We have been working really hard in our garden and everything is looking really great. The butterfly bush, which Marcus has been so excited about, has finally started to bloom. And, we’ve finally had butterflies in our garden. Some small, pale yellow butterflies (about the size of a half-dollar coin) really seem to like our Basil plant in our herb box so I haven’t been cutting back its blooms, which is probably stunting the growth of the leaves, but since we haven’t actually used any of the basil, it probably doesn’t matter.

But the really exciting part is that a couple days ago, a monarch butterfly came to visit our butterfly bush!

It was absolutely amazing, watching this tiny, perfect creature climb all over our butterfly bush, drinking the nectar.

Since the butterfly was on the bush for at least 20 minutes, I took nearly 40 pictures, but I’m not going to post all of them.

Since I love butterflies, it was a real treat to have this monarch tolerate me being so close for so long. The last time I was this close to a butterfly was when Marcus and I went up to the Butterfly Conservatory at Niagara Falls. And that was right before we were married, which, incidentally, was four years ago today. Yep, today, July 26, is our four-year wedding anniversary. Marcus, you are so wonderful. I love you even more today than I did four years ago. You are my everything.

Happy Anniversary, My Love!

A friend of mine from high school, Jessica, came to visit us a few weekends ago. Since she might be joining Christian Peacemaker Teams (also known as CPT), we might not see her for quite a while. So, I decided to give her the hand-knit matching fingerless mittens and hat set that I made for her. She absolutely loved them! She could hardly sit still long enough for me to take these pictures of her.

Right after the last time Jess visited us, I started making these fingerless mittens for Jess because she really admired a pair of similar “monster mittens” that my Mom had made for me.

Here is Jess again, with the “Monster Mittens” starting to take control of her.

I used black Ironstone wool held with green Fun Fur yarn for the fingerless mittens (which I call “f’ittens”) and the hat. They were all done in a Knit 2, Purl 2 rib, and the “f’ittens” were created in a rectangle then sewn up the side, leaving a large hole for the thumb.

Paul, another friend from high school as well as a good friend of Jessica’s, also came to visit on Sunday, so we made both Paul and Marcus model the Hat and F’ittens, too.

Here is Paul, ashamed that the promise of London Broil and home-made pasta makes him so willing to humilate himself.

And of course, Marcus:

Don’t you just love watching a grown man pout? Actually, Marcus could hardly stop laughing long enough for me to take a “mad” picture.

Too fun.

Yesterday morning, before it become too hot to breath outside, Marcus went out to water our flowers and discovered little visitors.

Bunnies! Baby bunnies! I know that when they grow up, they will be little menaces, eating my blueberry bush and flowers, but right now, they are just so cute!

Marcus (who took all these pictures of the bunnies) said they were under the smaller hydrangea bush and under the deck. And last night, when we were out watering, I got to see them, too! This time, two were under the one of my lupine flowers, one was under the deck and one was down by the smaller hydrangea bush again. They are just tiny! I couldn’t believe how small they were! They were no longer than four inches, with such tiny little ears!

And the momma bunny is okay, too, because Marcus saw her when he went back out to get his laptop after we finished watering. That was something that worried me - that the only reason the babies were so close to the house was because something had happened to their mother. But she’s fine! She just apparently decided that under our deck was a marvelous place to sleep, especially with all the lovely cover we apparently planted just for them.

In these pictures, if one of the bunnies looks wet, that’s because it is. Yesterday morning, before he looked closer, Marcus thought that it was a squirrel or a mouse and sprayed it with the hose. (He apologized to the poor little bunnies afterwards, who were apparently under very strict instructions from their mother not to stray an inch from where she left them because the little bunnies didn’t move the whole time Marcus was out there.)

So, there are four little bunnies, and the momma bunny, and apparently they are living under the deck, or at least sleeping under it at night. I don’t know if we will see them again, especially since every time we see them, it is because we accidentally get them wet, but we will look for them and think fondly of them. At least, until they start eating my blueberry bush.

Marcus and I have been very busy lately - lots of gardening, etc. Yesterday, we went to the Boston Mills Artfest. It was great! Boston Mills was the first art festival we attended here in Ohio, three summers ago when we were first looking for a house.

We have also been enjoying the new fire pit that Marcus bought.

It is very fun to sit out in our backyard, with all the flowers, and knit in front of the fire pit. Marcus found some tikki torches in the garage and they have been really fun, too. Of course, Lyssie makes it very difficult to knit because she insists that I hold her. (She absolutely hates grass and would much rather be inside the climate-controlled house. Remind you of anyone? )

In the picture above, I am working on my Schaefer scarf. I am using Schaefer Elaine yarn and the pattern is Ruffled Edge Scarf from Vogue on the Go: Chunky Scarves and Hats.

This scarf is actually quite a big deal for me, not because the pattern is all that hard (although it is plenty challenging, let me assure you!) but because of what it represents. This is the scarf that really made me want to learn how to knit.

A couple years ago, my Mom had knit up this pattern in another colorway of Schaefer Elaine as a sample for the yarn shop where she works. I absolutely fell in love with this scarf! The thick-and-thin texture of the yarn, the way the ends of the scarf flair out, the way the hand-dyed colors interact with each other - I was smitten. I had to make this scarf!

Mom tried to discourage me, since at that point I think I had knitted a whopping 2 dish clothes, had never even purled, let alone SSK-ed or made a L-inc or a R-inc. (Actually, I still haven’t done those last two.) But, I was insistent, so she got me started on it. I think I cast-on and knitted two whole rows before deciding that maybe Mom was right.

A few months ago, Mom and I decided that I was now ready to give this scarf another try. So far, it is turning out great! I love it! Once again, I love everything about this scarf! (Of course, I still haven’t got to the rather difficult increasing part at the end, but I am just ignoring that fact for now. )