The Mother Lode

Well maybe not really the mother lode but as far as we are concerned it will suffice.  Monday at lunch DH and his friend and I were discussing the dismal morel conditions the have plagued us the past couple years. Hopeful in terms of this years "crop" we noted that Tuesday night (tonight) probably be a good night to search as it is the first warm day we have really had and it followed an all day rain from yesterday.  Andrew and I were traipsing around in the woods, him leading me into in the worst jungle of multi-flora rose, grape vines and honeysuckle, and I was just commenting complaining that I wasn't confident that were we in a productive area. I stopped for a rest and bent over to stretch my back and low and behold found myself staring at a large morel.  Needless to say it was under a dead elm tree and the patch yielded our entire find this evening minus two. Of course getting them entailed crawling on the ground and underneath several tangles of brambles. It was a beautiful night in the woods. We came home and I fixed morels for a snack and here we now sit on the couch fighting to stay awake and dreading going to work tomorrow. 

SpRing HaS SpRung

Disapproving Mama

I was wandering around on campus yesterday taking some spring images for our Marketing department.  It is so pretty here in the spring and I figured it would be my last chance before the bad weather blew in today and knocked down all the blooms. Here are the composite photos and an additional of Mrs. Squirrel giving me the evil eye for getting too close to her while she was making her nest. It poured down rain this morning and as expected the blossoms are ripped to shreds.

Framing Photos

DH and I have been asked by the Director of Alumni Relations, to do a photo exhibit in the art gallery of the library at our college Alma mater for Homecoming (on display August through November). This is a huge honor and they are having an artists reception for us and everything.  After much deliberation and sorting through thousands of photos we have all selected our favorite images and had them professionally printed.  They are all wildlife/flora/fauna/four seasons themed. They let us choose our theme. Last weekend we cut the mats ourselves and are now working on the frames.  We decided the frames for our prints will all be made from re purposed, reclaimed, and salvaged wood materials. This is in keeping with our University's efforts over the past few years to reduce our carbon footprint. We have twenty-two frames (+or-) to make by August.  Here is a composite of some of the wood we are using including some beaver chewed limbs to frame an image of a beaver that Andrew photographed in the creek near our home.

And a mock up - this frame is not yet assembled but you get the idea. No two frames will be alike.  This is the really fun part in designing and creating the frames.  You look at the big jumble of wood-select a couple pieces and viola!

From Bison to Yarn

DH has an interesting job as a forest ecologist/prairie management coordinator.  Last week he was seeding one of the paddocks at his workplace where the Bison roam and found a small section of shed Bison down.  Bison lay on the down in the winter months and as it gets warmer of course they shed it.  Click here for some interesting information about Bison fiber which is considered to be a luxury fiber.

 Shed Bison down-this is laying flat in one side of our sink so you can get an idea of amount. It is all matted into a piece that feels like thick felt. The down had no odor or oil and contained some lighter, probably sun bleached areas.  It was mostly dusty with bit of earth clinging to it.

 As soon as you wet the fiber it is easy to pull apart. Washed fiber/24 hours to dry.

 Carded fiber. This particular bit of fiber was mostly very short to medium in length.

 This preparation of Bison was hairy with a varied staple length.  It required a tight twist to keep the yarn from separating.  All of the hair and varied lengths has resulted in a more rustic looking yarn.

25 yards of heavy weight yarn/rewashed to set twist. Very soft (not scratchy yarn).

 

 

Star Magnolia

I took this series of photos of our star magnolia his evening as a storm was brewing. Look how much the lighting and color changed as the sky got darker and the wind began to blow and it started raining. It bloomed today; when I came home at lunch there were a couple flowers open and by the time I got home this evening there were many blooms.

Zena and Molly

You might remember last September when I blogged about our New Zealand rescue rabbits.  They are both doing well and I enjoy having them.  Both have healed from their ailments-Zena a lacerated eyelid and infected bite wound on her rump and Molly an advanced case of ear mites. Look how healthy and shiny their fur is and how much their flesh condition has improved.

 Zena

 Heads and Tails

 This is their disapproving rabbits pose

Zena (left) Molly (right)

A Glimpse of Spring

Ok so there wasn't a whole lot going on at the creek last Saturday that was outwardly visible but we put the canoe in anyway hoping to be rewarded for our efforts. The sun was shining but the water was freezing. We both wore waders on this trip as the water was too high for just knee boots. We did manage to scare up a few signs of spring and had a nice day out.  We saw some wood ducks, mergansers, and mallards as well as a great blue heron and a couple fox squirrels and one huge tree that the beavers were working on sending into the creek. 

 This is one of Andrew's colleagues seine nets that we found tangled up on some brush in the creek. Andrew recognized it because he repaired a hole that was in it with some zip ties. (-:

Green sided darter

 This is a dragonfly nymph called a Dragonhunter. This species is the largest dragonfly in Ohio and an uncommon species that is also a clean water indicator.

 Found treasures

The  Blue Heron that stayed just ahead of us on the creek almost the entire way.

Snow Trillium. A rare species found only a couple places in the state of Ohio.

Beaver tree aka cottonwood

Bluebird Update

We've got bluebirds!  They have been around for a couple weeks now so we hope they are going to nest. DH built them a box and they love the meal worms we are providing for them.  I'll keep you posted.