Wow. It's Summer.

It's summer out there. My Jungle is looking like someone cares this year. Last year, it went wild because no one did care. Last year, I was out of work, unhappy, feeling sorry
for myself & hobbling on a very sore knee that wouldn't do anything I wanted it to do. Last year I had a cane that threw my balance off. And last year, I barely came out the door to the patio unless I was passing through to the car.

This year, I pulled in the a**hole strings & put on my Big Girl pants. I replanted the hanging baskets after rescuing the few plants that survived a year on their own & added a few more. I bought a whole tray of multi-colored giant Nasturtiums & another of Alyssium. I tucked them into a big hanging basket of fresh dirt & dribbled fish fertilizer over them. Once they get going, they'll take over the place!!! I have Ever-bearing strawberries in three baskets - two baskets are 'volunteers' from the original bought several years ago. I put them in hanging baskets so I can eat them instead of the slugs & squirrels. And I planted a few Scarlet Runner beans with a ring of 'Snake' beans - the picture shows beans growing in spirals - for the bees. The poor house plants have been moved outside, under the table near the back of my covered patio & watered for the first time in a month or two. My Clematis - Jackmani - has 4.5" blooms on it this year & the Christmas Cacti is outside blooming it's little, freshly watered head off. The Pink Lady apple tree has sent out a shoot this year - I thought it had died. And I've been pulling that damned Morning Glory off everything. Since the Landlord hates to cut the grass, we got an infestation last year that took over everything. Even his lawn is full of it. So I've got Morning Glory, creeping Jenny, Vinka, Lemon Balm, Oregano, Peppermint, Fennel, Garlic & several other perennial herbs growing wild all over the back yard. My grasses have thrown seeds into all the cracks & crannies too so I have Blue Fescue - which I love - popping up in the driveway cracks! It's starting to look like my Jungle again!!!

And with this burst of energy, I started a new pair of Summer Socks. This time around, I thought I'd make them a bit shorter & rib them from the top to the ankle before making a simple foot with a nice, deep heel so they don't slide into my shoes. The greens are very pretty & I think I'll enjoy wearing these socks even though they aren't my color. One thing about socks is that you can really explore all the wilder combinations or colors that you would never wear normally.

These socks are being made from Berroco SOX. It's 80% wool & 20% nylon for hard wearing socks. The picture is a little dark because the greens are actually a lot brighter than the picture. I'm using my 2.25mm Chiagoo needles & knitting them from the cuff to the toe.