It occurs to me that if I were a decent photographer, I could post a photo a day of the view from my front deck — ready-made variations on a theme. I took these on Sunday morning, trying to capture the peaceful depths of the virtually monotone scene. Paul went out in the kayak, but I stayed home and marked papers instead, warm at least.
In case you’re wondering, the trees in the forefront are both arbutus (madrone/madrona to my American readers), but the larger one to the right was smothered with ivy planted by the previous owners. Although we cut the ivy stems all ’round and the leaves withered away, these skeletal remains have been clinging on for the last three years and it will take many more winters’ winds and rains to shake them loose!
Here’s a closeup view of the crow sitting so patiently under the snow on my railing — it’s actually a clay sculpture by the artist I mentioned the other day, Leanne Brusatore.
And another piece of artisanship, the wonderful Noro Silk Garden yarn — I won’t show you much more of this project as it’s a Christmas-gift-in-the-making, but I was tickled the other day to come across this twig in the skein. I’ve read of other bloggers finding such evidence of the natural dyes that go into the beauties of Noro, but not experienced it myself. Knitting this project has been a real joy — I’m working with two different colourways and watching them unfold their stories has been mesmerizing, especially since there’s a dialogue between the two. I’m very tempted to go choose another pairing, but since I’ve currently got four unfinished projects and stash and patterns matched up for another four, perhaps I’ll wait. (My LYS always has a great sale in January!)
