Red Oak Leaves

The leaves on my red oak are especially brilliant this year, I suspect it is due to the late season rains after a long hot drought this summer.  I will make some bundles using the bright yellow leaves this week and will report back on the colors achieved.

Family Room Partial Redux

 

Oliver at home on the new, to him, rug in the freshly cleaned family room.

I didn't think to take a before photo and this is probably a good thing!  Needless to say we spent the past two days taking apart, deep cleaning, and then putting back together with a replacement rug no less, the family room.  No small feat on our part because the dogs wanted to be in the middle of everything the entire time.  But we got'er done and I have to say mostly due to John's particpation in the whole process!  Another words it wouldn't have ever have happened if he hadn't been home to help me. 

Notice the beautiful rug in the previous photo, it's replacing the neutral number that has been ruined by my shelties relentless need to pee on it!  The new, it's actually not new we've had it in storage for about seven years now, rug is scotch guarded and well will hide the pee stains much better... unfortunately my red oak floor was ruined from Angel's relentless need to pee in the same spot for the past nine years.

She's NOT happy about the new rug and will barely come into the family room.  Btw her peeing issue is due to having been spayed improperly... from what I've learned it was the breeder herself that spayed Angel and NO she had no vet training.

A very unhappy sheltie!

And lastly, hillbilly puppy training!  He's already set the trap off that was in a skillet on the stove.  He's learning!

Red Oak

Some much needed snow fell today, the red oak is beautiful!

Oak

The oaks are turning color slower than normal this year, drought related I'm sure, but finally they are turning! 

Snack Time

A young male red squirrel eating red oak tree blossoms!  The tree is covered, and heavily, in blossoms this spring.

Hot in April

Young male red squirrel resting on a red oak branch.

oak leaf vats

It's time to start thinking about putting these oak leaf and acorn vats away for the winter.

Oak Cloth Part 2

Oak Cloth Part 1

Small Heart Shape

Detail from Oak Leaf Cloth

Oak Leaf Experiment

Posted updates plus video over at the Natural Surface Network in the Compost Dyeing Group!  You have to be a member of the network to view the group, membership is free.

Oak Cloth Update

The water is black!

Oak

Oak Leaf Cloth

I wasn't too thrilled about having our oak trees pruned in July but it needed to be done as I could no longer see to safely back out of the driveway, oak trees pick the darnest time to have a growth spurt.  So I pulled a bunch of the red oak and burr oak leaves aside in addition to some acorns and put them in a metal pan until I was ready to use them.  And then it rained, and rained, and rained, and rained.  The end result was an oak leaf acorn soup.  So today I will dye some cotton yardage and see what I come up with.

I added some rusted coffee tin lids in between the layers of fabric as I shoved it into a five gallon plastic bucket.

Final layer of oak leaves, branches, and acorns.

Topped off with rain water, that had been sitting for several days in another bucket, and a lid to keep the skeeters out.

Studio Window

My studio has a greenish cast to it these days as the light bounces off of the red oak leaves.

Oak Galls

Oak Leaves with Galls

Fall 2009

Fall colors to be inspired by

Burr Oak - taken at Ledges State Park

Pulled Pork and Tree Trimming

Today's garden update: tied up 2/3's of the tomatoes before I got so hot I had to quit. I have baby roma's they are the size of golf balls.

We trimmed our trees out front tonight, lots of dead branches, esp. on the redbud and on the red oak tree. I knew the redbud was dyeing, I'd give it two more years tops before we have to take it down, but I was horrified to discover our 10 year old red oak, which is now a magnificent 30 feet in height, has heart rot!!! I'll call the arborist on Monday but there's not a whole lot they can do for the tree I love this tree I get wonderful shade on my house in the summer, esp. my studio, so it's not so hot and I don't have to run the air so often.

Dinner for tomorrow is in the crock pot roasting away it's a boston butt roast, I'll season it before I go to bed tonight and we will have pulled pork tomorrow.