Schedules

Years ago, when I was thinking about starting my small sheep business, a good friend told me that the best part of working for yourself is that you get to pick your own hours.  You can pick whichever 18 hours of everyday you want to work.  She wasn't wrong.  I've also heard that if you love your job, you'll never work a day in your life.  That's not wrong either.

One thing I haven't enjoyed along the way is getting to the end of the day...or week...or year...and realizing that I didn't do all the things I wanted to do.  This is a recurring theme and I know it's not just for me so that's all I'm going to say about that.  There are probably thousands of books about that and I should probably just find make the time to read them.

I do think having a schedule helps me.  I enjoy Tuesday nights because I "have" to join the Wool House Crafters zoom meeting.  Some weeks I get more done than others, but I like having that set schedule...and the company is good :-).  We meet for two hours and that's a good amount of time.  It's amazing what you can get done in two hours if you just put your butt in the chair.

I'd love to dedicate every afternoon to "chair work", but I've tried that and I never manage to pull it off.  Two hours isn't much time, but it's like spinning with a drop spindle.  If you spin 5 minutes here, 10 minute there, 5 minutes another time, 20 minutes after dinner...at the end of the week you've probably spun more yarn than I have with my spinning wheel.

I use "probably" in that last sentence like I've actually done any spinning lately.  Well, I did spend a little time at the end of the Kentucky Shepherd's Market last month spinning with some friends and it was really fun.  Spinning IS really fun.

The same thing happened back at the first of the year when I was playing around with the little electric drum carder I am borrowing from a friend.  Pulling those pretty batts off was really fun.  It was nice...and a little weird...to have to be reminded why I started all this in the first place.  Wool is fun.  Take the time to enjoy it.  MAKE the time to enjoy it.

So I know I can't show up from 1:00 to 4:00 every day.  Seems silly, but we both know that if that was going to happen, it would have already happened.  I don't work for myself as well as I work for other people.  

I'm not even sure I can show up every day.  I mean I show up for work every day, but not the butt in chair work.  Obviously the animal care comes first.  And if I have to be available on the farm, it's hard not to let the art side of life fall off.  It's been a crazy start to the year.  Hopefully things are settling down...just in time for spring :-o.

Here's the plan:

Monday - Catch up day.  Set things up to make the rest of the week successful.

Tuesday - Wool House Crafters.  Already on the schedule and anything goes.  

Wednesday - Art Class.  Butt in chair and pencil, pen, brush in hand. 

Thursday - Spinning...or any fun wool work.

Friday - Make up day.  Get the things done you didn't get done on Wednesday and Thursday (being realistic here).

Weekends are wild cards.  Just try to be mindful of what you'd really like to do with your "one wild and precious life".

Okay, this post went way off the rails.  My original plan was to tell you about the new I-64 Spring Fiber Fling yarn crawl we are participating in this month, but I'll have to try for that again tomorrow.  That means I need to find a new picture to share today because anyone who's made it to the end of this epistle deserves a pretty or at least funny picture.  

Hang tight while I search the archives....because I need to add photography into the schedule above.  Okay, I've added the picture of me and Frankie having a meeting about our spring schedule the other morning.  We're probably doomed ;-).

February

I almost forgot to do my beloved Month End compilation.  What a brain...

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February was crazy...but not too shabby.

 

At The Start

After last year's musher and dog issues I was no longer looking forward to the next two weeks as my favorite two weeks of the year...but I had a new project ready to start so I've decided to give it one more go.  I miss the old mushers and the more historical feel the race used to have, but maybe the kids will do them proud.  For the 2025 Iknitarod...

Yes, this is the same Lamb Camp Bottle Lamb yarn from last year and the same general project (vest) that I did not finish last year, but I've switched to a different pattern.  This is the Lulu Slipover from Petite Knits, the same designer as the Jared sweater.  We cast on this afternoon!

The ravatar is still basically the same, but I've lost my red hat (!) so I changed that out to a new hat made from the same Lamb Camp yarn...for good luck.  My Iknitarider (I almost forgot to pick someone :-o) is a nameless (!) little gray faced lambie wearing a Jacob sweater that I knit maybe as a pattern for a sweater I knit for a friend.  

