Travel knitting and other preparations

We – our family plus Rick's mother – will be spending much of the first day of summer driving. It will be a busy weekend of visiting family on both sides, followed by the long drive home on Monday. Ah; knitting time!

I thought I'd be working on my slooow socks. After turning the heel they weren't feeling so slow anymore; I could almost see the picot edging at the end of the tube. Then I decided to try them on (one of the advantages of toe-up socks). They.Don't.Fit. Specifically, the heels don't fit; they're tiny. Like, toddler-tiny! So much for trying a new pattern.  :-(

Laura has told me several times to just send this WIP to her to finish, and after my disheartening discovery, I decided to do just that. Half-finished socks and yarn are on their way to her now, to fix or rip or frog as she sees fit. I hate being defeated by footwear, but the frustration is not worth it. Last night I cast on for a small gift knit that will be the perfect car project.

Besides the knitting and packing, I'm arranging care for all the critters. Dozer is going to give some friends a much anticipated "bulldog fix," and Jackson will be staying with Rick's secretary. They don't get to stay together, but they both have dog friends at the homes where they will be staying. We're so thankful for friends who take good care of our puppies!

Since moving sheep from fold to turn-out and back is usually a two-person operation, the ewe group will just have to stay in the fold while we're gone. That was worrying me because of this girl:

Bramble is still getting beat up. She used to be a mean girl, but taking away her buddy Bonny has shifted the balance of power in the group. I don't see scuffling when they're turned out any more, but every morning Bramble is huddled in the corner of the fold looking traumatized, often shivering. Yesterday morning she was favoring her right hind leg. This morning, however, everything seemed copacetic. I'm thinking of setting up a "lambing jug" for her while we're gone to keep her safe. Maybe the fact that I just put clean (bigger) coats on Annabelle and Bittersweet will draw attention away from her.

Did I say clean coats? You know what that means; gratuitous fleece shots! ;-) It's early in the growing season so there's not much length, but I still enjoy peeking at next year's "crop":

Thanks to the cool weather, I don't have to worry about watering the garden or plants while we're gone. Weeding and picking are something else, though! Rick and Brian picked strawberries yesterday (I put 10 pints in the freezer) and we need to pick raspberries today – and pick more of both as soon as we return. The salad greens are going great guns, too. And yesterday a neighbor gave me some sweet potato slips; I need to get them in the ground before we leave or they'll be toast – I hate waste.

Look what's almost blooming:

I didn't dig my dahlias last fall, so I'm tickled pink that they survived the winter.

I'd better get back to my to-do list!

That's it for today (and maybe the week) from . . .