Moving In

Day 199: Warm days prompted a significant uptick in swallow activity, and the pair who had been considering the House of Chirp as a suitable place for their young signed the lease and immediately began moving in their furnishings. Both the male and female Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) have been gathering dried grass and a few white feathers, and placing them inside. At this point, I have only seen the female (duller in colour) enter the box, and am assuming that the actual construction of the nest is her domain. Half a dozen small paperwasp nests were in the eave above the House and, not quite trusting that they were unoccupied, I took a long piece of PVC pipe to knock them down, keeping in mind that I might need to make a quick retreat. Fortunately, the wasps were absent, but this is something I must watch for every year to be sure there are no permanent installations. I must keep my renters safe and happy to ensure their return next year.

Opening Day

Day 198: The moment for which I have been waiting these last two weeks has finally arrived. The Fawn Lily was not open when I first checked before breakfast, but looked suspiciously close to bursting. At 9 AM, the petals were fully recurved and in full glory. A second bulb has put up a single leaf. I was worried that it might not have survived. Even if it doesn't flower, it will gain strength from that one leaf, and will likely bloom next year. I'm chalking this delicate transplanting operation up as a horticultural success. While we're on that subject, I'm pleased to announce that the last two contorted filbert twigs I soil-layered are also doing well. So is the wild ginger brought over from a neighbouring property. In fact, the latter is spreading with great enthusiasm, a fact which delights me no end.

Fair Socks

Day 197: The Washington State Fair (aka the Puyallup Fair) isn't until September, but I am hard at work on several entries for the "Textiles-Spinning" division including these socks. Yes, that's handspun, a blend of Merino wool and bamboo fiber: silky-soft and durable, and if you think the colour is too pink for the Crow, you'd be right on the mark. Some lucky person will be receiving these as a gift, and hopefully, they'll be accompanied by certification of prize-winning status. I've never competed in the spinning division before. I will also be submitting a full skein of fingering weight in a different colourway, and possibly even a skein of finer yarn spun on a drop spindle. All three will fall into different classes within the spinning division increasing my chances to bring home a ribbon.

Well, Dam!

Day 196: Well, dam! I went out for a little hike yesterday, hoping to find Corallorhiza trifida in any of the three locations where I know it to occur. Last year, my botany partners and I failed to locate any, although we admit that we might have come too late upon the scene. Based on my phenological records, it springs up at some point in late April through late May, so I thought to get an early start, knowing full well that I might come home disappointed. As I feared, I was too early, so I set a different goal: visit Secret Falls in its niche just off the Westside Road. However, I experienced another disappointment there. The falls was nearly dry, with just a trickle coming down the cleft in the rock, although the plunge pool (with hardly the volume of a standard bathtub) was full. That said, with plenty of snow feeding its source and record-breaking high temperatures in the forecast for the next two days, it will undoubtedly be flowing more vigorously soon. The only real success story of the day (not counting removal of illegally-planted "memorial" flowers in a site I've been monitoring for several years) was a visit to the old dam above Sunshine Point campground. There are bits of history tucked away in our Park if you know where to look! And because in all, I had a nice walk of roughly five miles, the day wasn't a total bust.

Group Hyacinths

Day 195: Grape Hyacinths (Muscari) are surely one of the most rewarding and trouble-free colour accents for the spring garden. They grow from small bulbs which multiply rapidly, and while they do spread, they do not do so in the obnoxious manner for which wood-hyacinths such as Scilla (Spanish bluebells) and Hyacinthoides (English bluebells) are famous. Indeed, the Muscari are so tidy in their habit that I laughingly call them "Group Hyacinths," clustering in tightly packed conversational units and keeping to themselves. That said, once established, they are virtually perpetual, the larger bulbs forming dozens more tiny to microscopic bulblets, each capable of producing foliage and flowers within a year or two. It is hopeless to try to dig them out, but who would want to do so? Plant them and enjoy!

Going Head-To-Head

Day 194: The sudden spring influx of birds finds the sparrows going head-to-head for seed and, if at first glance you assumed these two were the same species, look again. Notice that the one on the left is wearing a white bicycle helmet, whereas the one on the right has a "mohawk" hairdo, dyed yellow to demand your attention to detail. Now you've got it! Here we have a White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) and a Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla), the two Sparrow species most common to my yard. The males of most Sparrow species generally have some obvious colouration which makes it possible to tell them apart. However, the females can present problems even for experienced birders. It takes a bit of practice to train the eye to look for field identification points such as eye stripes, wing bars, beak shape, leg colour, breast markings, etc., but if you keep those things in mind while watching birds in your own yard, you will soon discover that it's easier to tell LBJs and LGBs apart (birder parlance for "Little Brown Jobs" and "Little Grey Birds").

