of columns and colonnades

This is Colonnade by designer Steven West.

It was a quick knit! A take along companion for my hands on a 2 day car trip. The yarn is Brooks Farm Acero, the name of the colorway escapes me! It was purchased several years ago at Rhinebeck, found at the bottom of my stash. The fingering weight was not the thick yarn that the pattern called for, but the blend of wool, silk and viscose has a wonderful hand and makes a nice drape.

The columns...entablatures...

Doric... Ionic.... Corinthian...

I let my mind wander with musings of the great architecture of the past... to the elliptically curving colonnades of the Greeks and Romans...

to stoa (porch) and portico (gate)

After a quick bath and stretch out on the bed, it was time to select a button from the stash...

... a free form rosewood that I made over the summer.

Many thanks to Judy for loaning the size 10.5 circs I needed --just in the nick of time!

the beauty in work

Enjoy seeing how it was once done....

walk with me Wed on a Sat afternoon

As it turned out, a last minute decision found me walking around Rhinebeck, NY Sheep and Wool Festival. And what a very good place to walk.

Vessels seemed to stand out and shout my name this year. I admired these vessels by Artist Heather Kerner, who graciously allowed me to photograph her work.

Walking through the barns of Rhinebeck takes time...there are colors and textures - and so much product to see, it becomes difficult to navigate if crowded....certain barns require a second walk through. Chance meetings occur, conversations are brief, but oh so enjoyable. And I am granted the favor of another photograph. This Swirl Shawl, knit by Judy's sister Linda. So elegant, so stunning, this digital camera cannot capture all the color and beauty of it.

High overhead, sits a purchase I long to make. It was at the Carolina Homespun booth. I lost the name (I had scribbled down) of the maker of this standing distaff. It comes complete with a built in ceramic dipping bowl. There were two styles, one of them had a lazy-kate at the base. Sigh. Then again, there is always next year.

while you were out, or which roo?

The first morning back from the trip, the chickens were waiting at the fence to go out and range. On my way to open the gate, I heard a peep and thought, "humm...that sounds like a little peep". Sure enough.

This little chicken was running around the yard! I was shocked! As far as I could tell there was never any hen that had been setting, and the last time we had a mature rooster here was July. Allow me to explain. Judy had a rooster that was not, ahem, "fitting in" around her place, so he came up to the riverrim to live. We called him "teenager rooster", because he was, a teenager. Full of himself..

...and apparently fully endowed. My hens, ahem, adjusted to his behaviour. Notice how they all ran away from him!

I had to send him back the day he tried to show me who was ruling the roost.

After that, "Phyllis", who had been living at Judy's but went to Grace's... (where it was determined that he was really a "Phil"), came to live at the riverrim. We assumed he would behave himself....he was no trouble at all. And my hens were not sure what to make of his "headgear".

Alas, we hardly got a chance to know Phil. We presumed (because we didn't witness the attack) that a racoon broke into the run and hen house, and ran off with Phil and our little banty hen. There were feathers everywhere, and they were missing. A day was spent mending fence etc., and we were left with 6 hens.

So who is the father? Who is the mother? Do I call in Jerry Springer?

I'm guessing the father is "teenager rooster", because Phil either didn't have or didn't use his(ahem, cough) equipment...and the mother? Could be anyone or any combination of hens! All were laying. It does raise the question of how many fertile eggs a hen can store up!?

The banty found a dark corner up high on the shelf and covered herself with hay...there are a total of 4 chicks that hatched out. Three yellow and one black.

I'm trying not to interfere..they were doing fine without me...so I'm letting nature take her course. When I get a chance, I'll take some more photos.

wings to fly

I've been away.

An impromptu trip. All along the way, the trees were in fine color, but I was awe-struck by the view of the city.

Was it the elevation, the altitude, or simply the eminence of the vantage point? Made me think of learning to fly. Maybe it was something else.

No matter, it is a good place to do some thinking.

phenological events September 2009

phenological events

September 2009

3rd- harvesting
green peppers
12th-harvesting winter
squash and pumpkins
14th-maples turning color
20th-harvesting beets
and kale
22nd-Black Bear sighting
24th-Hummers and Catbirds
migrating

illuminate

Catching a few moments of sun, watching the colors flow by, thick and thin...

the sunlight strengthens and fades as it plays through the leaves and dapples my world.

