more sexy flowers

When I went to get the paper at 5 AM, the sky was a mass of stars and a warm breeze caressed my hairy bare shins. I had all sorts of plans to go shoot sunny pictures of flowering plum and ornamental cherry trees all pink and frothy against a bright blue sky. By the time the sun rose, a heavy fog deck had rolled in. Well, maybe it will burn off this afternoon and I can post saturday sky photos on Sunday. But to give you poor folks in the East a taste of spring, here are the blossoms on our tulip tree. I had thought it was a magnolia, but I was told it isn't because the blooms are only the size of oranges, not huge honking grapefruits.



I don't care what its name is. I still love it to pieces! The pink and white striations, the elegantly shaped petals. Turn one of these blossoms over, and wouldn't it make an exquisite skirt for a formal gown?


While I was out snapping pictures of the blooms, our next-door neighbor came out in bathrobe and slippers, wearing a stocking cap over his bald head, and carrying a cup of coffee. Pretty soon, his wife, also in bathrobe with coffee joined him. Evidently, they drink their coffee and smoke their morning cigarettes out on their back patio every day. Boy, they are wayyyy tougher than I! Two minutes of photos, and I'm shivering like a dog pooping peach pits. It's gotta be a lot warmer before I want to spend any time in the yard in my bathrobe.


I have started socks with that lovely Purple Iris Lorna's Laces that Janette sent me. Since it's fine yarn, knitted on skinny needles, I have taken to carrying it with me everywhere. A few stitches at a stop-light, and a few more in the grocery line . . . it's amazing how fast those few stitches add up. I'm rather ashamed of myself because everyone else does fancy lace or cables or other exciting things with their socks, and I'm just knitting plain old 2 / 2 rib. But I love 2/2 rib. It's so quintisentially ribby!


I was looking out the window yesterday, envying grandma Flea her echidna. I could see two meadowlarks, two robins, two grey squirrels and about a dozen juncos. Drab, mundane, ordinary critters, but amusing none-the-less. The juncos were a stitch. The boy juncos would stuff their beaks full of dry grass till their little heads were just dwarfed by the bale poking out in all directions. Then they would hop up to the lady junco of their choice and lay their offering at her feet. All the lady juncos have headaches this early in the year, so they would spurn the proffered down payment on a nest, and turn back to hunting for bugs. So the boy juncos would gather the whole wad back up and hop off to harass another girl junco. Sometimes, the boy juncos would get into fights ove a particularly choice piece of grass, and their bundles of dry grass would get strewn all over. Whereupon, other boys would jump in and snatch the best bits up. Courtship is hard, regardless of the species!


I am so close to the end of my novel. I wrote another torrid scene yesterday, then went to lick DH on the ear and beguile him into some in-depth research. Unfortunately, he has the crappy snorfles and just was not in the mood. It looks like he is going to be spending all of today in bed. Alone. Sneezing. Poor darling!! Looks as if I'll have to amuse myself today.

KNITTING TIME!!