ABC along I is for ....

 

Ice

 

There was ice on the bird bath this morning.

 

It is one of several icemen or "Eisheiligen" that will visit the garden before it will be safe to set out tender plants.

A check in the greenhouse at the "how low did it go" thermometer, recorded temps of 32...humm that means it was colder still outside in the garden.  At least my tomato seedlings were protected under the additional cover of plastic that I tucked them under last night.  I have read that if you can water or wash off the ice before the sun hits the plants, you can save them from frost damage.  I have never tried this.

 

 

I is also for the Icelandic Wool that I happen to be spinning and weaving with.  This wool comes from Tongue River Farm.  I brought a lovely generous batt of the stuff last fall and slowly, I am spinning it out on the Great Wheel.  I am using the finished yarn to try out a new technique (well new to me) on the triloom.  It involves moving a pass over and doubling up on nails, all to achieve a tighter sett.  The technique is giving me a little bit of trouble on the corner, or side nails, and I have had to be extra careful of my counting.  A bit tedious.  I am going to make another felted bag, and wanted the weave to be tight.  It is taking much longer than I originally planned.

Hatchel Hackle Hand & Hellgrammite?

H is for hand, this was my hand in kindergarten

H is for Hatchel

of this sort (..you heckle with a hatchel)...

and H is for hackle....on my roo

and H is for Hellgrammite...have you ever seen one (or two!) before?

The fierce-looking, winged dobsonfly has a life cycle that lasts two to five years. They have complete metamorphosis. This is sometimes referred to as ELPA: Egg, Larva, Pupa, Adult. The larval stage, nicknamed a "hellgrammite,"

blend (and hen)

 

I've been spinning up this Finn/Alpaca blend that I picked up from Grace at the library a few weeks ago.  She had it processed at Wooly Knob, and I have to say that spinning it has been a joy.

 

 

The hand is so soft...and the color has several different subtleties of green and blue and gray going on...I thought the color was similar to lichens, but it has more blue in it...

 

 

I am spinning a woolen yarn using a long draw, and so, the spinning moves along quickly.  I have finished 186 yards at 18wpi so far.

 

 

Caution..the following is documentation about the death of one of my hens, and mostly for my own records..don't read it if you are easily upset.

 

I am now down to 14 hens.  We lost one this past week.  She was showing signs of problems about a week ago...abdomen was swollen, tail feathers tucked... she was not laying, and looked to have some bits of scrambled egg looking stuff (ech!) around the vent.  I had taken her away from the flock and washed her off (no broken shells or egg visible around the vent..no prolapse, but vent opening looked very small. I gave her a warm water soak in the mud tub before putting her into a dog kennel next to the stove for a few days.  She ate light, and within a day or so she returned to the flock and was holding her tail up..eating and ranging normally..but still looking a bit swollen in the abdomen and vent...and hanging close to the coop.  She did well for about a day, but I had noticed that she soon had the scrambled egg/mustard looking stuff around her vent again.  Also her legs looked like they were further apart, and she was waddling when she walked.  I made a mental note to take her in again, and I went into town to do errands. That evening when we went to lock them up for the night, she did not come home.  We searched everywhere. In the morning, I looked around, but didn't find anything..no feathers or sign of her.  I held out hope, as I have had hens wander off before.  I found her on Friday, out in the open on the hillside.  The abdomen was cleaned out from the vent, and her head was missing.  There were no signs of a struggle.  Nature has a way of taking the weak and culling my flock before I can.  I suspect a raccoon, but never knew one to eat the head...not sure what to think about that.

 

Interesting to note what a help this blog has been to my record keeping.  I lost a hen last year in May around the middle of the month.  She had very similar symptoms with waddling and enlarged abdomen.  I remembered I had to walk down the hillside after her at  dusk because she could not get up the hill.  When I went back to look at what I wrote, I noticed a photo of the bloodroot blooming.  My bloodroot has bloomed already, and it is in the middle of April this year.  Both hens died while the bloodroot was in bloom, but one in April and one in May...The thing is this...perhaps the hens are eating a plant or insect that is causing this?  Why would it only be one hen though...

pea blossom

There were once five peas in one shell, they were green, the shell was green, and so they believed that the whole world must be green also, which was a very natural conclusion....

thus begins the story of the Pea Blossom by Hans Christian Anderson....
When my son was in primary school, he enjoyed hearing this story before bedtime....and I enjoyed reading it to him.  Now, when I plant my peas, I remember the story...and how I would give him a handful of peas to "shoot out into the world" each spring.