I think I might call the lamb Punkin because as I was dusting off my ravatar from last year and looking at all the sheep, I couldn't for the life of me think who was standing next to me. Most of the sheep are pretty obvious, at least to me, but I was completely stumped by...Punkin :-o.

Maybe I'll find my brain when I dust off my Red Lantern and my sled!

Here's Your Sign

 I couldn't resist.

"I like it!"

Sheep Magic

I asked Santa for an Apple Watch for Christmas.  I'm not a watch wearer and I'm a little creeped out by wearing something electronic (is that the right word?) strapped to my skin all day, but I was worried about falling on the ice while doing the night check or out of the barn loft or off Frankie...and decided there was probably a bigger risk of that than whatever might happen by wearing what is basically a miniature cell phone.

I figured I'd only really use it for the "I've fallen, please send help" feature.  I need one more screen to look at and worry about like...well, like everyone else does...  Still, I went through the normal easy Apple set up and when it walked me through choosing my "watch face" I set it up to rotate through pictures taken with my iPhone.

I have no idea how it picks the pictures, but I am totally in love with this feature.  All day, any time I look at my watch, a different beautiful picture shows up from my camera roll.  Not goofy pictures of what I cooked for dinner or stupid screen shots, but sunrises, sunsets, sheep, horses, dogs, flowers, cats, rabbits...

A couple of days ago I looked down to see a big black sheep and a tiny white lamb out in the side field.  I had to stop and think for a minute, well  maybe two seconds ;-).  It was B. Willard and Early!  And it was so, so nice to see them.

The pictures change every time you raise your wrist up or tap the screen, so when it's something extra special, I'll stop what I'm doing and enjoy a fine, but fleeting memory.  The picture above showed up yesterday.  I'll never have to stop and think for a second who this is.  My heart, right there on my wrist.  

Except...that wasn't the first time I saw that picture yesterday.  I'd originally seen it just after lunch.  And again when I got in the car to run an errand.  And again when I stopped to make a cup of tea.  And again at 3:20...when I took this picture to remember that sometimes Big J shows up and stays with me for awhile.

This is not the first time this has happened.  I can remember at least two other times a picture of Big J has hung around like that.  Maybe other pictures are doing this too and I'm just not noticing them as much or maybe there's a logical reason those pictures do that.  Maybe it's something sort of disturbing like it can tell my heart rate goes up when I see that picture or can tell that I'm staring at it longer than the others.  

I've decided to not overthink it and just chalk it up to magic...and enjoy standing in the driveway once again.

On The Coldest Days I Wear Willard

Dressing for the cold is a strange balance of warmth and comfort.  For example, the green jacket I usually wear is not my warmest coat, but it's my most comfortable.  It's warm enough if I put a wool sweater underneath and it's lightweight and slick on the inside and I can move and work in it without it weighing me down and feeling stiff.

None of my sweaters are heavy and uncomfortable and most are quite warm, but for some reason my Willard sweater is the one I always grab on the coldest mornings.  It's also the one I picked on the morning after the chicken disaster.  The temperature wasn't that cold, but I was mentally freezing.  I always called B. Willard "The Sheep of Impeccable Character" and he truly was.  Willard took good care.

His sweater is cozy by design (a simple Elizabeth Zimmerman percentage sweater pattern) made with thick yarn and a tall neck, but also because the yarn was spun so that even though the yarn is thick, it is light and airy.  Both the yarn and the sweater trap and hold warm air like a warm Willard hug.

I actually started this post a couple of weeks ago, but knew it was going to be hard to look back through all the old blog posts to find the picture below of us "dressed alike", but as Bea and I sat in the truck the other day, trying to get our nerve up to get out, I snapped this picture and knew it was more important to say "On the coldest days I wear Willard" than to leave it forever in the drafts.

Wear your irreplaceable handspun hand knits.  There's magic in them...and good company.  I've been wearing this sweater every winter since...

...2011 (!).  The sweater is holding up better than I am.  :-o

Here's a new freezing cold puzzle for you.  Hope you have a Willard sweater or a wool blanket or maybe a warm cat on your lap :-).

An Epiphany

  I never thought I'd say these words, but I am ready for winter to be over.  

