Nature Is the Best Mood Board

Sometimes I think we try too hard when looking for inspiration. A ramble in the backyard can give a knitter all sorts of ideas.

This has been the greenest spring in the history of Nashville. Surely.

A match for Jill Draper’s Rifton, in the colorway Spring. Which I happen to be knitting right now.

The magnolia buds are as hard as hand grenades.

Moss growing on lichens.

The honeysuckle in the warm sun.

The hellebores haven’t given up.

The hostas.

Roses.

Mahonia.

Some flowers are already done. This tulip dropped its petals soon after I took this photograph.

The fig tree, which damn near died in the hard winter two years ago, has launched a confused, early fig.

The ants are busy getting the peonies ready.

Finally, here’s the oak tree I planted last spring. It has doubled in size, from two feet to four feet. The oak tree behind it is 90 years old. The barred owl lives there, in a big hole on the far side.

If you’re looking for something to make you feel great, planting a tree is right up there.