pumpkin has-been

 It was warm enough this week for a little hike.  Our woods are full of beech trees, which are marcescent...meaning that they retain their dead leaves until spring.  Some theorize that the dead stem base protects the tender buds that are forming beneath.  

Lots of berries, too!  This is a smilax vine, a woody perennial with wicked thorns.  Early U.S. settlers made root beer with its roots, and the old-fashioned drink sarsaparilla is also made this way.  

A woodpecker has been here...

I was happy to see a little green...the putty root orchid!  Also known as the Adam and Eve plant (so named for the paired nature of its corms), the putty root orchid doesn't actually flower until May.  Still, it takes advantage of the bare treetops in winter to soak up sunshine with these thick, leathery leaves.  People used to repair broken crockery with a substance pressed from its corms, which is how it got its common name.  

I love seeing the different types of pine cones,  Each of these little sections is a seed!

Speaking of seeds, I finally was able to work on our porch pumpkins this week.  They were rotten, and the seeds were swimming in a foul, stinking mush.

I took way too many, and laid them out to dry.  I need to separate the bigger seeds from the stinky fibers, but I haven't quite gotten to it yet.  Yuck!

Goodbye, pumpkins!

Business as usual around the house.  We've both been working a lot, with a little help from the kittens.

Since I have my new glasses, I've slowly started looking at new projects to try.  I haven't embroidered for a long time, so I tried a small, easy flower from a Yumiko Higuchi book.

I'm pleased with how it turned out, but a little of the blue marking pen showed through.  It's water soluble, but it's always a pain when you wash an embroidery project.  Enter the wrinkles.

You have to somehow iron around the stitching, or lightly press it beneath fabric.  An iron will flatten french knots (here, the yellow flowers).  I do my best with the iron and try to get the rest of the wrinkles out by evenly stretching the fabric.  This week, I'll cut a piece of foam core and try to mount this properly.  Finishing details are my least favorite part of any embroidery/knitting/quilting project, because I have a heavy hand and an impatient spirit.  Still, it's good practice and maybe this will be my year to slow down and fine-tune.

Have a great week!  

strain bane

Another slow week here.  I'm getting better, but have an added complication of eye strain and a strict order from my optometrist not to engage in looking close/looking away activities that will strain my eyes further before my new lenses come.  You know, things like photography, knitting, sewing, painting...I had to cheat a bit earlier this week when we had a beautiful frost.

We've also had some pretty intense fog, which I love.

The warm/cold, warm/cold cycle that we've been having has reduced my pumpkins to mush.  

I haven't felt well enough to go out and gather seeds, but hopefully it won't be too late when it warms up again later this week.  This weather has been confusing for our bulbs, too!

One of the benefits of having impossible-to-kill plants, like achillea, is that they put out new growth whenever there's a warm spell.  I love being able to have a few sprigs of green around in the house in my smallest bud vases!

Since I can't really sew much right now, I ordered some fun fabric for the first time in a while.  Hibiscus from Riley Blake...llamas!

Do you remember that discontinued dress I fell in love with?

Alpine Lodge skirt / photo courtesy of Kate Davies

I was able to find the skirt, used, online.  I might have to take in the waist a bit, but that's easy enough to do.  Buttons...pockets...and really heavily lined.  I can't wait to wear this next Christmas!

Since my knitting basket is filled with kittens instead of projects these days...

...and I'm restless with my restrictions...I've been looking back at past Januarys. 

2012, Portland...

2015, knitting a pair of complicated socks in South Carolina...

2019, dashing through the snow with Borga in southern Indiana...

I'm excited to get better and get back outside!  Todd and I are both ready for an adventure soon.

Have a great week!

incautious nauseous

In the past two weeks...COLD.

Down to -10 degrees at the coldest, so cold that ice formed inside our windows where normally we'd have a bit of condensation.

Although we were prepared for up to 8 inches of snow, we only received a couple of inches, and the wind scoured the open fields to a mere dusting.

That meant a nice pile-up elsewhere, though.  Lovely sharp shelves and undulating ridges.

And my favorite...snow tracks!  Curious birds, walking...

...or briefly alighting, leaving behind a spread of wings.

Lots of rabbits with their easily-identifiable double tracks...

...and patterns.

This is something with a tail...most likely a field mouse.

Believe it or not, even our moles were active!  Moles don't hibernate, and they've absolutely decimated our side yard this past month.  Here you can see a fresh pile of soil, evidence that one has burrowed to the surface recently.  Claudia was tucked safely away in our temperature-controlled barn...too cold for cats outside!...but I hope she has some happy hunting soon.

We made sure to keep the feeders full during this cold snap, and the birds responded.  I don't think I've seen our front tree so overloaded with them before!

All puffed up to help stay warm.

Now our weather has warmed to near 60 degrees, and there are reports of spring bulbs starting to prematurely sprout.  I haven't been able to go outside and check, because I've been laid low by an attack of anxiety nausea.  

Anxiety nausea, if you don't know, is where your subconscious mind and your body decide together that there's a threat.  They react by flooding you with nausea-inducing adrenaline, leaving your rational mind behind, yelling like a pesky kid:  "Wait up, guys!!"  I've suffered from it since elementary school, miserable episodes that have lasted months at a time.  You can't reason though them.  You can't "breathe them away," as the unhelpful doctor at Urgent Care suggested.  Medicine?  Haven't found any yet. Nothing helps.  You can't eat.  You can't be move around.  You're in bed, prostrate with nausea, until things beyond your rational control decide that the threat is removed.  

Frances, trying to make me feel better in his own way

This particular attack was triggered by a recent migraine.  I haven't found a prescription that works well against them yet, so I'm anxious about developing one.  I felt a familiar pressure last week...no migraine came, but it didn't matter. The pressure alone was enough to trigger an episode of anxiety nausea.  Last night I moaned to Todd, "Tomorrow, I'll be able to say that seven days with anxiety nausea makes one (weak) week!"  Being able to joke about it means that I'm feeling better, and so does the fact that I was able to actually eat three small meals (after a week of choking down saltines).  Already this morning, I can tell that I'll be able to shower today(!!!).  This particular attack is going to be a short one, but phew!  What a week.  Still, in my weak and distracted way, I've been excited about the new year.  I have so many amazing plans and projects in my notebooks.  I want this to be a life-changing year and I'm going to work hard to make it happen.

Happy New Year!!