Finally Fall

Fall finally arrived and we got one good rain that has helped regrow a little grass, but not what we really need going into late fall and winter.  We definitely could have used some more rain, but we are grateful for what we did get. The hay stash is going to be important again this year.  At least it's cooled off.

I can't type between the pictures for some reason, so you'll have to identify everyone by heart and memory.  

How about a new puzzle.  This is a fun and easy one :-).

September

I must remember there was still a lot of good in the month...

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August

I know this is really late, but as the month progressed, I knew what was coming and I just couldn't bring myself to go through pictures and videos.  I decided to put it off until the end of September and just get all the heartbreak done on one day.  

Even though life was still pretty good in August...  

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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!