I am using up yarn from other projects to make a pair of "muttons" for Gretta--one done, one to go. I had made a pair for Lindsey for Christmas with a somewhat complicated and bothersome thumb hole. When Franny was here she showed me a MUCH easier solution...just bind off six stitches, knit around a row and cast on six stitches where you bound off the others. Voila! A neat buttonhole arrangement for your thumb! What had been a pretty easy project has gotten even better. Thank you Franny.
Nothing like a few days with a bunch of awesome farmers to inspire......here's Peter out pruning one of the apple trees this morning, and another that is awaiting his magic touch. These poor trees have been neglected for a while, and we are hoping Peter's efforts will help them gain a new lease on life (and inspire them to grow more apples!). We had a really fun pot luck supper last night with our VT neighbors over the ridge, Ellen and Don. We compared notes on workshops at the NOFA conference. Then Gretta and Lindsey had us laughing like crazy people (being a generation apart) as we compared notes on dating.
Henry and I are staying over one more night as the rest of the fam heads back to the real world. Hope the ski/long weekend traffic doesn't slow them down too much. Making lists and plans, I've got to hit the ground running tomorrow after being away from home for most of a week.....
I have the same loppers but not the same skill at pruning apple trees as Peter! My house came with an apple tree that had already been let grow 'way beyond how an orchard tree should be shaped. It's now about 20' tall and shaped like a somewhat sickly shade tree...the sapsuckers have filled the trunks with holes, which means it's got insects of some kind, large branches have broken off, leaving holes (at least one of which has bird occupants), and branches keep dying back each year from tent caterpillar attacks. Despite all that, the tree is still alive, still covers itself in fragrant white flowers in mid Spring, and still produces a few gallons of (organic, unsprayed) delicious tart apples every late June/early July.
ReplyDelete