It's All About the Garden

Belated Happy 4th of July (from Eunice and me)

It has been a wonderful week, with great friends dropping by, lots of spinning to do, big projects nearing completion and a little time on the road for a change. At last I have my car back, after it spent a couple of months helping out the SO because his vehicles were all terminal!

The fruits (or, rather, vegetables) of labor

I've spent a good many satisfying hours out in the little garden this past week or so and loved every minute of it. If I had to chose between spinning and gardening....well... Have I fooled you with the picture of the lovely squash, cukes and peppers? This is the mountain, remember, and we had a heavy frost on May 17 this year. So my garden really looks like this....

Time in a garden....

We do have some lovely heirloom tomato plants, and there are little tomatoes on almost all of them. All green so far. I planted broccoli and brussel sprouts before we went on vacation and they're showing signs of growing now, after I weeded and weeded the rows. June is not a good time for a gardener to go on vacation. My only harvest, though, is some lovely lettuce from the two different types I planted and I've been living on salads for a couple of weeks. On Wednesday I weeded and weeded, mulched and mulched, and planted half-runner beans, sweet corn and a row of marigolds. I also lugged some big pots out to the garden and planted nasturtiums and marigolds in them.

Keeping company by the garden

It was such a love day. I brought Lily out to stay with me while I worked, and she settled down under the big spruce tree to watch. Frequent breaks sitting with her and reading with a glass of iced sweet tea made the day even more pleasant. The breezes were lovely and made working out in the garden a pleasure.

Pea blossoms

We put some little fences up for the peas and there are a few little pods growing along with the blooms. So it won't be long until we have some peas. The rows are quite short so I may have to save them up over the summer for one meal!

Crisp garden lettuce

The cool breezes and wetter weather have been great for my lettuce and I almost hate to pick the pretty leaves. So not going to let it waste, though, if I can help it. The big pot belonged to my grandmother, my father's mother, and I set it up on a big concrete block. Every garden needs a focal point, huh?

Greenberry House at the farmer's market

And the lovely squash and stuff in the picture above? The product of a real farmer's labor, Wayne Kirkpatrick in Stuart. "Below the mountain" the season starts a good bit earlier than it does in Meadows of Dan. I went down early on Friday morning to participate in the Patrick County Farmers Market, which is open every Friday morning during the season. I was there before seven but farmers were already setting up and customers were coming in very soon after.


Mary Jo and Charlie Leet

This week's market was something of a special event, and several farmers and artisans were set up, along with some fantastic musicians. It made for a lovely start to a busy weekend. There were more beautiful vegetables than I can post pictures of here, but more are in my Flickr album.

Daylily at Farmers Market

One thing I loved about the farmers market was that some things were food for the soul as well as to nurture the body. Several farmers had cut flowers for sale and there were daylily plants available as well. Just looking at all of the beautiful products was a pleasure...every piece seemed polished and buffed for display with care.

I bought red potatoes, some lovely small squash, some beautiful purple onions and some tiny black potatoes as an experiment to saute in olive oil and garlic. And lovely Mary Jo gave me an ENORMOUS bag of green beans, Blue Lake, that I'll eat fresh and also freeze the rest.

Speaking of markets, it looks as though the Crafts in the Meadows festival was a great success yesterday. It has been raining all day today (good for the garden but not great for festival vendors) so I'm not sure how they are fareing. It has been pretty busy at the shop today so hopefully the crafters and authors are getting visitors. Last night we enjoyed fireworks and music at Christopher's Pizza, just down the road. The next big festival here in Meadows of Dan is the Folk Fair, on August 8. Sounds like some good things are planned!

Back home in the Blue Ridge Mountains

Tired and glad to be home

We had such a lovely time, but it was great to get back home, however grubby, and have the dogs and cats be so happy to see us. I always miss my girl Lily especially, and every time I see a dog when we're away from home I have to talk to it and see if it looks like her. I even missed TJ a little when I was walking in Colorado!

First harvest...fresh lettuce!

I came back to a pile of Dad's dirty dishes, laundry and lots of weeds, of course. Could have been worse, of course. And work, which I'm still catching up on. The weeding was kind of fun, really, and I uncovered broccoli, a few Brussels sprouts plants that we had seeded before we left, and some nice lettuce. I've been eating lots of salad this week! There are little tomatoes on the plants and I staked the largest ones this week.

Getting crowded in there....

