Punkin's Patch

The Award Winning Boulderneigh

2012-02-14T15:03:00.002-05:00

I had a blast working with Michelle on her farm cartoon :-).

If you aren't already familiar with Boulderneigh, go check it out and meet her fabulous farm family in real life!

Everybody Was Kung-Fu [Face] Fighting

2012-02-13T12:28:00.003-05:00

It's not that Handy and Hickory don't like each other. It's just that, well, they're not BFFs like Handy and T-Bone. Handy stays to himself. Hickory is a pocket pony. I think Handy likes me, but I wouldn't swear that he really likes anyone...except T-Bone. Hickory loves anyone who'll feed him or he thinks might have a cookie in their pocket ;-).

Saturday morning I woke to hear Handy and Hickory ripping around the front yard, making laps around the house. I threw on some sweats, grabbed my hat and gloves and headed out the door, hoping to stop as much yard damage as I could. The wind that hit me was so cold and blowing so hard (the secondary reason the gate blew open ;-) that I was an instantly miserable and dreaded the cat and mouse game I knew was going to follow.

Except I didn't take into consideration secret weapon Hickory, who it turns out was mostly just interested in waking me up and getting me out to the barn...to feed him. He instantly trotted over and followed me up to the barn. Handy stood in the middle of the backyard incredulous.

"Dude."

"What are you doing?!?"

"We're free! She can't catch us!!!"
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"Oh good GRIEF!!!!!"

And he dejectedly followed us up to the barn.

His buddy T-Bone would never have let him down like that.

I watch this almost daily.

Their favorite game of face fighting.

They'd both be happier hanging out in the same paddock, but T-Bone is a fat piggy and Handy is an old man who needs lots of food.

T-Bone would steal all of Handy's food and is pretty mean about it.

But honestly, I'm not sure Handy wouldn't think that was a fair trade.

Angry [Cats]

2012-02-10T16:37:00.002-05:00

Betsy was asleep. And then she was zipping up the corner porch post.

Note bird flying away.

She went on up to the top anyway.

And came back down angry.

Poor Betsy...

A Scottish Surprise

2012-02-09T14:48:00.003-05:00

Remember these cuties from last fall?

I finally got around to washing one of the Scottish Blackface fleeces. Thanks Find Five...and our friends who fixed the water heater in the wash room :-).

From everything I'd read, I knew it was going to be a long, coarse wool. That's okay, I'm a coarse wool sorta girl. I wasn't expecting quite as much kemp as I found though. See that short, kinky black fiber? There was tons of white just like it, like a full kemp undercoat. Ugh.

Just for grins though I ran a bit through the drum carder as is/was. Pretty hairy. Pretty, but hairy. I then combed some, which I thought did a great job pulling out almost all the short fibers, leaving the long, soft outer coat.

But it was very fly-away-ish (I'm sure there's a better word) - like it was everywhere and all over my black polar fleece jacket. I misted it with a light spinning oil concoction and ran it through the carder.

Very pretty.

I then grabbed the Kromski wheel and took it out on the Wool House porch. In February (!). Betsy joined me and alternately napped (picture on Twitter) and tried to catch birds (pictures to follow later - don't let me forget - what a grumpy cat face!).

I was surprised as I started spinning that there was still a good deal of kemp in the combed and carded roving. I decided to "[spin] on with confidence" and other than ending up wearing a bit more animal hair ~~than normal~~, I actually found it a fun spin.

I wound it off in a small skein and here's where I was the most surprised. It weighed nothing. Obviously a tiny skein of yarn doesn't weigh much anyway, but this weighed nothing. I remembered when Stella and I were picking up the fleeces as they were shorn that they were super light. I assumed then it was just a lack of lanolin thing, but after washing the lanolin out of a greasy fleece, shouldn't the playing field be level?

I gave it a good soak in hot, soapy water, rinsed and squeezed out most of the water. Took it outside and gave it a twirl. Next surprise. Out flew three or four pieces of kemp. Gave it a good snap and more flipped out. I snapped it several times and it never let up. How much short fiber was still in there?!? Ugh. Maybe this yarn is mainly good for rugs.

But it sure is pretty. I love this picture - it's hanging on the Lamb Camp sign. I love back lighting, straight lines, fuzzy yarn, pretty color (or lack of). Might be my favorite yarn shot yet.

And the final (well, so far) surprise. It knit up beautifully. Such a pretty bright color, good stitch definition (even with my sloppy knitting), and even with the kemp still working it's way out, it's really soft and not at all offensive. I think you could knit a sweater and not be disappointed. Or weighed down ;-).

So the moral of the story is - well, I think there's a bunch of 'em at this point.

And I guess the real moral of the story...if a cute little Scottish Blackface bottle lamb was ever looking for a home... ;-).

The Winner

2012-02-08T21:37:00.007-05:00

Congratulations, Michelle! Drop me an email and we'll start working on the Boulderneigh family :-).

This will be a fun challenge!

Like A Fire In The Sky

2012-02-07T22:00:00.004-05:00

Amazing moon rise tonight.

Saddle Suggestions?

2012-02-07T11:07:00.004-05:00

Disclaimer: I should be Finding Five every day to do some tack cleaning :-o. We are in the middle of a barn renovation though, so everything's covered in concrete dust...not that that is any real excuse now that I type those words. Sigh.

When Hickory got here, Paige checked my beloved "old lady" saddle and said it fit fine...as long as Hickory didn't gain much weight. We all know what happened :-/.

In the spirit of things eventually drying out enough to ride this spring (without turning into a miserable drought!) I'm cypherin' on my saddle situation. If I were a little flea, I wouldn't be as concerned, but I'm not and if Hickory has to pack my fat butt around, I want to make sure he's comfortable.

Here's what I've got:

The tight spot is my biggest worry (I think). The knee roll sticking out might not be an issue - not weight bearing (I don't think). The big open area over his withers - not sure if that's an issue.

Behind the kneeroll, where my leg sits, is all pretty even, top to bottom, meaning I can slide my hand under the front, but the rest is flush to his body.

I love this deep seat, but end up adding a riser pad on almost every horse I put it on, including Hickory. The stuffing is actually pretty good, so I don't believe that's the problem.

Between the deep seat, the big kneeroll and small thigh roll behind, you can see why I love this saddle. It's nice and tight and I feel very secure in it. However, a good fit for me that isn't a good fit for Hickory is not a good fit.

I'd welcome any thoughts or suggestions. How far off are we? What is a concern and what is not? Am I over-thinking this and need to just shut up and ride?

Morning Perspective And Composition

2012-02-06T09:27:00.004-05:00

Also known as trying to make the best out of being crabby about just getting heavy frost and no snow this winter.

The view from the back porch this morning. The sunlight hitting the frost gave everything an almost monotone, white look. Somehow I missed that with this pink shot. Use manual settings so you get what you want. How many times do I have to tell me? Sigh.

Everything was pretty (is monotone the right word?) except the sun hitting Handy's back. I moved off the porch to get a different sun angle, played around with how I wanted to frame him, the trees in the background, the curvy fence, the curvy shadow, the curvy driveway.

Which do you like best and why?

Sunday Stills - Liquids

2012-02-05T00:01:00.001-05:00

For this next week's challenge get some shots of liquids……any kind.

Well, there have been plenty of liquids this winter.

No shortage of liquids.

Sigh.

I noticed this on the windshield yesterday morning.

Do you see them?

Upside down trees made right side up in this upside down picture.

One of the maples out by the road.

For more liquid Sunday Stills...

A Blogiversary Giveaway!

2012-02-03T17:18:00.016-05:00

I've had a couple questions/comments on the Find Five artwork. That was something I did mostly just for fun, but also thought it would be good to have something staring me in the face for the next month, reminding me to not forget to find my five minutes every day.

I've done farm "cartoons" before. This is one of my favorites - from long ago, March of 2007. I remembered doing it, one of the earliest (and still one of my favorite) blog posts. In going back to look for it, I found that yesterday was my five year blogiversary. Holy moly!

A lot has happened in five years. Most good, some bad. Five of the characters in this cartoon are now gone. Our favorite rooster, Brushy, a couple good hens and Miss Aria. Heidi and Peabody are still here. So are Claire Bear, Handy and T-Bone. Tilly is still digging holes in the yard. I can't decide if I should laugh or cry at how I could re-post that blog and most of it would still be valid :-o.

I was going to offer to do a personal cartoon for a lucky finisher in the Find Five February challenge, but in light of my blog birthday, I think it should be open for everyone. I mostly do this blog for myself, like an online diary, but I realize that some of you like to read our diary just as much as I do and I find that really flattering. I also really enjoy reading everyone's comments. Living out on a farm, sometimes you are the only people I "talk to" during the day.

I'm not claiming to be any real sort of artist, but I think the silly cartoons are kind of fun(ny). If you'd like me to try to draw one for you and your wacky (farm or not) family, leave me a comment. I'll leave it open through next Wednesday and then draw a Random.org winner.

It's a Happy Blogiversary!

Find Five

2012-02-02T12:25:00.003-05:00

I have a confession to make. I live on a beautiful farm with some amazing sheep. I have a awesome dedicated work space in the Wool House and a loft full of fun fiber. I have drop spindles I could carry around with me, spinning wheels in the Wool House, a really cool antique Great Wheel in the living room. I don't even want to think about how many days go by that I don't spin any yarn. Something I love.

It's nuts. And it's all my fault. I just don't. make. time. And it's not like this is world peace - though God knows we could use some of that - but it's something that nags at me. That I let make me feel stupid and unproductive and ungrateful. And I'm not really any of those things. Well, definitely not ungrateful at least.

I'm not a bad spinner, but I'm not a good spinner either. I thought the other day, you know, if you just spent a measly five minutes everyday spinning something, it would probably be amazing how much better you'd get. How the second skein of yarn would probably match the first skein so your mittens fit better without some creative blocking.

And good grief! If you didn't set up the Mitten Knittin' challenge, would you have ever finished those mittens in the first place? Why does it take the Tour de Fleece or the Knitting Olympics to kick you in the butt??? Do you need an accountability challenge all the time?!?

Yes, apparently so.

So here's the February challenge - Find Five. If there is something bugging you - like not finding time to spin, knit, weave, take a walk, read a book, call someone rather than texting them, cleaning your house (okay, maybe not that ;-)... set yourself a goal to find just five minutes every day and do that thing (or things). Five minutes doesn't sound like very much, but if you are currently doing ZERO, those minutes are going to add up. Surely everyone can find five minutes somewhere.

If you'd like to join in, leave a comment here on the blog or join the Punkin's Patch Ravelry group. If you blog about it, let us know so we can follow along. Feel free to put the Find Five button on your website or Facebook or whatever you use. That's Hickory, B. Willard, Hank, Eli and one of the Adventure Chickens - five Punkin's Patch friends who are always getting stuff done. I'm not saying they are always getting stuff done we like them to...but they stay busy ;-).

I am going to spin something...every day. I'm also going to walk up the hill to Stella's...every day. I should probably clean my house too...but that's going to require a different kick in the butt. Probably from the health department ;-).

Anyone in?

Free Range Chickens

2012-02-01T10:00:00.002-05:00

Ten minutes in the life of Chicken No.

Out with the sheep by the end of the arena.

Less than ten minutes later, that's her (tiny white dot) headed down the driveway in the front field.

And that's why every time I think "That's it! Those stupid hide their eggs all over the farm so I have to buy eggs at the grocery store Adventure Chickens have got to go!" I have to just laugh...and chuck another 6 million dollar bag of chicken food in the back of the car.

Mitten Knittin'

2012-01-31T15:24:00.006-05:00

My ultimate goal with this project was to learn more about knitting with two colors before I started the patterning on the Jester sweater. I accomplished that and more!

