SPRINGY SPRING AND A WHOLE LOT OF RAIN
Spring is here at long last. We have had a very dry winter but the skies have opened up at long last and poured enormous amounts of water over Northern California. We are grateful though a whopping deep snow pack would have been appreciated. Though snow fell yesterday in Grass Valley there isn't a base. It was gone by today.
Overall, there have periods of warmth and the plants and grasses are literally growing right before your eyes. (What's that squeaking noise?) The birds are making lots of chirping noises and checking out the bird boxes (and the cats). I have high hopes that we will have a decent fruit harvest (there were no stone fruit last year). I've already been cutting rhubarb for sorbets (with strawberries - luscious. I had a wonderful recipe for gelato that I lost years ago and I am on a quest to recreate it). I've also used the strawberry/rhubarb stewed on top of custard - divine!
The photo above, another Sobretto with a bit of a twist. I used some pin tuck fabric and cut on the edge instead of on the fold creating a panel. I then cut the panel at a right angle so that the pin tucks go horizontally not vertically and sewed some beads down the front. A little fancier, a lot of fun. It was warm enough on Easter Sunday for me to wear one of my Sobrettos. I found that the shoulder sections kept wanting to wander off my shoulders and exposing my bra straps. I countered by sewing in a little strap with a snap into my latest effort. I will tuck the strap under my bra straps thus holding things in place.
My first attempt of knitting with real honest to goodness lace weight yarn has been a study in patience and focus. Thank goodness for lifelines (a piece of yarn threaded through so that when you totally screw up you have the ability to frog back to that point and not lose everything). I've knit forward, I've tinked back. Okay, I've done outright frogging to my lifeline. More than once. More than twice. I think I have the hang of it now. I literally cannot even listen to music while I'm knitting this. Hopefully, that will change. The little I have accomplished so far shows me that it is well worth the effort. It's delicate and light. I like it a lot and it will be the perfect gift for a very nice person who had No.Idea. Hehehe.
THE GARDEN
Single flower from a tree peony. There are eight blossoms this year. The plant is three years old. I can't wait until it has many, many blooms. They are huge. They are glorious.
It grows! Things blossom! The redbud in all it's glory. Below, succulents around the pond. The color changes from an almost lime green to rusty reds and bright yellow.
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Olive, helping with the pots. Looking beautiful as always.
Opal smelling the primroses and dreaming up trouble. She's such a smarty pants.
posted by Earin Marybird @ 8:19 PM
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