Planting peas is a special moment for me, and I get very sentimental about this chore.  I have a special fondness for peas...not for eating them, as much as for planting them.

Peas were the first thing I ever grew.  My father prepared a "postage  stamp" sized garden for me when I was about 9 or 10 years old. He gave me a pack of pea seed, and told me to plant them and take care of them.  He reminded me that a good time of year to plant peas was on my Grandfathers birthday...that way I would always remember when to plant them.  He told me it was MY garden, and that if the peas were to grow, I would have to take care of them.  I have been fond of growing peas ever since.  I worked hard on that garden..weeding and watering.  I would look out my bedroom window at them at night, and early in the morning..just checking....

these grape hyacinth look like blue peas to me....

So, I planted my peas today....
I like a Dutch variety called Norli.  I brought a small packet years ago, from Shepherds Seeds (now white flower farm). I save my pea seeds from year to year because I love the purple blossom on the Norli...and the flavor is good too.
It is a snow pea, good in stir fry.

Yesterday afternoon on the way to my spinning group, I took a pocket full of my pea seeds...and shot some out into the world...maybe one will fall and grow where it can encourage someone to feel just a little bit better...or maybe one will wind up in the crop of a pigeon, it's not for me to know.

And just to update a project note...I finished spinning what I had carded up of the Angora/Finn blend.  I wound up using my noste to wind a center pull ball and ply up the lone remaining bobbin that was leftover, and it worked quite well.  I had seen this method discussed on a spin group a few weeks ago, and found it to be a good tip.  I still have more of this to card before I can spin it, so in the meantime, I started working on the roving I purchased from Grace Hatton...you can see it here.

the process of preparing

Getting ready to plant is a long process.  It is a process that I always want to hurry through.  But I tend a garden with my better half, and must be ever mindful of the fact that he has other plans.

He is the soil builder.  It is at this time of year that he works his magic.  He does a good job of it.  When we started a garden, this soil was practically a rock ridden clay field.  Now it is a fluffy bed of rich organic SOIL.

Patience, he tells me...as he methodically goes about repairing the terraced beds.  We garden on a hillside - a southerly slope, and he decided long ago, the best thing would be to terrace the raised beds.  Occasionally, these retaining walls need repair..and springtime is when he does this...

Meanwhile, I am chomping at the bit, nagging him to hurry up, "I need to get the broccoli out of the green house and into the ground!"

Patience, he tells me...as he meanders over to the compost pile and shovels out the 2 year old bins of black gold.  There was a time when he would screen the compost, sifting out only the choice nuggets...but I don't have time for him to do this today.  "The lettuce is calling for release from it's crowded flat!"

I know his methods are correct..the time to prepare and feed the soil is now, and it will be worth it.  The pay off will come and I will be glad for it..but right now, I just want to dig in and get going.

Sometimes, I have to walk away...when I get too impatient.. so I wandered over to where the daffs are blooming. And seeing them makes me remember to stop and just enjoy the process of growing a garden.  It is a thought that appeals to the spinner in me.  I enjoy the steps involved with spinning fiber. There are days to prepare fiber...and days to spin. I make better yarn when I slow down and enjoy the steps involved along the way...so it reminds me to enjoy the steps incorporated to produce a fruitful garden....now, get out of the way and let me plant the broccoli!

the old gray doe she ain't what she use to be

This is my oldest rabbit, who goes by many names, but most often we just call her Sweetie Pie.  She is now 7.  She still thinks she is a SYT, building a nest at this time of year and acting all mother-like. The picture below shows the beginnings of a nest she is building in the cubby of her hutch.  I hate to disappoint her, but she will not see any action this spring...too risky. 

I think she is blind as a bat.  Nevertheless, she has a trusting and tender heart, and seems to rely more upon her hearing than her sense of smell.  Other than the eye problem, she is in good health.  Sweetie Pie is a pet, producing no wool of any quality...and simply a reminder of the days when my son brought a rabbit home from school.  She tries to vocalize from time to time...making little grunting noises when you give her attention.

How can you not love a face like this?  Sweetie Pie ain't what she used to be...but she will always have a place in my heart.

 

I was out tending rabbits yesterday when one of my egg customers showed up, and left me this Easter wish on my window box.  Kinda cute getting one of our eggs back!

