Friends And Family

A local shepherd needed a place for her small flock of beloved sheep...so three of them came here.  The other two went to another friend.  

"Hi!  My name is Krista, but I've heard there's already a Krista here, so I might get a nickname.  I haven't met her yet, but I've been told she is my grandma.  I wonder if she'll recognize me when we get to meet?"

"My name is Coonie and I'm actually really friendly.  My ears are back because the photo lady told me to Stay Back so she could take my picture.  Me and Krista were trying to get a good sniff of her to see if she maybe had some of the cookies she gave us last night in her pocket.  She says my face markings look just like Mini Moose, but that I actually AM mini.  I have no idea what that means."

"My name is Holly and I've been told my cousins Biscuit and Muffin live here.  I don't remember a Biscuit, but I think I remember a little scrawny black lamb who hung out in the front of the barn with her mom and drank a bottle.  I'm not sure how friendly I am, but I was the first one to try the cookies last night and I really liked them."

I think Holly will come around, but Krista and Coonie are already pocket sheep.  That's how they ended up here.  You know there's nothing I like more than a friendly old ewe.  

Everyone settled in quickly yesterday and this morning I was standing out with them and noticed Krista's pink nose and it reminded me of Maisie's cute pink nose...and then I really looked at her right ear.  

I noticed it looked a bit off yesterday, but she's missing her ear tag so just assumed it had torn out funny.  On closer inspection I found the whole bottom had been sliced off along the edge, not from a torn tag.  I'm guessing an old freak shearing accident.

Why is this even worth mentioning?

I think it's maybe a little wink from an old friend.

Fire Horses?

A few mornings ago I walked up to the barn, saw Gato resting on the hillside in front of the barn, didn't think anything about it.  When I came back out of the barn a few minutes later I saw him flat out, legs flailing.  Instant panic mode.

I raced over thinking about what to do.  Was he colicking?  Having a seisure?  He's 29.  Anything could happen at this point...and then he stopped.  Okay, now what?  I still need to figure out what is happening and how to handle it.

I watched him for a few seconds and saw one ear flicking back and forth...sort of like he was asleep and dreaming.  I've never seen a horse run in their sleep, so I'm still thinking seizure...and then his lips moved a bit...like he was...dreaming...

"Gato!"

(Rolls up on his chest) "What?"

"Oh, good grief."

(Goes back to sleep)

A few days later I saw him sleeping not far from where he and Frankie are in this picture...and he did it again.  I have never seen or heard of a horse running in their sleep and I asked a few friends and they are in agreement, no, even though it makes sense that they could.  

Maybe Gato's just faster than anyone else's horses...in his sleep ;-).

Lancelot was standing watch.  Sometimes I'll catch all three asleep on a sunny afternoon, but usually one horse stays up.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Thursdays Are For Spinning

A friend picked up some leftover fleeces from the North American wool show last fall and I claimed a Romney fleece.  I think that breed is exceptionally pretty (and cute) and by looks felt like the wool would be a Sara fleece (aka Not Merino), but wanted to find out for sure.  I washed my fleece a few weeks ago and yesterday pulled out a big handful to process and spin.

There was no wind and the sun was shining so even with the snow on the ground, it was too pretty to sit inside.  I carried my wheel outside and thought this picture was kind of funny with my muddy barn boots contrasting with the pretty wheel.  I ended up using them to hold my waiting to be spun bundles :-).

Pretty (and cute :-).

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As the afternoon cooled, I moved back inside for the last bundle.

I wound my bobbin off into a center pull ball and wrapped it around a plying ball.  This is my favorite way to ply samples.  Putting the two ends together around the plying ball keeps the two strands tidy and well behaved.

Ready for a soak.

And after.

I've called some of my Cotswold/Texel crosses "fake Romneys" and now I can say for sure that I was pretty correct.  Not too soft, but not too coarse.  A nice bit of halo and a good bounce.  Definitely a yarn I'll enjoy using ;-).  

[Blogging]

Nineteen years ago today was a snow day.  I know that because I was out taking pictures of the sheep for my very first blog post.  The two pictures I shared that day remain two of my very favorite pictures ever, but I've shared them many times over the anniversaries so this year I'm going to share another old favorite instead.  I believe I only have these beloved pictures because I started blogging...nineteen years ago.

