The bottom swatch uses Crystal Palace Panda Cotton which is a bamboo/cotton/nylon blend. I was originally planning some summer gloves with lacy cuffs but this yarn is very prone to splitting. For some reason splitty yarns don't bother me in colorwork but they drive me insane in lace knitting. I think this swatch may become some fingerless mitts instead.
We planted a vegetable garden with a unique solution for our many gophers, cottontails, squirrels and other plant-munching creatures. DH made containers of chicken wire with a double wire bottom. He dug the holes, inserted the wire container and some dirt, and then the plant. I have been gardening disastrously long enough in New Mexico that I still think this method has only a 10% chance of success.
In the photo above you see some tomatoes planted right next to our trombe wall. A trombe wall is a passive-solar design element; basically it collects heat due to the windows right next to an earthen wall. There are vents that shoot heat into the house through the trombe wall in winter. Supposedly the angle of the sun is supposed to keep the trombe wall from heating up in summer but ours is always quite warm to the touch so I'm not sure there are any energy savings when you add in the extra cooling costs. Anyway, we thought the tomatoes might like the extra heat there.
