I've finished spinning the mohair and wool blend roving...shown here with my new nostepinne that Fred Hatton made.

The nostepinne tool is Scandinavian in origin...and I believe if you translate the word it means "nest stick".  I have been learning how to use it..but most of my center balls come out looking rather oval in shape..so I guess I need some practice.  The Nostepinne was made by Fred in his workshop.  The wood is Padauk.  There are three species of this tree, all are in the legume family and have the Latin names of Pterocarpus soyauxii, Pterocarpus macrocarpus, and Pterocarpus dalbergioides.  Mine is a beautiful color of red now, but will most likely darken with age.

Speaking of "practice"...I have been trying to get a block of time each day set aside for me to practice spinning on my Great Wheel.  Fred just made me a new spindle, and it works wonderfully.  I decided to try the tip that Sharon Peffer told me about this past summer.  I am referring to the use of corn husks wrapped around the spindle shaft.  I found that this is helpful to the structure of the cop.  Without it, my cops lose their shape and don't hold together very well, once I have taken them off the spindle.  With the corn husk, they seem to be sturdy enough to ply.  I tried putting them on my lazy kate, but it did not work very well, they were a little bit to long for that.  So I just put them in a bowl, and plied from there.

This picture of my finished cops reminds me of Pyrometric Cones reaching temperature in the kiln...but it gives you an idea of how the corn husk gives the cop stability.

digging tubers and corms

a few weeks ago Marla asked how to take care of dahlias...

 

Around here, our winters are to cold for the dahlias tuber to survive in the ground, so you must dig them up and store them over their dormant period.  The first thing to do is dig around the base of the plant carefully to loosen the roots gently.  I use a digging fork, and then I lift the entire clump.

These dahlias must be separated!  I think I will leave that job for spring!

Another tuber that needs lifting is the 4 o'clock.  My 4 o'clock is over 5 years old now...it grows like a bush, and makes lots of little grenade shaped black seeds..but I usually just dig out the tuber and store it with the dahlias.
This one is a honker!

Next on the list is the sunchokes.  I will dig some before the hard freeze sets in.  They will be stored in the small fridge in the basement, so I can use them for salads and soup and stew, but also to supplement the chickens and rabbits diet over the winter.

Last up are the Gladiolas.  My husband really  likes the glads, so he always buys me some each spring.  I have quite a collection (oh my aching back)...and all must be lifted.  The blooms are worth it.  The smaller corm and cormels must be removed as well (oh my aching fingers!).  The blooms are so worth it.

After all the lifting is finished, I trim the tops down to the base of the corm or tuber as the case might be.  At this point you may want to think about attaching a label as to color etc. if you need (or want) to.

 

Then I hose them down and set them aside for a day or so to allow them to cure.  After that, they can be stored in a paper bag, or an old Styrofoam cooler, cardboard box etc.  I check mine every so often over the winter to make sure they are not drying out, or molding or for some other bad thing like bugs or disease.  I store them in a cool dark and dry area of the basement to let them  hibernate for a few months. Usually, they are waking up and sending out little pink shoots long about late April.   So, sleep tight little tubers and corms...see you next spring !

prewarp speed scotty

I have finished my sample prewarp pieces on the 3 foot triangle loom.  I just tried two of them, so that I could get an idea about how they would look, and if I needed to trouble shoot any areas, and also the amount of time involved in completing them.

This first one I tried was made from some of my first lumpy handspun (I think it is from Finnsheep, but I am not really sure).  That is what I used to warp the loom.  Then I went back and wove the weft with a blend of Finn and Angora that I dyed this past summer.  The Finn took the dye rather well, and became a rich ultra marine blue, and the Angora (in the same dye bath) turned out to be a reddish purple...but when I blended them together with my handcards I was happy when it spun up to a nice color.  It toned the purple down and jazzed the blue up.  I used Createx Permanent Liquid Fiber Dyes, and a salt mordant.  Not sure I liked what the salt mordant did to the wool, it seemed to make it just a tad brittle, compared to what it was originally, but really not enough to make it objectionable.  The bias weave shows up clearly because of the stark contrast.

