Ticks, picks, finishings, flowers, and a new quote...

That will be ticks as in check marks. Another big item ticked off my essential-to-do list, another sigh of relief. I had new tires put on the car. They were very badly needed as there was little to no tred left on the old tires and it was noticable in wet-weather driving. New 4-season tires just in time for my trip to NY this week.

That will be picks as in thows of the shuttle. I've decided to alternate work on the Summer & Winter pick-up blanket with work on other woven projects. So I spent an hour yesterday deciding on structure, colors, measurements, and yardage for a hand-spun shawl. I have enough greens to get going, so as soon as I find a break I will warp up these yarns to get weaving.

"Finishings" as in the granny square afghan is down to 5 squares remaining! When the final row is attached, I'll crochet a border and that will be that! Pics soon.

Flowers as in new blossomings this week. Among the flowers I would love to eventually have here (holly hocks, honeysuckle, delphiniums, cosmos, foxgloves, rudbeckia, ... well, you get the idea) is a peony or two, or three, (well, you get the idea). Much to my happiness is the discovery of a peony already here and it started opening it's few blossoms this week. The plant is in need of some care: compost, food, and weeding, but despite it's growing conditions it's putting out a few blossoms. A very pretty flower.

I cannot not share these fabulous wild daisies while I'm at it. "He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, ..."

And as we're almost half way through the year I thought it would be a good time for some new quotes. Enjoy! :)

Keeping up...

... can be a challenge. I just noticed it's been ten days since my last post. Lot's of good things have been happening.

Starting with today... Finally, after three months of waiting, the title for my car arrived from NY's DMV. They told me it would be sent sometime in June, but I was having doubts. Good thing it's here because strictly speaking I'm supposed to register my car in NH within 60 days of moving here. Next week will be 60 days--already! There was a contingency plan if the title failed to arrive in time. I spoke with the town clerk about it. Still, relieved to have it in my possession. I'll soon be sporting NH plates. Been wondering if I should go for vanity plates, something birdy themed? Hm. Pretty pricey.

Yesterday saw the sign-off with a contractor for building the bird room. It will be an addition to the house off the living room. This will be good and convenient, and best of all if the power should fail in the dead of winter it will get heat from the wood stove that is in the living room. This alleviates the need for a backup generator to keep the birds alive, though I plan to get one anyway.

A few skeins finished this week. Another skein for weaving. It joins those in the background destined for shawls:

Also a skein of silk spun from hankies. This is about half the hankies spun up. It is going to make a fabulous neck warmer as it is ultra smooth and soft with a lovely sheen:

I continue to find new flowering plants on the property. Some are quite lovely surprises. I can't wait to get my gardens all planned out to start transplanting some of these. The Cranesbill, for instance, is hidden away between some very large shrubbery. The yellow Lily has a most wonderful (almost sophisticated) scent. Aren't the wildflowers pretty?

Saturday night I drove down to Concord to take part in Granite State Gay Men's annual pride dinner dance, only I went just for the dance which started at 10pm. It was good and I'm very glad I went. It was nice to connect with the community, made me feel a little more "here". It was almost like going to the dances at the LGBT Center in Manhattan. Like in NY, I had to plan an hour to get there: 20 mins. from here to Plymouth, 30 mins. from Plymouth to Concord. Not bad! In NY that hour would be spent waiting for buses and trains plus actual travel time, total miles: less than 4.

Faces of nature....

I'm most fortunate to have set eyes on some awesome spectacles of nature this week. They are examples at extremes from one another yet co-exist. I'm starting to realize what a wonderland I've moved to, almost gobsmack in the center of this beautiful state.

The geology here is fascinating. My gardening research turned up this week that New England is not only the founding grounds of our nation, but is also geologically the oldest part of the country. The White Mountains, part of the Appalachians, were polished by the last ice-age's diamantaire into the gems we enjoy today. Their work is visible almost everywhere, from the pristine Stinson Lake tucked away up above Rumney to the humongous falling rocks on the way from Rumney to Quincy Bog. All so exhilarating to experience.

This week's encounters...

On a whim I decided to take a stroll up along the stonewall on the NW edge of my property. Just a short way. I got no further than 50' before my eyes noticed something among the ferns. I could NOT contain my excitement. Luckily my neighbors were out at the time so only the forest was witness to my shouts of glee. I'm spared having neighbors thinking I'm completely bonkers.

A friend of mine says it takes 7 years for a lady's slipper to flower. How incredibly fortunate I feel to have this gorgeous flower just 50' from the house! I've been going out every day since to take in it's radiant beauty.

I was out on the front "porch" this evening spinning some silk hankies when, upon lifting my head to look up, I was greeted by a black bear at the foot of the steps. Holy cow! It must have come from around the corner of the house and I never noticed. With a gracefully brisk maneuver I was through the door. Not a panic. Not a picnic. Just a focused exit from the outside to the inside. After a few breaths I was calm enough to go back out with camera in hand. It had walked about half way across the lawn by now so I felt more comfortable and spoke to it. I wondered where it had come from? No answer. Wondered what it was doing here? It took a step forward--to my surprise! Unnerved that it wanted to talk back, I snapped my fingers a bit and it turned around, then scurried into the bushes at the flash of my camera. I have a feeling it was made to feel comfortable around humans at some point. Now, if I can only manage to convey to the beautiful creature that I--human being--am not so comfortable around it!


I made good progress on the silk. The bobbin on my wheel is also full this evening, ready for plying tomorrow. And I finished a row on the granny square afghan and decided that the next row will probably be the last. Made a leisurely drive up to Stinson Lake this afternoon to see what it's all about. It's rather like a puddle stuck between the mountains, but a gem. Oh! Quite a little gem indeed, all secluded and gorgeous.

Bugs...

