Bunny Watch

Up early this morning and out to check on the does in a drizzly haze. Mary has filled her nest box with wool and Joy is laying around looking sad. Maple perky and waiting for breakfast. Yesterday evening when I went down Woolybuns Crystal, a pure doe bred to my fawn buck, was standing there with her feed hay in her mouth, that anxious look on her face. I gave her a nest box and this morning it's full of wool, too. Crystal is not due until next Saturday. Some does get ready early for their babies, although this could be a false pregnancy. But most of my does that are going through false pregnancies do it a bit earlier than this.

I spent most of yesterday with a distant cousin discussing genealogy. Several years ago the family put together a project to collect all the genealogy information we could and put it in one database. I did the data entry and some research. We also collected family stories and put together a book about the different branches. That was a great project and I really enjoyed it, although I put the work aside when my grandfather became disabled. Now the family wants to reprint the book and possibly put up a web page. We also discussed the world situation and solved most of the ills of the earth!

Only did a little computer work and work on the shawl last night. Looked up a bunch of books for the SO when he called. Today I have to work at the little antique shop. I'm afraid it won't be very busy. The weather is dreary and wet and there are supposed to be thunderstorms.

News from the Bunny House

wet Lily
Originally uploaded by Greenberry House.

Went into the bunny house for morning chores and the first thing I saw was a pile of newly pulled wool in Mary's nest box! No bunnies yet; she's not due until tomorrow. But after waiting for nearly two years for bunnies from her, this is exciting! Mary is my pure German doe, all old lines but the best fiber producer that I have from those lines. I bred her to Woolybuns Yankee Doodle Dandy; who is new import lines on his father's side and Samson on his mother's.

Autumn Joy, my sweetheart chocolate chin, isn't pulling wool but her little belly is as round as a ball. She didn't eat her hay this morning but was nibbling her green treat. Mary had eaten all her nest box hay but Joy hasn't touched hers. So I'm thinking there will be some bunnies tomorrow! Joy is bred to Delly's Delight Quenten, my beautiful lynx buck. There should be some gorgeous colored bunnies from the two of them!

Maple, the other doe that I bred, isn't showing any signs yet. But she's a big, placid girl who takes kindling in stride, usually without much fuss.

Even though it's raining, it's pleasant doing the chores down in the bunny house. It's cozy and warm and the animals are so happy to see me with their breakfast!

I left the porch door open for Lily this morning and finally I saw her sitting inside. She stayed out for a long time, but when I let her in she was wild, playing and romping and spraying water everywhere! Apparently she disposed of whatever was bothering her. I keep a close eye on her diet, etc., but occasionally she has a tummy upset. Now she's drying off and all the spaniel curl is coming into her coat!

More Rain

And lots of it. Woke up this morning to a gray sky and before I got downstairs the rains came. Lily insisted on going outside early, unusual for her lately. I think she's having tummy troubles. There will be a very wet dog in the house soon!

Yesterday I spent the morning taking an accumulation of boxes and junk off my back porch for a trip to the dump, and packing up a print for a customer. Then I headed out to do the dump thing and check in with the client that I'm doing the web page for. His computer is having major problems with viruses and spyware, though, and he hasn't been able to see the web page. I don't know much about spyware and stuff but it really is causing some major problems for a few people I know. We've been working with my aunt's computer for over a month now but between us we've finally got it working pretty well. There are still a few glitches, though, that need some attention. My aunt's handsome place was where I headed next. She has a lovely modern house on a hill in a beautiful section of the community, surrounded with wonderful views and elegant flower borders.

Last night I went down and had a lovely visit with my friend Kym, in our usual Thursday outing. She's almost finished exams and that's a relief. With two jobs and school, she is an amazing young woman! But getting to be an exhausted one, I'm afraid. She hopes to have a break and a few days off soon. Somehow she has managed to do some gardening and the little house below the mountain is charming with blooms. Kym's handsome father was there, helping mow the grass. Nice!

Not much time after I got home, but I did manage a few rows of the crocheted Shetland/mohair scarf. I've finished the green yarn and will start on the purple today. Not a day for bunny chores, so I'll be working on web pages, paying a visit to the bank and library, and maybe doing a little housework. Housework, however, is NOT one of my priorities!

Waiting for Spring

Spring seems to have stalled here on the mountain. After a promising start yesterday with the sun the wind picked up again and the temperatures stayed cool. I sheared a doe that I hope is pregnant and a lot of her fiber is out in the field, caught in the grass and flying across the woods. Usually I don't shear in wind or cold, but this doe has a full coat and I didn't want her to have so much wool with a litter. My normal practice is to shear a doe, then breed her that day. Shearing can put them in the mood and then by the time the litter comes, she has wool of just the right length to make a good nest. But Mary didn't kindle when I bred her on shearing day, and when I rebred her it put her due date right at the date she was due for shearing. So I did her back and sides as far down on her belly as I could reach without turning her over. I don't think she would appreciate laying on her back with a full load of bunnies. IF they're there; I'm not good at knowing!

So Mary is comfy now, wearing a skirt of wool that makes her look like a Southern belle! I did a few bunny house chores but the wind made the jobs disagreeable. So I spent most of the day on the computer, with one quick run to the post office to ship off a collectible order. Some time on the crocheted shawl was nice, cozy in my big chair in the sitting room with Lily snug against my feet.

Pensive Lily

Night Noises

The wind returned with the night and splattering rain, rattling the windows on the narrow front porch beneath my bedroom in the eaves. It disturbed Lily in the night and she woke me with soft, questioning woofs. I read for awhile, Prodigal Summer, a beautifully written book with haunting themes, while the wind banged around the eaves and the house shuddered.