I'd knit a green and gold Fair Isle hat a few years ago (Yeah, um, that was to wear to the championship game where Favre threw the pick in the end zone 11 rows in front of us in overtime when it was like 3 degrees - note for Jean in MN ;-). But I digress.

Aside from the obvious color structure, mittens presented a whole new set of challenges. I had to not only get my tension between stitches right, but also every time I turned a corner. I had to figure out how to pick up the stitches for the thumb, weave in my ends and stitch the cuff lining into place. I wanted a finger hole so I could answer my phone or check the weather. I over-thought that one, but learned some new tricks along the way.

Stella ~~shamed me into~~ taught me to always rip back and fix mistakes and I did a fair amount of frogging (rip it, rip it). Several times. I loved this project because tinking (knit spelled backwards ;-) was so easy because everything was a knit stitch - no stitch patterning to really muddle me up. It's sad when how easy to fix mistakes is a selling point, eh?

Anyway, I persevered and now I have a pair of pretty mittens knit from some of my favorite sheep. I had found a small bag of it buried in the storage shed and vaguely remembered having it processed. I think it was the second year, which would mean this wool came from Elizabeth, Jester, Joshua and Crazy Esther, all blended together. Pretty special.

And so, without further ado, I'm awarding myself a 2012 Mitten Knittin' badge!

And I had so much fun blocking these mittens, that I thought I'd share that as well.

Here they are, straight off the needles. They don't look too bad, but they are curvy around the thumb holes, wider and narrower in spots and a little lumpy. I also ran out of my first skein of dark gray and the second skein I spun ended up a tad heavier. I hoped a good blocking might camouflage that.

Keep in mind this is just how I do this. I could be way off base, so don't take this for gospel. I used a shallow sauce pan to heat up my wash water. I did not cook or boil my mittens ;-). I added some Mrs. Meyer's laundry soap - my favorite - and let them soak for about 20 minutes. I did two washes and two rinses and on the last rinse I added some Fibre Rinse.

While they were soaking, I made some cardboard cutouts to match and covered them with shipping tape - picked up that handy tip from a nice site I found, Two Strands. For all it's problems, you gotta love the internet.

I gently squeezed out the excess water and then rolled the mittens up in a towel to get them a little drier. I then stretched them over the forms and pinned them in place.

I didn't like the finger hole all stretched out, so pinned it together too.

And hung them out to dry...in the warm "June" sun. So much for needing warm mittens this winter :-/. I think next time I'll make a thumb blocker too. I steamed them this morning and that was fine, but in the spirit of over-thinking things... ;-).

And here they are. You can sort of see the stitched in lining. I like that and will probably incorporate that into all future mittens. The pattern was really well written and enjoyable to work. The mittens are pretty and with the double strands of yarn throughout, they'll be toasty some winter.

Who else completed the Mitten Knittin' challenge? I hope you learned as much and had as much fun as I did! And feel free to award yourself the Mitten Knittin' badge! That's Woolliam, by the way, adapted from the Six Sheep A-Skating Christmas card.

Ready for a February challenge?

Sunday Stills - Nature's Frames

2012-01-29T08:34:00.003-05:00

This next week's challenge is to get something framed by nature. Trees making a frame over a stream, a branch making a fork around the moon…nature does a lot of this if we’ll just open our eyes and look.

I apparently read blah blah blah frames...and totally missed the nature's part of the challenge. So, here are a couple pictures I took of sheep framed in a wooden (ex-tree?) doorway with a sunbeam.

That's Popcorn PeePee Pants facing us.

And Boudreaux. Poor Boudreaux. Poor Big Boudreaux. The butt of too many posts lately. I'm sorry Boudreaux. Here, have a cookie ;-).

I took these pictures with my iPhone. While definitely not the same as the Nikon, I've had a ton of fun snapping decent pictures of this and that, especially out feeding in the evenings or early morning.

With just a touch of a "button" I can post them to my Twitter account and that's become almost a second blog. A micro blog. Wait, a lamb sized blog! If you are interested, feel free to follow along and scroll back for a nice Keebler picture, a bunch of Hank shots, Renny and Ewenice headed down the driveway and even the stupid Adventure Chickens make it on there occasionally.

So, for some Sunday Stills folks who did read the directions this week...

Cat Sniffing

2012-01-27T14:57:00.000-05:00

Apparently it's 'a sheep thing'.

"Um, what are you doing?"

"Hey, watch it, Petunia!"

"Yeesh."

It's not an uncommon occurrence - happened again 10 minutes later.

Comby didn't like it any better.

Our sheep wouldn't know what to do with a cat like Nistock Farms Cleo.

Sheep Peeking

2012-01-26T11:10:00.002-05:00

I'm still knitting on my mittens. Good thing I allowed myself a month to complete them. If we were counting on my knitting to keep us warm this winter, we'd be dead by now. Except we really haven't had much winter. They way things are going, I'll be able to pose my completed End of May flower mittens on some actual flowers at the End of January. Sigh.

Anyway, as I was scanning through pictures I've taken in progress, I kept noticing little sheep peeking out from everywhere. Sheep pjs.

Sheep knitting bag (maybe Sheepmom can remind me who makes these neat bags).

I especially like this sheep.

And this darling sheep pocket purse where I stash my stitch markers, darning needle, tiny scissors...

I took this picture to show Stella what Magic Loop looks like. Included here only to see if anyone notices what's different or missing from the above pictures.
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I've lost my neat cat magnet ruler pattern marker thingie - note yellow sticky notes.

I think a sheep ate it.

Seriously.

Kinda funny story...

My Favorite Sheep

2012-01-24T21:03:00.005-05:00

Just for fun I decided to make one of those popular black and white car stickers.

MFS is our shorthand for anything involving the website and besides, I figured MFS worked better than PP ;-).

Saint Tim is obviously my local print shop, but he doesn't do bumper stickers. I found makestickers.com on an online search and I have to say, other than Zappo's, they are the most impressive internet business I've dealt with (not getting paid to say this).

Their website was super easy to use, they uploaded my design, had it printed and in the mail (with free shipping) in just a couple hours. On a Friday afternoon. The stickers arrived yesterday and I love them.

I stuck one on one of my (shhhh) favorite sheep. Can you guess who this is? A hint, that is Woolliam standing on tippy toes, peeking over his back.

"Huh? I thought I was your favorite sheep???"

You are, Woolliam, but don't tell anyone I said that okay? It's our little secret.

Of course here are a few of my other favorite sheep ;-). Mia, Renny and Henrietta in the background.

Ewen McTeagle and Graham Lamb - face off.

GL: "I thought I was her favorite sheep!"

EMcT: "Yeah? Well who's wearing the sticker?"

"I can't believe this. I thought I was your favorite sheep."

You are, Keebs, but don't tell anyone I said that okay? It's our little secret.

MSS - My Silliest Sheep (actually she's not, she just looks that way with her teeth sticking out ;-). Also my bossiest sheep. Also, probably my oldest sheep. We don't know how old Elizabeth is, but she's got a lot of gray, losing some teeth and fighting Arthur Itis this winter.

MFJS - My Favorite Jacob Sheep, Jester, who's also getting up there in years and not feeling super great and is My Worrying-est Sheep this week. B. Willard, other than battling a nasty graham cracker addiction, is feeling Much Better now, thank you very much.

With that sticker on his hip, Ewen looks like a fancy thoroughbred who's recently gone through the horse sales. A really tall thoroughbred.

My big baby...and one of my all time favorite sheep :-).

The nice warm afternoon made for fun sheep photos. I just hope B. Willard, Sherman, Lila, Marcel, Miss Ewenice, Petunia, Popcorn PeePee Pants, Rebecca Boone, Buddy, Boudreaux, Caspar Belly, Emily...don't find out they missed the post today.

But they all know they are my favorite sheep ;-).

Poor Boudreaux

2012-01-23T11:35:00.001-05:00

Eating hay scraps off himself.

"Hey look - a donut!"

"Five second rule. Totally!"

"Oh, and there's one waaay back there."

"Mmm, yummy."

"What?"

Sunday Stills - Birds

2012-01-21T23:14:00.006-05:00

This is actually a shot from last month - a heron parked in the pond behind Tim's print shop. City herons are much "tamer" than country herons. I was surprised how close he let me get.

For more Sunday Stills...

A Dog And His Boy

2012-01-21T13:17:00.005-05:00

Hank and I were horsing around last night after I got done feeding and I remembered that I'd forgotten about some fun shots I'd taken back in the late fall.

Hank was pretty feral when we got him. For the first few days he was here, he was tied up in the sheep shed, and for a couple weeks after that he drug around a long rope so that we could catch him. We didn't care if he became our best buddy, but wanted to make sure we could at least get ahold of him for routine or emergency veterinary care.

I don't remember now how long it took for him to adopt us into his flock. It doesn't seem like it was too long, but it also almost seems like he's been here forever. I do remember his first really cold, nasty evening. I went out to the barn to feed, expecting to find Hank shivering and miserable, huddled in the corner of a stall. I couldn't find him anywhere.

At the time he still had few sheep friends and as I searched all over I feared that between that and the weather, he'd given up and headed out looking for a better life. I finally caught a glimpse of him, racing around in big circles out in the field next to the barn with a huge smile on his face. Hank loves cold weather. I was so relieved to find him and find him not miserable that I went out and joined his fun. We've been playing ever since.

His favorite game is attack tag. He races in.

Jumps away just as you get close to tagging him.

Makes a big, fast circle.

Buzzes by again.

Darts away.

Races back.

And away.

Until he's had enough. Or maybe until he senses we've had enough. Then he trots over,

collapses in a fit of tickle giggles,

and gets up happy.

He especially loves to race around at dusk. I'm not sure if it's because he's rested up and just feeling good or excited to start the night's work or if he's just getting warmed up, sort of like stretching exercises. We love being part of his nightly (and daily) ritual.

Uh Oh

2012-01-19T15:03:00.001-05:00

Source: etsy.com via thecrazysheeplady on Pinterest

Have you gotten hooked on Pinterest yet?

Mopple The Whale

2012-01-18T11:00:00.004-05:00

Dis Boudreaux, not Renny. Boudreaux is, um, taller. And Lila can stuff her chipmunk cheeks all she wants, but I don't think she'll ever get this big. She doesn't have the...um..."bone structure".

"I do! I've got big bones!"

You've also, once again, Boudreaux, got a big mess on/in/throughout your big fleece.

This looks bad, but pictures can lie. It's actually way, way worse in real life. Hay chaff, chicken feathers, pizza box, a big mac wrapper, heck, I'm not sure he doesn't have a cat or two tucked away in that mess.

And like most elite athletes, Boudreaux apparently trains all day and all night. I snapped this with my phone this morning as he waddled out of the barn...to eat breakfast.

"What???"

Yeesh, Boudreaux.

Now before you start accusing me of not feeding hay properly or lecture me on the benefits of sheep coats*, let's just peruse the rest of the flock. Only a scrap or two of hay here.

Graham, scratching his ear on the new door, spotless. Lila yesterday? Pretty darn clean. Oh, and that's Rebecca Boone's clean back in the close up above. Everyone's clean but Boudreaux.

My theory? I've seen Boudreaux eating hay scraps off other sheep. I think he picks them all clean. Why no one returns the favor, I don't know. Or maybe they do and just can't keep up with his mess. Sort of like my house. Or at least that's my story...

Speaking of stories, if you do not know who Mopple the Whale is in "real life", you must pick up a copy of Three Bags Full. This is not a library book. This is keeper. One you'll read more than once.

Luckily, unlike the real Mopple, I don't think Boudreaux remembers much of anything so he won't hold this post against me. Not like Renny, who will Never Forget her friends Louann and Natalie bringing low fat cookies to her birthday party. Lila, believe it or not, doesn't even like cookies.

