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Stormy day...
This spider's web caught my eye as I went out to check on the chickens.
I've been spinning yarn for the poncho with my drop spindle. I haven't learned to be deliberate with the spinning wheel yet.
In fact, I'm only making thin yarn at the moment. More practice needed...
A small post up at bee creative cooking.
Little scraps of heart found their way into a stream of wool
carded and spun into yarn and then knitted,
another layer to the poncho
The little line curving from the dark towards the left is a piece of peacock feather, added by the woman I bought the yarn from (Schoonover farms).
I thought about how the layers are like strata and thought of bedrock.
From Home Ground, A Guide to the American Landscape:
"Strata are layers of sedimentary rock that form beds or bands of colored or textured material...Strata vary in thickness... Each bed contains fossils set down in a specific sequence with a definite mode of deposition-river silt, beach sand, coal swamp, sand dune, or lava." Defined by Mary Swander
and
"The rock that lies hidden deep beneath layers of topsoil and subsoil can be relied upon not to change its composition....It seems to lie immutable beneath our feet and serves as a foundation and parent material to the land, both structurally and chemically, since its mineral composition, permeability, and other characteristics may greatly influence the layer that forms above it." Defined by Barbara Kingsolver.
I love this book.
Thanks for the well wishes everyone:
The dogs made their own heart today.
I'll be posting at bee creative cooking tomorrow.
Settling into a new season. Adjusting to change. I've spent the day with Briar who is sick. She has Vestibular Disease which means she is a dizzy dog. Should be okay in a few days.
We've been sitting in the dark and keeping it quiet to help Briar stay calm. Although it's a glorious fall evening at the moment, mostly it's been gray.
Adding to the quiet.
It's sock season again.
I've been considering how knitting is like a landscape. Rivers of color, peaks and valleys. Knitting now with energized yarn (yarn that hasn't had it's twist set after spinning)
It adds another layer to the story.
Divided but functioning.
Seeking compromise.
Seeking space for all it loves.
worn torn tattered
stitched back together
resilient
Where I stand: Fall equinox: 9/22, 7:29 PM. Balance. Tomorrow's sunrise will be at 6:56 and sunset at 7:07.
This is a transfer of a photo. Something I made several years ago and have been using as a book mark.
New post up at bee creative cooking.
Not what I intended to read next, but what I fell into. Home Ground is a collection of definitions. At the moment, I open to any page read a bit and then skip to another spot. But really, I want to start at the beginning and read all the way through, to be sure I don't miss anything. It makes me think of poetry.
Pieces of my landscape today...
This morning. Unaltered. The first of the sunlight coming through the windows.
The back porch this afternoon.
Looking closer.
Throughout the day.
Working on the poncho.
And for Jude:
Altered apple prints.
Thinking about apples as a symbol of knowledge, of the star within.
These two apples were both harvested today, both as ready as they will be:
The one on the left is a variety called "King" and the particular apple weighs almost 13 ounces. The one on the right is called "Rubbinette" and weighs just over an ounce.
Thinking about similarities and differences, how we grow, what we become.
And about seasons.
New post up at bee creative cooking
It may be hard to see the color, but the silk dyed in the indigo I harvested turned a pale aqua. The cottons and the wool didn't absorb much color.
My other wisp of silk blew away in the wind today. It was a darker aqua, perhaps because of the rust in the pot.
I found that the indigo that has been growing in the water was much easier to work with then the indigo that has been in the soil. It breaks down easier, which in turn, allows the color in the leaves to release better.
I have a theory that indigo that is grown in soil and well watered would likely be easier to work with as well. I have been stingy with the water this summer. Something to think about for next year.
I followed directions from here for this batch. I have more indigo so I'm going to try this and this.
The fall crocus appeared this week...
Reminding me that ephemeral is one of my favorite words. Defined as something that lasts for a short time but really for me something that lasts for a short time and then returns.
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On Friday I was able to leave work early and took the scenic route home
I stopped at one of the benches along the boardwalk. Sat for an hour watching and breathing.
Not thinking much, but rather gathering pieces of myself back together.
I walked farther and stopped once more, along the beach, amongst the rocks. I was tempted to wade in but didn't knowing I had further to travel.
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Today's indigo experiments.
They have further to travel too.
New posts up at bee creative cooking.