The morning is dawning bright, and I have hopes of accomplishing bunny chores today. Nest boxes need to be cleaned and placed in with three does. Then the short wait begins for bunnies due on Saturday. Cleaning floors, bunny trays and a possible hair cut are also on the agenda, along with computer work this morning.

Yesterday was a play day. My cousin RJ and I went to town with the excuse of fetching rabbit feed. Really we just like to get together, talking all the way about every subject under the sun. And visiting our favorite restaurant, with a little shopping. The sun had disappeared but the rain held off until late. After RJ had dropped me off home I went over to see how my brother is progressing on his construction project. Everything going well, seems like but a lot of work for him. Then I ran down to my mom's, taking the truck instead of walking with Lily as I had intended because rain threatened. Another nice visit.

Late evening was spent crocheting as the rain moved in. The shawl is finally coming along nicely now. A treat! I also worked up a small sample of the hand painted yarn, RJ's Surprise, to see how the variegation works. Like the effect!

Togetherness

Yesterday's blustery day has been replaced by a stillness complete. The sun is shining, slanting shadows across the quiet fields and reflecting the trees and neighbors house perfectly in the pond.

The wind blew wildly most of the day yesterday, only settling at sunset. In the long grass of the field the wind is a visable presence, creating ripples like waves in the sea. It was cold along with the wind, a harsh day to stay in with the computer and crochet. I worked up a few things to put on the web page and sat down to start the Shetland/mohair shawl yet one more time. When you're doing your own ideas, sometimes the pattern just doesn't click right away. THIS time, though, I think I have it!

As I was sitting curled up in my big chair, surrounded by books and listening to the wind outside, I was thinking about how the stitches I was working connect me with others. I am often alone, almost never lonely. Solitude and meditation have always been my connection to the spiritual as well as to my inner self. Even with my dad here I spend much time to myself; he is content with his books and Bible, and with rediscovering his home.

Yet I am so connected to the world. As I sit stitching in my little house in the field in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Cathy stitches in her house in the mountains of Colorado, surrounded by the beautiful gardens she and her husband have created. Kim stitches along in the mountains of New Hampshire, sharing not only a love of fiber with me, but also a love of the German Angora and of special spaniels. These are women I have never met, and may never really know in conventional terms, yet I feel that I do know them. Part of the connection I feel to them is creative, and also because they seem to love their mountain homes as much as I love mine. And there are really thousands of us, in the mountains and in the lowlands, in the cities and small towns. All stitching away peacefully in our little special places.

I sat crocheting late last night, watching the moon come up over the neighbor's hill. It's hard to describe something so beautiful; as the light changed across the fields and the shadows touched the barn and outlined the edge of the woods. Upstairs in my cozy little room, I looked out at the fields, finally stilled after a day of rough wind, and saw the shadows of passing clouds, as elusive as the wind itself, as the clouds strayed across the face of the moon. A time to feel content, as a warm spaniel curled at the end of my bed and placed her chin across my ankle.

Auction Weekend

Headed out on Friday to an auction at a farm in New Market, Virginia. On the way delivered a bunny to a lovely lady in Woodstock. We had a great dinner and a nice visit. Yet one more thing to love about raising the Germans; you meet such great people!

It rained Friday and there were storms in the night. Lily came along and she wasn't happy about the rumble of thunder in a place that wasn't home. But Saturday dawned cool and clearing; perfect auction weather. My SO was interested in historic paper at the auction. I walked around and with so much stuff here at home already, decided that I should refrain from getting more. So I found a warm place in the sun and got out the crocheting. I sat where I could hear one of the three auctioneers; it's always interesting to see what prices things go for. Sometimes it's astonishing!

I did wander down to where they were selling linens, but there were over 500 bidders at the auction and I didn't want to spend the money to compete. Not with boxes of vintage pieces at home already. I bought a straw tick, sans straw, in case we get into the reenactments again! In the end we wound up with a few books and some paper.

The farm where the auction was held was in the beautiful valley near New Market, just below the mountain range. It was a nice setting and pleasant to sit and watch the people while I crocheted. The pattern is easy and it's going fast, but it's also eating up the yarn. I'll be getting more of the roving from Lura soon and working up some more colors!

Over two mountain ranges on the way home, we saw a rainbow across the skies above the little town of Sperryville. It seemed so close but like all elusive treasures, it stayed just out of reach. Sometimes I think the people at auctions are chasing rainbows, too!

It was a shock to get home yesterday and see the snow flying and the wind howling. Bunnies were fine, glad to have their hay and pellets against the cold night. The blooms of my poor bleeding heart lie limp against the lacy leaves; can't tell if it's frozen or broken by the wind. Spring in the mountains!

I had turned off the heat and it took awhile for the house to warm up. Lily tucked up in bed all evening, scarcely moving after her busy weekend. She's still in bed this morning!

Auction Shawl

This will look more open when it's blocked. Chain three and single crochet in Shetland/mohair handspun.

Chasing Rainbows

After the rain, in the skies above Sperryville, Virginia.

Gift

No pot of gold, but what glory!

So Near

Driving toward a curtain of color.

Rainbow's End

Elusive illusions. So near and yet so far.

Out Early

Bleeding heart in the window garden

I have a full day today; work at the antique shop, a trip below the mountain and then the afternoon with my aunt. So I was out early, having a look around the garden. Yesterday I planted the gaudy viola in the window garden and put one in a pot for my bedroom. I noticed that the bleeding heart was blooming. It's such a fleeting presence here and I love the delicate bloom and lacy pattern of the leaves. The peonies are shooting up now and will soon make a grand entrance.

