The light this evening was truly golden. The grass is too, even though it looks lush and green in these pictures. We could sure use some rain.
A golden new puzzle :-).
Saturday, August 30, 2025
Friday, August 29, 2025
Meanwhile, Back In Nashville
Wait, what? Nashville?
Last year I heard that the purple martins in this part of the country gather in Nashville to prepare for their fall migration. The video clips were amazing. The amount of birds, staggering. I talked all year about going down...and then didn't go.
I hate to disappoint myself. I had really wanted to go...but it's hard to leave the farm, especially in a hot summer. It's easy to talk myself out of taking trips. Maybe next year.
We were working on Saturday morning, normal farm chores and helping load up fence posts for a friend. I stopped to get some lunch and, of course, picked up my phone to see what was happening on Instagram.
Sheep, painting, knitting, cats, rabbits, squirrels, wool...and a post by Margaret Renkl.
"They'll be on their way soon. If you're anywhere near Middle Tennessee, you don't want to miss this. This sight will get you through whatever hardships the next year brings."
Summer is hard for me, especially the heat of this past (I hope it's passed) summer. I've spent almost an hour trying to think of anything besides these birds that I like about summer and have come up with nothing.
Sure, flowers are beautiful, fresh tomatoes are sweet, butterflies and bees, the bats, but I'd trade all that to not have to try to make it through the rest of it. The martins moving in is a good day. The quiet when they fly out is deafening.
I found Tim and asked if he'd like to go to Nashville for the day, the rest of the day.
20 is always up for a road trip. Pip, too :-).
Nashville on a Saturday night was not for the faint of heart and if we hadn't driven four hours to get there, I'd have probably said some grown up words, given up and hightailed it back north. Tim handled everything like he always does, but I'm sure he wasn't having a great time either.
We found where we needed to set up at dusk, gave up trying to find someplace to eat downtown and headed to the outskirts and had a good dinner, found our way back downtown (holy $%&#).
I had been quiet panicking to myself that we were a day too late and they would have moved on. The tips online had been to get there by the 22nd (it was now the 23rd) around 7:30. It was 7:15 and we didn't see any birds.
And then there were four. And a group of six. And some flying into some small trees along a sidewalk.
And then there were birds everywhere!
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The trees got heavier and heavier as thousands of purple martins settled in for the night. And this is about all the people who were there to watch. There were thousands of people two blocks away and they missed the best show they'd see all year.
These two videos are short. The next video was while I was filming "live".
Some answers from questions from that IG post:
Yes, I believe they gather here every year.
No, it doesn't seem like enough trees. They were all bent low by the time everyone found a place.
They gather here each August. If you follow @birdsafenashville or @nashvilleurbanbird they apparently post the details each summer and give best dates to see them.
Do not go on Friday or Saturday if you can help it. Watch for downtown events like football games...and avoid those as well.
We did not get pooped on, but the truck got a couple hits. It wasn't bad and I even walked up under the trees near the end.
Even Tim enjoyed seeing them, but would probably have rather stayed the night than pull back into the farm at nearly 1:00 a.m.
It was absolutely worth the drive.
Thursday, August 21, 2025
Blooms, Butterflies, Bugs And Bats
The best news I have is how many butterflies I've seen this summer. I have had years where I could count on one hand the number of monarchs and swallowtails I've seen. A few years now where I could probably count them on two hands. This year I've lost count!
I've seen monarchs (sometimes as many as four) almost every day for a month or so and I'm finding multiple caterpillars out on the milkweed plants. I haven't seen a chrysalis yet, but maybe if I put that in writing I'll see one on my way to the house this evening ;-).
Not only are the monarch visits up, I've had more swallowtails than I've ever had here. Stella used to get pretty ones on the butterfly bushes at her house, but I'd never seen a zebra down here and I've seen two this summer.
We've also had many, many smaller butterflies of all shapes and sizes, several hummingbird moths and more hummingbirds than normal as well. I put in some salvias this year and they love those big blue blooms.
