Cabin Crafted

Tag: life

  • Olio – May 31, 2026

    Olio: a miscellaneous collection of things

    The month is drawing to a close. It has been a good month, with a trip to see youngest son and family, a month long spinning challenge, a very heavy work day with local grandson making headway on cleaning up parts of the property, walks and wildlife, seeing more production from the pullets, some social time, some living history, and not enough gardening.

    We often see snakes, turtles, or today, a lizard on the paved trail. The morning was cool enough that it was warming on the dark pavement, and yet delightful for a brisk walk.

    We saw our first fawn of the season this week, crossing our gravel road into the woods. Tiny little one that quickly tucked itself between Mom’s back legs as we were approaching.

    Yesterday on my way to an annual spring spin in at a friend’s house, I saw another with it’s Mom in route, then yet another on our gravel road on my way home. The spin in is always enjoyable, the weather was a delight and the potluck ended up mostly salads, many Mediterrean in flavor. A good friend who I see only at this event and at an Arts and Fiber retreat once a year as she and her husband live a state away, gifted me a tiny spindle made by my favorite spindle maker, Ed Jenkins. Most of my spindles are on the smaller size, but this one is really tiny. Seen next to a US quarter for reference. Much to my surprise, it spins for an amazingly long time once a little fiber is added.

    For the spinning challenge, all done on Jenkin’s spindles, I spun 165 g of wool. Other spinning was done during the month on other types of spindles, some at living history groups at the museum, some on my own at home as I work toward enough to finish the other 3/4 of the blanket in progress. So in total, I probably spun about half a pound of wool this month. And I started lessons for one of my friends and fellow living history re-enactors. This month, I won’t participate in the challenge and there are no scheduled groups other than the weekly session with the local spinning group. I will likely meet up with my friend again for another lesson for her.

    The garden is growing, the raised beds are doing well and have been weeded a couple of times, but I never did get the rest of the garden set for corn and pumpkins, nor have I gotten the blueberry bed weeded. We did get almost a week of rain toward the end of the month.

    The pullets, I think are now all laying. The most I have gotten on any one day was today and there were 7 eggs (9 pullets). The Marans that I didn’t think had started, have given me 4 eggs in the past couple days and two of them today, so I know they are both laying. As I don’t know for sure what color the Mystic Onyx breed lays. The web says light brown and there are 3 Buff Orpingtons that also lay light brown. I did get 3 light brown eggs in the mix today, so at least 3 of the 5 light brown layers are providing.

    As they get the hang of production, we sometimes get an oddball one. This one on the left when cracked open, had 3+ yolks. The one on the right is a normal sized pullet egg.

    I have gotten doubles before, especially when they are young and soon after starting to lay again after molt, but three is a record for here.

    After our walk, a few quick stops, we managed to get the yard mowed, partly edged, and the fence around the young oak planted on our pup’s grave reinforced. It is now time to let the day fade, spin a little more, or maybe knit a few rows, and look forward to a new month beginning tomorrow with new adventures.

  • Home Routine

    Last weekend we travelled across the state to visit our younger son, his wife, and the grandkiddos. We got to see their little homestead and their business location that we hadn’t seen since they relocated to the larger spaces.

    We also had the opportunity to see their second oldest daughter perform with the Virginia Children’s Choir in a Saturday afternoon concert.

    The trip was fun, though the traffic in the region we lived in until 20 years ago is crazy.

    After sharing breakfast with them at their home, we headed back to the mountains in time to visit with and go out to dinner with daughter and her family for Mother’s Day for the two of us. I came home with flowers from those two families and a very generous donation in my honor to the New River Conservancy Organization from eldest son’s family.

    We got home tired, but happy.

    It rained yesterday morning, and we realized that the grass was going to become impossible to mow if we didn’t get it done, but it didn’t dry off enough yesterday to make that happen. After today’s walk and errands, working together, we got the lawn and orchard cut back to a managable level, but ran out of weed trimmer line, so that didn’t get finished. Tomorrow is cooler and rainy again, but we can at least stop and purchase the line so that part of the job can be completed once it dries out again.

