Still springing

The little hat with the flower is in gray with periwinkle flower and a variegated periwinkle, gray green yarn knit with the gray.
The flower and leaves are crocheted.
I'm sort of resting my hands which, after just 3 months, are loudly complaining and growing lumps. Oh to have strong hands and wrists!
Anyway, I found a pattern for tendrils, as seen in the picture below, and I'm back to teaching myself real, two needle-type knitting and doing a bit of crochet which I know already.
I've been watching all the World's in figure skating but they are done tonight unless there is a gala. I may have pushed it as far as I can in that we do share the TV and figure skating is not James' thing.
I hope I've enough "grace" saved up to watch Midsomer Murders when it comes on!
This morning as we were dropping off the recycling we saw the first Kill Deer of the season. They are a real sign of spring. Robins may just overwinter somewhere else in the valley but the kill deer actually fly away and then return and it's a joy to see them in their jaunty little formal wear. It's amazing how well they blend with the side of the road when they have such a bright white and black collar.
The swans are also back.
As I drove down Devon Road the other day I saw a large white thing floating down to the flats, and my mind was going "Kite?", "Hang glider?", and then realized I was looking at a swan settling onto a big puddle with about 12 of his buddies. I drove down the little side road to get nearer but the binoculars would have really helped. This time of year they come in and rest at the channel on the south end of Kootenay Lake. A friend from Sirdar watched them flying over for more than 1/2 an hour. They don't stay long and then they are on their way north.
James and Bruce are nearly done the big remodel job for the Wynndel Mudders. After many, many hours of volunteer work I think they are glad to see the end nearing.
I'll try to get some more pictures. They took out walls and post and beamed the roof so it is basically one big room and an added on store room.
James decided he did not want to do the chicken-sitting this summer so we will have both pens to use as fenced, deer proof gardens.
I have just received a first draft of the Barraclough family history. My maternal grandmother was a Barraclough and my second cousin has been assembling this. It should be interesting.

Another Thanksgiving

The truth be known, the leaves have mostly fallen off the trees and it's frosty mornings and ice on the puddles and any day could bring snow. Tomorrow is our son Larry's birthday. I remember when....
Next week will be American Thanksgiving which falls on James' birthday this year and the anniversary of the day we met 39 years ago, can it be so long?!
Sat the 29th is the Christmas Craft Fair and the next Saturday is the Wynndel Craft Fair and then we may get a chance to rest a wee bit.
Right now we are very busy with calendars. Every year I make calendars of James' paintings which we sell, along with cards, at the craft fairs. James likes this better than when he had to help lug in my bird houses to sell.
Sadly, because of the recurring problems with my hands I have had to give up building bird houses.
My hero has been a friend of ours, Ted Diakew, who said "I'm retiring" from doing spectacular pottery, and on a given day, he invited all his friends, threw a retirement party, and quit. I have had to ease into it, but I now can say "I don't build bird houses any more." It is still hard.

This is James bull floating concrete, while our friends Sandy Kunze and Bruce Johnston help, as they pour the floor for the storage room for the Wynndel Mudders' "Mud Hut."

The Wynndel Mudders are a group of us who work in clay and we are retrofitting the old changing rooms at the Wynndel Hall into a place to use for our work.
I think they just squeaked in under the wire on pouring the concrete before the freezing begins.
As we were cleaning up and finishing up from the "pour" yesterday we looked up to see 3 eagles soaring by. I have never seen more than one at a time before and even one I receive as a blessing.
When we were growing up in the 50's and 60's we never saw an eagle but happily their numbers are getting pretty healthy.
The other day as I was heading out for town I looked up in one of our bare poplars and there sat a fat little pygmy owl. He looked like a little ball with a tail. He was probably looking for little brown birds, but even the little owls have to eat.

Hope springs ....

The second really nice sunny day of spring.
Yesterday and Friday night was the Images Art Show, a show begun by a group of watercolourists but it has shifted to include Gunda Stewart, a wonderful potter who does very traditional wood fired - some with salt - pottery in a huge handbuilt kiln, and to have guest artists exhibit with them. This springs guests were Alison Masters who did charcoal and charcoal with water colour pieces, and Maggie Leal -Valais who displayed really great sculptural clay pieces many of which were rakued.
My daffies are beginning to bloom and I was able to take Mommy a bouquet from my garden.
I looked out in the bushes this morning and there was a goldfinch who was really nice and bright yellow again. Goldfinches become drab little brown birds over winter, barely distinguishable from their finchy friends but come spring their wonderful colour returns and they look like bright yellow flowers bouncing in the bushes.
This was the day the library puts on a tea at Morris Flowers and sells cake and garden themed books and magazines. Someone thought it a good idea for some of the local artists to sell work and a portion would go to the library.
James and I brought his cards and my few remaining birdhouses.
People were interested in the coffee and cake but they weren't interested in the art and we artists were clustered by an open door with a bit of shade and a breeze. People were interested in plants. I can't blame them. We've had so little spring.
I would hate to be whiney but it was unbearably hot. Had it been a gray nasty day it would have been more comfortable.According to the weather boys it is going to revert to gray nasty with possible snow flurries starting even by tomorrow so even though it was sooo hot I'll try not to compain. We went to DQ for coffee after and sat with an elderly couple we see as there were no empty seats. We sat inside and watched the cute little blonds outside turn rosy before our eyes.I fear there will be a lot of folks nursing sun burns after today.

Spring will come!

This was taken a few weeks ago and though the snow is mostly gone "they" predict we'll get 4 or so inches tonight and tomorrow. It won't stay and we do wait for springier weather : so do Bandy and Skeeter.

Yesterday, as James went out for firewood, he saw 24 swans winging their way north. A while back there were robins and blackbirds and innumerable joyful lbbs (as in little brown birds), but now the towees are back, bouncing in the bushes. Spring will come. It will wrench itself from the hungry arms of winter and all too soon we'll be sweltering in the summer sun.

Things are moving slowly. There are pussy willows and the snowdrops and species crocuses have been out for a week or so. The farmers must be alert to the cold weather and haven't unwrapped their honey bees yet as we've had very few and normally the crocuses would be alive with them.

I actually saw an earthworm creeping out of the dirt yesterday as we Raku fired pottery at a friend's home. Their yard was full of little mouse holes and trails unearthed by the melting snow. There were many wonderful little plant noses appearing and the bushes were full of Bohemian waxwings and Pine siskins. The waxwings leave the rose hips to the very last but yesterday that was their feast.

We seldom see jays at our place but there in Wynndel the Steller's Jays were riotously happy and Mary said they seem more brilliant than usual. I need more bushes. I can see that!

James and I (mostly James) have been trying to rescue the garden from the grasses and trim back the unruly roses. I think the cats approve. They don't know my plan to shelter a feeder in a particularly thorny bush.

We're moving forward on plans for ArtWalk, and the more imminent Big Picture Show in Crawford Bay. James is making plans for a show in our friends' home in Calgary at the end of May. In mid-May our son and his girlfriend will graduate from the Alberta College of Art And Design (ACAD) so life will continue on busily for a while.