To get rid of the Gregg’s Mistflower (which doesn’t get enough light there), and the grass which has been persistent since we moved in, I dug out several inches of the dirt in the front flower bed in December. Winter ice packed down the clay, so before we put new soil in I used a mattock to break up the packed surface.
Photo description: getting started breaking up packed down dirtPhoto description: break up completed, the lumps on the side walk are concrete waste spilled out from under the sidewalk when it was placed
My husband hauled over the new bedding dirt and filled in the flower bed, amended with chicken compost.
Photo description: new bedding dirt in the flower bed
Weather reports say we should be getting a solid rain. We’ll see how much the bed settles then get plants and mulch.
Here are two more opportunities for clover gazing. (Hint, think squares instead of triangles when looking for four-leaf clovers.)
Photo description: closeup of a patch of cloverPhoto description: same patch of clover as above, with a five-leaf clover circled in red, and a four leaf clover circled in blue
Let’s go again.
Photo description: same patch of clover a couple days laterPhoto description: same picture as above with the five-leaf clover circled in red, and four-leaf clovers circled in blue, purple, and yellow
This throwback only goes back two years, in 2024 I made my Dad a long Turks-head knot pencil grip with hemp string.
Photo description: hemp string wrapped around a yellow pencil in a woven pattern made in June 2024
I asked for hints for his birthday and he mentioned that the pencil grip doesn’t fit on mechanical pencils.
Photo description: same pencil grip on a new yellow pencil two years later next to a plastic mechanical pencil
So I made him some more.
Photo description: mechanical pencils with different colored hemp knots in different patterns
I’m still not confident with knot naming. The pencils in the photo above are laid out in the order I made them, from left to right. Rather than name the knots, I’ll tell you what went wrong. The first one I forgot to split the third time around so ended up with a different pattern. The second was too tight and I was not able to double the knot. The third was a little looser, so I doubled most of the knot, but couldn’t squeeze in the final doubling. The fourth I changed color and was still only able to double most, but not all, of the knot. The fifth I deliberately didn’t split the third pass. The sixth I was able to double some, but not all. The seventh, ah the seventh, came out as I wished, with all passes doubled.
This little dark eyed junco bashed into our window, leaving it a little stunned. Normally I would leave them alone, but it was on the metal trash can in sub freezing temperatures.
Photo description: dark eyed Junco bird on a metal trash can lid
I grabbed a shoe box, gently put the bird in, and brought it inside to rest.
After about 20 minutes, the birds started to rustle around in the box and I took the box back outside and opened it up. A very irritated bird flew out and into the trees.
To crochet a simple leaf, my favorite method is to make a foundation row, then crochet in the back loop back down from tip to stem. The foundation row is regular crochet stitches with a single chain added in the middle of working the stitch. This gives a chain-like structure on both sides.
Photo description: crocheted leaf made in two “rows”
First Foundation Half Double Crochet (ffhdc): yarn over (yo), insert hook in second chain from the hook, yo, pull up loop, ch 1, yo, pull through three loops.
Foundation Double Crochet (fdc): yo, insert hook through two side loops, yo, pull up loop, ch 1, yo, pull through two loops, yo, pull through two loops.
Fdc again.
Foundation Triple Crochet (ftc): yo, insert hook through two side loops, yo, pull up loop, ch 1, yo, pull through two loops, yo, pull through two loops, yo, pull through two loops.
Ftc again.
Two fdc.
Foundation Half Double Crochet (fhdc): yo, insert hook through two side loops, yo, pull up loop, ch 1, yo, pull through three loops.
Foundation Single Crochet (fsc): insert hook through two side loops, ch 1, yo, pull through two loops.
Ch 3.
Single crochet in back loop (scbl).
Double crochet in back loop (dcbl).
Dcbl.
Triple crochet in back loop (tcbl).
Tcbl.
Dcbl twice.
Half Double Crochet in back loop (hdcbl).
Slip stitch down the initial chain.
To make a sharper leaf tip, slip stitch the ch 3 together. To make different shapes, combine different numbers of stitches. You don’t necessarily need to match fdc with a dcbl.
To make a cluster, finish a leaf, then chain again without tying off. Vary stem lengths. clusters of three work well.
Critters and Craft 