7 Quick Takes (Vol 164)

The sky is cloudless and blue. The wind is soft. The frost has melted (yes we had scattered frost last night). And it is time to blather. You know the deal. After you have come down from the natural high that is my 7 Quick Takes you need to click on the picture to be whisked, at the speed of John Edward’s downfall from Presidential hopeful to scum of the Earth, over to Betty Beguiles to see what everyone else has been doing.

May the Blather be ever at your back.

1.
The spreading of the mulch is finally done! I finished yesterday afternoon after a 4 hour battle with the pile.

That is always such a nice feeling to scrap up the last of the stuff and then blow any mulch dust off the driveway. And then look at the huge stain on the driveway that will take weeks of rain to finally wash away.

And no, I am not getting out there to scrub the driveway.

Although I thought briefly about it. But I restrained myself.

Spring mulching is one of those tasks that I always start with such enthusiasm and end with loathing and a sigh of relief.

2.
I cast off the first tee-shirt yarn rug last night and oh it is so cute. I am not putting a picture up yet because I will post a “how to” next week. What I will say is that it is a bit harder to knit with this yarn than I had anticipated and the rug, the smaller of the two that I am going to do at the moment, really weighs a lot more that I thought it would.

But they are so cute.

And I am now going to be obsessed with tee-shirt yarn for a bit so be prepared.

3.
It is the little things in life that make us happy.

My Hoya is blooming. There is rejoicing here at Chez Knit. Or at least I am rejoicing.

If you have never grown a Hoya then you might think that the fact that it has flowered would not be a big deal….but you would be wrong. Hoyas are tricky plants. They like to be root bound, they don’t like to be repotted into a bigger pot if at all possible. In fact, they have a hard time blooming if you do. And it takes a long time for a new plant to bloom. My current Hoya is an off shoot of my first Hoya (which inexplicably died about 5 years ago). My first Hoya came from cuttings from Mimi’s Hoya which came from cuttings from Grandma Pringle’s Hoya. My first Hoya took 10 YEARS before it bloomed for the first time.

Yes, I said 10 YEARS. This time it was only 5 years and that was most likely because I was able to save a cutting that already had a flower peduncle on it. Once the plant flowers it will continue to flower in the same place every time as well as adding new places.

And how did I actually know that the Hoya was blooming, considering the fact that I wasn’t looking for it to bloom for several more years?

I could smell the blooms from two rooms away.

HHBL was most startled when I got up, ran into the sunroom and danced around in joy.

Like I said, it is the little things.

4.

Mrs. Robin has made a nest way high up under the eaves of the house right outside my office window. I am hoping to be able to hear baby birds soon.

She gives me the evil bird stink eye every time I go out there to check. Trust me momma bird you are 20 feet up and I am not going to disturb the nest.

At least she isn’t dive bombing me when I am out there.

5.
And speaking of birds…..

The hummingbirds are back. Squeeeeeeee! They showed up all of a sudden around Sunday or Monday. Thank goodness I already had the feeders out for them.

This is a picture that I took last year and it is fuzzy because of the darn light filtering screens on the windows. But I am sure that I will be putting up more hummingbird photos as the season goes by.

I am totally obsessed with them.

6.
Why is it when Spring and Summer roll around that I want to just sit around and read all day. The library looks so inviting and smells so full of books. And I just don’t care about going outside to weed.

Perhaps it is because I used to spend all summer reading when I was growing up.

I worked very hard yesterday spreading the rest of the mulch. I think I deserve some extended reading time.

At least that is my story and I am sticking to it.

7.
The usual end of the week “camera dump” from the little camera.

This Is All I Got

Today was a day full of sunshine.

Full of soft wind in the trees and the smell of grass and the sounds of summer.

This was a day filled with mulch. Or at least 4.5 hours of it was. And I am pooped.

I am done in.

I am sitting in a chair and may never get out of it again.

But the mulch is done. Finished. Spread. Conquered.

