The Plan.

(by the way, if any of you know me at all, you know that even making a plan was my first mistake. Our slogan/motto around here is 'we don't have plans... only vague ideas'. There should be t-shirts.)

So. Here's the plan, in mid-september:

Plan: No problem. Rhinebeck is weeks away. I'll just dye an extra 5 or 6 skeins a day until then, and I'll have tons of yarn for the show.

(insert vague wondering feeling.... 'how much yarn does one BRING to a show this size?')

Reality: What's that? The sheep need to be wormed and husband has injured his hand? no problem. Trusty farm hand Casey (a.k.a. jack of all trades, a.k.a. yarn slave) & I can handle that. 250 ewes and their 290 offspring: wormed.

*******

Plan: No problem. Rhinebeck is weeks away. I'll just dye an extra... oh, 10 skeins a day until then, and I'll be ready for the show.

(insert vague wondering feeling... 'how many of each kit should we take to this shin-dig?')

Reality: What's that you say? The chickens are ready for butchering, the flock needs to be moved to new pasture across the road, across the creek, up the hill and behind the back 40? No problem... , say honey, how's the hand? hmm, still sore. okee dokee, if we work together...

*******

Plan: No problem. Rhinebeck is weeks away. I'll just dye an extra... oh, dozen skeins a day until then, and I'll be ready for the show.

(insert vague wondering feeling... 'how the heck are we going to get this stuf to the show? The guy fixing the van hasn't called back in weeks - hope we still OWN a van... mental note to call him tomorrow.)

Reality: Oh right! Butcher chickens. Totally slipped my mind. No problem. Get up at butt-crack of dawn, start setup for butchering, get daughter out of the area.... 4 hours later, still several birds to go, vultures are starting to gather and my work table is in the sun. Pack it in, we're done for the day.

*******

Plan: No problem. Rhinebeck is weeks away. I'll just dye an extra... oh, 20 skeins a day until then, and I'll be ready for the show.

(insert vague wondering feeling...'are those our sheep outside the fences?' crap.)

Reality: Round up sheep. Put up temporary fences in new location, move sheep to that spot. What's that? Finish with the chickens you say? Well no, not yet, I thought I'd dye some yarn... well yes, they are getting quite large... took on the barn cat and won you say? Ok. Set up, butcher chickens... slice open knuckle. Quality time in the ER.

*******

Plan: No problem. Rhinebeck is weeks away. I'll just dye an extra... oh, 40 skeins a day until then, and I'll be ready for the show.

(insert vague worrying feeling...)

Reality: Ok, I'll wait until I can take the bandages off, and move my finger again. and squeeze out the yarn. and stir the pot. What's that? the freakin' sheep need to move again?? But my hand! Ok, if we work together...

*******

Plan: No problem. (note twitch under left eye) Rhinebeck is not so many weeks away. I'll just dye an extra... oh, 60 skeins a day until then, and I'll be ready for the show. One handed.

(insert vague sleepless look, forgetfulness and worrying feeling...)

Reality: What's that? Help load the pigs to go to butcher, 5 lambs and a cow? Chickens?? I DID the - oh, the next and now ready group... here, call this guy and pay him to do it. Hey, speaking of calling the guy... where the H**L is our VAN??? Mental note: call around for rental vehicle. Ok, CSA customers? Why yes, we do have several wonderful.... you mean it's the first of the month already?? Okee dokee, baking bread & packing the coolers. No problem (twitch). Hey look! An 18 wheeler double-decker livestock trailer! Looks like the one the guy uses who buys lambs from us... and he's pulling in our driveway. Is that today?? Ok, nothing like sorting 170 lambs out of the mob and loading them on the truck to kill some time...

*******

Plan: No problem. (twitch.) Rhinebeck is weeks ... when?? (insert panic attack here) I'll just dye an extra... oh, 90 skeins a day until then, and I'll be ready for the show.

(insert anxiety twitches at random, and I wonder how to display the yarns at the show...)

Happy Columbus Day, America.

Today most folks in this country take note that the post office is closed (Happy Thanksgiving Day to you Canadian folk, btw). The reason? Well, let's just see what my daughter learned in Kindergarten on Friday...

me: "Nora, there's no school on Monday."

her: "I know!"

me: "Do you know why?"

her: "Yes. There was this man. He crashed into Florida... and someplace else. He had 3 boats, and we saw it on the globe in class. He got dead, I think from an animal."

me: "Was his name 'Columbus', by chance?"

her: "Oh! Yes!! That's who it was who had 3 boats and got dead."

me: "Close enough!"

Happy Columbus Day, everyone.

And, on another note, it was also my daughter's 5th Birthday today. We celebrated in style by giving the school district here, and postal workers the whole country over, the day off.
Then we went to Toys R Us and got a balloon, and a few new toys. Came home and made cake with sprinkles in the cake, pink frosting, more sprinkles, some candy letters, and a conservative number of flames. I took control of the candle situation by reminding her that if she kept adding candles, her cake might catch on fire and then what would we eat? Then we topped it off by playing with the new toys for a bit.


I would like to point out the food coloring at the top of the cake picture. Apparently, dyeing runs in the family because we buy white frosting so she can decide what color to paint it when it's time to frost the cake. (FYI: purple frosting is NOT appetizing. Neither is green. Trust me and learn from our mistakes.)


Please note the exhausted Dad in the background. It's hard work going to Toys R Us with a 5 year old.

Wishes were made, candles blown out.

Happy 5th Birthday, Nora!


**BTW - if you are looking for your Sheep or Flock Rental update, I'm finishing up the edits on pics, newsletter, your animal's info, and the like. I expect most to go out the door this week.

What's for Dinner?

Dig the bumper sticker!! And while we're at it, let's not forget the grassfed beef or pork! Did you know pigs eat grass? Oh ya. Plow right through it. Literally.

Anyways, this fall it's been tough getting a date with the butcher, what with one facility burning down, and another less than reputable... let's just say the best game in town has gotten much busier. They called yesterday to give me some good news! They had a cancelation and she thought of me :)

I'm in such a good mood about it, that if you and a few close friends (neighbors, carpool buddies, complete strangers, etc) would like to order together, I'll deliver here in NY. I'd like to say at least 3 packages ordered to deliver. Ordering by yourself? Send me an email, we'll talk about where you are and negotiate a 'transportation fee'. Single-handedly convince the entire neighborhood (or at least yourself and 4 others to place an order? I'll gift the ringleader you with an extra 5lbs of ground beef.

Here's the package:

15lbs of grassfed ground beef in one pound packages. We send the whole steer, so this isn't trim - it's prime cuts. And it's naturally lean. When I fry up a pound, there's no grease left in the pan.

15lbs of pastured pork cuts. You'll get a variety of cuts from bacon & breakfast sausage, to chops & ham steaks. Excellent flavor, like nothing you'll get in the grocery store. Please note there is no small print on our packages saying anything about '2-3% liquid added for flavoring' on this pork. This is actually GOOD for you!

15lbs of grassfed lamb cuts. Again, a variety of cuts including ground and sausage (awesome in spaghetti sauce).

Total: $280.00 for the whole thing. At just over $6.00/lb, you'll be getting cuts normally selling for $8.00 - $11.00/lb. Going to Rhinebeck in October? Able to fit a cooler in your transport amongst the fleeces? I can bring a limited number of Package Deals with me, so let me know now.

Are you a vegetarian?
While the carnivores dream of lamb shank braised with tomato and frenched green beans in a Balslamic Vinagrette reduction, (we reccomend Paul Newman's Salad Dressing for both Carnivores and Vegetarians), please don't feel left out:

Very Quickly.

SO, if you remember way back when, our fearless yarn fairy posted a picture of some yarn (duh). The question was, what was so special about it?

