Tim was trimming some trees along the far fence. Hank came over to see what was going on and the sheep all beat it to the barn.
Whoa, whoa, wait a minute! Is that something good to eat?
I love this picture. The colors, the sharpness of the sheep, the looks on their faces... How many sheep can you pick out?
The red buds have been just gorgeous this year. I can't believe they are still blooming, although the end is near. What a beautiful spring we are having.
"Spend the afternoon. You can't take it with you." Annie Dillard
I really should have been back at the farm working on fleeces, web stuff, etsy shop, artwork, getting ready for the fiber festival, cleaning the house, sealing the new concrete in the barn, that stupid messy garden, trimming Betsy's hairy armpits (don't ask) and a million other things.
Tim offered to take me to the river though for a spring paddle and I justified it (why do I feel like I need to?!?) by turning it into a photo assignment. I knew we'd see some birds (Sunday Stills this week) and I still needed to take a spring river shot to add to a set at Tim's shop. I'd tried to last year, but we got so much flooding rain that the river was always muddy.
This spring has been beautiful.
I love this picture. Evening is my favorite time of day. It wasn't really that dark, just the way the exposure worked out trying to get some sunbeams shining through the cloud above.
And this is a classic example of Ed's Sunday Stills assignment to turn around and look behind you. I thought the sun had set and the photos were done for the day. Nope. As I circled around, headed to the ramp I "accidentally" saw the golden light hitting the far river bank. Much more than I was able to capture...but a golden memory I can take with me.
How do you catch a picture of Ewenice napping in the late afternoon sun?
Ewe-neak up on her! ;-)
"Don't quit your day job. That wasn't the least bit funny. And why is everyone so worried about me???"
I walked out to the barn the other morning fearing the worst. I looked in the first stall and no Ewenice. Into the second stall, no Ewenice. Oh no! She got outside and couldn't get back in (pretty much everyone else was napping inside) and it was cold.
I ran to the door and surveyed the side field. No Ewenice. Where could she be??? Oh. No. We'd heard a ton of coyotes the other morning. Did they somehow get her?!? Panic.
I ran around the back of the barn and - screech - there she was, standing in the barn lot with B. Willard, Mia and Blizzard.
"Ewenice! You're up!"
"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?!?"
And that's only one of the many reasons we all love her :-).
I posted a Twitter picture of her that a.m. and added a note to the original post, but should have been a little smarter letting everyone know she was okay. Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes. It takes a village! Or I'd like to think of us as a flock :-).
Random.org picked Cynthia P. Congratulations! Send me an email with your address :-). _______________________________________________________________
If you sent a sheep sketch and it doesn't show up below, let me know! I think I got everyone, but I'd hate to have missed someone. I won't do the book drawing until this evening just in case. Also, if I wrongly identified anyone, again let me know :-o.
Without further ado (and in no particular order other than in groups to try to make sure I didn't get something wrong) presenting the Draw A Sheep Art Show!!!
Chris S.
Susan W.
Cynthia P.
John C.
John C.
John C.
Monika
Alice K.
Alice K.
Alice K.
Alice K.
Alice K.
Aaron M.
Dick F.
Tina E.
Brenda C.
Kendra G.
Judy P.
Tina E.
Deb T.
Ann W.
Ann W.
Ann W.
Ann W.
Aren't these great! How about a big round of applause :-D.
And a big BOOOO for me because I didn't get my B. Willard picture done. I need to Find me some Five even when I'm in super busy springtime mode. Especially when I'm super busy springtime mode, eh?
Hold me accountable! And check back to see who won the book drawing :-).
Last call for entries in the Draw a Sheep Art Show today!
John C.
I've received some really great sheep so far :-). I'll leave "entries" open until noon today EST. Everyone who sends in a sheep they've drawn during the Draw a Sheep Challenge will be entered to win a copy of Henry Moore's Sheep Sketchbook.
You can either scan your drawings, take a photo of your drawings or if you did your drawing on a tablet or computer, just save it as a jpeg and send it that way. Please keep the file size under 300 KB and send them to thecrazysheeplady AT gmail DOT com.
Remember Just. For. Fun. Not a contest. No judging. Just fun :-).
I should have saved Transitions for this week when winter ends and spring begins but in keeping with the seasons, let's find us some weather…..naughty or nice. Let’s show everyone what it’s doing in your neck of the woods.
We had some interesting clouds roll through the other afternoon/evening - where the light gets super intense and the sky turns from gray to black to bright blue to gray to black... Here is a view of the front part of our farm, looking down from Stella's house.
(Edited to add extra picture and notes in italics) Had a question if these were all SOOC (straight out of camera) and no, the first picture is tweaked some using Pioneer Woman's Lovely and Ethereal Action. Here it is "before".
Still a nice shot - the weird pre-storm light gives it a pretty ethereal look to begin with, which is what prompted me to run the action last night and see what would happen. I like different things about each picture.Which do you like better and why?
The rest of the pictures are SOOC. I got lucky with the storm clouds ;-).
I'd hoped the bright white clumps of clouds puffing up behind Stella's cherry tree would show up a little more, matching the bright white clumps of flowers. Look at all her bees!
The flowers here could be better exposed I think. Seem a little dark and dull but I like the overall story of the picture.
Coming back down and pulling into our driveway. These pictures were all taken within 15 minutes. I find the fence in the corner very distracting here...
I wish the sheep and grass weren't so dark (underexposed?) in this shot, but love the clouds and bright, bright blue sky.
...an interesting element in this shot.
But notice how just a second or two later, how the light changed and now the grass is super lit? Figuring out how to use the light is a fun and (for me) lucky challenge.
And the sliver of the moon above a straight line of clouds, stretching all the way across the sky that night. I could have picked a wider shot to show that, but really like the moon in this one.
I took a bunch of the moon pictures - all with silhouetted background - barn, trees... - in the picture, but by chance zoomed in on the moon for one and ended up picking it out from all the others. Still learned a lot experimenting with them though and that's what make Sunday Stills so fun. Thanks Ed and Linda :-D.
Update - Thanks everyone!!! She's up this morning :-D. Yay Ewenice!!!
And say some prayers. Miss Ewenice's wonky weak leg is extra wonky tonight and she's having trouble standing. This is very worrisome. And while we know it's going to happen sooner or later...I'd sure like it to be later.
Our Redbuds are so beautiful this year. Well, they are so beautiful every year, but maybe a touch more this year. They've had plenty of rain and plenty of warm sunshine.
The trees nearest the Wool House end up collecting bits of stray wool that blows off the porch as I'm skirting fleeces. Looks like a fancy gift topper, wrapped around these colorful blooms.
Look how this one is grabbing the flower with her front legs. And yes, she's a she. Worker bees are females. As in any bee you see out working is a female ;-). The yellow on her back legs is pollen.
I took these while I was skirting some fleeces parked in the shade of this tree. The same tree Iris and Miss Ewenice were sitting under a couple days ago. It's a favorite with everyone - two, four, or six legged.
The tree was full of bees of all sorts, shapes and sizes. Sometimes one would accidentally fly into me, but I never got stung. Bees out working have better things to do than sting you, so don't be afraid to get a closer look.
Took a short video, forgot to turn the sound on, was a little bummed, found a pretty song to play in the background and ended up liking it better than if I'd tried to record all the buzzing.