The bats have been happy this summer too. We've been overrun by mosquitos, so the bats have been busy.
Today has had just a hint of fall in the air so maybe the end of this horrible summer is in sight. In the meantime, here's a new fun and easy puzzle for you.
Speaking of puzzles, I'd LOVE to know who works all the puzzles at 300 pieces :-D. If you don't want to use your name online, shoot me an email if you'd like to raise your hand.
Friday, August 15, 2025
Are You Feeling Lucky?
There are at least five "extra" clovers in this picture. Can you find them?
I made this into a puzzle and by making the pieces a little smaller (140 pieces rather than 120), the four and five leaf clovers really stand out. I thought that might make the clovers easier to find...but the puzzle took me almost a hour to complete so I'd maybe adjust the number of pieces if you aren't looking for a good challenge :-o.
Monday, August 4, 2025
July
July...was brutal. So incredibly hot and humid. Demoralizing. I did manage to spend about 36 hours up north for a wedding...and that made it almost worse. Worse in a "need to buy a lottery ticket" way. And yet, watching these photo flash by, there was a little good mixed in...but I can say it was better watching it than living it.
Friday, August 1, 2025
Garden Visitor
While I'm partial to butterflies of all sorts and sizes, I have a special fondness for hummingbird moths. I heard the distinctive buzzing as I walked around the back of the Wool House dye garden and was able to locate this snowberry clearwing moth working on some zinnias.
Bees, butterflies and actual hummingbirds love zinnias. I do too :-).
Thursday, July 31, 2025
Hey, Pinot
It looks like you've been exploring in the barn again!
"Yeah, maybe. How'd you know?"
It's not a puzzle. Look at your messy face!
This picture does make a fun puzzle though. Enjoy!
Pinot loves his outdoor run around time and is currently obsessed with exploring the barn. He still briefly checks in with some of his garden haunts, but I think he likes visiting the sheep and he loves to climb on the lower hay bales.
Wednesday, July 30, 2025
Tuesday, July 29, 2025
Us Sheeps [Updated Yarn Crawl Hours]
Other than two fairly recent dreams that finally involved sheep, the only animals I've ever dreamed about that I can remember have been bears. So, up until the last few months, I sort of assumed my "spirit animal" was actually a bear.
My spirit animal is surely a sheep. I like I'd like to lay around and take naps, hang out with my friends, listen to stories, go out to graze, visit the farm ponds, eat cookies, cuddle up with a sheep friend in the winter, wear wool sweaters...
Us sheeps ain't lovin' this summer.
Yeah...
Interestingly, most of these pictures could do with some cropping, but every time I tried they immediately felt too close and too hot. Sort of like when Archie tries to lay on your lap when it's 94 degrees. Every day. For the entire month of July.
* * * * *
I doubt anyone was actually planning on hitting the Bluegrass Yarn and Fiber Crawl Trail to come out to the farm this Wednesday evening (Heck, even I don't want to visit the farm when it's this hot :-o), but if you dare, we'll all be here sitting in front of our fans.
It looks like Thursday might be a little better though, so I'm adding in that evening as well.
It might be better.
It might not.
I have a bunch of really yummy leftover icing.
Maybe I'll make a small cake.
I'll try to keep Archie away from you.
Fiber Crawl Updated Hours
Wednesday and Thursday 4:00 to 7:00
Saturday and Sunday 11:00 to 4:00
Thursday, July 24, 2025
Zen And The Art Of Spinning Wheel Maintenance
The first thing I tell someone who's having trouble with their spinning wheel or weaving loom is that while these tools are definitely specialized, they are at heart, basic tools, and when they aren't functioning well, probably just need something adjusted or simply fixed...
...and then I spend Two Weeks of the Tour de Fleece fighting with my own wheel, not having the most fun, whining about the trouble I'm having, stressing that I need to start saving for a new wheel...
Luckily our small, but mighty Ravelry group is full of experienced and helpful spinners...who still had to suggest to me twice that maybe my drive band was just slipping, and sure enough, five minutes later I am back to spinning with a well working wheel.