So many old friends in this picture from February, 2015.  I wish Hank was mixed in there too, but I'm thinking that might be what Elizabeth, in the front, is looking at.  Don't miss Comby sitting on the fence.  It's all part of the puzzle.

Praying

 

It doesn't have to be 

the blue iris, it could be

weeds in a vacant lot, or a few

small stones; just

pay attention, then patch

a few words together and don't try to make it elaborate, this isn't

a contest but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which

another voice may speak.

Mary Oliver

Thank you for still being here and being my other voices.

 

"Go Outside!"

Occasionally it's a good thing to check your socials before bed.  I almost missed the Northern Lights last night!  

Apparently the last time we saw them here it never made the blog :'-(.  That makes me think it was two years ago, but I can't go back and verify.

The colors that time were purples and greens.  Last night was all about the red and we got streaks shooting up into the sky as well.  I can't even believe I am saying "that time"....and I'm trying not to overthink why I've now seen the Northern Lights three times in two decidedly not northern states.

The iPhone picks up extra light in "night mode" so the first two pictures were a little brighter than what you could see with just your naked eyes.  I did bump the over exposure down some to get a more realistic picture, but left them a little brighter because the skies were so pretty through the camera lens.  This bottom picture is what I was actually seeing standing out in the yard.

As soon as I saw we were getting good colors last night, I started making my calls.  While all of my friends, except  maybe one, I'd normally not call after 10:00 p.m., I did send out a call last night.  "Northern Lights! Go outside!"  

We shared pictures and exclamations and thank yous and one by one finally drifted off back to bed.  I settled in thinking about my night sky calendar picture choices and knew which one I should pick and the story that would go with it.

By morning light though, the choice between the two pictures I had in mind...the shot I was thinking of that would pair with the night sky stories had Lancelot and Gato as the feature, along with a full moon.  The other shot had Maisie and Short Round.  I already had a nice picture of Lancelot picked out for another month...and the other shot had Maisie and Short Round.

There's a pretty good chance that I am putting together our last farm calendar.  Tim is hoping to retire next year and without his in house printing service, the calendars are not really feasible.  I hate not telling all the good stories.  There may just be a couple of extra pages this year.

October

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Most of October was pretty darn good :-).

By The Way

That was Nistock Farms yesterday.  Probably most of you already knew that, but for anyone who doesn't know about their award winning sheep and beautiful wool and wood products, here's a link.

"I heard you used to be better at this blogging thing!"

A New York Flock Walk

I've been working on the 2026 calendar this week and was doing okay scrolling through months and months of pictures of Maisie and then got to the picture of her standing next to a big dangerous trench and an excavator, giving me one of "those looks" and it was so classic Maisie that...

I tried to keep it together and move on, but I just couldn't.  I kept staring back into her coal black eyes that always seemed to look straight into my soul and finally realized I needed to go do the evening chores...and fix dinner...and watch some "baking show"...and go to bed...and this morning I still couldn't get back to it so I decided to take a short vacation back to New York and share some pictures of sheep who aren't Maisie.

I also made three new puzzles!

Robin and I had been busy with all sorts of fun things that Saturday and as she and Andy started prepping evening feed, I headed out to the big field with my camera.  The leaves were just starting to turn and the light was starting to fade, but I still had a great time taking pictures of all her beautiful sheep.  Well, most of them.  There is also a ram barn and a group of retirement home sheep.  This is the main flock.  

It was a great vacation, then and today.  I hope you enjoy it as well :-). 

I did a post on Instagram this morning talking about counting sheep.  Does this picture make you want to start counting as well?

And dinner was served.

Hug A Sheep Day Fun

The sheep started their day before dawn so I missed walking out in the back field with them and had to punt on the flock walk and ended up opening the arena to talk them into a second breakfast.  The arena is a big treat for them and they were happy to comply. 

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Hopefully you can just click the above picture to watch if you'd like.

There were plenty of cookies and crackers and everyone mostly took turns trying to trick everyone into sneaking them an extra or two ;-).

After 15 years of farm parties that were too warm to wear a wool sweater, I knit not one, but two vests over the summer and fall in hopes of being able to wear a farm sweater to our farm party...and it was too cold.  I wore my Lamb Camp poncho for awhile, but was glad to switch to my B. Willard sweater to warm back up.

All the party pictures were taken by my friend Amy (more to come about that) except this one of Naughty Bea having to be carried up the driveway in a car so she didn't get run over by a car...

