My new kitty has been back at the hospital as the abcess on her leg was getting worse and causing her a fever. She had some surgery on it and a drain installed and is now home.
Giving her medication by mouth does little to make any cat friendly, much less one who lived off in the woods beyond a manure pile and jumped from round bale to round bale for adventure. She is getting a little friendlier each day and is actually meowing hello and rubbing her head on the edge of her shelter.
The sky this morning shows a promise of sun. There is a strip of fog between the fields and the mountains. The mountains are light and airy blue and the strip of fog a pale gentle blue. Today it is to reach the high seventies and last night the chorus of spring peepers rang out over the countryside for the first time this spring.
Over at Dancing Ewe Farm the lambs are being born and soon I will be milking the sheep on days that Jody and Luisa head to the Farmers markets to sell their Italian Artisan cheeses.It is a beautiful farm with many sources of inspiration for my batik.
With such cold and stormy weather at the end of March (out like a lion), I have been in my studio working on silk scarves. Dyeing the scarves takes very little space compared with dyeing batik. I like to dye the batik outdoors, as most batik are large in size and when they drip between the dyebath and rinse containers the lawn is the better place to clean up.
Painting on silk is a lot like painting on a wet sheet of watercolor paper. The dye spreads on contact with the silk. The colors are translucent as they are with watercolor and batik. When I want a crisper line, it must be brushed over the design after it is dry. I love to do images of the Adirondacks, natural patterns, the sky, the forests, fields and animals, especially horses on my scarves.
The silk scarves are dyed with silk dyes. The silk must also be prewashed to be sure it will readily accept the dye. The dyes I am currently using require an afterfix process to set the dye. when completed the scarf may be washed in cold water. The color will hold.
The lambs are fed and it is a glorious afternoon with small flowers appearing and buds expanding on shrubs and trees!