Cabin Crafted

Author: Cabincrafted1

  • The Seasons Change

    Each day the trees are greener, the grass taller. When I first moved here, the last expected average frost day was around Mother’s Day, in the 19 years, it has drifted earlier and earlier and is now around April 25. About 3 weeks ago, I started some Nasturtiums, Zinnias, and Marigolds in the house to put in the deck pots. Though it is only hovering around 40 right now, I transplanted them into the pots and sowed some “Bee Nectary” mix seed in a few other pots. We had a 28f night last week, but it didn’t frost and the fruit trees did ok. There are no very cold nights expected in the next 10 days which almost puts us to the “magic” date. The Columbine is beginning to flower and the strawberries are growing.

    Yesterday, 80 herb, flower, and vegetable seed were planted in the grow lite starter trays. They will go out into the garden by the end of the first week of May.

    The asparagus didn’t like the 28f night, but more new shoots are coming up and there will be some to pick in a couple days. The peas, onions, and garlic did fine.

    Two years ago at Christmas, a friend gave me a wax covered Amaryllis bulb already about to bloom. When the bloom stalk was done, I removed the wax and planted the bulb in a pot and put it out on the deck for the summer. That fall, it was brought in to overwinter and around last March, it again produced a flower stalk, then leaves and again it went out to the deck for the summer. Last fall I brought it in and the leaves didn’t die back until late February, but soon after, the new flower stalks emerged. They are amazing as they grow about an inch a day constantly seeking the bright light of the French doors, so it gets rotated a couple times a day. The stalk is taller than it has gotten before and the bud just started opening last night.

    Soon there will be 3 or 4 trumpet shaped red flowers, this year for Easter instead of Christmas.

    If we have a night that threatens the newly transplanted flower starts on the deck, I will line the pots up against the French doors and cover them with a sheet or shower curtain to protect them.

    Later this spring, the front of the house is going to get my attention. Since we lost all but two of our Nandinas two winters ago, there are no shrubs or flowers across the North facing front. That bed will be weeded, planted, and mulched and two large pots placed on the stoop with flowers that can tolerate mostly shade

  • The Ranger Tree

    In the fall of 2023, our 12 year old English Mastiff named Ranger crossed the Rainbow Bridge. He was the best boy and his loss was very difficult for both hubby and me. We decided to memorialize him with an oak tree. The tree was a large one for a nursery tree, about 8′ tall in a 5 gallon pot. It was a challenge to get home, but accomplished by the aid of a friend and her pickup truck. The hole was dug, the tree planted and stabilizing ties added to three points. The tree turned fall colors and lost it leaves. Come spring, the tree put out new growth and we were grateful it seemed to be in good shape. Again, it lost it leaves and last winter, it began to look bent. I checked on it and about 15″ of it’s lower trunk about 3/4 of the way around, the bark had been rubbed off, I expect it was deer rubbing the velvet off of new antlers last spring and summer. I tried protecting the stem and straightening it late winter. The Ranger Tree couldn’t withstand that abuse and it died. A check yesterday, I realized it did not have any buds, and the young branches all the way up were brittle. We had selected an oak because it is a native tree. The nursery from which we had purchased it participates in “Throwing Shade Virginia,” a collaboration between the Virginia Department of Forestry and certain nurseries. If you purchased a native tree or shrub during March through May, you get a $25 discount. Today we went to see what was available and came home with a Northern Red Oak in a 2 gallon pot. It is only about 5.5′ tall, but full of new buds. Once home, the dead tree was dug out, the hole refreshed with new bagged soil and garden soil and The Ranger Tree II was planted. Not to have a repeat, the trunk was wrapped in an expanding spiral trunk wrap and a fence was erected about 3.5+ feet out from the newly planted tree.

    To the right of where this tree was planted are the trees showing their spring flowers and new foliage.

    And on the other side of the yard across the driveway, the beautiful yellow of the Forsythia. And the green of the lilacs.

