plastic fantastic

 Major warm-up!  The clean lines on our frozen pond have melted...

...into a beautiful milky, pearlescent color.

It's been cold enough, though, for the nails on our porch ceiling to develop a thick coat of frost.  It always brings to mind Laura Ingalls Wilder's The Long Winter:  "The frosted nails in the roof above her were like white teeth."

Today, though, it will be nearly 70 (!!!) and all traces of our big snow will be gone!  

I've spent a lot of my spare time working on a puzzle this week.  Todd surprised me with a 2000 piece puzzle a month or so ago, and it was unusual in several ways...first, it was plastic.  Second, the puzzle was broken down into six sections.  I didn't even need my puzzle board.  I assembled it a section at a time...

...and finished the entire puzzle in a little over a week...a new record for me!

It's pretty big...29" x 24"...and the pieces are so sturdily locked together that not only is it easy to carry around, I think it might be difficult and time-consuming to disassemble.  To make it more challenging when I put it together again, I'm going to break it down into four sections, not six.

We have ventured out a little...to a Motown concert last night...

...but have mostly been at home. I've done a little knitting over the past few weeks.  I ordered some beautiful Malabrigo yarn...

...and have just finished a hat.  It's a pattern that I've knitted in the past for a gift, so I already knew that I'd like it!

I love the hexagons.

I'm working on matching mittens now.  I started a sweater at the end of 2024...

...but I quickly discovered that not only was I not fond of the color combination I'd chosen, the various differences in yarn thickness/hairiness was annoying as well.  I ended up frogging it back to the beginning of the blue pattern.  I'm going to start over when I feel more inspired.

I did buy some other beautiful Malabrigo yarn recently that might be a nice contrast to the gold...

Speaking of gold, Todd bought me a sweater-quantity of Malabrigo Rios for Christmas in the Frank Ochre colorway.  It is gorgeous!!!

I have THREE unfinished sweaters on hold right now...a white sweater that I decided to change the arm length on and got confused, so put it aside...a green sweater with a messed-up front panel...and now the sweater above, recently frogged nearly to the collar.  However, that isn't stopping me from starting a FOURTH sweater with the beautiful Frank Ochre.  ;)

We're continuing to have the most beautiful sunrises...

...and I'm really loving the slower pace of life right now.  For the first time in a long time, I'm reading after supper...always with a cat in my lap.  It seems to be the only time he's interested!

As nice as it is to be at home, I just got the okay from my podiatrist to resume walking again (as long as I complete a painful-sounding round of physical therapy to break up scar tissue), so I'm excited to actually get outside again! 

Have a great week!  

the best freezefest

Our cold weather continued until just a day or so ago.  The snow was so light and powdery that when the sun was on it, it looked like glitter.

Believe it or not, we are having mole activity!

The snow is still so beautiful, even though it's starting to melt.

front pond

another beautiful sunrise, set off by the white blanket of snow

ditto!  I call these "Lisa Frank sunrises" 

after the colorful junior high school supplies of my childhood

I'm determined not to be stuck inside no matter what the temperature - at least not all the time - so Todd and I went to FreezeFest this week.  It's a festival that our town throws that celebrates all things winter.  We missed the games and the chili cookoff, but we did see the ice sculptures.

It was about 15 degrees so we didn't hang around for too long, but it was really fun to see for a few minutes!

Like I said, we've mostly been staying inside.  Besides work, I finished two puzzles...

...and have gotten quite a bit of reading in.

always better with a friend!

Speaking of cats, they've been enjoying our piles of winter bedding.  It's pointless to make the bed, because there's usually a cat tangled up in it somewhere.  

Our BIG cat (the bobcat) is still showing up regularly on the trail cams, but I've gotten some really good coyote shots this week.  There's a pair and they're definitely denned up down by the back pond!  Here's one trying...and failing...to get some breakfast.  Whomp whomp!  

Maximize windows for better viewing

We had a short but thick snowfall earlier this week...

...but it's finally warmed back up to the 40s and it looks like it's going to stay that way for a while.  I'm hoping that we can start hiking again soon.  It's been almost two months!  

Have a great week!  

a mink stink

 Spring showers bring May flowers...and rainbows!

Spring ephemerals are popping...

Dutchman's Breeches

...and other things, too.

common fern

mayapple

garlic mustard

Our apple tree was juuuuust starting to blossom out...

...when we had an unexpected hard frost.

euphorbia

black-eyed susan leaves

violet

Frost will kill the blossoms, which means that we wouldn't have apples this year.  Thankfully, the buds had some crystallization, but survived.

It's the weird, in-between weather now.  Spring/summer clothes are unboxed...

Frances

...but I'm still bringing in seedlings on cold nights.  The cats are watching the weather, too.  Nearly time for open windows!

Claudia is firmly ensconced in "her" chairs, perfect for napping in the sun.

view from living room:  porch, pond, and Claudia!

I saw a mink in the front pond this week!

Ripples on the water...and then a cacophony of harsh cries from the red-winged blackbirds nesting in the cattails.  The mink was looking for eggs.  

It's also turtle season, but I haven't seen any snappers yet.  I'll keep looking!  We've had multiple sightings in the past.

Who knows what else the spring will bring?  Have a great week!