I mulch no more!!

And so the only thing I have for you are some pictures. Just a few that have come in from Papa's ongoing slide scan project.

I apologize in advance. Hide the children. Pull the shades.

This is another in my "Big Red" series. We will call this one "Big Red and the Footed PJs". No hair, demented grin.

Oh and the oriental rug that Big Red is sitting on? That currently resides here at Chez Knit. And yes there is a story attached to it. You are surprised at this?

Caught in the act of raiding the cupboard! Obviously going for the nutritional oatmeal.

I am so sorry for subjecting you to this display of tights covered diaper. And sagging, wrinkly tights to boot which just adds insult to injury.

An exhibitionist even at an early age. I have no shame.

Well It SEEMED Like A Good Idea

Oh those ideas in life that seem really good and really fun on the surface. Those things that come into your life and you go,

WOW, that looks like it is going to be a boat load of fun

And then they aren’t.

Yes those ideas.

This was one of those ideas…..

A bunch of years ago HHBL and I looked at each other and thought,

You know, a TANDEM bike that we can ride TOGETHER would be such a boat load of fun that we won’t ever want to come home and feed the kids. Lets buy one!

And so we did. And you can see that we have a lovely and in really good shape tandem bike. It isn’t top of the line by any means but it isn’t a bottom feeder either. And we paid good, solid money for it.

And then we rode it a total of four times.

Four. Times.

And that might even be a generous count now that I think about it. It might actually be three times. And I don’t think we ever left the neighborhood. This bad baby has maybe 25 miles on her. She is like the car that was driven to church and back by a little old lady from Pasedena.

Ignore the flat tire, that is immaterial to the discussion.

STOP looking at that flat tire!!!

Now back to our story. So, why did HHBL and I stop riding the tandem? Or to be more precise why did we never actually start riding the tandem.

There were a number of reasons that I can think of but the biggest factor is that when I am occupying the “second seat” I just can’t see where we are going. Call me crazy but I really like to see where I am going when I am pedaling down the road.

Silly I know, but there it is.

I have no control over anything when I am back there and I like to have control of my world. I like to see what is ahead of me. It doesn’t make for a great ride when you have to lean to the right or to the left to see the path ahead.

It tends to make your tandem partner mutter at you and tell you just to stop that and pedal!

Of course there is one good thing about the tandem. I can have this in front of me.

Well hello there!!!

But then I can also have that view when I am riding on Hi Ho Silver. And if I am on Hi Ho Silver then I can also ride beside HHBL and talk to him and enjoy his scintillating witticisms and not just ride behind him with no power to say GO LEFT! GO RIGHT! Can I draft behind you because I am tired.

And sometimes I can ride WAY behind him because my biking mojo has just given up and gone to get a beer and some pretzels, leaving me panting and retching by the side of the road.

Not that that has ever actually happened. No, nothing to see there. Move along.

So, the tandem has been listed on Craigs List to see if we can sell her. She needs to go to a good home where people will love her and ride her rather than perpetually languishing in the shed, taking up space that the mice need to build their new condo.

Anyone want to buy a tandem bike with 25 miles on it?

Nature Can Be A Pain Sometimes

I am indulging in an afternoon cup of The Elixir of Life. Coffee for those not in the know about this wondrous brew.

I have been trying NOT to indulge in the afternoon caffeinated delight but today I just have to have some. I cannot get through the day or knitting this evening without a bit of a “pick me up”.

I tried tea but it just wasn’t doing it for me. Still yawning. Still dragging.

Why you might be asking yourself. Well I will tell you. It is because of this….

This is a Barred Owl. I did not take this picture although I sincerely wish that I had. In fact there was a point last night, or more precisely early this morning, when I thought about getting up and setting up the tri-pod and trying to take a picture of the Owl Conclave of Non-Sleepability that was going on outside. I certainly wasn’t getting any rest.