    We have had some delightful warm spring days, the garden is nearly ready for the summer vegetable plantings. The fall garlic is about a foot high, the spring onions about half a foot, and the peas are up enough to see where some needed to be filled in. Yesterday, a handful of pea seed was soaked in warm water for several hours and the empty spaces filled with them. We have another near summer like day, then a flipflop in the weather going to drop us back to normal daytime temperatures in the upper 40’s to mid 50’s, but Tuesday night it going down to the mid 20’s. The plum tree has bloomed and the blossoms are done. The peach trees are just coming into their own and the Asian Pears might be near the end of bloom. The apple trees haven’t bloomed yet. I hope it doesn’t kill the chance of getting fruit this summer and fall. The fig hasn’t come out yet.

    An afternoon home alone yesterday allowed me to prune back the dead flower stalks from plants that leave a semi woody stem at the end of the season. They are always left in place for the insects to overwinter.

    Two garden beds still need a bit more soil, but there is a bed that the wooden box had mostly rotted away and the soil from it will be moved to the other two beds. The upper third of the garden without raised bed boxes is going to be planted with sweet corn, pie pumpkins, and sunflowers.

    The asparagus began showing up late last weekend and have been enjoyed for one meal so far. The garden won’t be quite as large this year and since I still have 1.5 gallons of pickled jalapenos, only two of them will be planted this year, the peppers to be pickled and canned. There is still a half gallon jar of dried ghost peppers, so they will be omitted this year. Maybe a couple of seranos for Sriracha sauce, and a couple of bell peppers will replace the extra jalapenos and ghost peppers.

    I’m not wasting garden space on potatoes this year as the yield has been too low for the space they take up. I might try a potato tower and see how that yield is compared to in the ground.

    It is wonderful to see the grass greening up, even though that means mowing weekly, and to see the garden taking shape for fresh vegetables.

    Until then, we will be satisfied with what is available from Saturday’s Farmer’s Market.

  • Current Politics

    Those who know me, know my political ideologies. I have long time friends who have different beliefs and that is life, not reason to cease being friends.

    I went into the past election with hope that the progress that has been made over my adult lifetime was good and safe. I lived a time when women had to wear dresses or skirts to work and school; had to have husband’s permission to make decisions about our female health and reproduction; could not get a loan or credit card without husband’s or father’s approval. Where my friends of different races not only couldn’t date and marry, but could be arrested for doing so. I remember segregation in schools. I could continue this list but you get the point. We saw positive changes in these issues and women in jobs other than clerical, nursing, teaching. Then it started deteriorating. People who were racist and bigots becoming vocal and encouraged by a leader who exhibited those same traits.

    When he as a convicted felon and convicted of falsifying business records in hush money payments to an adult film actress was reelected, I had hopes that at least the checks and balance system I was taught in 12th grade government class, the three branch system would at least temper his ability to become “King” (he said it himself) or a dictator and we would continue to live in a Democracy for the people and by the people. The Cabinet members were chosen not by qualification, but rather by fealty. If your opinion is different, you are fired, or banned from press conferences, or rounded up and deported.

    We are a country of immigrants. His family was, his wife is. The Statue of Liberty wears a poem by Emma Lazarus, welcoming the tired and poor seeking refuge in this great country. Instead, we are seeing an approach to remove anyone “different” than white Americans. Even the native Americans who were here first are having to carry documents to keep from being rounded up. Personally, I am horrified at what is going on.

    Horrified that health safety is being lead by a non scientist anti vaxer. Horrified that the EPA Director is a climate change denier. Horrified that Roe v Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court and women again have no autonomy over their bodies. Horrified that DEI is overturned and that we are returning to a point where you can’t serve our country in the military if you are trans or openly gay. That our National Parks are being gutted. And that the President is systematically making enemies of our neighboring countries and ally countries.

    Where and how will it end? How will it affect my children and grandchildren? I am old and may not see this deterioration of our democracy end. I just hope for the safety and security of family and friends who have medical issues requiring regular treatment, for family and friends who are trans or gay, for immigrants who have been forced from their homelands because of war, gangs, or poverty seeking shelter and a better life here that they stay safe.

  • Dear Neighbor:

    I don’t know you and you won’t see this. Even if you did, you wouldn’t change, or the behavior you exhibit wouldn’t happen. Remember this is a one lane gravel road with only 7 houses on it’s 8/10 mile length. It is a road that some of us like to walk for it’s hilly pastoral beauty.

    However, you seem to think that someone magic is cleaning up your plastic cups, bottles, cigarette packs, and cans. It isn’t someone magic, it is your neighbors who do care what our rural road looks like.

