Ice and socks

Or rather, socks and ice, with a digression on birds, but that didn’t sound as titular.

You remember the never-ending Jaywalker socks? They’re done, and I can model them as long as I tug them firmly onto my feet.

I didn’t think they would fit my mother – very disappointing, as I chose the yarn specifically to appeal to her – so I started a non-neverending pair of socks. These were the mystery project XXXX that I spent much time knitting on airplanes, and have been christened the “Nebraska socks”. They are a bit larger than the Jaywalkers, and so a teeny bit baggy on me.

The yarn is a Regia sock yarn that I got on sale at Webs last spring. I have the ball band around somewhere if anyone really cares what the colorway is. To add some interest, I put a tiny lace pattern along the ankles.

Amazingly enough, I even remembered to make them mirror-images! I would have felt like a complete doofus to have made identical socks. The second Nebraska sock was lacking a toe when I mailed the Christmas packages, so it became a New Year’s present. My mother tells me that both pairs of socks fit her just fine. I’m perplexed, since there’s at least a size difference between the two, but nonetheless quite pleased that she likes them, and they fit. It’s hard to guess at sizing to knit surprise gifts for someone you don’t see frequently. I’ve done some sewing for her by guesswork as well, and that came out nicely as well. After two successes, I’ll probably completely mangle the next one…

Bird digression. I walk to work most days. There have been an awful lot of broken small branches on the sidewalks along one of my preferred routes. I thought at first that the trees were suffering from recent windstorms, but, well, there were also plenty of signs of avian occupation on the sidewalks as well. I finally saw (and heard!) the culprits on Friday: crows.

Lots of crows. Loudly and messily occupying the treetops all along that stretch of sidewalk. This time of year it’s usually dark when I go home, so the crows are already asleep, but last Friday I escaped a bit early.

A Cornell ornithologist says this roosting behavior is common in the fall and winter. I see crows regularly, since they like the tree outside my office window, but not often something like this.

State College has a New Year’s Eve tradition of ice sculptures. As I was walking home Friday (and well past the crows), the street was already blocked off, and work crews were setting up the big ice blocks. Unfortunately, State College also has a tradition of rain and warm weather for New Year’s Eve, and some sorry-looking ice sculptures.

This year, though, New Year’s Eve dawned cool and snowy.

Some of the sculptures were already up, and a bit snowy.

Others were all wrapped up in their insulating blankets.

This was my favorite moment.

I happened to walk past just as the sculpture was catching the morning sun reflected from the window across the street (and right before my camera batteries died). It reached well above freezing that day, but the sculptures still looked quite nice by that afternoon, when the street was full of people out to enjoy the day.

Happy New Year!