embrace the inner spider

Early this morning...as I was walking the indoor trash to the outdoor can, I noticed the spiders were busy last night.

Dew had formed on their webs, and sunlight reflected off the drops like little gems. It was quite beautiful.

There were sparkling images and designs on each strand.

I took lots of photos, but the camera really didn't capture the same beauty that I saw with my eyes. Wandering around and noticing the webs made me realize there must be hundreds -no- thousands -no- millions of spiders in the woods...and with Halloween just around the corner, it seemed a bit spooky!

But then ...spiders aren't really all that scary to me...I can relate and even admire them...we have a few things in common.

They like to spin and weave, and so do I.

making thyme

The cooler weather has been moving in, and it is time to cut the thyme and other herbs for drying. The pumpkins and squash are in from the garden too. We didn't have a very big harvest this year, but what did grow was larger than years past.

After hanging them for a few weeks, the herbs are ready to be stripped and bottled up. Stripping thyme can be a tedious job, but it really smells nice while you are doing it. I will save the stems to throw in the wood fire, or for simmering on the stove top.

As I prepare this Lemon Thyme, my fingers tire from the stems constantly running over my fingertips as they peel off the dry leaves. I glance down at my hands, and think about all the work they do. I am grateful for my hands!

A Double-Flyer Wheel has been living here for the past few weeks! I have been spending my spare time with it! I will transport it down to the National Museum of the American Coverlet where I will be doing a workshop about how to spin on it. I think there is still time to sign up~ so if you find yourself in Bedford, Pennsylvania this weekend...come into the Museum!

My hands will be happy to show you how to spin twice as much yarn in half the time!

high tides turning

After a few days of rain, the river levels were about 7 feet higher than normal today. A blue sky reflects its color in the muddy waters. Weeks have gone by without a walk down by the riverrim, so it was especially nice to soak up the sun and watch the water rush by. A few days ago, when the river was cresting, pumpkins tumbled over riding the white water..I thought how disappointed the farmer must be, an entire growing season stolen by the river!

I collected some rocks today, for a future project....I took my time selecting exactly the type of rocks I wanted. As I turned the rocks over in my hands, looking for just the right shape, I discovered a curious egg case. I think it is beautiful!

What creature made this? Spider? I wonder...

Sassafras mittens of orange and red and yellow are waving to me, overhead. Sassafras is always the first to go, the rest will follow in a few weeks. The passenger train, with 5 cars full of leaf peepers, sounds the whistle at the crossing. I wave to the passengers, my hands feel the cool of the mountain air... soon I will be wearing my mittens too....

As I walk back to the cabin, I notice my yarn is still on the line. On Friday, Grace invited the spin group over for a little dyeing...I'm drying some singles..."dyed THEN plied". The plying part comes next.

I love seeing the yarn on the clothesline...it says "a spinner lives here!"