    You also seem to think this is a freeway and you have the right of way regardless when you speed up or down it at 45 mph around the bend in your sporty 2 wheel drive sedan, nearly hitting me as a pedestrian, almost causing a head on collision, or leaving those of us who have lived here for 20 or more years and proceed with caution, nowhere to get out of your way. Oh, and when the hilly road is covered with snow or ice and your 2 wheel drive sedan can’t get up it, abandoning it in front of a driveway for several days until it get’s towed by the State Police is more than inconsiderate.

    Sincerely,

    Your neighbor

  • Chores and Crafts

    Yes, I am a senior in the upper half of my 70’s, but I can still work when needed. We have a couple of days of thaw and temperatures in the mid 40’s and we have about 25 fireplace logs unsplit from dead Ash trees that our south neighbor took down when he was fencing along the south border between our farms. A lot of smaller branches were cut by him and stacked for us, but the logs were in 10 foot lengths. Our young hay guy, a great and helpful man, came to remove an oak blow down that was in one of the fields he hays. While he was here, he cut the Ash into fireplace lengths and stacked them where they had been laid. We have some brutal cold expected Monday through Wednesday or Thursday of next week with single digit daytime temperatures. To be prepared to assist the heat pump and hopefully just be a supplemental heat (as long as the power stays on), I tackled the stack today and managed to get about 6 of the logs split, hauled down to the house and stacked on the front porch. The rolling wood rack was filled with older wood from the wood stack and also moved to the porch. This was an additional workout as there is still snow and ice from the past couple weeks of nastiness which makes doing anything a bit of a hazard.

    This pile is about twice as large as when the photo was taken and the rolling wood rack is on the other side of the doorway.

    All of this effort was followed with a coop clean out. They spent about 10 days without ever even peeking outside. Every day has required carrying a 3 gallon bucket of water over to them and bringing the frozen one back to thaw. The coop is a few feet higher than the garage with a several foot dip between so it was trekking up the hill without slipping on the ice. As that is the east side of the house and the house blocks the hill in the afternoon, the ice lingered.

    The driveway is finally thawing and more ground and gravel is seen every day. With today’s slightly warmer temperatures and sunshine, the ice is becoming mud. Tomorrow evening we have rain then a couple inches of snow, but hopefully warm enough to not turn to ice.

    The cold icy weather has allowed a lot of crafting time. The December “Fibre Snack” scarf has been the primary knitting project and is now about 2/3 finished. The base color is running out, it is wheel spun and there is more unspun that I will have to tackle it soon to finish the scarf. It is going to be generous, warm, and colorful when finished as I have used the daily December snack in the order they were spun.

    It has gotten too large to take to hubby’s appointments, so it is an at home only project. Spindles and fiber travel to entertain me while I wait. And it often entertains many others in the waiting rooms as well.

    Tomorrow before the rain begins, more wood will be split and covered to keep it dry in case it is needed next week.

    Stay safe, stay warm. Take care.

  • Snow and Ice, Spinning and Knitting

    This week has been true winter. Night temperatures have been in the teens, day temperatures in the 20’s. We had a snow and ice event that turned our driveway into an ice slide. We had to get out one day during the first storm and drive to Roanoke, nearly an hour away, it took about twice that long. The cover was still snow at that point. Once down our mountain road, the roads were fairly clear, but there was heavy fog on the way there and snow on the way home. I attempted to walk up to the mailbox on Wednesday and ended up sitting in the snow and ice and eventually sliding down the hill seated to get back to the house without getting anywhere near the mailbox. Getting over to the chicken coop with water and scratch each day has been a challenge as it is an uphill walk with a 4 gallon bucket on ice. With effort, and driving half on the driveway, half in the grass, we were able to get out this morning for hubby’s PT and back home before today’s snowstorm began. It isn’t supposed to be quite as cold tonight and may actually get above freezing tomorrow and up to 40 on Sunday and Monday, so we may see some thawing. I hope. We won’t attempt to get out again until the sun comes out and the temperatures rises above freezing. Hopefully it will thaw before the next Arctic blast midweek.

