A Waiting Game

North Queensland Python

This slowly growing python appears in our house or shed a couple of times a year. Our house skinks are tempting. Python's hunting style requires patient waiting, hanging motionless above a skink runway. One runway lies below the landing at the bottom of the stairs. Python waits and ignores us when we forget he's there and casually walk past. We startle more than he. Eventually, snake succeeds in catching his dinner and disappears to digest for a while. When the rains associated with Cyclone Nathan began three days ago, the python and the skinks disappeared.

We decided to stay home.

Sometimes, one must wait and hope for the best. We are waiting now for Cyclone Nathan to move away from Queensland coast. We're not in the direct path of the cyclone which is further north. It has brought welcome rain. We've had 100+ mm rain, more wind than rain today. We continue waiting... cyclones can be unpredictable.

Life has been unpredictable. Over the past year I've had to limit time spent on handcrafts and keyboarding. In that vacuum, I found it amazing to uncover embers of old friendships still glowing through the years. And further delight in the  bonds with growing young ones. Life provides alternate streams of creativity.

Love and Kindness, Family and Friends - these exist in the same world as snakes hunting skinks. Let's nurture that diversity. It's a blessing.

Post by M in JaM
Photos by J in JaM

Fish Dreams

Wouldn't you expect that Fish Dreams are hard to pin down? Lately, life has been equally unpredictable, speeding up, slowing down, swirling into unexpected eddies.

Some old paints surfaced from the mysterious realm of stash supplies. For some reason the paints had not completely dried out. For some other reason a woody pear tree near our gate had a bumper crop of woody pears (it's been 20 years since we've seen a tree so laden). We couldn't resist collecting woody pear pods, drying and painting them. Fish Dreams are multipying.

My Plan this year, of course, was to focus on spinning, weaving and knitting. Life has been happening in the meantime. My hand developed a slight problem and the knitting projects have had to go into hibernation. Likewise, the spinning. Lucky for me, the hand doesn't mind the weaving project continuing.

We're still having hot spells (80% of Queensland is drought-declared), but Fall is bringing cooler weather. That slight change means the temperature in the weaving room is tolerable, my brain functions better and my motivation has increased.

A spell at the loom leaves me feeling good. Fish Dreams likewise make me feel good. Mystified, but good.

Rain Blessed

February is our wettest month. So far, this month we've had 127mm rain (~5 inches) with no local flooding and very little erosion. Thankfully, our raintank is full again. Trees are blooming like crazy and colour has reappeared in the landscape.

Grevillea dryandri

May smiles enrich your Valentine's Day.

Year of the Horse

Four nights ago we had the mother of all white ant swarms.

It was only 8 pm when we noticed the first few white ants circling the kitchen light. We jumped into action, turning off most of the lights except a single yellow bug light. We closed all the windows and doors in spite of the too warm night. But within minutes white ants were in thick clouds outside the windows and madly squeezing through the little crevices between windows and frames. They seemed especially attracted to our bare legs that glowed like neon signs in the yellow light. White ant numbers inside the house increased very rapidly. We knew we'd have to turn off all the lights and sit in complete darkness or go to bed. We managed to brush our teeth without getting wings stuck between and ran to bedroom with as little use of the torches as possible. I still had to evict a couple of the critters, probably trapped in our hair, that found their way into bed.

It's been years since we've had a swarm like this one. What a feast for the geckoes! In the morning discarded wings littered the floor and kitchen counter.

The white ant swarm was a harbinger of the rain that came two days later: 86mm rain (more than 3-1/2") in 24 hours. Our creek is flowing again. Since Queensland is about 65% drought declared, we consider ourselves very fortunate.

Such an auspicious beginning to the new Chinese Year of the Horse! In my imagination I always kick up my heels during a Horse Year. But so far, I haven't found the energy for that. I'm beginning to wonder if this might be a trudge, trudge, trudging Year of the Draft Horse. Looking for the silver lining in this possibility, I have found that the Australian Draught Horse is known for its strength and a good temperament.

Good rain, strength and a good temperament. That's a bundle of good fortune. Happy Chinese New Year!