It's my own strange cast of characters around here ;-).

* And yes, Boudreaux would definitely be a great candidate for a coat, but for some reason I just don't really like them. And yes, I did put a sweater on 20, so it is somewhat irrational - shut up! ;-) And yes, while I'd much rather look at a clean backed Boudreaux, seeing his nappy, hay filled fleece makes me laugh. And shake my head with disbelief. That's just Boudreaux.

I'd miss burying my hands down into his wool and scratching his itchy back - which yes, would probably be less itchy without all that hay, but even my "clean" sheep love to have their backs scratched. And yes, his fleece would be worth more money if it were coated, but as I'm not going to get rich selling wool, I'm just going to do what makes me happy. Just like Boudreaux :-).

Chipmunk Cheeks

2012-01-17T11:26:00.000-05:00

Renny got mis-identified in the comments a few days ago. Dat super sized sheep was Boudreaux. Poor Renny... ;-)

I thought it would be funny (or scary) to post a better picture taken of the big boy that day, so pulled that folder up this morning, scrolled through pictures I'd taken that day and not only noticed his enormous size, but also how he's not only the biggest sheep, but also the dirtiest sheep. Okay, so maybe the blog will be about how/why Boudreaux is a walking round bale of hay.

Then I saw this...and haven't stopped laughing.

Oh, Lala. Could you have any more food stuffed in your mouth??? You've got chipmunk cheeks!

"You say that like that's a bad thing."

Sunday Stills - Corners

2012-01-15T00:01:00.000-05:00

This week's challenge it to photograph corners…..corners on buildings, boards, streets…..just find yourself a corner and play with light and shadows.

One of the examples in the neat photo tips video involved combining multiple exposures to create a desired image. As I was walking around trying to find an interesting corner shot, I saw an opportunity to experiment with that.

Disclaimer: this is all just to my best understanding and I may be way off base.

This is a bird nest in a corner of the Wool House porch. When I tried to take a picture of all the chicken feathers, baling string, hay and wool used in the construction, the bright "sunlight" back lighting everything blew out the lower half of the image - way overexposed.

It would be easier to see if the sky wasn't gray white, but if you watch the loose material hanging down from the nest, you might be able to see what I was trying to fix.

Here I shortened my exposure time and corrected the exposure for the loose material, but now the top is all way underexposed.

I set up my camera on a tripod, fixed my focal point and took several different images, varying my exposure time from way too short to way too long. Then I came in, googled how to merge the two images above, spent about an hour of time (that I should have been using to knit my mittens) trying to figure it out and here is the final result.

The nest up inside the dark corner is exposed nicely and so is the loose material hanging in the bright light. Interesting!

For more Sunday Stills...

Reason #634 Why Hank Hates Hickory

2012-01-14T13:03:00.011-05:00

Although most of the earlier reasons involve Sheep Bowling or just General Principle, reason #634 Don't Sleep On My Bed!!! may rotate higher in the list.

It's been down in the teens for the last few nights. While Hank has never acted cold (as opposed to Hickory who seems a bit perturbed by the whole "misrepresentation of moving south"), I have noticed that he does prefer to sit on some hay on really cold nights.

I set several piles of eating hay out along the top of the hill in front of the run in stalls for Handy and Hickory. The other night I took a half a bale of some old bedding hay and shook it out into a fluffy pile for Hank.

"Here Hank. This is for you."

That's all I did. All I said. He 'got it' that that particular pile was his. Handy moseyed over to check it out and Hank growled at him.

"Get away from my hay!"

"Okay."

This is why that while Hank doesn't like Handy, he doesn't hate Handy. And what does enemy #2 (coyotes come first...usually) do?

He lays down in Hank's bed.

Oh Hickory...

You are pretty cute. Not that Hank cares.

Beautiful, but frosty morning. Handy has to eat behind bars so Hickory doesn't steal his food. Seems to be a pattern here ;-).

Iris Maybelle McGillicutty

2012-01-12T11:12:00.001-05:00

Iris Maybelle doesn't get much blog time, mostly because she's far too busy for any silly computer stuff.

Her most important job is as a therapy dog. She used to go make rounds at a couple of nursing homes and was very popular. In farming communities such as ours, almost everyone of that generation grew up on a farm...with a Border Collie. She'd sit by their bed and listen to all sorts of stories about dogs they'd had back when "everyone around here had some sheep".

Now, other than an occasional public appearance, she mostly just provides Border Collie therapy to us and anyone who visits the farm. Even if you didn't know you needed some therapy, she provides it. And it's hard to beat good Border Collie therapy.

Her other main job is farm security. She's the farm police. She keeps an eye on the front, the road, Stella's driveway. If she sees a threat, she sounds the alarm and Hank comes running from the back. They make a great team and Hank would love to be more than work associates. He likes to try to get her to play with him, but she's too busy for any silly dog games.

Iris's part time job is sheep herding. While sheep herding sometimes gets trumped by "road security", we can't really fault her. She was a rescue dog, picked up off a nearby highway. Her sheep skills are just what she instinctively knows and a little of what we've been able to encourage.

She gets lots of practice helping me herd everyone back to the barn when I've accidentally left a gate open, but her favorite job is keeping the sheep in check when I purposely leave a door or gate open when I'm going back and forth, setting out hay.

This is her "YOU STAY IN THERE AND DON'T TRY TO BUM RUSH THIS GATE!!!" face. And it works.

Her least favorite job is babysitting bottle lambs, but we aren't going to talk about that because too much talk about bottle lambs...makes me want a bottle lamb and it's getting dangerously close to that time of year lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala ;-).

In The Bright Midwinter

2012-01-11T10:34:00.004-05:00

If it's 54 and sunny on a January day, you have to go riding. I think it's a written rule somewhere. I missed riding most of December because it rained and rained and rained. January's been a blur so far (It's almost the middle of the month? Really?), but I made sure I set aside a few minutes for some seat time with Hickory yesterday.

I'm having a ton of fun with my new phone. It takes great pictures and the video feature tempted me to try for a Ride a Good Horse video.

Nowhere near as good as Shirley's, but it was fun and I'll try again...when it quits raining...again.

Luckily Hickory walks on autopilot. Or more like a heat seeking missile headed for his food tub I used to get on ;-). That's Handsome Handy in the shadow next to us. I took a picture of us like that on a warm winter day almost five years ago.

I had just carried everything out to the paddock rather than try to fight through the mess in the barn. When we got done I untacked, brushed him out, turned him loose and started gathering everything up to head back up the hill. Hickory thought he should get "a little somethin' for the effort" and walked over to his food tub.

"I'm waiting..."

"I'm still waiting."

Oh good grief, Hickory. Okay, I'll feed you guys a little early.

I have no idea why he has to wear a 52 girth now, Paige :-o.

Whereas I Almost Kill B. Willard...But Get A Funny Story Out Of It

2012-01-10T13:00:00.018-05:00

Buddy (with his ears back): "There was nothing funny about it!"

You remember Buddy. The kindest sheep in the world. We also call him our vet tech. Any time something's wrong with a sheep, like when Miss Ewenice couldn't get up, he's right there. Any time you have to doctor on a sheep, he's right there. Right by your side.

He's so right there that we've learned to count on his help. If you need to catch a crazy Jacob? Head 'em towards Buddy. He's a nearly unmovable wall. Need somewhere to set your cell phone, extra vet supplies, towels...? His back is a perfect table. Right by your side.

Last night I noticed Willard was breathing funny again. Took his temp and it was high. Got ready to give him a couple shots and he jumped around during the second shot and the needle must have gashed a small artery. I thought he was going to bleed to death.

To make a long story (sort of) short, I was kneeling next to Willard, holding pressure on the injection site and here comes Buddy.

"Let's see. What do we have going on here?" (He has an excellent bedside manner.)

"Sniff. Sniff. Sniff." (Checking things out.)

He gets a good look at all the blood running down Willard's leg, his eyes get big and he leaves.

"I'm out!"

He stood off to the side for a couple minutes, but his need to vet tech got the best of him. He came back. Got a good look again, eyes got big, walked (quickly) away.

"That's it! You're on your own."

Apparently Buddy can't stand the sight of blood?

"Yeah, well it was pretty awful."

"I don't even want to talk about it!"

"In fact, I'm leaving!"

"I am so out of here!"

"Hey, how come no one else is coming with me?"

Don't take it personal, B. Willard. Hank's blocking the gate (stupid sheep who still don't like Hank much even though they sure don't mind letting him work his butt off all night keeping coyotes at bay).

I'd like to get a picture of Hank sitting up on the hill in front of the horse stalls at night. The moon was bright last night and each time I went up to check on Willard, I could see Hank in the moonlight. The coyotes were all around and every time they got close, he reminded them to stay away. I can't imagine life without Hank.

Or B. Willard.

Tree Stand

2012-01-09T13:36:00.003-05:00

Eli is our big sportsmen around here. At least he thinks so.

Here he's trying to do a little cherry pickin'. Luckily that bird house hasn't been used in a couple years. And that's probably what Eli's banking on.

Because, like his "fishing", his "hunting" looks much like "napping".

"Watch it lady!"

Sunday Stills - Light Painting

2012-01-07T22:36:00.001-05:00

This weeks challenge is a fun one. Set your camera on a slower shutter speed…….or just turn the flash off on a point and shoot, find some lights and shoot them moving your camera as you do. You can also find some moving lights (traffic for instance) and photograph those (a tripod or setting your camera on something and using a remote or the timer works well for this). You could also have someone (even yourself-using your cameras timer and a slow shutter speed) use a flashlight in the dark. The challenge in this is to play with aperture and shutter speed. Be creative!

I planned on trying for a long exposure star shot over the barn for this challenge, but the moon has been so bright that you can't see the stars. My next thought was a downtown Lexington outdoor skating rink picture with car headlights in the background. That didn't pan out either. When I saw one of the Lexington Livery horses out, I knew exactly what I wanted to try to do.

Danny Raley, the owner and driver, had a few minutes between rides, so he and Jefferson Davis took me down to Main Street and stopped by Triangle Park. I set up my tripod, waited for the light to turn and gave it a whirl.

I set my camera to keep the shutter open as long as I held the button down, focused manually on the horse, hoped he would hold still for a few seconds and waited for the light to change. I tried between 3 to 5 seconds exposures and this one was 3.3 seconds. I tried a couple ISO settings - this is 200.

The car lights are not as dominant as I'd hoped. I think colored tail lights rather than white head lights would have been better. I wish I'd thought to try some different apertures. Never crossed my mind. What a brain :-/.

I enjoyed visiting with Danny, an old friend. I used to drive for him years ago and those are some good memories. Great old horses, great folks to drive with, interesting places to go, things we saw and did... An expected treat from a fun challenge!

For more Sunday Stills...

Extreme Barn Makeover

2012-01-07T10:07:00.018-05:00

Part two.

Nice and tight. Although...a wooden barn is never completely tight. That's what makes them so nice. Ventilation is important even when it's super cold. Old tobacco barns make great animal barns.

Now we can shut up the entire back of the barn.

Or open it all the way up or anywhere in between. The four doors are running on a double set of track so they can overlap or stack up all the way down to the right.

This new little door is super exciting. It's the simple things ;-). We'd cut out a sheep sized door years ago and had been crawling through it when we needed to. Mostly it was easier though to go out the stall door, down the aisleway, out the end gate, around the back, herd the sheep through, shut the little door, go back through the barn gate, down the aisle and back in through the stall door. Now we can just walk in and out the new people sized door.

If you'd like to see what the "original" door looked like, here are two posts with fun lamb videos. I'm sure we'll make good memories with this door, but it will be hard to beat:

Sunshine and Caspar Belly hiding from their mommas

Stupid Woolliam Tricks

And while I thought the old lady sized door would be my favorite part of the renovation, it was trumped by these door latches. This will only make sense to you if you've ever tried to latch or unlatch a plain, old fashion door hook. The wood has warped, rain swelled, iced over or the wind is blowing the door and the latch is pulled tight and $&*#@!!! you just pinched your finger... These work on a lever system. Ingenious.

