Bracing myself for weather whiplash

We've had days of changeable spring weather – rain, wind, sun breaks, showers, downpours, occasional hail. It is getting to 50 degrees or a bit more most days, but the dampness makes it feel colder. It's too warm for a fire and I'm too cheap to turn up the thermostat, so I bundle up in wool socks and polarfleece – which I can easily doff when having my own personal heat waves – and consume lots of hot beverages. Dozer spends a lot of time snuggled into his fleece blanket on the couch:

All in all, I'd much rather have it chilly than hot (which at this stage in my life is anything over the low to mid 70s!), so I'm not really looking forward to this week's weather:

Ack! At least it will still be cool at night....

The Braeburn apple tree that Rick planted for me looks like it will have a nice crop this year, and the blossoms are an early treat:

The prunes, Asian pear, red Bartlett pear, and old apple trees are all setting a goodly amount of fruit, but the cherries are going to be scanty, no doubt still recovering from their thorough pruning last winter.

Contemplating a different kind of harvest, I took a look at all the ramlings' "purses" last week. Lambs' birth coats can be deceiving; more experienced breeders than I say if you want a more accurate indicator of mature fleece type, look at a ram lamb's scrotum.

As you can see, all three of my ram lambs are going to be nice and crimpy. Fine, crimpy Shetland wool can be turned into soft, lightweight yarn with wonderful "memory" for knitted goods like socks, sweaters/jumpers (such as the one worn by Sir Edmund Hilary during his ascent of Mt. Everest), and stockings (such as those which adorned the royal legs of Queen Victoria) that fit, wear after wear and wash after wash.

That's it for the sales pitch from . . .