Giant Centipede

We continue to wait for the Wet Season. We have lived here more than 20 years and have never seen the Wet Season so late. We have yet to see a cloud of white ants swarming to our kitchen light and there seem few spiders and insects. Yet with the recent slight increase in humidity and dampness amongst the fallen leaves, a creature most often seen during the Wet has surfaced: the Giant Centipede (Ethmostigmus rubripes), 7.5-16 cm (3" to 6") long.

Our bedroom has no electricity. When we retire in the evening, we use torches as we walk to the bedroom in order to avoid stepping on snakes, tripping on the stairs, etc. Once in the bedroom, we scan the room to confirm the absence of snakes, large spiders and centipedes.

Two nights ago, we found a Giant Centipede on the wall beside the head of the bed. Neither of us wanted to leave it there. Centipedes are night predators, they are simply looking for food, and they are not particularly aggressive unless you accidently or intentionally mash them. But, that many legs make me nervous....

So began the Giant Centipede Wrangling Event to evict the critter from our bedroom. There is room for only one person to stand beside the bed to begin the eviction. J volunteered. I stayed out of the way (hey, I wrangled the last one!) but attempted to keep my torch beam focused on the centipede. My Hero held his torch in one hand and a soft bristle push broom in the other. Hoping the centipede would climb onto the bristles for a ride out the door, J set the bristles gently next to the centipede. Instantly, the centipede dropped to the floor and began racing towards the dark under the bed. J plopped the broomhead in it's path and vigorously swept it toward the end of the bed, that is, directly toward himself. He then performed a short, mad dance. We both lost sight of the critter. We finally spotted the centipede, legs churning and again heading for the dark under the bed. Regaining his cool, J executed an elegant sweep of the broom, adding a masterful curve around the end of the bed and directing the centipede toward the door where the dog stood, looking puzzled. I got the dog to move after a tense moment. One last shove of the broom and the centipede disappeared off the far side of the verandah. (NOTE: no critters were damaged in this event.)

We both slept like logs. It's a good sign, finding a centipede: the Wet is coming.

Post by M in JaM

Post Heat Wave but still no rain....

The heat wave has eased, locally. I've learned that it isn't just the heat that melts my backbone. Lack of rain does it, too. Rain refreshes the earth and the spirit. We long for the Wet to begin.

The littlies know how to cool off and entertain themselves creatively.

We grandparents have been reassuring ourselves that it's ok to feel lethargic in the current conditions, even though it goes against our deep-seated need to be doing! doing! doing! Happily, we both love to read and have going through books at a rapid pace. (I mostly listen to audiobooks rather than actually read these days). I've finished Steven Pinker's "The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined." And no, I didn't go through that book rapidly! It gave me lots to think about and even instilled a bit more hope in my heart for the future which can seem so dire when viewing the daily news.

And so, I leave you for a lie down and a book....

Post by M in JaM

Pix by J in JaM

Happy New Year!

An Australian Heat Wave... is forcing a slow start to 2014 for us in Far North Queensland.

Shade Room Air Conditioning

Our house's stone walls have gradually absorbed and now retain so much heat that it's increasingly difficult to cool the house even though each morning we throw open all the doors and windows to capture some coolness. J has rigged a shade room along the west side of the house and gives the plants there a daily mist. The shade, plants and misting make the adjoining room the coolest one in our house. It used to be the hottest. We close most of the house by mid-morning as temperatures rise to 30C and above.  Then we retreat to the cool room, lie on mats in front of a fan to read or nap... there's not much brain power available nor motivation to move in the heat. Everyone is waiting for rain. Yesterday's thunderstorm brought no rain with it.

While I am feeling totally wilted, the Cooktown orchids are looking splendid.

Cooktown orchids

ETA: maximum temperature for the day: 38.1C (a little over 100F).

Post and Pix by M in JaM

Beside the Coral Sea

Beside the Coral Sea

We enjoy spending time with the grandkids... sometimes we even make it to the ocean on a winter day in the Tropics.

An annoying but not very serious health problem interrupted my life for a spell and made it difficult to indulge in my normal routines. Things have improved. I've been able gradually to resume knitting, spinning and weaving. Making things with my hands works so well in promoting a personal sense of harmony as world news describes struggles and hardships associated with change.

On this beach beside the Coral Sea, the future grasps the hand of the past and gazes into the natural rhythm of change.