Astrid guessed it with self-striping yarn. Now, if Lord Zorg ever attacks planet earth and has a guessing challenge for the prize that is our planet, we want Astrid to be on our team of official guessers. That girl has got GAME. If you don't believe me, check out her comments over at the TsockTsarina.

Anyways, I'd like to post now for your viewing pleasure, MORE self-striping yarn. This time in a heavy Aran weight (read: 8oz to some 400 yards or something heavy), in a muted version of the Gryffindor-style colors.

This is just over 7 yards per color, self-striping. I'm liking it ok, but what I'm REALLY liking is the fact that I think I've finally come up with a way to do self-striping yarn. To quote yet another Kids Movie (a subject for another time), "I think... I have a plan. Using mainly spoons...."

Wanna see something else new?

Look what you can get at Cafepress! A new purty mousepad or wall clock! Yours will be the envy of every cubicle. Click on the image to go check it out. And more stuff in this 'other' cafepress store:

Garage/Yard/Tag Sale Etiquitte

I stopped at a garage sale this past week. It's a never-ending garage sale, I've driven by it for 2 years ignoring it out of principle. Then I saw a small table I'd been looking for, and so I stopped and gave in. While I looked around, I overheard a conversation the 2 women running the 'garage' were having.

Woman #1: "So what are you going to do with the stuff that hasn't sold here?"

Woman #2: "I'm going to have a garage sale next weekend. I'll put it in the paper. Do you know what the deadline is for the paper?"

A garage sale. to sell the leftover stuff that didn't sell at.... a garage sale. Now why didn't I think of that? Brilliant! The masses will never see it coming!

...stepping onto soapbox...
I've lived on both coasts and places in the middle, and they all have one thing in common: Yard Sales. No matter what you call them, the goal is the same. Convert your 'stuff' into money, and empty space. (Though that can be dangerous combination.)

So, after several years of stopping every 300 yards or so on a saturday afternoon in hundreds of little neighborhoods, I offer up this small checklist, should you be planning a yard sale in the future. Please review prior to, and AFTER your little enterprise, and we'll all be happier.

Before The Event

If it ain't for sale, don't leave it out. This should be self-explanitory, but if you don't want to sell that lovely ol' crocheted toilet roll cover, than please don't leave it on the table in the garage next to the things for sale. Collect all that stuff you must hang on to, and put it away. Out of sight. Cover with a sheet (also not for sale).

If you have things for sale that are inside the house, like large pieces of furniture, please clean up a bit. Let's pretend a couple hundred people might traipse through the house and perhaps put the dirty dishes away, clothes on the children (and spouse), and hide the dirty laundry. Just sayin' is all. And you might want to slap a sign on the piece for sale. If you send me wondering through your house to see 'the dresser in the spare bedroom' and there are 3 of them in there....

Pricing tips:
*You might consider actually putting prices on things you want to sell. Some of us are shy, and don't want to ask how much every coffee mug might cost. You also may not remember.

*You may think you want to haggle, and that's fine but please put THAT on a sign so we have a clue how to buy things. Remember, folks in this country are not used to haggling over price.

*(Pay attention, this one is critical)Pricing. Hey, just because Star Wars made a comback does NOT mean the glass you got with your Happy Meal in 1978 with Luke Skywalker's face on it that's chipped and looks like you used it to mix paint last year does NOT mean you can sell it for $7.00 or something. Reality Check: We're not stupid. Just because you CALL it a collectors item, does not MAKE it a collectors item. Because don't think I won't use my cellphone to check ebay for current prices of crappy condition happy meal paraphenalia. Let's be honest here. If you had the 'Rare Sherriff Woody' doll sitting on a table in the basement, you'd head to ebay with it, not the garage sale.

*Please use common sense. No one will buy the macaroni art your cousin's-best-friend's-daughter made you in 1984. If it holds no $ value, and holds no sentimental value.... throw it away.
Moving on.

Signage:
If you put up a sign or 2 on a telephone pole or something, here are some thoughts:

1. it really ought to face oncoming traffic. If it is stapled to the pole facing the road and the neighbor across the street, I cannot read it at 35mph no matter how bright the paper you use, so angle it like a billboard, would ya?.
2. Please don't write in pencil. No one can read your sign, unless your looking to catch pedestrians. Remember, I'm at least 10 feet from your sign, and still going 35mph. Look through the junk drawer in the kitchen for something called a SHARPIE or raid your kids' coloring box for markers. And stick with black or blue. Your not trying to win the 5th grade art contest, your trying to help me find your junk stuff for sale.
3. Please write in BIG PEOPLE print. Writing small was great when there was a paper shortage. However, I can't read it (see problems with #2 above).
4. Date the darn thing! Please for the love of sales, don't just put "Garage Sale Today". I can't tell you how frustrating it is to those of us who actually believe the sign, how frustrating it is to never find the sale that is happening 'today'. We're left with a feeling of having missed out on some wonderful find.
5. If I have to go left at the next corner to find you, and go more than a block, better put up another sign. I have a short attention span, may think I'm lost, or might find ANOTHER garage sale to stop at and miss going further to yours. This is especially important if there is another turn involved anywhere further down the road. I'm sorry but your not as well known as you think, and we don't know where you live.

During The Event

As my friend Jamie used to say, 'Practice your Monster Smile.' That means smile big folks. If you can't do that, at least make eye contact and say hello. Please do not look at me as if I am an interloper pawing through your things. Your the one who dragged it all out on the front lawn, try not to scare away the buyers.

Turn on the lights if it's dark in the garage. I know, I know. Electricity costs money, but if you can't see what it is than neither can I and I won't buy it. Here's a tip: If folks keep taking something back outside to get a good look at it, you need lights on. Lights not working? Drag out a lamp or stick a bulb in the lamp that's for sale and plug it in. At least you won't have to answer the "Does the lamp work" question a billion times...

Change. I know this sounds like a no-brainer, and I certainly don't want you to think that I think you have... well, no brain, but your selling stuff. I just went to the bank and have a roll of 20's. Your high ticket item on the kiddie toy table is $1.50, you do the math. If you have no change, you have no sale. And no, please don't ask me to check my center console in my car for correct change. I'll get in to check but I won't get back out to buy.

After The Event.

So, your broo-ha-ha is over, you've made your pennies millions. Just a couple of little things that will make life nicer for the rest of us...

Put it away. If it didn't sell and your not repeating the shin-dig next weekend, do something with it. That's why God made the Salvation Army, it's there for a reason. But before you go there, please check the $ value of what's left. Was it priced high or should it be thrown away?

And last but not least, and I can't stress this enough. This one is critical. TAKE DOWN THE SIGN. If you paid attention to #5 regarding signage, take down ALL of the signs. If you do not, and we find your house where there is no garage sale after driving all over looking for it (weeks late for the Event), don't be surprised if you find yourself toilet papered or something.

And one littel post script. If you find that after having the neighborhood's longest running garage sale, going on for it's 17th straight week and no one is showing up.... get the point. It's a garage sale, not a dollar store. Close up shop and wait until next year to try again. This is illegal in most towns, something about running a business in a residental district. And, if I get to your 'garage sale' and find things for sale that are new, still in packages, and more than 20 of that same item on the table, I'll be sorely tempted to use that cellphone again because I will not be your next mark (Slang A person who is the intended victim of a swindler; a dupe.)

...stepping off of soapbox...

Well it's about durn time!

As many of you may know, we have been in dire need of the nice delivery truck to deliver the yarn here. The first attempt brought us yarn, but the WRONG yarn. Well, wrong in the sense that it wasn't the correct base yarn for the FlockSock Sock Yarn, but hey, it was GOOD yarn anyways. Fun things are in the works for what is affectionately known as 'car-cozy' yarn. (By the way, we've been calling it that because unlike FlockSock, this stuff is not superwash, and so it will felt. Upon the discovery of this, I told Lisa she'd have to come up with a pattern for a felted car-cozy, because I had a couple hundred pounds of this stuff sitting here now. It seems to be sticking, pun intended, though I may shorten it to 'cozy' yarn.) More on the coming projects for Cozy Yarn later.