Time to let the sheep in. They've been waiting patiently. Mostly.

Willard, what are you and Lila doing out behind the barn?

Marcel, leave Rebecca Boone alone!

Sweet Hank, catching a nap before evening guard dog duties call him.

The sheep weren't jazzed about the new look. They all ran in, stopped short when they saw the door, turned around and headed right back out. Sheep don't like change...but I bet they will next time a rain storm blows in from the south!

Hen Party!

2012-01-06T12:18:00.007-05:00

A few days ago I was complaining about the cold. Today? It's going to be 58 degrees!

Everyone's out and about. The chickens, the bees, even Eli crawled out of the cat condo, staggered about 15 steps to the nearest sunny bench and went back to sleep.

The Adventure Chickens love to look for sunflower seeds under the Wool House feeder.

And they really love to take dust baths in the mulch out front. It's funny to watch (except for the flower bed destroying part :-/), but the pictures all look like Betsy's grabbed one and half buried it for later.

"Betsy??? Did someone say Betsy?!?"

Little Jane's had several, um, "exciting" run ins with Betsy.

Most of the furious bathing was over by this point, but I wanted to try my new phone's video feature which conveniently loads straight to YouTube. A little slice of farm life...today.

This old chicken is one of my favorites. I'm glad she's enjoying the warm, sunny day. Hope you are as well!

Folks, I Think We Have A Winner!

2012-01-04T11:02:00.009-05:00

I have really been struggling with my mitten pattern choice. What I want to make either isn't available as a download, won't work with the yarn I've spun, gets some "complicated" reviews... I had ~~dreams~~ nightmares last night about Norwegian mittens!

I finally found this pattern, read the reviews, looked at other people's project notes, color choices/examples... Okay. I downloaded the pattern and while it was printing on my beloved, but temperamental old printer that cannot be replaced (if I had to pick one word to describe me it would be Obsolete) I was perusing the designer's website and look!!!

Does that Zig Zag cowl look familiar???

So I find exactly the amount of spare roving I need to make my yarn yardage, I find a pattern that will work with my not perfect handspun and it's from a designer I've successfully knit with in the past?

Let the Mitten Knittin' begin!

By the way, the pattern I picked is End of May Mittens, the gold and maroon pair on the top row. And honestly, the "stress" of picking patterns and yarn is part of the fun. Really. Go pick a pattern, any pattern and join us.

On The Tenth Day Of Christmas...

2012-01-03T17:14:00.006-05:00

While I was scrounging through the bottom of the bin, I found not only some roving that matches almost exactly, but also 3 ounces of Jester's 2008 roving and 5 ounces of Beanie Baby's 2009 roving.

Straight into my stash!

Coincidentally replacing every ounce I'd so cleverly spun up for the new year ;-).

Hee hee.

On Paper

2012-01-03T15:42:00.005-05:00

Once again I get to be an example for others.

I've looked and looked at patterns on Ravelry for two days. The ones I like say I need 210-ish yards. I spun 210 yards. Decided on a pattern. Paid for the download. Printed it off...and I need two SKEINS of 210 yards each.

Of course I spun this from stash remnants, trying to be clever for the new year and all. Do I have any more of these exact colors?

Oh you know it...

Mittens Anyone?

2012-01-02T10:18:00.012-05:00

It's freezing! Normally by January 2nd I'd be good and acclimated to cold weather and happy to see some snow flakes. With so many days over 50 this winter, 28 and flurries has me holed up in the house this morning. Looking at patterns on Ravelry :-D.

I'd like to do a small Fair Isle project to practice before I tackle the patterning on the Jester sweater. Yes, it does seem like I keep putting that off, but I'm such a brutally slow knitter that I don't want to get 2-3 inches into the yoke and realize I should have practiced a bit more. It's happened.

I think it would be fun to knit a pair of mittens. There are so many beautiful examples on Ravelry that I'm having trouble picking one - part of the fun!

There are also some great basic mitten patterns.

And everything in between.

I'm thinking that if I can get my fingers in gear, I can practice patterning and end up with a fun pair of mittens to wear for the rest of the winter.

Anyone interested in joining me for a mitten knitalong? Set a goal for yourself, pick a pattern somewhere (doesn't have to be Ravelry), dive into your stash/visit your LYS/spin your own yarn and get knitting. Or crocheting. Or heck, I bet you could even felt a pair of mittens.

Let's just try to learn something new and end up with something warm to wear before the end of winter. Say by the end of January? If you're interested, leave a note in the comments or join in on the Punkin's Patch Ravelry Group.

While I'm into screen shots, here is what I see when I look at the new blog layout.

Well, what I see on my desktop. My old laptop has the same page layout, but the font is not small and cute, but huge and a standard version of Times New Roman.

Are you getting the new font or something big and gaudy?
Are the picture Just Too Big?
I changed the file size of the header. Still loading really slow?
What about the comments section? Easier to use? Harder?
Any other pros or cons?
Any other problems?

What do you think about the new layout?

Sunday Stills - Happy New Year

2012-01-01T13:41:00.026-05:00

Post your favorite photo from 2011 and your photographic hopes for 2012.

Before I pick a favorite...

The right place at the right time.

The light was perfect. It would have been hard to screw this shot up.

A strong personal favorite. This picture tells a good story and always makes me laugh. I like the composition, the aperture setting and, of course, the subject.

I don't find winter bleak. I find it beautiful. I love the contrast of hints of color on white, to see the trees, the tails blowing in the wind.

A highlight of the past year, a macro lens. I am really enjoying learning to use it and I like it not only for close up shots, but also used it for the next picture of Miss Ewenice.

Super crisp focus on her face with an aperture setting of f/2.8 so everything else blurs out like a dream.

I don't necessarily think this is a great picture, but I do like the light and I know if I didn't include at least one Lila shot... ;-)

I had this picture pulled for the calendar, but ended up replacing it with the bees. A valid choice, but I love, love, love the color, light and focus of this.

Which one is my favorite?

I can't get past the color and drama of this picture.

So what are my photographic hopes for the new year? Learn, learn, learn. I would like to take a photography class. I also didn't do a great job organizing pictures this year and would like to work on that as well.

For more Sunday Stills highlights from 2011...

Closing Out The Year

2011-12-31T20:16:00.008-05:00

The Sunday Stills challenge for this week is a year in review. What is your best picture from 2011 and what are your photographic hopes for 2012?

I try not to put off the challenge until the last possible minute, but we've been busy here and boy howdy, it's Saturday night. New Year's Eve.

I read a quote somewhere by a famous photographer, who when asked what his favorite photo was replied, "The one I haven't taken yet." The year wasn't over. I could yet take my favorite photo of 2011. I grabbed my camera and headed out. Another winter holiday photo shoot in a light sweatshirt.

This is definitely added into the running as a favorite.

Miss Ewenice seldom takes a bad picture.

I especially like this one.

And this, while not in the running for favorite, is still nice because we have sheep, Comby and Handy off in the distance. Sort of like the blog header painting...that was painted before Hank, Betsy, Hickory, Lila, B. Willard, Sherman...joined our family.

As part of the Extreme Blog Makeover, should I try to paint them in on the original painting or should I paint a whole new header?

And what IS my favorite photo from 2011?

I've got three and a half hours to try and figure it out!

Extreme Blog Makeover

2011-12-31T13:14:00.005-05:00

Still tweaking, but wanted to test my new "larger photos" format.

This is Keebler (facing us) and Woolliam having a conversation Christmas Eve night. I took a video that evening too. I guess that will be my next test. Hmmm...

Anyone else making changes for the new year?

Extreme Barn Makeover

2011-12-29T22:39:00.012-05:00

Part one.

The crew from Tri County Lumber is here replacing the backside of the barn.

It's long overdue, but I was being sentimental about the old boards. They are getting pretty lacy though and last winter we had to build a straw wall to keep Renny out of the draft. O-kay...

"What are they doing back there???"

They're getting a lot done, really quickly, is what they're doing. Wow! They started just before lunchtime today.

Betsy immediately joined their crew. I didn't catch the "1-800-rent cat" until I looked at the picture. Leave it to Betsy. I submitted it as a possible lolcat. I think you can go vote for it here. I couldn't think of a clever title, so hopefully they'll pick it up and add one.

I have a recipe blog started, but got sidetracked by all this today. I'll try to post it tomorrow.

Cooking Is For The Birds

2011-12-28T11:50:00.007-05:00

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is making and hanging peanut butter bird seed pine cone ornaments on Saint Tim's grandparent's trees along the Prairie Path in his hometown. This year I mailed some ornaments for City Boy and Janbaby to hang and made a few for our birds here.

I hung them on Christmas Day during the unseasonably warm and sunny afternoon. Yesterday dawned cold and rainy and the birds were glad to see them in the lilac bush near the feeder...and safely away from Betsy.

The cardinals feed early. I hear them start pipping away before the sun rises.

Then the little birds.

"Thans fo the bir seed anth peanut buther."

You're welcome!

I'm Dreaming Of A Warm Christmas

2011-12-26T15:37:00.014-05:00

Nope, doesn't quite have the same ring to it. What odd weather this year.

We had a nice Christmas. It wasn't the most fun Christmas, but nice in it's own way. We lost Wiwi, our 20 year old "inside" kitty, on Christmas Eve. It was time. She and I were both sad about it, but it was a good gift to both of us to be together.

Christmas Day dawned just as warm and sunny and after church Saint Tim went fishing and I puttered around for awhile and decided a walk out with the sheep would be the best medicine. The late afternoon sun was beautiful.

Handsome Hank cleaned up this Christmas. I loved opening the mailbox and finding boxes addressed specifically to him. He got a really neat guard dog book, The Guardian Team: on the job with Rean and Roo, by Cat Urbigkit, and a good collection of dog cookies. He was thrilled and woofs a big Thank You!

Popcorn PeePee Pants...and her shadow.

Willard and Renny. Willard's feeling just fine now, but is so addicted to Graham Crackers (the reward for being a big boy about getting his shots every day) that you just about can't live with him anymore ;-).

I can't decide if Renny has short legs or long wool.

You can't beat walking around in a sweater, no hat or gloves, sitting on the ground taking pictures on Christmas Day....but some snow would sure have been pretty ;-).

We hope everyone had a peaceful and joyful holiday!

Santa's Watching

2011-12-22T15:26:00.003-05:00

This is a neighbor's house I pass on the way to town. I think I'm liking this, Santa facing the house instead of the traditional road view.

"You'd better be good. Santa's watching you."

That's some clever parenting!

The Too Busy Bees Office Christmas Party

2011-12-21T12:42:00.007-05:00

We are having just unbelievable weather for the end of December. It's 60 degrees today! Rained this morning, but sunny now.

Any time it's over 50 degrees or so, bees will come out of their hives and look around for something to snack on. They also do some some house cleaning too, but we aren't going to talk about that...because that's what I should be doing.

I'd much rather buzz around looking for a snack ;-).

I've been keeping a jar of honey (someone else's, not ours ;-) sitting by the back door. When it gets warm - as it has quite a bit this month - I like to drizzle some along the porch railing and see who shows up.

Honey bees, flies and look at that sporty little bee.

Look at her slurping it up. That's a pretty cool Christmas gift. And I think she's pretty happy about it too! ;-)

But maybe not with her fellow office workers. Must be the accounting department.

"Ai! Get away from my honey!"

Everyone bellying up to the bar for a little holiday cheer.

Dear Santa

2011-12-19T16:21:00.005-05:00

"All I want for Christmas is a fat [cookie] account and a thin body. Please don't mix them up like you did last year."

