St. Paddy's Day Hike

Day 155: St. Paddy's Day dawned clear and crisp, and matured into pleasant temps by 10 AM. It's been months since I took any serious exercise, so I decided to go for a hike on the Bud Blancher Trail in Eatonville. Where exactly I was going to wind up, I had no idea, although I did want to check out the one spot along the trail where I've occasionally seen Skunk Cabbage. It wasn't blooming yet, so I went up a spur trail a little ways, finding that it didn't seem as familiar as it should have done. Was it because there were a few small trees down? I didn't think so. The lay of the land was foreign to me, and I have a very good memory for those kinds of details even if I can't tell you if a friend of forty years wears glasses. The trail took a sudden jog to the west, and I was even more convinced that I'd never been on it before. I followed it until it came out on a grassy secondary road. I definitely didn't recognize the intersection. How had I missed this one all these years? I kept heading west and connected with the familiar 1000 Rd. after about 3/4 mile. Not wanting to backtrack, I looped down past the Upper, Middle and Lower Mashel Falls trails without bothering to detour to the falls themselves (too many people), taking great joy in conversation with this chatty brooklet as it wound its way down to the Mashel mainstream. Out and about in the green! St. Pat would have loved Washington's forests.

The Weavin' O' The Green

Day 155: I was a little worried that the emerald green thread I'd ordered wouldn't arrive in time to help me celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but it showed up on Tuesday, coinciding with the completion of the third towel in a series of four currently in progress on the floor loom. Thus, I will be a-weavin' o' the green today (that's "weavin'" as opposed to "wearin'" for those of you who might have missed the word-play). I chose to use a textured weave in the white stripe rather than a simple tabby to give the towel a little more character. This is one of the reasons I enjoy Bird's-Eye: many different looks can be achieved with combinations of treadling and colour on the same warp. And yes, I am already planning a project to follow this one: a "summer-and-winter" lap throw which will take significantly longer to complete than a set of mixed-colour towels. That said, I'm playing the waiting game again. More warp thread should arrive in about a week.

Today, Everybody's Irish

Day 166: Oxalis is frequently sold at this time of year under the name of "Shamrock," but true shamrocks are a type of clover. Likewise, the "traditional" American dinner of St. Paddy's Day corned beef and cabbage is about as Irish as pierogi or lasagna. But what do we care? On St. Patrick's Day, everybody's Irish...even auld crusty Scots like me. Have a happy St. Pat's!