ANYWAYS! Yesterday, Astrid helped immensely by sending out 'find the right house' vibes to the driver, and it worked. I am now the proud owner of a whole whack of boxes of yarn. In the triple digits now folks. I DARE you to order more than I have in stock, I DARE you. Triple digits FlockSock, Triple digits Cozy Yarn, and Triple digits of Bamboo-Ewe, a blend of bamboo/wool/nylon. Dudes. Don't anyone plan on coming for a visit, cause there ain't no room for ya!

Now that my hand has recovered enough to handle the dye pots & yarn again, I've been dyeing the Bamboo-Ewe yarn for the current club kit, Turandot. It's a lengthy process, dyeing 2 different fibers in shades of blue to get a unique 'look' to the yarn. Needless to say, it leaves me with some 'hurry up & wait' time while yarn just sits in the pots absorbing color. I've been experimenting for future projects Lisa has on the drawing board, along with some other colors I've been wanting to create.

I think I may be in love with this one. 'Copper Pennies' is what it says to me, and that's what we're calling it. It's the newest color available in the finally-arrived FlockSock Sock Yarn. Monitors being what they are, this is a mildly varigated 'shade-dyed' color in a brick/copper with gold undertones. It ain't on the website yet, give me a few minutes. In the meantime, I've already had a couple of customers I've shown it to just up & email me a payment using paypal, and you can do that if you like. Toss in a couple dollars for shipping, and I'll get it out to you. Let's say, an introductory price of $18.00 per skein.

But, whatever you do... Don't show it to Lisa!!

Next on the list? Limes. In (Car)-Cozy Yarn. This is actually a base-color to be over-dyed for something else, but I really like it as it is! Makes me want to sit on the beach and eat a papaya or something. This will be added to the website with the Rosetta in this yarn.

And I almost forgot Pistachio! Dyed for in the shell Pistachio nuts, a custom request, on FlockSock.

Now, I need to go eat my Pizza and dye more yarn. WAYYYYY more yarn.

Worth more than a minute.

Today is a day for remembering.

If you are a veteran of the armed forces, thank you for all that you've done.
Everyone else, go find a veteran to thank. Freedom isn't free.

If you are a fireman (woman), policeman (woman), emt, or a good samaritan, thank you for your past bravery, and your willingness to be brave in the future.

We've had visitors!

So yesterday, our friend Katherine came over for a visit. She's here for the summer in the area working with the Glimmerglass Opera down the road here (we're hoping some culture will rub off on us ). I was thrilled when she agreed to bring along her instument of choice to play a ditty or 2 for Nora. She's never heard a violin in person before, and for a few minutes was overwhelmed by the volume it produced in our humble abode.

Later in the day, she played again and Nora decided it was definately good. Dance music, even.

Katherine knits as well (can it get any better?) and is working on a pair of single repeat 'Afterthought' colorway. Just for Lisa, we got pics. I have also been promised pics of the completed pair.

Some friends of hers came with, and we toured the farm. Ann-Marie, also in the orchestra, and her boys Eric and Christophe. They saw the sheep, the piggers, baby chicks, the works. Christophe the younger brother has the makings of a great spinner, and scored a skein of the slightly heavier SuperStrong sock yarn for a scarf.



It was a great afternoon and I'm SOOO glad they all came!




On another note, check out what Nora drew and then TAPED to her door:




Please note that if you read it from right to left, it says "No mom dad" below a circle with drawings of mom and dad and an X over the circle (note how sad we look), with Nora at the bottom corner (note the smile on her face). Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't this type of signage supposed to start when she was well, a little older??


And thanks, the hand is doing better. Still hen-pecking it, but recovering.

I'll get right on that.

Have you ever noticed that when you have to endure some periods of forced inactivity, that you find yourself wanting to be the most productive? You suddenly seem to be inspired to even clean something, and procrastination is a thing of the past.
That would be me. Well, actually, (to quote some good '80's slang) that would be me on drugs. Antibiotcs & pain pills, really. You see, I was 1/2 way through butchering some chickens yesterday... and I'll bet you can see where this is going. In one masterful stroke, I managed to NOT remove the neck bone I had decided needed to be removed, while simultaneously slicing open an inch gash across my knuckle bone. With a boning knife no less. Excellent emergency skills, and a babysitter already on site made the afternoon as painless as it could be, all things being what they were. Thankfully, while she said I could see tendon, I didn't do any damage to anything except soft tissue. And, as it was a very thin knife, she used this wicked cool skin glue called dura-blast (I think) so no stitches. Did get the tetnus shot though. The skin glue doesn't hurt at all, while the alcohol/jet fuel based commercially available product 'nu skin' stings like (insert very bad word here). Go figure. Anyways, I'm hen-pecking for typing and it's stoopidly slow for me & my usual 45wpm so don't expect gobs of email from me. Any typing done here is likely via dictation to my handy farm-help Kacey.
The yarn for the next club kit is skeined & ready to go, but as I can't get the bandages wet for 7 days, I don't have many dye-slaves of my own here, and while Nora dyes some beautiful stuff, she's just not up for club projects just yet.
In the meantime, I'm mulling over names for the new/wrong yarn here. We're keeping it (EZ says you never know when a mistake may be a design feature). It's 75% wool/25% nylon, sock-yarn weight 4 ply and it does felt. A couple of suggestions so far:
Car-Cozy Yarn
Versitae (pronounced versit-i) because it's...well, versitile.
Lemonade
I know there were a couple of others but I've misplaced those brain cells right now.
So, if you have a suggestion, leave it in the comments. If you like one of the couple here, leave it in the comments.

Comment Responses:

Lynne, Pat & others:
Several have suggested the car cozy yarn for lace shawls - I like this idea immensely, and I've got a 600 yard skein and a 1200 yard skein right here waiting for 'the hand' to recover to see how those quantities work in the dye pot and what needs to be adjusted to handle that size to cater to that market.

Trainlady, re postscript. No lambs were harmed this time. Tragedy has touched us in this manner in the past with no respect to age (lambs and ewes have bit the fence, so to speak). Most times, they survive the ordeal.

Food for Thought:
Do you know where your food comes from?

(taken from eatwild.com news page)

Corn Prices Too High? Feed the Animals Candy Instead

The growing use of corn for fuel has doubled the price of corn for animal feed. Typically, corn comprises about 70 percent of the diet of animals raised in confinement. To offset the spiking cost of corn, many feedlot managers are replacing some of the corn with candy and other “junk food” that has been declared unfit for human consumption.
According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, this sugary, fatty fare includes banana chips, yogurt-covered raisin, cookies, licorice, cheese curls, frosted wheat cereal, Tater Tots, Kit Kat bars, uncooked French fries, pretzels and chocolate bars. One feedlot operator from Idaho confesses that he feeds his cattle a 100 percent “by-product” meal.
Grass, the native diet of grazing animals, is a rich source of protein, antioxidants, and omega-3 fatty acids. Has anyone measured the nutritional value of meat from junk-food-fed cows? Candy may be cheap, but it’s cheating consumers out of meat’s natural nutrition. Consider grass-fed, instead.
(“With Corn Prices Rising, Pigs Switch to Fatty Snacks” Lauren Etter, Wall Street Journal, May 21, 2007.)

The Knitting Goddess is Cruel.

You know, here I thought that because I wasn't really working on a knitting project, that the knitting goddess couldn't 'mess' with me, ya know?
I mean, what was she going to do to me? Dust my knitting needles? Move the pink yarn over to the box with the orange yarn? Not much going on in the knitting front around here, just a couple of rolled-brim hats for upcoming fall craft shows. I was safe from mischief, or so I thought.
Enter the next order of base yarn for me to dye for OTHER knitters.

