'Tis a Thing of Beauty

This is our chickens’ first egg. We are so pleased. We actually got two a few days ago, but I stepped on the other one, because I didn’t know it was there, just sitting in the debris on the coop floor. The two eggs must be from the Auracanas, because they’re a light blue/green color. Way to go, Wilma & Stella!

Even though I figured we’d start getting eggs about the first of August, we hadn’t gotten around to making nesting boxes yet. Now that we have nesting boxes in their coop, we’ve had no eggs. . . lots of cackling that *sounds* pretty impressive, but not more eggs. I certainly hope that nobody has taken to eating them. And I wonder when the other girls will start. We have seven ladies & one rooster, all the same age.

The shawl has been delivered to the Lynden Fairgrounds. (Great sigh of relief.) Next week is the Lynden Fair. This week is the Skagit County Fair, in Mount Vernon WA, which is about 45 minutes’ drive south of here. My Country Spinners group is going to demonstrate there this week. I’m looking forward to connecting with some of my sheep-people friends there.


On the weekend, I took my first basketry class. If you overlook the fact that I wove this basket inside out, it’s turning out pretty nice. It’s not exactly rectangular, but I’m learning a lot as I go. In making baskets, I’m working in three dimensions, and the reed, as it flexes over and under the verticals, requires just the right amount of ease. So I’m trying to keep the verticals straight, and to weave the weft at the right tension so that it doesn’t pull the sides in or bow them out. Like I said, it’s not going to be perfect, but later I’ll be able to look at it & realize that I’m improving. . . as in any skill that’s new. (I remember my first skein of bullet-proof handspun yarn.)

p.s. Welcome Home, camera battery charger!