Archive for the 'seasons' Category

Marsha

Blizzard Jonas 2016

“Snowblowers?! We don’t need no stinking snowblowers!”

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Marsha

Snow

20121129-004201.jpgThe first snowfall of the season arrived two mornings ago. Just what we needed to ease into the Christmas season after a pretty warm autumn.

Marsha

Yup, it’s winter all right

Here in the Philadelphia area, we didn’t get the blizzard that the media had predicted. The day after Christmas did bring us some snow, though. There’s enough to cover the ground, but gusting winds have pushed it all over place, making it hard to determine the total accumulation. In some spots of my yard, the drifts are half a foot deep; in others, the grass is peeking through.

The buildup to this storm was huge: in short, pretty much everyone was panicking. At the beginning of 2010, we had Snowmaggedon and the Snowpocalypse, so people are calling this one Snowprahwinfrey2010 (on Twitter, at least), which I find hilarious.

Marsha

Happy solstice, everyone!

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Marsha

Things that grow

My yard and garden have been busy these past couple of weeks…

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Marsha

Wandering Winterthur

We spent the Friday before Easter at one of our favorite places, Winterthur. In early spring, it is even more amazing than usual.

Signs of spring are everywhere! I know I’ve posted lots of flower photos lately, but I just can’t help it: the arrival of spring is just so awesome!

We walked (or ran) the labyrinth…
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…built a fairy house…
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…looked at magnolia buds (and this is right about the time Sylvia decided to remove her shoes for the rest of the day)…
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…marveled at the flowering trees and shrubs (that magnolia in the distance is at least 60 feet tall, by the way)…
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…delighted in daffodils…
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…and peeked at some fiddleheads.
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Marsha

Spring peepers

I love their happy song! Do you have them where you live?

Marsha

Spring has sprung

Actually, I think we may have skipped spring and headed straight for summer: today’s high was 92 degrees. In the first week of April.

It’s been so warm and sunny the past two weeks that the trees and flowers are all freaking out. Instead of a springtime blossom show that rolls out over six weeks or so, everything is in flower right now. I’m happy to see spring flowers again, but a little bummed that we’re getting everything all at once. The dogwoods are just about ready to pop–about three weeks ahead of schedule.

Here’s the first crocus that appeared in my yard, on 10 March (not even one full month ago):
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Ten days later, it had been joined by about 200 more:
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Five days later, the first daffodil had opened up:
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That was a week and a half ago. Today the hyacinths and daffodils are in full bloom, the forsythias are nearly spent, and the tulips are just about ready to step into the limelight. Usually the dogwoods and azaleas flower in early May. This year, we might start seeing their blooms next week.
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Marsha

Busy

Guess what happened again yesterday?

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(I love how rhododendron leaves curl up when it’s really cold outside.) Fortunately, only about an inch fell this time.

We’ve been busy with crafty stuff around here, partly because of being snowbound. We do go out to play in the snow, but after a while it’s time to come inside to get warm and enjoy some hot chocolate and do some inside stuff for a while. The other day, Sylvia and I build a nest: I hot-glued together some pieces of craft felt into a bowl-ish shape, and she filled it with lengths of yarn. Then she asked me to make a bird for her, so I made up this one:

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I’m in the home stretch of the Wonderful Wallaby I’m knitting for myself–working on the neck placket now (woot!). I’ve decided not to knit the hood. The result won’t be an exact match to the hooded Wallabies I’ve knit for Sylvia and Jan, but I know I will never wear the hood, so there’s no point in wasting yarn and time on it. I expect to finish up this sweater in the next few days. In the meantime, I’ve been wearing a sweater that I finished during the summer…and just now realize that I never wrote about here.

It’s a simple bottom-up in-the-round raglan knit in Wool of the Woods. It’s very toasty and has a buttoned opening on the front-left raglan seam. (Because the neckline is so wide, I don’t ever need to unbutton the sweater to get it on or off.) My favorite part? The buttons:

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I bought these buttons when Sylvia was maybe a year old. They are pewter, and I bought two of each of the five designs, thinking they would be so adorable on a sweater for her. Unfortunately, they are rather heavy–too heavy for a fine knit. They work well on this raglan seam, though; because it’s on an angle, I think that helps prevent the buttons from sagging.

Marsha

The newest member of our family

For all that we have about three feet of snow on the ground (it was more, but it’s settled over the past few days), it’s not particularly sticky stuff. I really wanted to make a snowman today, so I had to wing it.

First I made a huge mound for the body. Then I got lucky and found a very compacted chunk for the head. Jan and Sylvia helped with the decorations: an old scarf, gloves from the 2002 NYC Marathon (no, I wasn’t in it, but I was there to watch my brother-in-law race, and Nike reps handed these gloves out to spectators), a wool hat that was made in Afghanistan but bought in Oregon twelve years ago, gumball buttons, and an acorn smile. They raided the recycling bin in the garage for the eyes and nose.

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I like to imagine that he’s standing in our front yard yelling, “I’m number one! I’m number one!” to all passersby.

(Project 365 | 2010: 14 February)

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