    May’s Jenkins spindle challenge is a fun competition to see which style spindles (divided into two randon groups) can spin the most in a month. I finished up some fiber I had been working on with my newest spindle and some fiber I want to use to knit the second quadrant of a queen sized blanket with my smallest spindle, and now finishing that fiber with my lightest spindle.

    Today’s mail brought some black Shetland wool that will be the borders of the remaining three quadrants of the blanket. Black Shetland was used on the first quadrant.

    The pots seeded with mixed flowers are sprouted and growing nicely, the peas, spinach, and lettuce in the garden also. The tomatoes and peppers that were transplanted just before we left seem to be thriving as well. Spring is definitely here even with with 50’s daytime temps off and on and upper 40’s nighttime temps. Over the weekend, three of the pullets layed their first egg. I think one more may have layed a wind egg (an egg with no shell) as there was a yolky sticky spot in a nesting box. Soon we will have daily egg supply again, and enough to take to daughter’s house each week.

    There is only one more grade level group coming to the museum. This Friday, we will again host 2nd graders, then schools in this region will adjourn on May 29 for the summer. I will miss that opportunity during the summer.

    Have a safe week.

  • Cha-cha-changes

    This past weekend we had the opportunity to drive 275+ miles north and east in the state to visit one of our son’s and his family. Never have I traveled across the state and seen snow/ice everywhere. Twice we again drove through snow falling and traffic throwing salty, muddy splatter up on the windshield and rear window making visibility difficult.

    Our son’s family’s apartment is across the street from the hotel where we stay and with temperatures in the teens and up to 60 mph wind gusts outdoor walking was brutal. Then on Saturday we went to a play in the city about 10 blocks from where we could get off the Metro and it was bitter and windy . Sunday was still only in the teens and windy but not quite as brutal. The snow showers we experienced on the way there had stopped and the sky cleared on Sunday. We got home to find another 4 inches had fallen here and there were some deep spots in the path that had been plowed out on Thursday night.

    The plowed driveway that finally allowed us to drive to the garage and get back out.

    The new snow didn’t hamper that fortunately, and yesterday we started a warm up, thaw, and clearing finally after about 3 weeks of ice, snow, and temperatures never reaching 32f. Today, we reached a high of 57 f and we were able to take our daily walk outdoors, though the rails to trails path was only plowed to about half it’s width. It was wonderful to get outside in only a light jacket and enjoy the sunshine and mild temperature.

    I am still sore from my fall on the ice a week ago, but am managing daily chores and our walk as long as I don’t lift anything too heavy.

    With the more temperate week ahead, the chicks purchased in early January and now fully feathered, too large for the 45 gallon stock tank they were occupying in the basement, were moved to the empty coop. A bale and a half of pine shavings were added to it as it had been cleaned out in November when the adults were gone. A 5 gallon waterer and a 15 pound feeder were placed in before we moved the teenager chicks. They haven’t had heat on them for several days other than basement heat.

    Here they were at about 1 1/2-2 weeks old before they outgrew the smaller crate and were moved to the stock tank. Having them in the basement for almost 6 weeks, they have created an amazing amount of dust. After we moved them and removed the stock tank, I did do a surface dusting, but will go down tomorrow and do a more thorough cleaning and try to get the floor clean. This batch of birds will be the last ones I raise for eggs. It is getting too difficult to move 50 pound sacks of feed and hauling a 5 gallon water container to keep them fed and hydrated.

    After they spend a week or two in the coop to learn that it is home, they will be allowed into the covered pen on hay for another week or two, then allowed into the covered run around the garden, hopefully to keep the bug and weed load down in the garden.

    A box of supplies for the hydroponic herb garden was finally delivered today. UPS has been trying to deliver it for 2 1/2 weeks, but unable to get down our icy road. It will be nice having fresh herbs again once they germinate and get some size on them. Once spring arrives and they can go out to the half barrel on the patio, more will be sown and before next winter, the hydroponic will be started again for fall and winter use. I was too late this year getting the baskets and sponges to start it in the fall.

    I know winter isn’t over, but hopefully the artic temperatures have passed and more seasonable winter temperatures will prevail. There will be more wintry precipitation I’m sure, but inches of snow topped with ice then more snow creating 30 acres of glacier hopefully is gone. For the first time in weeks, we can see some grass peeking through the snow in the back field and gravel on the driveway. This has certainly not been typical.

