Still hoping for spring

After a quick but heavy hit of snow, it’s looking more like spring again, but we’re wondering if it will last this time. There were still patches of snow when I went to town this afternoon, though most of it’s gone. There are buds …

Clockwise from top left: hyacinth; lilac; red horse chestnut.

and little leaves …

Ferns.

Peonies.

and catkins …

Hop hornbeam tree.

The amaryllis seems to have stopped at about 24″ and turned out to have 4 buds 🙂 Love the red!

Finally!

Hope everyone has a happy holiday – we’ve got company coming, so I’ve been cooking and getting ready.

Squirrel!

Overall, Toby’s not too bad about barking except occasionally when there are other dogs around, or a squirrel …

I’m serious about this!

I know it’s up there …

and there was one, sitting in a crotch in the very thorny locust tree (ouch!), just above the top of the photo, but it didn’t stick around for a close-up! Good find Toby!

I keep forgetting to mention that I’ve added another pattern on Ravelry: this is Madelaine. I really enjoyed knitting it, and love wearing it!

The amaryllis is still growing – just under 24″ today

and look – there’s color!

I’m pretty sure it will be red when it opens, and it looks like there’s more than 1 bud in there 🙂

The Ides of March …

or at least it will be tomorrow – it’s amazing how fast the year is going by, though not quite as fast as the amaryllis is growing. It’s really shot up in the past week.

18″ and still growing.

Thanks to everyone who’s Liked Joyknits designs over on Facebook – please keep visiting!

My pal Maggie’s really a serious hindrance when it comes to making the bed. She always wants to snuggle and cuddle, and all that cuteness is hard to resist 🙂

Maggie

Nothing like a nice big pan of mac & cheese when the weather’s cool, and having the leftovers is sure handy!

Mac & cheese.

There has been knitting, in fact I had trouble putting it down. What I have here now is a caterpillar – once it’s blocked, I hope it will be another butterfly.

Something new!

Joyknits designs now has its own Facebook page for new patterns, published designs and whatever else seems appropriate. My thanks to everyone who’s read promo copy (which doesn’t come easily to me!) and offered encouragement!

Profile photo for Joyknits designs.

And a small teaser of some coming attractions

Our weather’s still on the roller coaster – on Tuesday we had snow, which Toby really enjoys. As cold as it looks, he wasn’t in a big hurry to come in. By the weekend, it’s supposed to be around 60, then rain.

Then inside today – only someone who lives with a camera-phobic pet will appreciate how hard this was to get; bribery WAS involved. 😉

With the cooler temperatures and some really nice country-style ribs, I couldn’t resist making a big pot of pozole with the ribs, hominy, black beans, tomatoes and southwestern seasonings – yum! And it only gets better after a couple of days in the fridge.

And finally, an amaryllis update – there’s a lovely chubby bud coming up!

8½” and growing!