Bunny Delivery

This past weekend of off-and-on again spring, I drove north from Plant Hardiness Zone 5 to Zone 7. The difference in the trees was dramatic.

Here in Maryland the trees are heavy with blossoms. Last week the buds were still dots of color on the trees, each one its separate beauty. This week the trees are puffy masses of color, the individual buds indistinguishable particles of the cloud.

By contrast, in upstate New York this weekend, the trees were mostly bare, their trunks dun but pleasing shades of gray and tan, some electric green with moss.

My son and I enjoyed the full gamut of wild early spring weather. The cold, sharp wind blew up the hill and into our light coats while we played on the playground. The next day, my son fed the spring chicks at the hardware store and ran with a pack of boys on a gloriously sunny Sunday. Monday we walked downtown under a big black umbrella through a heavy downpour that made a pond out of our driveway. On Tuesday, the rain turned to snow as we sat at the breakfast table. It kept snowing as we drove south again. It dusted the very tops of the low mountains we drove past like a light, sweet coating of powdered sugar.      

It was a weekend free of bunny making (I missed stitching!), though we did collect a few more wool sweaters for future bunnies. I did a little felting experiment and found that using the steam option on my washing machine yields a very tightly felted cashmere that is still so soft and pleasing to the touch.

I had the pleasure of delivering Crafting for Courage bunnies to friends old and new. One bunny made its home with a brilliant and delightful college student. At a new friend's house, another bunny found a hiding place in a wooden curiosity cabinet next to a pair of embroidered felt shoes from a foreign land. At a gathering of a circle of writing friends, the bunnies nestled on the fireplace mantle and were cuddled and admired under a dragonfly birthday bunting made by a multitalented friend. Two bunnies, waiting for Easter, helped us share a happy breakfast with a lovely friend. And then two of the bunnies came to see us off on our last day. They were christened Sakura-chan and Saiki (Psycho?)-Sake-chan.

These bunnies--the most improbable of vessels--showed me what a wealth of sparkly and talented and loving and generous friends I have the honor to know.