phenological events June 2012

1st blueberry fruit
2nd blackberry fruit
3rd red raspberry fruit
6th tilling garden beds
10th cedar waxwings nesting
17th planting corn
18th northern raven fledgling
27th red foxes and red rasberries
28th corn seedlings spotty germination
29th tiny green tomatoes

redfox

There has been a little red fox cub hanging around the riverrim...the chickens are not aware that he/she is a threat because it is only the size of a house cat...and they are accustomed to our own kitty who has no interest in chickens.

Yesterday ..late afternoon...we saw the cub and at about 7:00pm, the mother was spotted as well, but I did not see them together....then again, early this morning...the cub was nearby. The chickens are in lockdown, poor things.

The foxes are good neighbors, they keep the rodent population down..but they are bad news for the poultry farmer. I'll have to keep the chickens locked up for a time. The fox will hunt all day ...so I cannot risk letting the chickens out to free range.

In an attempt to spin a thicker yarn, I took off the drive band of my CPW, and moved the tilt tensioner all the way to the left, and strung a new drive band. It seemed to work very well for me. The Tour de Fleece is starting in a few days...so I'm gearing up~

cotswold samples

Judy delivered a sampling of Cotswold for me to play with. After two good soaks in the basin, there was still quite a bit of lanolin in the fleece.

...of course I reached for the spindle to see how it would work out, and have decided to send it back for a third soak. The lanolin on the fiber left a residue on my hands, and subsequently, my combs and my spindle...and I was not happy with the handle of the resulting yarn. This small batch of Cotswold needs a lot of attention before it is ready to spin, but I think it will be worth it.

I'm still having some troubles with my blog template, photo editing etc. and have not gotten it worked out the way I would like, so thank you, dear readers, for your patience in the meanwhile.