On the knitting front, it’s been a week of casting on and ripping out, in both Brioche and Double Knitting. Nothing noteworthy to report there.
At the moment I’m focused on getting prepared for my Wool Processing class for the WSU Country Living Expo, which will happen today at 3 pm. It’s on Zoom again this year, and it’s my first time teaching in this mode. Trying to make sure I’ve got everything covered so it all goes smoothly.
If you’re not an Expo-er but still interested in the content, I have posted the videos and handout to a new page on the website. It’s not on the main menu, but accessible via a link on the sidebar, under “Resources”.
So for now, I’ll just leave you with one of my favorite sheep cartoons
First literally- as in establishing another planting bed. Plan is to use this space for potatoes and squash this year-
Managed to lift and move most of the sod to other spots around the property, and now it’s onwards to amending the soil! I’ve got a good-sized pile of compost standing by and ready to go.
But also figuratively- in that I tried a new-to-me knitting thing this week. Double Knitting.
It’s been a while since I tried a new knitting technique, and a couple of things I watched on YouTube recently inspired me to give it a shot. (Inspiration references: Sockmatician pocast and Fruity Knitting w/ Alasdair Post-Quinn )
Amazing, mind-bending stitch structures and projects. Got me thinking about just how much there is to know.
So I decided to give it a shot. Just a simple swatch.
Nothing fancy. But it worked! And it makes this really lovely cushy fabric.
So now I need to figure out how to do it using my usual purl technique (norwegian purl). Might need a yarn guide or something.
Many thanks to The Man for his contribution to the blog last week.
We were both really happy to get the possum situation resolved to the benefit of all 🙂
Thankfully no more of that kind of excitement this week.
Just Garden Planning Excitement!
Our seeds have arrived- and this morning I spent some time getting the planting plan together. Last year the seed-starting schedule was dictated by how quickly we could get the hoophouse enclosed. We got the first wave sown March 23.
This year we’re going to go earlier, and see if we can get tomatoes and other heat-loving stuff ripening a bit sooner.
I’ve also got two little tomato plants who volunteered last fall (I think one Brad’s Atomic Grape, and one Honeycomb) growing under lights in the house right now. Really hope I can keep them happy and growing for a few more months.
And on the wool front, I finished spinning up the Florida Cracker Sheep wool (three ply, same style as the Gulf Coast Native)
It was a really fun, easy spin. The two wools seemed very similar to me. I’m thinking/hoping to use them together in a project soon. Would be interested to see what they they look like right off the sheep. Maybe next time I’m in Florida….. 🙂
And on the needles this week- mitts, of the fingerless variety. Wool is Jacob- sample skein from that fleece I processed as a demo for my Country Living Expo class. Think I might just keep making vanilla mitts for a while. They are so quick, and I’m kind of in the groove. Thinking that maybe once I’ve got a batch of them I might play around with embellishing them- a little embroidery?
And in case you are not subscribed to Clara Parkes’ Wool Channel- I thought that this recent episode was particularly engaging: https://www.thewoolchannel.com/viw-s1-e6/
Denise is busy spinning and knitting so I’m taking up the slack for this post.
Last week we discovered a stowaway possum sleeping in one of the chicken coop nesting boxes.
The possum did not react to our presence or noise or annoying illumination from bright flashlights. At first we suspected it had died in the box but a slight expansion and contraction of the body confirmed the presence of life.
Was it exhausted and famished after the brutal week of snow, wind and sub-freezing temperatures? Maybe. Was it in a catatonic state, commonly known as “playing dead” due to fright or shock? Possibly. I suspect that exhaustion and hunger were more likely in this case.
There is some concern about possums attacking and eating chickens but, in fact, they rarely do so. They are lazy and somewhat cowardly and prefer an easy meal over trial by combat. Small rodents and insects are preferred targets as are eggs and chicken feed. So we were not overly concerned for chicken safety. In addition, this possum appeared too weak to mount an attack on ornery chickens.
Possums can present a vicious front when frightened with their open-mouthed hissing baring razor sharp teeth. But this is a bluff…a defense mechanism to deter a perceived threat. And no, possums do not usually carry rabies (their body temperature is too low). Ultimately, their villainous reputation is unwarranted as possums are a useful and benign member of our ecosystem.
The chickens didn’t display any anxiety over the intruder although they were a bit put out by having one of the prime nesting boxes illegally occupied and occasionally approached the box and glared at the interloper with what appeared as impatience and exasperation (if I may be allowed anthropomorphic characterizations).
So we let the little critter catch up on sleep while Denise called the Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. They sent two volunteers out within a couple of hours to attempt a capture of the possum. They arrived with gloves, a net and a cat carrier. The possum did finally raise its head when they reached into the nesting box but it offered no resistance and allowed itself to be placed in the carrier with no fuss. The volunteers said it would be examined for injuries and health condition and then released back into the wild once properly recuperated.
We appreciated the quick and efficient response by Wolf Hollow and hope the possum enjoyed the brief stay in our chicken coop.
