Holodiscus Discolor

 

Ocean-spray (Holodiscus discolor) is a common shade-tolerant shrub native to the Pacific Northwest. Its profuse flowers are something of a roadside attraction in June and July. It is sometimes called "ironwood" (not to be confused with the Acacias, or any other of several dozen trees/shrubs bearing the same common name). Indeed, the stems are quite hard, but are generally too small to be of any serious use. The flowers, however, are another matter. Pollinators love it. It also serves as a larval host to at least one of our Swallowtail butterflies, and also to Lorquin's Admiral (a butterfly I see fairly regularly around here).

Formative Eggplant

It's going to be an eggplant! I have never had much success with growing vegetables. Fruits and berries, yes. Veg, no, but I went out on a limb this year and bought starts rather than trying to grow anything from seed. So far, I have only harvested one zucchini, but this formative eggplant gives me hope. The peppers (sweet and jalapeño) are almost ready to bloom as well. The tomatoes are flowering, although I have yet to see any sign that the pollinators are doing their job. And then there's the kale. After enjoying the thinnings as "microgreens," I've returned to my original opinion that it's not fit for human consumption. Scratch that one off next year's list of possibilities.

Second Go at Fractal Spin

My first two skeins of fractal-spun yarn turned out better than I'd expected, so I moved on to Experiment #2. It is now ready to be turned into a three-ply yarn (the last bobbin needs to rest for 24 hours). It was harder to control the colours, but I have only myself to blame for that. I should have read the description of the fiber more carefully, but when you search a fiber supplier's website for "top," you expect to be shown preparations with the wool aligned lengthwise, not roving, in which the fibers are hodgepodged. Yep, it was roving, not top. I prefer spinning worsted over woollen with the exception of when I'm spinning specifically for a nålbinding project. That's where this will wind up...something to do this winter. As for whether it will be adequately fractal when it's finished, well, we'll just have to wait and see. Chalk up one more on the side of "not going to buy this again."

YPLT Bridge

Yesterday morning, I took advantage of cooler temperatures to take a walk out to the new footbridge on the Yelm Prairie Line Trail. The trail terminates where I was standing to take the photo, but eventually, an extension will take it to the town of Roy some four miles to the north. Western Washington has a remarkable bike/walking trail system already, and this is part of a grand plan to connect existing trails. As it stands right now, YPLT connects to several others, allowing ambitious riders to pedal to Tenino and Lacey/Olympia, with spurs to various other locations. The longest ride I've ever made on the network was just over sixty miles (round-trip distance), but that was ages ago. On this occasion, I went by shank's mare for a round trip of four miles, averaging 3 MPH. I was surprised to see that trail developers anticipated "love locks" being hung, and had even encouraged the practice somewhat by stipulating that they were to be placed only on the fence and not on the bridge structure. There are only a few at this time, and I particularly liked the brass "love birds."

Nano Ounce

There it is! My first Nano ounce of Corriedale singles is done, and I am loving the way the Nano lets me spin a fine thread almost effortlessly. When this is made into a two-ply yarn, it will be a lace-weight, and I am really curious to know how many yards...miles!...of wool thread is on this bobbin. As someone who swore they'd never buy an e-spinner, I am eating my words. As for the fractal spin I've been doing on Bronka, the second skein is resting, waiting to be plied. I've given her another fractal-ish project to keep her busy for the rest of Tour de Fleece.

Parnassius Clodius

"Stay there until I get back!" I ran into the house as quickly as I could manage, grabbed the camera and started adjusting settings on my way back out through the kitchen door. Whatever this butterfly was, it certainly wasn't a Swallowtail. Had I ever seen one before? Possibly, but I couldn't recall the name. Fortunately, it was still enjoying the milkweed when I returned, but it was being very reluctant to open its wings for a portrait. However, that gave me the opportunity to observe two orange spots on the underside of the wings which, if you look carefully, can be seen through the semi-transparent forewing on the left in the image. The transparent nature of the wing is not due to worn scales as I initially assumed. It is typical of the Parnassians, in this case, Parnassius clodius. Fortune favoured me, and my visitor spread its wings before fluttering off to the woods. Yes, I had recorded the species once before in my yard, but it was still a thrill to see another one. My milkweed garden is paying bonuses!

Fractal 1

The first skein of fractal spin is done and dusted. The photo shows it before washing and thwacking (I don't "thwack," as such; rather, I "sprong" by looping the skein around both hands and then snapping my arms out to the sides several times over several rotations).  Now it's hanging out on the line, weighted and drying in the warm weather. It turned out much better than expected, and despite the colourway, it even looks kinda like a fractal spin. Before finishing, it measured 106 yards and 1.9 ounces (53 grams). Those figures put it at a worsted weight, although it feels slightly finer (but not fine enough to be DK).