Sunday, May 28, 2017

An Interesting May

May is to spring what October is to fall: over-the-top beautiful. (A niece of mine recently said: "Isn't it amazing to live in a world where trees turn pink for a couple of weeks every year?" Yes - it is.)

This most beautiful of months even had a most beautiful day: Thursday the 18th. The lilacs were in full bloom, flowering crab and redbud trees were miracles of pink and rose and red, creeping phlox spilled like pastel waterfalls over emerald lawns, winter cress shone like sunshine in the fields, and new-leaved maples and oaks sported every shade of green, all under a bright blue sky with just the right amount of slow-sailing, puffy white clouds. A day I wished I could package up and send to all my friends and loved ones (or, better yet, have them here to share the joy).

These glories were observed, I regret to say, not from the seat of a bicycle, but from behind the windows of a car, thanks to a surgery that happened early in the month. (Not major surgery - but even a smallish surgery, coming on top of flu, can really pack a wallop. Dang.)

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A quick look back at the last ride of April, when a lingering cough was my only lament:

Clockwise from top left: lichen, wild apple blossom,
wild plum blossom, pussytoes, baby maple leaves

A tom turkey strutting and displaying in the woods near the road

Then came May, and with it the joys of modern medicine.

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Why is surgery so depressing? Is it the after-effects of anesthesia, or simply a reaction to having one's innards pulled about by sharp tools and burned by lasers? Or a combination of the two?

And then there's the frustration caused by weakness. Knowing that wildflowers are out there blooming, and not being able to get to them, is (for me) like having really good friends in town for only a few days and not being able to see them.

One evening Mr. M drove me outside of town to a spot where I hoped this flower would be blooming:

Jacob's Ladder or Greek Valerian

The blossoms had closed up for the evening, but I was glad to have caught them before they disappeared. In all my rides, I've never seen them growing anywhere else, and they've become a favourite part of May.

We stopped by the marsh where the kingcups grow:


And on the way home caught this apple tree against the sunset:


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There was plenty of May beauty nearer at hand, too. Lilacs in the yard:


Pine buds glowing in the morning sun:


And wild columbine next to the garage:


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Two new patterns were published this month, in Love of Crochet Summer 2017:

The Sandbar Shawlette, a lacy, bead-edged, crescent-shaped shawl worked in a soft, almost flannel-like cotton yarn:

Photo copyright Love of Crochet

Below are the original swatch (upper left), and the completed project on the blocking board:


Also published was the River Rock Necklace, worked from chain-stitch and simple knots:

Photo copyright Love of Crochet

Here are the original sample (left), and the finished commissioned necklace before mailing:


These projects were worked last August and September, which seems like a lifetime ago.

Some newer commissions kept me busy in May, including a very exciting project that will debut later this year.

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Yesterday I could stand it no longer; I had to have a wildflower fix. Gingerly and with trepidation, after a month of no riding, I got back on the bike. It was probably the slowest ride I've ever taken, and certainly one of the shortest, but I ran into plenty of old friends.

Rosy wild geranium:


Tiny stitchwort:


Daisy fleabane - this one just three inches tall and almost hidden in the grass, but already blooming:


Buttercups:


Dame's Rocket, the glory of roadsides throughout late May and early June:


Black Medick, with its miniscule clover-like blossoms:


A wild berry vine in bloom:


Honeysuckle in several shades (here we have cream and rose):


Bonus photo of picturesque old shed:


Golden Alexanders, showing signs of spittlebug occupation:


And the final shot before I had to turn back - red-twig dogwood in bloom:


An uncomfortable ride, but worth it. :)

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And here we are on the cusp of June (hard to believe, isn't it?). The exuberance of early spring is past, and flowering shrubs and trees are settling into their workaday green. The beauties to come will be smaller and quieter, but worth seeking out nonetheless.

One last memory from early in May - young ash leaves glowing in the morning sun:


How was your May?

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18 comments:

  1. Oh, pithy comments, ha ha. I love your shawl, jewellery and your poetic words about the beauty you see.

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  2. I hope you will be in tip top shape very soon!
    Your post fills me with such joy, so many of my favorite things...flowers, crochet and your words!
    I have only seen lilacs once. In England, they were overhanging the fence just beside the pavement (sidewalk). You know I had to stop and admire them (and smell them!)
    Take care!

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  3. Sue, I am so sorry you had to have surgery and the flu on top of that! I am happy to see you still experiencing the positives of May, Wisconsin is so beautiful in the spring. I love your newest designs, well done my friend. Here is to a healthy June!

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  4. How awful to have had a surgery and the flu! But I'm glad you're recovered enough to ride your bike. You sure do know your wildflowers! May has held some adventures for me and my husband and we have company coming in a week so now I'm trying to tidy up a household which is kind of crazy with too much stuff. I'm a nervous wreck! Oh well! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  5. Beautiful, be a photos. Surgery of any nature rem I ends me of my mortality,and I've had a few. Glad you're on the mend and on your bike. Always love your work.

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    1. Love the way my tablet left out letters, love your photos, you take great flower photos. Should read reminds not rem I ends

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  6. Beautiful photos... thanks for sharing them. I hope you are feeling better soon.

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  7. Lovely captures of your beautiful spring! So glad you were able to get back into the saddle on your bike again after your surgery. May your complete healing be as rapid as possible.
    Lovely new crochet work!

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  8. This shed could be mine. :-) All the best to you! Hopefully, you will feel better soon so you can go out and about. Regula

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  9. Oh sweet friend, I hope you are feeling better. I will keep you in prayers for a quick healing. The flowers are so lovely. I always, always enjoy seeing the photos you take of all the lovely flowers and things that are in your world. The shawl and necklace are lovely. Wishing you a day filled with many blessings sweet friend. ((hugs)).

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  10. Hey ya! I had a major surgery in my late 20s....on the table for about 10 hours. Major depression for months afterward. Talked to the doctor about it. He'd been doing a study of anesthesia and the occurance of depression following being put under anesthesia. He found that people tended to experience depression (ranging from very mild to severe) for 2 to 3 months per hour that they were under anesthesia. Correlates with my experience of over 2 1/2 years of depression following my 10 hour surgery.

    Glad you're feeling better and are out and about a bit!

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  11. Hey ya! I had a major surgery in my late 20s....on the table for about 10 hours. Major depression for months afterward. Talked to the doctor about it. He'd been doing a study of anesthesia and the occurance of depression following being put under anesthesia. He found that people tended to experience depression (ranging from very mild to severe) for 2 to 3 months per hour that they were under anesthesia. Correlates with my experience of over 2 1/2 years of depression following my 10 hour surgery.

    Glad you're feeling better and are out and about a bit!

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  12. Cheers for your published work and your successful, surgery, Sue! Thanks for treating us with views of your lovely projects, and the gorgeous Spring scenes around you. We just had wonderful guests for a week which is a happy highlight of May for me, along with enjoying how our gardens are flowering. Praying you will feel completely healed soon xx

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  13. Amazing photo's and congratulations for your having your work published both are lovely. I hope you are recovering well from your surgery, it seems to take forever doesn't it, I seem to have had more than my fare share of late and I still have one more to go when I reach the top of the list which knowing the NHS could take a while but I'm in no hurry haha. Have great weekend. :)x

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  14. I am SO sorry to hear that you had surgery, I would hate it since I have a terrible reaction to anaesthesia. Your wildflowers are balm to me and I love your shawl. Where did you get your blocking mat or, rather, is it likely that I might find something similar here?

    I hope that you are feeling rather more like you should by now.

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  16. I absolutely love the beautiful simplicity of the River Rock necklace.

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