Yesterday I finally managed to get Elwood sheared while some of the rest of the herd played outside. The grass in the field is getting long and thick, and they played wild rabbit; hiding in the tufts and peering at me, then running around the perimeter of the pen. Elwood had a lovely thick fleece with wonderful color, as usual. He's a handsome fellow, well mannered when shearing. He was happy to get rid of that coat and have a romp outside.

More computer work yesterday, laundry, cleaning a bit in the bunny house, a walk with Lily and feeding the fish made up a typical day here. I started the Shetland/mohair shawl again. I've been thinking I'd like to do the variegated yarn in a solid stitch pattern but the yarn has other ideas. So I began again with a lacy style stitch and I'm much happier with the result!

Spring Temptations

New plants for the garden!

Lovely Evening Out

Another beautiful day yesterday, although at midday the clouds rolled in and it rained a little. Just enough to make me decide to continue working on the computer instead of shearing a rabbit. And then, of course, the sun came back out!

Nice evening with my friend Kym in town. Great dinner and some shopping. Couldn't resist a four pack of gaudy viola in purple and peach! Below the mountain where my friend lives everything is blooming, and a carpet of greens is sweeping up the slopes of the hills. The subtle variety of green as the trees leaf out is beautiful. So many things were blooming in Kym's yard; the lilacs were covered with bloom and butterflies, fruit trees are bursting forth and she has azalea ablaze by the driveway.

I came back and started working on my crocheted shawl, only to discover that I had made an error somewhere and it was totally unbalanced. So back to the frog pond. It's a simple pattern so I was just being dense! I've got it back to where I found the error; about five rows!

Greetings to a new blogger on the block, Dori at Soaring Eagle Farm. She lives not far from here, in the lowlands, and has all sorts of exciting farm news!

Had to take the truck up for tires and inspection early this morning. Not one of my favorite things, spending on a vehicle! Saw my great-uncle at the garage and then visited with friends when I picked up some milk. Coming home I walked through the fields as the sun warmed the wet grass.

Contented Days

Shy violets in the meadows

Beautiful weather with much accomplished; what more can you ask of a day? Yesterday was glorious; warm with a little breeze for drying laundry, cool in the shade for shearing an angel of a bunny, and pleasant for looking out the window while the computer hummed away.

I spent the morning working on pictures for a web page, then went out and sheared a young rabbit that was totally cooperative and gave me a bunny kiss when we were done. I guess she liked getting rid of that hot coat! Other rabbits played outside; it was a perfect day for bunny chores through the afternoon. My dad went with my brother to help him with a plumbing project so I took Lily for a walk down to Mom's. Things were very different since my last walk down Concord Road in the snow!

Nice visit with my mom, checking on computer things. I stopped by their nice little pond and frogs leaped from the edge at our approach. My uncle has a cunning little water trough he made from an old sink, but Lily is afraid of the gurgling noise it makes. So I let her play in the little stream to get some water.

When I came home Dad was back and I went in to put together a little meal for us after finishing the last of the bunny chores. It was nice to look out the kitchen window and see my brother contentedly fishing in the pond. He's on the road so much he doesn't get the chance to enjoy the beauties of his property like I do!

Last night I started working on a shawl with the Shetland/mohair yarn. After a few false starts I think I have a shape I like and a plan for the design. I really like working with this yarn.

Concord Spring

Above the church and surrounded by rhododendron, this spring has been part of the community for a very long time. I remember the neighbor lady, Mrs. Walton, had a path from her house to the spring. I suppose it was her only source of water.

Swamp "Lily"

It has an unpleasant name and an unpleasant odor if disturbed, but skunk cabbage is a handsome rosette of green in the early spring near creeks and wetlands here.

White Lace

This lovely little tree is called sarvis around here, or serviceberry. I love the delicate effect of dainty white blooms against the haze of gray limbs as it grows at the edges of the woods.

A Walk in the Mountains

Yesterday we got the chores done and headed up the Blue Ridge Parkway to a trail just ten miles from my house. This is a view from Rocky Knob, into Rock Castle Gorge where my grandmother grew up.

Even in the heights spring is bursting through the dry leaves. We saw a lot of small plants coming out with the small blooms characteristic of wildflowers. Even with flickr, I haven't been able to figure out how to put more than one picture in a post. So if you're interested in pictures of early spring wildflowers in the Blue Ridge, click the picture above and have a look at my photos tagged "Parkway"!

We saw bloodroot, an early bloom that was used for a tonic by mountain people. It's toxic so not advisable as a regular thing. Mayapple was just starting to unfold above the crisp brown leaves and there were many different specimens of moss and lichen on the rocks and trees. A few trees are budding but there are a lot of bare limbs. An interesting find near the old trail shelter on the Knob was a little plant in the rocks that looked like a succulent house plant known as burro's tail. There was a different little succulent nearby, that looked like hen and chicks!

Lily enjoyed her walk but she was really tired when we got home. So we left her here to rest while we went out to dinner. After we came back the SO built a beautiful set of steps up into the bunny house. Now I can go in and out with the water bottles without peril! And Dad can do some bunny wrangling!

Dad went with my brother to Galax last night. Sammy was helping out with a benefit performance up there. They had a great time and interesting discussions about how this county is missing so many opportunities to take advantage of tourism!

I was able to wind some yarn in the evening into center pull balls. I really want to start on the crocheted shawl idea with this lovely Shetland/mohair.

Blue Ridge Parkway

Lily and Mommy resting after a walk in the hills.