Three Bells

Day 193: What time is "three bells?" Well, that all depends on which watch it is, but if you happen to be watching the phenologic clock, three bells is most certainly Spring! Of course, if you're on a ship, it's a bit more complicated, especially in the traditional system. Three bells was rung in the night or early morning in my garden, although only yesterday, we would have had to call it "three buds." Yes, the Fritillary Lilies have opened, one of the first and most welcome displays of colour from my flower beds. Their checkerboards must surely serve chess tournaments among the faerie folk, or be hopscotch patterns for ladybugs and beetles. Perhaps if I took the first or middle watch, I could catch wee sprites at their nocturnal games when three bells is sounded.

Polliwogs On Parade

Day 192: After roughly 20 hours spread out over two days as I tried various warping systems for the Leksand loom, I finally hit on a combination of techniques which, while not perfect by any means, at least let me put a new band on the rollers. During the experiments, I used up a phenomenal amount of "throw-away" crochet thread (those partial balls too small to use for a project) and the full range of my father's tractor-starting vocabulary as I tried to coax slack threads into behaving. Once warped, I settled in to weave, drawing out any remaining droop once I had an inch or so completed. I had in mind to use two different patterns alternately (they shared a common break point), but as luck would have it, the transition between the elements was less than attractive, so I abandoned the idea to use only one of the two elements. I dubbed it "Polliwogs." Having completed a foot or so, I set the loom where I could take a picture of the band against a dark background, and that was when I noticed a mistake five and a half motifs back. Don't bother looking for it. It's not there any more. Yes, I picked my morning's work out to fix the "oopsie," and wasn't satisfied until I had woven it all again. This band is 1" in width, with 13 pattern threads. All coloured threads are 8/2 cotton on a ground of 16/2 perle cotton. The weft is also 8/2.

The Right Job For The Tool

Day 191: You all know that you should always use the right tool for the job. In this case, I had to find the right job for the tool. I have to admit that I bought this teeny-tiny Turkish spindle on a whim. It cost only slightly more than two gallons of milk, and I thought it was absolutely adorable! Plus, the crossarms are made from sassafras wood, and I have a weakness for "exotic" woods, particularly when they have been turned into fiberarts implements. However, I had no idea what I'd be able to spin on a spindle which looked more like a toy than a tool, and rather figured it would turn out to be a conversation piece and nothing more. Still, it couldn't hurt to try to make yarn with it, so I attached a length of buttonhole twist to use as a leader, the same thread I use on my larger, weightier spindles. I gave it a twirl, watched it wind, but was dismayed when it began back-twisting after only a few rotations. I sat back to analyze the problem in a scientific manner and after deciding that the hard twist of buttonhole thread was at least partly responsible for the issue, I took it off and made a new leader from sewing thread. Sassafras spun like a dream! I grabbed a bit of Corriedale top, and immediately spun it into a fine strand with ease. While Sassy may not have the weight to spin heavier yarns, she spins cobweb any spider could admire.

My Very Own Fawn Lily

Day 190: Keep your fingers crossed! Two years ago, I transplanted two or three Giant Fawn Lily bulbs (Erythronium oregonum) from a piece of public land with no restrictions on gathering it. One was gobbled by a squirrel, and the surviving bulb made a leaf but no flower (or perhaps the squirrel ate the bud). This photo is from a few days ago. Today, the stalk is an inch or so taller and the bud is beginning to nod. I do love it when my horticultural adventures bear fruit!

Joe's Brunnera

Day 189: I have to rib my botany partners a little bit here. Last year, they brought a commercially-grown plant for my garden which upon first glance, I nearly refused because it looked astonishingly similar to a forget-me-not (Myosotis). There was a tag in the pot, though, so I graciously accepted it, all the while thinking I might wind up regretting the impulse. The tag told me that it was a Brunnera called "Jack Frost" for its silvery leaves. A little further digging with the Google shovel revealed that it was unlikely to spread, but offered some cautions about not allowing it to set seed. I diligently removed the flowering heads as the blossoms faded, and found myself rather enjoying the foliage in and of itself. It died back in late autumn as expected, and...Joe, forgive me!...I told myself I wasn't going to be heartbroken if it didn't come back in spring. That said, when it broke ground a few weeks ago, I was happy to see it had returned. If it does spread a bit, I won't mind. It gives a bit of colour to an awkward spot at the end of my carport. I'll pinch the tips when they're done flowering, but if I miss a few, it won't be the end of the world.