We live in the woods, as I have mentioned ad nauseum. And with the woods comes woodland creatures. And it isn’t all that surprising that we would have Barred Owls because they like to make their nests holes in trees, often holes that are made by Pileated Woodpeckers.

And heaven knows we have a boat load of those around here.

The first time that I heard an owl hooting at night here at Chez Knit I was just amazed and awe struck. Just so darn cool. I lay there in bed and marveled and listened.

Last night…..

Not so marvelous.

Around 2:30a I awoke with a start to hear the owls outside. Oh yes, I did say owls. I am not sure how many of them there were but there were a bunch. Evidently the entire neighborhood owl population was having an Hootananny outside. And one of them had stationed itself in the big oak right outside our window. And they were calling and chatting and hooting.

Hoo, Hoo, HooHOOOOOOOO (say to yourself “Who cooks for youuuuuuuu” and you will have the rhythm down.)

Calling and calling and calling. Near and far. Up and Down. Loud and Louder

And then every once in awhile someone would give a loud

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAWAAAAA.

And in the process scaring the ever loving daylights out of me.

Neither HHBL or I slept all that well after that.

Dang owls. 

And then to add insult to injury this morning I was looking out the window and saw this…..

Yes, it looks like a mild mannered hole in one of the trees that reach up out of the ravine. But as I stood there on the deck I noticed…..

DANG IT! I am going to have to contend with squirrel babies in a little bit.

Nature you are a cruel mistress.

7 Quick Takes (Vol 163)

Well here we are again. Gathered at the Blather Table for another big helping of Deb’s incredibly productive and over the top life. You know the drill. When you are done being amazed by the blather you need to click on the picture above to be whisked, at the speed of the horses that will run the Kentucky Derby tomorrow, over to Conversion Diary.

May the Fourth be with you!

1.
I hate to say it but most of the mulch is still sitting on the driveway. Mocking me.

But HHBL and I will be putting ourselves to work for at least part of the day tomorrow to move as much of it as we can.

I will not be mocked.

And it goes much faster with two of us working together in a concerted effort to conquer the beast.

2.
I love a day when I just crank out small projects that have been hanging around on my “to do” list for a long time. Yesterday was one of those days. Despite the fact that I was sweating up a storm because the temp in the Frozen Northeast Ohio hit 87F yesterday, breaking the record by the way, and I refuse to put the AC on in MAY, I cranked out work.

I was a machine.

Well, I was a machine up until about 4p when I sort of decided I had done enough and went off to read a book for a while.

But my “to do” list is much shorter. And I am happy.

3.
We finally put the screens in the windows last Sunday. It might seem like a mundane thing to most but it means, to me, that I can sleep with the windows open at night.

I lovelovelove to have the windows open at night. As soon as it gets even a modicum of warm I have the window open at least a little bit all night long. And that goes on until the end of September.

Well, unless the AC is on. But we don’t use the AC all that much if we can help it. Both HHBL and I like the windows open at night. I can hear the owls hooting and the coyotes singing and the peepers in the Spring.

Oh how I love the mysterious sounds of the night.

4.
Can I just say that without audiobooks I just wouldn’t get any weeding done. It isn’t that I don’t like weeding, I do actually. It appeals to my OCD nature. But sometimes I just need to have an audiobook going in my head to distract me from the endless task of weeding.

Currently I am listening to Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder. It is the thought provoking and inspiring true story of a young man who lived through the genocides in both Burundi and Rwanda. I would recommend it to everyone. And when you have been to some of the places that he speaks about it makes it all the more real.

5.
The Rose Breasted Grosbeaks are back!!!!

This picture is actually from last year, I haven’t taken any of them this year yet. Only the males are back and I haven’t seen them too much as yet. But I have seen them and I have heard them.

They have the most beautiful song.

6.
How about a quick garden update.

We have potatoes coming up in the potato tower, despite the whole tower being blown over last week in the wind storm. The actual dirt wasn’t disturbed so LaurenLeap and I just set everything to rights and all seems fine.