Okay, So It Didn't Kill Me

2011-12-18T08:41:00.018-05:00

And there's some great footage of our farm and family and they kindly left out the footage of Graham nearly knocking down a $60,000 camera :-).

The Christmas episode of Kentucky Life aired on TV last night. We were away at my parent's 50th anniversary party, but when some messages started coming in about the segment being good, I was relieved, but not too surprised. I knew producer Valerie Trimble would take good care of us.

I really enjoyed working with the entired KET crew. They did a great job putting me and Hank and all of the sheep (except the New York "mafia", apparently hiding out here as part of the Witless Protection Program ;-) at ease. They even shared some handy photography and video tips. It actually was pretty fun.

Update - you can disregard all the instructions below. I think. Here's a direct link that should work.

The show will air again here locally another time or two (schedule), but is also online. Go to http://www.ket.org/kentuckylife/, click on Program 1709 (circled on the screen shot above).

You'll then need to click on Schedule (see screen shot above) and the scroll down in the pop up box to episode 1709 and then click the little eye icon (circled above).

Kentucky Life is an excellent program. I wasn't really familiar with it (?!?) until this all came about, but have started DVRing each episode and am really enjoying learning all sorts of neat stuff about Kentucky and the interesting people living here. To be included in one of the shows? I don't know what to say. Wow.

Gone Fishin'

2011-12-16T21:59:00.005-05:00

See the little dot down by the creek?

That's Eli. Gone fishin'. At least that's what we call it.

He's actually hunting. Or at least that's what he calls it. Looks kind of similar to napping to me ;-).

"Ai! You're blowin' my cover!"

"You've ruined everything!"

Eli? Is that your STOMACH?!? Your six pack abs look more like a keg there, buddy.

"Those are muscles!"

And hair. I have thick hair!

But apparently not thick skin ;-).

Just kidding with you, Eli. Sorry I blew your stealth cover.

B. Willard B. Well

2011-12-15T22:35:00.012-05:00

Poor Willard's been sick. Today is day three. And three days of worry due to some unusual symptoms that weren't getting any better prompted a veterinary team visit.

His breathing has been labored and while that could easily be pneumonia, it could also easily be a sign of something wrong inside making him uncomfortable. After a thorough external exam and finding nothing significant, including clear breathing, they decided to ultrasound him.

They were initially worried that his hair would be a problem, but it turns out his "fat layer" was a bigger issue with getting a clear scan. Willard got by with just a few shaved spots...and a little good natured teasing.

And they found fluid around his lungs and something else that was uneven that showed up on the screen that now I'm so tired I can't really explain (and probably couldn't even if I wasn't tired). A lung problem. That's treatable.

They spent a long time looking at him, discussing what they were seeing, answering my questions... I can't express how much I appreciate all the time and help all of our vets provide. We are so lucky.

And Louann, crouched down on the ground until her legs went numb, never stopped scratching Willard's face, making him feel as good as she could about everything Dr. Barron and Dr. Dortch were doing to him.

Which made me feel as good as I could.

Tunes

2011-12-14T16:14:00.007-05:00

In case you happen to be looking for the Christmas playlist, I moved it down to the bottom of the page so it would fit better and I could reach the right side scroll bar.

I've enjoyed playing with the playlist. It's a great site, easy to use. I've added as many of my favorite songs as I can find, but there are a few I can't find...if any of you more playlist savvy folks know how to add songs or something.

Christmas by Blues Traveler

Christmas Song by Dave Matthews

The Christmas Tree's On Fire by Holly Golightly

Corn, Water and Wood by Riders in the Sky

A couple by John Denver

Anyway, there are some pretty songs, some funny songs, some rockin' songs, the classic 6-8 Black Men... I've got it set so you only hear it if you want to - just click the arrow and skip around wherever you want...now that you can access the right hand side ;-).

What are your favorite songs? Any recommendations?

Once Upon A Time

2011-12-13T10:52:00.024-05:00

When I was first learning to wash fleeces, I was told that rather than pulling all the wool out of the washer to refill the machine with hot water that I could just push the wool over to the far side as it was filling. Yes, that's true. I did it quite a few times. However, the One Time I got side tracked and the machine started agitating... Well, you know what happened.

"You did WHAT to my wool?!?"

It was, of course, a favorite sheep with a favorite fleece (Jester :-o) and even though it only agitated for probably less than a minute, it came out as a big rope of Jacob sheep dreadlocks.

Ruined.

Or was it?

I couldn't bring myself to throw it away. It was Jester after all. And it still was beautiful. It just needed a different job. I often wondered if I had let it agitate a little longer if it would have come out as a solid circle and look like a wool washing machine shaped wreath. I liked the idea, but ~~stewed on it~~ forgot about it for a few years.

I pulled it down out of the loft over the weekend and decided to try wrapping the rope of dreadlocks around a wire wreath form. Perfect!

I anchored it with some yarn - just simply tied a piece around the whole form about every 4-6 inches and snipped the tails. The wool completely hides the yarn.

I then took a felting needle and touched up any spots that looked like they needed it.

I wanted something for the bow that was either wool related or at very least natural looking, rather than plastic/nylon/polyester. This is an old felted (on purpose) sweater...that might look a bit familiar to some of you.

The Jacob sheep horse harness brass was an eBay find I think. That too was several years ago and it has been sitting around waiting for a job as well. Sometimes it pays to hang onto stuff ;-).

I'm not sure if I just got lucky with this or if it's repeatable...on purpose. The wreath is pretty neat though I think and might be a great way to utilize a fleece that wasn't an exceptional spinning fleece. If you try one yourself, let us know if it works!

_____________________________________

Random.org picked #1 in the Christmas card giveaway. Congratulations Susan :-). Drop me an email with your address and I'll get them sent right out...as opposed to the calendars that are still not ready to mail - a stapling issue of some sort. Hang tight!

Sunday Stills - Pets

2011-12-11T00:01:00.000-05:00

"Three years ago this week will be the third anniversary of Sunday Stills. The very first challenge was Pets……so in honour of Ed and Sunday Stills lets do it again."

And since Ed set his own personal December challenge to work only in black and white, Betsy agreed to play along.

Actually, she'd do anything to not lose her warm Wool House bed ;-).

Even though it almost looks like she's scoping out some higher exploration.

I used Pioneer Woman's Actions to convert these pictures to black and white. For this last one I used "colorize" because it added just a hint of color.

Happy Anniversary, Ed!

For more Sunday Stills...

O Tannen-baaa-m

2011-12-09T15:29:00.028-05:00

Remember the picture of Betsy getting ready to jump into the bush to try and catch a bird? Funny thing about that, that's what she's doing in the Christmas card this year!

While you will probably never actually find Iris and the sheep all knitting Hank a warm sweater or everyone out skating or sledding in the snow (in reality they mostly just ~~stand~~ lay around in the barn yelling for me to bring them more hay ;-), Betsy catching a bird? Let's just say the "neighbor kid" watches his backside pretty carefully nowadays.

Besides the obvious - Iris being in charge of the decorations, Graham Lamb fooling around with electricity, Marcel letting Hank climb on his back to reach a higher branch and naughty Willard racing around carrying an ornament, here are a few little tidbits you might not have noticed on the card this year. The "rest of the story" as they say.

After a couple games of sheep bowling this fall, Hank is keeping a sharp eye on Hickory.

Last year I made Renny ornaments for all the people who came out and helped me take care of her. This year she's hanging her own ornament on the tree.

Comby's hanging up a Green Bay Packers ornament. That little touch was especially for Janbaby...a Bears fan. It's the little things ;-).

Saint Tim and I enjoy coming up with a new Christmas card each year. It's become a fun (after it's finished ;-) tradition, not only for us, but surprisingly also for a number of folks who collect each new card. I'm flattered, albeit a bit bewildered.

Equally flattering (and bewildering) is that we caught the attention of Kentucky Educational Television (KET) and are going to be part of their Christmas special this year. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm hopeful they are mostly featuring the farm and the Christmas card's "cast of characters" and not much of my hillbilly yammering. It airs locally on December 17th at 8:00 and will post to their website a few days after that.

I have a feeling it might be a Merry Interesting Christmas :-o.

*****

Random.org picked #7 Aaron as the calendar winner. Aaron, drop me an email with your mailing address :-).

Giveaways are fun - let's do another one! Leave a comment with your favorite holiday tradition and we'll draw again - this time for a box of Christmas cards.

Merry Christmas!

You Can Call Me Martha

2011-12-08T16:21:00.013-05:00

But I'm pretty sure Martha...

...wouldn't leave her holiday greenery up all year.

Yep, that's still last year's decorations :-D.

In my defense, even brown I still think it's sort of pretty. And besides, Martha "has people".

So, I'm out cutting some fresh greenery. Betsy's helping. And trying to figure out how to get in the front door.

And just when I think "ooh, I can set this up as a nice photo"...

...like a flash she races out to Burning Bush (also brown...and still pretty ;-) to try to catch a bird.

Remember this scene.

Counting Down The Days

2011-12-07T11:34:00.019-05:00

Actually, I'm trying not to think about it. ARGH!!!

The 2012 calendar has finally gone to print. I thought after last year's learning curve that this year's calendar would be a snap. I am obviously a Slow Learner. Always something new to learn...which is usually sort of fun...but not in the middle of the end of the year, Christmas rush :-o.

We picked some of our favorite photographs and once again added in some fun dates like popular fiber festivals, St. Drogo's (the patron saint of shepherds) Day, Hug a Sheep Day...

There is, of course, a healthy dose of Lila.

And Renny

Newcomer Betsy

And lots of tiny pictures.

Note to self: when you are taking a pictures of something awesomely sweet like Hank cleaning Marcel's ears, TURN THE CAMERA LANDSCAPE! Pictures need to be short and wide (landscape), not tall and skinny (portrait). I cropped this one down to fit...in a tiny box. Sigh.

In case anyone's interested, I will put a few of these for sale in my Etsy shop. By the way, I've done quite a bit of Christmas shopping on Etsy this year. If you aren't familiar with Etsy's vintage and handmade marketplace, definitely check it out. Shop local...anywhere!

In the meantime, just for fun, leave a comment and tell us all how ready for Christmas you are and on Friday I'll random.org a winner and send you a 2012 calendar. Maybe you'll need it to help you get more organized for next year...maybe you don't. Let us know ;-).

B. Willard's Busy Weekend

2011-12-05T07:45:00.013-05:00

"I think I need a vacation."

Willard not only got called into duty for pet photos with Santa, but he also had to stop eating for a couple minutes to get his picture taken with his sweater. Yep, that's a B. Willard original barn sweater. I spun the yarn as part of the 2011 Tour de Fleece and have been knitting on it off and on throughout the fall.

I used the standard Elizabeth Zimmerman EPS sweater pattern because I wanted to test how the yoke worked before I started the patterning portion (using the same method) for Jester's sweater. I had my doubts on a couple occasions, but of course, EZ was right and it worked out just fine.

The only odd part of the sweater is the circumference of the body. I knit my samples to find my gauge, did the math (Elizabeth's Percentage System), knit the sleeves first just to make sure...spot on. Cast on the correct number of stitches for the body, knit for awhile and thought, hmmm...that looks big. Oddly, my 48 inches were now 52 inches.

That's a pretty significant difference. And suspiciously the correct measurement for 20.

It appears that once again I've been outsmarted by a sheep.

Sunday Stills - Back Light

2011-12-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

Keebs has obviously started decorating (himself) for Christmas ;-).

For more backlit Sunday Stills...

Santa Paws 2011 - Just Like Brooks Brothers...Without The Singing

2011-12-03T21:17:00.031-05:00

But just darn near as cute! Pet photos with Santa, benefiting the Scott County Humane Society in neighboring Georgetown, Kentucky.

