Little Cotton Rabbits

July: High Summer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The beginning of July was so very hot and dry here, too hot to sleep comfortably or to knit in the daytime, and so dry that the countryside was soon looking very parched. The cows knew something though (cows lying down is supposedly a sign that rain is imminent) and by the middle of the month the welcome rain did sweep in, bringing freshness and quenching the countryside back to a lush green again. Toby and I have enjoyed our regular walks so much more in the welcome cooler temperatures, and he has slept better too - he is so restless on very hot nights and often up wondering around the house, meaning that one of us needs to be up with him too, so it's been nice to have some unbroken rest again.

Since launching the squirrels patterns at the beginning of the month I've been taking things slowly; starting my quiet days with breakfast in bed and some simple sock knitting; tidying and organising the kitchen a little; pottering around without much of an aim and generally enjoying nothing much on my to do list other than taking care of Toby. 

Well, there's not much else to report from here really. Summer is my least favourite season but even so there are always things to delight in, I've detailed some of them below in my monthly nature notes.

I hope that you're comfortable and content where you are,

J x

 

Nature notes from July:

• Week 1:  So hot and dry, uncomfortably so at daytime temps of 32 degrees and night time above 20 degrees
• Week 2:  An amazing sight on the evening of July 10th when a cloud of ladybirds flew over, many thousands by the look of it, many settled on the hawthorn hedging where there were quite a lot of aphids to feed on. I have never seen so many at one time, the air was thick with them for around half an hour
• Week 3:  Rain and cooler temperatures arrive, so very welcome and Toby and I happily walk in the light rain
• Week 4:  All of the branches of the plum tree in our garden are weighed down under the enormous weight of a bumper crop this year. I've also noticed that the wild plum trees are also bowed over by the abundance of their fruit. Other things that I've noticed many more of this year than usual are insects and butterflies, especially the Ringlet (most years I only see a handful but they have been most numerous this year). It must be down to the hot and dry conditions throughout spring, favouring certain species and bringing about a greater number than usual.

 

 

 

March: blossoming, birdsong and buds

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’re in that odd in-between time of year where one day it feels like Spring has arrived bringing sunshine, blue sky and warm breezes, and the next winter has reasserted dominance by sweeping back in with chilling frosts and squally sleet showers. There are however signs that Spring is really just around the corner:

• the treetops are a-twitter with small bird song, not yet at the full glory of a May dawn chorus, but certainly building towards it,
• the plum tree in our garden is in full blossom, drawing in the first bumble bees and a few butterflies emerging from their hibernation in the woodpile,
• the days are often warm enough to hang out washing on the line again, I do love gathering in line-dried washing, it smells so fresh and clean,
• blackthorn is just beginning to blossom out in the hedgerows, with the frothy white flowers so pretty against the bare branches
• trees are starting to bud, not yet turning green but poised and ready to begin
• and it looks as though Katsue the little fox is pregnant, she’s grown very rotund around the middle and I’m pretty sure it not just all of the cocktail sausages she’s been eliciting from me

Back inside I’m really excited to be working on a new 9 inch animal pattern again, but progress is unfortunately woefully slow. Having Toby here for most of the time means that I’ve had to adapt to a new way of working and basically snatch what time I can between taking care of him. It makes for very sporadic and haphazard progress, but I’m pleased if, at the end of each day, I’m able to say that I’ve moved forward a little. It’s too early in the process to show you anything just yet, but I’m really looking forward to reaching the point where I can share some progress pictures with you.

As an antidote to the brain taxing business of pattern writing I’ve been spending the bookends of each day knitting simple things, (that is to say the early mornings when I’m not fully awake, and the late evenings when I’m dozing off again). I’ve made a few of these small bandana type scarves now, it’s a lovely easily remembered pattern, perfect when when you’ve run out of concentration capacity. The pattern is called 'Sorgenfri Torkle' by Guri Pedersen and I'm knitting it in Cardiff Cashmere Classic yarn in shade 518 Piombo

Well that's all of my news for this time, I hope to have some more details of the new animal pattern soon, thanks as always for visiting with me, see you in April, J x

Spring, maybe?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's been so wet here, rain has fallen for weeks on end and many of our familiar pathways through the woods are now well beyond muddy and are completely flooded and impassable. It's been mild too, we've only had a few frosts here this winter and everything now seems to be sprouting and proclaiming the arrival of Spring. Hopefully it's not too soon and there are no snow storms just around the corner.

