Thinking green ...

But shades of gray are rolling in.

Fog has dropped in for an extended stay after a sunny weekend.

Last weekend, spring came early and canceled our snowshoeing trip. With blue skies over our heads, my friends and I strolled around the NEW Zoo. The animals were enjoying spring fever themselves as they scurried about. I fed a giraffe and my husband befriended a black sheep who climbed the fence to get more kibble.

Hello to my new giraffe friends! (More zoo photos for Facebook friends)

The walking was a breath of fresh air and inspired me to do something active everyday starting then. Of course, my body had different plans but I'll touch on that later ...

On the heel of the snow-melt, I failed to see much green in our backyard. Do you remember our vole friends from the summer? I guess our traps didn't cull the population as much as we thought. They carved a deeper superhighway into our lawn during the winter. A small part of me admires their artistic interpretation of our backyard while the rest is dreading the spring cleanup to come.

More damage photos on my Flickr

So I turn to knitting for a dose of green. I finally finished my Mossy Scarf on a foggy night and took a photo this foggy morning. Maybe the damp weather is lingering so I can wear this tonight!

I've also been itching to try out my new Loom Knitting Socks book but I'm not ready for another pair of skinny-yarn socks yet. So I decided to translate a pattern for bulky yarn. Katbyrd on Ravelry helped me figure out the lace on the Little Wisps of Wheat pattern.

Socks loom-knit with Knit Picks Shamrock yarn

So here's the footnote of this week's post. My burst of energy earlier this week could lead to the burst of my Achilles heel if I'm not careful. It started hurting earlier this week but no swelling or bruising showed up so I didn't worry much at first. Once I realized I would have to skip my pricey yogilates class, I decided to see a doctor.

This photo does almost nothing to illustrate my injury. But look, green toes!

My spring surprise is Achilles tendinitis. I get little shots of pain when I flex my foot in certain ways, add the surrounding pressure of a shoe and lately, for no reason at all. The doc says he sees about six Achilles ruptures every spring with people rushing into outdoor activity. So I've been told for the first time ever to stop exercising, which really puts a damper on my weight-loss goal.

Greater forces take away but they also give back. My own Bee Bopper purse earned me a commission for another after my doctor's appointment. My hands will stay busy while I stay off my feet for these first few weeks of spring.