How's Your Tour Going?

I got off to a slow really slow start, but I haven't given up and neither should you...in case you are thinking about it.

Sometimes it's nice to be reminded that spinning is fun, especially with your friends :-).

June...In July

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The 2026 Tour de Fleece

 

The 2026 Tour de Fleece starts tomorrow!  

For anyone who's new here, this is a world wide spinning challenge that runs alongside the Tour de France race.  In 25 words or less, when the bike wheels are spinning, our wheels or spindles are spinning.  Some people set specific challenges (I'm going to spin a pound of wool) and some set general challenges (I'm going to spin 15 minutes every day).

There is an official site for the Tour de Fleece and Punkin's Patch is one of the Wild Card Teams.  There are some really fun sounding Wild Card Teams and you can join as many as you'd like.  Follow the links for more information.  

The Punkin's Patch - My Favorite Sheep team is a very laid back, but fun group of spinners of all skill levels.  Several spinners also follow the race pretty closely and I've learned to really enjoy the race because of the discussions in our group.  

You don't need to join a team if you don't want to.  You can just set your own challenge and  play quietly by yourself :-).  If you'd like to report in with successes and struggles without joining the group, you can leave a comment(s) on this post or shoot me an email.  If I can't help you, I can find someone who can!

Who's spinning this year?

Everybody Gets A Pergola!

The weather has been ridiculous.  We are currently in a stretch of mid to upper 90s and the sheep are hot, the horses are hot, the cats are hot, Pinot's hiding in the air conditioning and I'm...trying not to cry.  The bees are hot too.

Bees work very hard to keep their hives warm in the winter and cool in the summer.  They do this by working together to generate heat when it's cold or try to fan it out when it's hot.  There are lots of interesting articles online about this.  Here is a good one.

Stella and I had the good fortune of having a small building and some trees to provide afternoon shade for our bees when they were up on the hill.  Here's a link to a great Stella and the bees story and also a picture of our set up.  She also had an old leaky cistern and the bees gathered water there every day.  I'm not sure if I have any pictures of that.

There's no shade down here for the new hive and I had been thinking about how I would handle that.  Sure, the bees could probably take care of things on their own, but why add any extra stress to an insect that is already facing so many stressors these days.

I started with just a lattice back and top, but that really didn't help much.  I added the small shade cloth and while it looks a bit janky, it did the trick.  The front porch of the hive had been covered in bees trying to help fan cool air up into the box.  The numbers went way down almost immediately.

This picture was just after I added the cloth, but it's not very clear.  You might be able to biggify it to see more bees.

The other issue in high heat is water.  The tank I've had sitting out in the B Garden to provide water for birds, bees and plants was getting super hot and soupy really quickly.  I've tried to keep it clean and I've seen birds and wasps drinking from it, but never any bees.  I added a shade top to that as well and changed the safety landing to something hopefully more bee friendly.  We'll see.

Ideally it would be great if the weather could just cool off a bit...  

 

If You Are Looking For A Way To Beat The Heat

 Try looking for four leaf clovers.  

(Click to biggify)

There are at least eight here, but even I can't find them all in the photo.  I'd invite you to come out and look in person...but it's outside the shade cloth area so I think I'd just spend a bit more time looking on the computer screen in the air conditioning ;-).

Maybe it would help to look for them in a puzzle format.

Tabitha

Very few of our Jacob sheep get to be well known around here.  Several are remembered for their stories, but remained cookie "tossers" until the very end of their lives.  

Tabitha was loved by everyone and she loved family and visitors alike.  While she was never hugged or even touched by anyone other than us, she was very happy to come up and take cookies straight from your hand.  Everyone loved that about her.

She has not been well for a couple of years and the last month has been a struggle.  She stayed happy until the end though and went out grazing in Del Boca Vista every day and ate cookies and Cheerios when she lost her appetite for regular food.  

I knew the heat this week was going to be very hard on her and I'm glad she left us at the beginning of the week rather than struggling through several more really hard days.  She was a good sheep and we will all miss her.

Tabitha 

April 2017 - June 29, 2026

Pinot's Pergola

Several year ago I built a small(ish) shaded stand for my night blooming cereus. That worked so well and the plant has been so happy under it that we decided to build a Wool House version to try to help me get through summer as well. 

Since we have Pinot's Porch and Pinot's Patio, it's only fitting this is Pinot's Pergola.  When I was putting his fence (that you can barely see in the picture) back up, I made an extra side paddock...Pinot's Paddock :-).

I went with a pergola design because I didn't want to completely cover up the front of the Wool House. There are several most months of the year that I actually like the sun shining through the windows and front doors.  For those months that I don't...here's hoping the removeable shade cloths will help.

With some roll down side shades.

The vining flowers in the elevated (because of sheep ;-) pots are cardinal vines that the hummingbirds are supposed to love.  Can't wait!