Double Daff

Day 188: Usually first to open, my double daffodils in the front flower bed lagged behind the narcissus by a few days, and for their tardiness were punished by snow, hail and rain alternately. They are resilient, though, and even if beaten down by the weight of snow will pop back up as soon as it melts, perhaps slightly muddied or tattered, but as strong as ever. Daffodils and narcissus have a reputation for being "deer-proof" and indeed, while the hooved varmints gobbled my hyacinths and crocuses from above and the moles attacked the bulbs from below, they left these bloomers untouched. Several times now, I've thinned the bed, tossing the excess into the narrow strip of woodland along the west edge of my property where they have taken root without any further encouragement and now volunteer on a regular basis. If you want reliable colour in your spring garden, plant daffodils!

Hoya Ilagiorum!

Day 187: Stop the presses! Breaking news! Hoya ilagiorum has finally held onto buds long enough for them to mature into flowers, and what a show it is! Several times now, this plant has attempted to set buds, only to drop them before they were a millimeter in diameter. Some hoyas can be very fussy to bring into bloom. In fact, I have several which have never flowered, ironically including the old standby, H. carnosa. Something about my "care and feeding" regimen doesn't suit it, although H. fitchii blooms regularly and profusely right beside it. I was worried that ilagiorum was going to be problematic when the buds failed to mature. In fact, this umbel took me entirely by surprise when one day recently when I noticed its cluster of pentagons, still tightly closed. Hoping for the best, I've watched it closely for the last ten days, nervously watering it when the soil went dry. I figured if anything would make the buds drop, watering would do the job, but it held them. Monday , they burst into full-blown stars. I don't know what I did to make the difference, but I'm hoping for a repeat performance somewhere down the line.

Winding A Turkish Turtle

Day 186: While I've never had much success at spinning on a bottom-whorl drop spindle, for some reason, using a Turkish-style model has come easily. It has a distinct advantage over the round-whorled types, in that when you are done, you have a ready-made center-pull ball which is easily removed from the spindle by removing the shaft and pulling out the crossarms. As you can see by using the pencil for comparison, I am spinning a fine single here, and winding it on in the "god's-eye" manner known as a turtle. Forming a well-made Turkish turtle is a skill all of its very own! The spun yarn passes under one arm, over two, laying closely beside itself on both top and bottom. For me at least, effecting this takes almost as much time (or perhaps more) than spinning the length of yarn, and while my technique still leaves something to be desired, it's much better than it was on my first attempts. Two such turtles will eventually be used to form a double-ply strand. It should be noted that the turtle can also be called a cop, and you should be relieved that I have spared you all the possible "good cop, bad cop" humour, at least for now.

Narcissus At Last

Day 185: Like a hostess waiting for the first guests to arrive, I was becoming anxious and at length, referred to the clock (calendar) when they seemed to be late. But no, they appeared punctually, undeterred by the inconveniences of weather and arrayed in their finest clothes. Now the party may truly begin. Narcissus has graced my garden and the yellow daffodils aren't far behind. I have not started any annuals indoors this year, the primary reason being that my perennials now occupy most of the available space since settling into their permanent locations. A few garden-store starts will fill in the blank spots and add a bit more colour. Soon, the flower beds will be a patchwork of columbine, peonies and delphiniums, with volunteer snapdragons popping up among the greenery. Long after Narcissus has slipped away, the revel will go on without her until summer passes into autumn and the last of the guests retire.

11 mm Band

Day 184: Now I feel I am truly weaving in the Leksand tradition instead of just making pickup bands! This dainty band is only 11 mm wide. I used #80 tatting cotton for the warp, 8/2 cotton for the pattern/coloured threads and weft. I call it "S & Z," appropriate for a spinner's band, given the direction of twist for singles and plied yarn, because that is how the figures appear on the face. However, the reverse side (shown where it is wound onto the cloth reel) is equally attractive. In the course of weaving the first foot or so, I've made some discoveries regarding how the warp should be wrapped around the terminal posts (pattern threads lowest to maximize the "up" shed), and also for the rhythm of the treadle action to eliminate redundant footwork. I nearly have the pattern memorized, and only have to refer to my cheat-sheet for the two throws in each figure which are opposite to one another to make the S or Z. Committing a pattern to memory is crucial to building up speed, and it keeps my old brain flexible.

