I’ve never had a job like this, one that is so tied to the outdoors. It was a while before I understood that one of the reasons I love to come to work is that I am in and outside all day long, in the fresh (or damp) air, needing a sweater on breezy days, and making sure my rain jacket is always in the car.

I might complain that papers keep blowing off the desk (there are stones to hold everything down), or that the floor is always either sandy or damp, and that the layers of sandy dust can never be completely wiped away, but they are small complaints.

Because when I close the door in the evening and walk to my car, this is what I see when I turn around and look back. I work long hours, and I’m bone-tired, but I leave knowing I’ve done good work, and with my soul intact.

And on some evenings, after a long day at work, I’m the only person left there. I walk down to lock my files in the barn office. The barn is quiet except for the birds, so many birds, mostly sparrows. Dahli and Tiamo are there, nosey and interested—especially Dahli (on the left), who may as well be saying, “Hi! Hi! Hey, what’s new?” All the other horses are quiet, tucked in for the night.

Tuesdays and Wednesdays are my days off for now, so I treat them like a weekend. I do all my errands on one day, and rest on the other. I’ve been working on a shawl, the ingeniously-shaped Lory by Bristol Ivy. I’m using some Sundara Sport from Kris Jensen’s stash. It’s comfort knitting on my days off or on those rare evenings when I get home before 8:00.

And there’s something else in the works. The notebooks and pen are out again, and ideas and stitches and shapes are finding their way to the pages. I think while I knit Lory, and make the notations and scribbles that will lead to swatches and spreadsheets and a knitted thing.

Before long, summer will be over. I’ll be able to spend fewer hours at work, and less time getting there and back. I’ll get to spend more time concentrating on knitting and thinking up knitting. And I’ll be able to leave work in the evening with a less tired but still satisfied smile.

Landmark Update

I’m so grateful to all who have downloaded Landmark and Boxwood! There’s an updated version of the shawl (V1.1) that is available to everyone who purchased the original version. All downloads after July 23rd are the updated pattern.