Our weekend park walks have been lovely recently - or perhaps that should be 'even more lovely than usual'. I really don't know how we managed before we properly discovered the woodland trails and wide open spaces hidden just up the hill from our house. Living, as we do, within a mile or so of the city centre I feel we're very fortunate to have somewhere like this to escape to whenever we feel like it.
My friend has just become a grandma again, to two tiny identical twin girls, who were born very early at 33 weeks. There were times during the pregnancy when the doctors weren't sure if both babies would survive, and they are still undergoing tests for issues with their hearing and vision, but everyone is very thankful that they are here at last, gaining weight and doing well. Of course I have been busy knitting things to keep them cosy and warm: dear little bonnets (Wee Morrie pattern, slightly adapted with a plain stocking sttich back) and cardigans. The great thing about baby clothes is that you can make them so quickly; with simple top-down patterns and magic loop they literally fly off the needles. Seamless knitting all the way!
I took the two photos below on a late afternoon walk with the XXSCat dog. Outside a local primary school swathes of vibrant yellow leaves had accumulated in piles and puddles in the gutter, creating accidental abstract patterns on the road. I'm not sure what passers-by made of the crazy lady taking photos of the pavement, but it was far too beautiful to resist.
Last weekend's park walk was all about the fallen leaves as well. We arrived after the frost had melted, to find everything bejewelled with tiny beads of water. I kept stopping for "just one more photo" every few yards, until my poor husband and the XXCat dog started to grumble at the snail's pace progress we were making. I think it's the hoarder/collector in me that can never get enough!