Waxwing

Waxwing
"To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour."

From "Auguries of Innocence"

by William Blake

Tuesday 24 January 2023

Recent Reading, Knitting and in the Garden

 

Recent Reading

A combination of wet weather followed by cold weather plus a cold that has spread through the family means I still haven't managed to get out to look for snowdrops. Reading has been my main occupation!

I enjoyed the second book in the Dartmoor series more than the first. It has a very dramatic ending, full of action, if a trifle far fetched!!



This was a lovely book to read full of sketches by the author's grandfather. It was a good find in "Books Revisited" Coleshill.




I am still enjoying the Mitchell and Markby books.




Knitting

Its taken ages but I have finally finished my "cappuccino" jumper. It the same pattern I used before knitted in chunky yarn but I made the body and sleeve lengths shorter this time.



I'm now knitting my son a jumper in extra chunky yarn which is proving a bit laborious as the 10mm needles are quite long and seem cumbersome to use.


Garden

The winter leaf salad is growing well and the pot before it contains garlic planted by D last autumn.





There is not much in flower in the garden - Bergenia, Winter Jasmine and Wild Primroses have buds. No sign of any Snowdrops yet but it is always February when they appear here.





The colder weather has brought more birds to the feeders including the Ring-Necked Parakeets, Great Spotted Woodpecker and a female Chaffinch. Like many of you I will be doing the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch this weekend and I look forward to reading what others have seen.


I hope everyone is staying safe and well.


10 comments:

Billy Blue Eyes said...

I hav eto admit the English Country Churches looks interesting, pity it's out of print.

Ragged Robin said...

Billy Blue Eyes - Thank you. The copy I bought was second hand and only cost about £2 so worth looking out for. Churches are mainly in the south east but its a lovely book.

Caroline Gill said...

Thank you, RR, for your comment on W&W. I hope you all recover from the cold virus soon. Your knitting is amazing! What a fabulous jumper. I once knitted a Dr Who scarf, but never really got beyond plain stitch and stocking stitch. I am left-handed, which made it hard for members of the family to teach me. Like you, we are gearing up for the Birdwatch at the w/e. We have about 10 species on a regular basis, but how many will show up in just one hour, well, time alone will tell. I think we have only had two Redwing in the garden this year thus far, which is well down on a year ago. We have lost a key tree in the local nature reserve beyond our boundary, which doesn't help. On a positive note, the Camellia by the fence has a magnificent flower - and this seems just a little early.

Ragged Robin said...

Caroline Gill - Thanks so much. I knitted my son a Dr Who Scarf once! Believe me I can only do basic knitting like knit, pearl, cast on and off but this jumper was quite easy. My mum used to do the complicated stuff like sew up things I knitted and pick up stitches and finish the neck but as she is no longer with us I just had to do it myself! There were some holes round the neck where I picked up stitches but with the different colours in the yarn I was able to patch them up without it showing!
Let us hope we all do well with the Garden Birdwatch but data is useful how ever many you see :)
We have had a couple of Redwing visits when it was very cold. Such a shame about losing the key tree nearby. Strangely I couldn't see any buds on our Camellias or the one next door which usually flowers early.

Rosie said...

Your jumper looks wonderful, so cosy and warm. I'm looking forward to the bird watch and seeing what visitors other participants have in their gardens. The church book looks interesting and I must look out for the Dartmoor books:)

Ragged Robin said...

Rosie - Thanks so much. Really pleased with the jumper. I have the wool to make another one. It will be interesting to see what birds everyone sees. I've just started another new series recommended by Billy Blue Eyes which is really good. The first one is Death on the Oxford Canal by Faith Martin with DI Hillary Greene. I enjoyed it so much I am already reading the second. Not sure if you have read this series but I think you would like :)

Rosie said...

I think I've read a couple of those Hillary Greene books by Faith Martin. Also I have read all of her Ryder and Loveday series which is set in Oxford in the early 1960s and enjoyed them:)

Ragged Robin said...

Rosie - Thanks for that info. It is good she has written several series. To slightly change the subject I must admit I didn't really overly enjoy the Inspector Morse books set in a similar area but one day I will read the next on my Kindle. I found the Morse books quite dated.

CherryPie said...

My garden birds are always sleepy at this time of year. In another month they will be out and about in all their glory.

Ragged Robin said...

CherryPie - Thank yu. We tend to get more birds here when it is frosty and cold.