Category: spring

countryside · crafts & knitting · in the woods · spring

The first signs of spring

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)27 Comments

 

Firstly, thank you so much for all the kindness in your messages from my previous post, the words you have gifted to me have been like a big warm hug.

In my journal of happy things Kit is still featuring, not daily, but every 2 or 3 days she’s arrived for snacks and without a doubt she is pregnant. Twice her mate has accompanied her but he’s very shy and has bolted for the bushes as soon as he’s seen us. I’ve also jotted about the early evening sky, made beautiful by the planets Venus and Jupiter being so very bright and visible low in the sky to the west just after sunset.  I am hoping that we get clear skies on March 1st when they come close together, I love a bit of star and planet gazing – search ‘Venus Jupiter conjunction’ if you’re interested in seeing the spectacle in your part of the world.

Out on my own in the woods I’ve been paying attention and noticing the tiniest details that show the shift in the seasons from winter to spring. Despite the recent sharp frosts there are tree buds swelling on the branches and the first emergence of catkins, but a carpet of snowdrops in a local wood is the most emphatic sign of change. These hardy little plants are such a hopeful sight, pushing their blunt tipped leaves through frosted soil throughout January to produce such delicate bell-like flowers each February. They’re beautiful en masse and when they tremble in the cold wind on a breezy day it looks like the whole woodland floor is shimmering. And drifting down from the bare branches overhead come symphonies sung by small birds – being in a snowdrop carpeted wood is one of my favourite natural pleasures.

It’s been a cold winter this year, so spring will be a while yet but it’s been nice to embrace the last weeks of winter by curling up in the warm to work on new patterns. The horse pattern is coming along nicely and I’m now working on a cow pattern too. I will show you some pictures when I’ve ironed out some of the wrinkles. I’m also putting the finishing touches to a couple of mice that I’ll be giving away. I’ve been holding off on this because of the disarray of the international post (Royal mail has suspended international deliveries throughout January) but now it looks like the situation is resolved I’ll post about the giveaway soon. See you again when they’re ready.

 

 

crafts & knitting · spring · wildlife

Early April

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)30 Comments

Spring is in full swing here and the days are lengthening and warming up nicely. The plum tree blossom is now just faded confetti on the ground, but for a few weeks it was a glorious sight, especially when illuminated by the ghostly light of the full moon or warmed to a rosy glow by the rising sun. Do you see the red kite gliding overhead? It was only a few years ago that these majestic birds returned to this area, but now we see at least one every day and sometimes as many as six circling high overhead, they are wonderful to watch.

Here we’ve been plodding on quietly and keeping to familiar and comforting routines. There have been lots of walks in the woods with Toby, some pottering in the garden and some knitting of course. I’ve been wanting to use this beautiful hand-dyed yarn for a while and have spent far too long browsing on Ravelry and pondering which would be the right pattern for it and I’m very happy with the one that I finally chose. The pattern is simple and relaxing to knit, just what is needed right now, and it’s knitting up beautifully. The yarn is ‘Honey is Cool’ Falkland Merino 4ply hand-dyed by Ocean Rose and the shawl pattern is ‘Hollows’ by Melody Hoffmann.

Lastly, as you can see there is a new little friend emerging from my needles. He’s a little shy at the moment, having not yet been knitted any clothes to wear, I’ve been really indecisive about what to dress him in but I hope to be able to finalise his outfit from a couple of ideas that I’ve been working on and share the patterns soon – I’ll keep the blog up to date with developments.

Thanks for visiting here with me, I hadn’t intended to be absent from the blog for so long but finding the time seems to have become a little more difficult and sometimes it doesn’t feel like I have anything interesting or relevant to share. I do however plan to be here a little more often, so hopefully see you soon and until then I hope that life is treating you kindly, J x

 

countryside · garden stuff · in the woods · spring · wildlife

Snapshots from February

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)23 Comments

 

These are some pictures from my February, but words seem hard to find right now. What to say when the world has undergone such a monumental change? Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness abound and it seems unlikely that anyone in the world will be untouched by the ramifications of this horrific war in Ukraine.

It is hard to balance feeling both overwhelmed and distraught at world events with moments of contentment and happiness in our own individual existence, it creates an uncomfortable mix of emotions that are hard to accommodate. But it is human to feel both, and so I am sending the hope that you are finding some moments of peace and pleasure in your days. As always I turn to nature for solace and find it constant and steadfast in it’s ability to calm racing thoughts and soothe physical tension. There’s knitting going on too, but it seems so inconsequential at the moment and I don’t have anything finished to show.

I’m still trying to work out how best to help, for now I’ve donated to the British Red Cross Disaster Emergency Committee fundraising appeal but there are many many other charities raising funds to help. If you or your loved ones are directly affected you have my very deepest sympathies.