Great Bowerbird Bath

During the Dry Season, Jerry keeps the birdbath brimming full for the daily stream of bird visitors. As soon as the Wet Season gets underway, the rains tend to keep the birdbath topped up even as the numbers of bird visitors decline as they gain access to water in heaps more places.

This year the rains have been patchy – concentrated for a few days or a week, then followed by no rain for a spell. Thus it has become more important to make daily checks on the bird bath and refill as necessary.

A sleek and serious young male great bowerbird arrived for a bath. 

He couldn't believe how low the water was.

He settled for a sponge bath.

There's something refreshing about looking ridiculous.

What's ridiculous is letting the water get that low!

Post by M in JaM

Pix by J in JaM

Color Development with Natural Brown Cotton

Two skeins of darkened Brown Pima cotton handspun yarn;
atop the skein on the right are a few strands of the original Brown Pima handspun

Starting with Easy To Spin Brown Pima cotton sliver, I produced my first two handspun skeins of naturally colored brown Pima cotton yarn to be used in weaving.

I have learned that, over time, naturally colored brown cotton gradually darkens when subjected to repeated washing with detergents and heating in a dryer, that is, when subjected to moisture, especially in a basic pH environment, and to heat. I decided to do some Color Development, as Sally Fox describes this process for intentionally darkening naturally coloured cotton.

Following one of her suggestions, I added 2T of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to a gallon of water and added those two skeins of handspun brown Pima cotton. As the pot came to a boil, I kept pushing the yarn beneath the surface of the water until it was completely saturated and stayed immersed. I boiled the pot for 30 minutes.

Not only did the brown color darken, but on drying, the yarn has lost some of its sheen and has a matt appearance. I like my transformed skeins of dark brown cotton. I find a growing interest in the history of colored cotton, as described by James M. Vreeland, Jr. in the linked article published in the Scientific American in 1999. Equally fascinating is the Sally Fox story: Innovation in the Field.

No matter how interesting it is to learn new things, nothing beats the pleasure of a simple head scratch.

Post by M in JaM

Pix by JaM

Pumps and Tensioned Lazy Kates

Re-installing pump in creek

Our creek is flowing, but has not reached flood level this Wet Season. Since there is less chance at this point of our pump being swept away in a flood, Jerry placed it back in the creek and has begun the slow process of refilling water tanks while the creek continues to flow.

I'm ready to make another 3 ply cotton yarn and want to describe my lazy kate set up for the process.

Ashford lazy kate modified to have three bobbins under tension

My Ashford lazy kate holds three bobbins in vertical alignment. When I got this lazy kate, it did not have a way to tension the bobbins. In those early days of learning to spin and ply with a wheel, sometimes in the plying process, I would pause, but the untensioned bobbins would continue to unwind into tangles – and that's not good.

Anchor points for bobbin tension lines

To create bobbin tension, I modified my lazy kate by adding two small nails at the front and back of the bottom of the stand. I fastened a rubber band to smooth cotton thread, hooked the rubber band on one of the little nails at the bottom of the lazy kate, ran it over the groove of the bobbin and fastened it to another little nail at the front of the lazy kate. Sometimes I add a knot to the rubber band to shorten it. Very little tension is required. These “tension accessories” are very easy to lose, but simple to replace.

  

Another modification had already been made to the lazy kate when I purchased it secondhand in the early '80s. Someone had weighted the lazy kate to prevent it from falling over when in use. They screwed a plate of scrap iron onto the base of the kate. Believe me, it does not fall over. However, if you look closely, you can see the screws aren't seated flush. So, the kate rocks. Someday I may replace those screws. In the meantime I add a folded paper wedge under one corner (seen in earlier photo) to subdue the rocking. My philosophy: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Or as we say in Australia: She'll be right, mate....

Post and photos by M in JaM

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Wet Season mushroom amidst the green

We continue with below average rainfall, but there has been enough rain to prompt the appearance of a mushroom or two. The top of this one is 15 cm across (6 inches). Likewise, grass has been growing and mowing has commenced. 

We aren't the only ones running short of rainfall. All of New Zealand's North Island has been declared a drought zone.

I finally replaced the little electronic scale that died and now have been able to weigh and determine the count of my handspun and plied cotton skeins.