I spotted this four leaf clover while we were hanging the side shades yesterday.  I was standing up on a ladder when I spotted it.  Tim couldn't find it.  Pinot did...and ate it ;-D.

I built this raised bed using leftover scraps from the builders.  The big nails holding the 8"x8" sides together are the spikes we used every year to anchor Maisie's "birthday cake" to the bale of straw.

The little shelf holding the not so little anymore hoya is another favorite detail.  That tiny cutting happened after the parent plant crashed during a storm last year...or maybe the year before...  It's been living in the window over the wash room sink and has done so well that it's outgrown that spot.  I hope it likes this outside location for summer.  

I also treated myself to a bird bath fountain.  I filled the basin with broken chunks of old clay pots so there are plenty of spots for bees, butterflies and birds to land.  Waiting for my first visitors!  In the meantime, I have a beautiful place to sit out with Pinot and watch the bats and fireflies.

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If you'd like to sit out with me and Pinot for a minute, enjoy!

 

A [Three]fer

Three new puzzles for the price of one ;-).

Sunbeam Sheep

I really thought things were starting to settle down...  I did take my camera out this evening for a few minutes though finally.  Surprisingly the batteries were still charged up enough to use it.  Just for fun I took this sunbeam shot and it's a nice way to end the day.

  

The Sweater Story

I've had a pretty crazy life so far!  After being lost along the highway and being so scared and sad, I now live on a quiet sheep farm with a cat who says I'm the only good rabbit on the farm!  I've met the other rabbit and he seems fine to me, but apparently there are some issues with cats...or at least this particular cat.  

When we got home to the farm it felt good to get a nice warm bath and have my scraped up nose doctored on.  It was still pretty cold so the lady wrapped me up in a big dry towel.

And now I have my very own sweater!  Pinot, that's the other rabbit, says he's glad he doesn't have to wear a stupid old sweater, but I like it.  It's very warm and soft and fuzzy and I don't think I'll ever be cold again.

It started with brushing out some really pretty wool.  The lady said it didn't come from one of the sheep here, but that it had been left behind on a table at a big sheep show so she thought it would be perfect for my sweater.  She said just because something gets left behind doesn't mean it's not worth anything.  Sometimes things just get lost.

Then the big orange cat helped her spin it into yarn.

She said the wool was from a Romney sheep and that she really enjoyed spinning this yarn.  She said she thought it would be fuzzier, but that she still liked it.

I had to try the sweater on a million times because she wanted it to fit me just right.

When she washed it, the yarn got much softer and fuzzy and then she was really, really happy with it.  She said it was "a Sara fleece for sure!"  

I'm not sure what the means, but I was really, really happy with it too.

She found a pretty heart that she pinned to the front.  She said I could tuck all my memories in there and they'd never be lost again.  I still can't remember what my name was, but she's calling me Annie and I like that.  I'll tuck into in my heart.

May

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May was a big month and so much never made the blog...because sometimes it's more important to keep your head up and keep treading water.  Springtime...

Maryland Sheep and Wool seems like forever ago. May rain brought lots of May flowers.  The butterflies are arriving.  The bees are doing great.  I may still try to say more about the little rabbit sweater.  I definitely will say and show more about the addition to the Wool House...when it's finally finished.  

I Gave Up...Again

I'd hoped the greenhouse rosemary would either send up some new growth from the bottom this spring or that the cutting it tried to give me would root, but neither happened.  I carefully cut off the two spider cocoons and pulled the rest out.

The greenhouse sheep doesn't look quite so lonely now with two tiny new friends...and Possum.

The rosemary in the front is a trailing variety.  The rosemary in the back is a more cold tolerant plant, but I'll have to go check the tags to remember the names.  I'll try to do better this time around.  I miss my huge old friend :-/.

Down The Toilet

For the last few weeks we've had some skunk activity, not in the barn (the norm), but in the driveway between the barn and garage and possibly the garage itself.  As anyone with a dog knows, this is not ideal.

I've not found any sign of the skunk living in the garage, but the other day I noticed freshly dug dirt between the garage and the outhouse.  On closer inspection, there is a hole dug under the concrete floor.  

Yeah...but what can you even do about it?

A few days later I looked again, still trying to figure out if there was anything to be done and noticed that there was even more fresh dirt...and now a tunnel leading under the outhouse.  

I carefully opened the outhouse door and peeked inside.  No sign of the skunk, but it did have a new distinct smell...so I peeked down the hole.

The skunk is living under the garage...and using the outhouse...as an outhouse.

You can't make this "stuff" up.

Speaking Of Names

A couple of weeks ago I walked out late one night to check the back gate and turned around to find that Krista Two/White Krista/New Krista/K2 had walked out in the dark to come see what I was doing and we stood out there together for quite a while.  We do this a lot.  She's just. that. sweet.  

