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Friday, February 21, 2020

Tying Knots

Right out the gate, 
I want to share that this post is as much about tying up loose ends
as it is about tying knots.
To me, that's a good thing.

There was a time when knowing various knots 
was an admirable skill.
And it still is though not acknowledged by very many.

As kids, shortly after learning to tie our shoes,
we learned how to tie the bowline.
This meant we could hitch our own horse
and didn't have to ask for help or wait for our parents.
A sense of grown-up independence is an awesome feeling
at the age of 5 or 6.
The other bit we learned about tying a bowline
was that the horse could pull back and tighten it
and it could still be untied.
This was a big lesson about more than a knot
or just tying a horse.
If you take the time to do something right the first time,
later when you come back to it
life will be made easier on all accounts.
Lessons like that seem to be a rarity anymore.
What a shame.
One knot/braid I knew how to do years ago was a spliced hondo.
I could take a few of those loose strands
and weave them back into the rope to make a handy loop at the end.
By knowing that one "knot," I could make a lasso out of just about
any sort of rope, string, or twine.
This enables one to make the easiest halter or harness ever
for critters of all kinds.
I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've used this.
I was just going to grab a pix off the internet figuring there would be plenty.
There were none!
So maybe there are folks who don't know how to do this.
I found a piece of rope and call Rip - our trusty K9 companion.
Put the loop around the neck, then take the tale of the rope
behind the front legs, up and back under the neck loop.
For a halter, put the loop over the muzzle with the knot under the chin, 
tale up around the ears, then back through the loop again under the chin.
Also, do you know how difficult it is to get a picture of the back of a dog
that thinks you called him to play with him?


And strands of a different kind:
Strand ~ 1
Gracie is fixed!  :-)
She actually went no farther than Dr. Hubby.
Since she is in a cabinet, transporting her
with sketchy weather wasn't working out.
She no longer stalls then revs 100 mph.
I was so happy when testing her out.
She's back to the "ol' reliable" Gracie I know and love.
Mrs. Kirksey will be staying until her quilt top is assembled.
She's having a nice time and has completed 88 of the 136 blocks
needed for the top.
More on this soon.

Strand ~ 2
The floods have subsided and any vehicle associated with road
maintenance is in full action across 2 counties.
We just heard yesterday that from 1 rock-pit,
there were 93 semi trucks of rip rap that all went up the river.
That's just in 1 day!
It truly is amazing how such an event can occur,
and we humans march on.
Many folks are now trying to deal with insurance companies
or make life decisions because they did not have flood insurance.
(Many of the places flooded were not in flood zones.)
Again I am so thankful that we have only some hardscaping/landscaping 
issues to address - including replacing some riprap.
Moving water amazes me.
Huge 3-6 foot boulders completely carried away.
PS~ they just got the road between here and work reopened so we don't have to go the zig-zaggy way through town and crazy people.

Strand ~ 3
It's nearly spring! 
Not yet, but nearly.
I feel again this February much like I have in Februarys of the past.
It's that hanging onto winter but looking forward to spring.
Many of you have your seed catalogs dogeared and marked up.
If you are interested in planting by the moon 
or just some good garden advice, 
one book I like is Granny Miller's 'Garden Farming".
I have no affiliation with Amazon or Granny Miller.
I have both of her books and appreciate her sensible straightforwardness.

Strand ~ 4
I am taking a CAD class.
It's going well, but quite the learning curve.
Old dog, new tricks.
I like it, but wow there's a lot to remember: which little icon goes with which function and where to find the 1 of 52(?) drop down menus I'm looking for - oy!
The plan in addition to being able to do our own detail drawings for work
is to be able to design our retirement home.
This will be a bit of a long term project 
since we have a few years before retirement.
I've heard "live with your plans for a year before building."
I like that since in most cases, we are excited in the beginning 
and more apt to overlook something simple that might annoy us later on.
Remember that lesson from age 5-6 - 
do it right the first time.

Do you know how to tie a knot using 4 strands rather than just 2?
Ah now c'mon, you can do it.
It's fun.
Having knowledge even when it's not in use is still valuable.
And, before you think I'm all seriousness and have no sense of humor,
here's a very special sort of knot.
When we were kids, there was occasionally someone who shared
this with us, and we loved it.


Have a beautiful day!








12 comments:

  1. As a kid in 4-H and other groups these were often taught. Must admit I was horrible at getting them right and the name right. However, somewhere in my grey matter some memory recovers when there is a need for a certain constraint. Can't name it but when it works when needed. One such knot, although not pretty, has continued to hold the corner of my fence after the two trees came down after the March wind storm 2 years ago.

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    1. It's been 2 years since the trees fell? Wow, time flies. I am not good at remembering names either :-/

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  2. Love the knot tutorial. They're invaluable. What a handsome boy your Rip is. Glad to hear Gracie is all better, and I say, never underestimate a handy man. ;)

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    1. I was a afraid of "breaking her". He of course has no sentimental attachment to her so dug right in :-)

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  3. Oh planning a home.... Did you ever hear the advice...? Pick the perfect place, to face the front of your home, and then, choose another. I did, and I never understood it. Of course, that would be if one had lots of land, and could build, in any direction wanted. Would not work, if one was facing a road. -smile-

    So glad you do not have a lot of real flooding troubles!!!!!!

    Nope, do not know how to tie knots. But I'm quite sure, my husband does.

    More 5-6 year-olds should learn the lesson of do it right the first time! But it can be learned, at any age. Can be... But will it be...?

    Stay safe!
    *•.¸💛¸.•*

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    1. I have never heard that, but will certainly keep it in mind. We don't have land yet so will see what our options are when the time comes - hoping for a couple hundred acres so hopefully a few options. Up to God.

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  4. We almost built a house 25 years ago. ha... We ended up staying put and retiring early. A good decision so it seems for us. I did enjoy the exercise of looking for a plot of land, drawing up plans. No CAD was used. A lot of dreaming.

    As to your knots my mind doesn't work too good with knots. I have a terrible time following directions. I can't knit or crochet which to me is a particular arrangement of knots. At least that is what something looks like when I try to knit or crochet. ha...

    Good to hear you didn't have any damage from the floods.

    And I do know what it is like trying to get a dog to come to you and sit still when they want to play. My dog doesn't like to have her picture taken. I think she thinks I will steal her soul.

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  5. My dad learned to make a lot of different knots when he was in the navy. He pointed out that knitting is making knots, too. I'm glad to hear that your damage wasn't too bad from the flooding.

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  6. Such a pleasant post to read today. Blessings, Laura

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  7. One of the first things my son learned to do in Cub Scouts was tie several different knots. I could not for the life me tell which ones they are now so maybe I need to have him teach me. :)

    That was nice to read the update the recovery from your floods. I can't even imagine! I hope things will get back to normal quickly for everyone.

    Spring time is definitely upon us here in North Idaho. We've even had a couple days that reached 50 degrees. I am starting to think about my little vegetable garden and what I would like to grow this year.

    Your puppy looks so sweet! I'm really looking forward to when we can have a dog again. We are renting at the moment so sadly no pets are allowed even though we live out in the country.

    I hope you have a lovely rest of your week!

    Love,
    Annie

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  8. I sure appreciate that you stopped over and left a comment. I didn't have it linked up in the tabs.It's there now, and with all the hub bub and tech issues things got all scrambled up. I will replace the link to the Etsy shoppe on my side bar, I will be back to read your post about what knots, my son needs to use the computer..thank you again

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