Handspun Pima cotton, natural colours

Handspun white cotton (on left):

Count: 7/3

3900 m/kg (2000 yd/lb)

Handspun and plied on Ashford Traditional spinning wheel

Fibre Source: Cotton Clouds Easy To Spin Pima cotton sliver

Planned use of yarn: pattern weft in a crackle weave table runner.

Handspun brown cotton (on right)

Count: 5/2

4400m/kg (2200yd/lb)

Handspun and plied on Ashford Traditional spinning wheel

Fibre Source: Cotton Clouds Easy ToSpin Brown Pima cotton sliver

Planned use: weaving project.

Close-up: white 3 ply and brown 2 ply handspun Pima cotton

I could darken the skein of brown cotton by boiling it (with a dash of dish detergent), but may keep this skein's colour unchanged for weaving, just remembering to expect 15%-20% shrinkage when the woven cloth gets washed.

My next three bobbins of brown cotton singles are almost ready to be plied and I may darken the resulting skein to increase my colour range.

Recent cold mornings (down to 12.9C or 55F) remind me that winter... and my weaving season... will be here before long. Now, back to the wheel to make more yarn!   

Summer Ends and Autumn Begins

Full Moon: 26 February 2013

I awoke in time to photograph February's full moon as it was setting. The month delivered a total of 100 mm rain (4 in) which is half the normal rainfall here. March 1^st marked the beginning of autumn in Australia. We expect more hot days and hope for more rain. We do appreciate the cooler conditions associated with overcast or rainy days.

Skinks continue to slink onto the kitchen counter top to look for food scraps. Insects are more abundant since we've had rain, but the skinks find it is easier to consume scraps and tidbits of canned dogfood than to catch insects. The dog frowns on the skinks' lazy habits yet she obeys our commands to leave the skinks alone. I can't tolerate rodents, while I can't help liking skinks.

This week I spent a delightful overnight helping out with the twins. At one point they were rough-housing and leaping onto one another atop one of their beds. I stood beside the bed, saying, settle down, settle down, someone is going to get hurt.... when one twin paused, held up his arms and leapt on me. We fell back onto the other bed and I began laughing. I held him in a hug as I stood up and looked over in time to see the other twin launch himself at me. Now we all three fell back onto the other bed and lay there giggling and laughing. I instantly understood how much fun rough-housing can be. And no one got hurt....

It's always lovely to get home to Jerry again. I'm surprised by how slowly I recover, but I gather that slow recovery is simply part of aging. I'm lucky to get to enjoy the rambunctious charms of grandchildren as well as the quiet serenity of living with Jerry... and the dog and the skinks.

Skink porthole

Post by M in JaM

Photos by JaM

Plying Cotton

Some handspinners recommend that, when plying yarn, you set your lazy kate holding the bobbins filled with singles as far from your spinning wheel as possible. The resulting long run allows the twist in each single to become more evenly distributed.

Plying set-up for three bobbins:
from bobbins on lazy kate; through eyelet-guide; to wheel in foreground;
sorry about the unmade bed; housework has low priority.

I've been wanting to try this with my handspun cotton, but the long run from lazy kate to wheel worried me as I could imagine the two singles bumping into one another and getting tangled whenever I paused during the plying process. I also worried that the dog, Jerry or me would forget and walk into the path of those almost invisible threads strung across the room for a day or more as I can never seem to finish plying a batch of cotton in one day. Perhaps one day I'll develop calluses necessary for running all that yarn through my fingers in one session.

I decided the best solution to the dog and thoughtless walker worry was to move my spinning wheel and accessories upstairs where there is less traffic. The hot temperatures have eased during recent overcast days and that makes working upstairs possible.

Jerry solved my tangled yarns worry by handing me a strip of smooth wood that held a set of evenly spaced eyelet-screws. I clamped the wood strip to a chair placed midway between the lazy kate and the spinning wheel. I tested this plying set-up with two bobbins of cotton singles, threading each single yarn through an eyelet. The long run to the wheel made it easier for me to coax any remaining twisty areas into plying with surprisingly little effort. The singles did not tangle whenever I released my hold while sitting at the wheel. I feel so delighted with the resulting 2 ply cotton.

Having gained courage by this success, I set up next to ply from three bobbins. I am thrilled that things are going so well with this 3 ply cotton and hope to finish that plying work today.

