I've spent the better part of today watching the hummers....have tried to identify them and I'm coming to the conclusion that there are 2 females and 1 male, and that they are Black-chinned Hummingbirds. The illustrations from "Discovering Sierra Birds" was incredibly helpful in identification, while the photo of the male only from "The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds" was not. But here is what the Audubon book says about the courtship flight of the male, which I hope I can witness: "He courts his female with a dazzling arial display involving a pendulum-like flight pattern." Whoowhee!! I love this shot of this hummer (below) because of the detail of the little, itty bitty feet. Perhaps I've been un-observant in the past, but I don't ever recall seeing hummingbirds in my yard before July.

Another amazing sighting this week: while driving along about 2 miles from home, I saw a rather odd looking quail crossing the roadway (we have California quail here, by the hundreds). When I got a little closer I realized it was a chukar! Before development they were hunted around here, but I've never seen any that weren't WAY away in the desert and far from people. I am keeping my eye out for more. My DH tells me that they are vicious birds, and will flock together to kill a cow or steer on BLM land, then drag it to a cave to feed on it over the winter. So he's planning on forming a party (consisting of himself and hunting dog, a yellow lab, who is perfect in every way except for this habit of shedding, named Maggie) to scout them out so as to protect the local livestock and small children.




So here's the 2nd part of the tale of my journey to NE a couple of weeks ago:

A TALE OF TWO CATHERINE'S/KATHRYN'S

Brother Gus & I spent the Sunday travelling to the vicinity of Albany and Troy, NY. Catherine Lowe was our first stop. She is a knitwear designer from whom Gus had taken a workshop last fall. She is meticulous in her sampling/swatches/finishing. She's just started a line of yarns and the unique bit about them is that they are 2-ply, and incredibly fine and smooth. They make a crisply even fabric, and you combine the plied yarns to make the thickness of yarn desired for your project. Not only can you combine the yarns for thickness, but also the various fibers (merino, alpaca, silk, or kid mohair/silk blend) for different effects, but you can also combine colors. They are very rich and right now consist of a gold/bronze, red (very much on the cool side), mossy green, black, charcoal, deep teal, black violet and raisin. It's obvious that the way she likes and/or MUST work is without distraction. She's got a painter's studio which is mostly white, with some black and gray accents. Windows are covered over with a translucent shade, obscuring the green of the surrounding woods. We had a lovely visit, and the very best coffee I've ever had, bar none.

Next stop: the home of Kathryn Alexander.

Talk about two very successful knitwear designers who are at the extreem ends of the spectrum. Kathryn and husband Mark live on a 15 acre farm with their 2 horses, Buck and Little Bucket. It's always been a policy of mine to NEVER get on a horse named "Buck" (or "Scar Face" or "Widow-Maker", for that matter, and if you know about horses that leap over jumps, "Chip" is another no-no). Not to worry! On my next visit, I get to ride Little Bucket!

Kathryn's home is her studio. It is as rich in color as any place I've ever been. Warm and inviting - cut pile rugs of many styles covering hardwood floors. Her work covers her walls, saddles, harnesses and bridles accent the rooms. Baskets of yarn are artfully arranged beside sofas that blend in only because they also carry dozens of colors. How inspiring! Creativity abounds, fer shur. The only black/white/gray I observed was a Peter Collingwood rug. Oh, my.... Friend's work also adorn the walls, and I noticed a silk weaving that could only have come from Sara Lamb. I ran to the car to grab my camera - only to find I'd left it behind at Gus's house. How sad is that?? A lovely lunch and glass of wine, stories about Habu, exchanges of ideas to help Gus along with his fledging fiber business. A visit to the barn and much-needed closeness with horses. The most tidy barn I've ever been in, and Kathryn emailed a few days later to tell me she was vacuuming the spider webs from the rafters. Now THAT is one devoted horse-woman!

I've gotten my vest kit from her and thrown all else aside to work on it. As in all things color (whether a variegated yarn with interesting color changes, or intarsia or Fair Isle knitting), I find I cannot stop working on it. 48 colors - imagine!! Pics to come on my next posting. Jimmy Beans Wool is now carrying her kits, or you can order directly from her.

Last night I returned from a trip to Massachusetts to have a visit with family and friends. My brother, Gus, flew me out so that I could help him with a booth he was offered at Sheepshearing Day in Waltham, MA, just outside Boston. If an exhibitor was demo-ing or showing some livestock, the booth fee was waived. I was the demo-er. Gus has worked to develop a couple of yarn lines from his Shetland sheep. One is a 2-ply jumper weight yarn, and the other is a 3-ply dk weight. Both are blended with 5% silk and are lovely to work with. As of now, there are 3 natural colors and 4 yarns which are dyed with natural dyes.

The weather prediction was for rain. It had been raining off and on since I had arrived there Thursday. The field the tents were set up on was quite wet, and we didn't think to bring drop cloths. But the day ended up being quite sunny and things began to dry out.
I was fortunate to be able to spin on Gus's wheel, custom made for him by a man on Fair Isle who built it out of driftwood. A sweet little castle wheel, but unfortunately I didn't take a picture of it. We thought we'd brought a clean fleece - also unfortunately, this turned out to not be true. So I spun all day in the grease, and today, 4 days later, my hands and arms still ache. Lots of people wandered through the tent and were fascinated by the spinning process. Sheepshearding Day isn't necessarily something that attracts a lot of fiber people - it's mostly set up as a crafts fair, with sheep shearing demo, sheep dog demo, folk dancers, and lots of booths selling mosly non-fiber related things. Oh, and don't forget the food vendors. (Sorry, but I couldn't bring myself to sample the Fried Dough or Sponge Bob Square Pants popsicles!) This was Gus's 1st experience selling in such a setting, and at the end of the day, it turned out quite sucessfully. Lots of cards were distributed with his website information
(www.swiftriverfarm.com)
Preparation for the day took all day Friday - winding skeins and wrapping ball bands, putting kits together, packing up, and trying to predict just what we were going to need. All in all, too much fun!

Next:
further adventures in New England and the Adirondacks.

As rightly pointed out, I've been very remiss in my posts! Sometimes life just takes you down a different road for a while, and I've been DOING but not WRITING.

All is well in the garden (oh, except for the freezing temperatures and snow yesterday & today). I always seem to do my fall clean-up in the spring, and this year has been no exception. Lots of leaf litter with some very nice composted material underneath. This year I am planning on building a frame for a compost heap. Living in the desert, I'll have to keep it watered, but my first concern is location, location, location!

Got together with friends a few weeks ago and we dyed up a storm! It was great to see everyone's techniques (or lack thereof). Here is some of my handspun Shetland yarn that came out great. I found myself mostly focusing on shades of purple, olive and brown. Once I got a "theme" going, it was hard to consider any other colors.


Finally, a good-bye to our awesome horse, D'Arcy.
Spring, 1987 - April 13, 2007