Month: April 2021

Summer do

On By CarynIn dog

My eldest was concerned that our black dogs were getting overheated in the afternoon sun, so we gave them their summer trim. This is the first trim for Missy, so my eldest sat on the ground with treat bits and I shaved her back. She was a little leery at first, but then was focused on treats and didn’t care about the trimmers. I was shocked. What was more shocking is that with the same cut style we took off the same amount of hair from our 50 pound dog as our 20 pound dog. I knew Missy was keeping Griffin’s coat plucked, but was surprised at how little was left.

Even mix of Griffin and Missy hair
Dogs with their summer trim (back area only)

That’s why you’re upset

On By CarynIn Cats, chickens

The hens periodically make alarm sounds, but by the time I get out to the coop, there is nothing to be seen. This time I saw Sophie the cat stalk by the coop and hide under some cardboard. No wonder the hens freak. (I use the card board on the path to give traction when it is muddy, until I get some decomposed granite.)

Can you find the cat?
Here she is! Under the cardboard.

Hiding under the cardboard is immensely cute, but I can see how it would upset the chickens!

What to do with small bits of yarn

On By CarynIn Craft

I took the single ply merino wool I had left over from plying and made a simple lace scarf for my youngest’s doll. I had just enough for a decent length. The yarn is about 32 wraps per inch, which is small even for lace weight yarn. I tried nålbinding a new stitch, but the dark yarn was too hard to see. I tried knitting, but again, it was tiny and hard to see. So I used crochet, because I can crochet without having to distinguish individual strands. I did a simple lace pattern (chain three, single crochet in previous chain, repeat), and it still took me days to complete. Making doll clothes, though, is a great way to try different techniques with small amounts of yarn, rather than tackling a human sized project.

Crochet lace scarf from hand-spun merino wool for an 18” doll

Raining caterpillars

On By CarynIn Flora

I setup my sky chair in the backyard, since the weather has been beautiful, and put up a sunshade, just in case I fall asleep. Not likely to happen now, since putting up the shade I’ve had caterpillars and spiders rain down on me. The puppy takes offense when I jump off the chair with a yelp. I do not have herpetophobia, the fear of slithery crawly things, but I prefer to not have them drop on me.

Caterpillar that fell from above

Tube hoops

On By CarynIn Craft, dog

We had left over bits of irrigation tubing, and my eldest expressed interest in teaching the puppy to jump through hoops. Now we have three different sizes to practice with!

Hoops made from irrigation tubing

I found a 3/4” dowel that fit snugly into the drip hose, so cut about 3” off that and slid both ends of the tube onto the dowel.

Dowel inside the tubing to keep it in the round

To keep the dowel in place I used some small screws that bit into the wood, but didn’t go all the way through.

Two screws hold the dowel in place

The solid tubing had a bit smaller inside diameter, so I sanded down the dowel until it just fit and I could push the tube ends on.

Missy walking through the small hoop

Missy already knows how to walk through a hoop! As recommended by the backyard agility article we read, we’ll wait until she is a year old to start the jumping part since jumping is hard on growing bones.