Toy Creek, February 2013

Meanwhile, the water in the creek looks good though it is not exactly abundant. We usually get 200mm (8 inches) rain in February. We've had ~92mm (~3.7inches) this month which has only three more days until the end of the month. Today the sky is crystal clear. It may get too hot to work upstairs....

Cyclones and flooding are not unusual during the Wet Season in our region, but this year we've had neither... so far. Instead the floods and winds are showing up in southeastern Queensland and into New South Wales, with houses in Sydney losing roofs. Yes, we live in Interesting Times. I find comfort in focusing on areas I can control to some degree, like making things with my hands.

Post by M in JaM

Photos by J in JaM

Wool and Cotton

Handspun 2ply wool; light fingering weight;
one single is handpainted "Strelitzia" from Kathy's Fibres
one single is Dreamee Wool in Grey from Bilby's Yarns. 

As a spinner, knitter and weaver, I love feeling that initial surge of creativity... then get oh so cranky when I find myself frustrated because all my spinning wheel bobbins are partway full of various unfinished spinning projects, all the knitting needles of a particular size that I need are holding unfinished knitting projects, or that all the weaving bobbins are partially filled with perfectly good (for something) yarn remnants from my last weaving project.

So it was that I got excited about the arrival of new coloured cotton to spin (a Christmas prezzie). I searched high and low, upstairs, downstairs and in the Shed for empty bobbins for my spinning wheel. I tracked them all down, only to acknowledge, that yes, all bobbins were in use – holding hibernating spinning projects. And I wasn't willing to wind off the yarn. After much fretting, I zeroed in on two bobbins, each containing a single of Strelitzia, a handpainted wool from Kathy's Fibres that I spun during Ravelry's Tour de Fleece 2012. I wanted to ply this yarn, but decided I'd make the handpainted singles go further by plying with a completely different yarn, which I would now have to spin.

I picked Grey Dreamee Wool (from BilbyYarns), a Melanian wool (natural colours) from West Australia. The beautifully prepared wool top is a pleasure to spin. The time slipped by effortlessly as the fibres flowed through my fingers. I let the finished singles rest on the bobbin for a couple of nights, then plyed with ease. As soon as I wash the skeins, I can count this spinning project complete... and a success!

Two kinds of naturally coloured cotton

The empty bobbins began calling for the cotton. Above, on the right, you can see "Café," a certified organic cotton from South America (available at Virginia Farm Woolworks) that I'm spinning on a support spindle. To the left, on a spinning wheel bobbin, you can see Easy To Spin Pima Brown cotton from Cotton Clouds. I so enjoy spinning these coloured cottons. 

The excitement of each beginning evolves into a soothing practice that includes transforming frustration into perseverance. I continue to learn about the satisfaction of finishing.

Post by M in JaM

Photos by J in JaM 

Picnic at Lake Eachem

Standing in the rain feels good after a very long Dry Season.

We planned a BBQ get-together at LakeEachem last month. As the day got closer, it began to look like much needed rain might arrive on that weekend, in fact, on that day. Feeling a little foolish, we headed out early and drove through rain for almost forty minutes until the sky cleared just before we reached the Lake where conditions were perfect. We secured a covered table near a BBQ. (Power to the BBQ is provided free of charge; press a button to start and it runs on a timer). We had a lovely day. The twins took their first swim in the Lake before the rain finally began to fall on us in mid-afternoon. The rain felt great. We packed up and returned home, relaxed and happy.

The rain continued for 3-4 more days. We got the average total rainfall for the month of January in those few days. We're so glad to see the end of the Fire Season. We're especially glad to see our creek running again. Lucky for us, we've experienced no local flooding and nor much erosion.

The same storm system, ex-cyclone Oswald, tracked slowly south, following Australia's eastern coastline but over land, for days. It brought devastation to some – homes destroyed by tornadoes or flood waters, helicopters rescued people from rooftops, several deaths occurred, 400 dairy cattle swept away, crops destroyed. A once in 100 year storm? Similar to the once in 100 year storm that hit some of the same communities two years ago?

Then hot and dry days returned.

I've felt depressed by my recent lack of blog posts. I reckon our delayed and sporadic Wet Season has something to do with my total lack of motivation... not caring about anything... other than morning chores that have to be done, then wait for each day to cool down and for melted brains to congeal before bedtime.

