Finally

It's felt like spring has in the last three weeks awakened from suspended animation.  Nothing was moving, including the knitting.  In the end, it took two episodes of Midsomer Murders, a James Bond movie and 5 episodes of Forever, but I finally finished the i-cord edging and wove in ends on the vest.

Getting to that point was a bit of a challenge- I eventually put the blocking mats on the ironing board to discourage the cats from sacking out on the vest.

The cats were forced to occupy the train layout in my husband's adjacent office to get a good view of the blocking process.

On the outdoor front...we finally got some warm weather and things are blooming.  But here is what we looked like on May 1:

No leaves.  Barely any buds.   The forsythia was blooming.  On May 1!  Usually the forsythia is gone by first week in April. Yet here it was:

The other plants just seem to be confused.   There were a few crocuses the second week in May.  A hyacinth and tulip bravely opened their petals.

The daffodils put up some green leaves, but not a single bud...they still haven't bloomed.  I'm wondering if they will bloom at all this year.   The day lilies and irises seem the least bothered, though I think they're also running a bit late.    In the wildflower bed (sometimes referred to as the Flower Cage Match Fight to the Death), the Siberian irises are making steady progress.  The day lilies are hanging in, though I think they don't really have enough sun.  The lupines, violets and lilies of the valley are duking it out in the center of the bed.   The lupines were slow starters, but they're reseeding well- I'm up to nine clumps, about half of which I think will bloom this year.

And I appear to have a volunteer columbine, which I wouldn't have spotted except for Valerie posting pictures of her columbine- I'm curious to see what it will look like if / when it blooms.

But now I need to pick out knitting for the weekend start getting the house ready for company.  My plan is to apply a broom to the drifts of cat hair.  The ones that meow and give me a dirty look will be the cats.