Crochet Obsession

Today was fantastic. I made blueberry pancakes with a special "made with Maine blueberries" mix gifted to me by my brother and his new wife. They went with our "suburban-fresh" eggs and sliced banana.

They've discovered they are having a girl, and so I have started a baby blanket. The yarn is soft and machine washable, and the colors are baby blue, pale pink, and fuchsia. I'm using a pattern that is super chunky and warm. I think I'll have enough fuchsia leftover to make a baby hat and maybe even a pair of matching booties.



I love knitting, but for these projects I am bringing back crochet. I haven't done it in YEARS, so it took some finagling to get the kinesthetic memory in my hands going. Now I'm on fire!



I wish I had taken pictures of all the projects I have finished in the past and given away. I just never seem to remember to do it! I'm going to be better about it now, because I have definitely done some beautiful patterns that deserve to be highlighted.

The pattern for the above baby blanket can be found here, for anyone looking to begin crocheting (it's definitely a great project for a beginner), or to hook up a really quick and easy blanket for a new little human. I LOVE the colors she used for her blanket.

You can also take a look at my Pinterest board Needlecraft for some more ideas on yarn and sewing!

New England Poultry Expo

Lover and I have OCD. By which I mean that we have "Obsessive Chicken Disorder."

So when I found out about the big time Poultry Expo, I told Lover and we immediately decided we would go.

Come Saturday morning, we took the hour and a half trip to Massachusetts. I spent part of the trip reading "This Fine Piece of Water: An Environmental History of the Long Island Sound" for my Long Island Sound class. We listened to a Spotify playlist of recent emerging artists. It was sunny and chilly, and a perfect day for a drive through Northern CT.

When we walked inside the doors of the Expo, I don't think either of us were prepared for the cacophony that assaulted our ears. Roosters crowed in the distance, but just feet away from the doors were the squalling shrieks and squawks of many, many geese, and the rolling gargles of turkeys.




Lover was ecstatic. He ran around taking photos, a big grin on his face. I never realized what a poultry fanatic he could be once I introduced him to the antics of chicken-keeping. Someday, we'll have ducks, too.




I also saw the cutest little quail! I love quail eggs. I am seriously considering quail.I don't have a photo though! Lover saw Serama chickens for the first time, which are the tiniest breed of chickens. They are super cute, and Lover now wants, get this, a Serama rooster. Check out the photo I found online:

Ridiculous, right!

Anyway, we went on looking at all kinds of birds.










We picked up a pair of silkies for a friend. They stayed overnight out our house. Once they were comfortable, the rooster started up his crowing. It was a fun morning!

This has made me all the more excited about getting our chicks in May. I want to create a new brooder for indoors out of a big storage tub. We have a brooder for outdoors. A couple of our big hens are going to Kentucky to live with Lover's parents. So, we're making room for our new lovelies!

Bunny Shave

Angora bunnies are fantastic. Our little guys are sort of monstrous in behavior (especially Blackula), but who cares? They make up for it in fluffy cuteness.









Wicket is the light brown, and Blackula is the black and grey bunny. They are brothers and a German Giant angora cross. My friend Liz Lemon* and I are raising them for fiber. We found a place that will process the fiber for us, so we can use it for our knitting and crocheting projects.




And here we are clipping them of their coats! They didn't make it an easy job, but the more we do it, the more they'll be used to it.




Haha, terrible, isn't it? But they honestly loved being free of it. They ran around the living room floor, kicking up their heels. In rabbit language, this is a sign of happiness.




We're going to shear them again before we send the wool out for processing. Can't wait to work with it!

Bunnies

I know I've mentioned in earlier posts that my friend Liz Lemon (not really her, nor is it my friend's real name) often need chaperones when we go out. We always end up bringing home crazy things.

On the fifth of November, Liz Lemon and I were driving to the Fiber Arts Festival (I love saying that). Twenty minutes from the festival grounds, Lover called. He was upset. Hs words were, "Something happened...a hawk..."

My heart stilled. Chickens are prey animals. Hawks are amazing predators.

"Little Beansidhe is dead. Wrex is missing. I can't find her. I'm standing here holding a dead chicken."

Devastation. LB was Lover's favorite chicken. Wrex was my favorite chicken.

What.the.fuck.

When I got off the phone, Lover was on a neighborhood wide search for Wrex. The rest of the chickens were safely locked up in the coop. I was sitting in the car next to Liz Lemon, silently regarding the situation.

Liz offered to turn around. I was no longer interested in any Fiber Festival, but I knew Liz was excited about going. She had been talking about it for months beforehand.

"No, we'll go. I might want to leave earlier than we usually do, though."

"That's fine."

We went the rest of the way in silence. I felt bad, but I was in no mood for chitchat.

When we arrived, I brightened slightly at the sight of alpacas. How could you not? They are so friggin' cute, like teddy bears crossed with llamas.

Then, in the third booth, an even more precious sight. A littler of six week old angora bunnies.

It was like someone had slipped me uppers. I asked to hold one and as I cuddled the little fuzzball against my chest, I had decided.

"Liz Lemon," I said to my friend (though I used her real name), "I am buying this rabbit, and taking him home with me."

Liz and I had talked before about raising angoras for their fiber. Our plans suddenly jumped up. Then we decided to bring home two rabbits.

Meet Blackula and Wicket. In this first picture, they are six weeks.