It's overcast today and cooler and writing begins to feel appealing....

Blue sky over road to town

Post by M in JaM
Pix by J in JaM

Water

Water in the creek in 2003

On Christmas morning I awoke with a glad heart, hearing the words:

She's here!

I sat up in bed and came fully awake, alone, listening... to the morning songs of birds and insects. I puzzled over this traveller of dreams, she who moves between worlds, she who made me awake so glad to know: “She's here!”

Jerry was already up and had finished preparing a pot of coffee by the time I wandered into the kitchen. We spent the day basking in one another's good company, enjoying a morning walk before the heat of the day. In the afternoon we received welcome rain, 30 mm (over one inch), breaking the very long dry spell we've been enduring. That made our hearts sing. The Wet Season brings new life and the first rain gives us hope that our creek (which provides our household water) will start running again before too long. And we pray that proposed mining activities near the headwaters do not contaminate it.

Life depends on water. Drought reminds us of that essential relationship. Jerry and I have chosen to live within a limited water supply and we pay close attention to our water usage. We also pay close attention to the condition of local waterways. What could be more important than uncontaminated water? Around the world, this awareness is awakening.

Late on Christmas Day, while online via satellite internet access, I read about:

Attiwapiskat Chief Theresa Spence 

who began a hunger strike on 11 December on behalf of all Aboriginal people in Canada, indeed, all first nations people and those who care about basic human rights like clean water and housing as well as protection of land and waterways. 

I read about the recent Canadian legislation that removes thousands of streams and lakes from environmental protection. 

I recall that the recently elected Queensland government withdrew a $97000 grant from the Queensland Environmental Defenders' Office. As the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland wrote: 

"The state government is undermining the community's capacity and capability to protect its environment and well being."

What kind of skewed values determine that the most important priority is to make it easy to access and extract natural resources as quickly as possible, using methods that all too often leave behind contaminated water and land since it can be more profitable to pay a fine than to take measures to prevent contamination?

My values tell me there is nothing more important than protecting the land and the water, for ourselves, for our children and future generations, for the plants, the animals and small creatures, for the planet itself, Mother Earth.

Chief Theresa Spence, thank you for your courageous work.

Our water supply, 2003

Post by M in JaM

Photos by J in JaM

'Tis the Season

Catching up

Out the Kitchen Door

I love the current view out my kitchen door.

I caught the bus early Friday so that Jerry would have the car while I spent the weekend helping care for the twins. Can you say: busier than a barrel of monkeys”? Yet, even with all the twins' exuberant energy, things are so much easier now than during their first two years when the adults struggled to find time to eat and sleep. I can tell you truthfully that their mother now qualifies as Master Toddler Whisperer. And their Dad looks like the Pied Piper when the twins follow in his trail.

Besides catching the bus down and back, I also caught a cold... yes, that's a risk associated with riding public transit... and caring for toddlers. Home again. And I'm happy to report that the dog caught the mouse! Now I'm off to catch up on my rest while enjoying the quiet sounds and colours of the Bush. Hooroo....

Moss on bark

Dry Season Blues

Poinciana in bloom in Dry Season

A poinciana tree decorates our place with reds and greens for Christmas holidays.

The hot, dry weather continues. Lots of creatures must be having a hard time finding food and water. Plants that were in bloom or completely covered with leaves by this time last year remain bare. We're getting a break from smokey days, thankfully. Fire danger remains high though no fires are burning near us at the moment. These days call for simple endurance.

Last night a mouse ran down a steel brace from the ceiling and darted behind the lounge. Later it ran across the floor and disappeared under a recliner. I guess rodents are the source of the recent rustling sounds emanating from the ceiling. The cheeky mouse we've seen is probably a young one exploring the neighbourhood. We haven't had rodent problems in ages. But, it's always something, isn't it! I gave the kitchen a careful clean before we went to bed.

This morning I felt unhappy when I saw gnaw marks on the bar of soap by the kitchen sink and when I cleaned up mouse traces from the stove top. I felt even more unhappy when I noticed holes gnawed in the ends of two hotpacks – which are filled with wheat, of course. A pile of wheat husks now lay nearby. Doh!

J has gone to town to buy four mouse traps....

Post & photo by M in JaM