The glow illuminates, and provides a kaleidoscopic view... the patterns excite my eyes. Endless combinations of color appear, as one runs into another.

So simple a pleasure, spindling in the sun.

pick and pack a peck of perfect peppers

At the end of the growing season, it is time to reflect upon what crop was outstanding. This summer was the "year of the pepper" at the riverrim. They have grown to perfection. It is time to pick. AGAIN.

It does not take long to fill my basket (which btw used to hold blue claw crab or clams when we lived near the bay, but works just as well for peppers now that we live near the river). The fruit makes a satisfying "snap" when plucked from the bush. The glossy skin of the pepper shines as if polished. I fill the basket and feel thankful for the bounty. I think back to the month of February, when I planted the seeds. It was cold, snowy outside as the seeds germinated next to the warmth of woodstove. It took a full seven months to grow the peppers from seed to fruit.

The dictionary defines a peck as: A unit of dry volume or capacity in the U.S. Customary System equal to 8 quarts or approximately 537.6 cubic inches. A unit of dry volume or capacity in the British Imperial System equal to 8 quarts or approximately 554.8 cubic inches.

What do you think, did I pick a peck? We raised sweet peppers this year. Of the genus Capsicum and family solanaceae..which includes the deadly nightshade, potatoes, and tobacco, ....this should not be confused with the plant piper nigrum --the one that produces the black peppercorn seeds.

Back in the house and ready to pack....starting at the top with "Audrey's" Lemon Yellow..clockwise to Green Bell, Sweet Hungarian Fryers, Green Pimento, and Rellanos for stuffing...

Slice, dice, pack and freeze...I notice YO's inside the pepper! and my knitting calls to me!

bears behaving badly or bad bears bad bears whatcha gona do?

My walking stick sits by the front door..I have tied the bells to it so I make noise when I walk...so they can hear me coming. I think twice before going out for walks lately...and there are times when I decide not to go outside at all...I've been thinking about the bears. They have been behaving badly.

There is one bear in particular. who has been hanging around at the dumpster near the end of the road. He has ventured up the road and onto our property, sniffing around. I want to avoid him. I'm not looking conflict.

Last weekend, as I turned the corner, I saw him on the hillside. He was pawing through the trash that he pulled out of the dumpster and up into the wooded area. The photos that I took of him were blurry...I think I was so full of fear and exhilaration that I must have been shaking...

Or maybe it was the bear who was so full of motion that I couldn't quite catch a good photo of him/her...these are the only two photos I dared take of him, I don't trust him, I cannot even look into his eyes.

It isn't really the bears fault. He is just doing what comes natural to bears at this time of year. He needs to pack on the pounds, and he looks for an easy way to do it. He is not thinking about what is right or wrong behaviour. He acts on instinct. So it is up to me to take precautions to avoid confrontations. I soak rags in ammonia and place them in the trash can. I take my walking stick with the bells on it when I go outside...I sing or talk loudly to announce my arrival...my bird feeders are all taken down...the bbq grill is clean and locked down...and my rabbit has nail boards around her hutch...just in case. And one more thing...this little pocket air horn...

don't leave home without it!

There were announcements in the local news this week, concerning the bears..so I know we are not the only ones that have seen them around. I hope the people at the corner with dumpster have realized that they are creating a nuisance bear by not locking the dumpster and not cleaning up the trash that the bear has already pulled apart. No one likes a bad bear.

blogiversary url and irl

My 7th blogiversary was this past weekend...(has it really been 7 years!) I was spending it at the Endless Mountains Fiberfestival.

I had a great time. I had so much fun meeting and visiting with friends....old friends..new friends..some friends were online friends, that I have never met in real life before...you know...IRL.

A url (Uniform Resource Locator, or previously Universal Resource Locator) is what I type in the address bar when I visit my online friends...in what I call my Un Real Life....or URL.