They're here, lot's of them, and many different kinds. In this respect, country life is quite different than city life: I can't remember when I was last so bug bitten! All kinds of bites. Some itchy, some not.

Small rapid flyers, large rapid flyers, squatters, winged, non-winged, noisy, and quiet. The worst are the stealth biters: Those I'm not aware of until the bite of proboscis drilling through skin triggers my reflexes. Oops. Too late. They're into blood sports these bestiolae.

Some darned noisy ones at night bouncing off the window screens as if they were trampolines. The gymnasts of the bunch. I think they're attracted to the light inside. Somehow a few manage to squeeze through the gap between screen and sill so I have to catch and release them outside.

A terrible sight of carnage this afternoon out in the entry way--which screen door is ineffective due to a large gap between door and jam. Some lethargic "June bugs"--as we used to call them--were being torn into by some very large winged ants. At least that's what they looked like. I wondered if the "June bugs" had succumbed to the heat? For some reason the winged ants reminded me of "The Wizard of Oz". How frightful.

The real beauties are here too. Butterflies fluttering about. I've always got the impression they were only half in control of their flight. The wind seems as determined as they regarding their itinerary. Still, they manage to get to the right place at the right time I suppose. I saw some very pretty pale yellow ones around this afternoon.

And toads! Yes, a teeny tiny little toad. I've seen him twice by the side entrance. I've half a mind to kiss him to see if he'll turn into my prince charming. At any rate he's got it made vis-a-vis sustenance. It's a smorgasbord around here for critters like him. And for the birds like the robins too. I've seen a lot of them since my arrival last month. It makes me happy to see and hear them.

Oh! And last night as I was standing on the front "porch" looking at the Milky Way I witnessed some "lightning bugs". It was as if the specs of light that are stars were falling from the night sky down to tree level. Lovely to see their light show.

Hrmph! ...

The first panel of the blanket is done ... "Houston, we have a slight problem." I don't know how but I managed to beat the last square (the moose) much tighter than the others and it has turned out 1" shorter. That's a problem because this is the first of three panels (plus 2 dividing panels and 2 border panels) that makes up the blanket. The height of the squares in all the panels needs to match up or they won't go together correctly. Well!

I have a few options. 1) When I weave the subsequent panels, beat each of the last squares tighter so it matches this panel; 2) re-weave the moose and patch it in. The blanket will be constructed anyway and I'm pretty sure I can drop a new moose in without the patch being horribly obvious. I'm not going to make a decision right now. It will take some time to weave the remaining panels. There's plenty of time to think about it.

This is all very funny because as the panel was winding onto the cloth beam it seemed to me that the ostrich square came out way too long, as if I hadn't beat it hard enough. Taking a ruler to each square shows that the squares are all close to being the same height, except for the moose. How in the world did I manage to beat so differently on that one? Am I harboring some pent up aggression? Hm. Maybe it was the weather the past few days.

Yes, that could very well explain it indeed. It's been disheartening to have it so cool--downright cold last night. I worried all night that the power would cut out. The lights went in and out a few times during the evening and there was a time when I really thought they were going to be gonners. Luckily the power stayed on. The temps were in the 30s and without heat the birds would have suffered. I spent a good share of the wee hours coming up with ways to keep the place warm enough to tide them through the misery if need be ... boiling pots of water, lighting the oven, foraging the yard for scrap wood to light the wood stove. (I haven't any wood for burning yet--who'd have thought I'd need it at the end of May!!?)

At any rate, a few warps and wefts that need reworking is no big deal, and like I say, I have months of work left on this blanket so there's plenty of time to get in the mood! Heehee.

There's 2 shots of it here, one taken from each end... I like it. It's hard to see the ostrich in the picture. Much clearer in real life.

No comment....

MAY 25, 2013 at 10:30 pm. Taken from the side stairs:

According to plan...

Or not.

We had considerable rain earlier this week and I discovered over 1" of water on the basement floor when I went down to look for something the day after the big storm. It's not totally surprising. The house is in need of gutters for one thing, and the land behind the house slopes down to the house and is very wet at the moment. I will need some run-off work done to get the water diverted around the house. That, and gutters should help considerably. I hope. In the meantime I went to the hardware store and bought a pump which did a pretty good job of removing most of the water from the basement.

I had two contractors over this week for estimates on building the bird house. The house which was originally going to be the re-built shed but evolved into a new shed using the old shed's re-purposed wood, which has evolved into an addition built on the south end of the house. Yes, the new aviary will be attached to the house. I like this idea. It will be easier to keep an eye on things and it means I can attend to the birds in the dead of winter without trekking outside. It will also be easier to heat. It was brought to my attention by one of the contractors that fisher cats, weasels, hawks and what not could be a problem with an outdoor flight. Securing such a structure against these predators would be a daunting task. Therefore the outdoor flight idea is on hold until I come up with a good plan.

I put a hummingbird feeder out and the dear little things are visiting regularly. They went through a whole bottle of nectar this week. I just refilled it today. One that I saw yesterday was ruby throated. I don't know if there are other kinds around.

Been keeping a watchful eye out for bears. I haven't seen it return since I started bringing the seed in at night, though that's not to say it's not out there! Must be careful. I'm noticing some seed being left on the grass which is impossible to pick up so starting tomorrow I will put the plate of seed on a wooden platform. That should help keep the surrounding area clear of stray seed. I would hate to have to stop feeding the birds; I do so very much enjoy seeing them eating there. As long as the bear stays away.

Tuesday will be my first trip back to NY since the move. I wonder how it will be? I have a feeling it's going to confirm--in a strong way--that I made the right move! I'll be going down Tuesday morning and coming back Wednesday evening. I hope the weather is cleared up by the time I return. It's been cool-ish and rainy-ish all week.