Pokeberry Time

When I pulled in after work today I couldn't help but notice the pokeberries lining the driveway along the barn. I will pick them before the birds eat them all. The berries make a lovely dye color. Sometimes the wool turns yellow, sometimes pink, sometimes red, depending on a variety of things ranging from amount of rain to the alignment of the planets ( I like to think! ) I boil the berries, then strain the juice to get the pits out. I use vinegar as a mordant to make the dye stick. So much to do to get ready for this big show weekend, then a month off before New York State Sheep and Wool at Rhinebeck, my biggest and favorite show of the year.