The Field Report

It was a long time coming, but Summer is here. It has been in the mid-to-high 90's, with humidity to match, and elevated dew points. In other words- it's nasty out there. But the soybeans love it. The tallest of them are hip-high on me, and they're starting to sprout pods (soybean flowers are pretty much invisible- and they flowered while I was in Oregon).

The crab apple tree loves this weather too (so do the tent caterpillars, but we're taking care of them). I knew I was going to be gone a lot this summer, so we only planted tomatoes in tubs, and a line of Hollyhocks. The tub tomatoes are doing well (after a shaky start), but only about 3 of the Hollyhocks sprouted (from 2 whole packages of seeds). Oh well, they'll spread, and I'll plant more next year. Our hay was swathed just days before we left in July, and it was baled while we were gone. Note how green the grass is- I think maybe they could get a rare second cutting this year, if we get a little more rain.

I did surprisingly little sock knitting while at the Sock Summit. I read (Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief- not Harry Potter, but miles ahead of The Spiderwick Chronicles. I'm getting the rest of the series asap) on the flight home (I was squeezed into a middle seat, and frankly too tired to dig the needles out), and played with my new Kundert spindle at the summit. During the luminary panel, I watched Denny McMillian expertly spin long-draw on a bottom-whorl spindle, and I want to give that a try, though not with this spindle or fiber (from Girl on the Rocks). I'm primarily a short-draw spinner, whether I'm using a wheel or spindle... except when I spin cotton, which I do long draw, so this is going to involve a steep learning curve. I'll practice with some Romney that I have on hand (and I don't have a bottom whorl spindle, though I know that I can just flip a top whorl over and spin that way).

But there will be little time for any of that- I may be starting a large project with a nightmare-inducing deadline. I'll keep you posted.