The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day.
~Robert Frost

It is Wednesday, and Charles is off to entertain at the Care Centre with the

Senior Singers

Not one of April's best days.  The wind blusters about, intent

on blowing the blossoms from the flowering shrubs, and

causing the garden plants to adopt a decided lean to the East.

Still, I have seen a Magnolia Blossom from the tree

at the big house

and I am impatient to see the whole magnificent sight.

I set off to be buffeted down the lane.

At the turn in the road I stop to admire the glorious soft fruit blossoms.....

and to examine the apple blossoms 

'in the pink'

and eager to release their sentimental fragrance

The magnolia tree is magnificent.

The west wind has scattered the clouds above 

and there is enough blue in the sky to make a sailor a pair of pants

and to provide a perfect background for these delicate blooms.

I stop and chat a bit, discussing the ways of the world

and taking note of the flowering almond, - its branches packed tightly with

tiny tender pink buds.

and the interesting old tree alongside the house

It is getting close to lunch time and I trek back up the lane..

Meanwhile, back in the garden the big celebration is Tulip Time 

and Sweet Honesty and the lemony Spurge bloom along with them

Along the road and in the pasture the dandelions hold their own golden converse.

and a mourning dove waits to greet me home.

Skywatch Friday

Three Similkameen sunrises and one sunset - hard to tell which is which 

but don't let that lovely slender moon fool you.

For more beautiful skies from around the world

visit Skywatch Friday

with many thanks to those who host this meme.

ABC Wednesday


The letter this week is N, and N stands for Niddy Noddy.

Niddy-noddy, niddy-noddy, two heads and one body


The niddy-noddy is a spinner's good friend that enables her/him to wind wool directly from the bobbin after spinning or plying and measure the length of the wool at the same time.


Wikipedia has a very informative article here which explains the use and value of the niddy-noddy to spinners who must remove the yarn they have made from the bobbin into skeins for washing or dyeing.


I can attest to this, having had many skeins of wet wool weighted down at the bottom and hanging from shower heads or pinned to coat hangers, - practically as good as wet nylons in the business of irritating husbands.

A niddy-noddy can be quite elegant when it is made out of wood, lathed and polished, or it can be very practical if made at home from PVC - instructions can be found here in a great blog written by DoctorDirt and entitled As the Yarn Turns.


Are you a knitter?  Do you have some knitted wool you want to salvage or recycle?  A niddy-noddy is your answer.....as seen here on scarlet-zebra.com.

For more interpretations of the letter N pop over to ABC Wednesday - you never know what you will learn.....