Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Bright, Cold, Windy Day in Central New York



What a beautiful day in the neighborhood. I took my 7th and 8th grade art class up the mountain in back of the school to a cabin the Conservation class built. The great snow melt is going on here and there were little streams running down the hill everywhere. Pine trees still have a bed of snow around them and the air is crisp and clear. I am not a summer person. I hate to see the sheep suffer when it's hot, and spinning wool is no fun when it won't slip through your fingers. I'm not crazy about spinning cotton or linen..The summer is for growing hay. Let's hope this summer is dryer. Last year was a nightmare for farmers trying to get hay in. Some were lucky and filled the barns. Others had a lot of hay rained on, and rain means mold that will make your animals sick. Hay is life, and the people who have barns full of hay now are making a pretty penny from people like us who have to have it, no matter what the price. There are no more lambs today. The goats are holding on to their babies for now. Maybe they know spring has sprung and the warm weather is on the way. Angora goats are from South Africa and love the heat. Texas is the angora goat capital of the US! I am still tired from yesterday. Matt left for work at 2 AM and I didn't sleep after that. I had to leave extra early to get to a meeting in Greene, NY, where most of my special ed. students live. The Greene district sent them to BOCE for various services and once a year they have a meeting to go over the Individual Educational Plan and discuss the student's progress. I found a dress to wear, the first this year, and actually put on panty hose. Ofcourse all that puttering over clothes after I did my chores made me late. I had to drive 50 miles and wasn't sure where I was going. I drove my little red truck like a demon, found the school, and ran across the parking lot. There was my teacher friend from BOCE coming out the front door to tell me our first meeting of seven that day was cancelled! I vowed never to endanger my life or my driving record again for a meeting. We went out to breakfast, and later lunch with a student and her mother, and had a nice day. Today, Wednesday, we are over the hump and on the downhill slope to the weekend. Steve is inside working on the apt. Oh, what a view I will have of my hill...dotted with sheep and a couple of lovely llamas!

1 comment:

Kathleen said...

Hi Maggie! My family also raises angora goats and alpacas. We spin, knit, and do our best to promote our sales and support our fellow fiber artists. Our farm is located in Colorado.

You have a beautiful website. I'm in Peru for a while, so your blog gives me a taste of home (even though it's across the country from my own home) and is fun reading for me. Gosh, I almost cried when I found it! Thanks for what you do!