Woolybuns

Hops N Socks

Tonight I say goodbye to the the last baby bunny of my latest litter to leave, the opal buck on the left in the photo.  He's 3 months old, and has been promised for a while, but cage space and vacation plans left him with me for extra time.   He's been sharing a hutch with his brother all this time and surprisingly, that has gone well.  No beating each other up, no destroying each other's coats.  The 2 of them, so foofy and always looking for petting, have been such a delight to visit every morning.  Yes, of course I have gotten attached to him.  But his brother and 2 sisters are staying with me.  I sheared his coat a couple days ago and he looks so different, especially next to his brother.  His foof is agouti banded and that always looks so pretty.  Once it's spun into yarn, it can end up with the yarn being one color and the foofy "bloom" angora is famous for being another color.  That can change with each coat, as it depends on where the band colors are distributed. Little opal boy wasn't quite thrilled with the hair cut process, but for a 1st time shearing, he did pretty well.  Good boy!

My current spinning project is a blend of merino and silk, which I am blending on my hand cards and turning into rolags.  My little granddaughter has watched me knit socks pretty much her whole life.  She is right: it's time for Grammie to make a pair of socks for her.  She wants them to be yellow, so I will be dyeing the yarn.  This morning she watched me carding the fibers, so she spent time petting the wool top and silk sliver, then I had her help me load the cards, then card the fibers.  She loves the texture.  Not sure she loves the process though.  Time will tell if I am creating a little fiberista or not.  

And Now There Are Two

Several years earlier, I took a silk fusion workshop and discovered milkweed fluff can add a delightful touch to a piece of silk paper. Fast forward a number of years.  I hadn't been able to find a ready source for that lovely fluff, so I tried to raise a milkweed plant on my deck.  It did not go well.  Someone I met via fiber adventures posted about her efforts on behalf of monarch butterflies.  I was intriqued, and no longer just because of the fluff.  It had been easy to not notice dwindling numbers of butterflies.  Bees get most of the attention.  But helping earth recover is pretty damn important.  Saving monarch butterfliess is one part of that.  So when that monarch mama offered me some seeds, I happily accepted, and planted them in seed trays, then when they obligingly sprouted, transplanted them in my back yard.

I admit, I've been lazy with my milkweed project, but they grow in spite of me.  And I've been seeing more monarchs flitting about this year.  Yesterday they rewarded me: I found a little bitty catepillar in those milkweed buds.  Made me kinda giddy.  Catepillar = success.  And also hope.  Each catepillar that survives is one more step for survival of the species.  And that's good for all of us.  I picked a couple leaves and nudged little 'pillar onto one for transport into my house.  And because catepillars are no safer on the loose inside the house with cats and a dog and human feet, I set up a catepillar habitat using a mason jar, pantyhose, and a folded paper towel to make for easier cleaning of the frass (butterfly poop - see: I'm learning the lingo!).  Yes, apparently I don't have enough animal poop to clean up with dog, cats, and bunnies.  hahaha

After feeding bunnies and watering potted plants this morning, I wandered out to the milkweed to fetch fresh leaves.  And looky there: another little bitty catepillar.  

 Yeah, I'm kinda hooked.