How exciting to see a dragonfly nymph at the lake! This one was probably headed for its final molt, since they are aquatic until adulthood. My eagle-eyed eldest spotted this one and watched it for awhile while my youngest pulled in fish.
Nymph!
Alpaca experiment
I have read that some people spin alpaca fiber without washing it. Alpaca fleece does not have heavy deposits of lanolin like the wool from sheep. There seems to be a great debate on whether it needs to be washed, or at least very strong feelings, so I thought I would make up my own mind in the matter with a little experiment.
I took three samples from the same fleece (Sugar Plum’s). Two were washed (not scoured, but washed in warm water with mild soap), and third I pulled from the cleanest part of the fleece. One of the washed sections I carded using fine toothed hand carders and made rolags. The second washed section I left uncarded and spun from handfuls. The unwashed section I also spun from handfuls. I did attempt to pull out a rough roving-type bundle of fibers, but after sitting in my bag a couple of minutes, there was little cohesion and it was just easier to spin small sections.
The biggest difference was in spinning the singles. The washed and carded fleece spun smoothly and consistently. The washed uncarded was a little more fiddly to spin especially when I reached clumps of thicker fibers. I had to distribute these sturdier hairs with the finer fibers to keep the yarn from drifting apart. The single also had considerably more halo (fibers sticking out), than the carded sample. It was the same with the unwashed fiber, clumps of fiddly bits and more halo, but in addition, my fingers felt like I had applied lotion. There is definitely some kind of coating on the unwashed alpaca fiber, but it was not unpleasant. I did wrap the unwashed single onto my niddy noddy and gave it a soak in warm water and no-rinse wool wash. Nothing came out of the water. Even though I know the color can change throughout a fleece, I still felt the darker color was due to trapped dirt.
I decided to cable the yarn (ply twice to get a four strand yarn). The differences in fiber preparation made no difference in the mechanics of plying. The uncarded samples still have a more pronounced halo as you can see in the photo above, as well as a less smooth appearance. My plan is to nålbind all the samples with the same stitch (I want to practice a new stitch, so this is a good opportunity).
So how do I stand on the wash or no wash discussion? If I had fleece with very little vegetable matter (VM) and mud, perhaps from a coated animal (the farmer can put coats on to keep the dirt off somewhat, but I don’t know how the animal feels about that), I wouldn’t mind spinning directly from the fleece. The fleeces currently in my possession are not that clean, so I will be washing and carding henceforth.
Snail
My eldest found the coolest looking snail in the back yard. This is not our typical slug or long coned snail! It looks like it could have a role in Hollywood. It was that bold too, it didn’t hide in its shell when she picked it up. Hm. There are parasites that change snail behavior. Perhaps that is this one’s story.
Missy update
Little Miss Missy had to get a shot at the vet. I gave her Benedryl, rescheduled the appointment for after the sudden unexpected thunderstorm, gave her Benedryl again hours later, put her harness on while she tried to hide in a corner, and then carried her and her cuddle bed out to the vehicle. The cuddle bed helped her in the car; she at least stayed in it for the trip. I tried the windows down and she did sniff the air a bit, which was good. At the vet she shook like a 21-pound leaf, but didn’t growl or bark. Headed home, she again stayed in the cuddle bed on the seat, but didn’t want the windows down. She drooled and panted, but didn’t vomit. So that’s progress?
At home, when she has not been traumatized by a car ride, she is happy, engaged, and totally obsessed with her ball and giving kisses. We have been getting her in her harness and leash and doing short walks outside the back fence, away from the road and other walkers. She sniffs around (again, awesome), and plunges headfirst through the thickest grass (um trail?). Little steps. It will still be a long road with this small reactive dog.
Wrist coolers
I can no longer take things touching my neck. It started when my kids were little and I stopped wearing necklaces because being choked out by my baby was not on my to-do list. I tried wearing necklaces again when they were past the grabby stage, but could only tolerate light pieces or short sessions with heavier adornment. Then crew necks started bothering me. Sheesh.
In the heat of the Texas summer, many turn to cooling devices worn around the neck. I’ve tried, really, and after 5 minutes I simply can’t take it. I’d rather be hot than have the pressure on my carotid (or maybe it is the jugular, but nothing can brush the back of my neck either, so there we go.) So I took a “cooling” neck gaiter, cut it down, and resewed bits to fit my wrists. Wetting them down certainly produces a cooling effect, and having them arranged in wrinkles rather than folded increases the evaporation. We’ll see how they do for me this summer. If they do work, I need to make some in nicer colors!
