Free to Good Home and the results of a nice day

Cleaned out under the porch yesterday, gaining access to my walk out basement and opening up space for the mower, bicycles and garden supplies to be stored out of the weather. In the process I found a few items that need new owners:

Porch swing, still solid just needs a place to hang.

Edit: swing has gone to a new home

Hand crank ice cream maker, in rough shape, maybe leaks. Off to the dump in two days if not claimed.

Edit: ice cream maker has been disposed of.

Bike rack - works well on the back of sedans and hatchbacks. Can hold two bikes. 

Free to good home - you transport.

The magnolia blossoms really enjoyed the warm temps and opened wide:

 I took a break from cleaning out the area under our porch and mowing the lawn to explore the woods below our house (I had spied something blooming as I drove by and wanted to find out what it was). As I followed deer paths downhill I came across this:

Rope swing

I had completely forgotten our girls had a fort down there when they were little! Next to the swing was an old foot stool/table and an odd shaped bucket we had found somewhere and given to them to use. I put the bucket to good use after stumbling across one of the many dump sites that litter our hillside (there used to be a lot more homes in the area and folks just piled their garbage "out back").

Five unbroken, vintage glass bottles. The tall one on the left has "Duluth Bottling" embossed in the glass.

The white flowers I had seen near an exposed outcrop of rock were a mustard species. There was also evidence of a large area of Lily-of-the-valley (more proof of old home sites). On the way back up the hill I passed through the area that is used for garden/yard waste by our neighborhood and found this in bloom:

Phlox species? 

 In the afternoon I took a break from household chores to go for a nice 12 mile pedal on the Munger Trail. It was warm at our house, tucked into the hillside but very cool down at the Lake. The Munger starts in West Duluth, near the bay and so receives some influence from the winds off of Lake Superior (currently blowing over at least a mile of ice). As we rode inland the temperature kept rising and by the time we reached the Ely's Peak area it was in the upper 70's , maybe even 80 F. It felt nice to drop back down to the cooler temps on the ride back.

The Munger Trail is lined with Large-flowered trillium and Large-flowered bellwort right now (both species easily identified while riding a bike). I regretted not bringing a camera along, although I think Mr. Wildknits was grateful as it meant no stops.

After the ride I switched into running clothes and headed up hill to the Piedmont trailhead for my first run in two weeks (not counting a short excursion last Saturday that was less then a mile and proved I was not ready for running yet). My friend Sam and her dog Cedar came along as well. It was a nice outing on some hilly, technical trail and was proof that the stubborn muscle issue I have been dealing with for the past three weeks is finally on the mend.

I am off to play outdoors again today while the sun is still shining!

Yard flowers, and a little excursion up north

Spring continues to proceed along the north shore. With a few warm days, and the ice retreating further and further on the big Lake, the land is starting to respond. Hillsides are washed with a haze of green and if you look close, plants are emerging and flowers are beginning to bloom. 

Last weekend I spent Friday - Sunday in the Lutsen/Grand Marias area. While my day didn't go as planned I had a relaxing trip and quality time with my running family. 

Scenes from Palisade Head:

Appears the local Peregrine falcons had lunch atop the cliffs.

Look closely, do you see the pollen trapped on the spider web?

In my yard the rhubarb is rapidly getting larger, with one clump almost at harvest stage. And our magnolia is blooming!

I love the subtle hint of pink.

 I noticed while scoping out my overgrown flower beds that the Mertensia (Virginia Bluebells) are also blooming:

And one of my favorite spring ephemerals - Wild Ginger (which is technically in my neighbors yard):

These little violets make it hard to contemplate mowing. Maybe if I take on the task I can work around them? Though they are located on one, of many, difficult slopes in the yard.

The hops are up! And almost two feet tall already. I don't think they had even emerged last week.

