I was sitting inside when the cats and dogs all perked up and were very interested in something outside. I left them all locked up and went to investigate. In the backyard I heard a couple thunks and a rattle, and then the rain spout suddenly started chattering at me!
Squirrel seconds from being free of the down spout
Silly squirrel. Looking for the corn that wasn’t in the feeder (oops) and he slipped down the rain gutter. The problem is that I have a rain diverter on that particular stretch of gutter and it was plugged with leaves as well (which explains why my rain barrel is empty despite all our rain.) Here’s the video. Spoiler: the squirrel makes it out! As a bonus, the leaves are now cleaned out of my diverter.
I saw instructions for random lace awhile ago. Loved it, wanted to try it, picked up needles and yarn to start it, then remembered how much I hated decrease stitches. Getting the needles in is tight, it is fiddly, it takes longer than a simple knit stitch, and I often drop the stitch instead of decreasing. I abandoned the project, going so far as to throw the printed version into the recycle bin.
Then I found the Prym needles (this totally sounds like an advertisement, but I am not getting kick back, I genuinely appreciate this product). The little nub on the end of the needle gives me just enough advantage to tackle the decreases with less frustration. It probably also helps that I am using a fingering weight merino wool yarn (small diameter) with larger than recommended needles (US size 8), so the stitches are not super tight and difficult to manipulate. Plus, since it is a random pattern, if it is too hard to make a decrease, I don’t! Rather than struggle and swear, I knit the stitch (or purl if I’m on the back side) and put the decrease in where it is easier.
Random lace before blocking
Now here is the magic part. When knitting random lace, the fabric is interesting, but more like crumpled paper. When it is blocked, it completely changes to a light airy organic lace!
Blocking random lace
I blocked my sample by getting it wet, squeezing out most of the water (never wringing), and pinning it to nylon netting stretched over a PVC frame. Oh how it opened up! And when it was dry, it maintained it’s shape.
Random lace after blocking
Structured lace patterns are lovely, but I always miss a stitch in the instructions (usually by getting distracted, imagine that). I can see that imperfection like a lightning bolt at night, but only after it is too far to go back (I know some will, but if I have to rip out half a project I will never pick it up again). I am pleasantly surprised that when gazing at this type of lace I see the surprise structure; the swoop here, the cluster of bubbles there; rather than seeing imperfections, I see order in the chaos.
I tried taking a picture of the morning mist as my eldest drove the school run. In situations where I can’t ask the driver to pull over so I can compose a shot, I tend to aim, hope, and take as many frames as I can. The brilliance of digital is that I can then go back and delete anything not worth saving. Sometimes everything in a sequence gets dumped. But never have I seen a ghostly skull in the sky. I had to scroll back, a what? Not a cloud formation, not a ray of light. What is in my photo? I won’t keep you in suspense, this is not that kind of blog. It turns out the “skull” is the reflection of the back of my camera in the car window, with its evenly sized and spaced dual lenses. Still creepy.
How awesome to open up my mailbox and be greeted by a picture of a kaleidoscope of lovely hand spun yarn?!? And it isn’t even my spinning magazine, but from the monthly electric co-op publication! (My sister gifted me with a subscription of Spin-off magazine that I LOVE, and selfishly stretch out by only reading an article or two at a time.) Bonus spinning info, hurray! Here is the link to the digital version, if you are interested. It talks about a enterprising group of spinners that co-op their own herd of sheep, goats, and alpacas. A little too far away for me, which is a bummer, but I have local sources for alpaca, buffalo down, and mohair, so I feel pretty darn lucky.
Oh, and that is Sophie doing a photobomb and looking scary. I caught her in the middle of a yawn and stretch.
The sound of frightened barking is not a happy one in the veil of darkness before dawn. My dogs found a snake in the backyard before the sun rose and took exception to its presence on our property. It bit Griffin on the lip. We gave him Benadryl and took him to the vet as soon as they opened, and the vet gave him some steroids and more anti-inflammatories. The vet thinks it was probably a copperhead that tagged him. He stayed for a few hours for observation, then we picked him up and took him home with instructions from the vet, antibiotics, and oral anti-inflammatories. The vet shaved the area of the bite site so we could keep an eye on the skin to see if it lives or degrades.
Swelling on Griffin’s lip and neck from a probable copperhead snake bite, shown after the vet visit and shave
That afternoon I put on my thick rubber boots and long pants, picked up the snake grabber, started up the trimmer mower, and took down the grass in the backyard that had grown up high in the recent rains. It was a little awkward to mow and hold the grabber, but I wasn’t taking any chances. And reducing the snake hiding habitat made me feel a little better.
Bite site two days later
Two days later his swelling was down especially along his throat and just the area around the bite was inflamed. The vet said it was good if black scabs formed over the injection site, and he has those!
Bite site four days later
After four days the swelling was almost completely gone and the redness around the bite site was also significantly reduced.
Note: this is a personal account of a single incident. I am not providing veterinary advice.