...and this sweet picture of Bullseye sleeping on the swing with his favorite party guest.  I tried to get a video of him swinging, but that was when Naughty Bea drove up and he woke up and jumped away.

Even the chickens got some cookies.  Zelda is in the middle of her fall molt so she needed the extra calories to help stay warm.

In the afternoon several of us headed over to the Heavenly Hilltop Railroad and rode the trains.  

It was the perfect way to end a really fun day.

 

Are You Ready To Hug Some Sheep?

(Inter)National Hug a Sheep Day is this Saturday, October 25th (always the last Saturday in October), and we are planning our usual shenanigans here on the farm and virtually on Instagram.

We'll start the day with an early morning virtual Flock Walk on Instagram.  I've done these for several years now and each time I think it's going to be boring and silly and they always turn out really special.  I'll try to save the live video to publish other places so everyone can enjoy walking out with the sheep at a more reasonable time if you live elsewhere ;-).

In the afternoon we are hosting our usual On the Farm Party complete with sheep, horses, chickens, cats, Bea and Pinot.  It's looking like it's going to be cool enough for wool wearing, so that's exciting.  It may be too cool for wool spinning, but bring your wheel or current project just in case.  We'll have a fire going!

Since we are bumping up the time an hour this year, Auntie Reg is going to be cooking up our favorite October wool festival snack, Artichoke French, and we'll have fresh bread, hot coffee, cider, pumpkin donuts...

The sheep are hoping you'll bring lots of cookies and crackers.  Gato will eat most anything too and he's heard some stories about Hug a Sheep/Feed a Pony day and is looking forward to his first farm party ;-).  Pinot loves treats too, but rabbits really shouldn't have many treats, so don't let him trick you.  

We have changed the time a little so that anyone who'd like to go over the Don and Rebecca Saager's fall train run afterwards can caravan over there from here.  It's a bit of a drive (40 minutes), but well worth the trip.  

As always, there is no admission and everyone is welcome here.  I know I'm late getting this posted, but most of the "regulars" know the drill and if you would like to come in from out of town and need some accommodation suggestions or travel direction, just drop me an email.

Are you ready to hug some sheep?  Or a ball of yarn or a squishy warm wool sweater or blanket?  :-D

But First, This...

Before I share the weekend's pictures, I need to share information about Hug a Sheep Day...which is this Saturday!  But before I share that, I want to share a super interesting thing that happened yesterday.  I'll add some farm party info at the bottom of this post.

* * * * *

Do you remember the night before Hank died, Maisie standing out behind the barn, up on the hill, watching out back...and watching over me and Hank as we sat together one last time?  And do you remember Big Moose standing out with her?  Here's a link to a blog post that shares several IG posts and tells more of the story. 

If you want to watch the post dates, it looks like you'll have to click on each IG post picture in that post.  It's really interesting to watch everything develop.  The posts range from 2020 to 2021.  To be honest, I'd forgotten about this.

Yesterday the barn cameras picked up a fox messing around in the barn lot in the early hours of the morning, around 4:00 a.m.  As I watched I saw a sheep walk into the frame and get between the fox and the barn.  

The fox would make a move and the sheep would move to stay with it.  This dance went on for several minutes and finally the fox left.  The sheep stayed out there for a few minutes more before it went back into the barn.

I could tell it was a big sheep...with all black legs...maybe a clean (not wooly) head... Was it Murphy?  Maybe Levi?  It wouldn't be Muffin.  Big Moose?  The face looked solid black though, which was throwing me off.

As I watched, the sheep finally moved into a position that the barn lot camera spotlight caught a better look and sure enough there was some color on the face.  It was Big Moose...and that triggered the memory above.

Big Moose!

I recorded a short video clip of this and will go post it over to IG so I can then come back here to update this post.  I don't know how people keep up with how to use social media more efficiently, but there you have it.  Old people trying to use technology...  

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I just find this so interesting (the sheep/fox interaction, not the SM) and since most of you probably remember the history of Hank and Maisie and then Big Moose joining the security staff, I knew you would as well.  You know that fox was moving quietly.  Did Hank or Maisie wake Big Moose up to let him know or was he already watching, on duty.  Either scenario is comforting for sure.

* * * * *

Yes, there's a Hug a Sheep farm party this weekend.  I hope there are parties all over the world again like there have been the last few years.  I do love that part of social media - watching the #hugasheepday hashtag.  Here we are following the usual format with sheep hugging, cookie feeding, horse petting, picture taking, yarn fun, people treats, wool wearing...with one change.  