While we were gone the baby barn swallows in the nest on the Greenberry House shop porch grew and grew. Mom and Dad have been trying to get them out of the nest all day today, but the babies are stubbornly clinging to home. I've been watching them stretch their wings and then hunker back down, while the adults call enticingly from the yarn drying swing. They keep looking down like they're thinking "you've got to be kidding! What do you think, I can fly or something?"

Border Leicester wool yarn

I've spent most of the week catching up on work. It's amazing how much can pile up during ten days away! Before I left I had a huge dye day and got lots of yarn and some roving done. This week I spun up some of the Texel roving I dyed into yarn, and reskeined some dyed Border Leiecester cross brown yarn that I had overdyed with acid dyes in red. Now I'm spinning some gorgeous Corriedale I bought at SAFF a couple of years ago from Rising Meadow Farm. Hand carding it because the colors are so nice in this variegated fleece and really loving the process!


Wrecked truck in the mountain on Route 58

I've been without a car (except for on the trip) for the last eight weeks because the SO has been battling serious problems with his trucks. I had been putting aside commitment after commitment because of lack of transportation, but this week I just had to get things done. Which meant some serious running around. Normally I don't leave Meadows of Dan more than once every couple of weeks, but this week I've been to Stuart four days in a row. Got a lot accomplished, though, and we're nearly through with the brochure for Patrick County's Community trail with 'Round the Mountain, the Southwest Virginia Artisans' Guild. I also proofread the Tourism Advisory Council's other big project, which is a hospitality book to be used to help tourists find the great things available in Patrick County.

On the way down the mountain yesterday I saw this accident. Didn't hear any details so I hope the driver was OK. It caused one of our rare traffic jams in Patrick County, though. I always bring crocheting, just in case, and was fine with sitting in the sun for a few minutes!

Crocheted Cotton Shawl

Another finished object. I spent most of the trip crocheting this piece, meant for a local consignment crafts shop. Haven't gotten quite ready to send it away, though! The yarn was a cone of cotton bobbly yarn and I really like how soft the shawl turned out. Nice for summer!

A Few Last Thoughts About Estes Park

River through Estes Park

The town was lovely and the people were so friendly. I did get a chance to visit a yarn shop, called The Stitchin' Den, in a lovely space just off the main street of shops. Showed it to Cathy and Mike, who had never been there and were very much impressed. I had sort of met Susan, the president, on-line at Ravelry and she was so gracious. When I first went in it was quiet and I bought three skeins of yarn which I'll be adding to my Ravelry stash soon. When I went back with Cathy and Mike the place was packed!

Knitting by the river

This area is a destination for tourists, of course, because of the beauty of the mountains, the parks, the hiking trails, and all the shops. There is so much space, though, that it rarely felt crowded to me.

At Lily Lake

It's hard to convey how beautiful these mountains are, and how the town seems to be surrounded by them. I took so many pictures, and they just don't capture the real beauty. Maybe it's the heights, the starkness, the color, or just the wide skies that make it so different there in Colorado.

Tiny Purple Flowers

And not all the beauty was on a grand scale. The whirl of a hummingbird's wings, darting chipmunks, tiny purple, blue and white flowers, a swirl of water in a quiet spot of the river, the whisper of a breeze in a pine tree, the sight of the sun on a dancing limb of pale gray leaves...so much to move, to rest the eyes, to relax.

Chapel on the Rock

And not everything beautiful was created by nature, although the natural setting certainly made those created by man more beautiful. This is a chapel at a Catholic retreat center several miles from Estes Park. Coming across it so deep in the mountains is an astonishing experience. The first time I saw it eight years ago there was no one around and I had no idea of the story. This time there were several tourists but everyone was so quiet, and so respectful. I was able to sit alone in the chapel for a little while. The stone walls create a deep and spiritual silence.

At the Estes Park Wool Market

Estes Park Wool Market

I'm not sure pictures, or words either for that matter, can give an idea of what a beautiful place this festival graces. The town of Estes Park is tucked up in the towering Rocky Mountains, and the fairground is within sight of the historic Stanley Hotel. Everywhere you look there is a wonderful view, and the highest mountains are snow-capped, even in June!

Young Yaks

Many things were different at this festival. I had never seen yaks before....

Suri Alpaca

and I had never seen a Suri Alpaca, although I have some lovely suri here from Mary Martin's farm in Bluefield, Virginia. This little guy made me realize why Mary's fiber is so lovely and soft! He was quite friendly, too.

Maybe a Wesleydale?

