Little Things

What we call little things are merely the causes of great things; they are the beginning, the embryo, and it is the point of departure which, generally speaking, decides the whole future of an existence. One single black speck may be the beginning of a gangrene, of a storm, of a revolution. - Henri Frederic Amiel


Maybe because I hated this winter I have been noticing every little thing happening around here. Little changes in temperature have melted most of the snow in the woods. The snow on the yard and garden is getting thinner. My driveway is only icy when we go out in the morning. The birds are making more noise in the woods. I am seeing more deer near the edge of the woods.

I heard on the news this morning that these little changes had the crocuses coming up in one ladies yard. I had to go see if there was anything peeking out in my own neck of the woods and sure enough there was. A quick walk revealed daffodils, snow drops

and the bleeding heart

are making their annual debut. Although there was no visual confirmation due to a cloudy day, I have heard geese flying over head. Now I am on the lookout for the first robin in the yard.

With a little bit of change in the temperature and a little more sun, I was hanging laundry out to dry without my fingers in danger of frostbite! No drier sheet can duplicate the smell of laundry fresh off the line.

The little bit of additional light has made the chickens start laying more. Not to be out done by their feathered counterparts the ducks have decided to start laying now also.

A little bit of patience made me go back to spinning alpaca. I had picked up 4 ozs of gray and 4 ozs. of charcoal in the Little Barn while at Rhinebeck. When I first started to spin it I was not getting enough twist and it was so slippery. After several attempts I put it away and went back to spinning wool. Not to be bested by mere fiber I took it out again the other day.

For some inexplicable reason I had absolutely no problems with it. I finished spinning it and plied it. Today I started spinning the charcoal.

Now with a little bit of practice I will be spinning on the newest oldest spinning wheel. Cyndy emailed me to say her CPW was up for sale and I bought her. This is my first double drive wheel so lots to learn and I better be a quick learner because soon little bits of seeds will need to be started to become plants for this year’s garden. I still have to get my flats all washed, mix up some soil, clean the greenhouse…..