Choices...
I've been struggling with what to blog lately.  Everything has either felt far too personal to blog, or much too mundane.  I haven't finished any knitting, although I have several projects on the needles.  I haven't been anywhere special nor done anything very interesting.  I guess it's time for Random Thoughts.
The weather has been beautiful, sunny, warm.  
The marsh is in full green glory and things are growing so fast one must almost jump back to keep from getting knocked over. :)  
On Sunday, I picked fresh spearmint from plants we put in around the stream last summer, and dropped it into the pitcher of iced tea I was steeping. Yum!
We planted thirty-five red raspberry bushes that were given me by my cousin and his wife. Most are showing signs of growth, so we should have plenty of raspberries in the future, maybe even as early as this fall!
A flock of Canada geese visited the house this morning, coming almost to the back deck before they saw me and waddled away. There must have been at least twenty-five adults and goslings.  They spend a great deal of time in the millpond next door, but I don't often see them in the yard here.
So far this year, I've seen wild turkeys, chipmunks (we have one who can climb the four-foot-tall half-inch steel post and jump into the bird feeder, where he stuffs his cheeks full of seeds), deer, and geese in the yard.  I had to stop mowing two times Monday and wait for female snapping turtles to cross in front of me. They'd been laying their eggs.  Turtles move exceeding slowly.  I could have picked them up and moved them along, but they were snappers, after all, and I cherish my fingers.
Goldfinches, bright yellow in their summer plumage, grosbeaks, red-headed woodpeckers, cardinals, blue jays, robins, and hawks number among the birds who flit about the yard and visit the bird feeder.  I haven't seen any hummingbirds yet, but the feeder is ready to be filled and hung outside the back door for them.  I saw a mink on the little bridge across the stream!  

The Lonely Socks Club

I have this basket full of single socks.  These are samples that I knit for some of the various patterns that I designed for publication.  On Ravelry, they are celebrating the 'Ravelympics', with participants challenging themselves to complete knitting goals during the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London.  My goal, as a member of Sock Madness 6, is to knit as many of the matching socks as possible between the opening and closing ceremonies.  I put aside the yarns that I used for all of these when I designed them, so all I have to do now is put the yarn and the socks together, find copies of the patterns, and be ready for opening day!
I should be forbidden to ever trim my own bangs when they get long.  I look like the little Dutch boy on the paint cans.  Yikes.
My friend, Michelle, is now home for good and taking her terminal leave before officially retiring from the Navy. Thank you, Shelly, for your twenty-six years of service, and welcome home to the next segment of your life!
Off to work now.