Garden 2020, part 9

My intention for this year was to increase the variety of foods we were eating.  Being home due to COVID-19 has helped a lot in this endeavor.

The idea is that the more whole the food and the more variety of the foods, the more nutrients you are receiving, and therefore the healthier you should be.

We've tried different cuts of meat and different recipes during this Stay-at-Home period and our garden will be providing a greater variety of vegetables.

Over the weekend I replanted some of the early-season starts that did not survive thru transplanting and added a few new varieties.

So my garden is now fully planted.  It doesn't look like much from this broad view, yet.  But the following are doing well:

Peas

Fava Beans

Carrots

Red Onions

Spinach and Lettuce

Chard

I have attempted 43 varieties so far.  46 if you count our fruit trees.  A few have definitely not survived and I'm holding hope for a few others.

Regardless, I think we will achieve my goal of adding more variety to our diet.  :-)

Garden 2020, part 8

I planted all of my surviving late-season seedlings in the outside garden on Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend.

Some of the starts didn't make it to planting.  I assume its a combination of limited sunlight inside the house and old seeds.

Then Sunday we received close to an inch of rain (when 2-inches is normal for the month) and Monday was relatively cool, so some of the starts have not survived transplanting, but many of the directly sowed varieties are doing well.

The neighborhood bees have visited the few fruit tree flowers, so I am expecting some fruit, but not too much this year.  Though there are definitely cherries in progress.

I have about 1/3 of the outside garden still available for planting and a few more varieties I'd like to get into the ground.

I am completely loving my garden this year, especially having the ability to spend a few minutes weeding each morning!  I also collected the first harvest of a few hail-damaged spinach leaves this week!

Fiber Arts Friday: New Normal, part 7

I have finished knitting my New Normal Scarf... This installment adds 25 years and covers 1994 to 2018.

The last colors were retired as follows:

• Cloud in 1996
• Creme Brulee in 2000
• Conch in 2008
• Papaya in 2012
• Victorian in 2013
• Firecracker in 2014
• Garnet in 2017
• Hollyberry in 2018

The major milestone hit is that Amazon Prime began in 2005.

It's quite interesting to see temperature data depicted this way... and you can see the rate of change is increasing.  The completed scarf covers 1880 - 2019.  140 years of the global average annual temperature is represented.

The near-white colors are the closest to the baseline average, calculated over 1950-1980.  The blues are cooler than the baseline and the reds are warmer than the baseline.

I bound off the scarf using the Icelandic Technique.  I like this edge and think it goes well with the long-tail cast on edge.

Next up is to weave in the ends and block.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Things that Work: Outlines

When I was in middle school learning to write the 5 paragraph essay, I remember the teacher talking about outlines and how important they were.

It was something I had a difficult time with.  I hadn't yet figured out how to step back and see the bigger picture or the long game of any particular project.

Later in High School, I took an exploratory/creative writing class that helped a lot.  But writing term papers with a formal outline was still a problem for me in college, until I took a technical writing course and an introduction to computer programming course.  The flow charts in the programming course coupled with the bullet points in the tech writing course opened a big world for me.  Realizing that brief thought statements could communicate and capture ideas was profound.

Subconsciously I started making outlines everywhere.

Not necessarily in the formal format, but very much in the big picture, big points, and supporting points perspective.

I build my Gantt Charts in this fashion, as well as my presentations, charters, contracts, and system requirements/compliance documents.

Now that I'm home, the book, blog, and class ideas are coming fast.  So outlining the ideas and making space for exploration is helping a lot.

Fiber Arts Friday: Copperbranch

The last time I wrote about this project, was 1 year ago (5/24/19).  I had decided that I would change from the Surfinia Wrap into the Copperbranch Wrap.

Soon after that I finished the first skein, started the second, and then set it to rest over the summer.  My plan was to pick it up in the winter, but I was busy with my Inspired Words project.

Now that my New Normal Scarf is nearing completion, I've been thinking about this project more.

I picked it up on Saturday, May 2nd.  It was a cold and rainy.  I wanted a simple, quiet project for a few hours.  I listened to music, drank hot tea, and sat under a blanket in my comfy chair and added the last few rows necessary to prepare for the lace portion.  A completely lovely afternoon.

Then I recounted my work and reviewed the pattern instructions.... only to realize that the edge was supposed to be 6 total stitches not 6 on each end.  oy.

So do I tink it back a few rows, at over 400 stitches, or go to one more section bigger??  hmmm.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Garden 2020, part 7

Since I'm at home, I'm making a point to check on my garden every morning and weed a bit after feeding the alpacas.

This way it's more of a daily 10-15 minute task rather than a major weekend chore.  I can't tell you how much I enjoy playing in the dirt every day!

My spinach is getting close to being able to harvest (a little).  The chard and carrots are starting to come up.  The peas, fava beans, onions, and garlic are all looking good.

We had a mild freeze on Monday, May 10th...  So I'm now targeting the planting of my late season seeds to about May 25th, Memorial Day, which is next weekend.

I hope you all are having a great spring!

Fiber Arts Friday: New Normal, part 6

Things are starting to get exciting now on my New Normal Scarf.  :-)

I have retired all of the blues: Whirlpool in 1978, Wonderland Heather in 1985 and Clarity in 1993.  I also started the very first red color, Conch in 1990.

A couple of more milestones were added, including the adoption of the World Wide Web in 1990.

For this post, I have added 16 years (1977-1993) and the scarf currently represents 113 years (1880 - 1993) of temperature data.

I find color quite interesting.... this very light blue (Clarity) adjacent to yellow at the top looks almost grey, but when it is surrounded by darker blues below, it looks white.

I have about half of the last page of instructions to go.  Then I need to start thinking more seriously about the ends and whether I want to weave them in or add a border.

I hope you all are staying healthy and having some nice weather to enjoy.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Garden 2020, part 6

The fruit trees are starting to leaf out and flower now...

and the outside garden has food growing in it!

Considering I don't have a great space for growing plants indoors, the late-season seedlings are doing much better than I expected.

Our last frost was on May 5th (so far) so I'm targeting the planting of these for about May 19th.

In the meantime, I  found this wonderful Salad Bowl at our locally-owned market.  This has been a fun way to get fresh greens while we're waiting for the outside crop to grow.

These mixed greens were especially nice paired with smoked cuts of local lamb earlier this week.

How's your garden growing?

Fiber Arts Friday: Tour de Fleece, 2020

It is late April as I write this and I haven't been spinning much over the last several months.... but I have starting to think about this summer's Tour de Fleece.  So I went to the Ravelry Group to see that the 2020 threads have already started.  :-)

The actual Tour de France has been postponed, but the moderators of the Tour de Fleece have decided to go ahead as planned.... Recognizing that so many things have been cancelled this year due to COVID-19, they felt there should be least one guaranteed event to plan for, and it's easy to participate while sheltering-at-home.  Hooray!

Tour de Fleece Dates

Begins: Saturday, June 27
Challenge: Sunday, July 5
Rest: Monday, July 6
Rest : Monday, July 13
Challenge: Thursday, July 16
End: Sunday, July 19

In the event that the 2020 Tour de France does indeed occur, there will be a second Tour de Fleece event to follow the cyclists (currently planned for August 29 - September 20).

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: More Cancellations

I found out yesterday that the Fiber Celebration for this year has been cancelled.

Of course I understand the reasoning (COVID-19), but I'm sad about it.

These are the photos I submitted for my entry.

Now to decide if I should go ahead and publish the pattern, or wait to see if the county fair will be held later this summer.

I hope you're having a nice Fiber Arts Friday.