Pink hellebore is blooming in my front garden, and other springtime bulbs are showing green leaf tips. The snowdrops are almost done for the year. It is educational to look through the blog posts of past years, and notice when various things have bloomed. Maybe there could be a chart?
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~ image transfer ~
Today's art activity started with taking the proof of concept drawing, adding a thick layer of graphite pencil, and then transferring the image to the actual linoleum. Because this is only ever partially successful, the next step is to refine and darken the lines with a marker; I usually use one of the Pigma Micron pens in an appropriate thickness. ~ image transfer ~
Once that is done, actual block carving can ensue, and progress happened during Crafternoon. Much of the smallest easiest letter forms, (light on dark background) are completed. The Very Small Japanese carving gouge was exactly the best tool for the job, and I am quite glad I acquired it last year!
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Took some time this morning to go out in the yard and pull up a good assortment of already dead weed stalks. It was damp but not raining, and the ground is soft. Also began hacking back the overgrown fern clumps next to the north side of the house, and around the external part of the heat pump. Did enough to get a bit out of breath, but not so much as to cause continuing pain. Incremental progress is still progress.
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Yesterday being so warm, it seemed a good chance to get the duvet cover washed. I was worried about getting it dry without the tumble dryer, but a few hours on the clothesline gave a good start, and I dragged it into the house and hung the damp but no longer wet thing over the shower curtain rod. While it meant one night with a flat sheet instead of the proper duvet cover, it was dry by morning! Pretty sure it is the heat pump moving air around the house that does the trick. It doesn't ever feel particularly "warm" but it isn't cold either (I could make it warmer with raising the temperature setting, but that would also raise the electric bill) I am starting to wonder if I need to replace the tumble dryer at all? Though it would be a probably be good thing to find out if it is repairable...
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March SMART goals (x=extra)
| # | THINGS MADE | THINGS FIXED | THINGS GONE |
| 1 | - | - | art exchange |
| 2 | - | - | many dead weeds |
| 3 | - | - | - |
| 4 | - | - | - |
| 5 | - | - | - |
| 6 | x | x | - |
| 7 | x | x | x |
| 8 | x | x | x |
| 9 | x | x | x |
today's gratitudes -
1. Was able to repair accidental gouge in lino with wood glue
2. There is a whole bag of cooked winter squash cubes in the freezer, and there are more winter squash still in their transport box. Cooking the squash thoroughly makes all the difference in how tasty the resulting puree is. The rest of the squash needs to be turned into squash cubes soon!
3. Spring flowers planted in the front yard, including the wonderful pink hellebore that Sharon gave me years ago
Time of Isolation - Day 1689
A recent article in the newspaper said not to clean up yard debris until May. Pollinating insects lay their eggs and/or overwinter in dry plant stalks. In May, they have abandoned their over-winter homes.
ReplyDeleteThe stalks and weeds I "removed" just get moved to a different part of the yard near the compost bin, not actually "thrown away", so any insect life in them will be able to keep on with whatever it is doing...
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