Birds continue to arrive in the yard, some just passing through on their way further north. We had a pair of Red-breasted Grosbeaks for a few days and the Goldfinches continue to stick around. Various sparrows are about including White-throated sparrows and Song sparrows. A Blackburnian warbler was spied on the trail above my house (spur to the Superior Hiking Trail). There is a Northern Mockingbird in the neighborhood and I also noticed our Catbird flitting about.

With a bit more time on my hands I have made some good progress on the sweater I am designing and knitting. I have about four inches of the body completed with currently 288 stitches on the needle. I am working my way up from the bottom edge and will be increasing to 318 sts by the time I reach the armholes. As I work I am writing out (and developing) the pattern, with hopes of having something publishable by the end.

Spring II

Spring continues to make it's slow way north. In the past week I have seen or heard:

 - white-throated sparrows

 - red-winged blackbirds

 - goldfinches 

The pussy willows are now out in abundance. And while down "south" (Minnehaha Park, Minneapolis) last weekend I saw Bloodroot in bloom and Skunk Cabbage emerging. 

Trails remain snow-covered in many areas. What isn't under snow may very well be under water. I made a couple of forays down a few trails today to check out conditions and they are still too wet and fragile for use. Dry, warm weather would help immensely to get the rest of the frost out of the ground and allow the snowmelt to soak in. 

Upon my return home from a shortened run today I noticed a few other signs of the change of seasons in my yard:

Scilla siberica

Scilla siberica

Rhubarb sp.

Rhubarb sp.

Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense)

And proof that we may very well be the laziest gardeners ever, and that some plants that we think of as annuals can survive very cold winters unprotected:

Brussel Sprouts - apparently they can overwinter in Northern Minnesota!

Onion sp. - unsure of variety - again, overwintered in Northern Minnesota. 

Spring

Some signs that winter may actually be loosening it's hold on the northland:
 - turkey vultures have returned
 - pussy willows
 - chipmunks are out and about
 - daffodils are starting to emerge, along with other perennial plants
 - onions are greening (we forgot to dig a few last fall)
 - the snow has receded in our yard to just a pile at the back of the house
 - I saw two varieties of butterflies during today's run (Mourning Cloak and possibly a Tortoiseshell species)

A Plea to Drivers

Seen on my run to work today:
- one SUV with the windows 95% frosted over, only a small area near the center of hood clear, at least a half mile from the nearest house, on a road with several sharp curves
- one car driving in the shoulder, and nearly on the buried under 5 feet of snow sidewalk, around a blind curve
- one driver, busy fussing with her cigarette and not looking at her surroundings while driving on a curvy road
- several drivers who never bothered to look right before pulling into controlled intersections
- several drivers who did not stop at a stop sign, or at least in the designated area, before proceeding through an intersection

We received 1-1.5" of snow last night and the streets were slick. So slick I went down at an intersection despite having screws in my shoes.

Folks - please take the time to:
- clear your windows completely before leaving home
- stay in your lane
- focus on your surroundings
- slow down before you reach an intersection and actually stop at the stop sign
- look left, right, left before proceeding through any intersection

We all get in a hurry, especially on snowy days, but think how much slower your commute will be after you hit a pedestrian or bicyclist.

Share the streets!

When people ask why I run to work this winter, which has been a bit cold:

7:20 am or so, -11 F

What happens when you carry your yarn differently...

I have been knitting a lot of mittens lately, all based on this striped pattern (my own creation founded on a basic mitten recipe). 

The previous two pairs:

Fingering weight yarn in natural sheepy colors for Sam's mom.

Tonal silk/merino blend, two yarns, close in color which led to more subtle striping, for me.

A bit brighter color way, with a lot more contrast for Mr. Wildknits. 

As you can see in the above photo I am cutting it close with yarn. I am no longer able to get the blue (Caribbean Waves) as Brown Sheep has changed their dying process to be 'greener'. Surprisingly the green (Limeade) is still available. So I weighed the yarn and then the mostly completed mitten and decided I will have just enough to finish the pair with the yarn on hand. I have less of the blue so I switched out the color of the cuff on the second pair which led to changing which color I considered the "main color" (MC). This in turn resulted in the decision to carry that color in my left hand and a radically different appearance for the second mitten, with the green dominating over the blue in the pattern.

