Woolybuns

Sometimes I Am A Very Lucky Gal

The three ounces of this was going to ply with three ounces of the same stuff without the glitz in it but I changed my mind, pretty much because I forgot the plan.  Yep, distraction.  Lots of stuff, mostly inconsequential stuff, but a desire to move on to a specific new project played a role in that distraction, so last night, that became this.  It started at a fiber festival a few years ago, completely unplanned. A luscious cormo fleece just grabbed me by the throat and held me hostage until I paid a ransom to the breeder of that gorgeous goody.   Good cormo does that to people.  Luscious all by itself, but blend with some angora and Ooo la la!  Soft with a sweet spring in it's step (hand?) .  Cormo is a big fleece, so I divvied up the fleece for a few permutations, some with silk and angora, one with alpaca and angora, and one lot of cherry pink cormo with angora.  Those with silk got the most attention when I vended, so the cherry pink cormo angora roving sort of languished a bit, selling in dribs and bits (just cannot use the word drab in reference to that cheery cherry).  By this spring, I had one bag left (that I know of  - there is stash hiding in a variety of places here at my house) and I decided it's time to change it up.  I carded 3 ounces with purchased black merino roving.  The fourth ounce flirted without permission with glitz so I went with it and ended up with 3 ounces with glitz and 3 without.  Clearly that bit of cormo has a strong mind of it's own. It spun up quite cooperatively though and is now a bit more than 300 yards of fingering, currently drying on the deck. 

I've also been enjoying my tomatoes.  Mortgage Lifter, an heirloom pink mater, well, my goodness!  Quite a tasty treat.

Oh. Hello

Rain through June followed by ugly hotnhumid through July means deck time has been pretty limited this summer.  Weather the last couple weeks, though, has been quite nice for morning tea and photography time while the dogs romp, and we've fully enjoyed it.   This morning was for the bunnies.   I generally can't bring too many bunnies on the deck at one time.  Does are very territorial and will fight each other.  Bucks are very testosterone-y and will fight each other.  Buck and doe together ... well, you know what they do.  And that's exactly what happened on the deck this morning.  Katniss and Buckwheat had couple time this morning, and then so did Holly and Noble Hop.  Whether any babies result only time will tell because breed like rabbits is a big myth.  They only breed like rabbits when you don't want them to, those sneaky little buggars, like through two cages in the back of the car.  True story. 

And then this happened.   Fiona is another reason the bunnies haven't had a lot of play time out of their hutches.  Fiona is a hunter.  She ignores bunnies in hutches.  She's been mildly curious about bunnies confined in puppy pens on the deck.  But bunnies hopping and scrambling and binkying and bopping across the deck definitely pokes the dragon. I do keep her well fed though and she does recognize these bunnies belong to the property, while wild bunnies are fair game.  I will never trust her with my bunnies but she can learn to behave while I am present and that's what happened.  I kept an eagle eye on Fiona as she checked out the hoppenings on the deck.    So did Buckwheat.  That hind foot stomp thing rabbits do is quite effective.  Well fed cats and dogs are not sure what it is so are not sure they want to tangle with anything that can do that.   If Buckwheat had been the only rabbit on the deck, he might have just scrambled for cover, but with his doe there, he went into protective mode.  Stomp.  Stomp.  STOMP.  Fiona got the message.  But she only retreated enough to thunk on that thump.  I eventually suggested she leave the deck.  Several such suggestions later and I deposited her in the kennel.  It took her 20 minutes to decided leaping was the only way out and leap she did.  And then she came back to visit again.   I invited her to leave again and this time she decided to accept my invitation.  But only because there are wild critters to watch where no pesky human will bother her. 