There were several breeds of sheep I wasn't very familiar with, but like an idiot I didn't get any pictures of them. I think this glorious creature is a Wesleydale, with a wool I have spun before. There were lots of lovely alpaca and pygora goats, lots of beautiful alpacas and llamas, and even a few angora rabbits!

Wool Market Vendors

This part of the show will look a bit familar to veteran festival goers, with lots of lovely yarn, tools and fiber. There were some different breeds of wool here, though, that I wasn't familiar with. I fell in love with a California Variegated Mutant (yeah, I know) fleece from Durakai Sheep and Fiber Arts. Left it sitting for a bit while I walked around but had to go back and buy it. Several people mentioned to me that they had considered that very fleece themselves. I also love the wool from Gleason's Fine Woolies Bond and Corriedale sheep. Just couldn't buy everything I wanted, though, so I had to pass this one up. But if you get a chance at least have a good look at their stuff...it's lovely!

Yarn and wool and color, oh my!

I recognized the names of a few vendors just from cruising around on the Internet, but most of them were quite new to me. That made things very exciting. We ran into Cathy and Mike, with their friend Barbara who has been getting all the wonderful curtains that Cathy has been making lately. Because Ron was along and I didn't want to bore him, we didn't hang around for all the activities. Cathy wrote about some great things that happened at the show during the weekend.

And of course I bought stuff:

Fleece and roving, oh my!

Sorry for the poor shot...it was raining when we got home and wicked dark in the house. When I start working with it all I should get better pictures. The fleece is the aforementioned CVM. When I got home I discovered that Spin-Off had done an article about this wool in the latest issue. So when I tackle the fleece, which will be soon, I should have some idea of what to do with it.

Another purchase was some California Red roving that I bought to spin on the delightful little spindle that Mike made for me. The vendor was Skein Train, and I had an interesting talk with her about another festival, in November, that she is involved with and promoting. So far I've spun an ounce or so of the roving and really like it.

I bought four ounces of a lovely variegated Teeswater/Cotswold cross roving from Black Hills Woolies, and just realized that I somehow didn't manage to get a picture of it! Hope I managed to get home with the ball! I was fascinated by the "cheeky" batt created by Fire Ant Ranch out of Black Welsh and Gulf Coast wool. Looking forward to seeing how that spins as well.

One thing that is the same, seems like, no matter where you go, and that is that fiber folk are special. Friendly, sharing and interesting...even though all the vendors were busy they took the time to talk about their enthusiasm for the festival and for their wools, animals and yarns. The Estes Park Wool Market was a great experience for me, and well worth the long trip!

Adventure!

Gateway Arch, St. Louis, Missouri

I often think I would like to put aside the many obligations of dogs, cats, rabbits, shop, spinning wheel and garden and just travel around this wonderful country. But then I realize just how attached I am to home and creatures and I come to my senses. But for a change a little travel is nice!

First glimpse of Rocky Mountains, east of Denver

So we took off on a road trip, with the excuse of the Estes Park Wool Market as a destination. Actually, we both just needed some time off. Thanks to Linda and Susan I was able to leave the shop, and dear Kym and Laveta and Diane all looked after the different animals. Good folks around here!

As usual, we got a late start on Monday, because Ron had to work later than he had hoped. By the time we got the car emptied out of his work stuff and the dogs to their different places to stay, then packed, it was after 4 before we headed out. We made it as far as Charleston, West Virginia, before deciding to stay the night. We headed out early the next morning, driving across Kentucky looking for horses and horse farms, then into new territory for me across Indiana and Illinois. I would love to dye yarns in some of the colors I saw...bright greens and rich earth tones that were almost moorit. We stopped in Lawrence, Kansas, for the night and treated outselves to a salad dinner. In Charleston I was able to get the laptop to work for a little while, then it went on strike across the rest of the country!

It was foggy across Kansas, so I didn't see much on the way out. I know several people through Twitter, Facebook, and so on through this part of the country, but without the laptop it was hard to get in touch. And there's just never enough time to do everything I want to do, is there? I even have an old school friend that lives in Kansas now.

Climbing the mountain toward Estes Park

We were getting a little tired after three days on the road and glad to see the Castle Mountain Lodge when we got into town. We had dinner at Nicky's, following the path by the lovely Falling River and surrounded by mountains.


Cathy and Me

One of the main things I was looking forward to on the trip was finally meeting in person Cathy of Catena Expressions. If you're not familar with Cathy and her wonderful original crochet designs and beautiful descriptions and photographs of her part of the world, get on over and have a look. I'll wait.