Stella and I counted back and this was our seventh year to take a sheep or two to town. First we took Henrietta, then Popcorn PeePee Pants, then Woolliam, then Keebler and Graham Lamb and now B. Willard and 20.

And nothing strikes fear in the Humane Society volunteers like thinking you are bringing in 20 sheep rather than a sheep named 20 :-D.

Here's our "how they did it".

First you've got to sign in.

Then you've got to fix your scarf. And it's true - sheep really don't seem to mind dressing up. As long as it's not. pants.

Then some last minute instruction about what is expected...from us and all the sheep back home. "Stand nice and don't forget to tell Santa what everyone wants for Christmas."

"Mostly I wish I didn't have to do this silly stuff..."

Willard did a great job. He had actually never been inside a building before, but happily walked right in, didn't have a single accident on the floor, only stepped on Santa's foot one time, let everyone pet him and take his picture, wasn't bothered by the dogs, jumped back into the car and munched on some hay. I'd say he's on the "Nice" list for sure.

Don't forget to add your local animal shelter or humane society to your list this season. Every little bit helps.

Head Splort Alert!!!

2011-12-01T10:09:00.003-05:00

A Head Splort is lolspeak for something so stinkin' cute your head will explode. Don't say I didn't warn you! Click any of the pictures for a link.

Oh, I'll be doing some shopping at Brooks Brothers!

Updated: Yikes - or maybe not. Just checked their prices. No wonder I'm not familiar with Brooks Brothers :-o.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-30T10:10:00.001-05:00

Hooking Handy

2011-11-29T13:02:00.007-05:00

In the old days, "Hooking Handy" would have referred to hooking up Handy for a carriage drive. These days Handy is happy to be hanging out in the field with his buddy Hickory, letting someone else take over the hooking. Rug hooking.

I have a couple kind artists willing to test hook my first patterns. I'm hoping for some feedback on the designs, ease of use, if I drew them out and enlarged them properly... I'm also dying to see what they look like finished :-D.

I like the idea of sticking with simple farm inspired designs. Like Handy, for example, walking past as I'm taking pictures of his rug pattern. Not that Aria could ever be replaced around here, but in a hooked rug, she could be easily changed into Hickory. I don't think it would be hard to customize any of the designs.

And, of note, the sun came out! I don't really mind dreary days, but after so many sloppy days of flooding rains...

The sheep (and Hank - do you see him?) were thrilled as well.

The cats haven't noticed yet...all tucked away in the condo.

I Think I'm Being Spammed

2011-11-28T16:58:00.011-05:00

In the last 24 hours I've received this comic strip...

And a link to this video...

...involving (one) sheep wearing PANTS.

The spamming actually started a month or so ago with an email about the SINA (Society for Indecency to Naked Animals) issue. I looked it up on Wikipedia and then deleted it in hopes it would just go away.

These things never do...apparently ;-).

**I love Wikipedia. Almost as much as Shaun the Sheep. Go watch the video. It's funny...as they all are. Then go drop in on Wikipedia and read up about SINA or Jacob sheep or spinning or Elizabeth Zimmerman or any of the millions of topics someone has covered there. And if you feel like that's a service you can't imagine living without, you might send them a couple bucks. Sort of like public radio or television.

Sunday Stills - Bokeh

2011-11-27T00:01:00.000-05:00

I decided to use our newly winter-decorated-solar-mailbox-lantern for this week's challenge. Some of my favorite bokeh shots from the past involve Christmas lights, but I don't have our tree up yet.

Tree bokeh

Grass bokeh

Horse bokeh?

The full view.

Better with some pine cones added.

A hint of night bokeh.

For more Sunday Stills...

Silent Saturday

2011-11-26T14:50:00.000-05:00

High Ho Hickory

2011-11-24T10:28:00.000-05:00

I was hoping to be able to post a fun video of me riding Hickory on a Thanksgiving trail ride, 7MSN style. Instead, here's what I got.

Yes, I was having a stroke worrying Hank was going to get run over, kicked or otherwise caught up in the fray. Yes, I moved the sheep out of Hickory's field today, not because I was worried Hickory would hurt them, but Hank's obviously not convinced (his sheep were up at the barn watching the show). Definitely not worth the risk.

However, all's well that ends well and it's fun to watch Hickory ~~put huge divots all over the field~~ ripping around enjoying himself. And I'm glad he cut loose when I wasn't on him....although maybe he could have saved a little bit of that energy for later ;-). We had a nice ride - sorry, no video - and after I turned him back out I found a four leaf clover (in late November?!?).

Thankful and lucky :-).

We hope everyone has an enjoyable Thanksgiving...every day.

Posthaste...Or Posted In Haste

2011-11-23T15:01:00.005-05:00

And I thought Comby warming his 'feets' on the Wool House porch door was going to be the funniest cat picture today.

I walked past the dining room window and out of the corner of my eye...

?!?

He he he.

I took a couple pictures through the screen, but they were awful. I knew I'd only get one chance if I tried to sneak outside.

And I was right.

"Hey, can't a cat get some peace and quiet around here?!?"

"Fine. I'm leaving."

"Get that (bleepin') cat condo set up!!!"

The Sun Will Come Out....Eventually

2011-11-23T14:18:00.006-05:00

Comby, surprised to have lived through a rainy spell without the (bleepin') cat condo. He reluctantly got up...

...and made it as far as the driveway...10' away.

If I hold on to my tail and look really cute, maybe dad will bring the condo out?

Or maybe I'll just sleep here for awhile.

The Rest Of The Fog

2011-11-22T15:17:00.008-05:00

I think foggy mornings are so pretty.

Hickory and Handy at dawn yesterday.

Starting to burn off as the sun came up.

And then it came back and we were completely socked in. I could barely see the barn from the house.

It was almost like when it's snowing and everything gets so. quiet. Perfect for a nap.

I held off as long as I could, but finally decided I needed to get on the road. I had miles to go before I could [nap].

Headed To New Homes

2011-11-21T16:40:00.023-05:00

I traveled to the Kentucky Artisan Center in Berea, Kentucky, this morning to to deliver some needle felted sheep and drop spindle kits. This is a beautiful facility with an incredible collection of Kentucky arts and crafts. I am so flattered to have a few of my pieces there.

I snapped a couple pictures (of course ;-) before I packed everyone up. I thought it would be fun to have the felted sheep lined up on the Wool House porch, with the actual sheep in the background. It was a beautifully foggy morning and I thought the diffused light would be perfect. It was...from certain angles.

See how shadowed everyone's backsides are? Turned facing me, their faces were completely shaded out. I tried using a flash to fix that, but as I frequently find with flash, I hate the artificial look. And it's actually sort of sweeter to see where they are looking anyway.

This momma with her two moorit lambs was a favorite. As was the gray ewe in the background, with her almost black lamb.

This big fat Boudreaux? I shouldn't have taken him. No matter how simple it seems, I never can make two sheep exactly the same. They always have some quirky personality showing through and I love this guy. I won't be able to duplicate him. I'm just hoping the hay he'll buy will help with my seller's remorse. Sigh.

A group shot.

The Kentucky Artisan Center

Besides the felted sheep, the Artisan Center carries some of my note cards. Here are a few of the rug hooking pattern cards.

And some Christmas cards were over in the holiday section.

Kentucky is blessed with an incredible amount of artistic talent. I'm sure each state feels just the same way, but I look at everything here and am proud of our rich and diverse heritage and how folks are keeping the traditional (and new traditional arts) alive and well. I'm sure I don't speak alone in saying the Artisan Center plays a key role in encouraging us all.

If you are ever coming through Kentucky, stop by. The Center is right off I-75 about 20 miles south of Lexington.

Give Boudreaux a pat for me.

Sunday Stills - Portraits

2011-11-19T22:34:00.014-05:00

This week’s challenge is Portraits. Let’s not only share some beautiful photographs, but also a new tip or two learned along the way. What worked, what didn’t… If you don’t have a willing human subject, it’s just as challenging to take good dog, cat, horse, armadillo portraits ;-).

My friend Joellen and her dogs Sunshine and Woody.

The full sun was a little bright, but because she wasn't having to look directly into it, I think it works. I like the background and was happy with aperture setting. It blurred out the trees just enough so they weren't distracting and kept the focus up front.

Here she's in the shade, away from the direct sunlight, but that dulled out the dogs, and the background, while pretty, is a bit distracting.

A nice "scene". Wish it was a little crisper, but I'm not sure if that was a focusing issue on my end or something else.

I like pictures that tell a story. This one is a short read ;-).

The lighting is really good here. Not too shady, not too bright. Nice pose, nice color, nice setting. Was not able to blur out the background as much as I'd liked.

I like this. Sunshine is super sharp and the sun is gleaming off her glossy coat. Joellen's sleeve and hand are a bit over exposed, but I like the story they tell and I hope she can feel Sunshine when she looks at this picture.

For more Sunday Stills...

Happy Birthday Renny!

2011-11-18T11:16:00.024-05:00

Renny, far left, out with her peeps this morning :-).

It was just about this time, one year ago today, that I was driving back from an animal shelter a few counties away with a wretched sheep in the back of my car. I remember looking into the back of the shelter's pickup truck and seeing this horribly injured, rotting smelling, so covered in burrs that I couldn't tell if she had hair or wool (not that it mattered) animal that only barely resembled a sheep.

I backed my car as close to the pickup truck as I could and we dragged her into the back of my car on a sheet. We jostled her and she cried out. She cried some along the way out of there and I kept telling her it was going to be alright, it's going to be alright, it's going to be alright...but I knew it wasn't. I called our vets to let them know I was en route and that we probably needed to put her down.

As best we can piece together, Renny and two of her friends had been chased by some dogs. One sheep was found dead in the field. Renny was found stuck belly deep in mud in a pond. She'd been there for several days and coyotes had started eating her alive. A local news crew had been out, the humane society called. I received an email from my friend Shelley at the exact time Tim saw the story on the nightly news.

I knew there was no kind way to get her inside the clinic, so Dr. Baron came out to the car. In the cold rain. She had several of us stand around the opening of the car to block anyone passing by from seeing what she was looking at. She could instantly tell by the smell what sort of infection had set in and we were all surprised she was still alive. All surprised except Renny, now that we know her better ;-).

It took 2 hours to get her cleaned up and ready to head home. Dr. Baron would work on her for while and then see a scheduled appointment and then back out to the car. I remember being cold, Renny being cold. I remember calling my friend Eleanor, saying I wasn't sure we were doing the right thing, that I wasn't sure I could handle this. I remember calling Kathy to see if she could meet me at the farm to help me unload her. I remember Louann getting back from a farm call and offering to come out and help me take care of her that first night. I will never forget that.

I will also never forget Renny hobbling into the stall that late afternoon, with huge holes in her butt and both back legs, sticking her head down into a pile of hay, coming up with a huge mouthful. "I'm going to be okay. Don't you worry."

I will never forget her and Miss Ewenice tootling around in the back yard, napping under the pine tree. Me and Stella sewing up a warm sheep coat after a nice couple came out and sheared all the burrs and most of the mud off her. How Renny would calmly lay down when she knew we were going to doctor on her. Louann trying to pick her up near the end and Renny having gotten so fat she couldn't do it and we both got to laughing so hard that I think we might have hurt Renny's feelings :-).

Louann calls Renny Everybody's Ewe - Ebe. I have a feeling there is a little bit of her story tucked away in a lot of people's hearts, near and far. So many people came out and helped take care of her. We poked and prodded and scrubbed and cut and poked some more. She never held a grudge. I think she knew...or knowing Renny, probably didn't expect any less. There's probably a lesson there. There are probably many lessons from Renny.

