A late-season surprise

A striking beauty who obviously wants to attract maximum attention by arriving fashionably late.

That's it for now from . . .

More orbs

Last night the moon rose like a giant wheel of cheddar. Mmmm; cheese. (Something I really like but try to avoid because of all its calories and cholesterol.)

Later last night I finished winding my plying ball. For the core I used a dryer ball, identical to the one shown. Not sure when I'll start plying; today we add our weekly homeschool co-op into an already packed schedule. Oy.

That's it for today from . . .

Of various orbs

I hope you all got to experience the lunar eclipse last night; we got a spectacular show last night. This morning's sunrise was pretty nice, too:

I took a break from my heavy responsibilities to get a fiber project ready, specifically, getting my SAL singles ready to ply. I'm going to use my fabric project bag, putting a turtle in each of the two inner pockets, and wrap my plying ball around a dryer ball. Wish me luck on this new skill!

Now I have a project to work on during Brian's violin lesson this afternoon. Here's a video from a previous lesson that I don't think I've shared yet. Love my fiddler's tunes!



That's it for today from . . .

OFFF (i.e., Overdue Friend & Fiber Fix)

It wasn't long but it was lovely, my quick visit to the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival this afternoon. The weather was perfect, just the right temperature to accessorize with a lacy small shawl or scarf. Better yet, I got to see everyone and everything on my list!

My first stop was the information table. Years ago I bought the used Clemes & Clemes drum carder shown above at this same festival, and it no longer seems to work. Last year I saw a Clemes & Clemes rep at OFFF, so I brought my carder to have it checked out. When I learned that the rep didn't come this year, I asked if another vendor might be able to help me, and was directed to Duncan Fiber Industries. Serendipity! Mr. Duncan is not only going to fix my little carder, he is going to add one of their patented Fine Fiber Brushes to it, which should make it function better than new!

A Duncan carder with fine fiber brush

Next I located the bunny barn where Laura and Sue were judging for the day. I hugged Laura, then hugged her again. (Sorry, Sue; I should have hugged you, too!)

We didn't get to chat as much as we would have liked because they had work to do, like presenting the championship ribbon to the talented knitter of this beauty:

So I left them to it and made forays through the fairgrounds, returning periodically for hug fixes.

On one of my first forays, I stumbled across Olympic Spinning Wheels' booth. I follow Gary's blog, so knew they were going to be there; it was exciting to see his current commissioned wheel in progress. I also got to spin on Amy's gorgeous Raven Wheel; what a treat!

It took me two or three forays to locate the Jenkins Woodworking booth; when I finally found it, who should be there choosing Turkish spindles but Sally and Charlotte, the ladies who bought Bali and Brosna earlier this summer! They told me Brosna was present, so off we went to see her, all the while talking about the fine-fleeced Shetlands we raise and love.

Vienna's daughter Brosna basking in the sunshine

I brought Vienna's fleece along to get Laura's opinion, but had a chance to show it to Charlotte first. Her parents run a fiber mill, so she was able to help me decide to go ahead and have it processed into roving for my own use.
 
Then it was back to the Jenkins booth to actually chat with Wanda and Ed. I picked Wanda's brain on how ply my SAL singles and learned about making a plying ball. She also demonstrated how to ply-on-the-fly; now I have two new techniques to add to my spinning repertoire. Thanks, Wanda!

By this time, venders were starting to pack up, so I grabbed a snack for the road and headed home – yes, without adding another Jenkins Turkish spindle or any fiber to my stash.  ;-) (Paying for the repair and addition to my carder and the processing of Vienna's fleece will be expenditures enough.)

That's it for OFFF 2015 from . . .

Another beautiful sunrise (or two)

Like Sara says, "If you've got to sound like a broken record, I guess this is the one you want." Yesterday morning, I shot the sunrise from down at the barn while doing chores (with my old camera, the one with dust in the lens).

Rick and Brian left early for a call, so I went for a walk before work. I thought the sky then was still striking, even after sunrise.

That square shape on the right is a new house being built by a couple from Alaska. They work six weeks on as nurses there, and six weeks "off" on their five acres here. The house has a lot of unique features and construction techniques, and is supposedly very "green;" recently a bank of solar panels went north of the house. Here is a photo of it looking up the hill rather than down:

Then last night Lance and I ushered out the last of the daylight on a ride about the hill. I felt blessed by the beautiful sky bookends of my day.

Little did I know how they would pale in comparison to this morning's sunrise!

(Straight out of camera.)

It does me good to look at these images again tonight. It has been a long, hard day for this homeschooling mother.

That's it for now at . . .

A little morning meet-up

This morning on my way to the barn, a flutter beside the driveway caught my attention. I looked down and spotted this varied thrush. I caught its attention, and it fluttered into the pasture fence.

I spotted some fuzz; between that and the inept fluttering, I thought it was a fledgling. On closer inspection, the fluff seemed to be in its bill, not on its head, but it still looked young. Product of a second clutch, perhaps?

I didn't want to leave it where one of the dogs could easily grab it, so I gently herded it under the fence and into the pasture (where I snapped another photo).

I took another from farther down the driveway, just before it took off across the pasture. It didn't gain enough altitude to clear the fence, so was still somewhat safe from the dogs.

Oreo was on hand at the barn waiting for breakfast; I hope the cat food kept her occupied until this young bird "earned its wings." We need all the beautiful birdsong we can get in this ol' world!

Off to enjoy another Southern Tomato Pie for supper at . . .

Another perk of my favorite season

Better sunrises!

One morning last week, this

turned into this:

And today I was treated to this:

Who needs coffee with a sky like that?!?

That's it for today from . . .

Today's song

Oftentimes I awake in the morning with a tune or song in my head. It's usually something I've recently listened to, or one of Brian's violin practice pieces. But this morning it was a song I haven't heard or sung in ages:


Perhaps it sprang from our weekend visit, challenging in many ways, but brightly lit by one extraordinary event. For the first time in my adult life, we attended church with my dad on Sabbath outside of any extenuating circumstances such as a funeral; his idea. Amazing . . . grace.

Sweet

Tomato tally

It's been a good year for tomatoes here; they like hot weather and warm nights. Our garden's production has been bolstered by those of my MIL and neighbor, resulting in:
• Lots of sandwiches and salads
• Seven pints of diced tomatoes in their own juice
• Two quarts of gazpacho (eaten in one meal) =:-O
• Southern Tomato Pie (sooo good)

and as of today, seven quarts canned and a pan of homemade pasta sauce simmering in the oven.

I have three big slicers on the counter and a bowl full of not-quite ripe tomatoes that will become another Southern Tomato Pie. Have you been blessed with homegrown tomatoes this year?



That's it for today from . . .

God sends help in curious ways

and

Jane Savoie's Motivation from Moshi
and Indy

(the above come in one email but I couldn't figure out how to post it here)

These two things showed up in my inbox today – just when I really needed them. (That's why I could only manage a cute squirrel post earlier.)

That's it for now from . . .