Green Hat, Greens, and Spring Flowers

I have so many things I could blog about, but really time to do one (maybe two) post(s) a week, that I can’t decide what to blog about first, and then I don’t blog about anything. So, I’m throwing themed posts out the window, and I blog what I blog–it’s how Popeye would blog (I loved Popeye when I was a kid; I have no idea why).

Anyway, for Christmas Valentine’s Day I knit M a hat.

That’s the Jacques Cousteau pattern knit in Knitpicks Gloss DK because all manly men like 30% silk fiber in their hats. Doesn’t M look like he’s ready to head out to sea?

I like the decrease pattern on this hat, which almost made it worth the 8 inches of 3×2 ribbing. I changed the decreases to those of ker2’s on Ravelry. They worked well.

My raised bed for greens did really well this winter! At the very left is mache, which I would not grow again. It was supposed to be nutty tasting. It tasted like leaves and didn’t grow that well. From right to left: arugula, oakleaf and salad bowl leaf lettuce, romaine, watercress (did not do well) and the mache. I am definitely growing the arugula, oakleaf and romaine again next year.

And we have had a small harvest of broccoli rabe. It’s OK, but next year I think I’ll go with snow peas and sugar snap peas. The Felco harvesting shears are fantastic. My parents gave them to me for my birthday (Thanks, Mom and Dad!), and I love them for cutting flowers and the lettuces and such.

And speaking of flowers, it’s spring here in Northern California! February is a very good reason for living in California, unless of course you are a native Californian, and then February is still winter because the calendar says so, and high temperatures are often only in the 50s. But the flowers are starting to bloom, and that means Spring!

Not our daffodils, but I plan to put some in this coming autumn. Tulips don’t do well here (they need weeks of cold) but daffodils are fine.

Flowering quince in a neighbor’s yard. I may have to look into this.Beautiful flowers–plant, not so much.

Calendula from my own backyard. I have these in a pot, but I may move some of them around, although I hear they will “naturalize.” That may or may not be a good thing. M kind of likes a tidy garden.