  • Did I go to sleep in Virginia

    And wake up in Maine? The storm for which all the preparations were made ended up about 4 inches of snow and 6 inches of sleet. We never got the freezing rain, thank goodness, and our power never went out. However, the highest temperature we have had in a couple of weeks is in the upper teens and most nights in low single digits. With those temperatures, the ice wasn’t melting. Late in the week, we got the AWD SUV to the top of the driveway and out for more supplies. To get to and from the car, 2/10 mile away, we have to don ice cleats on our shoes to prevent falling on the ice.

    To make life more interesting for our senior souls, on Friday, we had another storm and about 6″ of dry blowing snow dumped on the ice. This morning, we managed to trod up to the car through the drifts and get out once again. Though once at the car and the snow brushed off, the cleats removed in the vehicle, I foolishly got back out without thinking and slipped to a sitting position by the driver’s door. No injury, just embarrassment at being foolish. We have had animal care duty for the past few days and needed to go check on them, thaw water bowls, feed the indoor critters, and purchase feed for my chicks and bird feeders. We got a short mall walk in while we were out, and parked the car again at the top of the driveway, hauling 90 pounds of feed down to the house on a plastic tobaggan that we had stashed in the back. The high today is 20, last night it went down to 5 and is expected to do so again tonight. The wind is howling and blowing the dry snow into drifts. Because of the wind and the fear of losing power, the woodstove has been burning for most of a week now. It heats the basement up to about 75 degrees and some of that heat rises to the first floor bringing it up to about 70. The upstairs is the 68 that the thermostat is set on. We finally have a couple days in the near future where it is going to get above freezing, but also three days of snow or snow mixed with rain, expected in the next 6 days.

    This is not typical Virginia winter and if the groundhog came out today, he would definitely see his shadow and 6 more weeks of winter (like there won’t be anyway by the calendar.)

  • Preparations

    Preparations

    We are in one of the eastern states that is in the path of the winter storm marching across the south. Far enough north that we will get snow followed by freezing rain. This morning’s prediction is 8 to 12 inches of snow followed by .25+ inches of ice. This is enough to cause power outages in our rural area where most of the above ground transmission lines run through wooded areas. An ice storm a number of years ago, took our power for 6 days and without power, we are also without water and our stove is electric. At that time we had two dogs and couldn’t just leave them to go to a hotel once the roads were clear enough to get out. We live about a half mile from a paved road, all uphill. This snow and ice event is supposed to be followed by a series of days where we will see single digit to very low double digit temperatures and even some negative temperatures at night, so melt off anytime soon is remote at best.

    We have a small tractor with a blade, but it won’t handle a foot of snow for plowing the driveway. Beginning about three days ago, every time we drove by the grocery store, the large parking lot was packed and since I didn’t do any canning this past summer, there was little on the pantry shelves that could be quick cooked. We generally shop on Fridays because we get 4 times gas points and braved the mobs of hoarders. It is fascinating to see the “bread and milk” buyers. If the power goes out, the milk will spoil. We picked up some produce that doesn’t require refrigeration, a few cans of soup, a couple packs of quick rice, and a couple packets of chicken. Once home, prep was done here. With a fireplace in the living room and a wood stove in the basement, we can keep the house from freezing. I filled a couple food safe 5 gallon buckets with drinking water and the downstairs bathtub for toilet flushing and dish washing. There was a load of wood in the garage and another in the basement, but I hauled 5 wheelbarrows of wood to the covered front porch, right by the door. Cleared a spot for the camping stove in the garage, located my backpacking alcohol stove that will boil water or heat soup, and the camp pots, so if necessary, we can eat. The three solar lanterns were put in the sun to charge up and the power block is also being charged up.

    Since the freezer has sausages in it, we bought a couple long forks for cooking them on the fire, and a package of buns.

    The hope is, since we are prepared, we won’t lose power, but if we do and can’t get out in the car, we won’t dehydrate or starve to death. Hmm, think I better go grind some coffee beans too.

    Here’s hoping it was all unnecessary preparation, but rather be safe than sorry.