After our long, long, loooooong winter, this weekend has been quite nice…about 65 degrees or so. Yesterday, I had planned to dye a bunch while the kids were outside playing, but first the neighbor kid came over (my kids are great together, but add one more and interesting things happen) and then the power on our whole block went out, plunging my studio to pitch black, and my microwave and roaster inoperable.
It worked out well. I actually (gasp) went outside. I brought up a wool/mohair roving I had dyed (I will show that off tomorrow), set Lizzie Lendrum up outside, and went at it. After I got the rhythm going and could concentrate less on the spinning, I noticed things around the neighborhood. A landscape crew was cleaning up the lawn of the house for sale near us (anyone handy and want to live across the street from their yarn addiction? It’s a fixer upper, but in the woods!), there was cleaning and burning across the ravine, and the music of chainsaws and leaf blowers ripped through the pretty songs of the cardinals.
My other love, besides fiber and color, is gardening. It has really been bothering me for awhile that our yard looked terrible (we have oak trees, so we are talking acorns and branches everywhere). I had hoped to work with my husband and children to get it done, but honestly there is no free weekend in sight. At just that moment, my dear child comes up to me and says those magic words, “Mommy, I’m bored!”.
Didn’t need to ask me twice. Out came boots and rakes and gloves and wheelbarrows, and we attacked the front yard. Ah….much better. I cleared away all of last year’s stubble from my flower garden, too….and it looks like most of it will be coming back this year. Huzzah!
Of course the child labor didn’t last long, but they were surprisingly helpful. The oldest is waiting for her money (“I’ll do it if you pay me $1”), I insisted she only worked 50c worth. We are still in negotiations.
I cleared out my vege garden boxes, too, and found that my chives and oregano came back. Word is still out on the rosemary (guessing not….too many -0 days this winter) and thyme (showing signs of hopefulness). I also did some visual planning of where I plan to build more boxes this year. Our home is on a hill that is slowly eroding. That spot happens to be the only place in our yard with enough sun for fruits & vegetables, so it works well to need to put planting boxes there. I am dreading the work of putting the boxes in, but it will be worth it.
Right now I’d love to be outside a spinning away again. My husband and kids are at a baseball game. Me, I’m doing taxes. (Yes, I know, late…..we’ve been go-go-go since the last week in February, and I grabbed the chance to do them without interruption. Of course, I am still procrastinating by writing so verbously here. 😛
