New Neighbours?!

After our last snow fall, I noticed a tiny path in the snow - between our neighbour's cedars and our wooden shed...

Do we have new neighbours? 

Mice? Rats? Chipmunks perhaps? 

Not an animal that hops. One that burrows, or so it seems to me. And the burrowing path stops at the base of our shed!

A skunk once lived under that shed. It would let off warning whiffs from time to time. After it left, Terry wired up all entry spaces... or so he thought!

But those tracks... Tracks in the snow don't tell a lie! I think we have new neighbours!

Craving Colour

These days, I'm craving colour...

Small tasks - like organizing my coloured pencils - give me great satisfaction.

And I'm inspired to work on a bright, bold, colourful quilt! Haven't started it though. Still gathering ideas!

Morning Entertainment

These snowy grey mornings...

I'm entertained by the antics of squirrels!

More Hours of Daylight!

The sun rises earlier these days - and we now have more than 10 hours of daylight! Ten hours and ten minutes, in fact! And it increases day by day!

The sun now rises half an hour earlier than it did on January 1. 

And it sets at 5:22 - 50 minutes later than it did a month and a half ago. In the next four months we will slowly gain another five and a half hours of daylight!

Lots of changes ahead!

That Was a Surprise!

After ordering - and downloading - a pattern for a knit kimono wrap, I was happy to find the recommended yarn in a nearby craft store.

I purchased the required number of skeins in the colour shown in the pattern - and was pleased with the result.

Then I decided to make a second wrap in a different colour...

I happened to find the same yarn in blue in a different store, and I bought the same number of skeins.

I was well into the second kimono when I noticed that - when placed next to each other, the two skeins (in different colours) didn't look to be the same size. 

Sure enough, they contained slightly differing amounts of yarn! The blue skein had 5 ounces, the grey one 6 ounces... (140 grams compared to 160 grams). So strange! In all my years of knitting,  I've never encountered a problem like this before - the same yarn in similar - but not identical - sized skeins! Confusing!

(I may have to buy more blue!)

More Snow!

Yes, we have more snow! In fact, I stayed indoors all day yesterday to avoid it...

One of our neighbours came over to help clear the driveway. (With Terry's sore wrist, it was very appreciated!) 

I notice that, even with new snow, there isn't enough on the ground to totally bury the grass growing under the trees (in the picture above).

Nor is there enough to cover the sedum stalks in the flower beds.

Terry tells me that next week the weather will warm up a bit. That's good. But what I really want - what I'm looking forward to - is bare, walkable roads and sidewalks! I want to enjoy the outdoors again!

(I wonder how many weeks I'll have to wait...)

Who Made Those Tracks?!

In winter I often wonder what animal has passed by on fresh snow...

Who made these tracks?!

Even more disturbing are tracks that end next to a vehicle...

Did the animal crawl in?! Is he or she still inside?!