be-twix-t a winter and a spring place

 Moderate weather means more outside time!  At first glance, there's not a lot of life out there yet...

...but I'm seeing more signs.

Bean Blossom Bottoms, a 700 acre nature preserve with nearly 3 miles of suspended trails, is only 15 minutes from our house.

Because it's bottom land, and naturally boggy, it's unbearable in the summer:  heat, humidity, and mosquitoes.  Spring, though, is another story.  It's alive with so many frogs, birds, and animals.  The Sycamore Trust, which protects and maintains this and many other properties, set up trail cams and has caught some remarkable things.  I love this short video of a bobcat family!

On our other walks, we're seeing a bit of color...the beautiful purple of bare blackberry bushes...

...and even the greening of moss is a nice harbinger of spring!

A bit of red, too, in the infrequent berries spotted on bare branches of various bushes.

Speaking of red, we recently celebrated Valentine's Day.  I was still feeling unwell, so we had a low-key day at home.  A red velvet recipe that made just four cupcakes was the perfect amount...

...and, for my "gift," I made a punchboard out of plastic cups.  Insert a treat and a terrible pun, cover the opening with crepe paper, and you're magically transported back to your second-grade classroom.

Feeling better means that, besides finally able to get back to work in a meaningful way, I've also been able to work on hobbies.  I hadn't worked on a puzzle in many weeks, but as I slowly improved at the end of January and beginning of February, I got to work on a 2,000 piece puzzle that I absolutely loved.

I also got back into knitting.  I've been working on my Deco cardigan off and on for the past few months, and had nearly finished the body and both sleeves.  I've been woefully unobservant this year, and realized belatedly that I had stitched a child-size sleeve on to the adult-size body...sigh.

Grimly, I ripped the arm back to the shoulder and began again.  I'm nearly halfway through - relief!  I've already picked out my next sweater, and it's one that I've knitted before.  

Shadow sweater, photo courtesy of Brooklyn Tweed:  Wool People

Here it is as a nearly-completed project in 2015:

The problem?  First, I used a silk-blend yarn, and silk has absolutely no stretch.  Neither do cables.  And because I'm a fairly impatient knitter, I didn't bother to knit a gauge swatch.  Most of the time, these swatches are knit in stockinette, or "plain" knitting.  This pattern, however, wanted me to knit a swatch in the cable pattern and then measure it.  I didn't do it and just guessed, and this sweater was WAY too small.  I frogged it last year.

Last week, I broke down and knitted the swatch:

Bingo!  Perfect gauge on size 7 needles, and I also found the perfect yarn.  This is Brooklyn Tweed's Shelter in the Fossil colorway.  Normally it retails for $16/skein, making this a fairly pricey sweater at $128!  I found someone selling it for much cheaper on Ravelry, although it will still be (gulp) $80.  A bitter pill to swallow for someone who still prefers to get clothing from thrift stores...but it's good-quality yarn and I know I'll love wearing this sweater when it's finished.

Skies are increasingly blue here...

...and temperatures are slowly warming.  I'm still feeling well and am cautiously optimistic about continuing this trend.  Looking forward to many adventures as the season progresses!  Even in the garden, which I'm determined to control this year.  I'm talking to YOU, weeds, ticks, and chiggers!

side garden in spring from a year or so ago, pre-weed invasion

Have a great week!