    During the first 25 days of December, the Jenkins Spindle group participated in a fiber sample exchange. In October, 59 of us mailed 4 ounces each of a fiber of our choice to one of two “Elves” who spent a couple of days together dividing the fiber into 5 gram samples, packaging, labeling, and wrapping each sample. The 25 samples were then mailed back to us to be opened one each day on the day of the sample’s number.

    Each of the samples were spun on one of my Jenkin’s Turkish spindles then plyed on a spindle and skeined into a mini skein that I labeled with the sample label adding the day and yardage. After finishing the spin, I returned to the knitting of the Icelandic Nordic Star scarf that I was making with the yarn daughter and SIL brought me from their honeymoon in Iceland.

    When it was finished, I started knitting the scarf that uses the spun samples and a skein of handspun Shetland wool that I had on hand. I am on Day 8 of the samples, knitting them in the order they were spun, alternated with the gray Shetland. This is a fun project, using up the little skeins about 1 each day.

    We are looking forward to returning to more normal daily routines, getting back to my trainer for my health and flexibility, and hoping to see an end to the healing of hubby’s clavicle break. Spring outdoor walks are still a dream and wish.

  • Winter Hit Hard

    Fortunately it isn’t going to last long and has been dry except for snow flurries, often with the sun shining.

    We had a wedding and reception here last weekend with about 45 guests. The bride, groom, their sons, and her parents stayed here for 4 nights a few extra guests for dinner the night before and lunch the day after and it was cold, but not as cold as it became a couple of days later. We haven’t gotten up to freezing for several days and a few mid teens nights. It is supposed to temper back to more normal for this time of year weather for the next week.

    I have mentioned that the deer population seems to be extremely high this year and they must have figured out that they can’t get shot if they are on our farm.

    As I was preparing dinner a day or two ago, I looked down the hill to our lower hay field and there were at least 20 deer grazing down there. The hunting around here doesn’t seem to be reducing the impact. With chronic wasting disease and hemorrhagic disease in deer both spreading across Virginia, it will reduce the load, but will make it more dangerous to take the meat through hunting. So far there is no evidence that the prions from chronic wasting disease has or can be spread to humans, but if it does, it would produce the same type of brain deterioration that Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease does. Wisdom would require that deer taken for meat should be checked and if infected, not eaten.

    The monthly Jenkins challenge is two fold. Those of us who wanted to participate, sent 4 ounces of fiber to one of two “Elves” who spent a couple of days together preparing small 5 gram packages labelled with the first 25 days of December and returned them to the participants. Alternatively you could just spin for 15 minutes per day. I elected to participate in the Fibre Sample group and have enjoyed the surprise and pleasure of opening the little package each morning, spinning, plying, and skeining it into a mini skein. At the end of the month, I will need to find a plan for the 25 mini skeins of yarn from different breeds, different breeds, and a variety of colors.

    Along with the daily spinning, a couple of Christmas gifts are being made.

    This afternoon, Christmas cards were written and prepared to be mailed tomorrow. The house is finally decorated except for the tree which I still need to set up and decorate. Most of the gifts have been purchased or made, but a couple still are undecided. The ones that had to be mailed have been. Christmas is coming up too fast.

  • Whew, end in sight

    On November 28, hubby took a spill in the road where a pedestrian crosswalk sign had been run down and only the rubber base remained. This spill resulted in a 2 cm displaced clavicle fracture, very near the shoulder end. Eleven days later, he finally had surgery to implant a hook plate to pull everything back together. Today 4 weeks post surgery he was told to stop wearing the sling and begin gentle use and schedule 6 weeks of PT to restore strength and range of motion.

    The past 5 1/2 weeks have required sleeping in a recliner, eating most meals on a tray in the recliner, and having assistance to shower and dress, mostly in pull on workout pants and shoulder surgery snap up the sides and shoulder shirts. When the weather turned cold, we bought him two button up the front flannel shirts and worked gently and carefully to get it over the injured arm and shoulder before putting the good arm in the shirt.

    Today for the first time, he put on the fleece jacket over the flannel putting both arms in the jacket as we were leaving the surgeon’s office. This is good because our high of 44 was at 4:30 a.m. and the temperature has been in free fall every since, aiming for 17 degrees f tonight. Tonight, we will attempt getting him comfortable in our bed, another step in the healing process.