The Apple Tree

The apple tree that stands outside my bedroom window is my favorite drying rack for yarn in the summer. In the winter it serves as home for many of my bird feeders and the twiggy canopy serves the tiny birds well as they dart around with the seeds I fill the feeders with. In the spring there is a beautiful halo of pink bloom and in the summer a shady area for cats to play and birds to sing. The fall's fruit is small and bitter, but the glories of the spring more than make up for it. As I hung up skeins of Shetland/mohair handspun, I saw that the buds are bursting into leaves.

When I was a child here there were several apple trees around the farm, old standards that even then were gnarled with age and untended. A small orchard once stood above the house with a double row of trees that bore "cooking apples". I never knew the varieties. Another in the yard stood right outside the porch door; when I was very small I remember playing on the porch in an old corner cupboard there and looking out at the spring bloom of the tree.

My favorite tree when I was a child was a towering giant that bore yellow apples with a sweet flavor. My grandfather called it Yellow Delicious, although the flavor of those long ago apples was nothing like today's variety. The apples were small: no one really looked after the trees, and thin-skinned. We picked them off the tree to eat when they were ripe but you had to be careful of worms!

I loved the tree because the trunk sloped up, then between two huge branches was the perfect spot to sit and read beneath the shade of the leaves. I spent hours in the summer there, reading my favorite books while cats and kittens romped around the tree. One year I remember that a bird; I think it was a robin, built a nest in a hollow below my reading place. When I came home the tree was still standing, and greeted me my first year here with a beautiful, soft pink bloom. The next winter it fell; finally brought down by time and the elements. I still miss it!

I finished plying the Shetland/mohair singles yesterday and the yarn dried fast overnight. There was another frost this morning but the sun is warming the air fast. In the evening when we went to feed the fish we saw a meadowlark out in the field. I've been watching for the barn swallows but they haven't returned. Today the SO is visiting; we hope to take a walk on the Parkway and act like tourists!

Shetland/Mohair Yarn

I'm still trying to decide if the violet works with the variegated. It does for me, but I'm not sure anyone else would like it! I have an idea for a big crocheted shawl...

Lovely Woolybuns Cheshire

Bunny House Dreams

Sheared an absolute beauty of a doe yesterday. Woolybuns Cheshire is a beautiful round faced doe with lots of personality that demands attention whenever anyone comes in. She has lots of luxurious, dark gray wool. Like all black angora rabbits, she has a black face but gray wool on her body. But some black rabbits produce darker wool than others, and Cheshire has wonderful color. She is a sweetheart to shear, lying patiently while I harvest all that glorious fiber. Even the wool on her belly was wonderful! I weighed out ten ounces of prime and not quite an ounce of shorter wool that came from her cheeks, legs and tail. I think she had one matt on her cheek; none anywhere else. Cheshire weighs in at 9 pounds; just the right size for a doe to fit into my lap. I'm hoping to get her bred to a marvelous pure buck soon!

Other bunny chores were not so glamorous! I swept up hay and droppings from the floor and shoveled out a few trays. It's so much easier now to take care of this barn than the stacked cages I had before. Even though it's still work, I enjoy being with the animals, watching them enjoy their hay and other nibbles and frolic outside in the pen.

Although it was a bright day yesterday, there was a breeze blowing and it was a little cool. Still pleasant to do the bunny chores, but I was also glad to get inside and work on the computer awhile as well. I've got the web site for All Seasons Gifts and Garden set up. They're selling some really nice collegiate items. There are lots more items to be added but I have a good start!

Last night I finished spinning the violet Shetland/mohair roving and plied a bobbin full. I'm not sure I'm going to have enough to do a vest with the variegated yarn, so I've been pulling out other handspun from my stash. I have some nice purple silk singles and some purple angora as well as some different greens. This might be an interesting project! I'm also working on a shawl pattern in crochet that will take LOTS of yarn and I want to learn to knit. Is there enough time to do it all?

Glorious Morning

Color everywhere! The results of my dye experiments lately.

This morning the cockatiel is chirping away; climbing on his big cage and peering at me. Every morning lately I've been giving him a treat of a corn flake or two. After years of living here he has finally decided to take the corn flake from my hand. Most of the time he got just a bite and then dropped the rest, though. So now, instead of taking the whole flake from me he bites off a piece and lets me hold the rest. Kind of smart, I think!

Today is another day for bunny chores. A beautiful Woolybuns doe needs clipping today and I hope to do more cleaning in the bunny barn. Lily has already gone outside; there's a little breeze and it's cool, but it should warm up nicely.

Things are Brighter!

The sun is out, the house is much warmer and things look much more cheerful than yesterday! I spent the entire day on the computer, working on getting a web page set up for a local client. I also dug out the dye pots; I needed some color on a day like yesterday, when the world looked so grim!

Last night I just had to start spinning the Shetland/mohair roving that I dyed in violet. This stuff spins FAST! Nearly filled a bobbin last night. I'm not used to that; given that I'm usually spinning fine angora singles that take awhile to fill the bobbin.

We all went to bed early. It was cold, even in the house, and it was nice to tuck into my warm blankets and flannel sheets upstairs. Lily curled up on her afgan on my bed and didn't move all night, as far as I could tell. But she was up early this morning, with the bright sunshine!

Shetland/mohair Roving Surprise

Yesterday was one of those dull, dreary days with lots of rain, so out came the dye pots. I've been working on collegiate stuff for a client and decided to make a "Virginia Tech" roving in the crock pot with maroon and gold. As you can see, that's not what I wound up with. But this is lovely!

