Author: Caryn

Moist extremes

On By CarynIn Craft

When working with flax or plant fibers in general, it helps to have a little moisture. When I first started twining my flax bag on a car trip, I was using saliva. Traveling and licking fingers didn’t seem like a prudent plan, so on the next trip I made a sponge ring by cutting off the end of an inexpensive curler and trimming the hole with scissors.

Photo description: sponge ring to use to wet fingertips as I twine flax, made from a hair curler

As I twined, I noticed the skin on my finger was turning white. Weird.

Photo description: white marks on my finger

I looked again at the small spray bottle I grabbed as I madly packed for the trip. It wasn’t labeled “H2O”, it was marked “H2O2”. I had been moistening my finger with hydrogen peroxide. At least it was sanitized. Sheesh.

Photo description: small spray bottle with pink sponge ring and “H2O2” written in Sharpie ink

Throwback Thursday: ruffle scarf

On By CarynIn Craft

Today is a throwback with a current twist. As I was going through pictures from 2015 I found one in April of my first ruffle scarf. These scarves are knit from machine made lace. The lace comes wrapped like chunky yarn, and if you knit 6 stitches wide, just picking up one edge of the lace, the lace spirals out and around the central knitted core.

Photo description: red ruffle scarf from April of 2015
Photo description: purple ruffle scarf from July 2025

I just made another of these from yarn my Mom sent as packing material for a package. They can be a bit tricky because the lace needs to be fanned out to find the edge, but once I get the groove, it goes pretty quickly.

Painted bunting

On By CarynIn photography, Wildlife

I added a bird to my list of sightings! We had a painted bunting visit our bird feeder. What a pretty bird!

Photo description: Painted Bunting perched on a rope

He was flirting with a female on the new bird feeder, and I love this photo where the female is getting after him and I caught him leaning away.

Photo description: female (left) and a male (right) painted bunting on a dragonfly decorated birdfeeder

Who is watching who?

On By CarynIn photography, Wildlife

We actually saw a deer with our own eyes in the back yard, rather than just a picture from the trail cam. She was watching us watching her. She was OK until I walked toward her with my big camera. Then she decided to find forage elsewhere.

Photo description: doe behind a wire fence looking at the camera

My husband spotted a hawk in the trees, so again I took my big camera to take a picture. The young hawk also kept a keen eye on me, but this time I did not scare it off.

Photo description: young hawk on a dead branch looking back at the camera

Happy

On By CarynIn Wildlife

So this is my happiest sight on the trail cam: a raccoon. Two years ago this would not have been unusual, but it has been a year and a half since the raccoon colony in our woods was wiped out, probably by distemper. It brightens my heart to see them on the cam again.

Photo description: night vision trail cam photo of an opossum young raccoon