Thor the kitten took a toy mouse up on the bed to play, and Izzy the cat heard the commotion and jumped up to investigate. They both then had to lay down and pretend the other didn’t exist, but I can see them earing each other. No, not earring, Spellcheck, ear-ing, verb, to point ears at another, not admitting existence, but keeping under audio observation. Very cat behavior. Should be a word.
I went behind the coop at dusk and saw something new: a cicada nymph crawling up the corner. I have seen adult cicadas, and the nymph shells left behind, but never one on the move. It was a cool thing to watch. (Yes, I did a short video.) The next morning I saw the adult out of its nymph form.
My eldest’s friend thought that the half-tailed squirrel that begs food at the window should have a name, so he is now “Scrat”.
It is a sure sign that the squirrel feeder is empty if he is looking in the house. We can usually tell he is there before we see him because all the cats and dogs inside go on alert. Brave squirrel.
I have been collaborating with a local 3D printer, X of All Trades, to design a spindle that can be used as a supported spindle or a drop spindle, adjustable weight, and a body which acts like a nostepinne to make center pull balls as you spin. The challenge has been the narrow neck breaking, so we have been experimenting different materials. The last round of prints using bottle plastic looked promising, but the filament printing isn’t precise, and tended to bubble and create rough edges. Then they found Tough Resin. 3D printed resin can make much more precise and smooth objects, but tends to be brittle, as I found out on our first printed rounds. Tough Resin fixes the brittleness and with some tweaking of the head and neck of my model, X of All Trades has printed a lovely tool that so far has not shattered when dropped.
I couldn’t wait long to test the spindle. I was pleased that it still spins well with the head changes, and I really like the black resin, which has a prismatic effect along the print lines.
I have put in an order for a small production run, which is quite exciting.
We are down to seven hens. We lost one yesterday, she died in her sleep in the coop. We noticed that she was listless and not eating that afternoon, then found her the next morning. I think it was Twilight. Most of the chickens have removed their colored leg bands, and we haven’t been able to sort out who is who. I know Seashell and Magic by sight. Schmoo still has her band. The rest have very similar coloring, and are starting their molt, so look off. I did not do a necropsy, her body was very thin, but did not look outwardly diseased. The hens are over four years old, and the average life span for laying hens is 3-7 years. They are also of questionable breeding, being hatchery birds and not from a reputable breeder of the breed. The rest of the hens will have a safe place with fresh water and food and treats until they too shuffle off this mortal coil.
Critters and Craft 