I Did It!

I got the soaker hose unstuck from between the retaining wall timber and the volunteer tree.  I used my new trimming saw to shave off the small pieces of bark that prevented me from sliding the hose down below the timber where there was room to slide it out.  It took some figuring but once I realized that there was no way I'd be able to saw through the timber remnant anytime this century I got craftier and triumphed.  Now I just have to wait for the western side of the retaining wall to thaw so I can unearth the last couple feet of it.  See, the two stooges who replaced the fence a few years back buried my hose while they were trampling my perennials and decimating Durwood's raspberries.  It wouldn't be quite so annoying if they'd managed to put the fence in straight and used pressure treated lumber but the thing has more curves in its length than a boa constrictor and at least a quarter of the planks on this side of the fence are warped so that it looks like they're trying to make their ends meet.  Quality workmanship at its best.  



When I did my morning yoga I saw this spot crawling across the glass.  On closer inspection it was one of those extra-spotted ladybug pretenders that bite and infiltrate your house for the winter so evidently it's warming up if they're waking up.  You notice I said "was" because it is viable no more.  Sorry, bug.





Look what TW saw when he left this morning.  A crocus!  The first crocus of the year.  Hooray!

Then when I came in from wrassling the hose out of the tree's clutches I saw these tiny daylily sprouts in the flower bed below the kitchen window.  There's still snow less than a foot from these sprouts but spring is winning.  Yay!  (You have to look really closely but, trust me, there're little green sprouts among all the dead leaves, really.)




This afternoon I tidied up my car so LB and I can toss our knitting and overnight bags in there tomorrow and make our escape with a bunch of other knitting guild-ers so I dug around in the way back to see if I couldn't find my binoculars which I want to take to Yellowstone and didn't know where I'd put them.  Well, there they were in one of the semi-hidden compartments behind the back seats just waiting for me to find them.  That's also where the hazard light, a length of rope, and a couple screwdrivers are too.  Good to know.

I watched the YouTube video on how to do a provisional cast on as required for the Hillbrook Shawl pattern that I bought in Ft. Myers.  I wound up all of the yarn I'm considering for the accent color and the main color the other evening and tonight I used white acrylic yarn to cast on all 282 stitches so I'll be ready to start the fun part tomorrow at the knitting getaway.  I tucked in my sock project too just in case I need a break from all the thinking that a new pattern requires.

26 March--Tropical Obsession. 
Silent flyers swoop out of the night to glide through the swarms of delectable bugs that congregate around the security light. Times have changed on the island. Where once you could have left the door unlocked and trusted that a light-sleeping dog would keep your house safe, now every door has a couple locks, more and more windows sport bars screwed right into the frame, and lights turn on at dusk drawing moths and other tasty treats for the island's bats. The security lights turn off at dawn just as the furry flyers are gliding back to their crowded comfy roost in the caves on the wild windward coast.

One of the women I met in the caregivers support group texted me this morning asking if I wanted to meet for coffee and I did.  I'm glad we met because it's been a tough couple weeks and talking to another widow is helpful.  I think I'll be a grown up and see when the grief group meets and give it another visit.
--Barbara