Saturday Sky

If you guessed that it rained a little, you're right. Some fields have standing water, but my hayfield doesn't yet.

Art of Alzheimer's

This is the first one I actually saw her make. The card was sitting on the counter, and she had the bottle cap in her hand. She looked at the card, then at the cap, then very carefully placed the cap on the circle. Another fascinating tidbit, that circle is the only large circle that doesn't have a smaller circle within it. Her sense of/compulsion/need? for order and symmetry reigns.

Yesterday Mom had Judy (now also known as Goosy Lucy)her babydoll cradled in one arm, and her other hand on my shoulder. She sang "Rock-a-bye baby, in the treetop". Just that one line, but she came up with it all on her own. It has been a long time since she has done that. I don't know if she was singing to me or to Judy/Lucy. Either way, a very sweet sound.

Got Grass?

I do. An overabundance even. The llamas couldn't keep up. My neighbor, on the other hand, is running low. There is absolutely no sense in me mowing the grass, and it going to waste, right? OK, so I would use the clippings as mulch in the garden, or it would go into the compost pile, so it wouldn't be wasted exactly.

They rode a few of their horses over, and we let them loose in the yard. There was a tense period when the horses saw the llamas, even with a pasture between them. The horses were freaked out, whereas the llamas just rushed to the fence and watched, curious about the horses. Maybe that is why I like llamas better. Even though they are flight animals like horses, they are so much calmer and after an initial fright, will usually come to see what the fuss is all about.

On the other hand, Mom and I enjoyed watching the three horses run from one side of the house to the other. By this point, they weren't running because of the llamas, but just for the joy of it, tossing their heads, kicking their heels. Beautiful!

The neighbors walked home, and then drove their car back here a few hours later to bring the horses back home. (They left the car here and rode the horses home.) As they were catching the horses and saddling them up, I brought Mom outside, pocketed my keys, and locked the door behind us, so that Mom wouldn't go back in the house and possibly let the dogs out.

Later, the neighbor saw Mom going to the house, and asked if she would let the dogs out. I explained that I had locked the door, and reached into my pocket to show her the keys. Except there weren't any keys there. Instead, there was a folded up page torn from a magazine. I don't know when, because I didn't notice it, but Mom had taken my keys and replaced them with the paper. Luckily, she still had them, so we traded back. My Mom, the skilled pick-pocket!

The neighbors will bring the horses back for a few hours each day. The sun had actually peaked out for about an hour last night, but now it is raining again, with possibly severe storms headed our way this afternoon/tonight. They probably won't bring the horses today.

It was a dark and stormy night,

right around midnight. The dogs were looking at me expectantly, waiting for their supper. I remembered then that their fresh bag of dog food was still out in the truck, in the garage. I went outside to get it, and just as I reached the garage, I heard an odd noise. I was looking around behind me as I opened the garage door, but didn't see anything. I turned back to the garage, which was now open, and was confronted by this!

The giant suri monster!

I jumped about a mile and let out a little squeek. Sure, this all looks perfectly innocent in the light of day. Imagine it at night, only the faint light from the yard light some distance away illuminating the darkness. Suri* alpaca is very lustrous, so it kind of glowed in the faint light. It looked ghostly. Or yeti-ish.

A suri alpaca breeder had given the fleece to me as a thank you for doing spinning demonstrations during her open barn event. I finally got around to washing it, and had it on my drying rack. Since it has been raining off and on, I kept moving it in and out of the garage. I obviously forgot it was there.

I am an idiot.

I have never worked with suri fleece before, so this could be interesting. I have a lot of stuff in the line up before this, though, so this will have to go on the back burner. I have spinning to do, (it's getting there, Turtle!) and skirting and washing of many bags of newly shorn fleece, and prep for the art show I signed up for later this month. Aaaaagh!

*Suri alpaca fleece falls in ringlets away from the body, is very silky and lustrous, and feels almost cool to the hand. Huacaya alpaca, which is the kind I have, is the fluffy kind, has more crimp, and is less lustrous, or not at all lustrous, depending on the animal, and feels warm to the hand.

Green Man

When I mentioned him yesterday, I was intending to fashion him out of the chair parts. After posting, I walked out of my office into the living room, where the green batts jumped me and smacked me on the head. What was I thinking? Of course a green man on this place should be felted.

I experimented, and came up with him. He looks like a gargoyle. A bit grim, with a look of discontent about the mouth. If I ignore the mouth and the bushy old man eyebrows, he sort of reminds me of Little Sprout, the Jolly Green Giant's nephew.

I put him on the side facing the garden. I hope he brings lush growth there.

Wall of Junk* begins

One short look around my garage was all it took. I'm not sure whether to be embarrassed or proud of that. There is plenty more, like a box of wooden chair parts (legs, spindles, seats) to use, but have to work on that. I want to fashion a "garden man" (ETA: Oops, that should be green man) face somehow. Also, it needs more color.

Mom has been funny lately. Yesterday morning she was up early, and she came into my bedroom, took one of the sandals I use as "house shoes" (as opposed to the sturdier, use outside in the muck shoes) and put it up my sleeve. Then she proceeded to tuck me in tightly, shoving me around until the sheet was well and good tucked under me. So there I am, in bed with a shoe up my sleeve and tucked in like a mummy so I couldn't move. Later, she took a length of roving, put it under my shirt from the bottom, then out the neck hole, and tied it. I imagine it will start a new fashion trend.

* My art history friend (she works at the Getty) said that it is actually a multi-media-dimensional-Ican'trememberwhatelseshesaid-piece. Ok, but I'm still calling it my wall of junk.

Mom with Beret

The other night I was trying to get a photo of Mom in her beret. She was more interested in the blanket on her lap.

Must fold blanket!

Still ignoring me.

Finally, she looks up, but only to give me that Mom stink eye.

Then she adjusts the hat, with a little grin.

Finally, she gives me a smile.

Then she cracks up.

I love that woman!