Month: July 2012

Creatures, large and small

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It all began when Tim took me out to the ball game. We went to a minor league game in Burlington and watched the Lake Monsters, the minor league team for the Oakland A’s, play. They played the Lowell Spinners! I looked hard for Spinner souvenirs but couldn’t find any.

I love minor league baseball. The game is fast and there are lots of diversions…and hot dogs. I haven’t had a hot dog since we joined the CSA and craved one. Their mascot is the Lake Champlain monster, Champy, who kept the kids entertained. I wasn’t scared one bit.

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I pulled my knitting out of the bag and set myself up to start knitting when a young boy behind me tapped me on the shoulder. I thought, oh my he’s a sweet Vermonter about to ask me about knitting. Instead he told me there was a grasshopper sitting on my head!

Later In the week, I took a trip to Albany. With a stowaway. A baby mouse had somehow gotten into my car and came along for the ride. It took me a full 12 hours, during which I slept eight of them, to find and remove it from my car. Then I had second thoughts because I had placed it on the asphalt parking lot and thought he’d never survive. So I caught it a second time and released it on a patch of grass. I was wary the whole way home because I kept expecting the rest of its family to show up. I scoured the engine and trunk but couldn’t find any others.

This spider was hanging around the house yesterday but I’m not sure where he is today.

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I can

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Well actually, I jar. Why isn’t it jarring? I made a batch of sour dill pickles, watermelon rind pickles and pickled beets.

The dill pickle recipe is from a book, The complete book of small batch preserving, which I think will be useful to help me preserve the farm produce. We generally pick up all we need for a week, but when the crop is in we can take more to preserve. I have been blanching and sealing some veggies but our freezer is pretty small and I will quickly fill it.

Our growing season is about two weeks later than downstate. In fact we just celebrated the 4th of July on Sunday.

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Fifteen minutes of stupendous fireworks seen up close. We heard the first blast at 9 and headed to town and had a front row seat. We came home to find Loki the cat cowering under a bed.

Catch of the day

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Not yet but I am ready. I found this vial of Muddler Minnows at a yard sale today.

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They are nice flies and look good enough to eat. I hope my local fish thinks so too. I am not sure Muddler Minnows attract trout but time will tell. I’m sure it has nothing to do with my fly casting.

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I came home and made a batch of watermelon pickles. These are one of my favorites and not available In stores here.

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These really look good enough to eat. Tomorrow I will can them and make a batch of dill pickles. We already tried a jar of strawberry jam and it was pretty tasty. I hope we can save some until the middle of winter.

Today I won a book from a knitting magazine, Knitcircus; saw a pink sunset

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And am heading out now to see fireworks. It’s an auspicious day. I missed all the other firework displays because the Fourth of July can no longer be celebrated on the 4th because overtime wages for support staff is too high. Instead it’s celebrated on the 3rd, 7th and 21st.

Just hanging around the house

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The critters and I spent the day close to home. We had much needed rain and thunderstorms so I headed to the cave and finished weaving my placemats. They are off the loom and drying now.

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During the height of the storm, the hummingbird feeder was the place to be.

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And even the grasshoppers sought cover.

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Of fish and fiber

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I spent the past couple of days holed up inside finishing a number of fiber projects. I completed a zipper baby cardigan which I just love.

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The Marble Chunky yarn by James Brett is beautiful and will be machine washable. I knit a garter stitch button band as I went and it was so easy to insert a zipper by machine.

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It has a seed stitch yoke so I didn’t mind back and forth knitting but otherwise knit a bottom up raglan as one piece. Then to top it off, I made care labels by computer, printed directly onto fabric with Jacquard inkjet Fabric sheets. . The only drawback is I have to set the ink before I sew it on and don’t have any Scotchguard on hand.

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A favorite little summer dress of mine deteriorated and I decided to make a copy. I roughed out the pattern pieces on an old sheet and stitched away. I am pretty happy with the finished product.

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I finished a set of rag placemats on my rigid heddle loom. I may have worked up the courage to approach my floor loom again.

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So this morning I went fishing and spent most of the time trying NOT to catch the little minnows that were attracted to my lure. Not the elusive trout though.

Speaking of placemats and water, I devised these for the boat. I used that rubbery non-skid shelf liner and bound it with upholstery fabric. Hopefully it will keep the dishes in place.

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Finally, my clothing sewing began this summer with this cute little wrap dress. The rayon fabric is pretty but not quite stretchy enough so I look fine standing still but can’t reach for things too well.

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Bing, bing, bing. That’s a typical week for me. What will it be today?

There’s a spouse in those hills

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The weather has been fabulous. Warm during the day and 40’s at night. It was so cool the other night, Shirley the cat was sitting in front of the fireplace longingly.

We’ve been sailing, entertaining and I have been sewing and knitting and working. Today I got to enjoy lunch with the ladies – in the mountains. Tim was hiking a few High Peaks on his own. See him on the far hill in the distance?

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Entertainment for the fish

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During my walk yesterday, I was amazed to spot brown trout in the river down the road from our house. I saw one large one followed by two smaller ones. That was it. I went into town and bought my annual fishing license.

I bought a license last year but never went fishing. Not once. But now I know where they live … And eat. I am motivated.

I dug up the old fishing rods, bought a few trout lures and headed down the road.

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Doesn’t this look enticing. Well it was but, apparently, only enough to amuse. Three, I say 3, trout followed it briefly but then swam away. I used the time to improve my casting and clamor around the rocks and river retrieving my hook from various snags. It was a beautiful day and a good time was had by all – me and the fish.

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I am prepared now. I put together a lure box, pliers, (probably should include a first aid kit), improvised creel, filet knife and gloves for the big catch. We returned in the evening and I had a chance to fly cast. Nice day, no fish.

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