Ordered: Serious poundage (in the triple digits) of our FlockSock base yarn 75%superwash/25% nylon blend pristine in it's undye-ed-ness.

Delivered to my door: Serious poundage (now mocking me with it's triple digits) of a 75% wool/25% nylon NOT superwash yarn. Which definately felts.

"What's that?" Says the Knitting Goddess. "I can't mess with you?" She giggles madly while waving her magic needles in my direction. "Hang on."

I may as well cast on for that Harlot Bohus now, cause what could go wrong?

So, if you'll excuse me, I must go make some lemon-ade. And a pattern/kit for a felted car cozy...

Post Script

Dear Sheep:

Please consider this a post-script addition to our little chat earlier this year.

I'm sure I mentioned the 'don't drop dead' part as being very important, even critical to all our survival so to speak.
Please if you would be so kind, pass on to your offspring, and feel free to remind each other while out grazing 'round the ol' water hole.... electricity kills. Let's avoid sticking our heads THROUGH the electric fence for that one little bite of grass, shall we?
You know the fence is on, you know it's going to hurt when you get zapped, it shouldn't be very difficult to figure out what's going to happen when you begin dancing wildly because you're getting zapped and you've wrapped the fence round your wee little hoof, neck or entire body for goodness sake.
And, if your plan is to sacrifice yourself and 'bring down' the entire fence so the flock can run free across 2 counties.... stop now. Your flock mates seem a bit smarter than you, because if you succeed in bringing down a portion of the fence, they usually do not take advantage of this BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO CROSS THE ELECTRIC FENCE LAYING ON THE GROUND and your twitching self. And, to add insult to your injury and possible death, the few who brave the zap & head for greener pastures STOP TO GRAZE the nearest green pasture. That's right, no one runs free, or escapes the farm. They stop right next door in the very pasture I would have moved you tomorrow.

Thank you for your attention, feel free to go back to grazing. Away from the fences.

All our love,

The Shepherds

I've got new socks!

Years ago, I read or heard about this psych professor who would have his students go out and give a try to a list of 'stunts' designed to study social responses blah blah blah. Anyways, my 2 favorites from the list of things to do, were for crowded elevators.

1. Be the last person to board a crowded elevator. Face the crowd and grin. That's all, just smile. Really big & happy-like. Now, I don't know about you, but that's just disturbing and kinda scary.
2. Be the last person to board a crowded elvator. (I sense a lack of creativity on the part of the professor.) Face the crowd and announce boldly and with much enthusiasm: "I've got new socks!"

My brother once thought this was absolutely the best hands-down way to greet and freak out complete strangers. He was right. Now, I would like to chime in with him and announce proudly:

I'VE GOT NEW SOCKS!!

Just LOOK at what one of the club members made for ME!! Dudes. I am totally thrilled. As I sat here staring at the 1/4 knit lonely sock cast on in the wee hours more weeks ago than I care to count up, I might have mentioned the lack of hand-knit socks and the irony of it all, what with all the SOCK YARN that goes out the door here. And then these show up on my doorstep. Snug as a bug in a rug are my toes :) A billion thankyouthankyouthankyous to you Pat, thank you.

Please note for the record: The right foot looks a little... well, 'off kilter'. This is because of the 6 or 7 foot surgeries on that foot, it is NOT the socks!! They fit perfect.

Now, just when things couldn't get any better, ON THE SAME DAY, these also arrived:
Let's get a close up, shall we?

Helen has made me 2 of the most lovely potholders I've ever used to pick a pip'in pot off the stove with. They are double-knit, with colors different on each side, wickedly cool. She's a mighty creative gal, thanks Helen - I love them!

My daughter was not quite as pleased that none of the packages had her name on them, but she did enjoy wearing my new socks and using the potholders as blankets for her Barbies that afternoon.

Addendum to the Numbers.

First and foremost, my husband says I am to point out that the picture of the shearer is not of him shearing a sheep, but of the shearer who was also here shearing that weekend. The shearer sheared just over 200 sheep in 2 days, and we're very glad he did!


We caught that racoon the night we purchased the trap and were very pleased with ourselves... And then the next night lost 3 more hens to his big brother. We caught him as well. So far, the trap sits bated but empty and the hen house is down to 11 hens & a rooster. I find myself on the hunt so to speak, for new laying hens to replace the missing crew. No easy task, as folks who have hens for sale seem to want to convince me that the 3 year old scrawny bird sitting sullen in the back of the coop is really a 'good layer'. At that age and condition, the term 'good layer' translates to 'good at laying around all day eating and producing NOTHING'. The search continues.


The 5 little chicks are learning to fly I discovered, as I found mom and chicks roosting last night on the counter of the milk room they are currently staying in. They now share their home with 26 chicks. I'll try to get pics tomorrow of the mob of yellow fluff out there.


Eric has injured his neck leaving me in charge of EVERYTHING. I am exhausted, and pretty darn tired of farm chores (for more on that, see Lisa's latest post here. She came to visit, a wonderful time was had by all but I am to darn tired to go into more detail.


It did finally rain, and everything looks nice & green, but I worry about hay for the winter here. I don't know if we'll get another cutting from our farm. Price of winter could be high, we'll see.


Comments on the comments:

Let me say, I am sorry if I have not replied or responded to questions in the blog. First of all, blogger won't LET me reply directly. Secondly, well, I've been off my game lately (see spring=exhaustion).

So here goes:


Woolgirl: time to knit? time to KNIT?? Uh huh. You mean, like, with needles? I understand 'startitis' but what do you call it when you have so many projects you want to start that you stand in the middle of the fiber room and just stare in a daze with a handful of needles in one hand and an inhaler in the other for the minor panic attack in the other? time to knit she mumbles.


Andrea: Your welcome! The yarn fairy grins with glee :)


Colleen: We *try* to shear the sheep before they lamb. It's easier on everyone, even the lamb because they no longer recognize their mum after she's been sheared, I kid you not. Not to mention trying to sort sheep with lambs in the pens. No way to find the pair & keep them together through the whole day/ordeal. And, for the wool, it's better because lambing can cause a 'break' in the fleece (where the wool stops and starts growing again literally making a break or weak spot in that section of the wool fiber/strand). Very good question.


Jo at Celtic Memory, how'd that Imbas sock turn out?? and did I hear you mention Slytherin for House Socks? You should check out the House colors here...


Colleen: Rental Sheep have had lambs (a good portion of them anyways). Pictures were delayed due to well... more than 340 ewes giving birth and only 2 shepherds. I'm working on them, and the fleece from the rentals! Don't despair :)


Sorry, not much in the way of pictures. I'll leave you with this: Anyone want to guess what this is?

It's all about the Numbers.

Hi, remember me? Here's a quick, brief run-down (run into the ground, run-down) of what we've been up to around here. There's way more by the way, these were just the highlights of spring and lambing.

More than 200 sheep sheared in 2 days.... and 5 stitches for spouse in a shearing accident.













More than 80 fleeces to skirt - this is just a few of them...












The rest went into the wool-pool bags.

















More than 280 lambs (we were just to tired to keep counting by that time).

More than 16 bottle lambs total, with 7 still on the bottle (not bad considering the total lambs born is probably about 350-375-ish).

11 lambs who would have been bottle lambs grafted onto other mothers. (major happy about that one!!)

2 emergency c-sections to save the lambs.

7 animals treated for fly-strike (you do NOT want details on that)

8 new pigs on the farm.

1 steer off to butcher.

What felt like a bazillion-teen skeins of yarn for Cookie's Garden, the spring sock kit for the club.











1 set of double rainbows.












