Romp in the swamp

Charlie never really wanted to be a competition dog. He liked tracking pretty well, but really didn't want to run agility, and had only a passing interest in sheep. However, he has finally found a sport he can really get into: hiking.

Greg's a dedicated hiker and has been for many years, so one thing he's been doing since moving here is discover all the good trails in the experimental forest and the local hills. He loves to take Charlie out for a run on one of the forest trails, and they both come back shortly afterward, panting and happy.

I tagged along on today's hike. Greg had found a lovely cedar swamp that he wanted to share with me, at the end of one of his and Charlie's favorite trails. Charlie was allowed to go off-lead, which made his little brown day. While Greg and I stayed to the paths and used the stepping-stones to cross the streams, he break-danced in the snow and bounced through the thin ice on the pools. A good time was had by all.

Knitstuff

I've finished up two of those scarves in the pink Fun Fur for the friends who wanted them. I'd started another in red Berroco Glitz on #15 needles that wasn't turning out well, so I decided to frog it. The yarn managed to get all knotted and impossible to frog, so I'll salvage what I can and put the red scarf back together. It wasn't intended as a Christmas present, so no harm done.

Also re-emerging from the frog pond: a throw in two shades of Lion Brand Homespun. It looked really pretty in the photo and knits up quickly, since it uses two strands held together... but I started knitting it during the World Series, and I got so carried away that I made mistakes, even in such a simple pattern. This needs to be frogged back several rows and restarted.

Lesson learned: I'll always need two kinds of projects. One is a "stupid project" that doesn't require any real thought (garter stitch scarves are perfect for this and all my friends need them). The other type is the project I need to devote a little attention to.

Yarns I Hope Never to Knit Again

• Sirdar Snowflake
  
• Lion Brand Homespun
  
• Gedifra Hippy