I am not a tough person. I used to worry about something happening like getting really sick or injured and me not being able to handle it. I'd think twice about that now. I wasn't sure I could do the actual work to take care of her. I wouldn't think twice about that now. Some people might find it odd or wrong to think just because a sheep could live through what she did, that maybe I could too. I think now I probably wouldn't expect any less.

Happy Birthday Renny! You are your own best present. For us all.

Suicide Watch

2011-11-17T09:15:00.005-05:00

Eli's on suicide watch. It's c-c-c-c-cold and he can't believe the cat condo is not on the porch yet, with it's 2" insulation, heated beds and comfy warm blankets.

Having to use Comby foot as a blanket? Not so grate akshully.

The slight fuzziness of these pictures is because they were taken through the screen door.

Would you walk out there and face that? We've been using the front door.

The North American

2011-11-16T09:27:00.008-05:00

Making a trip to the North American International Livestock Exposition is always a fun day. I have no interest in showing, but I can appreciate the work that goes into it and love to look at all the pretty sheep.

And even though I'm a wool girl, I have a soft spot for these big Ewen McTeagles (Suffolks ;-).

Watching the show.

Or not. Isn't he funny!

"Fight!"

See the huge sheep a few pens away? Yes, that huge white shape is a sheep. He'd be even bigger if he was looking up. He's otherwise occupied...not by choice.

Here's a different angle. What on earth is that Tunis thinking???

If I could have just tucked this cutie into my bag...

Or this one. Could this face be any sweeter?

Dianne and I enjoyed our day off. Well, I guess it wasn't technically a day off as we researched sheep, checked out the wool show, talked "festival", looked at sheep panels, tilt tables, did some Christmas shopping...

Choose a job you love and you'll never have to work a day in your life. Or something like that ;-).

Leak-quinox Farm

2011-11-14T22:35:00.012-05:00

Saint Tim's renamed the farm Leak-quinox Farm and instead of "Est. 2003", the sign will say "Leaks fixed 2008, 2010, 2010, 2011, 2011".

"Yep, looks like you got ya another water leak."

Channeling his inner Carl Spackler.

See what I have to live with? ;-)

Days since last water leak.

Are You A Pinhead?

2011-11-14T11:34:00.022-05:00

I think we need to revisit a picture from a few days ago.

Poor Lala. She got quite a few comments about her less than svelte physique.

Lila/Lala: "I'd like to point out that I have a very small head. It makes my body look bigger than it is. Much bigger."

Renny: "Girlfriend, that purple headband ain't doing anything to help."

B. Willard: "I don't know. I think you're pretty cute."

B. Willard: "Reeaallly cute! How 'bout I help you outta that fancy hat?"

WILLARD!

Keebler: "I'm not sure I've ever even noticed girls before."

Graham: "Me neither, but you ARE pretty cute."

Yeesh, Graham.

Dressing up fancy might not make you very popular with the whole group, but does indeed make you mighty popular with the boys. Who knew...

So why is Lila/Lala wearing a sheep headband, accentuating her cute little pinhead? Actually, that's one of mine. That doesn't fit my fat head.

It's a Ouisha Design headband made by our friend Ouisha McKinney in Lexington. It used to fit, but now it doesn't. I'd like to think it's because my brain is bigger, but...well, we won't go there. It's been stashed in our winter hat basket for several years now and I hate that. Ouisha's hats and headbands are too cute to be buried in a basket.

Do you have a small head? Would you like to have a beautiful knitted wool leapin' sheepy headband with some angora rabbit trim (what makes the sheep fuzzy :-) and a no-itch cotton lining?

Leave me a comment. In a few days I'll draw a winner. I'll even wash it before I mail it out ;-).

****Amy Auset Rohn won Lala's headband! And yes, you can come pick it up :-D.

Sunday Stills - Potluck With A Purpose

2011-11-13T08:48:00.008-05:00

I’ve (Linda) been away all weekend but this week while I was going through my archives and deleting pictures and editing others I realized that I really need to pay more attention to the angle I’m taking a shot from. Most of the ones I threw away were shots where I was too lazy to get off my horse and shooting at a downward angle. Some I could crop to make better, but if a little care had been taken I wouldn’t have had to throw so many in the trash.

The challenge this week is for you to post a couple of pictures……..one bad and one good of the same sort of subject. Do a critic of your own work.

The Adventure Chickens, while frustrating in their average production cost of $32 per dozen eggs, are an endless source of entertainment. At least that is what we keep telling ourselves...

We have animals of all sizes around here. Chickens are small, sheep are medium, horses are big. While I sometimes take okay pictures of sheep standing up, I usually find it better to crouch down some to get more on their level. With chickens it's even more important.

I personally like this first shot just because it tells me a story. I love the fat, fuzzy legged chicken peering over the rail and Little Jane peeking out from under. The Shuck chicken (white) is very old and I'm glad she's found a nice spot for a nap.

However, the second shot, taken down on her level, is a much more universally interesting picture.

"What are you doing?!?"

Entertainment. Repeat after me - the chickens are here for entertainment...

For more Sunday Stills...

Sheep On The Street

2011-11-12T09:42:00.033-05:00

I was going to title this post "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas", but I didn't want to give anyone a heart attack ;-).

It is looking like it though. Not only is the new Christmas card finished and "gone to print", but I have a decent (as in Not Zero) amount of holiday shopping completed and I even thought this morning about ordering some new Christmas lighting. In November.

Maybe the post title should be "It's The End Of The World As We Know It."

Last night 20, Marcel, Sherman and B. Willard headed up to the state capital. This weekend is the Candlelight Tour of Frankfort and the folks at The Woolery were excited to have their beautiful new location open for business.

Having some real live wool sweaters (still on the sheep ;-) in front of the store seemed like a fun idea. Oddly, I couldn't believe how many people had no idea why they were there. Once we pointed out the spinning/knitting/weaving/rug hooking store behind us..."Oh, cool!"

Definitely some educational opportunities up there...or (coming from a sheep person) maybe it's because The Woolery has "rabbits" as their logo ;-).

I love the little boy peering around his dad's shoulder. You'd think taking sheep out in public was just for the little kids, but I think the adults love them just as much or more.

The new store is lovely.

Much bigger (translated as even more stuff :-) than the previous location.

And neat things to see. Cotton!

Side note: If you'd like to see commercially grown cotton being harvested and processed, Linda from Life on a Colorado Farm did two great posts this past week.

The weaving section. Well, part of it. Wow!

The street view - very pretty. You can see the sheep pen on the bottom right. What a nice spot.

Willard and Marcel are old hats at "city work", but this was Sherman's first trip off the farm. I was worried he might be stressed, but he did a great job. Some kids feeding him popcorn off and on didn't hurt ;-). Near the end of the night though I caught him staring at Saint Tim - driver of the "space ship" that he ~~knew~~ hoped would take him home. I was pretty cold by that point too.

Yep, it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! :-)

More Beautiful Spinning And Knitting

2011-11-10T09:07:00.010-05:00

Remember this yarn?

Yep, it's a finished sweater now.

A beautiful hand spun and hand knit sweater.

I stole this picture off Ravelry this morning. I think Becky needs to come down for an actual "sheep to sweater" photo shoot with Petunia.

"Petunia, you distract her and I'll grab the sweater!"

Red Skies And Rainbows In Morning

2011-11-09T08:02:00.004-05:00

Means Hickory probably ends up with a day off ;-).

Can you believe how green our grass is? On the 9th day of November?!?

It's pretty, but having springtime green with a hard fall freeze several mornings is dangerous. I never thought I be looking forward to seeing our pastures go dormant. The way we are going though, that might still be a long way off.

Me And My Shadow

2011-11-08T11:49:00.002-05:00

Me and Ewen McTeagle, my big baby.

I Heart Yarn

2011-11-06T21:50:00.019-05:00

A few weeks ago I received a phone call from someone who was down here taking care of her brother who'd been in a "catastrophic car accident". She was spinning yarn for a sweater and had run out of roving. She needed some Cheviot wool.

She brought her sweater in progress so we could match the wool as best we could and it turns out she was not just spinning her own yarn, but she'd only been spinning for a couple months and she was spinning all her yarn on a drop spindle and using all natural plant dyes for her Fair Isle colors. (!)

Starting with white wool, she's using oak leaves and goldenrod and different combinations of iron and alum mordants to get all these colors. Wow!

She offered to come back out to help me get the patterning started on the Jester sweater and I was thrilled.

We pulled the half finished sweater out of the project basket last week, worked out a couple pattern ideas using an EZ pattern chart and Laurie's "scientific calculator". She gave me some helpful tips for carrying colors and most importantly, some much needed inspiration.

Jester's all natural, straight from the sheep colors.

I'm going to finish the B. Willard sweater first...but Laurie taught me a neat edging for that too. It will be perfect to show off all Willard's colors :-).

Each one, teach one.

Coming Clean About Lala

2011-11-04T17:22:00.005-05:00

Lila has been Lala for several months now. Not really sure how that happened, but Lala seems to suit her more than Lila. She's Lala. I can't believe how big she is.

Oops - sorry Christine - it's Lah-lah :-)

Continued...

2011-11-03T21:11:00.014-05:00

Hug a Sheep Day was loosely based around Punkin's birthday, October 30th.

Best birthday cake decoration ever! Like there could be anything better than being knee deep in icing, holding a cute bottle lamb. Thanks, Alice :-).

Best first sweater ever? Can we get a collective "Boo, Aaron!!!" Just kidding ;-). Well, about the boo-ing part. It's seriously the first sweater he's knitted.

Gleeanne's hat is beautiful as well. Great pattern, gorgeous color!

Like this - looks like a denim blur. I love this colorway.

Oh, Aaron spins as well. His first time using a wheel.

I think he was spinning and knitting (two mittens at the same time no less) all at the same time. He's like his own one man fiber festival, eh?

More gorgeous colors.

Pretty stitch markers.

And a silly corgi. You can't count on Weaslie for much, but she's a darn good foot warmer :-).

What a nice afternoon!

An Update From The EODSS

2011-11-02T20:17:00.011-05:00

Hello Friends,

It's 29 here, with an update from the Equal Opportunity for Displaced Serta Sheep. Things have really improved here since my last letter. You know, when Saint Tim commented about the fact that I should be proud to be working with such a fine piece of German engineering.

I'm not so sure about the sentiment, but Pam and her friend Carolyn made me this really swell pair of Lederhosen, so at least I don't catch a draft anymore. Then, The Crazy Sheep Lady said I should be able to find something more suitable to replace me as the door prop. So I thought and thought...what would a fine, upstanding sheep pick for a mindless job? Why, acrylic yarn of course!!

So now there is a new door prop and I get to supervise it until it gets the hang of things. Then, I think I will be free to be a true ambassador for EODSS. I've heard that I might get to hit the road and make a few field trips. Anyway, thanks to everyone for their support. Things are looking up for me, and that's how it all happens, one sheep at a time.

29 got to come over this afternoon and visit awhile with 20. He was a bit sad that he'd missed the party, but 20 reminded him that every day is a good day to Hug a Sheep and Wednesday was just as good as Saturday.

They got caught up with all the EODSS news and talked about their new jobs. 20 told 29 about living on a sheep farm, managing the wool house. 29 agreed that it all sounded pretty fun and that it sure beat holding a washing machine door open and how relieved he was to be done with that job and how he was looking forward to being able to do some traveling now and had some plans for the holidays.

29 really liked 20's sweater and hinted that maybe 20 could knit one for him, maybe for Christmas. 20 told him about the super neat sweaters being worn or worked on at the Hug a Sheep Party and all the pretty yarn being spun and promised he'd get some pictures up on the blog tomorrow.

There's always lots to do when you are a Displaced Serta Sheep!

Happy Baa-loween!

2011-10-31T18:01:00.012-05:00

This awesome shot was taken by neighbor Jennifer Giles at the pumpkin carving party last week.