Deja-vu with another astronomical number of skeins of yarn for The Summer sock kit for the club... (pick your own 3 out of 5 ice cream flavors - what was I thinking??)

10 broiler chicks (round 1 - round 2 would be 25 to be delivered next week)

21 hens laying an amazing number of eggs (quiche, anyone?) , down to 13 - see the next 'number'.

1 raccoon who lightened the hen-pen by 8 hens in 4 days... followed by the purchase of a trap.

200 bales of hay at about 600lbs each (that's 1/2 of what we need for the coming winter, folks).



2 1/2 inches of rain in almost 6 weeks (very bad).
5 brand new baby chicks with mommy-hen (2 peeking out here).

Team Work

"Ok now's our chance to escape!"

"I saw this in a movie once, and it worked for the fish."

"Everyone: Lift UP!!"

Surfacing for Air

VERY quickly, I do still exist. I have TONS of pictures waiting, and I've gotten as far as downloading them from the camera... which is a huge step forward.

I expect to catch you all up to date on the farm life in the next day or so, but for now let me just say that we recorded 28 lambs just for today. 28 new lambs, people. The spring newsletter is here, and should go out tomorrow but let's face it - it's ALREADY tomorrow and I haven't gone to bed yet so expect a postdate on that for Wednesday because my reality check is obviously broken.

Before I forget, if you have left a comment and hoped for a response... I cannot figure out how to answer you privately as Blogger sends me a copy of your comment via a 'no-reply' email address which seems sort of silly. So, I'm really really really not ignoring you or your question and I'll answer some of the asked questions when I start catching up in the next day or so on blogging. With pictures. Lamb pictures, shearing pictures, cutest-ever-4-year-old-pictures, yarn pictures, and numbers. LOTS of numbers.

Now I'm going to bed. Don't anyone wake me for at least 5 hours.

The Force is strong with this one.

Well! The snow disspeared in record time - as soon as the sun came out that is. And, I'm fairly certain that the sheep can actually hear the individual blades of grass growing. You'll see them trying desperately to graze what little stubble is out there, when suddenly, a large group of them will head in the same direction with singular purpose (mildly borg-like) only to arrive at a mysterious destination in the middle of the field.... only to begin grazing stubble in the NEW spot.

Anyways, yesterday was the first really warm, sunny, why-the-heck-am-I-doing-barn-chores-wearing-a-wool-sweater day. And we found this out in the pasture, motherless and forlorn first thing in the a.m.

She is a sweety. Another ewe was valiantly trying to be her mother, but failing as she herself isn't due for several weeks and has no milk to offer. Mom was no where to be found, and after a careful search we decided she was a single orphan. Now let me tell you. When we bring the ewes into the barn yard, they line up at the feeders for a bit of grain and it is an impressive site. We do this for a couple of reasons.

1. Sheep are not the brightest creatures. Reminding them that the rattle of a grain bucket is a yummy thing, keeps them running for you and that bucket in the middle of summer. This is especially handy when a fence comes down and the sheep are out of their pasture. (the grass really is greener on the other side of the fence.) The fact that all year long they continue to fall for this trick is a tribute to their brain-power, and yet they do occasionally outsmart me. nice.


2. It gives us the opportunity to trick them into confinement so they don't try to eat the bale of hay as it comes of the tractor, sacrificing themselves under 600lbs of feed. Or the wheel of the tractor.


3. Prior to lambing, it gives us the chance to get a good look at everyone, catching and handling any ewe with a problem.

In this case, it gave me the chance to walk through the barnyard while they were all head down in the feeder looking for the errant mother. Now, I'm sure you all can guess how we do that here. Even my 4 year old knows what to do, and she's quite good at it. We walk the line of bums, looking for tell-tale signs of labor and/or delivery. Couldn't find a thing. Husband finally found her about an hour later, by accident as he was catching another ewe with a limp. He noticed blood the size of a quarter on this ewe's back leg. Talk about a good eye! Noticing that on one sheep out of 300, in mud up to their bellies. We are impressed by him on a daily basis. Anyways, this was as suspected, a first time mum suffering from the 'what the heck came out of my butt' syndrome. I'm happy to say that after 24 hours tied in a stall with her offspring, she is now untied and no longer trying to head-butt the poor thing. Why she even grudgingly gets up to let her nurse! Serious progress. In a couple of days she might even get nervous when I take her lamb away for a moment.
That lamb? This afternoon she weighed in at a whopping 5lbs 7oz. She probably weighed under 5lbs at birth. We are seriously impressed with her will to live. Not bad for a preemie!

Sock Progress: I'm happy to say, that if I give up 5 more minutes of sleep a day, I can actually add a row or 2 to this sock. And let me just say, I LOVE my knitpicks circs. LOVE.

What's in the dyepot you ask? Harry Potter. Or, at least Harry Potter themed colors. House colors to be exact, go check them out here at www.nysfarm.com/harrypotter.htm and while everyone seems to want the self-striping yarn, patience is going to have to be the word of the day on that one. To make that project feasable, I'm still working out a better mousetrap for skeining/dyeing. I'll keep you posted.

Word of the Day: Demoralizing.

Definition:

1. To undermine the confidence or morale of; dishearten.



2. To put into disorder; confuse.

This is DEMORALIZING. I mean really. Let's look at the calendar, shall we?? This was yesterday's picture. And, please note that the crap on the tin roof of the barn over the visible slider door, was ALLLLLL on the ground in front of the door this morning. And, just for fun, does anyone want to guess how long it took to do chores & feed 340 odd sheep in that? To long, people. To long. Finishing just in time to start evening chores. And, it's raining on top of it all. Which, I might add is NOT melting the snow, since it isn't really snow... it's slush. 8 inches plus of slush. Back-breaking, shovel breaking, tractor-getting-stuck, slush. I'll stop now before the twitch under my left eye starts up again.

Painter's Tape - EXCELLENT idea from the comments the other day for the 4 year old, hardware store here we come.

Sock Progress: Needles came, thank goodness or I was going to start knitting with bar-b-que shish kebob skewers. Don't think I wasn't fixing to see what size they were! Anyhow, we lovelovelove our new knitpicks 32inch size 1 needles. So, if anyone needs a 29inch size 1 & 3 COMBO circ, I've got you covered. If not, than I suggest avoiding Boye needles like the plague. Interesting conversation with them the other day by the way (I get on the phone & call folks when I'm cranky about their poorly constructed tools). According to her, all of their size one needles have a larger than guage size join from needle to cord and back again. Apparently, I shouldn't have a problem with it, regardless of the fact that YOU CAN'T USE THEM FOR SIZE ONE PROJECTS (and yes, I realize I'm shouting). She didn't see this as much of an issue for some reason. After several hopeful and polite questions, I finally asked where I should send the useless needles so that they could refund my money (the store I bought them at was closing it's yarn section - probably because they kept selling useless needles). With only mild grudging, she gave me the address. I do not in any way blame her, but for heaven's sake people (Boye in particular) - what were they thinking?? And to tell me 'they are all that way' in a voice that clearly said 'you are mildly off your rocker for thinking a size one needle actually be a size one needle...'

Also, for the record (Again Boye, listen up) their website does not work. The parent company website links to 4 different companies, one of which IS THEIR OWN WEBSITE (duh??) another is Boye which does not function... and finally, one of the other remaining actually has a customer service number you can all. Excellent job Boye, excellent.

I'll never catch up.

