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!