So it is always exciting to me when I have the chance meet someone that I have only known in unreal life, in real life. Suddenly, someone who has only been words and photos on a screen- becomes a face, a handshake, or a hug. The transformation of two dimensional to three dimensional fascinates me. The sound of a voice, a facial expression, a mannerism...all of these things (and more) add to the complexity and personality of a person, a friend. I am amazed - captivated and charmed.

After all these years of blogging, you would think it would become ordinary...to meet someone from URL IRL. It is not. It is still amazing.

Whether you are an irl or url reader... on my blogiversary, I want to say "thank you"!

I share my coffee with you in the mornings...or maybe some wine in the evenings...I share my random thoughts, my photographs, my projects. I think of you, I thank you. You comment, encourage, entertain and enrich my life.

Whether you are here for the fiber, the garden, the wildlife, the walks, the observations, the river, or just a random google search...thanks for stopping by the riverrim. Happy Blogiversary to you ~ the reader~ nice to spend another year with you!

the indicator

Goldenrod...there are over 100 perennial species of this plant in North America..this one grows in my garden. I'm not sure which one it is...

Goldenrod, of the genus Solidago....it often gets the blame for hay fever. The real culprit for hay fever is Rag Weed..a different plant entirely. Rag weed is wind pollinated. Goldenrod depends on the insects for pollination. If you want to meet some interesting and beautiful insects, Goldenrod is good place to look....some of the late season pollinators are sure to be there.

Goldenrod contains bioflavonoids.. If you cook it, some parts may be eaten. It may be dried for tea or decoration. It makes a beautiful yellow dye for wool. Recently, I spoke with a dyer who said the trick to a vibrant yellow is to pick the flowers just as they are beginning to open.

Sadly, they are considered by many to be weeds.

For me, Goldenrod is an indicator plant. An indicator of the season...it is a sign to me that frost on the pumpkin is just around the corner...

Don't forget..the Pennsylvania Endless Mountains Fiber festival is this weekend...Stop by the Antique Spinning Wheels booth and say hello! I'll be there, offering my handmade buttons for sale --and doing some flax and Great Wheel demonstrations--and having fun!

walk with me wednesday millipedes on the march

...the fall migration commences...did you know they live seven years on average? ....diplopoda

They are so large, I can see them walking across the road. I drive around them. They are beneficial to the environment. They are detritivores...and a good help in the compost pile.

The word 'milli' is latin meaning thousand and 'pede' meaning foot. I don't think this one has a thousand feet...I suppose I could count them... if I were still a child I would, but there are grown up things that need doing today....

thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine...

quantity vs quality

The Fiber Festival at Fort Delaware was so busy, that I didn't have time to take any photographs. My good friend Judy was kind enough to email these photos that she took of me while I was demonstrating double-flyer flax spinning. Thanks, Judy!

Looking at the photos gave me pause.

The idea behind the double-flyer wheel-was obviously all about production...and it is by far, the most challenging wheel that I have ever met.

Getting a steady rhythm, and producing two equally consistent threads at one time, with one hand on each thread, is a demanding task.

I have yet to be satisfied with any of the linen I have produced on this wheel. Many hours of practice remain before I would be able to achieve a fine thread...if ever! So it makes me wonder. Just how many spinners were able to make fine thread on this type of wheel? And yes, perhaps they were able to produce twice as much linen, but did the quality of product they produced, deteriorate in the process? Quantity is not always better than quality.

Quantity..according to merriam webster: is the aspect in which a thing is measurable in terms of greater, less, or equal or of increasing or decreasing magnitude...

Quality is defined as a degree of excellence ...merchandise of quality.

I think about other areas in my life where quality is sometimes forfeited due to quantity. I remind myself, it is good to strive for quantity, but not at the expense of diminished quality. Funny, the things that spinning can teach me.

phenological events August 2009

1st- rain
5th- harvesting summer squash
7th- harvesting green beans
8th- black berry bushes ripening
10th- elderberries ripen
11th- harvesting sweetcorn
After this date, I just got overwhelmed and didn't have time to keep up with records. It has been a very rainy, buggy, humid month...the garden is bursting with life!

tow from the line

Since I'm planning to spin some flax in public next weekend, my fingers needed some reminders..a little practice was in order.

