Friday, February 23, 2007

signs of spring

Today it smells like spring. The sky is an indecisive whirl of dazzling blue, fast-moving, heavy gray coulds, and then dazzling blue again. The wind is powerful, but the bite in it is gone. Everywhere outside it smells like wet ground, and it is a warm smell. Spring is almost here.

little sprout

This little guy peeped his head out in the garden this week. It must be a teensy lettuce plant. We have peas, radishes, carrots and lettuce in the ground already, just waiting for the soil temperature to get high enough to start them growing, and we seem to be close to that magic number. Soon we'll put in broccoli - I can't wait! Broccoli out of the garden is a whole different animal from broccoli from the grocery store. I actually believed for years that I hated broccoli, and then one glorious Saturday after a trip to the farmer's market, I discovered how utterly, foolishly wrong I had been. Broccoli is tender and sweet and wonderful. But I don't need to tell you that!

Despite the vegetable garden, we are signing up for a farm share again this year. If you have been thinking about it - now is the time! CSA's fill up quickly in the late winter, so if you're thinking about it check out the links at Local Harvest and get yourself signed up for one. Many boxes of just-picked organic vegetables are waiting for you.

This warming weather put the fear-of-god into me about my sweater project. So what if the sleeves need to be knit on DPN's!!?? I have a sweater to finish before it turns ninety degrees here (which it tends to do in North Carolina about three days after you realize it's spring). I really appreciated everyone's suggestions about ways to ditch the DPN's (Magic Loop, two circulars, etc) but after much gnashing-of-teeth over size differences between Clovers and Addi Turbos (alas!) in the end I bit the bullet and just knit the other one on the DPN's. I had some conference calls this week, which always help to move the knitting forward.

So the sleeves are done. No tears or anything. I hope to find the time this weekend to push closer to the finish line (dare I hope to cross it??). It would be so lovely to wear this sweater on these blustery, indecisive days between not-quite-winter and not-quite-spring.

7 comments:

  1. Produce fresh from the garden is SO different from what is bought in the store. For me, it really shows up in the tomatoes and cucumbers. Not to mention PEAS! Pick me up! I just swooned! Fresh garden peas! I won't be able to plant mine for another 2 months or so. Sigh.

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  3. yay for veggies in the garden and veggies on the farm! veggie veggie veggie. veg veg veggie-tables. mmm. i think one of the great parts about doing the CSA is that i've learned to cook and eat things that i never did before...not that i had anything against swiss chard or okra before, just that i'd never actually BOUGHT them to cook for myself, you know? having them as part of my CSA membership has definitely expanded my culinary skillz, and so now, i chow some serious chard. :)

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  4. Congrats! Can't wait to see pictures of the finished sweater. :) btw, I *love* my new digital elph camera so far. You should definitely buy one...

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  5. ok, I am envious! Our last freeze day is April 30! Egads! I am sitting home, not being able to fly to CA and sad and bored!! Thanks for the blog...

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  6. mmm, spring veg garden. it's time for that here too.. yours sounds like it will be amazing. wish i had room for the broccoli... but i do have the CSA, which i started last month, and has definitely made me eat way more greens than i ever did before.
    florida spring is the same, i think... a moment of 'hey, it's not winter anymore!' and suddenly you're *hot*! mad sweater knitting it is.

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  7. Lucky you...seeds in the ground! I'm looking out my window at a lot of snow...urgh.

    Garden vegetables=real food.
    Me=jealous.

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