old trees. Saturday the sun came out and the birds were celebrating so I turned on Sound ID in the Merlin App. A few minutes later I heard a meadowlark. I know that five note melody by heart.  Meadowlarks prefer the open countryside and I've never heard one in town.  I couldn't see him but Merlin also identified the call so I wasn't imagining things. 

Today is Unraveled Wednesday with Kat and friends.  Around the middle of March, I pulled together fabrics for a table runner. In between the sweater sleeves, I've done some applique´.  When the applique´ is finished, I may embellish the top with embroidery or quilt a few stars into the background. Right now it looks rather stark to me.  

I am on the home stretch with my winter sweater. The first sleeve is finished and I am knitting the second one. I've enjoyed the project but will be happy to be done. This last sleeve feels like a bit of a slog so I hope to finish it this week. 

I am spinning a braid of BFL/Silk. The colors remind me of the irises and lilacs that will bloom soon. I split the braid and am spinning two halves end to end. I have no plan except to enjoy the colors and the fiber. The first two smaller bumps are now on the first bobbin and I have just begun the second. 

This week I'm reading two lighter novels. I'm listening to The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods. The novel with two storylines and many literary references is set Ireland. It contains magical realism and at times is a little unbelievable. As in, one heroine, trying to escape her dominating brother and a forced marriage, is befriended by James Joyce. I'm not too far into the story but enjoying it. I was in the library picking up a hold and saw The Lantern's Dance, #18 in the Mary Russell, Sherlock Holmes series, by Laurie R. King so I brought it home. It's hard to resist a new book about familiar characters. I like Russell with her bent toward scholarship, her determination, and her view of women's roles.  

Oh my goodness, the wind blew away the clouds and for the moment, the sun is shining. Today feels like March but the green in the landscape, including weeds, says April. It's time to get to work on the ever-present Creeping Charley. 

What does April look like in your area?

Sweater Adventures

Hello Gentle Readers. This morning is a chilly gray end to March. Late last week rain fell and then a snow shower blew through on Saturday. Yesterday morning greeted us with another dusting of snow. The days are cold, some windy, some still. March is winding down. The winter juncos still flit in and out of the yard but this morning I saw a gold finch sporting his brighter yellow feathers. Small early iris bloomed just before the cold returned. The friend that shared them with me called them "purple flags." Years ago I planted them all around the front of the perennial flower bed but very few remain. My friend, an avid gardener, moved away and then died several years ago. These little flowers are a sweet reminder of time spent with her. 

Today I am happy to be posting with Kat and the Unvavelers. My computer overheated again. The shop here is very good and ran the second analysis at no charge but couldn't find any malfunction. Thanks to some ideas from my son, it is running normally. He thought a piece of software might be getting caught in endless looping. I also bought a new power strip for good measure. 

Since I last posted, I fixed this sweater. How I ended up with so many extra inches is slightly mysterious. After blocking, both my row and stitch gauge were accurate but I had misread the bust measurement for the size I was making, thinking it was two inches smaller than was printed. That doesn't account for all of the difference though. Maybe the 1.5 inches I added to the yoke depth and the construction also contributed to the extra inches? 

Since the yoke fit fairly well, I ripped back to the sleeve separation and cast on nine fewer stitches under each armhole. I knit two rounds and then decreased two additional stitches, one on each side of the back. Twenty fewer stitches removed four inches. Then I knit about an inch, blocked the sweater, (see the visible line in the photo) and it fit better. I knit the ribbing at the bottom of the sweater twice as the first go-around looked sloppy. Hopefully the visible line disappears on the next blocking.

Since the number of sleeve stitches is now different from the pattern, I calculated a new set of  sleeve decreases. I'll try it on soon to check the sleeve circumference.  Although I'd rather not, I'm prepared to rework parts of this sleeve.  I've also washed and re-skeined the ramen yarn.  There you have it, probably more than you ever wanted to know about this sweater.  Who knows what will happen next. It's a good thing I'm enjoying the yarn. 

The light is lousy today for photos. Anyway, I've added a few rows to the Sophie Shawl. While pondering the sweater, I cast on a sock but I haven't made much progress. 

Last night I finished The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson. This fiction is an example of a small press, Milkweed, publishing a well written book that might not garner attention of the bigger publishers.  I loved the story of the generations of Dakho´ta women passing down seeds and caring for plants as a way to preserve their families, land, and history. The characters are beautifully written. Wilson writes a reverence for the land, the water, the plants, family ties, and the people. I will be thinking about this story for a long time. 

I now return to Willa Cather's The Song of the Lark. I finished rereading it last week. I previously wrote about Cather's negative stereotyping of Native Americans and Mexicans. Near the end of that novel is a racial slur in reference to a hotel employee. I reread the section and honestly, nothing in the story depends upon that racist comment. After reading the slur on top of the stereotypes, the book lost much of it's luster for me. I realize that 1915, the date of original publication, was a different time but I hope any modern discussion of the novel includes that material. I am a different reader than I was the first time I read that novel.  

So friends, I hope all is well and that your making treats you well. 

Ravelry Links

Maddox Sweater

Basket Weaver Ribbed Socks

TGIF 3.15.24

Hello Gentle Readers. Spring arrives early here. While walking, I notice the green leaf tips on ornamental pear trees and the red fringe on maple leaves. These daffodils survived onslaught from the squirrels and bloom bravely on this chilly morning. On Tuesday, we drove two hours west of Lincoln to see the spring migration of the sandhill cranes. Once again, we stood on the pedestrian bridge over the Platte River at sunset. It was a perfect evening for being outdoors, warm for March and no wind. 

This Friday, I am thinking about the miraculous migration of so many birds. The record numbers of cranes migrating is heartening. The smell of the river, the ancient music of the cranes, the setting sun over the river are all part of the familiar experience. We arrived about mid-afternoon and found a spot to watch them feed and dance in a field. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission estimates the cranes consume 1600 tons of waste corn from nearby fields. Counts vary but well over 500,000 cranes spend time in the Platte River Valley. Conservation efforts to preserve the habitat and educate landowners as well as bird lovers are ongoing. This link will take you to a short video about the migration. This year, just after sundown, birds roosted on the sandbar visible in the distance. That doesn't always happen. Sometimes they roost in another location.

I am grateful for rain that fell Wednesday evening and Thursday morning. Our winter season has been dry. It's good to see damp earth, if only for a day or two. The rhythm of the seasons, this gradual unfolding of the Spring, even if early, is reassuring.

I am inspired by the gentle comradery of strangers standing on the bridge. From the elderly gentleman pushing his wife in a wheelchair, the persons who made a space for her to see through the railing, the families teaching young children about sandhill cranes and the river, to the gentleman offering to share his binoculars with a fellow observer, everyone was kind. Standing shoulder to shoulder, we engaged in quiet (so as not to frighten the birds) conversation about the evening, the river, the sunset, the cranes, other natural wonders, and home towns. I listened to voices of women from Minnesota eager for a glimpse of Spring, a couple from Colorado, and a fellow Lincolnite who comes every year.  A grandmother helped a little girl look at deer crossing the river. There were no raised voices or fraught accusations about red or blue states but instead a quiet wonder in this evening. Perfect strangers spent a few peaceful hours together. Here lies hope. 

As for fun, I gathered some supplies for a project that's been brewing in my mind. I plan to create  a version of a table runner I heard about a few years ago. Recently I ordered a back issue of Taproot Magazine to read more about the project. For me, patterns are only suggestions, so I'll likely adapt it as I go. 

I wish you a good last weekend of winter.