Taffy Angora

I had trouble this morning getting the colors right in the pictures. This is chocolate chinchilla angora overdyed with pink acid dye. The original has brown undertones which don't show in the picture. I have a gorgeous Shetland/mohair roving that turned out to be jet black, vibrant blues and salmon, but in the picture it looks brown with white patches! Disappointing, so I didn't post that one.

Green Days in the Rain

Here's a corner of my sitting room, where I like to curl up and read on chilly rainy days. Things are changing in this room, though. We're putting shelves on all the walls for lots and lots of books!

The grass is SO green outside, but it's pouring rain. My daffodils are all out, even those odd little ones with the orange centers surrounded by cream, but I can't do much more than peer at them through the windows!

Spent the day in Roanoke yesterday at the Veterans Administration Medical Center. Very nice facility, helpful people, but it still takes a long time to get anything done. We registered Dad, though, and should be able to get him into the local clinic for services. Which will make it much easier on both of us.

Redbud is blooming all along I-81, and I think I even saw some dogwood coming out. Lots of trees in leaf in the warmer areas but even here the maples are budding and I can see a hint of green in the woods.

No fiber adventures yesterday. I took some yarn with me but forgot the crochet hooks, so I read all day while we waited. Today I was hoping for clearer weather but it looks like a day to work on the computer and spin!

Silver Day

Not quite raining, not quite warm, not quite windy, not quite nice. A typical dull spring day in the mountains. We really have a good many dull, drizzly days here in the spring. I find myself feeling about as dull as the day with allergies.

Yesterday was spent with more dye pots. I overdyed some chocolate chinchilla angora with pink and I love the results. It's upstairs drying so no pictures today; too dark up there. I also did another pot of Lura's Shetland/mohair roving. Dramatic this time, in pink, black, lilac and turquoise. Along with some bunny chores and laundry, it was a very satisfying day.

Had a nice visit with my Mom and stepdad; she was out doing some yard work and planning planting beds beside the house. He was woodworking and planning to fix up an old desk that Mom really needs for her church work. They've been down with colds but finally hope to be recovering!

I finished up the second bobbin from the variegated Shetland/mohair roving I painted and spun up. There's a little over eight ounces, which is usually enough to make a vest or poncho out of angora but I don't think it will be enough in this. So now I'm debating whether to ply the variegated singles together or ply the violet singles I'll be making with the variegated. Nice to have colorful plans to think about on such a dreary day!

Another Dye Day

I really like the way this crock pot roving turned out. Salmon with blues ranging from pale to navy, with some hints of purple here and there. The Shetland/mohair roving is so wonderful with color. I'm not sure I can sell it!

As you can see, yesterday was a dye day in earnest. I worked at the antique shop for a couple of hours. Not so many people as usual; I think they were all at the races. Then Dad and I went over to Cousin RJ's for a visit and to finish up her taxes. We had a nice visit, serenaded by motorcycles on the Parkway. You can hear them better in her hollow than you can here in my open spaces.

Sammy came by for his Lucky dog in the late afternoon. He called and Dad and I took her out to the end of the driveway with all her things to meet the bus. How many dogs get picked up by the Lonesome River Band at the end of their tour? Even Lily missed Lucky when she left. Lucky is a nice dog and it was even more fun having her here because Dad could walk her along with me and Lily.

Had a pleasant evening sitting outside for awhile with Lily. She just didn't want to be in! It was warm and the sky was indescribably beautiful. The spring peepers were in full choral. Two of the cats sat beside me on the old wooden steps, purring along in time. Even the sounds of the traffic on the road added to the song. Race day has been part of life here since I can remember; it's hard to object to tradition, even one I really don't have much interest in.

When I finally coaxed Lily back inside, I did some spinning and then headed upstairs to my cozy nook upstairs. Today will be a day of bunny chores and working on a client's web page. And hopefully I'll get another dye pot started!

Violet Shetland/Mohair Roving

Another batch just for me! Gorgeous violet hues, which don't show up quite so rich in the picture on my monitor. I plan to use this somehow with the variegated yarn I'm spinning now.

Lavender Dreams

My first batch of angora dyed with acid dyes. I have played around with Koolaid dyeing with small batches of seconds angora to make cat toys. This is the first time I've plopped my gorgeous prime angora into a dye pot! I like the result! Thanks to Chris at Woolybuns for much advice and great tips!

I wonder what the tourists going by thought as they passed, though. I was out in my Tasha Tudor dress with my straw hat, swinging a purple mesh bag filled with purple angora to spin out the water! In the afternoon when the Parkway is crowded!

Another Sign of Spring

Just came in after sitting outside on the back steps while Lily wandered in the cool grass and the cats purred around my legs. There's just a tiny slice of moon in a silvery blue dark sky, and I can hear the spring peepers out near the pond and creek. Old people around here call them peep frogs. Another sure sign of spring!

Spring is Here!

Forsythia

Despite the crisp morning and the frost the flowers are really bursting forth here at Greenberry House. I put out the orange roving to dry and then made a circuit of the flower beds. The bleeding heart is up already, with the elegant patterned leaves looking like lace against the rhododendron. Lilies are shooting up, along with lots of iris. I love iris and there is some in every bed around the house, including some nice colors Chris of Woolybuns gave me. The autumn joy is showing as a fat pillow against the earth and the hostas are spearing out of the ground in the window garden. There's just a hint of color in the quince bush and some buds on the viburnum. I'm even glad to greet the occasional dandelion, although I know that soon they will cover the ground. Dandelion is good for rabbits, a good excuse not to worry over them! There is a tiny blue wildflower out in the fields, low on the ground in the fresh green grass.

Tiny Virginia bluebells in the bulb garden.