This next neck scarf was done out of the wool I spun during demonstrations and workshops this past summer.  The wool is entirely Finnsheep from the Hatton Farm.  It is so very soft.  I tried to make a chevron pattern, and it worked out ok...but because of the bias weave, the color is not consistent on both sides of the scarf.  I will need to take this into consideration when I decide future projects....it has the potential to be a good thing...or an undesirable factor.

 

Saw some snow flurries this morning while I was letting the chickens into the garden...MY HEAVENS!  (you say)  CHOOKS in the GARDEN!!  Well, yes, it is true.  I had no choice...we have contacted someone who not only has his furtrappers license, but also a permit to take bobcat.  Now this is extremely difficult for me, but we seem to have more than one coming around...and my chickens, the cat, and even myself are at risk.  We really have no choice...they should not be coming down the mountain and hanging around this close to the house.  Anyway, the chickens are locked in the run, and only allowed into the garden during the day.  They are cleaning up the last of the tomatoes etc, but destroying my kale :-(.

 

I picked the last of green peppers

and the marigolds that I had wanted for the dyepot.  The temps are projected to fall into the upper twenties tonight, so it was time.

A special thank you goes out to all the Veterans- (That includes YOU MOM!)--- and don't forget, tomorrow is the last day to send your packages out to the troops so they can get there by the holidays (Dec. 9th if it is priority)

growing great wool

my philosophy for gardening goes something like this..."feed the soil to feed the plant". My philosophy for growing healthy angora wool goes something like this...."feed the soil to feed the plant to feed the rabbit to feed the soil" It is a very simple circle. The plants go in one end of the rabbit..the dingle berries come out the other end...and go back to the garden, to grow healthy plants to feed the rabbit! A few months ago I had emailed Claudia from Countrywool and asked about the amount of kale that one could safely feed to rabbits without worrying about causing toxicity over time. She had explained to me that it would be safe to feed small amounts, as large amounts introduce goitrogens that inhibit the synthesis of the thyroid hormone thyroxin. This goes for most members of the brassica family; cabbage, cauliflower, rape, mustard etc. They all contain high levels of oxalates (the salts of oxalic acid). Rather than eliminating them (after all- they are highly nutritious and a fun treat), I decided to limit the offerings to 1 or 2 meals per week. But the question remains, how much is too much? I embarked on mission to determine what would be a safe amount. This proved to be very confusing. I found some articles that stated flatly NEVER feed kale, and others that stated you could never give a rabbit too much! What's a mother to do?? I have completed a list of what I have determined to be ok for my rabbits. I have tried to use common sense, and also taken into consideration what rabbits would do in the wild. When left to their own, they consume mainly a diet of tough fibrous plants and lots of bark. Lots of bark means lots of chewing, and that is good for the back teeth. Due to the fact that mine have never been in the wild, I always introduce a new plant slowly and in small amounts, and watch the poop carefully before I decide if I will feed that particular plant again. One thing that makes a lot of sense to me is that fresh greens are mostly made up of water...so a good rule of thumb is to watch the amount. I usually serve about 1 to 2 cups (depending on the size of the rabbit) every 2nd or 3rd day. I have read that some people will take away pellets when feeding greens for a day. I have always had pellets available....but I do watch the amount. Another big factor is HAY. I always supply free selection of hay...I think of it as being as important as water. I really love feeding my rabbits fresh greens...because THEY love it! I also enjoy the fact that I can take a stroll through the garden, picking tidbits, before stopping by to spoil my bunnies....I get my kicks by giving them a "taste test"...seeing what they take to first. After a while, you can tell who likes what the best. Lately, Jack really looks forward to his Grapevine. I think he loves sniffing it out of the pile, and running about with as if he found a prize. All in all the bottom line for me is keeping my bunnies happy and healthy-- cause happy and healthy bunnies grow great wool!

woolly bears, walnuts & wildcats

Raking leaves, cleaning up...the weather is so unseasonable!  69 degrees is our projected high for today...amazing.  Does this  larval form of Pyrrharctia isabella know something that I do not??  What does your Woolly Bear say?