Holy Crow, I can't believe it's the 12th of April.
April, people. And it is SNOWING. Not a quick little flurry, no, we're accumulating this crap at an alarming rate. Perhaps my attempts at thawrting the time/space thing for my own nefarious dyeing, knitting, and other fiber-related dastardly deeds, have messed with Mother Nature's timing. Well isn't that handy. The only time warping I've done is prolong the CRAPPY weather, instead of helping to make a dent in the 'to do' list inside the house.
And, I'd LOVE to show you a picture of progress on that sweet little blackjack sock, but it would look suspiciously THE SAME except on a longer set of circs. Now, if you read the last post, you would expect progress as I've purchased a longer set of circs to enable the 'magic'. But here's the thing. I bought this here 32 inch size 1 Boye needle. And, ya know the join where the needle 'joins' the length of plastic cord to connect to the other needle? Well, that little tiny teeny 1/4 inche or so length of plastic is all that stands between me & progress. I cannot slide my size 1 stiches over it's SIZE 3 CONNECTION. Now, did I miss something here??
Here's my theory:
In my efforts to avoid sock knitting so as to get something ELSE done around here, I have not replaced my lost size 1 needles, long gone. Until now. Driven Encouraged by the Harlot, I might have run head-on into a needle display at a lys with wild abandon the thought that I might find something useful. I might have wound some yarn, and gotten as far as the toe before trouble found me.
My theory is, that I angered the knitting gods by avoiding knitting, and this is their curse: to be desperate to knit socks, and unable to do it. Kind of a Greek Tragedy sorta thing, eh?
Well, ta heck with them, I went shopping and SEVERAL sets of size 1 circs are on their way. One sock? Heck with that, we're casting on SEVERAL socks with ALL of the new needles and leaving them recklessly about the house for random knitting moments.

In other news: Harry Potter. Have you heard of him? Silly question, I know. Anyways, I'm putting my dye pots to good use (again) and working on 'House' colors for the knitters out there. Check the website for the Potter page, and check back here for more posts & pics as I work on options for colorways.
I'm thinking of offering solids in all of the colors, as well as 2-color skeins... and I've been working on some type of self-patterning dye-job that doesn't require me to skein yarn around the room over couches & lampshades for the dog to trip on and the daughter to hang her toys on. It really Does. Not. Work.

Question of the day: Can anyone tell me (without suggesting I spend 3 hours searching the 'help' files of blogspot) how to MAKE this thing see all of the proper sentence punctuation? I mean, I know we've lost some writing skills with all this computer 'stuff' but I should still be able to put 2 spaces after each sentence and this freakin' blogger system refuses to see even one, let alone the 2 that are supposed to be there. I hate for folks to think I don't have a clue about basic writing skills... A little help here before I go nuts?

Still Catching Up.

Knitting Tip Number 2.
There is nothing magical about a 24 inch loop. 29 inches, 32 inches, both very magical when it comes to knitting a sock on (or is that with?) 'the magic loop'. No matter how hard you try, this will only end in madness.


And Miss Tsarina, yes, you should feign enlightenment for my sake & let me keep what little dignity I have left. We shall forever more pretend understand that these knitting 'revelations' come to me in divine moments of knitting bliss and serenity. Very ZEN-like ya know. (ya'll got yer boots on, right?)
And, since we're taking time to respond to commentary, that 'top down raglan' is coming along nicely, thank you very much. More on that later.

The lovely toe-up toe (duh) using my own BlackJack multiple repeat yarn. I must say, I am LOVING the tiny little color repeats.








Note to whoever keeps searching on 'Beautiful Icelandic Girls'. DUDE. (at least, one assumes it's a dude...) These are SHEEP. Now, move along please. And, on the off chance that the fact that they are SHEEP does NOT bother you, PLEASE I beg of you, move along even faster.


Quote of the day: Do not anger the Dragon for you are crunchy, and taste good with ketchup.

Knitting Tip Number 1.

When doing a provisional cast-on, use yarn so brightly colored that a street trollop would be embarrassed to be seen in it. So garishly different from your actual project yarn that horror is expressed, even by the color blind. Do NOT use yarn the same color and/or weight and texture as your project yarn, especially when the project is on size 1 needles. Ever. Not even for just a couple of stitches. EVER.

Catching up, one step at a time.

So in the wild, these are the signs that the elusive 4 year old-asaurus has been here before you.

Please note the 'SharkTales' Sticker found on the butter sometime around midnight while mom was having the preverbial 'midnight snack'.

While eating, this tell-tale sign was found on the whiteboard:

Note how small mom's space is... the small square on the right. Notice how the wild four year old-asaurus has broken through the extensive fencing system strayed out of the confines of her wilderness park generous space allowed for her 'work', ever encroaching on the mother's tiny, eeked out scrap of modest space. Steps must be taken to reinforce fencing on the wilderness park review 'whiteboard etiquette'.

Setting the record straight.

Dear Sheep,

Most of you have been with me for a while now, and we still don't have what I'd call a good working relationship. I'd like to take this opportunity to explain my expectations for you. Perhaps after this, we'll both enjoy our jobs a bit more here on the ol' homestead.

1. I expect you to (and this is critical) NOT drop dead.

This is a biggy girls. It is distressing to see you acting completely healthy and fine, only to find you on death's door 12 hours later. It is even more upsetting to spend the next several hours making you as comfortable as possible inside the barn, feeding you by hand, providing delicacies like honey-laden yogurt and important meds to sustain you, only to find you dead in the middle of the night when I come out to check on you. Please have the decency to make up your mind much earlier: Either simply drop dead, or buck up & stay healthy enough to not come into the hospital barn. And FYI: it would be ever so handy if you do decide you can't possibly go on, if you would drop near a gate or something, so we're not hiking to the back of the back 40 to fetch you.

2. Getting to know us.

Now, some of you have been with us for several years, and all of you have experienced the 'routine' of the seasons and what goes with them at least once in your lifetime. We are the shepherds, you are the sheep. We feed you EVERYDAY without fail. Same ol' us. We wear the same jackets & winter hats & boots, say the same thing to you, move you in & out the same pastures and gate systems every single bloody day. Please stop acting as if you have no idea who we are, or what we're doing. If you see the chute system in place, cast your mind back a measly 2 weeks to the last time you saw it. Do you remember that NOTHING bit you in the arse, poked you in the neck, chopped off any vital bits, or permantly distanced you from your flock mates??? Well for cripes sake, it's the same thing over and over and for the millionth time, over again. Now please put your self in line and get your pampered little fluffy butt through the chute.

3. Chute System Ettiquite.

Speaking of the chute system, if you do happen to feel a small sting through the 15 inches of wool on your bum, that would be the ever-so-gentle electric cow prod. Now, keep in mind that IF you are feeling this, than (pay attention please)
You. Are. Doing. It. Wrong.
I cannot stress this enough. Please stop backing up, turning around, or trying desperately to LEAP up and out of the chute system. It is not built to kill you, ya ninny. If you happen to be first in line, consider that good as you'll be first out and stop trying to defy the laws of physics by putting you and the 6 sheep behind you, into the exact same spot. You cannot now and never will be able to occupy the same spot. Stop. Trying.
Not sure what to do in the chute? Watch ewe number 876 for example. She walks in at a brisk pace, all the way to the end or at least to the sheep in front of her, has even been known to push the ewe in front to help squeeze in a few more behind her (not sure how she knows to do this, but we love her for it). She stands calmly, and best of all, does not COMPLETELY freak out when we reach over the side and touch her in some manner to administer whatever we're there for this time. I mean for heaven's sake! I'm standing right there next to you every time you go through the chute, and you looked right at me when I leaned over to do whatever it is. This is NOT a signal to try to LEAP out of the chute, it is the signal to perhaps brace yourself and hold still.
One more thing. If you happen to notice short blue containers referred to as 'foot baths', please try not to leap over 9-12 feet of water/med-filled baths. You severly over-estimate your leaping skills. You will not make it, and you will likely fall and bathe in the 2nd or 3rd container. This is stupid distressing and costly in time and meds. Simply walk through and stand until released. No sheep has ever died walking through a foot bath, but there have been threats to those who do not, so heed the warning girls. We eat you for dinner. Literally.

