shady ladies

 The last of the snow...

...has melted.  Before it did, though, we saw a lot of really interesting frozen "waterfalls" on the limestone structures around here.  Limestone is really porous and water frequently seeps through and freezes.

Now that we've had a few warm days, though, all signs of snow are gone and we've got some green peeking though...at last!

Unbelievably, these warm days have caused our daffodil bulbs to stir.  It seems early, but...

The warm weather, too, brings out a dreaded enemy...the Asian lady beetle.  They look pretty similar to ladybugs, but they're an invasive species.  Color-wise, they run the gamut from deep red to light orange.  Sometimes they're covered in spots and sometimes they don't have any.  

Unlike the "ladybugs" that we know, they slip inside structures in the fall, seeking a cool, sheltered place to overwinter.  They bite, and when they feel threatened they release an orange liquid (their blood), which stinks.  They stain walls and fabrics.  When they die, they stink.  They can make your pets sick if they eat them.  

They congregate by the THOUSANDS when they find a way in...and this year, they did.  My upstairs office window faces south and is the warmest place in the house.  The Asian lady beetles that found their way into our attic in the fall trickle out and crawl on the window glass.  Every.  single.  day.  On the coldest, darkest day, I still kill around 20.  On warm, sunny days, I've killed up to 150 (I stopped counting after that).  We're going to have to figure out how to seal the house better in the fall!  These things are definitely a big, stinky nuisance.  

I finished a couple of quick knitting projects.  I was making gloves to match my Beeswax hat...

...but I didn't love the fit.  I decided to frog them and just knit a quick, simple pair of gloves.  It didn't take any time at all and I'm really pleased with them!

I also knitted a quick hat for Todd.  It has earflaps that help keep you warmer than an average hat.

An interesting construction...the brim is knitted flat, like a scarf, and then the ends are seamed together.  You pick up stitches from the top and knit the body of the hat with your new color...and finally, you pick up stitches from the bottom of the brim to knit a contrasting strip (Honegart Hat on Ravelry).  

I'm pretty pleased with it!  Now I'm working on another sweater.  It's slow going, since there's usually a cat trying to squirm into my lap at night, which is my primary knitting time.  I'm not in any hurry, though!

The usual culprit:

I'm looking forward to the weather warming up a bit.  We've managed one walk in the past few weeks...between my early-morning physical therapy appointments and the cold temperatures, it's just been too hard...but on our one day out, I loved seeing our old stomping grounds.

It won't be long now.

Have a great week!

(civil) war-torn but on the mend

 The snow lasted until...today!  Beautiful glittery snow...

...criss-crossed with the telltale signs of heavy travel.

I love seeing everything snow-covered...

...and I love seeing the birds come out.

pileated woodpecker

male cardinal

Still, it was a rough week.  The temperatures dropped to single digits, and both Todd and I got sick with bad colds.  We had to miss an eat-along viewing of 1971's Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at the local theatre - a major disappointment.  At least we both felt well enough on Sunday to watch a Civil War reenactment at Spring Mill State Park.  Guns were blazing!

There were deserters...

...and plenty of casualties.

Ready...aim...

Bayonet charge!

You'll notice that for the sake of historical accuracy, several of the soldiers were barefoot (in the snow!).  They all had to laboriously re-load their muskets after a single shot, too.  It was agonizingly slow.  I couldn't imagine that inefficiency in a real-life battle!

Other than that little outing, life around our house has been very...very...slow this week.

Sleepy cats, sleepy us.  But now we're both better, and the weather is warming up a bit.  Hopefully we can get back outside again soon.  Have a great week!

jay display

Original Valentine's Day plan:  hiking at a national wildlife preserve...until the temperatures dropped and the cold rain set in.  Instead it was tex-mex, board games, and a relaxing evening of Everybody Loves Raymond.  Oh, and baking...a lot of baking.  

A friend's daughter was turning 21, so I made a surprise-inside cake.  First, I baked a halved vanilla cupcake recipe in a sheet pan and cut out lots of 2s and 1s...

After freezing them for a few hours, I stood them up inside a half-poured chocolate cake batter...

...and then spooned the rest of the batter on top.  Freezing the letters means that when the cake is baked, the letters/numbers will thaw instead of 'baking twice,' which would make them tough.  I don't have a photo of the inside of the cake, but each slice has a pink '21' inside!

I had a baby shower this weekend, and made a cake for that...

...and at the same time as the shower, Todd had a toy show on the north side.  I wanted to make plenty of treats for him and the friends that were helping out.  I made brownies...

(all photos taken on a rainy day in a dim kitchen, so are pretty terrible)

Blueberry bars....

...and Nutter Butters.

Oh, I also made another batch of peanut butter cookies for the baby shower.  It was a very busy couple of days!  

The cold weather was perfect for cats on laps.

It got colder, and...snow!!

The feeders drew a lot of birds...especially blue jays.

So...many...blue jays.

Even though they're 'bully birds,' I like to see them.  Besides...our other birds seem to stand up to them just fine!

Nice bit of color in a dull month, too!

Todd's made one trek out to check the trail cams in this cold weather, but we caught something interesting.  It's coyote mating season.  Are these two playing?  Fighting?  Courting?  They seem to be having fun, whatever it is!

(maximize screen to see better!)

This is my favorite part.  :)

Maybe there'll be PUPPIES in the spring!

Have a great week!