Watch For Cats

        Days are longer. Places to nap grow more abundant. Like the moss pot. Must watch for cats.

 The summer bench has made its appearance.  The Camelia blooms. First time in 8 years.

  And the rain pours down. The bench sweats. It knows. Watch for cats.

               Leaves sweat.                                But Smokey never sweats. He waits. Patient. So often does he sit here , at the back door, that I  have made a sign "Watch for Cats", right above the door handle. Yes. Watch for Cats.

           Before and after napping be sure to drink plenty of water. Spencer has his yellow cup. I have two of them. Just for him. Watching for cats.

   The sun beats down. Spencer dozes on the bench. With his yellow cup.

  Another important task is to stand on the bench. And then there's Smokey, still hopefully peering in. It's treat time. Watch for Cats. I will have to make more signs.

    Spencer decides it is  snooze time. Prairie Crocus enfolds from the dirt. The cats have been digging near its leaves.

              The bench proves too hot. The chair on the porch. Soft. Eyes droop.Ears twitch.

              Then back to the moss pot. Loamy, earthy mass. Snoring ensues.
      Afternoon drips away . Watch for Cats. Can't help but watch them. They're everywhere.....

Boutique Bag pattern

 BOUTIQUE BAG (Worsted weight yarn. 5.50 mm hook)
(Pattern adapted  from Tangled Happy pattern by Sara)

SHELL: “work 3 dc in same st or sp”

BEG SHELL: is “work ch 3, 2 dc in same st or sp”

CH 51

 ROW 1: Work 1 sc in 2^nd ch from hook. Continue working sc in each ch st to end. Join with sl st in 1^st sc. ( 50 sc). You will now be working in rounds.

RND 1: Work beg shell in same st as join. (Skip 2 stitches, then work Shell in the next st) . Repeat in the brackets. Join in top of ch 3 (17 Shells)

 RND 2: Sl st in each dc of shell into sp between first two shells. Work beg Shell. ( Work Shell in space between next shell. ) Repeat between brackets to end. Join in top of ch 3 (17 shells)

RND 3:-8: Repeat ROUND 2.

RND 9-10:Ch 1. Sc in next st and in each st to end.Join (50 sc). 

 RND 11: Ch 1.Sc in next 5 st.Ch 15.Count 15 and attach to 16th st. Sc in next 9 st.Ch 15. Coutn 15 and attach to 16^th st.Sc in next 4 stitches. Join in top of first sc. ( 50 sc)

 RND 12: Ch 1. Sc in next st and in each st across, including each ch st to end.Join in top of first sc. ( 50 sc)

RND 13-14: Ch 1 . Sc in next st and in each sc to end. Join in top of first sc.

 CROCHET FLOWER

CHAIN 4. Slip Stitch to first chain

ROUND 1: Chain 1, 12 single crochet in ring, slip st in first single crochet ot join. 12 single crochets

ROUND 2: *Chain 3, skip next single crochet, single crochet thru the FRONT loop ONLY in next single crochet; ;repeat from * around

ROUND 3: *Slip Stitch in foundation ring, ( single crochet, 4 double crochet, single crochet) in next chain 3 space, repeat from * around, ending with slip stitch in foundation ring row, making 6 petals.

 ROUND 4: *Single crochet in UNUSED back LOOP of single crochet below next petal. (I find it helpful to hold the petals away from my work.) CHAIN 4, repeat from * around, ending with slip stitch in first single crochet to join.

ROUND 5: *(Single crochet, half double crochet, double crochet, 3 treble crochet, double crochet, half double crochet, single crochet) , in next chain 4 space, repeat from * around, slip stitch in first single crochet to join. Fasten Off.

ATTACH a bead, or button in centre of flower. (Flower pattern found at Mary Jane Hall Crochet  wearables.  Most recent book was published in 2007)

First Day of Spring.....

 On the first day of spring,  Hearts that Bleed, popped up  for all to see.

  Mount Washington woke from its slumber, under a shelf of cloud.

 On the first day of spring, Cordelia peered over the fence to see if the coast was clear.

  And the clouds, and mist, rolled in , smothering us all.

 That first day of spring started out sunny, with the neighbour's cat, Spencer, lolling by the door.

  And the Mountain became clear, as the morning wobbled along.

 But in time, after first light, Cordelia decided to snooze  under the eye of the mountain.

   While Spencer and his brother begged for snacks. And the Hearts that  bleed, stood taller.

        Till the Mountain was swathed in mist. Smokey took to chasing Cordelia from her perch on the compost. And the rain began to fall.  Beneath the mountain. Beneath the clouds. Over the Hearts that bleed. This first day of Spring.
                  

My Favourite Bench

I was thinking the other day, when down at Tyee Spit, that it was  an absolutely perfect place.  My favourite bench, snuggled into the side of  a tree. If it could speak ,what would it say.  It peers over the edge of the shore by Painter's Lodge, right into  the passage.  It is one of my favourite places to be.In 1792, Captain Vancouver first sailed into these waters. I wonder what it would have been like to have stood here.

   Shortly after Vancouver's visit, the Euclataw tribe attacked the Salish in the area. Almost wiped them out. Those that were left  migrated to Comox, about 45 minutes south of Campbell River. The ones that stayed  from the Euclataw became known as Weweakam. They settled here. Probably with the same view of  the sand bars, and estuary. Today, as on most nice days, there are tourists in fishing boats, by Painter's Lodge. They carry bags of things. Things to take on Fishing charters.They are the most fun to watch. Tourists tend to stand up in little boats. The boats rock. The tourists teeter.....

               From that bench, at the end of the path, on one side is Painter's Lodge,  and on the other I can see my favourite house. It perches as well. On the rocks of Quadra Island. I wonder what kind of storms it sees. It looks like it's humming....

 Back at the house, Spencer, the neighbours' cat, stuffs himself into one of my moss baskets. He likes it filled with dirt that he can scoop out and make more comfortable.  He turns himself into a ball and dreams. He usually gets dirty paws. He waits for us to come home.

 On a blue day my favourite bench is shaded. The eagles skim overhead, and the beach and sky stretch out into nothing.

 Just one guy with a kite, pulling with all his might against the wind. And my grown daughters,on our day off,  who still like to teeter, themselves, on fallen logs, pock marked and rotting. We tend to come down here to escape the chores and errands that await. Back at the house. Where the neighbours' cats are.

 Back at the house, Spencer wonders where we are. He looks in the kitchen window. Hellllllllo. Everything has an echo....

 Meanwhile, we walk the beach of rocks. The sky pulls us  like taffy, and everything and everyone seem so far away.

 Except, back at the house, Spencer's brother, Smokey, has joined the vigil. We're not there.Helllllllo.

   Then it's a chance to run under the kite, that is whipped by the wind.

 And the kite surges on. In the quiet, with only the wind for company. And there's just us. On the field, away from the beach , and the tourists, who are far off in the corner  by Painter's Lodge. They seem to be deciding on whether or not to take out one of those small boats. The boats that make them wobble like weebles.

And then the bench is alone. I wonder if it will see any of those tourists  fall in this time. Splash. I wonder what that bench sees  when we're not here.....