Fall

To fall from height. The etiology of the word "fall" as it pertains to Autumn is pretty much lost. Suffice to say it is a North American term that has fallen out of favor in the UK where it likely started to appear in prose and print. In any event, fall here at elevation is much different from fall down in the valley. Deciduous trees are few and far between. At 4500 feet conifers rule. But that doesn't mean we don't get a falling of stuff. Winds blow pine needles down, old bird nests and pine cone scales, which are actually seeds. The forest floor is covered with them this time of year.



 This seems to be a banner year for the scales.



 Some years the cones themselves drop heavily. Might be the difference between a wet year and a dry year and also the species. Not every pine produces pines cones every year. Some are on an 18 month +- cycle. You can read more about them here on Wiki!



The horses and goats are starting to puff up with winter coats, the horses especially are noticeable because of the body curls that appear.



Dandy is always curlier than Cooper



 but by end of November both horses have heavy coats full of waves and pin curls. Bridles become tight in some areas and girths leave big hair dents! It takes a lot of weather to penetrate down through those curly coats and as long as they stay pretty dry, they stay very warm.

The cats have found all the good sleeping places in the hay stack. On the coldest of nights they will tuck into those narrow spaces and keep out of the wind.



Hay is a great insulator and if you reach your hand into whatever space they were using, it is warm and snug and pretty safe too! Of course they have a bolt hole into the tack room. That's the butt end of Buzz, heading in for his afternoon feed. I keep their food dish and water on a table in there. They get only what they can eat in a sitting and of course, they supplement at will. :)



 A raccoon can squeeze in but not easily (haven't surprised one in over a year in there), bigger predators don't have a chance. I often wonder if Rodger tried to make a run for it. He knew about it and used it on occasion. I think his demise was likely a surprise attack, over in the blink of an eye. At least I hope so. This is the last little tuft of hair left of Rodger, still clinging to its spot by the side of the driveway.



 I plucked it up after this photo and tucked it in with some of Dennett's saved fur.

In the fiber realms inside, snowflakes are forming.





 After taking this picture of the first test place mat, the second one I started in a 6/2 black (instead of 3/2 red and green) for weft, which is turning out much prettier. It also has two rows of snowflakes, one white sparkle and one red sparkle. I think this second piece shall be the runner. I'll play with more place mats for the balance of the warp. Thank you LouAnn for inspiration and encouragement on using the 8/4 rug warp for this weaving project!



I fished out the cottolin for weaving on the Springs warp too and might get a little done on that through the coming days.

A pair of fall pants has been completed.



 These were an interesting woven done in silk and linen I think.



It was difficult fabric to work with, drapey and limp and liked to distort, but the pants feel great on and the weight is lovely for this time of year into winter.

To all the drawing winners, thank you for your patience. Last week ended up being a lot busier than I had anticipated, but all 10 boxes now are packed, labels and postage done and they are ready to be dropped off at the post office. I hope you all enjoy them!

Parting shot: Wanna play? Spike may be going grey but he still thinks he's 3!