Month: April 2023

Morel mushrooms

On By CarynIn eggs, Fungi

I went to check the trail cam and found morel mushrooms growing in our woods!

Morel mushroom
Three more morel mushrooms

I did a triple verification of identity: I cut one in half length-wise to verify the inside was hollow, I put them on a dark colored sheet of paper to verify the spore was light in color, and I sent a picture to my Dad, who confirmed the identity.

Morel mushrooms are completely hollow
Spore from a morel mushroom

Once identified, I washed the mushrooms and sliced them, then sautéed them in olive oil. I read that morels need to be cooked or risk stomach upset.

Sautéed morel mushrooms

To complete the meal I added eggs from our chickens to make a mushroom scramble. Breakfast was provided by items gathered from the yard, which is always neat.

Egg and mushroom scramble

Crocheted duster vest

On By CarynIn Craft

I obtained a crochet pattern for a vest published in 1969 and decided I needed a duster version for an upcoming chorus show that is featuring 60s songs. I had some fingering weight cotton in my stash and I doubled it, combining three different blue colors with two different grays to get a fade on the garment.

Crocheted duster vest

It was a very easy pattern, just chains of 5 joining the previous row made of chains of 5 with a single crochet. I aimed to make it mid-calf length, but the net pattern now stretches nearly to the floor! It crocheted up fairly quick as well, because it is comprised mostly of air, which also makes it not hot to wear. Yay for netting.

Hello oak pollen

On By CarynIn Flora

Yup, it is definitely Spring. Everything outside is yellow with oak pollen and everyone’s allergies are on high alert.

“Pollen” written in pollen

The picture above is of my usually black metal bench that sits by my front door, under an overhang. It is currently dusty yellow from all the oak pollen, despite having some protection and not being directly under an oak tree. We have Post Oak and Cedar Elm in the yard. The Cedar Elm has already spread its confetti of seeds, so I guess it is now the oak’s turn.

Now someone has pollen on their pants

Spindle size tests

On By CarynIn Craft

I’m still working on the design of my 3D printed spindle. I’ve now had a local printer make up three sizes, and have tested them all with the same fiber blend.

Three spindle sizes with corresponding cops of single spun yarn

We aren’t there quite yet. I need some input from other spinners, and we need to change the printing density to reinforce the neck. The smallest version has never broken, but the hole in the yarn ball is too small. The largest has a great diameter hole in the cop of yarn, but is unwieldy. The middle one is the closest to feeling right, but still needs some adjustments.

Find the cat

On By CarynIn Cats

Welcome to April 1st. Can you spot the cat in this picture?

Find the cat
Hint

That white spot in the sea of Spring green is Mr Tom, my neighbor’s cat. He is the least camouflaged cat of all time. This is him sleeping in the edge of the wood. Sometimes he sleeps a bit farther in, but he is still easy to spot. When the trees are Winter bare, there aren’t many places in the woods where he doesn’t stand out like a feline beacon.