At least the morning snow mess is covering up the January/February mud mess.  When I walked up to the barn last night, that mud water puddle was twice the size and twice as deep. Fun times.

One thing trudging to and from the barn in freezing mud and blowing snow and rain and temperatures so cold your fingers actually hurt reveals is how much you love (or don't love) your job and your animals.

I am still grateful to "have to" trudge out there all day and half the night.  I am still happier to have to do that than not have my friends up there waiting for me.  And as I was in the horse stalls cleaning out flooded hay and shavings with icy gravel mixed in the other night I thought of a couple of my friends, now gone, who'd give anything to be out there doing what I was doing.

I'm still ready for a break in the weather, but the gift this winter (besides the sleigh rides, which seem like forever ago) is finding out just how much I love my animal family.

If Pinot's fence hadn't blown over this would be a really pretty picture.  It's still pretty, but it probably makes a better puzzle and you can enjoy that without having to bundle up :-).

The Blog Is 18 Years Old!

I'm glad the blog is still here and it's back doing more than just recording the month end compilations, but just the same, here's January.  Lots of good memories of one of our biggest snow events since we've been here :-).

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Cheers to another month and another year!

PS  As I'm typing the labels (far right column and a good way to search for things if you are looking) I realized that I don't think there are any Possum pictures this month.  That would be because Possum spent most of the month curled up in the house ;-).

Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch...

It's been a crazy few days :-o.  I was going to try to update everything in one post, but let's break it down a little.

The snow and ice is gone.  I miss the snow, but not the ice.  We had a couple of really warm days and now it's cold and windy again and now I'm missing the warm sun.  I must be getting old.

The water line project is cooking along and almost finished.  It's a huge mess, but it's sure going to be nice when everything is back to normal.  Or the new normal since the old normal was what was making things hard ;-).  I'll do a full tour when we're finished.

Speaking of tours, I am hoping it will be a clearer live tour while I'm walking around the barn now.  In the past the barn has been too far away from the Wool House WiFi to keep up so I've had to just use my cell phone.  I now have WiFi in the barn!

Thanks to amazing and kind tech support from some sheep friends we have a WiFi extender installed just inside the barn that is providing internet access out there and it is supporting four live barn cameras.  I can check on sheep whenever I want, even in the middle of the night :-).

I'm still doing the "Amish barn checks" (what I jokingly called it when the electric went down the other day and it's sort of stuck) throughout the day and before bed, but it's fun to peek in and see them up moving around, laying down chewing cud, sleeping, or even our guarding the back of the barn.  

Remember Maggie's Solstice Story?  She was out there last night and I figured out how to scroll back through the recorded "events" during the night and saw that she stayed out for a while, went back in, came back out and once when she was in, Pinto took watch.  

I think this is fascinating!

 

Chicken Math...But Not The Fun Kind

It's been a rough couple of days on the farm.  While the temps were brutally cold and the ground was snow covered I started leaving the walk through door open on the chicken coop during the day so the chickens could hang out in the hay shed next to their coop and not just be stuck in the coop all day.

As the days started getting longer (because this has stretched on for weeks) they weren't always ready to go back in at the normal feeding time, but I didn't worry.  I just left the door open for them and closed it when I came back up for the night check.  

Sunday night, before I came back up, a team of possums walked right in and ransacked the coop.  Tim heard the ruckus when he opened the kitchen door to see if Possum (the cat) was ready to come in and we rushed up to save what we could.  If he hadn't opened the door, we'd have lost every one I'm sure.

Clarice and Goldilocks are dead, The Bald Eagle and Air Fryer are missing chunks of feathers and everyone is terribly traumatized.  Air Fryer hid outside Sunday night and I found her Monday morning, cold and shaken, but still alive.  Pecky Becky made it to the house somehow and I found her under the porch in the afternoon.  Smart, brave birds...and lucky.

I kept them locked in all day on Monday and did what I could to assess injuries and provide supportive care.  As night fell they were all panicked trying to figure out where to safely sleep.  Air Fryer tried repeatedly to crawl under the wing one of the other hens.  As they all grew up in a hatchery and not with a mother hen I thought this instinct was interesting...and sad that she was so scared.