Mommy Love Is A Beautiful Thing

Raising rabbits has me out in my back yard in all sorts of weather because the buns gotta get fed and watered no matter what.  I have wiggle room on the timing but if the weather doesn't let up, eventually I just have to suck it up and go feed.   The skies gave me plenty of breaks today so I can't blame getting all drippy wet n cold on the weather.  It's my own fault but I'd do it again to see what I just watched.  While I was still dry and nearly finished tending the buns, I heard thumpa thumpa thumpa across the top of the hutches behind me.  I looked and saw a wet squirrel running across the hutches.  Very unusual, they don't generally come out in bad weather.  Today's wind must have shifted something in the tree where the squirrel had her nest.  I'd seen the nest more than a week ago when I tackled ugly wild vine growth under the tree.  Perhaps my clearing a lot of the vine growth left her nest vulnerable.  If I'd seen the nest before I started, I wouldn't have done it.  Whatever the reason, that mother squirrel must have taken the late afternoon break in rain to build a new  nest, getting wet because all the foliage is drenched.  And then right there in front of me with rain starting up again, that determined mother squirrel moved one by one at least 4 babies down one tree, across the 100 feet of my yard thumpa thumpa thumpa across my hutches, through a very wet forsythia bush and up another tree about 20 feet into the neighbor's yard.  Three times I was too close, she'd stop with a baby in her mouth and just look at me.  I'd back up and tell her it was ok, then she'd scamper off to the new nest.  Yes, I am now drenched and stringy haired and chilled  but watching that display of mother love - well, I may just have to go to the grocery store to buy some walnuts for her.

Gettin' Comfy

August around here is typically... well, like this year's July: gawd awful sticky hot n steamy.  But I think Mother Earth must have shifted on her axis unbunching a twist in her britches or something, and given us a shift in season.  It's much more September here now, lovely almost chilly nights warming to get out and do something days.   Hot cross buns are now now happily hoppin' around, kicking up heels in their nearly nekkid costume, though they'd rather glare at the camera, liars that they be sometimes.   It might even be cool enough they could be convinced to make babies.  It's been more than a year since they had any.  They've still been busy making foof though, which seriously seduces my fingers with the soft. I've been exploring fractal spinning with wool this summer, loving it, but as I pulled out another braid of merino tencel to split into short color runs, I heard the siren call of the tempting box of merino angora batts I had carded and fondled in late spring.  "Soft," it whispered.  "Remember the sweet, the caress for the hand as fiber slides through fingers, through orifice then cuddles around the bobbin?"   I gave in to the temptress.  6 ounces of this foof filled goodness, 3 with glitz in it.  I plan to ply 3 ounces of glitzy with 3 ounces of simply soft.  I'm thinking some sort of wrap for me so when winter storms in, I'll still be comfy. 

 

 

Maters!

And this is the payoff.  I planted 4 big tomato varieties - 2 are heritage (one brandywine, one ummmm I forget), the other two organic but not heritage, I think,  I don't remember the specific names (that's why I stick the tags in the ground with the plants - I don't have to try to remember all season), and one grape tomato plant.  Those lovely plants are putting out a decent amount of fruit.  The first red showed up yesterday, on a few grape tomatoes.  Lovely looking, ain't they.  But not yet ripe.  I will probably pick them on Sunday.  Some of the big tomatoes are showing signs that red will show up soon.  

As I looked under the skirts of all the mater girls last night, I did find and  pull off a few leaves on one plant that show some very early signs of a fungal disease, probably septoria leaf spot.  Humidity around here supports and sadly enthusiastically encourages fungal diseases on plants.  Growing roses is a labor intensive hobby because of that.   So.  To spray or not to spray.  The answer?  Only if there is an acceptable organic option.   If it is septoria leaf spot, the fruit is not affected, though if the fungus progresses through stems, the plants are slowly destroyed so won't support new fruit production nor maturing of existing fruit.   Googling shows the common options for spray include copper sulfate, but that is highly toxic to people, pets, and fish so no, ain't gonna use it; chlorothalonil, which is slightly toxic and a skin irritant so I'm not too fond of that approach either;  or a biofungicide like Serenade®, described as the least toxic option.  Not a ringing endorsement, is it.  Then I found the Cornell formula, which is baking soda, vegetable based light summer horticultural oil, and a few drops of dishwashing soap.  Now that's an option that doesn't make me want to rip out my hair along with my plants and put up a parking lot.  And it's a good excuse for a trip to the garden center.