Holy Summer Salad Batman! We have a lot of lettuce coming up. My mouth is watering for that first salad of the summer.

And the spinach is looking good as well. I feel stronger already!


The onions are happy and growing as is the garlic, which you cannot see in this picture. We have both white and red onions planted.

But I am afraid we have had a garden casualty.


On Saturday night, well really Sunday morning, we had an unexpected frost. I knew when I looked out my window Sunday morning that we might be in some trouble. And it was confirmed on Monday when LaurenLeap went out to check on things at the garden and called me with the disturbing news about the broccoli. We have a number of plants that seem to have been pretty much done in.

But not all of the plants were so badly damaged. We will just replace the ones that took the biggest hit. All is not lost.

Ah the early morning garden. So peaceful

7.
A round up of pictures taken on the morning walks around the lake. I love walking there in the Spring, Summer and Fall. And I guess Winter too. These were all taken with the little camera, which I stick in my pocket before I leave

Who wouldn’t love seeing this early in the morning.

Get those geese, Ben! Most of them now see him coming and move away before he gets there.


These geese were none too happy to have to hustle off the path. They moved into the water but then hung there hissing at us.

I have protected my women from the evil honking bags of feathers!

We don’t encourage him to chase the ducks and ducklings. We like them.

And then there is the Killdeer momma who tries to distract us from her nest, which must be some where close to the path. They are ground nesters and the momma will flutter along the ground like she has a broken wing to distract us predators away from the nest.

I love our walks.

Wordless (Sort of) Wednesday

My friend Debbie over at Whispers From The Woods always does a “Wordless Wednesday” post.

Her photos are stunning.

I stand in awe.

This is my contribution for a Wordless (almost) Wednesday.

What?

Haven’t you ever seen a Bacon and Eggs scarf before?

Mulching

I had a much longer and insightful post that I was going to give you today…..

It isn’t going to happen.

Why you might ask yourself? Well I will tell you that it was partly because of this.

The Mulch

Oh my aching back…and legs….and arms…and fingers…and neck….

I should just say oh my aching body. Because all of it does, ache that is.

It really started with the ivy. And just went on from there.

Ivy. I was an idiot, a supreme and utter idiot to have the landscaper plant it when we first moved into Chez Knit. I should have had my meager brain matter thoroughly examined to see if I had any clue what I was doing and then I should have been dope slapped until I gave up the idea entirely.

All that ivy that we had them plant….flats and flats of ivy that cost loads of dollars? I have pulled up almost all of it over the years and chucked it into the woods or given it away. All that is except the large swath of it that the lawn company wantonly killed one year. At the time I went into my “you are lower echelon drones!” mode (sorry, family joke) and got them to pay for the damage.

Little did I know that they were actually doing me a big old favor. Thank you so much!!! Thank you for wantonly killing that 10x30 foot patch of ivy and then paying me back for it. That was just one section of ivy that I didn’t then have to pull out.

Why am I telling you about this? Because I had to work on one more section of ivy today. And this is ivy that has been in place for 10 years….and it was very HAPPILY in place for those ten years. And it was growing up the brick wall outside my office. And it was making a break for the hostas. And it was looking to possibly establish residence on the front walk way. And some of the ivy vines were as thick as my thumb. They did not want to be moved.

However, I am a stubborn cus and I would have my way!!

Oh my aching back. But the ivy is pretty much all pulled up and what is still there is going to get a good bath with Round UP (sorry Shannon, I know that isn’t in the Master Organic Gardeners Hand Book) once the rain leaves in another day or so.

And then it is all getting covered up with mulch. Mulch which HHBL has wonderfully offered to help me move. We have a system. He moves it and I spread it.

I like that system.

And hopefully my back will be happy with me by then.

Pulling up ivy and slinging mulch is a very dirty business. I was actually crunchy when I finally came in.

Thank goodness for the “Super wash” cycle on the washing machine. I needed it.