A Spinner

I finished the first 4 ounces of the fiber blend of wool, flax and silk!  

I will begin the second bobbin full this afternoon

 and hope by next weekend to be plying them into yarn!

Yesterday, Bill and I picked another pail of elderberries--there are even more still green and even flowers so I will be able to pick for another month at least! 

  On the way back from the far back of the property where the elderberries are, 

I spotted this great golden orb weaver! 

 She was two inches across her leg span! 

 The bright neon web spread over a six foot area between two trees--

what an amazing work of spinning she accomplished!

Near the berries are these white ginger plants......

oh, try the scratch and sniff because it is an incredible aroma! 

 This bloom cluster is at least 10-12 inches in length!  

By the tortoise burrows, the candelabra cassia are in full flower! 

 Visually pleasing even if they don't appeal to the sense of smell!

We went to visit my brother and sister-in-law yesterday; 

 it has been almost a year since we spent a few hours together! 

 I did begin this  postcard in the morning and finished it last night! 

 Does anyone recognize this view? 

 Here is a clue.

 

Cemetery, Socks and Spider

 This is one magnificent Maple tree in the midst of the cemetery.

The trunk of the tree is 7' in diameter which means it is at least 21' around!  

I'm sure it has been witness to many mourners throughout the centuries!

 While listening to an audio book, I added a few inches to the Comfort Sock.

 And I cast off for one completed sock.

An active spider for WanderingCat--isn't she a fat one?!

Fall's Progress

 I missed the peak color of this tree for a picture!  

It was golden last week-you will have to settle for this russet! 

 It is our only tree that colors and looses its leaves with the northern states!

Which is a perfect match to the Flor that is coming along nicely!

I have joined the sleeves to the body and started the yoke.

It takes a goodly amount of time to make a round but with each decrease round, 

I love 8 stitches!  

 If you look to the left way in the back, it is our line of citrus trees.  

 They are waiting for our crispy nights to come along so they will ripen!

These are Ruby Red Grapefruits-my personal favorites!

They will be ready in December and January-yippee!

 Another Fall harvest are the Loofah plants which Bill accidentally found out love to climb trees!

The blooms are pretty and they will just keep growing until the first frost stops them.

 Look carefully to see them throughout these trees-20' high on this tree!

 And this one.  The loofa will be ready to pick and dry and bleach in November;

Thanksgiving time works best.

 While we take the trip to our neighbors to care for her pets, Ethan likes to drive his own golf cart!

He 'leads' the way by speeding ahead and waiting for us to catch up!

And in case the other picture wasn't enough for you-

here is Mrs. Argiope (or orb weaver to her friends!) in a close-up!

Arachnids and friends

 This spider that has turned up in our pool area is very easy to identify because of the web's zipper in the middle!   It is a case of calling attention to himself-good luck attracting a mate in here fella!  It is a cousin to the one out in the back yard area, this one a Yellow Orb Weaver while the bigger spider of the other day is the Golden Orb Weaver. (You might remember the golden cloth article woven from the fiber of the golden orb!) This one is only 3" in size.   He weathered the rain all day yesterday that were the results of Hurricane Cristobal.  (We were only given 1.3" of rain!)

 The Trumpet Vine is in full flower-the hummingbirds are loving them!  So am I!

 The butterflies are in full flight-we have hundreds of them again!  They are hard to get a picture because they do not hold still but this one was collecting some mineral from the driveway and I managed to capture several shots.

 He is a Spicebush Swallowtail.

 Of course, my little camera just couldn't capture the true iridescence of his colors!  But you get the idea!

And this little nub on the cactus leaf if another flower starting on the Dutchman's Pipe or Cereus, I like the common name of Queen of the Night!  I will be watching her for another midnight visit!

Going Bananas

 I purchased some fiber called Banana Silk and dyed it , well, banana color!  I think a pretty little scarf will result from this eventually!

 On the way out to take one of my daily excursions, I realized I've never photographed this flower Bill planted by the gopher turtle hole where he doesn't mow.  It is called a Candelabra Cassia and it stands almost 5' tall.

 The flowers are very pretty and you can see why this is named candelabra...

 This is the second grove of banana trees Bill has started.  Hoping to have fruit on them next year.

 Another member of the banana family-a Banana Spider!  I met her down a side path!  I did stop before I ran into her rather large and strong web!  She is a bane to lawn mowers because her web is so strong and sticky .  I tried to capture the color of the web-also a very bright yellow like her!  She is about 4" in size, non-poisonous but might cause a heart attack from the fright!

 You can see her elaborate web work-it covers a 6' by 4' area.

 When I took Bill back to see what I had discovered, we saw her with a yellow moth!  She had made a good job of cocooning him for a snack later on.

I am glad they do not like peoples.........!