Thanks to a generous fiber friend I have a bucket full of these beauties...I need to cover them because the red squirrels are helping themselves.

 

I wish I had my camera handy when I saw the wild bobcat that visited my poultry run on Monday.  We have had 2 positive sightings, and the chooks are all shook up!  Poor things, cannot go out to play.  I am looking into how to best handle this situation.  Jack was the first to clue me in that he was nearby.  Usually in the morning when I go out to open up the chicken run I stop off to give my bunny a treat and a ear rub.  That morning he was poised in a very strange position--not moving a muscle!  I was worried when he did not come over to me as I opened the sliding door on his hutch.  Suddenly I heard much commotion over at the hen house, and turned around to see a very healthy looking bobcat throwing himself onto the poultry wire.  He was amazing to see...but trouble for me

 

many thanks

Thank you all so much for the kind expressions of sympathy in the form of comments, cards and emails that were sent due to the recent passing of my sister in law.  They were comforting to me, and other family members and friends that read along on the riverrim. 

 

Cyberspace relationships are unique, most of you I only know through words and photographs on a screen....but they are a lot like letters, correspondence if you will.... and I appreciate your thoughtfulness and the time that you take to express it.  It is important to me.

 

Life goes on around here...the seasons are changing...

this bear showed up just before the nor'easter...he/she had tags in both ears which leads me to believe that it has been caught and released, possibly a nuisance bear.  The following day we saw a mother bear bring three cubs down the mountain.  We are using an air horn to deter them...which is working for the time being, but is almost certain to become ineffectual after they become conditioned.  The bear live up in these ledges behind our cabin. 

I expect they were here before we were.  There are marking trees up on top of the mountain that they return to year after year.  You can see the growth patterns and size of the bears from the way they mark the trees.  We have to remember to walk around outside with caution now.  The warm weather has kept them from denning- and they will continue to hang around until the freeze moves in.  I worry so much about my rabbits and chickens.  We have nail boards set out as a method to discourage the bears so they don't get to close.

the turkey are about on the hillside too.  I have counted a harem of at least 20.  I have seen so many pullets this year, that I think they were able to brood several clutches. 

here is a close up where you can see the beard hanging off the Tom.

 

I needed a project to make me think...something I could concentrate on...

....so I started a prewarp technique on the triangle loom.  This is done by warping the loom on the bias, and allows for a different design concept than I am used to.  The prewarp technique can create beautiful chevron effects.  I am using handspun Finn that I spun during demonstrations this past summer.  The warp is a single strand, but the weave structure changes to a basket weave when you weave the weft.  Another point to note is the fact that you must interlock the edges on all sides of the loom.  I fringed the edges and used one strand of the warp on either side of shawl to lock the weave in place.  This method moves quickly...it takes more time in the beginning- which is directly opposite from the normal continuous thread method....where it takes more time at the end.  The designs can run parallel with the short legs of the triangle, rather than running parallel to the hypotenuse.  The drape is different also, as the weave is on the bias vs. straight grain or crossgrain. 

passing

I had intended for this post to be about our trip to Rhinebeck, but we had some very shocking and sad news earlier this past week.  My sister in law suddenly passed away.  I have known her since I was a kid in the sixth grade, and I will miss her terribly.  Sometimes, there are things that happen in life that can break your heart...this is one of them. I am stepping away for a little while to take care of family matters.

h5n1 with a little fiber but mostly bad sad news

This past week, it has been difficult to keep up with the news in the world.  There are so many people hurting, so many people that need help, there is so much suffering going on, sometimes it is even hard to be hopeful about the future.

