A cold afternoon
Fire crackles and warms the cat
inside – the wheel spins
I am no poet
Exercise in short writing
This is just a test
****************
Kold eftermiddag
Ild knitrer, varmer katten
indenfor Рrokken g̴r
Når man vil øve
sig i at skrive koncist –
Jeg leger poet
Winter indeed. Dog walk at sunrise.
SÃ¥ er vinteren skudt i gang, frost ved solopgang.
Neighbour’s lawn had an unauthorized visit by this Houdini pony. I was thinking just yesterday that we hadn’t seen him around for a while, he must have heard me!
Naboens græsplæne med besøg af udbryderkongen Buller som bor længere nede af vejen. Jeg tænkte så sent som i går da jeg passerede hans fold, at det var længe siden, han har nok hørt mig den lille bandit.
Eager to try drum carding my Dorset fleeces (with a bit of Suffolk mixed in, they had not been separated) I decided last weekend to make a final raid on the dye garden to make it more fun than just white (I do still have a bag of white from last year of what I think is Suffolk). I know I said I was done, but I got two more fleeces, didn’t I. Same sheep – this time I only kept the best bit, perhaps a third of what I was given rather than 2 thirds. I haven’t weighed it though.
And it turned out both the weld and the woad were still fine to use, green and fresh. I had dried some bundles of tansy hanging them from the stable ceiling – and left them there, so they are now covered in “dust” – mold spores. I decided to boil one bundle anyway and put some fleece in. Giving out colour just fine, but I’m chucking the other three bundles.
The last batch went in with some onion skins that were sitting on the kitchen counter anyway and a few cochineal sprinkles on one side, which oddly enough didn’t do much besides turn the water red.
I used rather a lot of fleece in the woad vat, so apart from the green that didn’t turn out too interesting. But I can always dye the yarn again, or, if we don’t have any frost, go look for more plants in a few weeks.
Earlier this year I handcarded the part of the fleeces that I had acid dyed, and it took me FOREVER. My test bat on the drum carder last week took no time at all, no effort, no tired hands – so I’m very optimistic I can get spinnable fiber relatively easy. I’ll first card each shade on its own to straighten it out a bit, then I may blend.
Jeg har jo længe gerne ville karte alle mine gratishamme, som jeg har plantefarvet gennem de sidste par år i bundter, både fordi de fylder ret meget og fordi det er en stor opgave når de er så fyldt med fnidder og knuder. Og så sagde jeg ja til to hamme mere i år, dog blev de sorteret med ret kræsen hånd.
Det sidste uld ville jeg ogsÃ¥ lige have farvet, sÃ¥ det er lidt sjovere at arbejde med, sÃ¥ en tur i haven og hente bÃ¥de vaid og vau, som stÃ¥r fine, friske og grønne endnu. Jeg havde hængt bundter af rejnfan under staldloftet til tørring – og derefter ladet dem hænge sÃ¥ de nu i det fugtige vejr er blevet helt dækket af et fint lag støv, eller rettere mugsporer. Jeg proppede det ende bundt i en gryde, og det farver fint, men de andre ryger ud. Og en bunke uld røg i en gryde med gÃ¥rsdagens løgskaller.
Jeg fik proppet lige lidt rigeligt i gryden med vaid, sÃ¥ bortset fra de grønne nuancer blev det lidt kedeligt – men enten kan jeg jo overfarve garnet eller ogsÃ¥ venter jeg med at karte den bunke og ser om det evt. holder frostfrit en mÃ¥neds tid endnu og mÃ¥ske jeg kan finde flere planter? Ellers har jeg faktisk en spandfuld blÃ¥ farve stÃ¥ende fra sidst.
Tidligere på året håndkartede jeg jo den del af hammene som jeg havde pulverfarvet, og det tog en evighed. Men det testbat jeg kartede på maskine sidste uge gik som en leg, så håber på jeg kan få de her kødfår i hæderlig stand rimelig nemt og hurtigt. Jeg tror jeg først karter hver nuance for sig og så kan jeg blande i anden omgang.
Absolutely not the worst one in the history of mankind, but probably the one that did most damage in our 11 years here.
Riding ring fence broken. My little greenhouse was torn to pieces. Roof damage to the barn (flying tiles) and for myself a mangled right thumb. My stupid horses who were calm as can be in the pasture, but too fat to remain there all evening (as well as too near the disintegrating rooftop), decided to freak when I wanted to approach them in the paddock to come inside for hay – ground slippery as soap and down I went, thumb first…. Typing feels very odd without it, am constantly reminded to lift my cup with the other hand, and well, apple sauce, forget it, I can’t peel anything. Knitting? No way. Same goes for writing and drawing. I guess an overstretched ligament. Bummer. I iced it all evening, but it’s still quite swollen today.
I haven’t tried spinning, my left is my forward hand, but I think I probably handle the fiber more than I know with my right. Think I need 2 thumbs for teasing clumps of fleece for carding too? Perhaps I could pick up my lefthanded writing again which I practised when I broke my wrist 5 years ago. Just for laughs.
Guess I better visit the library…
Everyone else ok out there?
Så blev det lille blæsevejr overstået med flyvende tagsten, væltet ridebanehegn, krøllet drivhus og en forstuvet tommelfinger.
De tÃ¥belige ponyer syntes det var en meget farlig ide at skulle ind i stalden (i ly for de flyvende tagsten) og folden var som sæbe, sÃ¥ jeg fik lige trukket tæppet væk under fødderne og landede med højre tommel “brækket” bagover.
Strikke, skrælle æbler til det der mos jeg har truet med, tegne, skrive, glem det, jeg kan ikke engang holde på en tom kaffekop og påklædning foregår temmelig kreativt.
Det ligner vist en tur pÃ¥ biblioteket…
Jeg håber alle derude i det danske land er intakte både indendørs og udendørs?
I didn’t think I’d be making more monthly garden posts this year, perhaps a winter gallery. But who can resist leaves like these?
