Thursday, March 29

When the first bud opes

Spring has sprung

I know what the caged bird feels, alas! When the sun is bright on the upland slopes; When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass, And the river flows like a stream of glass; When the first bird sings and the first bud opes, And the faint perfume from its chalice steals — I know what the caged bird feels!Sympathy, Paul Lawrence Dunbar*



Spring is my favorite season. It has been for at least a few years. Fall is a close runner up to spring, though I prefer the growing to the harvest. Snow gets old fast (especially when it's slushy and dirty). Hot, muggy Iowa summer days get old faster.

It's the green that gets me, I think. The green on our front lawn seems so vivid; looking at the bright, saturated grass, it's as though I've never seen color before now. Especially on days when a mist hangs in the air, perhaps as a last glimpse of night, I'm struck with awe. I love it.




From MonsterPal I've finally gotten my pictures from the latest package from MonsterPal on my Flickr. This is a photo of the yummy scarf she sent. I love the colors! It must be Noro. I sent out a package to my SP a few days ago. It should arrive by the weekend. I hope she likes it.

I worked on a bit of HP swap stuff last night. Something I'd intended to finish for the Hogwarts Houses swap is going to be used for The End swap, as it's still the right color. I needed the needles to start project number two, so I just went ahead and finished the WIP. I'd show a picture, but I haven't taken one. And I want Mint to be surprised. After I cleared the needles last night, I cast on this morning for a sort of cozy. It will be about the size of a small handheld device — phone? camera? iPod? I'm not telling.

Also, Knittyboard's annual Flash Your Stash is on April 1. I'll have to see if I can clear a space in the house long enough to flash ... hopefully the cats won't attack my yarn. I joined the Flash last year, so I should probably see how my stash enhancement has developed over the last year. I've got time. I'll take a personal day tomorrow. It's not like I have a whole lot to do at work at the moment, now that we've gotten moved.


* I chose this stanza of the poem particularly for the line that reads "When the first bird sings and the first bud opes," though I do love the rest of the piece. That line captures how I feel about spring, I think.

2 comments:

Sara M said...

Wow, I'd forgotten that other places (mostly) don't have flowers blooming yet... Oregon is warping my brain!!

Anonymous said...

It is Noro, Silk Garden. Sorry for not including a card, but I really just wanted to get it out and couldn't find any stationary. So it was either a post it, or let you guess what was what:-) Enjoy! I made the stitch markers and the scarf.