Spring fever

This morning I got up early (Rick had an early-morning meeting) and finished spinning the Romney/NZ possum fur roving. This fiber was an interesting experience. I don't know what NZ possums look like or how the fur is harvested, but every once in awhile a tuft of fur would come along that almost looked like a downy feather, with a "quill" holding it together at the base. Some were dark, some were tan, some were quite red. Anyway, the resulting yarn did end up having noticeably more color than the white BFL (you can see just a glimpse of the BFL peeping out at the far end of the bobbin below the baggy). The next roving I chose - dark brown Pitt Island - has plenty of contrast. On the bag, Kathy wrote, "Pitt Island - A subtype of merino that roos its fleece - can only be found on Pitt Island in the Chatham Islands - 700 miles east of NZ." Sounds like a long way from nowhere! It is pencil roving, so it requires little to no drafting, and is very soft.

After Rick got home we all "hit the dirt" for the rest of the day. In the spring my man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of food - fresh fruit, specifically. And when that fancy hits him, he is as dangerous in a garden center as some women are in a shoe store. Friday he came home with a Rainier cherry tree to replace the one that didn't make it last year, two more blueberry bushes for his patch, and two rhubarb plants (he showed more restraint than usual :-). While he got those planted and put up support wires for his raspberry canes, I cleaned the leaves out of most of the planting beds and pruned trees. Brian helped here and there, but mostly enjoyed romping in the sunshine with his dog. Around us all, signs of spring were unavoidable:
We're supposed to have one more warm, clear day before rain and cooler temps return. I think I'll do some weeding tomorrow.

That's it for now at . . .