On Tuesday I opened just the chicken door so they could venture out to the front field and horse stalls during the day if they wanted.  No one wanted to and I didn't blame them.  They were really rattled.  I kept checking in to make sure nothing was bothering them and to let whoever might want to bother them know I was around and finally, by late afternoon, they tentatively stepped out.  

I stayed out with them and then herded them back in before evening chores.  This morning they are still hiding in the coop, but I'm hoping they'll start to feel more comfortable soon.  I feel awful that I let this happen to them.

My gang of remaining tough girls last night.  Clarice was always the bravest of all and I wonder if she got caught because she was trying to defend the rest.  Goldilocks is an extra sad loss because she was one of the "sister chickens" and I know The Bald Eagle is missing her.  Don't ever think chickens don't have feelings and aren't family.

We were able to trap and relocate two possums Sunday night.  Another was dispatched the next afternoon and I trapped another one just before the night check last night.  I set the game camera back up and did not have another sighting the rest of the night.  I'll keep the trap and camera up for a few more nights just to make sure.

I like this picture of me and Bea heading over to pull the memory card out of the trail camera this morning.  Bea is always by my side.  And if she wants to catch a possum from now on, I might not try to stop her.  

About Last Night

I feel like we've gone below zero before, but maybe because of all the snow and ice it felt even colder.  It was miserable.  

I kept hay in front of everyone and they all made it through, but when I walked into the barn this morning feeling around for the light switch and heard a tiny little voice respond "Momma?" to my "Hey guys, just me." and knew that Maisie had stood all night in the skirting area, I nearly cried.  I'm as tired of it as they are.  -7 is just. too. cold.

I took 48 pictures this morning.  Pictures I thought would tell a story.  They probably do, but the pictures themselves weren't worth sharing.  This one is cute though and does tell me a story.  Crazy old Burrnie has fully embraced sneaking over to the gate for handfuls of the Easy Breezy alfalfa or cookies.  

We've had lots of cookie parties to not only help with morale, but also to make sure everyone is acting right.  Tabitha looked better yesterday, but was a little off again this morning.  She's due for her second dose of antibiotics and the weather is sort of breaking so hopefully she'll be on the mend.

Hang in there, southerners.  It's got to end eventually...and then we can all go back to complaining about the heat ;-).

This Time With Feeling

 ...or at least a correct link ;-).  Sorry about the missing link on the last puzzle.  If you weren't able to find it, it's fixed now.  

I thought it was cold last night, but tonight feels worse.  The predicted 10 degrees (that we were all actually looking forward to) didn't deliver and I just got a texted picture of a neighbor's thermometer registering -1.  This is not good.

Everyone ranged from very to miserably cold this morning (6 degrees) and Tabitha didn't want to get up and eat any breakfast so she started pneumonia protocol, just to be safe.  She looked much brighter this afternoon.  This is not good weather to be sick.  Everyone else looks okay so far.  

I'm hanging out in the Wool House so I can just walk out the door to do a late night check and feed extra hay rather than slogging up here from the house.  I should be doing something productive, but I'm catching up on some puzzles.   Much more fun.  

I made this puzzle with bigger pieces in case you are as bleary eyed as I am ;-).  Enjoy!

Wolf Moon

Yesterday was depressing with all the slushy melting snow that I knew was just going to melt enough to turn to very slick ice as the temps dropped back down last night, but we've had a nice inch or so of fresh snow this morning that has brightened things up a bit and provided just enough traction that I can once again walk to and from the barn without as much trouble so I can revisit this picture from the other night and turn it into a fun new puzzle.

I've enjoyed the snow.  Even yesterday was a bit fun driving out on a errand.  I know the animals are really struggling and that's depressing.  The horses were finally able to go out into the field yesterday and that surely cheered them up and the chickens made it around the corner and were able to hang out with the sheep in the afternoon.  Everyone is tired of being cooped up.

The tracks in the snow in the picture are where Lancelot did make an effort to go dig through to find some grass last week.  That's how you could tell the Krista was the sheep who'd been eating grass in the last post.  If you look closely you can see the snow on her forehead where she'd dug through and buried her nose deep into the snow.  Ellie's just been hanging out in the barn eating hay ;-).

