What To Do With A Lot Of Rain

I have always reserved my kayak for trips off the farm (meaning I very seldom use it :-/), but when the pond is full and it looks so pretty I always think I should move my boat back there and enjoy it...so yesterday I did :-).  I figured Bea would be up for a paddle and she was.  

She hopped right in and took her point and the first time she slipped on the slick side I caught her.  The second time I was trying to measure how deep the pond was and I didn't :-o.  She splooshed in and under and back up and dog paddled right to me and I picked her up and put her back in the boat.  It didn't seem to bother her, surprisingly, because she HATES baths.  Poor Bea.  Some grip strips are on the way!

Archie followed us out there and was very curious about what we were doing, but was very scared of the boat and it took a good while before he'd even touch it.  I don't see much paddling in Archie's future.

While we don't have the pretty sun from yesterday, we do have some more rain predicted and I'm not going to complain.  I might even go explore the Frog Pond next time.  In the meantime, here's a new puzzle :-).

Eating Hay While The Sun Shines

The Kentucky Shepherd's Market went really well and was well worth all the effort, but I have to say I'm glad to be able to catch my breath and catch up with things I've been missing, like pictures.  

Krista

Thelma

Biscuit and Murphy

Maggie and Christopher

Thelma

Levi

Biscuit and Murphy

I love to watch my sheep eating, especially on cold, but sunny mornings.  I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I am Not Ready for spring yet.

Whew!

I've been so busy trying to get myself and others ready for the Kentucky Shepherd's Market this Saturday that I haven't even been posting much on Instagram the last few days :-o.  

I think the market is going to be really fun and I'm excited for all the interest in a new fiber venture, but after the last few years, I am no longer a very good "go out in public" person, so there's some a lot of stress about that.  If I get sick, someone still has to take care of the animals...  That's something to think about before you go out in public when you are not well.

My sheep are why I do these things.  I took a few minutes after I got done feeding last night to remember that and enjoy them and the peace and quiet of being in a cozy barn with your best friends.  I ended up going live for a bit because I figured I wasn't the only one who might enjoy listen to the sheep rustling about eating dinner.  

Exhale...

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I've enjoyed using a few of my pictures to help promote the market.  Chocula and Mini Moose are my favorites, but I have a new Pinto version ready for later today :-).

Fiberuary Day 6. Now And Then

There's a good story over on Instagram this morning and I'm just going to share the post here rather than retype it all.  Apparently I never shared the video of Pinto trying to take over the flock from Rocky and Jared so I'm going to spend a few minutes trying to find it and add it in here.  

I am so disappointed that I've left so many things off the blog :-/.  I love that there is still a solid online diary over there, but there's no way to jump to certain months or years or search for keywords like you can over here and that's...sad.   

Wish me luck!  And while you're waiting, here's today's story.

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Okay, it took a bit, but I found it...and then had to watch it.  It's super slow at the beginning (maybe you can skip ahead somehow), but once Pinto finally goes in with the rest of the sheep it gets hilarious watching Jared school him on "life".  

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It's sure fun to go back in time for a visit :-).

January

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Will THIS Be The Last Christmas Post?

Probably...

 As I slogged through yet another month of 2023, I was having trouble getting excited about the upcoming Christmas season and even toyed with just skipping it.  I knew that in the end I would have been really disappointed not seeing all my holiday lights and old friends including my 25 year old Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

I set myself up with a Solstice Advent challenge and I made a special effort to find the space to enjoy even tiny bits of joy every day and by the end of the season I'd had one of the nicest winter holiday seasons ever.  As an extra special treat I made a new friend and received a beautiful card with three two and a half of my favorite sheep.  Murphy....

Okay, when I mentioned the Advent challenge, I realized that I never shared the final picture of my daily prizes.  To avoid yet another Christmas post, I'll do that now.

I'd collected a bunch of these vintage lead sheep figurines ahead of time and Auntie Reg wrapped them all up and tucked them into my calendar.  Every day I got to unwrap and place another sheep or two in the window.  I grouped ewes, lambs playing, lambs with their mommas, rams watching over, rams thinking about fighting...  It was grand fun :-).

One day I got surprised by this cutie and there were a couple other fun sheep mixed in as well.  It was a fun way to end each day and to make each day a little special...the way every day should be.  

I Got Lucky

Today is my 17th blog anniversary.  I remember writing that first blog post.  I didn't say much, but I remember double and triple checking that it sounded okay and my spelling and grammar was correct.  I still agonize over that and still read my posts aloud and try to catch as many mistakes as I can.  

We'd had a big snow that morning and I had a tiny Sony point and shoot camera that we used to take random pictures of things on and off the farm.  I had no real interest in photography.  I just occasionally took pictures and definitely always did when it snowed.

This picture of PPPP and Peabody was taken that morning and the black background was just the side of the barn before the shed and the shed's shed were added.  I'm quite sure I didn't plan for it to look like a starry night sky.  I just got lucky.

I don't remember when I finally realized that I enjoyed taking pictures and had a little bit of aptitude for it.  I don't remember when I got my first "real" camera.  Oh, wait, it was August of 2007, so I must have gotten it for my birthday, just a few months into my blogging :-).

I actually enjoy when artists write to ask permission to paint my pictures.  I know they could just go ahead and "steal" them (and I've caught a few on that over the years), but I love to hear from them and find out which picture they like and hopefully see what they create.  Which reminds me, there is Yet Another Christmas Post coming!

I think Bonnie Mohr might have been the first artist who contacted me about using one of my photographs.  She'd picked the "starry night" picture.  The very first picture I posted on my very first blog post.  Well, actually it was the second picture on the page ;-).  I loved what she painted!

She offered to sell us the painting and I would have loved to have bought it, but it was out of our price range.  I'd checked back a few times over the years to see if she'd ever offered a print of it, but finally gave up.  I do have a box of Christmas cards with the painting though.  I stumbled across them at the North American.  That was a great story :-).

When I realized that today was my blog anniversary, I thought back to that picture and all the pictures I've taken over the years and how many have been used by artists all over the world (!) and am truly flattered.  Out of curiosity I decided to search her website again, but couldn't find the painting anywhere.  I started searching to see if it showed up anywhere else and luckily found it offered as a print from another merchant!

I feel like so much of my life has been lucky.  I also realize that the harder you work, the luckier you tend to be though.  I am so grateful that I've worked hard enough over the years to have a blog that I can scroll back through 17 years of pictures and stories.  And yes, there are plenty of things that sure didn't feel very lucky, but so many treasures along the way.

And luckily I'm headed out the door to go take some more pictures.  My year old blogger self would never have believed that :-).