The old plum tree in the garden is currently in blossom, though with all the rain it's been hard to get good pictures. Usually I post with pictures of it's beautiful frothy white blossom against bright blue skies, but this year it's rain soaked blossom. It's still a lovely sight though and has been a magnet for the growing local population of green parakeets, who've been enjoying feasting on the unopened flower buds, sometimes 6 of them in the tree at a time.

We've also had daily visits from Squidgy the squirrel who now scrabbles at the back door to get our attention each morning and who loves Brazil nuts best of all. Up until a couple of weeks ago Kit was also visiting frequently and always in daylight. Now however it seems as if we have a new friendly fox, who always visits in the dark. It's so unusual for a wild fox to tolerate being visible to humans, usually as soon as they see or hear you they disappear into the shadows and are gone. But this new fox is much bolder and, like Kit, stays in the garden when we come out of the house, she sits a safe distance away, ready to run if the need arises but looking hopefully for a snack of one of Toby's cocktail sausages, which I'm more than happy to share with her. Amy has named her Kira and she's been visiting every day for the last week. I'm not sure if that means Kit has been turfed off her territory again (a while back she disappeared for many months) and we are wondering, because of the bold behaviour, if Kira is actually one of Kit's cubs that were raised in our garden in 2020. No way to know of course, I'm just delighted to be able to see these beautiful wild creatures up close.

In between planning for Toby (hopefully we're nearing the final stages of that all now) I have of course been knitting. I've been wanting to knit a lamb in spring green colours, I'm so drawn to green as a colour at the moment, but am dithering about what shade to knit in, I find it's one of the more difficult colours to choose tonal shades in. Hopefully I'll reach a decision and finish a spring lamb soon.

Hope that you're finding small joys in your days, J x

 

More spring signals

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although the trees are currently still skeletal and bare-branched, there are a few more signs that spring is just around the corner. Last summer the old plum tree in our garden had to have a heavy pruning because some of the branches were creaking badly and cracking under the weight of the plum harvest, but even so it is currently delighting both me and the bumble bees that are emerging from hibernation with it's blossom. It is such a beautiful herald of the change in seasons. There are catkins everywhere and daffodils too and I'm looking forward to going out with my camera next week in search of those, and hopefully the first of the blackthorn blossom.

Thanks for all of the comments on my winter mice giveaway post. I've notified the winners and the mice are both packaged up and currently travelling to their new homes, one in the North of England and the other a little further away in Tasmania! I will be having more giveaways later in the year so I better get on with making some more animals and also finishing off my horse pattern, can't wait to share that with you in the spring :)

Hope you have a good weekend coming up. See you soon, J x

 

Snapshots from February

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are some pictures from my February, but words seem hard to find right now. What to say when the world has undergone such a monumental change? Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness abound and it seems unlikely that anyone in the world will be untouched by the ramifications of this horrific war in Ukraine.

It is hard to balance feeling both overwhelmed and distraught at world events with moments of contentment and happiness in our own individual existence, it creates an uncomfortable mix of emotions that are hard to accommodate. But it is human to feel both, and so I am sending the hope that you are finding some moments of peace and pleasure in your days. As always I turn to nature for solace and find it constant and steadfast in it's ability to calm racing thoughts and soothe physical tension. There's knitting going on too, but it seems so inconsequential at the moment and I don't have anything finished to show.

I'm still trying to work out how best to help, for now I've donated to the British Red Cross Disaster Emergency Committee fundraising appeal but there are many many other charities raising funds to help. If you or your loved ones are directly affected you have my very deepest sympathies.