Get Outside While You Can

Finally, gardening weather. Well, sort of. We are having a remarkably unremarkable spring this year. Okay, in all honesty, the weather blows. Cool and wet. A non-spring spring. In between the showers I have managed to get most of the garden in, but the poor seeds and sprouts aren't getting much enticement to grow. We just can't seem to string together two or three warm and sunny days in a row.

I'm hoping June will improve our lot--and my odds of eating some homegrown lettuce.

Despite the weather, the perennial beds are filling in nicely. Apparently, the heavy snow cover did a good job of protecting the plants underground. Never content, however, I have shuffled a few things around, and I can tell you, transplanting gives you a whole new appreciation for what's going on under the garden.

In an attempt to make some more room in the vegetable bed, I wanted to move an old rhubarb plant. Those roots were like tree branches! No wonder you can't kill that stuff. I thought that was a battle I might lose in the end. The phlox needed dividing and that was the same story. Those are the plants for me!

Another vigorous "weed" that I love is the Lily of the Valley. They're blooming like crazy right now and a handful of them in a vase perfume the whole house.

Trying to keep up with my regular chores along with the yard work doesn't leave much time for anything else, but I did manage to cast on a new sweater project. As tired as I've been, I couldn't resist that Webs box. I dug out the Berroco Blackstone Tweed and settled on Fylingdales from A Fine Fleece. It isn't a terribly complicated pattern, so I thought it would be a good one for an unpredictable summer.

The yarn is a soft blend of wool, mohair, and angora and is a beautiful dark blue. I'm not such a big fan of these 50 gram balls that roll around and pop out of my knitting basket though.

Before I got started, I read through the notes from other knitters over at Ravelry, and I have to agree, the directions for the set-up row of the cabled pattern are lacking clarity. The directions aren't wrong, but they sure could use some improvement. It helped to know that I had to be on my toes ahead of time.

See all that knitting? That's the result of a frustrated gardener who would rather be outside!