 

Happy Easter!

balance

 2 Balance 4c:

to bring into harmony or proportion

Basket of Finn/Angora...carded and ready to go.....

 

Trying to keep up with all the spring time chores has been a challenge.  Each day as I accomplish another task, it seems two more come along to add to the list.  I find myself trying to maintain an even balance between the garden and my fiber pursuits.  Fiber Arts and Garden Arts have nothing to do with "real life" responsibilities, and so they come at the bottom of the list.  Taking care of "real life" is necessary, but not as rewarding or fulfilling as fiber or flowers.  So, I convince myself to accomplish the necessary, and reward myself with superfluities.  As if that is not hard enough to balance, add to that the simple desire to just goof off!

Since I don't have as much willpower as I would like, I have to discipline my inner child and resist the temptation to wander off and play down at the river.  The river beckons to me to come explore it's banks.  The water is low, insects hatch, plant life is sprouting, fish are rising, beautiful driftwood and rocks are ripe for the picking...birds and ducks are busy preparing to nest, and large rocks -warm from the sun- are inviting me to stretch out and just listen to the river flow by.  How can I turn my attention the "chores of daily living" when its springtime on the river?

ABC along G is for.....

G is for....

Garden...now

and then...

G is for Greenhouse, and growing green goodness....

G is for Great Wheel...

and G is for Grateful...of which I am for all of the above.

practice, practice, practice

I've been spinning on the Great Wheel a bit.  I had been spinning the Icelandic Wool from Tongue River Farm...and all the while I kept thinking about how beautifully prepared the batts were.  Finally, I decided that it was so nice that it wanted to be spun on the Great Wheel, and I gave it a go.

 

The first thing I have to do before I can start spinning, is to lather up a piece of corn husk with hand lotion and wrap it around the spindle.  I do this because it is easier to remove the finished cop, and it gives it more stability since it does not have core like a bobbin would.  Without the corn husk, the cop tends to collapse on itself.  If you look really closely at the center of the cop, you might be able to see the piece of corn husk showing.

I spun a few cops and plied them together.  My Great Wheel spinning still needs lots of practice..so it is very inconsistent.  But here is a penny photo I recorded to keep track of my progress.

I also finished a few knitting projects.  Here is my swatch from the horse shoe FLAK cables.  Knit from the BL I had spun, I practiced a strip of the cables and then picked up stitches all around to make a hat.  The cables are a little shaky...I need more practice in this department as well!

One more ear flap hat, this time I tried my hand with a simple fair isle pattern.  I was trying to hold the colors in each hand as I knit along...that is going to take more practice too.  I used up the leftover mohair and camel.

In garden news, we had our big bonfire and got rid of all the old cornstalk and tomato vines, plus any other thick vegetation that would not compost easily.  It smoked more than I had hoped, and the air smelled like a mixture of herbs from time to time. 

This morning I woke up and saw that we had a dusting of snow.  I went back to the garden to make sure that the fire was completely out and noticed the snow on the lungwort. 

Winter is taking its time leaving us.  Tonight the forecast shows temps dipping down to the twenties.
I will have to bring in the flats from the greenhouse.

A sadness has swept over my little town because we have lost a young man in our community.  He gave his life for his country.  I cannot begin to explain how many different emotions I am struggling with over this loss, and yet that cannot even compare with the multitude of emotions that his family must be feeling.

 

I know this scene is being played out every day...in other little towns across America.  Today it is our turn.  He was 21 years old.  The bunting hangs over firehouse.  The flag flies at half-mast.

I know the young mans mother.  She is a member of our little spinning and knitting group.  Her son enlisted in the Marines, shortly after 9/11. I have not had the opportunity to talk with her since I heard the news.  How do I even start to verbalize my sympathy?  Words do not begin to touch the thoughts that I want to convey to her.

 

As a spinner/knitter/crocheter, she was working on an afghan for her son.  That is what we do..we spin, we knit, we crochet...love goes into each skein of yarn that we spin...each stitch that we knit or crochet.  For every month that her son has been away, she has been making a square.  For the center of the afghan, the Marine emblem.  The afghan is not finished. 

 

I don't know if she will finish it.
I do know that it will be at least a week until her son's body comes home to be laid to rest in his hometown....and if she does find the strength to finish it, she said it will be something that she can wrap around him.  My heart breaks for her.

Help me Help me...I am being attacked by a skunk under this wheelbarrow!

April Fool!