Taking Advantage of a Nice Day

Yesterday was such a gorgeous day, in the low seventies, sunshine, blue sky; I took the kids on a hike over at Palmer Park. (I say this because I’m not going to finish the information on the mordants today, just tannic acid.)

Both Blue Jay and I both forgot cameras, a fact the Blue Jay bewailed repeatedly. There were some excellent views of Pikes Peak and the Front Range, and some awesome sandstone formations on the Templeton Trail.

At the tail end of the hike, which was kind of rugged, we saw bunches of ladybugs on the Yuccas. About three years ago we had hiked in the same area. Blue Jay and pi Guy were intent on counting ladybugs but had no idea that they would be in such abundance. The Yucca plants were like an open square for mobs of them. (Blue Jay corrected me. Mobs are for kangaroos. All is venery.) To see them out on the first day of spring was impressive.

It was a great break. But back to the mordant business, at least for tannic acid to treat the cotton. I just want to be prepared especially if there are lead times to contend with.

I might be able to get tannic acid from a bag of oak leaves or walnut shells brewed up like tea. Walnut shells I can obtain from a metal polisher or metal finishing supplier like Cyclone Sandblasting Equipment (http://www.mytoolstore.com/cyclone/access.html) 50 lbs for ~$55 plus shipping. Lucy’s sister lives near some pecan groves, the owners of which sell shelled pecans. It’s possible that I could obtain some of the waste shells to use like the walnut shells.

We’ll try the brewing of walnut shells and/or pecan shells as an experiment. We could use our own shells obtained from whole walnuts from the grocery store. Or, another plan is to get some sumac and brew that.

If these plans are not successful, I have plan B. Plan B would be to purchase the chemical from our trusty friends at B & H Photo.

Tannin vs. Tannic acid. www.Smarter.com has a lot of coffees and teas listed when looking up tannic acid. However, if you look at an article by Bruce Richardson at Elmwood Inn, Perryville, KY, (http://elmwoodinn.com/about/tannicacid.htm, I like this news letter. I’d like to stay at his Inn someday.) he clearly differentiates between tannins and tannic acid. He even shows the difference in chemical formula, and makes the statement bold, “There is no tannic acid in tea!” So, no tea for tannic acid.