Having two Kristas though is just. not. working. 

20 and I went to see The Sheep Detectives movie yesterday. We both loved it. It was so good and so fun that we are going to probably see it at least one more time and I've promised the sheep that as soon as it comes out in DVD (I think they still make those?), I'll get a copy and we'll show it in the barn so everyone can watch.

In the meantime, one of the main characters is named Lily.  This is not a spoiler as she's in all the trailers ;-).  By the end of the movie, as I watched how she and her shepherd interacted, it was obvious that Lily would be a perfect re-name for a great little sheep who deserves her very own special name.  I told her she'd understand when she got to watch for herself.

In the meantime, meantime, if you are not aware of the new Sheep Detectives movie, I've included one of the trailers here.  There are tons of clips all over and it's currently sitting with a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and I saw somewhere that it's Hugh Jackman's highest rated movie.  It's that good!

Don't miss it!  Grab your best sheep friend and go to the movies :-D.

New Smol Rabbit Fren

Last Saturday 20, Pip and I were on our way to Maryland when we spotted a rabbit in a heap on the side of the side of the interstate :-o.  We'd left Kentucky at 5:00 that morning facing a long drive and I made the quick decision to feel sad, but keep driving........ . . .  .  .  .  .    .     .      .       .

We passed the first exit... . . .  .  .  .    .    .     .       .

.   .   .   and turned around at the next one.

I probably would have turned around anyway, but I really couldn't not stop with Pip sitting right there.  Remember that story?

I pulled way over and quickly jumped out of the car, grabbed the rabbit and jumped back in.  He or she did not appear to be injured, just wet and scared, and I gave them a big hug and told them they were safe.  They tucked in behind 20, looking very sad.  Pip promised them everything would be okay.

At the next rest stop they were starting to dry out and everyone repositioned and decided they were all feeling much better.  I'd added 20 or so minutes to my drive, but I was feeling better, too.  A good hug and snuggling in with some friends will do that for you :-).

Now home and washed and with a good brush out, we are all settled in.  Sadly, when I did an internet search, I found that this is probably a rabbit who originally had a baby rabbit sewn to their chest.  Maybe.  I hope they didn't lose their baby on top of losing their family :-(.

The name Sebastian had originally popped into my head, so maybe that's a sign I'm wrong, but the string on their chest seems important.  Maybe someone will see this and recognize their friend and they can all be reunited.

Until then, with the weather still so chilly, I'm thinking they might need a nice warm wool sweater :-).

April

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April was busy (unless you were Archie), but fun.  Lots of spring flowers, new bees, new raised beds (that I'm having to replant after the really hard freeze over the weekend :-/) all the spinning, a little painting, beautiful moons, interesting fog, good sheep, good friends...

So I Did A Thing

I decided I wanted to go to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival this year.  It only took me over 20 years to get over the extreme heat from the first time I went when I swore I'd never go back ;-).  Anyway, I thought if I was going all that way, I should challenge myself to enter something in the Skein and Garment competition.

My favorite class is the Spinners Yarn Basket and from there it was an easy jump to figure out some way to include Jared.  If you are going to put that much effort into making something, it needs to be with a good friend.

In 25 words or less, you spin at least one pound of yarn, tell how you processed and spun the yarn, include the pattern you are going to use the yarn for and a swatch to show how it will work.  My favorite description for everything after that is "flower arranging for yarn".  

I am extremely honored that Big J and I brought home the blue ribbon.

I always wished I had a picture of the two of us so I decided to paint one.

And I wrote him a letter and put together a little booklet with some more information and "flower arranging".

And some of my favorite pictures that helped illustrate how much he meant to me and everyone who met him.

I made a big "basket" to hold his big yarn from the apple crate I used to sit on in the barn with him.  I lined it with a drawstring project bag that I made from one of Bill's old shearing bags and a sheet that we use to wrap the freshly shorn fleeces.  The tags are my required entry information.

This is the front and back (outside) of the booklet.  The inside spread was an excerpt from his obituary from the blog.

And this was what I would have said to him if we were standing in the driveway.  The Xs were to make sure there was no identifying information anywhere.

Meteorological note - this year was one of the coldest on record.  Of course it was.  

Maisie note - I included the picture of Maisie sashaying away from my wrecked bike with Jared looking on in horror because if you are going to do something bold, you might want to do it with Maisie...or not ;-).

And After

I always love Murphy's marbled colors.

And how black Muffin still is.

The two Kristas, grandmother and granddaughter.  I wonder if the little gray ewe on the left is related to them as well.  She looks more like the OG Krista than the new Krista does, although her "Baa" sounds just like her grandmother :-).

Everyone in the main flock together in one picture.

And a new puzzle!