A closer look at the stripes, how you carry your yarns will affect the appearance of you finished item in color work. 

I am fortunate that Mr. Wildknits is willing to wear bright colors. Makes using up stash yarns a lot easier. Though this particular pair is destined to become chopper liners, so only the cuffs will be visible.

The advantage of striped mittens is that the two colors, carried in this fashion, lead to a double-thick mitten. Which translates to a warmer hand overall.

I had a great weekend with the ladies at the Knitajourney Retreat and was reminded to tend to my neglected blog by a few of them. So, Julie and Lisa, here you go!

I had thought I might take the past weekend off of running due to the retreat, but wasn't positive about it heading into Friday and actually made tentative plans to run - at least in my head.  A lingering achilles tendon issue, stemming from a calf issue, probably due to running on cambered roads made it easier to opt not to run. I had work done on the calf on Thursday and the achilles has gotten steadily better with the additional rest. I don't have any immediate race plans so it makes sense to get this issue sorted out now vs battling it all season.

Last weekend I ran and skied at Jay Cooke State Park. Sam and I headed out the Carlton Trail from the headquarters towards the Munger Trail. We didn't make it all of the way due to hitting knee deep, unpacked snow. We did persist through these conditions for about half a mile before calling it quits and turning around. In the process I learned that I run like an elf.

Photos from last weekend:

Oops - apparently we missed this flag when sweeping after the Minnesota Voyageur Trail Ultra.

Club moss, lichen and frosty rocks along the Carlton Trail. 

Sam on the less-packed part of the trail (it got worse after this). This is where the elf comment was made. 

Checking out someone's front door and lunch remnants.

The header photo on the blog is also from a cliff along the Carlton Trail. If you look closely you can see an individual snowflake on the right side of the photo. I continue to be impressed with the shots I get with my little Canon Powershot SD790 IS.

An attempt to ski the Superior Hiking Trail

Headed out my door and up the hill to go for a ski and enjoy the lovely sunshine after two days of snow:

My Fischer Backcountry skis waiting for their first outing this season

Where is the trail?!?

Snow depth - mid-thigh in the meadow above my house

On the Superior Hiking Trail. My poles were sinking so far I had to bend over to reach them.
Trees were coated in snow and mostly obscuring the trail. 

It ended up being a short outing. It took a long time to hike up to the trail due to the snow depth and the need to break trail the whole way.  Once I got up to the trail I discovered that I had the wrong wax and no grip. The new plan is to head back out there with snowshoes and start packing the trail down.

A little bit of knitting

I find holidays the perfect time to get a lot of knitting done. In the finished pile:

Cabled headband in 100% merino for my daughter

A pair of daily wear mittens for myself (silk/merino blend)

Not pictured are the pair of socks I finished that are already in circulation. Basic sock pattern, nothing fancy. Used up most, but by no means all, of a skein of Three Irish Girls yarn left over from a previous sock project.

On the needles and nearing completion after some time out to contemplate the appropriate edging is the Little Leaf Stripe Baby Blanket/Shawl. Still well ahead of the deadline (baby is due in March 2014).

Knitting on Isle Royale, overlooking Malone Bay.
 The bulk of the knitting was done during my vacation on the island.

Edging done on two sides, a first look at the blanket off circular needles.
About 22 inches from center to outer edge, minus the edging, unblocked.

A look at how the edging is shaped around the corners using short rows. 

Lace inserted in steps as the stitches increased. 

 As with all lace, this should be even better looking after it is blocked. The pattern will open up, the yarn will bloom, and it's true beauty will be revealed.

Winter Wonderland! Two feet of snow in two days.

Sapsicle

Seen on my run to work Thursday morning, where the Superior Hiking Trail passes under a large willow.