Now, they are three months old and almost ready for their first shearing!








In the words of my craftista friend Nikita, "They exploded!"

The end of the chicken story was bittersweet. I brought home the rabbits, incurred a small amount of wrath from Lover (who was completely taken off guard), and mourned for LB and the missing Wrex.

The next morning, I couldn't help myself but to begin a search in the neighborhood for my pretty little girl. When I didn't find her, I went back inside and told Lover. I cried. He hugged me.

Later, he and I were heading out to the yard to check for eggs. As he walked through the gate, he exclaimed, "Hey! Why are the chickens out?!"

"I closed their door!" Then I thought maybe in my haze of grief I hadn't latched it properly.

"Oh my god!" His whole tone changed. "Oh my god!"

"What is it?"

"What do you think?" He was grinning.

I ran into the yard after him, and there, standing in the morning sunlight, was my precious Wrex, golden feathers and all.

It was like a movie. We ran to her, she dodged Lover's first grab (probably completely freaked out by our descent upon her), but not his second.

"Give her to me! Give her to me!" I yelled.

There were tears and chicken hugs all around.

Yeah, the neighbors probably think we are truly freaky people.

We placed Wrex back with her flock in the coop. We buried Little Beansidhe beneath the forsythia bush.

We've since made them a run covered by bird netting to keep them all safe.

(Wrex is the golden chicken in this photo.)




The rabbits made it through their first shearing, though they were not super happy about the whole process. Once it was over, Blackula and Wicket were kicking up their heels and running in circles around the living room. I imagine they were enjoying their newfound freedom after all the fur we trimmed off. 

The suburban homestead is coming along nicely!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Family Wedding

My brother got married to his girlfriend Heather. They are expecting a baby in May! They are super excited and very much in love. (I can't wait to test out my crocheting skills on a sweet baby blanket.) Also, it was awesome to be able to spend an entire weekend with my Maine relatives.

We stayed at my aunt's house outside of Portland. My dad and my grandparents live ten minutes from her. My sister was up from Missouri to celebrate. My three great aunts attended the wedding.

I'm so glad that I am reconnecting with all of these family members who I pretty much ignored through some years. I was caught up with my day to day life and forgot how much I enjoyed their company. My paternal grandparents are extremely kind, with quirky humor senses. My aunt is unabashedly a crazy kind of fun. My sister and brother, on this side, grew up almost without me. There were a few visits, and they didn't always go well. As adults, we've let these things go, and found ways to connect. My great aunts and their children are always pleasant to spend time with.

Also, another great joy in visiting Maine is the landscape. I love the stretches of pine forests littered with marshes and the occasional field. I get absorbed in the shades of green and brown. I keep my eyes peeled for moose and other creatures. It has a restorative effect on my mind.

Another good weekend. How was yours?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Thanksgiving

Giving thanks with Dave's family is a multi-day affair. Thanksgiving Day happens at his aunt and uncle's brownstone in NYC. His parents, more aunts and uncles, and a bunch of cousins fly in from various places like California, Arizona, Georgia, and Kentucky. The wine flows, the hors'douevres cover the tabletops, and the music is loud.

I used to dread Thanksgiving because I never liked any of the food! No cranberry sauce, stuffing, turkey, or candied yams for me! I stuck to mashed potatoes and corn as much as possible. But at these gatherings, there is such a variety of food that I always have plenty to eat! (Plus, I bring a vegetarian stuffing full of spicy and sweet cornbread and other goodies I like). I also viewed it from the lens of mourning - the indigneous peoples day of mourning and all. But, I think moving forward with an attitude of gratitude is more constructive at this point. I have so much in my life to be thankful for. I'm going to own that, every day, and celebrate it especially on this day among friends and family.

The Chicken Gang

Sometimes I love nothing more than sitting outside on the beautiful bench my fiance made and watching our flock of chickens. I sat with a notepad and pen to make a handy little to-do list for tomorrow (making and canning BBQ sauce, freezing herbs and lemongrass, potting some herbs to bring indoors for the colder weather, making kimchi with the cabbage and radishes from the CSA...). Our handsome little phoenix roo hopped up on the bench beside me. And I knew I had to get a camera.

Of course, when I came back out, he wasn't the only one interested in what was going on. 

Belina is a Rhode Island Red mix, and a gift from friends.

Wrex is our Easter Egger hen and part of our original shipment of chicks.

Minerva is a White Leghorn and Rhode Island Red mix - from Schreiber's.

Bubo is a Golden Sebright bantam. Behind her is Bandit. Both are from the original shipment.

Brave Little Toaster (BLT) is a Phoenix hen. From my aunt's farm.

Bubo and BLT.

BLT is curious.

Malai basks in attention. Not a chicken.

Bandit is an Easter Egger hen.

Camilla and Bandit.

Camilla is a Salmon Faverolle from the original shipment.

Bandit.

Camilla!

Bubo dashes by.

Bubo and Camilla are the same age. Bubo is a type of bantam, or "dwarf chicken."

Hangin' out!

Eventually Lover joined us, and he and Malai did some communing.

 Overall, the backyard flock is a hit with the whole family. Quadrapus didn't eat them when they were chicks, Malai is followed by the flock when we go out, and Lover sits out and "zens" with the chickens after he gets home from work.

Me, I just love 'em. How can you not?