Neighborhood Critters

We finally had our first frost of the year yesterday morning; it is quite late this year. Just that bit of frost finally made it feel much more seasonable and fall-like. Last year, we had already had a fair bit of snow by this time.

There is much wildlife around here and we have gotten used to most of them. Some are really nice looking, like deer. Some are just stinky, like skunk. Some are a little worry-some, like coyote and fox. Some are more worry-some, like cougars (which, thankfully, we haven't heard about lately). The latest beast to wander into the area is black bear. There have been numerous sitings in the area all summer, but now one was reported hit by a car just a mile and a half away. It seems they are tough: the bear walked away, the car was towed. I wonder just what our Gypsy was barking at a bit ago? Deer? or something bigger?

Then again, perhaps it was something that looked more like this: the bat-cat!

Happy Halloween!

October?

Our unseasonable stretch of warm weather continues. Today was 80F. This is not usual around here. More usual is what happened last year (Friday the 13th). It seems odd to be knitting outside in the warm sunshine.

Last month was our Finger Lakes Fiber Festival and I realized that I forgot to show my stash enhancement from that weekend. I'm quite surprised at my restraint. The gray and red yarn is Jamieson's, there is Noro and all were a steal at $2 each. Quite some time ago, I had seen these clear boots and thought they were just neat (however, a bit pricey), another steal at $9. The green yarn is hand-dyed and for a special project. The vest/sweater pattern, called Raveneli, looks like a really good pattern to use with handspun (check out their cursor on the home page). I also picked up half a pound of Navajo-Churro roving. Every year, I get something that I haven't spun before.

I am still completely in love with Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters. So far, I've completed one pair of Ocean Toes socks and was so impressed with the fit, that I immediately cast on another pair from the book: Fountain Foxgloves. This is the first pair of toe up socks that I have been completely satisfied with the fit.

I am a haphazard housekeeper. I can always come up with something else to do that is ever so much more interesting to do. I think it's because of things like this. Even when I do try, things like this happen.

Columbus Day

Today was Columbus Day here in in the States. For the first time since grade school, I had the day off (another distinct advantage of working for a school district).

I must say that I had a pretty good day. Since it is still uncharacteristically warm around here (I think it topped out around 85F or so today), I gave our dog a bath and aired out a wool blanket (for use when cold weather does return). Deciding that was enough work for a holiday, I spent a good portion of the day here:

I made myself some iced coffee and settled down to knit my first pair of socks from Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters-Book One. Cat's mind works in many wonderous ways and this is another winner of a book as far as I'm concerned. I was quite skeptical that the new construction method would fit well, but went ahead and started Ocean Toes. I have one sock done and it fits fabulously well. I'm up to turning the heel on the second sock. In fact, it fits so well, that my next pair is going to be one of the toe-up designs. I hope that they fit as well, as I have not been impressed with the way the standard toe-up socks fit my feet.

As mentioned above, the weather has been unusually warm and summer-like in our region. This Saturday Sky picture looks more like summer to me, rather than the first week of October.