Using some flax tow that came off the hackle (Tow is the shorter and or broken pieces that came out in the hackling from the line flax), I dressed the tow distaff that I picked up at the Mannings in June. I placed it on my Ashford Traditional Wheel. The flax from the hackle was rather knotted and wadded up, so I just teased it with my fingers, and spread it out on the table before dressing the distaff. It seemed to work out well enough, there were some areas that slid to the top and got bunched up, but they pulled down easily.

The flax magically untangles itself on the way to the bobbin. This makes me very happy. I find myself entranced by the thin strands passing down from what seems like a nest of grass. Occasionally, I will dip my fingers in the water pot and smooth down a slub before allowing it to wind on the bobbin. I'm not worried about a few slubs coming from this tow. They will be an interesting addition to whatever project I decide to use this linen thread for.

An hour or so later, my bobbin reveals a sample of what the overall thread will look like. And I am satisfied with the results. I imagined that the tow would be really lumpy and hairy, but I discovered that it wasn't half bad.

I will most likely ply this. The length of the individual fibers was short and inconsistent, so I think it needs to be plied and that will reinforce the strength of the finished thread.

The singing has started, "6 more weeks" they say...

...you may find the songsters in the most unlikely places...you just have to look for them!

how much?

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

The word woodchuck- according to several sources- was taken from the Algonquian/Narragansett tribe word "wuchak"...

also called Land Beaver, Whistle Pig, or Punxsutawney Phil..a sciuridae marmot...otherwise known as a Ground Hog.

And while this woodchuck was not chucking wood, I have been. There are buttons to be made for the upcoming show...shown below is an afternoons worth of work, waiting now for polishing and tagging.

The question remains, how much wood?...I've always heard that "He would chuck, he would, as much wood as he could, and chuck as much wood as a woodchuck would chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood."

A quick internet search found a few variations on the theme..I couldn't resist linking to them for your amusement.

As a Hockey player: How much puck has a woodchuck struck, if a woodchuck has struck puck?

On a farm: How much duck would a woodchuck pluck, if a woodchuck could pluck duck?

At a party: How much potluck would a woodchuck upchuck, if a woodchuck could upchuck potluck?

Taste testing new jello flavors: How much guck would a woodchuck suck, if a woodchuck could suck guck? (guck means goo)

Eskimo shoemaker: How many buck would a woodchuck mukluk, if a woodchuck could mukluk buck? (mukluk is reindeer boots)

In love: How amok is a woodchuck struck, if a woodchuck is struck amok?

If his pants are too small: How much buttock would a woodchuck tuck, if a woodchuck would tuck buttock?

Taking things out of his wife's purse: How much buck has a woodchuck snuck, if a woodchuck has snuck buck?

Getting shot at: How much luck makes a woodchuck duck, if a woodchuck does duck ?

keeping up with production

There is going to be a fiber festival at Fort Delaware in Narrowsburg on August 29th. I will be vending in the Hatton's booth. In addition to making buttons for sale at the festival, I am making a pioneer costume to wear. I decided to sew the skirt and got a pattern at "Abrahams Lady" when I was down in Gettysburg last month. My old singer treadle machine needs a new belt. I've tried patching the old one, and it finally gave up, there is too much slack on the belt and it won't grab. I finished the waistband on the skirt by turning the drive wheel by hand, ugh.

The garden is not as productive compared to years past. The weather has not been cooperative. There are, however, some vegetables that are performing and showing reasonable yields...on an average day of picking I'm getting at least a gallon zip lock bag of broccoli side shoots, a little over a gallon of green beans, 6 or 7 sweet peppers, 4 or 5 summer squash and 8 or 9 ears of corn. The elderberries have ripened and so have the crabapples. Oh, and the chickens continue to be productive!

I picked the Whitney crabapples, and the size of them makes me happy. The tree didn't produce many blossoms this spring, but the individual fruit that developed from each blossom was impressive!

The summer squash is starting to come in, and it is important to check the size of those each day, least the zukes become as big as baseball bats...the patty pans are called "flying saucer" I think...or was it UFO? UFO is appropriate where my knitting is concerned, I haven't managed to finish many projects these days...

Finally, the sweet corn is ready. The ears are only about 8 inches long, but fully pollinated ears are always a blessing.