Author: Caryn

More insects

On By CarynIn Insects

This has been an interesting week for insect spotting.

Photo description: Texas Ironclad beetle (Zopherus nodulosus ssp. haldemani)

This is the eighth Texas Ironclad Beetle I have found on our property and the first in four years. This is by far the best picture. This one was definitely alive (it is hard to tell with Ironclads sometimes), and I left it to cruise along outside the chicken coop.

Photo description: Twice-Struck Lady Beetle (Axion plagiatum)

I have seen pictures of a black lady beetle with two red dots, but have never seen one in person until this week. Very neat find.

Photo description: Rabid Wolf Spider (Rabidosa rabida)

This wolf spider was easily 3 inches from front toe to back toe and I found it in the garage after I disturbed its hiding place by picking up a bag and then it ran down my leg. (Yes I screamed, but I didn’t panic.) I tried to get a photo with a reference, but the spider said no.

More raccoons

On By CarynIn Wildlife

I pulled the trail cam footage again and I think there are definitely at least two Mama raccoons.

Photo description: raccoons on a porch at night, Momma has a thin tail
Photo description: four raccoons on the porch at night, babies are bigger
Photo description: raccoon family walking away from the camera, Momma’s tail looks thick, I believe this is the same family as the picture directly above

I think there is a Momma raccoon with six kits and a thin tail (maybe babies are chewers), and another Momma raccoon with a normal looking tail with three kits that are slightly older than the sextuplets, or better fed.

I also see Mommas with one or two kits, but I can’t be sure that the picture just didn’t capture the other kits because they were trailing behind.

I am glad to see the raccoon population regain hold in the woods after the entire colony was wiped out by distemper a couple years ago, but I wonder if the population boom will create another overcrowded situation. We’ll be watching.

More… vegetables?

On By CarynIn Garden

Despite my effort to continue to water the cucumber plants, the Texas heat turned the vines crispy. I picked off the small remaining cucumbers and also broke open the ear of … corn? that formed on the volunteer plant in my pumpkin patch.

Photo description: last cucumber harvest with bonus corn-like vegetable

It all went to the chickens. I do have quite a large basil plant that I will harvest before the weather turns cold, and the pumpkin vines are not crispy, but also not producing fruit.

More Teeswater

On By CarynIn Craft

I finished single spinning the rest of my Teeswater wool roving from Pitchfork Ranch. I’ve been spinning with this fiber for a year, on and off, and it feels strange to reach the end of the bag.

Photo description: small bobbin on an Ashford Traveller wheel filled with single spun Teeswater wool
Photo description: three bobbins of single spun Teeswater wool on the Lazy Kate built into the Ashford Traveller spinning wheel
Photo description: jumbo bobbin filled with three ply Teeswater wool yarn
Photo description: the three initial bobbins with the left empty, middle with a small amount of single spun yarn, and the right with more

My first two jumbo bobbins of wool were crocheted into a circle vest. This last bobbin I’ll use to make a page for my spinning journal. With that idea, I two plied the yarn on the middle bobbin, and chain plied the yarn on bobbin on the right to get some more examples to put in my book.

More hemming

On By CarynIn Craft

I hand hemmed a second pair of pants, this time one woven with stripes. They are straight leg pants, so I could line up the stripes, and they already had a small hem, which I used to hide the stitches completely with a slip stitch.

Photo description: hemmed pant legs, left one inside out, right one right side out

I love how the slip stitch is nearly entirely invisible!