 

When there is bad news in the world, I usually retreat to my spinning or fibers art or garden or rabbits and chooks.  What to do when some of the bad news IS chooks?? 

First, I finished  weaving a leno lace shawl.  I had spun the yarn for this from a mohair wool blend, and plied it with silk.  I had just enough silk left over from the "mothwing" that I had purchased from the Copper Moth to complete the shawl, but not enough to fringe the entire thing, so I wound up fringing every 4th strand with the blend.  When I finished weaving, I took a picture of one of the pine trees modeling the shawl.  The mohair blend was very nice...purchased at the Endless Mountains FF from Steam Valley.

But my thoughts, much like the news, return to the chooks...they look so peaceful wandering about the hillside...doing little chicken things...coming over to greet me whenever I walk by...could they really be dangerous?  Are we living with a time bomb?

 

I am referring of, to the ever growing news about the threats of avian flu.  Being a responsible backyard chicken enthusiast--I feel it is my duty to keep myself and others informed about what is going on.  Is this hype or a very real threat?  I have been reading and reading and reading.  There are no easy answers.  Its not even easy to read and understand all the information that is out there.  But being informed is being forearmed...and so I sift through the tons of articles to see what is what.  I even posted to some forums where I know there are some pretty savvy chicken farmers.  The news is not good.  Facts are facts, and that is what I am faced with.  For now, I am not going to bring any  new chickens into my flock.  I am going to be super hygienic, and I will keep my ear to the ground and observe constantly.  The virus has most definitely jumped from chicken to human...and is still mutating.  My biggest concern is that the virus is spread by the migration of wild birds, and that my birds may come into contact with the droppings.  I am watching with interest what Britain will do with the free range chickens in their country...and subsequently what could happen here.
Here is a link of what I have been reading....including a blog that has tons of links on it.

So, I am left with trying to find something uplifting to think about or else I will get depressed thinking about the possibility of exterminating my chooks ...out in the garden there are still some late bloomers.  Even in the middle of all this cold rain, there is beauty.  The o'clock are a shocking pink, and are quite happy to bloom all day long without the sunshine.  Thank God for the beauty of flowers.  They inspire me to start thinking about making some more yarn...I kind of like the way the pink of the 4 o'clock contrasts with the darker magenta of the amaranth...

Everywhere I look--things are turning yellow.

This past week has given us unseasonably warm, still, dry weather and very yellow sunshiny days.  It is so quiet around the riverrim.  The river is very low, and is not making its usual "shhhshhhhssssh" music as it flows past.  This is the only time of year that I will see the river so low and quiet.

The angle of the sun is changing, and I am acutely aware of that.  It makes different shadows through the leaves.  The sun saturates everything with its light and objects seem to glow from within-- illustrating a weird type of luminosity.

So, the more yellow I see......, the more I see yellow.  I am noticing things that are yellow that I don't usually pay mind to.  See what I mean? 

btw- I have discovered that I really, really like to use a dehydrator.

With all this yellow hanging about, I just had to make some yellow yarn.

 

I will bask in all the yellowness of these October days...because I know that come November...it will all turn to gray.

new lambs

We had our second series of workshops at the Hatton Farm yesterday, and these sweet little Finnsheep lambies were there to greet us in the morning.  They had been born earlier in the week, and could not be more precious.

 

We had a nice turn out for the workshops, some of the people coming from out of state to participate!  It is really fun getting together to teach new skills and share ideas with other fiber people, and even though I am the instructor for some of the classes, I always come away with a little something that I learn from the students.

 

The one drawback about being an instructor is that you don't have time to take one of the other workshops.  Since there are 4 of us teaching, the mini workshops are going on in different areas of the farm at the same time.  For instance, while I was teaching the spinning workshop in the barn, Grace was inside in the kitchen teaching the casserole dyeing workshop.  When it was time to switch, I went up to the house to teach the needlefelting, and they were having a great time and just finishing up.  What beautiful skeins of yarn they created, so colorful!  And in the living room they were ending the Tri-loom workshop that Judy had been teaching- while out on the patio Louise was completing the Alpaca Fiber workshop.  It is a little like musical chairs, with lunchtime being the only time to really visit with everyone.  It is fun being a teacher, but sometimes I would like to be the student too. 