The daffodils I planted when I moved here. They bloom later than the ones planted by the ancestors. My daffodils are bigger, but the smaller heritage daffodils have a scent and are a darker yellow.

Orange Tunis Roving

I haven't posted a dye picture lately; here is orange Tunis drying on an improvised bunny cage rack under the spruce trees. Now I plan to paint some Shetland/mohair for the crock pot!

Lazy Lily

Lily curled up on my bed under the eaves. The wallpaper was from over 50 years ago, when this room was my dad's. The paper shows bucking broncos and steer roping. I really wear the hats above the bed; it's rare that I don't have a hat, summer or winter. There are more hats on the other walls; I adore hats!

Frosty Morning!

Sterling Shawl

There is frost across the grass this morning, in the low field by the creek. The barn roof is decorated with a patchwork pattern of white frost and red. The sun is up, quickly warming the air but it is a brisk, cool morning. Lily is still in bed; even though the house is warm she knows it is cold outside!

The attached picture is of one of my first projects made from my own handspun yarn. It's a crocheted shawl from yarn made on my great-grandmother's flax wheel. I bought the fleece from Martha McGrath at Deer Run Farm (hope that's right!). The fleece was a beautiful silver from a ram named Sterling. I was reminded of this project by an article in Spin-off; about a spinner in search of gray fleece. I think she would have been happy with this one!

Such a lovely day we had here yesterday. The tourists were out, enjoying the warm spring and visiting Mabry's Mill and the local stores. I was able to get some bunny trays cleaned before heading down to the antique store to do paperwork and watch the counter for a little while. Lots of people stopped in on their way to Martinsville for the NASCAR race. Then I came back here to do more paperwork and bunny chores. An annoying ex-husband stopped by, so I got a little yard work done while he visited with my dad. Some things just never go away!

Ran up to a local restaurant, Woodberry Inn, where a good friend works to drop off bunny feed and tax papers for her. The people that run this restaurant are wonderful! The food is amazing and the owners are just charming. And generous! They give me lots of green stuff for my bunnies!

Nice quiet evening. I was able to start another bobbin of the Shetland/mohair and I got out the dye pots! Had to do that, after reading about all of Chris's dyeing adventures over at Woolybuns. I had 10 ounces of white Tunis roving left from a shawl I made awhile back (the shawl is heading for California to a retail customer as I write) so I popped it in the pot with some orange acid dye. I let it cool overnight so I haven't washed it yet. So far it looks good!

Sunny Days

My SO is off today to fight the wars at Appomattox today and tomorrow. This is a picture of me at Gettysburg a couple of years ago. I really enjoyed the couple of times I was able to do the reenactments and I was the only spinner there. Some of the veterans said that they had never seen a spinner. So I had lots of attention.

It LOOKS like we might have sunshine today; although there were a few times yesterday that the sun teased us and then fled back under the clouds. But the shadows are slanting across the fields and there is blue sky above the flattened gray clouds on the horizon.

The wind is blowing; I heard it rattling the windows last night as I snuggled up in my bed under the eaves. Nice to curl up in a pile of soft pillows with a snoozing spaniel at my feet, reading the latest issue of Spin-Off. Such beautiful work and inventive creations!

Yesterday was a day of getting more things settled for Dad; insurance and doctors. Talked to an extremely helpful gentleman at Veteran's Administration. We have to go to Roanoke Tuesday to get Dad set up with them. Eventually he can go to the local clinic, which is really nice!

I managed to get some spinning in last night, and filled a bobbin of the Shetland/mohair. It wound off into a center pull ball quite nicely and I put it aside for plying. There's still a good bit of roving left. I dyed eight ounces in this colorway; may not be quite enough by itself for a vest but I was thinking about dyeing more in just the purple. I really like the deep violet color in this yarn!

Dreary Day

It's not raining but the clouds are low in the sky and there is a strange light across the fields. Probably more rain on the way. Yesterday was very quiet with rain all day. I went to my aunt's house for computer work but the computer was not cooperative!

Had a nice visit with cousin RJ in her lovely house below the hill. She's not feeling wonderful with this damp weather, though. It was nice to catch up sitting in her pleasant room with the rain pattering against the windows.

Last night I loaded a few more Avon bottles to Tias.com. I think I'll work on jewelry next, after this weekend of setting up a web page for a client and working a bit at the antique store. Today we need to go to town to see about insurance for Dad and maybe setting up a doctor for him.

Strange Daffodil Possibly Named

http://www.paghat.com/campernelledouble.html may show the answer to my spring wondering about the old daffodils that have been growing here at Greenberry House for such a long time. It seems the variety may be Double Campernelle, a mutation of a hybrid from the 1600s. I have only seen it around here but thanks to all of you that offered hints and sightings, I was able to track down this bit of information and picture. My daffodil does have a very light scent. I think I may also have the Single Campernelle in the side garden, another scented variety. The daffodils I planted are showy and larger but have no scent at all.

Now I can look at my garden in the spring and think about daffodils with a history that goes back to Queen Anne's England. The women in my family passed around cuttings and bulbs as treasures, particularly those that appreciated flowers that were easy to care for. Daffodils would have been a delight to women busy with household, garden, livestock and family. Around abandoned homeplaces here there are always daffodils, single and double, fragrant pink roses, lilacs, often yucca, wisteria; all plants that would look after themselves.

Thanks Chris and Cathy, for getting me pointed in the right directions and to those of you that emailed!

Strange Daffodils

Strange Daffodils
Originally uploaded by Greenberry House.

Has anyone seen daffodils like these? Instead of the classic cup in the center, these are shaggy. They have been growing here for generations and I have been wondering about the variety.

