Lots of Little Plants

Well, it may be cold and wet outside and right now the temperature is dropping toward frost tonight, but in the greenhouse and cold frames little green plants are growing. Here you see lettuce, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, gai lon outside and inside tomatoes, peppers, and lots more including flowers, such as asters, statice, stocks, lupines, Canterbury bells, sweet william inside.

Onion Plants

Here's a box of 2500 onion plants. Joel has spent much of this last week getting them planted. Ailsa Craigs, Red Candy Apples, Big Daddys and Red Zeppelins. The first two are sweet onions and the last two winter keepers. We sell a lot of onions and eat a lot of them, too. We're still working on the last of last year's keepers.

The female red winged blackbirds arrived yesterday. They are a month late this year along with a lot of other stuff. The ladies usually show up about Valentine's Day. The males and females apparently spend the winter in separate flocks. The males were here in late December as usual, and I had been afraid that the flock of females had succumbed to the hard winter. I wish I knew where they spend the winter. They are often here eating sunflower seeds until October. The seeds in the bird feeder is disappearing twice as fast but I figure the female blackbirds need it. They are the ones who are going to be laying the eggs. I have read that birds in areas with feeders actually fledge more young. I often stop feeding the birds about now but with everything being so delayed and the blackbirds just getting here I think I'll keep the feeders filled for another month at least.

Requiem for a Rose

We have come to the very sad conclusion that our gorgeous Rosa Banksia Lutea that has graced the front porch of our house for over 20 years didn't make through this last winter's cold. It isn't leafing out and Joel says that he checked the trunk and the wood is dead. It isn't a reliably hardy rose but until this winter it has survived. We will cut it back to the roots before we dig it out and see if it will come back. But I have the David Austin rose catalogue out looking for a replacement. We have all loved this rose. Although it only blooms once in May, it would be covered with literally thousands of tiny little double yellow flowers. They are only slightly scented but when you got that many flowers they smelled delicious. The rose was a wedding gift from a dear friend, Edith Patten and we will mourn its passing.

Violets

My violets are finally blooming. They often bloom all winter and I have seen one or two flowers off and on in this unusually cold season. A friend who keeps records of bloom times of native plants says that the flowering currant is a month late this year so it hasn't been my imagination that everything is cold and late. I am eager for the weather to warm up for a change.

First Daffodils

This has certainly been a blustery march. In the last couple of weeks we have had snow, rain, high winds, below freezing temperatures and last Monday half an inch of hail. And the long term forecast is for more of the same through the first week of April. But in spite of that the first daffodils are blooming. This variety is called February Gold and is almost always the first to flower in my garden.
But as long as I can retreat to the studio and weave I can weather almost any weather. I've started working on placemats. I have 5 warps measured out and chained up waiting to be woven and a bunch of boas to make as well. And I have been having fun weaving to the music of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. My youngest daughter Siri's boyfriend play bass for the band which is definitely up and coming with several tours in Europe under their belts. I've been enjoying their music and figured I'd give them a plug here.

Scarf a Day Blog

I have been honored to be a guest artist on the Scarf a Day Blog of a weaver on Cape Breton island in Nova Scotia. The author of the blog has invited a different weaver each week to describe the weaving of one of their scarves. I sent her an article about weaving boas with pictures of the above blue boa. I took this one into Island Studios last Saturday just after I finished it and it sold right away.

Thrift Store Find

I've been looking for a shallow small cabinet to store yarn in for ages. and last week end I found this at our local thrift store. There were two of them but someone else had put a hold on one of them. I actually went back on Monday to see if they had actually come back for it and they had.
But this one will do nicely to hold my carpet warp spools. I emptied two apple boxes that have been sitting on the floor into this. Yay!!

March Market

We just came back from our once a month winter Farmers Market. With the help of our neighbors, Nootka Rose Farm, we managed to scrounge up a couple of dozen bags of various greens, kale, chard, mustards, spinach, a half box of carrots and 50# of leeks. Needless to say we sold out really fast. I also took my latest rag rugs and sold one of those.

Coming home we ran into a major snow squall. The sun was still shining when we left Friday Harbor but as soon as we got out in San Juan Channel we could see this huge black cloud and sheets of snow blowing up from the north. Most of the way home was cold, windy, wavey, and in blinding snow. As we rounded Pt. Disney on Waldron, the sun came out again. As we were unloading at the dock I looked to the west and there was this magnificent cloud dragon. We are now home, warm and comfortable and eating grilled cheese sandwiches. Quite a day.

More Rugs?

Yes, I've been on a rug making marathon. I finished another 7 this morning. These are all made from green and red flannel sheet material. A bit Christmasy maybe, but I had all these sheets in these colors and I've been trying to get my large stash of sheets under control. Of course, I'll just go to the thrift store this weekend and buy more. I can't resist them if the colors are really great.

This coming Saturday is the March Farmers Market and since thanks to the continuing cold days and nights we don't have much in the way of vegetables except leeks I thought I'd take a bunch of my new rugs and label them New Crop Rugs.

And Still More Rugs

This batch is rust and dark blue. They are all based on a neat rust and blue and white plaid flannel sheet set.
I had enough of the plaid to make 5 rugs and the sixth one is just the same solids. I love being able to make a bunch of rugs that will coordinate. Hopefully someone will buy more than.