Time Change Sunday

Okay, it's almost 6 PM and I haven't done nearly as much as I needed to...but that's okay. It's been gray all day, after raining all afternoon and evening yesterday. It just had to happen, as I had carefully spread out a large amount of dyed orange alpaca outside. Matt and I had to run outside with bags to scoop it all up in the rain. It's still in the bag, partially dryed. It was weird to have such a fierce rainstorm complete with thunder in the middle of the winter. The metal barn roof makes great music when it rains. When the thunder claps started and the White Boys freaked out, well, that was a bit disconcerting. We could hear the creek rushing across the fields. Glad I am on high ground, but that was one reason why I bought this place. We came from a town that was underwater three times in four years, right on the Delaware River. Now, that was wild. Cars and whole houses were washed away. I was cut off from my sheep and had to go an extra 15 miles out of my way to get across the river and get to work. Only 25 miles from where I lived, people in my high school had no idea what was going on with the Delaware River dwellers. Last time I travelled back there, I saw a lovely stone mill house that had been submerged in water during the floods had sold. I wonder if the new owners knew what they would be in for. It might be underwater right now since the Susquehanna flows south into the Delaware. Oh, well...my sheep are safe and dry in the barn and I am cozy and warm in the little barn apt. I got six bags cut out this morning, after putting the purple alpaca away. I cut out two each of three different fabric combinations. Two are with fantastic artsy fabric chosen by Carol Crayon Box with lining I brought with me from NJ. I had many fabric stores to pick from there, and, alas, when one went out of business there were great sales. I'm using some of the gorgeous fabric from Jane Porter Hamilton's dress designer days. She would have fabrics custom made by European mills, and oh, are they beautiful. I bought some remnants last summer and I'm finally using them. I have to make a cart load of buttons to go with these bags. Right now Lizzie, my tortoise shell kitty, is sitting on my shoulder. She started jumping onto my shoulders when she was a kitten. It was a surprise then, but now that she is a great big heavy kitty it can be quite a shock, especially since she has to dig in with her claws to get up high enough now. Ouch! She is helping me type, with her cheek against mine. I bet her eyes are following the cursor, but I can't see. I spread out two big pots of cobalt blue wool, picked and dyed yesterday, on the kitchen table. It came out so nice. I'll have it streaked with lime green Suri alpaca and some orangey red BFL wool. I think I'm set with dyed wool now. I have a giant bag of black Merino to pick, from my Othello and his wether brother, Blaze. Yes, he has a white blaze on his face. Blaze and I are forever bonded because he almost killed me in a freak accident. Two students were here helping me and spooked him at the end of the barn. I was doing my Hobbit impersonation, bent over, making my way through the barn when I looked up to see Blaze coming at me. His head hit my chest full force and I lost my breath. I don't think Blaze felt a thing, but I was a bit shaken up having been butted head on by a 200 pound plus sheep skull. I recovered and didn't let on to the boys what had happened. Moral of this story - keep your head up and watch where you are going no matter how much built-up poop and hay is under your feet. Othello and Blaze will be shorn by my wonderful hippie ex-SDS friend, Jim Baldwin, in a month and I will have even more luscious black Merino to bring to Maryland to drop to the mill people for carding. Come September, oh, will I have some nice wool to bring to the fall shows. I meant to get the old freezer in the tractor shed cleaned out today but Matt got started on cleaning out the workroom and I joined in. The freezer is full of fabric from NJ and I need it to put the piggies in. They weighed out at 125 and 135 each, and that's only meat. AMAZING how easy they were to raise, and the meat they gave me. How long will 265 pounds of pork products last? It will be interesting to find out. I'll have to try not to imagine their piggy faces smiling at me and their chortles and grunts when I poured the warm slop in their buckets. I'd love to have more pigs, they are wonderfully enjoyable animals. Mary stopped by today with two friends from Cape Cod who came out for the weekend. Mary has the neatest friends!!! Oh, do I have to greatest memories of the Cape, travelling there with Aunt Carol, Mia's godmother, when AJ and Mia were twins and Eric was a happy young boy, pre-military. I adore the Cape and they tell me the kite shop is still in Provincetown. I am locked in SO tight with the farm, or I would be making plans to go there this summer. My favorite "twin hiney" poster picture of AJ and Mia as naked babies was taken there. Those were the days...