4. Be friendly with the ram, and raise your lambs.

So, you have (basically) 1 job here on the ol' homestead. Have TWINS and raise 'em up good. This begins in the winter months when we introduce you to your new boyfriend. He has one purpose in life sweetie, and your it. Be nice to him, cozy up to him when the mood strikes you, and ya know, let nature take it's course. In a few months, your going to have lambs (note again, the plural reference. one lamb gets you into trouble.) and I'd appreciate it greatly if you'd follow this short list of guidelines:
I understand urges, but please avoid any that include dropping lambs in puddles, manure, or smack up against the fence line (especially the one that bites you on the nose when you try to get to the grass on the other side - it's electric and bad for lambing). Aim for somewhere dry, out of the wind, and hopefully not in the middle of the flock. Get some privacy if you can. I mean, it's a 40 acre pasture, I'm sure you can find a spot by yourself.
And just a note here for those that haven't lambed yet but notice another ewe in labor. Leave her and her new lambs alone! They are not your lambs, nor will you want to keep them when your own pop out. Save us all the trouble, and wait for your own.
Now, once you've had your lambs, please for the sake of the species and your mortal life, clean the buggers off and help them nurse. Don't run from them, this happens to you every year, same schedule. You should all be over the new mom 'what-the-heck-came-out-of-my-butt' syndrome so get a grip.
Lastly, lLet them nurse WHENEVER they want, not just when your bulging udder demands it. Here's a clue: If they don't look good, than YOU don't get to stay alive long look good.

5: Shearing.

Besides lambs, most of you have the ABILITY to produce a decent fleece. Now, we do our part by providing quality feed for you all year long. Please for the love of your life fleece, hold still on the shearing board. We do this every year, you don't shed so stop trying. The guy with the clippers is GOING to remove your fleece. He WILL NOT hurt you if you STAY STILL. Think of this as the dayspa: new hairdo, get a pedicure, no shots. Just relax, and find your freakin' happy place, will ya? It only takes about 4 minutes.

A note to the rams on the farm:

Rams, the only thing I'd add for you would be to behave yourself. Your job is to be a lover, not a fighter. I know you have short attention spans, but listen carefully:
If you put your head down and aim for any part of any human body with any HINT of aggression, You. Are. Stew. I don't care how pretty you are, how great your fleece is or how good looking your lambs are because here's the reality:
Your beautiful, wonderful spinning fleece you think is securing you a 'life' here also doubles as one INCREDIBLE pelt. And, your good looking lambs can easily be repeated next year by using one of your offspring for next year's ram. Now go graze quietly until I need you again next winter.

Ladies, I've enjoyed our little chat. Now, please review this at your leisure and chat amongst yourselves about everything we've discussed. I hope this clears up any misunderstandings we've had in the past, and clears the way for many years of calm and enjoyable flock & pasture management.

All our love,

the shepherds.

Winter 2007 Newsletter

Below is the regularly scheduled newsletter, but before I get to that I'm remiss in posting a picture of the twins that were born in February, so here they are. Please take note of the 2 very different fiber types. These animals are definately different in every possible way (well except they are both boys). This is the result of crossbreeding. Sometimes, you can even find different types of fiber on the same animal!

---

Vancalcar Acres
Winter 2007 (already?) Newsletter

392 Elwood rd Ft. Plain, NY 13339 518-993-4326

Does anyone remember me saying this in the last newsletter? “We are NOT expecting a February lambing group again!!” Well, next time you think I’m about to make a statement like that, just begging the Fates to giggle and slap me on the side of the noggin, stop me. So far we only have 3 lambs, but as I do morning chores, I’m pretty sure there are several other girls due in the next 10 days or so.

It has been a busy winter as the sock kits by Tsock Tsarina (Lisa Grossman) at www.tsocktsarina.com continue to keep the dyepots cooking with several new kits and a sock club. Lots of new FlockSock sock yarn colors are in the works, some with an eye towards St. Patty’s day. If you’ve never knit socks before but would like to, take a look at the Learn to Knit Tsocks Kit titled ‘Tsocks 101’. Everything you need to know. Yarn for an adult pair, yarn for a sample/child’s size to give you the chance to test the different options Lisa provides. Different styles of heels, toe-up, cuff down, and new stitches to learn and challenge you. The kit even comes with a set of Double Point Needles. Everything you need to be an expert sock-knitter! Did I mention the color pictures throughout the book for extra how-to help? Check the website for samples.

Up until this year, the farm Blog was an online version of the newsletters. As many of you have asked for more frequent updates on things around here, I’m giving it my best shot on the blog. I’ve learned a bunch of new technical things, which is great for this old techie. Did you know I was building websites when it was all done by hand, line by line of code in Notepad? Back then, being able to make the background a color other than gray, and put up an actual TABLE was amazing. Do you have any idea how long it took to build a website?? But that was another life, and I digress. If you don’t know, the blog lives here: http://fiberfarm.blogspot.com

Fiber: We’re planning to shear sometime in the end of March/beginning of April. Every spring someone asks, so I’ll get the reminders out of the way here. If you are renting a sheep, please remember that you may not get your fleece or yarn until (typically) the summer newsletter, the end of the rental year. For us around here, that usually means August/September timeframe. Even though we shear in early spring, lambing follows close behind and is intense for several weeks. I will be skirting your spinner’s fleece myself, as I can’t seem to get the other family members to be as picky as I am about it. If you’ve rented a knitter’s sheep (or flock)… remember, I have to spin it ;) . If your fleece or yarn happens to be first on the skirting board, you may get yours sooner, but until I figure out how to warp time to suit my own dastardly plans, everyone can’t be first.
Grassfed Meats:

 Lamb currently available by the cut in limited quantities.
 Pork orders: taking reservations for ½ or whole now, we expect to go to butcher in April More info on the spring newsletter, or you can email or call me to discuss. $50.00 deposit for ½ or whole. Contact me for pricing and availability, and cut options.
 Grass-fed ground Beef in 10, 25 and 50 lb sets. **Not your typical ‘trim’ ground beef! We’re taking the whole steer and making ground beef and a limited number of prime cut steaks (filet mignon etc). This is extremely lean ground beef, I find no grease left in the pan when browning this ground beef. Contact me for pricing and availability.

Pelts: I have 3 white good-sized pelts available right now, these are machine washable. $120.00 and free shipping.


Eric, Jennifer, Nora & the animals.

Winter Break is Over!!

Wow, I can't believe how fast the time has flown. And yet, in some ways, it went very slow.

Last week was winter break for Nora. Now, when I was in school, we didn't have this 'winter break' thing. We were off for xmas & new year, and then we toughed it out until Easter for spring break. We had to walk a mile to school or the bus stop as well, none of this bus at each house thing. There were gangs of kids all over neighborhoods waiting for the bus when I went to school... but I digress.
So, Nora was off of school for last week, and most of the week before due to folks being unable to even FIND the roads, let alone plow them. And, the week before that, she was home sick. I tell you what, when she's in high school she's going to be so mad she won't get 3 weeks to binge on cookies and 'Dora' of quality time with mom again!

If you'd like to see the 'aftermath' pics from last weeks' storm, they are here:

Storm

I would like to point out that we had 38 inches of snow. 21 of them in 4 hours, according to the town barn at the bottom of our hill (yes, it's good to live that close to where the plow trucks live). I would also like to point out, that if you live in a city/state that tracks it's average snowfall (as opposed to say, Phoenix Arizona where 'snow' is that stuff you shave off the wall in the freezer) than you really should know where your snow shovels are. Please note the plural version of 'snow shovel'. You should also note that when your county, and the several surrounding counties have declared a state of emergency... when one of the plow trucks is on it's side in a snow drift/ditch and the crane they brought in to lift it out is now also buried and useless... when your neighbor stops by on his snowmobile and asks if you need him to carry a message to any other neighbor... do not call the town barn insisting that they plow your road immediately, when you can't even GO anywhere. Instead, begin packing to move, because you really ought to be in Phoenix.