A Tale Of Two Sheep

Krista and Ellie.  One has been eating hay and the other has been eating grass.  Can you tell which is which?

It's Lovely Weather For A Sleigh Ride...

Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring tingle tingling too.

Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you.

Outside the snow if falling and friends are calling "Yoo hoo!"

Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you.

 

Driving a sleigh was something I've always wanted to experience, but honestly never thought I'd get to do.  Kentucky is not known for it's outdoor winter sports so I really had no reason to even think about owning a sleigh.  This epic snow fall has been crazy fun.

In areas where snow is common, sleigh trails are compacted with a big roller and can go on for miles.  I used our utility vehicle to create and then daily maintain (even that was fun) my little figure 8 track in the side field and really, that was about all Frankie was going to be able to handle anyway.  

While Frankie may never be able to power up a big hill or hit the big time in a competitive ring, one area where he cannot be beat is safety and dependability.  We were loaned this beautiful antique sleigh because "It's Frankie."  It meant a lot to me to hear that and I'm very proud of him for his good reputation.  

I'm grateful he gave me the opportunity to try out something very special and the opportunity to really enjoy it.  Thank you, Frankie.  

Of course I had to take 20 and Pip for a ride :-).

Bea does not ride in my cart.  I've tried several times and she just isn't interested.  The sleigh?  Holy moly, she loves the sleigh.  I can't remember what 20 and I are talking about, probably how good Frankie was doing :-).

"Are you getting a good picture of me?"

If you zoom in on the painting on the back you can see a dog following the sleigh.  That was Colonel and Kathi's dog at the time of the sleigh's restoration :-).  

I loved getting to watch our friend Leslie take him for a spin.  Bea did all the rides.

Then we both took a lap so I could get a video from behind. Bea was disappointed, but not deterred.

She does not follow me with the cart.  I think this is funny and interesting.

Just hear those sleigh bells jingling...

.

... ring ting tingling too...

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A huge thank you to Colonel and Kathi for the loan of your beautiful sleigh and for coming over to help with the first drive.  Thank you also to Leslie for your joyful Frankie encouragement all along the way.  These great pictures were taken by Saint Tim.  There may be more pictures coming :-).

Solar Charging

Short Round 

If the sun is shining and there's no wind, all you need to be completely comfy is a good ray of sun.

Solar charging with an extra blanket.  Actually two blankets this morning.  We ended up going down to -1 early this morning and Maisie got pretty cold even with a jacket last night.  I added Cheeto's old super sized blanket this morning and she looks much more comfortable.  

Murphy, if you weren't such a doofus we wouldn't be laughing at your snow "teeth" that make you look like Howdy Doody ;-).

The sleigh ride was a blast!  More to come as I collect pictures and videos.  

Bring Out Your Sleighs!

Depending on who's forecast wins, we could be in for some misery...or some fun.  In the hopes that for once it's going to be fun, and hopefully big fun, we are ready!  

Everyone, especially farmers, have spent the last day or so preparing for a Kentucky Snowmageddon.  We have super low temps predicted, anywhere from 1-3" to 10-13" to 16" of snow, and fingers crossed it doesn't happen, possibly ice.  

Whatever we get, it probably won't be going anywhere until maybe March...or at least up into February.  I'm sure it will get mighty old, mighty quick, but until that happens, if we get a decent amount of snow, we're going to break out the sleigh bells and get to do something that only happens every ten years or so around here.

Short Round.  Such a fun and funny sheep.  Maybe she's already looking towards next year's Christmas card :-).

I hope this sleigh is as excited as we are.  It hasn't been out for a spin in over 20 years.  It's an Albany cutter and was built around 1905 and restored 35 years ago.   These sleighs were the sports cars of sleighs and this one seats two people "If you're married."  Tim says he's not coming out until March, so I guess it will be me and 20 :-).  

This is considered a "city sleigh" so it was not used for deep snow.  If we get deep snow, I'm going to pack down a track in the side field.   Hopefully Auntie Reg can come over and hear her dad's sleigh bells in action.  Big thanks to her for remembering we wanted to do this if it ever snowed again.

Stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed...for all the best outcomes.