 

Once again at the end of the day there were many inquires about when and what the next series of workshops would include, but we did not settle on anything as of yet.  It is really good to see the interest, and to have such a positive response from those who came out to join us.

 

I was so busy teaching, that I did not get time to take pictures--except for those sweet lambs in the morning...when I see new life like this, I feel like I am seeing something that only a few people have ever seen before....kind of makes it special to think of it that way.  And just so the rest of the crew would not feel like old hat, I took their picture too....

When I got home in the late afternoon, I had some time to relax and visit with the rabbits and chickens...a nice way to unwind bask in the quiet of the day.  The weather has been really beautiful... no frost in sight, but things have been still and dry.  At dusk, we checked in on the chickens before we locked them up for the night.  We always do a head count...just in case.  One of the hens did not come home last night.  It was the new aracuna pullet.  We searched all around until it was dark, could not find her and went to bed with our fingers crossed.  I was hopeful that she would come walking home in the morning as they sometimes do.  She was not that lucky.  We woke at 4:30 am to hear bagaulking, and by the time we got outside it was quiet and still...no sign of what it was that got her. It is always hard to loose a chicken, but she was a sweet one that we did not have very long.  Here is the last photo I had taken of her earlier that day...

On the fiber front, I have been spinning up some mohair that I plied with silk...and then weaving it directly onto the loom...something a little different...but every now and then I feel the need to do something different.  It is helping to keep my mind off the loss of the little pullet.  The poor roo, he looks lost today.  I walked down to the river and looked all around to see if I could see any signs of a struggle or feather or (gulp) a carcass.  Nothing anywhere.  Not sure if it was raccoon or fox.  Usually with the raccoon there are signs of a struggle, and I would find the carcass.  Fox tend to run off with their prey.  See how my mind is wandering back to the chicken?  Anyway, here is a shot of the fiber.

words about wood warblers

I wanted to make a notation about the number of wood warblers I have noticed in the past week.  There are always many spring warblers around here...I have come to know them by their markings and even their song.  It is nice to work in the garden and hear them singing, and notice the voice of a new summer arrival.  This is not so easy with the wood warblers.  They are not as colorful, and usually we do not seem to have many passing through.  However, this fall is markedly different.  I have noticed many of them feeding around the riverrim, and the air is filled with song.  I am frustrated when I hear the beautiful and sometimes complex song of a bird that I cannot identify.  It is difficult to identify a bird purely by it song.  I have read several books on the subject, and even resorted to listening to Petersons (Birding by Ear).  I think I will have to get something that deals specifically with Wood Warblers.

 

I read recently, that a Spanish version of Birds in North America has been released.  One of the problems they encountered in writing this was in the translation of the voices of the birds. For instance, in English the voice of the Barred Owl says "who cooks for you", but in Spanish it says, "quien concine para usted"...and the meter is lost.  I am sure it is the same with many other languages.

 

But being able to identify these little birds by their song is important to me.  It increases my awareness of my surroundings, and I am able to observe them without really making a visual spotting.  Face it --not every bird wants you stalking them!

 

So the fall migration is underway.  And some of the death and destruction that humans experience from Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, will also be felt by the birds that migrate. The affect of these storms is truly far reaching.  The comings and goings of these little birds make me aware of the connections of so many different things.

 

I wonder if they sense all the changes going on in their flyaway zones... most of them heading for the convergence points along the Gulf in east Texas and Louisiana.  Will the destruction of food sources for them along the way make the difference in life or death for some of them?      