Do as I say, not as I do.
Sigh...
This is an odd picture, but I was working with blazing too hot, too bright sun and this spot in the shade worked perfectly for a yarn shot. Neither the wheel or Bea are in prison. They are both just trying to stay cool. The fence is for Pinot...who is enjoying the AC in the wash room.
Love this light silver and it's so soft, lightly spun and fluffy - Sara yarn - and I think I might just go ahead and spin the rest of what I have left of his roving and make a souvenir from one of the sweetest sheep ever.
This is what a touch of Cotswold will do for your yarn. Drape a shawl would die for :-).
This picture just struck me funny. Do you see two eyes, a silver wig and my poor downtrodden wheel sticking her tongue out at me?
I probably need to go sit in the AC with Pinot ;-).
Wednesday, July 23, 2025
The 2025 Bluegrass Yarn And Fiber Crawl
It's time for the Bluegrass Yarn and Fiber Crawl and the farm and Wool House will be open for the following dates and times and can also be "open" at other times, but please email to make an appointment. If you show up without checking first, you'll probably just get put to work ;-).
Saturday and Sunday July 26th and 27th from 11:-00 to 4:00
Wednesday July 30th from 4:00 - 7:00
Saturday and Sunday August 2nd and 3rd from 11:-00 to 4:00
So what can you do if you come out to the farm?
Obviously bring cookies or crackers to treat the sheep and meet the flock :-D.
Bring your spinning wheel or current project and find a shady spot to sit and visit...or not visit if you'd prefer to just relax and not be social. We understand.
Bring a picnic lunch or a bottle of wine and snacks and enjoy relaxing on the farm.
Wear work clothes and clean stalls or run the weed eater. Just kidding...sort of... ;-).
Do a little shopping. We have raw and washed fleeces, roving, batts, yarn, spindle kits, gift items...
Take a free spinning lesson - bring your own wheel or borrow one of mine. I can also help with basic knitting questions or problems...or teach you some new ones ;-). I'm also happy to talk about how to process wool or take care of sheep. What would you like to learn?
Get your passport stamped and try to win some prizes from the Kentucky Fiber Trail!
There
willshould be cake on both Sunday afternoons. Wednesday evening...I might make some fresh sourdough bread and have a bowl of bruschetta topping.
If you need directions or have any questions, just shoot me an email!
Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Pedaling and Treadling Along
My Tour has not been amazing this year, but some spinning is better than no spinning so I'm pedaling on and enjoying what I'm doing. If you are discouraged by your progress, keep going. The back of the pack is not the worst place to be ;-).
I wanted something fun and easy to work on yesterday so I headed up to the fleece loft and pulled down an old favorite, Hershey. As I looked back through the archives this morning to find my favorite picture of him, I see that he's a frequent choice for a fun spin during the Tour. It's good to have friends who are comfortable to hang out with.
I posted a cell phone picture on the Ravelry group last night and had a comment about how white he'd gotten so I pulled out the big camera to capture the tiniest bit of gray still shining through. I think the yarn, with the fibers twisted to compress the colors, will look at least a little gray...
I mostly love scrolling back through decades of old blog posts, but in doing so I always know I'll shed some tears so some days I just can't. Today was no exception, but I also came across this picture, which is one of my favorites.
This was the day Hershey and friends arrived from New York back in 2013 and that's my friend Julie waving from the road. So glad to have these old pictures.
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Friday, July 11, 2025
Short Round
I knew as the Tour de Fleece started that rather than one big spinning challenge I was once again going to do a "tour" of some of my favorite sheep. I started with Short Round because I also knew that she and I were soon facing a really hard call and I knew I'd have more fun spinning while she was still sitting by my side.
She's buried out next to Jared who I believe was her very best friend in the whole world. Or maybe her last very best friend. Maybe she had other special friends earlier in her life before she moved here. I hope I get to find out some day.
She was a funny old ewe. It was an honor.
Short Round
April 2011 - July 11, 2025
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