Tvistsöm Birdies

Day 183: My tvistsöm birdies have been waiting in the wings to be mounted until I could finish up a second project which was going to use the same chartreuse bias tape. I was afraid I might not have enough for both pieces, and since I had bought it to match the colour in the larger one, the tvistsöm had to take a back seat until I ascertained how much I had to play with. I wound up with a one-inch scrap at the conclusion. These little birdies, as you may recall, are worked on 18-count canvas. The technique is tvistsöm, also known as "long-armed cross stitch." I hadn't done any in a long time, and figured it was time to make a piece for myself. The basic pattern for the birds is from the only English-language book I have ever been able to find for tvistsöm, but of course I changed it up a bit to suit my purposes: using different colours to suggest a variety of bird species, lengthening and shortening the various branches, adding leaves and flowers of my own invention and so on. Long and narrow, it was designed to fit the 6" section of wall space between the frames of the bathroom door and the linen cupboard. That's my "seasonal space," and now with the birds in their tree for spring, I have summer (sheep in krokbragd), autumn (acorns in hardanger) and winter (poinsettias, also in hardanger). For a person with no Scandinavian ancestors, I do tend to lean toward Swedish and Norwegian fiberarts!

Red's Back!

Day 182: Red's back! Unlike the Anna's, my Rufous Hummingbirds don't over-winter here with very rare and individual exceptions, and thus it was cause for celebration when I spotted Red at the feeder a few days ago. I haven't noticed a female yet, but they resemble Anna's closely enough that I simply may not have been paying attention to whether the breast was grey or just rain-wet. That said, there's no mistaking Red in his rust-coloured coat! They tend to be the dominant species through the summer, often arguing territorial rights with the Anna's, but having a reliable and abundant food supply keeps friction to a minimum. Nevertheless, one famous ornithologist was heard to remark that "a hummingbird's vocabulary consists of 90% swear-words," and although my crowd may not get into serious fights very often, they can certainly turn the air blue with insults!

Jutta's First Band

Day 181: Four days ago, I sat down for the first time at a Leksand loom to make my first few faltering passes in the creation of a band. My fingers were clumsy, holding an unfamiliar tool (the bobbin), and my mind was fogged with habits ingrained while working on the Bonker. The closest simile I've been able to draw would be the switch from driving a car with a clutch to one with an automatic transmission, although in this case, Jutta's solitary "pedal" complicated matters to some degree. More than once, I stomped on air when my foot wanted to raise a different shed because on the Leksand, the sheds are manipulated by hand and band knife. The instinctive response to the need to raise threads was not always the correct one. When operating in one mode, "up" meant "up," as in "point your toes up," while in another, it meant the opposite, i.e., push down with your toes to raise a shed. By the time I got to the end of my warp, I felt more comfortable with the method and was actually starting to build up some speed. But now comes the serious part. Having taken my "trial run" off the loom, now I have to hang another warp, and will be using a different system than the one Ed showed me. Wish me luck. If you don't see me tomorrow, listen for the sound of my head banging against a wall.

Two Looms, Two Bands, Two Methods

Day 180: Obligations kept me away from home most of yesterday and I was unable to give as much attention to my weaving as I would have liked. Frustrating, when you have a new toy and can't find the time to play with it! But my mind was hard at work, and although science might pooh-pooh the idea, I think I was building muscle memory even without performing the physical actions. When I was finally able to sit down with Jutta, my treadle foot and hands seemed to know what they were supposed to do. The blue band is my "skill-building project" for Jutta. The mushrooms are krokbragd, and are being woven on the bonker (Glimakra band loom).

As a sidebar here, I have a little story to tell. Since I was going to be sitting in a waiting room yesterday for a couple of hours, I needed some handwork to occupy the time. I thought it might be a good time to conduct a social experiment, so I packed up the supported spindle, some of my Ice Caves wool blend, and two small skeins of the finished yarn I've made with it so far. I positioned myself in the room at a point where I could be clearly seen by the office staff and milling salespeople and began spinning. It took slightly over an hour before the first curious onlooker dared approach me. "What is that?" she asked. "A supported spindle," I said. "It's a technique for making yarn." There was a pause, during which I drew out another length of wool and set the spindle to turning in its bowl. "You're...making yarn?" she said. I pulled the two finished skeins out of my bag and handed them to her. "Oh, that's LOVELY!" she said. "What will you make with it?" I told her it was destined to become socks, and explained that I'd combined wool with rayon to make them durable. She went back to her desk and I resumed spinning. Over the next hour, several other employees went to her rather than approaching me. "What's she doing, anyway?" and she would explain, "Making yarn!" It was a subtle way to increase awareness of the craft, a "free demo," if you will, which I hope might lead at least one of them toward their own exploration of fiberarts.