    Soon, we will begin walking laps in the mall to start building his stamina back. When he stumbled, he had just walked 5.5 miles and was feeling great.

    I immediately contacted the town and reported the sign issue, it had been missing for weeks, and the next day, it was replaced. As we haven’t been walking there since the accident, we don’t know if it is still there, however, it seems to disappear regularly.

    We are both grateful that healing is happening and progress is being made in regaining normal use of his arm. The only positive, was it wasn’t his dominant arm and hand.

  • Preparations for love and joy

    November 19-30 are days filled with birthdays, Thanksgiving, and a wedding. The birthdays begin on the 19th with our newest granddaughter by the marriage of daughter to her new hubby in October, this one leaves her teens and turned 20. She is followed by my stepmom, me, granddaughter, daughter.

    On Wednesday, eldest son (the groom), his bride, his son, her son, and her parents will arrive to stay with the us for the long weekend of celebration. Daughter will host Thanksgiving for 16, with contributions of help by son to spatchcock and season the turkey, me to provide some sides, relishes, and pies, and extra chairs.

    Friday we have a traditional Ukrainian pre wedding dinner for those staying here and a few other guests and meeting up with daughter to give her a birthday card. The wedding will be in our home on Saturday with a light meal reception following. Sunday will have a traditional Ukrainian post wedding lunch.

    Today, all guest beds have been made with fresh sheets, all floors swept and mopped. The cheeses and crackers for the cheese board were purchased. Other food purchases that I am providing will be made as the week goes by so they are still fresh when ready to serve.

    Tomorrow, cranberries will be cooked, no canned cranberry sauce here, a couple of pumpkin pies also prepared and cooked. The brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes will wait until Thursday morning after breakfast for all the houseguests is done.

    Such an exciting time. Then on to preparing for Christmas. Family tradition forbids me from decorating until after daughter’s birthday and this year, the wedding in the house. Next week, the bins of Christmas decorations will be hauled upstairs and the house will be festive for that holiday for a month.

  • Indulgence

    Almost two decades ago, I began my trip into the fiber world rabbit hole by taking a beginner drop spindle class. I was already a knitter and crocheter, though both of those now are secondary as they aggravate the osteoarthritis in my almost 8 decade old hands. The drop spindle fascinated me and making yarn was absolutely magical. Of course I quickly wanted a spinning wheel and have owned several over the past couple of decades including the antique great wheel in the header.

    Along the way, I discovered Turkish cross armed spindles and the rabbit hole deepened as they were so very portable and because of their construction, allow the spun wool cop to be removed without having to wind it off the shaft of the drop spindle. Several different makers spindles were tried until I discovered the Jenkins spindles and over the years, a number of them have entered my supply of tools. Several as gifts from my husband, my fiber indulger. He also buys me wool.

    During the shut in period of Covid, I returned to spinning mostly on the spindles, including a very inexpensive plain top whorl one that I use when I am at the museum doing living history for class groups. Spinning yarn on the spindles slowed my production down to a manageable level.

    Recently, while demonstrating at the Fall Festival, since I was outside on uneven ground, I spun almost entirely on the top whorl and realized when I got home with a spindle full of singles, that my yarn ball winder would wind it off the shaft quickly, making a ball I could ply from both ends or if I wanted to ply with a second strand, I could slip a toilet paper tube over the ball winder shaft and wind it on to that.

    There is a maker of very quality top whorl spindles, Golding, and I stumbled on one I loved. With a November birthday, my love purchased the spindle with it’s bright brass ring and brass heart on the whorl as a gift for me. The spindle came with a generous sample of wool blended with silk and I have had a glorious cold snowy day using it to spin the sample and then ply it using the two ends of the ball of singles.

    This morning, before devoting myself to the new spindle, I finished knitting a pair of fingerless mitts, and spun for a while on one of my Jenkins Turkish spindles. The basket with them in the picture is a spindle basket by Susan Preuss that was a generous gift from a friend a few years ago. It is perfect for holding a top whorl spindle and some wool, or tucking a small Turkish spindle inside with some wool.

    Today has been a quiet, peaceful day of crafting, and preparing a delicious, easy dinner of mushroom and butternut raviolis in sage and garlic browned butter. Topped off with the most decadent dark chocolate truffle cakelet that was gifted to me by another friend. A good day.