Joys of Winter

baggy Rainbow disappears in a trice. Big bolshy clouds scudding across the sky. Cat ambles into his apartment. Another deluge about to kick off. Beautiful bonny Scotia!

Same here, super.

Today
The weather's moody -
Towering clouds
That seem to frown
Upon a sullen sea.
Rain like daggers
Pierce the sodden ground
To which ancient tree roots
Cling and clutch with gnarled fingers.
And then...
Nature paints a patch of blue
Mellowing the dark and brooding sea
Wave-crests spark with threads of sunlight
That weaves magic through bare branches -
All framed by a fleeting
Brilliant rainbow...

Butternut

Long ago, my mother knitted a pair of socks for my father. She "got lost at the rounded toe-end" and had to sew the top to the bottom - very clumsily. Father never wore them on his feet. They did however make decent mittens with which to polish the car! I started a scarf in 1971. Kept on knitting because I couldn't get the hang of casting off. By the time I had mastered the art, circa late 1972, the scarf was nigh on ten feet long and had cost a small fortune in wool. Still have it. Happy memories!

Your blanket (or 'brangkink', as DD3 use to call them) sounds lovely, butty. DD2 challenged herself to knit a blanket in squares. Not sure why except to prove that she could, perhaps because DD1 is a fantastic knitter. However, she couldn't face sewing the squares together. DD1 is going to join them for her in some fancy way she found on ravelry.com.

I meant 'just' like...

Have just read 'The Knitting Circle', Butter. You sound dust like a character from the book!

I'm teaching myself to knit
On big fat needles
It's amazing what you can find
On You Tube these days.
I'm knitting squares and counting
And only doing 'plain' - not even purl yet
Hoping to make an old-fashioned blanket
For my knees.
I've a wicker basket for the big balls of wool
Bay greens, fire oranges, and stone creams
Some lichen yellows, mixed in with tree-bark browns.
I do wonder if I'll finish it this Winter
Or next.

Carol Cats are their own persons and will never let you forget it

That's one very wise cat who has chosen you well supernana. Next door's cat likes to hang out by my wheelie bin but there are no mod cons, just a vantage point from where she can see whether I am going to open the door for her, much to my dog's disgust! Cats do rule........

Carol Bloshy cats are very particular! When Rory [part wild] turned up in our garden, we thought [wrongly] that a few scraps would help to add a little luxury to his life. Then we were concerned that the scraps would get wet in the rain. Husband constructed a wee shelter under which a dish could be left. Rory liked the wee shelter - ate his scraps and duly proceeded to lie on the empty dish! Friend suggested wheelie bin. It had held sand, so not at all pongy. Scrubbed bin, lay it on it's side and cut the flap in half...to keep out the worst of the wind etc. Looked on eBay and bid for a very grand igloo cat bed...which we "won." Furnished the igloo [which is thick and cosy] with a few jumpers and a fleece. Put newspaper at entrance [for wiping the paws on.] Bought two smart bowls. Sold some unworn clothes on eBay and with proceeds, filled the cupboard with a decent supply of cat food and biscuits. Rory now lives in the igloo in the wheelie bin - with the Scottish flag [only wee] flying over the lid. He gets two nourishing meals every day. Sits on top of our wheelie bin, looks through kitchen window and mimes, "FEED me!" Door opens...bloshy cat strolls in, sharpens his claws on the doormat, and then leads ME bearing HIS feast back to his residence. I shine a huge torch through the bedroom window into his home when I need to know what he's doing. On occasions, a very sweet female tabby [his mate] and a young kitten [his offspring] stroll by and finish his leftovers. It's a cat's life...

Now I understand why next door's bloshy cat is forever sat at the side of my wheelie bin - brilliant!

Supernana -a great sense of humour. Really enjoyed reading that over my late-lunch sandwich.

A pretty and chilly morning morning for you bagitha.

bagitha The Kintyre day is grey. Big landslide at the rest and be thankful, so partial cut-off for us.

Butternut Indeed...bloshy cat it is x

Bloshy cat
Big and black
Snuggles down on fleece
Inside his igloo den
Inside the wheelie-bin.
He wears a cross-patch face
And considers -
'Should I contact the
Leveson Enquiry?'
'Invasion of privacy...'
'Papparazzi-mania!'
'Since becoming a celeb-cat
Of humble origins
The little old lady indoors
Cannot help but be intrusive...
Shining the mega-torch
Into my private apartment -
Anxious to know
Whether I'm in residence, or not...'

From now on, it's bloshy cats for me! Love the poem supernana

In one direction
Dark larch against a pink-orange sky
And pink reflected in still water.
The other way,
The cloud and snow mingle
So that it's hard to tell
Which is which
Until the sun gets up a little more
And shows the cold we felt last night
To be indeed mair snaw.

I love bolshy cats - and this poem!

Oops - is there a word 'bloshy'? (I wonder what it might mean ). Actually quite like it, but of course meant 'bolshy'!

supernana - love your bloshy cat - Lovely - and been feeling fairly bolshy today, too.

Yes, I agree supernana - brilliant words by bagitha. It's amazing what a sunshine gap will have you noticing........ (wink).......! Hope 'son' comes and fixes things soon. We have similar walls....

Baggy Brilliant!

Well...
Feral cat's marathon
Walkabout
Kept me ever watchful -
His apartment home
Clean
Tidy
Empty!
Bowl of food
By his door...
Just in case!
Tabby visitor and her kit
Take advantage -
Dishes
Clean
Tidy
Empty.
Lick their whiskers -
Wander off with rounded bellies.
Early hours
In a dream
I hear his plaintive cry -
Leap from bed
Fill his bowl
Open door -
'Where've you been?'
'What time do you call this?'
'Treat this place like a hotel.'
Rory, the wayward cat
Leads me to his den -
Tucks in and leaves his bowl
Clean and tidy and empty.
Welcome back
Big, black, bolshy cat.

I like it, super, and if that's a lazy day, whatever are you like when you're energetic?

Meanwhile on our brae:

In a sunshine gap —
Which is a gap in the rain clouds,
Rain, and the howling wind
That have dominated the last two days
That, between them, have driven water
Into a miniscule space in our chimney wall,
Water that has seeped down
Through the ancient wall
And dripped, softly, onto DD's boots
In the outhouse (that same outhouse
Beloved of chaffinches) —
I have noticed the soft green
Of the lichens on the sodden trees,
Trees that are shining now
In that beautiful, cool, northern light
That we love so much.
I have noticed the bullfinch pair
Investigating a huge old buddleia
And a bunch of sparrows
Chip-chipping and bouncing around
In the gold cotoneaster.
I have noticed kind neighbourliness
In a retired builder, who will 'speak to his son'
About our leak because the chap who came before
Has gone to Portugal for the winter.
Builder neighbour said: "You and I
Should get a job like that!"

Have just been pottering round the garden 'inspecting' while on my way to fill the bird feeders, and the first of the snowdrops are poking up their little heads. Looks like they will be in flower before Christmas.

15 degrees here in Devon for the fifth day running..positively balmy.Have to keep taking layers off instead of putting them on!