It's B. Willard. Remember his pumpkin from last year?

We had farm-wide tricks or treats this afternoon. Even Claire Bear made a rare appearance, drawn out by some kitty treats.

Probably only corgi owners will find this "temptations" picture funny ;-).

Normally Stella and I dress up some poor unsuspecting sheep for Halloween. This year we just couldn't get our great idea pulled together. That was okay. Hickory set himself up for needing a costume this year. He's dressed up as a sheep, in hopes maybe Hank will start to like him.

"Um, Hickory, if you don't quit chasing his sheep around, you're going to need more than a lamb's ear head band to help you out."

"Don't care. Give me the treats!"

I could only get two quick shots off before he started ravaging that poor unsuspecting sheep basket.

The cat treats were instantly tossed aside. As were the dog biscuits after he tasted them and the pretty red apple. Turns out he's a cookie monster.

"Hickory, I have a feeling that eating all the sheep's treats probably isn't helping your cause any."

I hope you are able to show a bit more restraint digging into your trick or treat loot ;-).

Happy Baa-loween!

Hug A Sheep Day

2011-10-30T21:51:00.015-05:00

We had a small, but excellent group of sheep huggers this year. The sheep were darling, the kids (of all ages) were cute, we had some outstanding knitting and spinning, the weather cooperated off and on and everyone had an enjoyable afternoon.

Keebs...being Keebs ;-).

Paige's mom, getting everyone fired up early.

Deb W. always makes sure the 'less interested in hugging' sheep are not neglected.

Stella and 20 modeling their Jacob sheep hand knits.

B. Willard got bored halfway through and crawled out of the pen, walked himself into the barn and helped himself to an entire box of cookies. Luckily Aaron saw it happening and intervened. Willard...

Iris, doing her best sheep impression.

And Weaslie, just blatently begging.

Something that struck me as I watched Renny taking cookies from strangers... Do you think, in a million years, that one year ago she'd have even dreamed of being at a sheep party?

I have more pictures to post, but have to allow for one of my favorite holidays tomorrow ;-).

Sunday Stills - 25 And 50 Steps

2011-10-30T12:42:00.013-05:00

Part 1. Choose a starting spot, walk 25 steps in any direction and take 3 photos. The 25 steps can be outside your home, inside your home, in your neighborhood or away from your neighborhood.
Once your steps have been counted out, you must anchor one foot, you can pivot on that foot but your anchor foot may not move.

Part 2. Choose a starting spot, walk 50 steps, repeat the instructions above. The 50 steps can be in a different direction, a different location or the same as the 25 steps.

Think about it before you start your counting. Be aware of your environment, look around & estimate your steps so you have an idea of what shots you might get. Try to measure your steps so that they are approximately the same size.

Photo enhancements are allowed. This is a no archives challenge and it not only gets you out and shooting but gives you the opportunity to compose a picture in what might be a difficult place. Be creative……shoot macro, landscape, go low or shoot high…..whatever gives you the chance to make a better picture. Have fun!

Hank followed me down the fence line. That's Renny (too) fuzzed out in the background.

Our footprints side by side.

Evidence of Hank's traveling that route before.

And the sun quickly melting the frosted grass.

This was a really fun challenge. I did mine backwards (no big surprise) and went 50 steps down the lane, planted my feet, then went 25 steps up the wet weather creek in our front field. I got completely different shots than what I thought I was going to get.

For more photographed steps...

I'll post Hug a Sheep Photos later this afternoon. Right now I'm headed out to ride Hickory :-).

It's Hug A Sheep Day!

2011-10-29T08:00:00.003-05:00

Come on out and Hug a Sheep :-). The weather is perfect!

Open house from 1:00 - 4:00 today.

Email if you need directions.

Still Smiling :-)

2011-10-28T22:31:00.003-05:00

We have had two horrid weather days. Apparently this is Paige's fault. When she came out for Rolex a couple years ago, they had to send everyone home because of tornadoes. Way to go!

Rain or shine, this afternoon was our scheduled ride time, fit in between all sorts of fun activities. We took Hickory over to a friend's all weather arena. He was perfect.

And I even popped him over some tiny jumps.

And ended the ride with a smile. I am really looking forward to learning a lot from Hickory and having a good time doing it.

Thank you Paige for sharing your wonderful horse with me.

Hickory

2011-10-27T14:30:00.023-05:00

I've had a secret for a couple weeks. Well, not really a secret, but more of a 'don't want to say anything in case it is all too good to be true'. We've got a new horse!

His name is Hickory and we happened upon him while visiting Skoog Farm in New York. He's a 13 year old Quarter Horse gelding, not too big, ~~kid~~ old lady broke and here's the kicker - he's brown.

Huh? Why would that matter for anything?

I've been looking for a well trained, safe, fun, not too young, not too big, Quarter Horse gelding for about a year and a half. The night before we even heard anything about Hickory I had a dream that I got a brown horse.

Lori and I were sitting chatting in her awesome kitchen where all the food magic is done and she decided to call a friend of hers to see if she knew of any good horses for sale. I was only slightly interested, but as she wrote down all his perfectly matching specs and added "liver chestnut" (brown), the hair stood up on the back of my neck.

Hickory's mom and grandma drove all night to get here this morning so they could get him settled in and then get to a prospective equine student program at nearby Midway College. We are only 3 miles off this state highway, but I figured a tired driver not used to our winding one lane roads could use an escort for the last jag. It was appreciated.

Paige unloaded a no worse for the wear Hickory, hand walked him for a few minutes and we introduced him to Hank. Hank's not thrilled with horses because they tend to get too close to his sheep and T-Bone has chased a few. He immediately let Hickory know that he was not to be messed with.

It took a few minutes for the sheep to venture around the corner.

"Um, Mom? Someone put a horse in our barn."

"My name is Woolliam. We don't really like horses."

"My name is Marcel and I'm pretty scared of horses too, but wanted to say welcome to our farm."

"I'm just telling you horse. You stay away from my sheep."

After letting Hickory settle in for a couple hours and giving the rain a chance to let up, I turned him out in the front field. Just in case there was going to be any trouble with Hank, I asked him to wait on the other side of the fence. He did, but stayed right nearby just. in. case.

When all looked copacetic, I let Hank back in. He ran over, had a few words with Hickory and walked away.

"I can't do anything about you being in here, but I'm staying between you and my sheep."

Hickory ate for awhile and then romped around for awhile.

Gato, T-Bone and Handy joined in from the back field.

And Hank (and Lila) kept a close eye on 'all them stupid horses'.

I'm sure Hickory and I have our work cut out for us, but I think I got pretty lucky.

Keebler Cookies Or Keebler's Cookies?

2011-10-26T08:50:00.019-05:00

The first box of party cookies arrived a couple days ago. Keebler says thanks, Sally :-). Actually Renny (who the cookies were really sent to) says thanks, but we can't let Keebler know about that. Not only is he a tad bit jealous of all the attention Renny gets, but he's also fully aware that His Name Is On The Box.

In the middle of the video shoot Monday, one of our neighbors and her daughter-in-law stopped by. Usually they are accompanied by two cute little girls who are quite. popular. around here. There's only one reason Keebler would ever ~~walk~~ run away from a camera lens. The chickens knew what to expect as well.

They were denied.

"Um, what about the cookies?"

"Did you get a cookie?"

"No, did you?"

"No. There were no cookies. I can't believe there were no cookies."

"Did they really not bring us any cookies?"

Weaslie gave up first, but the Shuck chicken remained hopeful.

And then just Keebler.

"I can't believe there were no cookies. Maybe they'll come back with the cookies. Yeah, maybe they just forgot to give them to us. Surely there are cookies..."

Poor Keebs. If he can just hang on for a couple more days.

This Saturday is the Hug A Sheep Day Farm Party! Come out from 1:00 to 4:00 and meet your favorite sheep(s) and Hank, Iris, Weaslie, Betsy and Comby. Eli and Claire Bear will be nowhere to be found and the Adventure Chickens prefer not to be hugged, but would be happy to eat your cookies/crackers/leftover spaghetti...

Once again we'll have some willing hugging recipients out front, but you aren't required to hug a sheep. You can hug some wool yarn or give 20 a big ole hug. He's really excited about his first Hug a Sheep Day :-). The forecast is looking okay - sunny, but cool enough you can wear wool. Can't beat that!

And for everyone hosting their own Hug A Sheep Day event, large or small, don't forget to add it to the list.

If you have any questions, need directions...drop me an email at thecrazysheeplady AT gmail DOT com.

See you Saturday!

It's A Shame They Aren't Friendly

2011-10-24T20:52:00.018-05:00

An interesting day today. Some folks from KET (Kentucky Educational Television) came out to get some sheep footage for an upcoming show.

Hank is agreeable to most anything, but tends not to be too chummy with strangers. And if a stranger were to get too close to me or his sheep with a big microphone or something, I'm not sure he wouldn't "give somebody the business". He's very protective of us all, so we of course ran everything past him first.

And he proceeded to bite the sound guy.

Just kidding. He loved Roger and was just playing with him in the picture above. In fact, they played quite a bit and Hank even did his tricks (sit and shake paws) for him too. Over and over. I love that dog.

Betsy, on the other hand, not so helpful akshully.

Betsy, Betsy, Betsy.

"Is that cat bothering you, ma'am?"

Sherman wasn't much better, but was WAY better than Graham Lamb.

We all know Graham's infatuation with anything that he thinks might be useful somewhere down the line. We weren't sure if he was more interested in the expensive tripod or the expensive camera, but there are now some permanent teeth marks on that tripod and the videographer thought that was "cute".

Right.

Miss Ewenice loved Roger as well and was happy to oversee production.

"Why yes, I am the queen of the farm."

"Huh? You're going to stop talking to me to talk to that goofy bug eyed sheep?"

"Oh, good grief. I'm leaving."

"Am I really going to be on tv?"

If you'll notice, there are no pictures of Graham. None. When we stopped to think about it, we were all stumped how that could have happened with as much "time" as he spent with us.

While the truth of the matter is probably that every time he came close, everyone was busy grabbing all the equipment so he couldn't get to it. The more popular theory is he just made sure there was no photographic evidence of any wrong doing. Much like Dracula I suppose.

It is getting close to Halloween...

Renny's Better Side

2011-10-24T06:42:00.008-05:00

Renny found out I posted a picture of her backside, looking a bit, um, large, on the intertubes.

"That wasn't very nice."

"Wouldn't a picture of me and Willard (insert loud whisper - her boyfriend) been much better?"

Actually, I doubt that picture bothered Renny one bit. Nothing fazes Renny - Wonder ~~Woman~~ Sheep cape and all.

I'm not sure if B. Willard is her boyfriend or "just a good friend". They've been buddies since the first time they were out together. I wondered if it was their similar coloring. Yes, Renny is dark gray underneath all the brown, sunbleached wool. And there's a lot of it!

Sheep Shots

2011-10-22T08:54:00.007-05:00

Who's this?

We know who this is ;-).

Crazy ole Anna Belly

Peepee

You may not recognize this big hairy butt. Yep, that's Renny. Just amazing.

Heidi, with Hank looking on.

Mia's nose. All that fits in the frame when she's trying to climb into your lap.

"Hay, who's coming out for Hug A Sheep Day next Saturday?"

Ford-0 likes to have his picture taken.

And the best for last, Ewen McTeagle.

A Place In The Sun

2011-10-21T08:36:00.003-05:00

The reality is sinking in for poor ole Betsy. That exciting farm life is losing it's charm. She doesn't care about the cat condo soon to be returning to the porch. She just wants. in. the. house.

"It's freezing out here!"

"A bird!"

"Too cold. I'm going back to sleep."

She's obviously put on enough winter weight to help stay warm ;-).