Inquisitive Felines and Fibers

This has been a very long, cold winter and I don’t think that it’s just been because I’m getting older. Yesterday we reached 53F, but the wind was battering the house all day long so while the sun was shining it really wasn’t very pleasant outside. On the plus side there is only one small island of snow left in the back (quite an accomplishment as we haven’t any trees in our yard) and I can clearly see all of my garden beds. The down side is that now I can see just how much clean up there is to do yet, but it will be rather enjoyable, I think, to be outside again doing some mindless physical activities. Fresh air is good!

On Easter I couldn’t just dye eggs…I’ve been itching to dye for quite some time, but didn’t trust the temps in the mudroom to not wreak havoc with the jars. It’s warmer than outside in the mudroom, but not as warm as inside. Miss Kitty and Callie tend to get into everything so I try to keep the toxic stuff locked well away from them. I used up the rest of the mystery fleece and some Rit dyes that I was given to set up this batch which I hope will become felted beads soon. It worked out well – I used up some fleece, some dye, cleared up another bag of stuff from my stash room, and it will turn into stock for the shows…I’m feeling rather good about it. Oh, and we had a very good time dyeing the eggs as well.

So, today’s plan, tentatively, is to go outside and begin the bed cleanup. I really did get sidetracked last fall with orders and was somewhat amazed at just how weedy, now dead weedy, the beds are, but it shouldn’t take too long to tidy (optimistically thought) them up and lay out the bricks for the mulched area around the flowering shrubs. This is to cut down the toing and froing with the mower in the summer and to cut down on raking in the fall….self-mulching you might say. In any event, it’s time to get out of the house and back into the dirt. It also helps a bit to have a wee one winking and waving at you from the debris, don’t you think? Do you have any gardening changes in mind for your yard this year?