We did have another lambing, a lovely set of twins. I will get the pictures off the camera as soon as the batteries are charged. In fact, I am getting ready to go out & check the flock now, as there were a couple of girls who look to be fairly close to a motherly way.

Looking for your opinions: Color repeats in your yarns? How long should they be? Random or repeating? Post your thoughts here & let me know what you think.

It snowed a little today... and it's a bit breezy.

This is my Volkswagon Vanagon (Pop-up camper style, for those who are interested).

This picture was taken at about 5pm Wednesday evening.

Incidentally, last night at this time I could see the entire vehicle, even entire tires.

The Lawn Tractor? That's your everyday riding lawn mower.

Ah yes, and here, for perspecitve is that same Vanagon at about 1pm. See the wheel well? I told you it has tires.

And, you can forget about a plow on the front of a truck. Those are cute & all, but not at all useful here. Tractor with a bucket. And the haybale you ask? Well, if you're familiar with driving in the snow, you know that it's common to toss a cinderblock or 50lb bag of kitty litter in the trunk. The weight gives the car a little 'traction'. Well, think of the round bale of hay as a 600lb cinderblock for traction. You have to learn to think outside the box a little around here :)



This was about 10:30 this morning. Please note that I had already cleared the deck of snow at about 8:30 am, there were probably 8 inches of snow when I shoveled.
For some reason, the snow did not pack against that gap of the porch so it's hard to see, but there is at least another 4 inches of snow pictured here.



Look familiar? 3pm. Pretty cool, eh?
No. this is
So.
Not.
Cool.




8pm. We've added a little more snow I think. I'm going to bed now, but I leave you with a couple of things to ponder. First, when I look out my kitchen window at 11pm, the vanagon has snow up to the windshield. This is daunting to say the least. Secondly, if you are looking for a good leg workout, put on the heaviest workboots you own and a fullbody carhart zip-up suit. Add appropriate longjohns (2pair), wool sweater, dickie, hat, earmuffs etc. Now (and this is where it gets fun) Add a 45lb toddler in similar attire to your back in true piggy-back style. Ok, ready? Great! Now wade through snow drifts that average hip-deep for about 100 feet. Feeling good? How about those thighs? Bunns of freakin' steel. How's the breathing because I forgot to mention the 40mph gusts of subzero temps driving the still-falling snow into your face. Refreshing! Did you make it from the barn to the house? Ok, now take off all the crap, get that 4 year old to the potty, suit back up and get back to the barn. What's that you say? No problem because you've already blazed the trail? You are a very funny person because do you remember that 40mph breeze I mentioned? Your trail is SOOO gone. Have a nice work out, I'm going to bed. Oh and by the way, while your out there, could you shovel off the porch for me? Thanks, I appreciate it.

P.S.


And I forgot to mention!! This weekend we had our first lamb born. Mom must have been pollinated, because we aren't supposed to begin lambing until May. See the snow in the pictures above? Nope, to much to think about right now. Maybe in another post we can discuss lambing in the winter without a proper barn.

Stud-Muffin

It is definately winter here. February. Now, normally we have put studded snow tires on the car by now, but it was such a mild winter, there was no reason for them. Until now, that is. Now, with everything a blanket of white and the roads covered in slushy snow, and crazy drivers out on those roads it is time for studs.

So, I don't know to much about how this all works, but basically they take a perfectly good tire and shove short little nails or 'studs' into the tires for traction. Typically when I run over a nail, I puncture and ruin a tire. When they put nails in my tire, I am once again able to drive. Go figure.

Anyways, 2 days ago, while trying to take my daughter to school, my husband stood laughing at me at the window while I tried to get out of the driveway. After several attempts to move through what seemed like a small amount of snow, he finally came out and towed us out to the road. The irony was not lost on me that when I struggled to back out of the driveway, the town plow truck drove by... I'm sure I heard him giggle.

Upon my return from the school, like a complete idiot, I pulled right back into the driveway where I normally park. I guess I'm a glutton for punishment because nothing had changed... and so when I got ready to leave again later for the appointment to have the stud tires put on, he had to drag the car out again. Let's all take a moment and be grateful for tractors.

Now, I have studded tires on the car. I can go places that I had feared to go before, like the parking lot of the grocery store and my own driveway. Things are a little different now, the road noise is amazingly loud. So loud that I keep thinking I forgot to shift gears or something as the sound 'winds up' as the speed increases. Oh well. Crank up the radio, the heater, and check that we're in the right gear every once in a while. I have studds on the car, and don't care about anything else.

Things I've learned while my 4-year old has been sick.

UPDATE DEC 2007: **If you found this link searching for information on colds, cold medicines, cold treatments and children with any of the above, the post with way more information for you, is this one: http://fiberfarm.blogspot.com/2007/11/search-words.html I've made a post just for you, because your not the only one searching for info on that subject who finds themselves here.

My daughter is in preschool. She has before this, not been 'exposed' to other children on a regular basis and so we have been experiencing the best her immune system has to offer. Head colds. Over, and over, and over, and over again.
Now, they say that kids will build up an immunity to colds, getting fewer of them. And, that there are about 200 cold viruses out there. I've lived a long happy life so far, and have had my share of colds. Spent plenty of time in public school, after school babysitters, lots of cold exposure. So, could someone please explain to me, why I have ALSO caught every cold she has brought home? She went back to school today, after being home for a week as we all recovered from this round, and here are the things I've learned.

1. If the sick child sits on your lap, she will cough in your face. Not on purpose (I think), but it will happen. When you wipe her nose, she will cough. When you are tucking her in or getting her dressed, she will cough. Through all of this you will remind her to cover her mouth, use a tissue, wash her hands (and yours). What will you learn from this? You will get sick. Now, excuse me while I cough.

2. Cough medicine, is a joke. Unless it has codiene in it, it will not work. Period.

3. The 'bear' on the children's show 'Franklin' is NOT the same as the character 'Little Bear' on the childrens' show 'Little Bear'. All this time, I thought they were, but there are enough differences that I now see the error of my ways and have watched those 2 shows this past week plenty of times to be completely sure.

4. It is impossible to count out yarn yardage for a skein of yarn on your first try. And most likely the 2nd and 3rd tries won't be all that reliable either.

5. It can very well take 4 or more hours to dye a single skein of multi colored yarn. Dye one section one color... get glass of juice for sick child. Come back and rinse that section of yarn... rewind Disney Snow White. Come back and prep new color... wipe child's nose, wash and sterilize everything remotely related to that episode. Come back, dye new section of yarn skein... cajole child into taking medicine. Come back, rinse that section of yarn... well, you get the picture.

6. Whoever designed the Play-Doh containers has no children. I can barely open the freakin' things, how do they expect small children to do it??

7. Sick children can survive on air and juice for days. And everything they think they might want to eat 'tastes funny' (thank you, head cold). This means you throw away the equivelant of what they normally would have eaten.

8. Zicam is hands down the worst tasting, most foul product on the market to be put in your mouth for any purpose.

9. As expected, Zicam is also hands down, the only zinc product out there that seems to actually make a difference. Probably specifically because it tastes so bad, words cannot describe.

10. After about the zillionth head cold, you will pay just about any dollar amount for Zicam. Invest heavily before illness strikes. While your at it, pick up 3 bottles of lame cough syrup, a box of REAL sudafed (not the pansy stuff they sell now and pretend is sudafed) Pseudoephedrine Hydrochloride, and some Halls cough drops.

These are important things to remember if you have young children with school careers yet to begin. Good Luck.