Wednesday, April 20, 2022

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. 


 


8 comments:

  1. Turning the heel and shaping the gusset are magical - and I also really enjoy grafting the toe stitches together and finishing! I'll be starting The Last Report tomorrow; it seems very different from the other books of hers I've read.

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  2. I always enjoy your descriptions of the weather and wildlife that surround you. I don't have any tender feelings towards starlings, but she is just trying to make a home for her family (that may grow up to be bullies). Your prairie shawl is lovely and I'm glad it's so enjoyable to knit. I think everyone who knits socks stops to appreciate the magic of turning a heel when we do it. I'm going to look for that poetry collection!

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  3. I love your knitting and your description of your weather. You always describe it so beautifully. You always read interesting, thought-provoking books. I'm off to lookup and read more about the book you reread. Enjoy the rest of the week.

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  4. Every time I turn a sock heel, I stop to marvel at the magic of it. I don't know who first figured out how to do that, but that person was very smart.

    I have no advice to offer about your starling, but I think you are very kind to think of her. Most people probably wouldn't take her into account when deciding what to do with their landscaping.

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  5. Starlings can really be nuisance-birds here in my corner of the world . . . but, still. It's hard to disrupt a nesting bird. Have you looked up the the usual time span for nesting-to-fledging for starlings? For most birds, it's quite a quick turnaround. . . so maybe you'd still have time to remove the bushes before spring is over? (I've made many gardening decisions based on nesting birds. . . )

    I love Naomi Shihab Nye's poetry. In fact, I have been reading that very book this month! And there is nothing more magical in knitting than turning the heel of a sock.

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  6. Thank you for the wishes. Iwi11 take them! We have sunshine and 60s and it fee1s so so good. I 1ove your sock. I was going through this shaking thing from medication and I Put my socks aside for a bit. I did finish a gift shaw1 and took photos today. I wi11 start another tonight. It is good baseba11 knitting . A1so, I 1ike the 1ook of garter as it drapes and stretches a bit. I've 1earned to 1ove garter after oh, 14 years~

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  7. the best laid plans of pairing colors can sometimes need tweaking while knitting. I do that with colorwork sweaters all the time. Love your knitting! we are heading into a picture perfect weekend and I will be soaking up the sunshine while it is here because I bet you it will disappear once more.

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  8. I love the magic of turning a heel... there is nothing that makes be appreciate the knitters who figured this out eons before I began knitting.

    And I simply loved The Last Report on the Miracles so much! :)

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