Contended Days

Dad and the dogs, Lucky on the left, Lily on the right

Yesterday was such a beautiful day! Sunshine, warm temperatures, a breeze that dried the laundry SO fast! Today it is dull and windy and the rain is splattering against the windows while thunder rumbles in the distance. A good day for staying in!

The allergies receded enough yesterday for me to get lots done! I started in the bunny house; emptying trays and cleaning the floors. Rabbits got to play outside in the sunshine and breezes. Everyone enjoyed being out; even little Tommy, who was frightened at first. I sheared Delly's Delight Quenten and he really had a good time when I put him out in the play pen. It felt SO good to have that heavy coat off!

My brother came over and helped us move the last of Dad's stuff inside. So he's all moved in for now. He'll have to make another trip south for more of his stuff.

Sam brought his dog and bunny over for me to babysit while he and his wife go to the Lonesome River Band festival down in Florida. Should be a nice trip for them; hope the rain doesn't go so far south! Sammy's the band leader of the Lonesome River Band; bluegrass if ya'll aren't familar with them! The bunny is a very pretty short haired rabbit; I don't know the breed. He's very active so he stays on the front porch away from my quiet herd.

Lucky, Sam's dog, is a nice girl and we enjoy having her here. Lily isn't all that fond of puppy company but she tolerates Lucky. We all walked to the pond last night. I took some pictures but the ones of the fish jumping didn't turn out. It's hard to get a catfish to pose!

No spinning or fibery work yesterday, except for bunny chores. I took some pictures of Avon bottles for Tias.com and hope to get them up today. I also want to take some books from the porch and start putting them on shelves to display for sale!

Spring Daffodils

These daffodils, planted by someone back in the family, come out much earlier than the ones I put in a few years ago.

Purple Tulips

Rushing the season. It's a little early to plant here, but I can't help getting something out! Purple tulips beside the house.

Back to Normal Day

I was able to get a little spinning done yesterday evening. I really like the way the Shetland/mohair roving is spinning up. Hard to tell until after it is plied and washed, but I think it's going to be softer than the rambouillet/mohair. The colors are rich and I think, if there's enough, this will make a really nice vest.

Busy day again yesterday, unpacking Dad and getting his stuff settled. It was a wonderful day, warm and sunny with a breeze in the morning. The wind picked up in the afternoon but was never unpleasant. Today is supposed to be just as beautiful, and I'm hoping to get some bunny chores done. There's a buck in the barn that is sadly overdue for shearing! I try not to let that happen; it's not good for the rabbit or for the wonderful fiber that they produce for them to go overdue. But this past month has been so wild with moving chores!

I also may try to breed two more does, my lovely Amber and the gorgeous Woolybuns Crystal. Woolybuns Cheshire has a date with an amazing buck at Perfect Spot Farm; can't wait to see how that breeding turns out!

My "new" room

My bedroom upstairs, or part of it. The view out the window is of green fields, an apple tree that will bloom soon, forsythia and daffodils. This is the first time in nearly fifty years that this room has been used as a living space. I think it is happy to have me there!

Settling In

Beautiful, quiet morning. I can't hear anything but the birds and an occasional car passing. The sun is bright and the air is so clear!

We got everything done yesterday, somehow, with me sneezing all the way. We finally got enough of the dust corralled and disposed of to allow me to sleep in my new bedroom last night! Dad rolled in at seven; tired but happy to be home, I think.

My new space is the upstairs of my old house. I love sleeping upstairs; these were my rooms when I first moved in because there were no floors, windows or walls downstairs to speak of! Or electricity. That only lasted a few months but I stayed upstairs until my mother gave me my great-grandmother's bedroom furniture. It was so heavy I fixed up a downstairs room as my bedroom.

But now I'm back upstairs, in the room designated as "the junk room" in my childhood. It makes a lovely bedroom and the view out the window is wonderful. Some work needs to be done on the walls. Generations of tattered wallpaper gives sort of a shabby and not very chic look to the rooms. I don't mind it, really; when I was a child we used to find pictures in the water stained paper. There's an old piece of lineoleum that serves as a rug on one floor; the other is bare except for my rugs. Some day I may paint the floors or have them refinished.

My stash needs some serious reduction! At the back of the picture is my great-grandmother's flax wheel and a wool wheel from Lexington. I need to get the wool wheel operational; there's not a lot wrong with it. Grandma's wheel is a bit touchy but will spin when she's in the mood and has some wool she likes. My aunt gave me a nice skein winder; just the right size to be practical and I use it a great deal. A modern ball winder and umbrella swift are vital tools as well. My old reliable Reeves wheel is downstairs so that I can be sociable with Dad.

Another view of more of the stash! And there's still more downstairs, waiting for a run through the dye pots!

Moving In Day!

So, my dad's on his way. He was supposed to come tomorrow but plans changed and we have to really get moving on the chores to be ready. I'm fighting allergies from what I did yesterday; thank goodness I have some help today!

Started spinning the Shetland/mohair roving. I love it! The Shetland has more loft than the rambouillet did and it's making a much softer yarn. The mohair shine is still apparent and the colors are bright. I'll post a picture soon!

Yesterday was all about cleaning house with a quick trip to the antique shop to fill in for a short time. The wind howled all day and there was ice in the cat's water bowls. But the sun was shining and it warmed up, despite the wind. It didn't get cold enough to freeze water bottles, although my hands were numb by the time I finished chores in the morning!

Blustery Day

Completed Chenille Poncho. I think I will make the next one bigger, and try to figure out a way to dress up the lower edge. Maybe another strip of stitches running a different direction. And make it in a solid or yarn with more variegation. I like the effect of stitches running different ways.