 

Yesterday, when I went out to open the chicken run, I noticed that an oven bird was inside with the hens.  By the time I went to get the camera, it was gone.  The only thing harder than spotting a wood warbler, is taking a picture of one....which leaves me with only words about wood warblers.

farm expo

I had a very nice time this past weekend. I joined three of my good friends and shared a booth at the Northeast Small Farm and Rural Living Expo out at the GDS Fairgrounds. What a great educational experience! There was a trade show and exhibits focused on all aspects of agriculture, not to mention all the wonderful livestock. The picture above shows the entrance to the building where we were spinning and weaving away. Grace brought several antique wheels for the public to try (and buy), and I spun and demonstrated on them from time to time. We had the great wheel set up just outside the building, and it attracted many onlookers each time we would spin. It is really nice to be able to demonstrate spinning on the great wheel, so many of the people comment that they have never seen one in action. I am glad to have given them that experience. I must admit that whenever I had the chance, I would spin on this beautiful piece of history pictured below. This is a spinning wheel that is marked "Tilden". It could be dated anywhere from about 1776 on up to 1826. Captain Calvin Tilden and his son Luther both made wheels, so it is difficult to tell which one made this one. Captain Tilden fought in the Revolutionary War. He died in 1822. His son died in 1826. I loved spinning on this wheel. Fred has made sure it is in top spinning condition, and also made several bobbins to go with it. I would love to buy this wheel, but cannot figure a way to sneak another wheel into my tiny cabin. I was content to have just had the chance to do a little spinning and dreaming about the people whose hands had crafted the wheel, and those hands who have made yarn on it. I cannot explain in words the way spinning on a wheel such as this makes me feel such a connection to the past. I met very many nice people, and was glad to see such interest in what we were doing. We made several good contacts, and had several nice invitations for future events. Since our building was right next to the livestock exhibits, we got to see wonderful animals. Just look at these magnificent horses... from the biggest to the smallest.... But the animal that caught our eye was this Highland Cattle... just look at the coat on this beast of beauty...you can spin it! We were all examining the sample handful that my friend Judy had acquired from the owner. It was a beautiful color, and the guard hair was incredibly long and coarse, but the undercoat was very soft. I was very tired when I finally got home late Sunday afternoon, and it was nice to spend some quiet time in the garden and checking in on my rabbits and chickens. Much to my surprise, I noticed that my Aracuna rooster had dropped his spurs! He is about 3 or 4 years old now, and his spurs were so big that they made him do a sorta goose step march around the yard. I have read about how to remove spurs, but we all agreed that we did not want to attempt that. I had no idea that suddenly one day they would just fall off! Now he has little stubs again. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that he is in the middle of a molt.

maybe i'm a maized

Today I harvested the "cutie pop" popcorn that I planted this past spring when I was spinning the "indian corn" mohair. Since I recently finished weaving the mohair into a Triangle Shawl, I thought I would photograph the corn and the shawl together...since I am not sure which one inspired the other. Was it the indian corn mohair that made me think to buy the indian corn seed, or was it the other way around...I cannot remember...but the colors in both are beautiful. At one point I was struck with the idea of adding little beads (that reminded me of kernels of corn) to the ends of the fringe. I guess I am happy with the way they look, but not sure I like the way they hang off the shawl. While I was husking the popcorn, I was doing quite a bit of thinking about how beautiful the corn was. As I pulled back on each husk to reveal a different pattern and different color I did not tire of the chore, but became more engrossed in what I was doing. Each ear was a surprise..unique..a work of art! I was thinking back on when I planted it...and over the summer growing conditions...wondering what it was that made it so beautiful. Perhaps it was just the variety, or the soil that we had worked so hard to feed. Corn is a very heavy feeder, so feed the soil to feed the plant. Corn likes rabbit manure because it is so rich in nitrogen...and we did add wheel barrows full of rabbit manure to that area this past spring while the Mr. did the tilling. Was it the timing of the planting that made the difference? Could be it was the little song I sang while I planted it..."inch by inch ...row by row..God bless the seeds I sow ...please keep them safe below..till the rains come pouring down..." Then again, I guess it could be all those things together that just made these little cobs shine like gems. Some summers are good for peppers, some are good for peas...this summer was a good one for corn and tomatoes....(which btw I am upwards of 120 pounds!) This popcorn will have to dry for 6 to eight weeks before we can test it for taste. You should not pick your popcorn until it is really ready. You need to check on it...wait for the stalks to turn yellowish, and then peel back a bit of husk. Try to press a fingernail into a kernel, and if it leaves a dent, it is not ready. The kernels should be hard before you pick your corn, no fingernail marks! Husk it after picking and store it between screens for drying. It is so pretty, I won't want to eat it, but to pop it you simply twist the husk until the corn falls into a bowl. You can even microwave it! To store it, pack in an airtight jar. You can remove it from the cob before packing, but it will stay fresher if you leave it on the cob.