The hours this year are 12:00 to 3:00.  We've bumped everything up one hour so that anyone who would like to go over to the train run at The Heavenly Hilltop Railroad can caravan over and ride the amazing hand machined coal fired steam trains around 1 1/2 miles of track with an incredible tunnel and trestle and more good company.  There are also some sheep there, too ;-).

Fun With Friends And Family

Chocula Chip, Merino...and of course Saint Tim and Naughty Bea...went on a short vacation over the weekend.  Of course it involved sheep :-).  Can you guess where we went?  Would you like to see more pictures?  Maybe some new puzzles?

Happy Anniversaries

Twenty-two years ago today we closed on this farm...and each other.  Technically it was the 23rd, but I liked the idea of the fall equinox (possibly my favorite day of the year :-), so our anniversaries are a floating holiday, depending on the year.

This has been a horribly long, hot, dry summer so I'm especially celebrating that we got some much needed rain and cooler temperatures today, just in time for the fall equinox.  The farm is celebrating, too.  

I actually enjoyed walking out to our oldest pear tree this afternoon to gather some fruit to try to make a pear tart. I tried to set up a photoshoot with the freshly baked tart resting under the tree, but the rain pushed us back to the porch.  That's an okay trade.  I brought the tree to the porch :-).

Twenty-two years ago my mother looked at that pear tree and said it was very old and she didn't think it would last much longer.  That old tree outsmarted the spring freeze that took all the rest of the pears and apples here and at the local orchards and it was loaded with pears this year.

This is a very dear little farm.  Thank you.  For everything.

Work In Progress

Thank you so much for all the kind comments and notes I've received about Maisie.  She was a sheep with a lot of friends.  So missed by so many.  

I think Baaxter is doing okay.  He was pretty unsure what to do the first couple of days, but he's started going out to graze in the driveway a little and I think he's finding his way.  He's a curmudgeonly old guy, but I think he loved her more than he let on.

I've been mostly hiding out knitting the sweater that I'd hoped would have been finished weeks ago.  Maybe it was good to be slow starting as I've needed this time and it's a good reminder that spinning, knitting, weaving, crocheting, felting, dyeing...can help sooth a broken brain and heart.

Remember the walnut dyed yarn?  And the comfrey and goldenrod?  The green is comfrey and the yellow is from the green leaves of the goldenrod.  The tan, rust and brown are from green walnut hulls.  The yarn started as the nearly white with a hint of Baaxter's gray wool mixed in Lamb Camp Bottle Lamb yarn.  

I tweaked the Vintersol pattern by Jennifer Steingass to represent my favorite fall flowers.  I'd hoped to have this finished by the time the goldenrod bloomed, but I'm running behind...as usual...and in case I don't get the sleeves done before the blooms have faded, here's a quick shot.  

As hot as it's been this week, I'm tempted to leave the sleeves off!

Zen And The Art Of Spinning Wheel Maintenance

The first thing I tell someone who's having trouble with their spinning wheel or weaving loom is that while these tools are definitely specialized, they are at heart, basic tools, and when they aren't functioning well, probably just need something adjusted or simply fixed...

...and then I spend Two Weeks of the Tour de Fleece fighting with my own wheel, not having the most fun, whining about the trouble I'm having, stressing that I need to start saving for a new wheel...

Luckily our small, but mighty Ravelry group is full of experienced and helpful spinners...who still had to suggest to me twice that maybe my drive band was just slipping, and sure enough, five minutes later I am back to spinning with a well working wheel.  

Do as I say, not as I do.  

Sigh...

This is an odd picture, but I was working with blazing too hot, too bright sun and this spot in the shade worked perfectly for a yarn shot.  Neither the wheel or Bea are in prison.  They are both just trying to stay cool.  The fence is for Pinot...who is enjoying the AC in the wash room.

Love this light silver and it's so soft, lightly spun and fluffy - Sara yarn - and I think I might just go ahead and spin the rest of what I have left of his roving and make a souvenir from one of the sweetest sheep ever.

This is what a touch of Cotswold will do for your yarn.  Drape a shawl would die for :-).

This picture just struck me funny.  Do you see two eyes, a silver wig and my poor downtrodden wheel sticking her tongue out at me?

I probably need to go sit in the AC with Pinot ;-).