Meet Jutta, My Leksand Loom

Day 179: Meet Jutta, my Leksand loom. None of my other looms are named, unless you count the Bonker, but this distinguished lady deserves more than to be called simply "the Leksand loom." I spent several years of my youth living in Ballard, Seattle's Scandinavian district, and I think that must be where I first heard the name. I loved the sound of it as it flowed from a Norwegian or Swedish mouth: "Iyuuutt-ta," a distinct pause separating the two t's, and a U formed deep in the back of the throat and so round you could roll it across a pool table. It stuck so firmly in my mind that I gave the name to a character in a fictional piece about park rangers, Jutta Arnestad coming into being in the storyline long before there was an Arnie in my life. In any event, before I retired last night, Jutta had been given her name, but we were still struggling a bit with her job performance. Like so many things I've learned over the years, I had to sleep on it to let everything Ed had taught me soak in. This morning's session produced a much better band. Jutta produces many of the same type of bands I weave on the bonker (not sure about krokbragd yet), but she arrives at the destination via a different route in the same way that weaving with two heddles and two pickup sticks on a rigid heddle loom can give you the same four sheds you'd open on a standard loom by operating treadles. The end result is the same, but the process is different. You'll be seeing more of Jutta as we become better acquainted, each of us learning the other's foibles.

Leksand Loom

Day 178: I cannot begin to express my gratitude to Ed Stevens for offering me his original prototype Leksand loom. I have been waiting for him to finish refurbishing it for some time now, and today, he delivered it to my doorstep. He spent eight hours here, showing me how to warp it (rather differently from the bonker loom which it somewhat resembles) and then coaching me in the hand motions peculiar to its breed. There was more to learn than I had expected, and undoubtedly I'll need further instruction as there was simply too much to take in through a single session. I will add more details in future posts, but for now, I just want to perfect the basic technique. And to take a nap, a nice nap with Tippy who spent the entire day under the bed.

Let's Go To The Fair!

Day 177: Until I went on this recent spinning jag, I wasn't sure I'd have any entries for the Washington State (Puyallup) Fair this year. I've taken prizes in every category I've entered over the years, but of course that means that my best works in those categories have already been shown (not that I don't have other Fair-quality pieces I could submit). There are still a few categories I haven't entered, and spinning happens to be one of them. For handspun yarn, you are required to submit a skein weighing at least an ounce. Not a problem there! I've just completed the final processing of eight ounces of Bambino (Merino/bamboo) in the "Twinkle, Twinkle" colourway. I think it's one of the prettiest and most luxurious yarns I've spun to date. The name undoubtedly derives from the golden yellow bamboo fibers which pop out from amid the magentas and purples of the wool. There are even touches of blue and lavender in it which gives it a gorgeous tweedy look. It will be my entry in the "Blended Fibers" class. I also hope to have a pair of socks done in the "Hickory Dickory" colourway for the "Socks" class, and a piece of weaving as well.

"Diz" Is Not A Scrabble Word

Day 176: "Diz" is not a valid Scrabble word. I checked, and yet anyone who has done much fiber blending for spinning probably has at least one diz in their tool kit, and knows it by that name. Essentially, a diz can be any object with a hole in it, through which carded fiber can be pulled to form top. And while we're having a vocabulary lesson, I should explain that "top" is preparation in which the fibers are parallel, smoother than roving. Top can be made from roving by carding it and pulling it through a diz. See? We've come full circle and are back to "diz" again." It was convenient that this gauge included three different sizes of holes for dizzing. I'm using the smallest to prepare my "Ice Caves" blend for the supported spindle because it's easier to see when I have a heavier bit of blue bamboo fiber coming up. When it does, I may want to take extra care to spread out into the white wool. The sheep gauge is easier to use than the hole in the top of a key, but that also makes a handy diz. A curved diz (made, perhaps, from a piece of PVC pipe) gives a bit more protection for your fingers where they might scrape against the carder teeth, and curved dizzes are available from various suppliers. Nevertheless, Scrabble aficionados will swear that "diz" is not a valid word. Goes to show how much THEY know about the subject!

