Yarn Along - June

I decided if I was going to get back to normal regular blogging, I'd better have something ready for the June Yarn Along.  That and I'd picked up a skein of Rhapsody in Hue's Equinox Farm yarn at the fiber festival and I was dying to try it out ;-).

Melanie did a spring and fall colorway and I picked spring.  I'm not sure why, as I much prefer fall, but I was probably feeling sentimental about the redbuds, which were as beautiful this spring as they were when this picture was taken several years ago.

The redbud blooms might be gone, but the yarn still looks right at home with a backdrop of Johnny Jump Ups on the Wool House porch.

My knitting mascot for this project is Silke, a super sweet lamb from Little Cotton Rabbits.  I've been trying to purchase one for several years and finally got lucky (they sell out in a minute when she lists them!) last fall...winter...?  If I'd kept the blog current I'd know for sure :-/.  Anyway, she took the first frogging with great courage and luckily we haven't had any more trouble.

Melanie did half the skeins with Merino and half with Blue Faced Leicester.  I chose the BFL since I'm...all together now...a coarse wool girl and I thought it might suit me better than merino, but it's not coarse.  It's very soft and smooth...and I'll be happy to get back to some good old Texel or Jacob when I'm finished ;-).  

The colors are really pretty though and I'm having fun working with it.  I think she may have a few skeins left from the festival if case you are interested in knitting along :-).  The pattern I'm knitting is Taina by Eeva Kesakuu.

For my book...well, I listened to some really good ones over the winter and during the Iknitarod/Iknitaredux.  I actually have some Friday Flashback pictures to post from the epic journey, so I'll share that list then.  

For this spring?  Meh... I've only listened to one book that I've really enjoyed.  But I really enjoyed it.  It's the final book in a series of three.  I've listened to them all and loved all three.  They are The Rosie Project, The Rosie Effect and The Rosie Result, but Graeme Simsion.  

I think you could listen to just the last one and not be lost, but why.  Start at the beginning and fall in love with all the characters and the last one will be just that much better.  They are cute and funny and the last one really makes you think.  Just brilliant.

Joining in with Ginny.

Ducklings On The Pond

I flushed this momma duck and her babies when I mowed along the pond dam yesterday.  I quickly mowed everything near the pond and then got out of their way.  About an hour and a half later I quietly snuck back to the pond, tucked in behind a thick cover of pines.  

I took two pictures, one out of focus, this one and by the third picture they were already under cover on the pond's edge.  Click, click, click and they were gone!  

I was fully zoomed in with a 200mm lens and I cropped this picture quite a bit, so I obviously wasn't close.  I'd left the dogs at the barn, so they hadn't clued her in either.  I was behind some thick pines and I didn't move a single branch.

How on earth did she immediately know I was there?

Animals are amazing!

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For anyone following IG/FB last night, the dog Auntie Monica and I picked up off 32 was reunited with her owner today :-).  The big take away from the pick up was the fact that there were 8-10 cars stopped on the road trying to help catch this confused, scared, possibly injured, elderly dog.  

Sometimes people are amazing, too :-).

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A big thank you to everyone who has tried successfully or unsuccessfully to leave me a comment on the last couple posts.  I've changed the settings once again, so maybe this one will work.  

Unfortunately I won't be able to respond to questions directly anymore, but I can in a new separate comment box.  I think there may be a toggle to "email follow up comments" which should notify you that I've responded.  I am so sorry this has to be so hard. 

Computer issues are Not Amazing.

Speaking Of Fossils

This is a pretty good collection!  We find these periodically around the farm. I wish I knew more about fossils.  How old these are, what they are...  I'm guessing mostly plants, but wouldn't it be cool if there was a baby dinosaur mixed in there :-D.  This rock is about 16" x 16".

Flashbacks

The best part of maintaining a blog, at least to me, is having a verbal and/or photographic record of what you'd like to remember. The ability to be able to scroll back or search for a specific date, person or activity is priceless.  The lack of regular posts lately has been the biggest only disappointment in my blogging "career".  