Today there is a terrific wind blowing. If Winnie-the-Pooh was trying to make it to the Three Acre Wood he would have a hard time getting across the field without blowing away. The nest boxes I cleaned and left drying by the barn have been flung out into the field and there's a white bag down there that I don't recognize with something inside it. The dog house that usually sits in the front yard, one of those big plastic ones, is down by the forsythia in two pieces. Yesterday it rained a little, blew a little snow, parted the clouds for an hour's sunshine and then turned gray and cold. Welcome to a mountain spring!

I worked at the antique shop doing paperwork for a couple of hours yesterday then came back up here to tackle housework. Fortunately a friend came by and rescued me from that with an invitation to dinner at the local diner. When I came back I got a little more done on the house and then settled down to finish the poncho. After working on the house a bit more today and carrying out some trash, I get to start on Lura's lovely Shetland/mohair roving that I dyed in the crock pot. Looking forward to that!

Progress

The chenille poncho. What to do when you really don't feel like doing what you ought to be doing!

I found this at Downward Facing Life, an amazing blog about knitting and life.

I READ BANNED BOOKS

List of the top 110 banned books. Bold the ones you've read. Italicize the ones you've read part of. Underline the ones you specifically want to read (at least some of). Read more. Convince others to read some.

#1 The Bible
#2 Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
#3 Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
#4 The Qur'an
#5 Arabian Nights
#6 Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
#7 Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
#8 Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
#9 Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
#10 Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
#11 The Prince by Niccoli Machiavelli
#12 Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
#13 Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
#14 Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
#15 Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
#16 Les Misrables by Victor Hugo
#17 Dracula by Bram Stoker
#18 Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin
#19 Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
#20 Essays by Michel de Montaigne
#21 Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
#22 History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
#23 Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
#24 Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
#25 Ulysses by James Joyce
#26 Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
27 Animal Farm by George Orwell
#28 Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
#29 Candide by Voltaire
#30 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
#31 Analects by Confucius
#32 Dubliners by James Joyce
#33 Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
#34 Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
#35 Red and the Black by Stendhal
#36 Das Capital by Karl Marx
#37 Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire
#38 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
#39 Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence
#40 Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
#41 Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
#42 Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
#43 The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
#44 All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
#45 Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx
#46 Lord of the Flies by William Golding
#47 Diary by Samuel Pepys
#48 Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
#49 Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
#50 Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
#51 Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
#52 Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant
#53 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
#54 Praise of Folly by Desiderius Erasmus
#55 Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
#56 Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
#57 Color Purple by Alice Walker
#58 Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
#59 Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke
#60 Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
#61 Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
#62 One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
#63 East of Eden by John Steinbeck
#64 Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
#65 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
#66 Confessions by Jean Jacques Rousseau
#67 Gargantua and Pantagruel by Francois Rabelais
#68 Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
#69 The Talmud
#70 Social Contract by Jean Jacques Rousseau
#71 Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
#72 Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence
#73 American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
#74 Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler
#75 Separate Peace by John Knowles
#76 Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
#77 Red Pony by John Steinbeck
#78 Popol Vuh
#79 Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith
#80 Satyricon by Petronius
#81 James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
#82 Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
#83 Black Boy by Richard Wright
#84 Spirit of the Laws by Charles de Secondat Baron de Montesquieu
#85 Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
#86 Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
#87 Metaphysics by Aristotle
#88 Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
#89 Institutes of the Christian Religion by Jean Calvin
#90 Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
#91 Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
#92 Sanctuary by William Faulkner
#93 As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
#94 Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
#95 Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
#96 Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
#97 General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud
#98 Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
#99 Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Alexander Brown
#100 Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
#101 Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest J. Gaines
#102 Emile Jean by Jacques Rousseau
#103 Nana by Emile Zola
#104 Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
#105 Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
#106 Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
#107 Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
#108 Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Peck
#109 Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark
#110 Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

A Better Day!

There needs to be an occasional Lily picture here!

Another storm this morning; the pattern seems to be a few rumbles at night and then the storm moved in with the early morning hours. It's still overcast but outside my window the fields are green, green, green! The shaggy forsythia in the side yard is just starting to get a few blooms and the yellow daffodils are full blown.

Yesterday was one of those days when everything goes wrong. Frustrating at the time but I can ignore it all today. Since I started out not feeling well, I didn't react well to small things. First I had a book order and couldn't find the box the book was in. That makes me wild! Spent over an hour looking for a book worth $2.50 and it just wasn't there. With all the moving of boxes for Dad's moving in and consolidating things to make space; I probably mixed two boxes. Then there were other minor annoyances; pens running out of ink, things falling because of clutter, cats prowling where they shouldn't. Finally I discovered that the telephone is out of order. Time to go to bed, then!

I worked on the web page a little, just to feel that I accomplished SOMETHING. And I started on the sideways portion of the chenille poncho. The pattern isn't very defined because of the variegated yarn. I think I will make it again in a solid color if this one turns out. I really like the stitch pattern and the chenille is SO soft!

My brother is going down Monday to pack my Dad's things and bring him back up on Tuesday. I still have the house to clean and my furniture to move upstairs into my "apartment". I'll have help on Monday so we should get it done. We also hope to get down to the health department Monday morning and find out what we have to do to get our store building started. Time is passing so fast!

Uninspired Day

Tired this morning after a fun time with friend Kym in town last night. Enjoyed the evening and Chinese food very much but with allergies I haven't been sleeping well. So I'm dragging this morning.

The weather looks dull and it's supposed to rain. Good day for house cleaning, not my favorite job. But I can cheer myself up thinking about possible new bunnies, like the ones pictured here from two of my favorite rabbits!