Home Sweet Home

Day 175: The lease has been signed! A few days ago, a solitary Tree Swallow checked out the housing situation briefly. Today, the activity level increased substantially, to the extent, I believe, of a few sticks of furnishings being moved into the House of Chirp. The phone line has been alive with a flurry of conversations, so full of chatter that even the Porch Parrots' resonant "CHURP!s" are drowned out by the gossip. On the other end of the wall, Pussywillow Cottage is still up for rent, better protected from starlings and squirrels than it has been in years past. Whether it draws any interest from prospective tenants remains to be seen.

Evidence Of Spring

Day 174: Evidence of the changing season is beginning to show up in the garden, at least between snow showers. Only today, I discovered the volunteer primroses lurking in the moss and the swelling buds of the Red-flowering Currant. While some things seem to be running late (the daffodils are barely budded), the Hellebore is more lush than it's ever been before. What phenologic cues are these plants taking, that some are in a rush to produce as many flowers as possible while others seem to be husbanding their strength? What do they know that we do not? Humans have become so divorced from Nature that our bodies no longer follow the map of the seasons, so separated from the rising and setting of the sun that we complain when compelled to change our clocks to another designation which, after all, is a purely artificial construct in the first place. We have, as a species, moved a long way into an imaginary world. We could do with a lesson from the flowers in how to judge when the time is right.

Tools - Style, Size And Shape

Day 173: Winter and gas prices are proving to be remarkably persistent, so I'm not getting out much these days. I know you're probably a little tired of fiberarts posts in what was primarily intended to be a blog of science and natural history, but I ask you to bear with me a little longer. Believe me, I would much prefer being on the trail to being housebound.

Today, I thought I'd give you a size comparison of three different styles of spindle. While they are all capable of doing the same job, there are many reasons to choose one over another. Here, I've used my "Ice Caves" blend of Corriedale wool and bamboo fiber on all three. Initially, I simply wanted to see what it would look like, so I spun up a little bit on a tahkli, the smallest of these spindles, and an excellent way to do a trial run. Tahklis are bottom-weighted and spin very rapidly. They are normally used for spinning short-staple fibers like cotton, but can be used for longer fibers as well. A supported spindle like the Tibetan style (green whorl) can also be used for short or long staples, but are more versatile in that they hold more. They come in various lengths and weights. Drop spindles are larger and also come in assorted weights. They allow the spinner to form a longer strand, especially if used when standing. Although I've never really mastered bottom-whorl spinning with a drop spindle, I did put it to good use plying from the tahklis (my spinning wheel was otherwise occupied). Drop spindles hold quite a bit of yarn! Spinning in this manner, regardless of which type of spindle you use, can be a very relaxing process. It's easy to learn, and a wonderful way to get started making your own custom yarns.

Hawk Problem

Day 172: We have a hawk problem. I didn't see the tail. I didn't see it in flight to assess how it beat its wings. I cannot say with any certainty that this is a Cooper's Hawk or that it is a Sharp-Shinned without those two critical pieces of information, but given the size (as big as a large crow), I am inclined toward Cooper's. I had just enough time to grab the camera and point it through the grunge on the sliding glass door in the kitchen, thankful that I'd left it on a setting which gave me a photo good enough to document the culprit. Oh yes, I've been finding little clumps of feathers beneath the feeders occasionally, but the perp remained hidden until now. While I was looking down to change the camera settings, Mr. Hawk fled the scene. If only I had seen him in flight, I might have been able to give a solid ID.

Supported Spindle

Day 171: In typical Crow fashion, I learned support spindle spinning from the "top down," i.e., starting at the advanced level using a tahkli and cotton, a notoriously short and difficult fiber to spin. I soon came to love the method: slow but portable, and a meditative practice for stressful times. It must be said that I have never mastered the allied art of drop-spindling despite having learned to spin on a regular wheel before I was of kindergarten age. I found using a drop spindle tedious and too cumbersome to be enjoyable. On the other hand, supported spindling is performed identically to spinning with a tahkli, albeit on a larger scale, so when all thoughts of upgrading my spinning wheel were squelched when my heat pump died, I bought a supported spindle instead. I've chosen to spin my "Ice Caves" blend with it. This is a Tibetan style spindle, 10 inches in length, weighing 23 grams with a whorl diameter of 1.5 inches, perfect for my purposes.The bowl is the one I use with the tahkli, not optimal but serviceable until I find someone with a lathe who is willing to craft one to spec.

Fool's April

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