Losing Abby last year was a blow.  Looking back, I'm happy I didn't do much actual blogging while she was with me.  Blogging takes time.  Frequently a lot of time.  During her short life I concentrated primarily on taking care of her.  Thankfully.  Enjoyably.  I'm glad I didn't lose any time to sitting in front of a computer. 

In the months that followed though, I struggled to get back on my blogging feet.  Honestly, my own two feet were a struggle sometimes.  I'm not going to try to explain that because if you are reading this blog, you already understand.  I guess it's easier to break a good habit than a bad...and here I sit with a a year of nearly empty pages.

Instagram filled in a lot of gaps.  Frequently a lot of gaps.  It's so much easier to do a quick post right on the spot using just your phone.  You don't have to go inside and download pictures from your camera.  It's easy for people to leave comments, ask questions...  I have no idea what is going on with Blogger comments anymore.  I'm so sorry.  I am as frustrated as you are.

For all it's trouble though, Blogger is still an important tool.  At least to me.  And I'm glad there are still a few of us fossils out here keeping our journals, even if they aren't daily.  They are treasures.  They teach, they inspire, they connect us to friends and family.  They cheer people up...and sometimes make them cry.  You know...life.

And when I'm old and senile and living in a nursing home, I'd like to be able to look back through my old blog posts and remember that in May, 2019, the locust trees were amazing.  The prettiest I saw.

Flashback - Honey Locusts

A couple of new puzzles :-).

Frankie Was A Rockstar

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“I was a really good pony.” 😍 #frankiesrockstar #newvocationsrachorseadoptions #firstdrive

A post shared by Sara Dunham (@thecrazysheeplady) on May 27, 2019 at 12:58pm PDT

Some long time carriage driving friends came over on Monday to help me hook Frankie for the first time.  I didn't have any concerns about him not knowing how to drive, but the cart he'd be pulling was much heavier and probably different feeling or sounding or some other possible issue that I hadn't even thought about.

We've done quite a bit of ground work while he's been acclimating to being here, finishing up his rehab work, adjusting to being turned out on full pasture, building some much needed muscle...  I felt like he and I were a pretty good team and I was pretty confident I knew how he'd react.  Still, it's always better to have extra help on hand in case something doesn't go as planned.

Frankie strolled out of the barn, navigated through two offset gates to get into the arena and was as quiet and relaxed and well behaved the entire drive as you'd ever want.  He was definitely a "Rockstar".  I'm sure he found the work a bit hard, especially in the grass, but I think he had a good time.  I know I did :-).

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Frankie was definitely a “rockstar” this afternoon. I couldn’t have asked for a better first drive. We still have a long way to go conditioning-wise, but to his credit, this is a very heavy cart to pull when you’ve probably only pulled lightweight training and race vehicles. He struggled with it a little, especially in the thick grass, but didn’t let it faze him. Good boy, Frankie! Looking forward to many more fun drives 😀. @newvocationsracehorseadoption #frankiesrockstar #carriagedriving #firstdrive #newvocations #newvocationsrachorseadoptions #standardbred

A post shared by Sara Dunham (@thecrazysheeplady) on May 27, 2019 at 5:49pm PDT

We did try trotting three really short times.  The first time he really struggled to get the cart rolling and lapsed into a pacing gait, but the next two tries he basically trotted.  I think with a little bit of fitness conditioning he'll develop the pretty trot he shows on the lunge line and under saddle.

Frankie loves to drink from the hose while he's getting a bath.  That's fairly common/normal.

Holding the hose in your mouth?  Well, he wouldn't be the first rock star with a drinking problem ;-D.

A big thanks to Jack and Virginia for expert carriage assistance and photos and videos and Jennifer for the Instagram posts.  Give us a little time to build up some fitness and then we'll go for some fun drives this summer!