An unexpected bonus was meeting Mike, Cathy's husband, who is a talented photographer and woodworker. We met for lunch at the Grubstake in Estes Park, and I can certainly recommend the Henrietta sandwich! There wasn't an awkward moment in visiting with these people I had never met in person. They are so interested in so many different things and ideas that there was something to chat about every minute.

As you can see by the photo above, Cathy brought me flowers, beautiful peonies from her garden at home. We brought them all the way back to Virginia, and they're still beautiful on my kitchen table right now.

Handmade Mike Clark Original Spindle

This picture didn't turn out well, but I was thrilled on Saturday when Mike presented me with this lovely spindle he made from a lovely piece of soft orange agate. I'm not a very good spindle spinner, but with this one I've been making beautiful fine singles from the California Red roving I bought at the Wool Market especially to spin with this spindle. It's beautifully balanced and spins like a dream!

More about the Wool Market and our visit to Estes Park in my next post. There are a lot of pictures in this photo set on Flickr.

We Did It!

The garden, at last!

Somehow, between rain showers, we managed to get all the seeds and the tomato plants into the ground.  Some of the peas are up, the tomatoes look pretty good despite the wet and we planted broccoli, brussel sprouts and two hills of watermelon.  Planning to get lots of other veggies from Mountain Meadow Farm and Craft Market through the season.

Other than gardening it has been a busy week, despite the rain.  I sheared one of my favorite rabbits, Blueberry Belle.  Belle is the doe in my mom's lap in the picture on this page of the web site.  I also sheared Jack, a nice chocolate buck, also featured on this web page.  Did some necessary cleaning down in the bunny house as well, all before the rains came again.

Imprinting

Speaking of birds, the barn swallows are back on the front porch at Greenberry House again.  Mom looks to be sitting on her eggs, although I can't be sure.  She isn't leaving the nest very much.  Down in the barn there's another nest, and I noticed little heads peeking at me over the side this morning during rabbit feeding time.

During the wet weather I've been inside most of the time, and spinning and knitting.  I don't have pictures of the spinning projects but I finished seven or eight skeins of a brown Border Leicester fleece that has been here for a little while.  The yarn turned out lovely, but I'm still thinking I may over dye it for a variegated effect.  That has proved popular with the customers.  I just started a bobbin of hand dyed red Texel and I'm enjoying the way it is spinning up.

Knitting on a pillow

Last night at Stitching group I made a lot of progress on this project, while I had a great visit with Candy.  I'm hoping to finish this while we're on the way to and from Colorado.  Great time to knit, imprisoned in the front seat of a car!  

Yesterday I had to take the dogs to the vet and it was the usual adventure.  TJ is an angel at home, getting much better at behaving when we're walking together, but is an absolute lunatic in the car.  He seems deliriously happy, but I'm not really sure what's going on in his head.  He barks and whines the whole way with a huge smile on his face and his tail wagging frantically.  Not much fun as a companion on even a short trip.  We managed, though, and on the way home he sat up front with Lily and was a bit quieter.  She didn't love having him there, though.

We got the full set of shots for the dogs because we're going to have to board them while we're away.  I'm groaning with the expense of it all.  I know the cost has more than doubled for regular shots over the past couple of years (although having to change vets may be part of the reason for that).  I adore the dogs and don't really mind the expense, but in the back of my mind is the fact that a lot of people don't feel that way.  I'm afraid that there will be still more abandoned animals because pet owners don't want to pay the high costs of caring for them.  

Lily got sick last night...not sure if it was the heat, putting up with TJ's excitement during the trip or a mild reaction to the shots.  She was restless all night after throwing up all over the living room and then mad at me because I didn't give her supper!  This morning she seems back to normal.  I'm glad I didn't stop off at the library for books-on-tape for the trip after all, though, because I would have felt guilty about leaving her in the car when she got sick.  The vet visit didn't take very long and the library wasn't open yet, so I headed home rather than wait the extra twenty minutes.  I'm going to miss my books, though!

So, Colorado here we come!  I have so much to do before we leave!

I'm So Lucky!

People just keep bringing me wonderful new yarns for the shop!


Wild Iris Wool

Bulky yarns from Ann Catlett

And then, just when I think it couldn't get any better:

Atlantic Breeze Alpaca Yarns and Roving

Come out to Meadows of Dan and see how gorgeous this stull really is.  Pictures just don't do it justice.