dorflinger days

Saturday was the Dorflinger-Suydam Wildlife Sanctuary Festival, and we had beautiful weather for the event.  I had gone over early the night before with Judy to set up our tables and rack to hold the shawls, as well as her tent (in case of rain).  When we arrived the next morning, we found out that we were right next to the fiddle player, Laura Kortright, so we had wonderful fiddle music to spin by!  Next to Laura was artist Joann Wells Greenbaum from Milford, PA.  She was creating beautiful watercolor paintings by the lawn along the lake.  I had the pleasure of meeting Joann at the Fiber Fest in July at the Hatton Farm. She was one of my needlefelting students, and it was nice to see her again.

 

I did have a chance to visit with an acquaintance of mine who does exquisite Pysanky (the Ukrainian egg painting)...I had met her at a previous show where we both were vending.  I was sure to take a break from my booth to go and visit the The Lost Art Lacers (who make amazing bobbin-lace creations)-The complexity of the designs, the intricate pattern blew me away!  But there was not enough time to stay for their demonstration, I had to get back to my own booth.  I was really happy to see so many old world crafts, and I think the festival next year will be even bigger.

In the afternoon, there was a special Native American event by FrankLittlebear, a member of the Cree Nation...that started out on the lake in a canoe where he was playing his flute.  This got all the children's attention, so they followed him like the pied piper.  His canoe came ashore, and the kids gathered around to watch him do dancing and drumming and story telling.  I really wanted to leave my booth and go down and watch with the children...

The Great Wheel attracted people like a magnet.  Each time I would start a demo, there was a crowd of spectators within minutes.  I was a little shy about doing demos on the Great Wheel, as I have not been spinning on it very long, and feel much more confident behind my comfortable old Ashford!

 

The down side of bringing the Great Wheel, was that some of the children that were running around did not have respect for it.  If I was busy demonstrating at the loom or elsewhere, I noticed small children just running up and giving her a "big wheel" spin!  Several times they knocked the drive band off and I had to shew them away!  I guess I needed a sign or something that said "keep your hot little hands off of my wheel!"  ...just kidding...I really like kids...

 

At the end of the day, Joann Greenbaum presented me with a signed watercolor that she had painted of me spinning away...such a nice souvenir of the day!

Next weekend I am going to be at the Northeast Small Farm and Rural Living Expo, along with several other spinners from the area....the days are just flying by!

 

We spent the rest of the weekend taking care of winterizing this old house..a big project, but one that needed doing...on account of Glaucomys sabrinus, who has decided that we have a nice warm log house to sleep in and has tried sharing it with us....that will NEVER do!   He found a place along the stone chimney, and entered the south wall of the bedroom.  We could not determine where he was getting inside from the outside of  the house, so we had to take the log wall down from the inside to find it.  Once we found the hole, we blocked it with wire mesh, and then we replaced the old insulation with new.  Now I will be nice and cozy, and the squirrels can find some other place to live!  Ah yes...country living...nothing like it......if you want to read more about the flying squirrels...here is a great link.