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Category: Observations

Plum Pie and Fiber Trivet

My niece (who will be staring 6th grade) taught me how to make a pie crust. I do not know if it is all of the years wedging clay, but every time I attempted to make a pie the crust was a huge disappointment. This is the result of the lesson.

Pie

The plums were from the tree in our orchard. My niece used the snowflake cookie cutters I impulsively bought last Christmas in Maryland.

We decided to share the pie with our friends who recently relocated from Washington. While we were there I saw this amazing trivet.

Trivet

I love white on white–embroidered shirts and linens, knot work, woven work… The trivet is thick and the knots while not physically connected appear as diagonals. Simple, yet effective way to make a pattern.

Trivet Detail

Planning to give the technique a go and if it feels right, the pattern may show up in some of my work.

Beware of Ticks

While grooming Bailey, my house bunny I found a tick. It was dead, but it was a tick. This is the third tick that I have recently found on him.

Baby

Here’s the thing—Bailey never spends time outside, so the tick had to have been brought into the house by one of his human friends.

Our vet has stated that there isn’t a tick treatment for bunnies. Preventive measures is the only solution.

In the future any time that we spend outside working in the garden or hiking, all clothing worn must be changed before coming in contact with Bailey.

A couple of sites with good information about ticks.

TickEncounter Resource Center University of Rhode Island

Larisa Vredevoe, Ph.D, Department of Entomology, University of California, Davis
Ticks Commonly Encountered In California

This is the tick in a sink full of water. They totally creep me out.
Tick

Dots

When a dot is placed over a vertical line it can become an i. When it is placed at the end of a sentence it emphasizes a thought. Dots and dashes together can become a message in code. Dots used by artists can become so much more.

It is amazing that minimal materials, tools, and a limited palette can result in such beauty.

Today I ran across the work of Dorothy Napangardi on Margaret Cooter’s blog.

Dorothy Napangardi

Dorothy Napangardi

And then I saw Junko Kitamura’s bowl on Musing About Mud.

Junko Kitamura Bowl

And finally the post Africa on the Floor on Fibercopia.

Africa On The Floor

Replacement of the Sad (Probably Dead) Plant

Over the weekend we attended a succulent show. There were many interesting and beautiful plants, but I went with the objective of finding out what killed my plant. And I hoped to find a suitable replacement.

Accually I do not know for sure that my plant is in fact dead. It could be one of those add water and something sprouts from the debris. And you can’t really replace a plant. You can add a new plant with similar attributes.

Just a few images of plants that I found interesting–

Succulent 1

Succulent 2

Succulent 3

Succulent 4

Succulent 5

Succulent 6

Probably dead plant–

Sad Plant

New Plant

New Plant

Rusty Tussock Moth – Orgyia antigua

Tonight I was cleaning up the courtyard garden and found a wonderful surprise. This little fellow was on a tree that is not doing well.

Rusty Tussock Moth

When I finished for the evening I took a quick look at the wormy guy and found that he was climbing down the tree. His movement indicated which was his head. He looks a bit prickly, but could that be an illusion? According to Debbie Hadley on the About.com site, “touch them with a bare finger and you’ll feel you’ve been pricked by fiberglass.”

Rusty Tussock Moth

I saw a photo of the Rusty Tussock male moth and it is amazing. I hope that I have an opportunity to see one up close.

Canadian Forest Service

Bug Guide Image of Flightless Female

Orgyia antiqua (Rusty Tussock Moth)

Armadillo Bugs or Rollie Pollies

I enjoy gardening. Growing things from seed, nurturing the plants, making more plants from cuttings, harvesting seed… And it is fine to have dirt under your nails.

This season, well we really don’t have seasons on the CA Central Coast, I have been cleaning up my gardens, moving plants, and adding new plants.

Recently I noticed what seems like loads of Armadillo Bugs, Rollie Pollies, Pill Bugs. A bug with several names. This morning when I was hand watering, I found a dozen on one of the garden walls. By the time I went inside to grab the camera, nearly all of them had disappeared, only this one remained.

Armadillo Bug

I was curious about their story. Can they cause damage? Armadillo Bugs are actually crustaceans and have gills. They typically clean up garden debris and don’t usually cause damage.

And according to several articles, Rollie Pollies, or Armadillidiidae possess the ability to safely remove heavy metals from soil.

More information about Armadillidiidae