Family

Annie said she was coming to pick up her van but I didn't believe her at first.  She had been in Maryland for ten days sitting with her sick father and I didn't think she really wanted to get back on the highway again.  Her VW Westphalia camper had broken down when she and Hannah picked up Luke from the farm last summer.  She got two miles away and had to hike back to the farm.  They got back to Maine in a rented car and the camper was towed to a guy who knows how to fix them in Marcy.  The camper has no heat and they had to get it back to Maine before the weather got bad.  They arrived Saturday night and we had a big dinner of Luke's favorite baked beans, marshmallow yams, roast ham, fresh pork roast and corn.  For Hannah's sake I had nothing green what so ever.  Hannah hates green leafy food.  We chatted and got caught up on each other's news.  I don't see enough of my Eric, as he is very busy heading up the Pine Tree Council in Portland, Maine.  He has been wildly successful in revitalizing the district and I'm so happy for him.  Sunday morning we had Swedish pancakes and then they were gone, as quickly as they came.   They had to get back to their pets at home.  I resent these lightning visits as I always feel like we didn't have enough time together but I'm thankful they all came to see me.  Annie is very happy to have her van back.

Spike Lee

"Spikey" is my Nubian buck, purchased to breed Fancy, Matilda and Janey, Fancy's daughter, so I can have goat milk in the spring.  I'm expecting lambs in March and would like to have goat milk to use as lamb milk replacer if I need it.  Milk replacer is ridiculously expensive, especially when you consider it is powdered whey, a by-product of cheese and yogurt making.  A bottle lamb can cost a fortune, and, if you are the Jewish mother of the sheep world, the bottle feeding can go on for six months instead of the recommended six weeks.  Spikey is adorable, although a bit small, and the Nubian ladies are not interested in him.  Goats are fussy and go for the biggest, most macho buck they can find.   We put them all together in the lengthy pen running along the side of the barn and waited.  No signs of the activity we hoped for.  Then the big girls escaped.  I'm still not sure how, but they did.  Put them back in, another escape.  I was conflicted, as there is still lush green grass on the hillside and I felt guilty about denying such nutritiousness to the girls.  I can't let Spikey out as he might breed the angora does and they would be ruined for mohair as Spikey is a dairy goat.  I went about my business and continued to feed and pet him.  This afternoon when I returned from town I went out to the barn and - no Spikey!  Oh, crap, I thought.  He must be having a joyous romp with the angora does.  Thankfully, he was restricted to the barn yard with the sheep, who had not been let out to graze yet.   I couldn't help but notice he was "all over" a very aged white angora doe, nudging her the way bucks do, and nuzzling her until the tail.   A little while later I saw them together in the barn where I treat the goats to cracked corn, a trick I use to get them inside while the sheep are out to graze.  Luckily, I was able to lasso them and I put them in Spikey's pen together.  Spikey was delighted, as he is in love.  The old doe is happy to have the attention and be in a pen where she is given grain twice a day and doesn't have to fight off the younger goats to get to it.  When spouse returns from his weatherization trip we'll put the Nubian does back in the pen with Spikey and his old lady.  Maybe they'll be jealous and "give it up" so I can have my goat milk for my lambs in the spring.

Heartwork Quilts

I finally made it to Heartworks Quilt Shop, in Hartwick, on the way back from Cooperstown, today. What a pleasant experience.  This comfortable shop has an expansive array of fabrics, including quilt cottons, decorator fabrics, fleece, flannels and woven wool yardage.  I gave myself a half hour to browse the two floors and made friends with the resident spaniels.  I used to quilt, years ago, but when I discovered the wonderful world of natural fibers and spinning, quilting was left by the way side pretty much.  I still lust after quilt cottons, and use them to wrap my soaps.

               

Honey for Sale

I adore honey.  I think it is a miracle substance and have it every night in my chamomile tea and sometimes in my coffee.  I put it in my hand made soap.  I'm very concerned about the plight of the bees.  Many local hives have failed.  I buy honey from local beekeepers as often as I can.  Honey never goes bad so I feel it is a good investment.  Who knows - honey may be unavailable someday.   When I was driving to Cooperstown a while ago I noticed some lovely bee hives painted rainbow colors.  I was in Cooperstown today and made a point to slow down so that I might snap a photo of the pretty hives.  I noticed a sign and a table with jars.  That was a perfect excuse to stop.  I love when people put their wares out for sale.  I like to support their entrepreneurial spirit and reward them for their hard work and trust in the public to pay for the goods.  I bought the four jars on the table and took a picture.   I think I'll have some of the new flower honey tonight.

Still Swimming

Cooper and Bertha are still enjoying a daily swim in the pond.  The other dogs like to get a good long drink or delicious spring water while still on solid ground.  The pond is our favorite walk destination.  We check out the few remaining gold fish Madame Blue Heron has left us and walk all around before heading up to the Tippy Top or downhill to the lower hill top pasture and back down to the barn.  I'm thinking we have another month before the pond of frozen over and the doggies will be skating instead of swimming.  

Hidden Treasures

 My chickens are all free ranging now.  I have bins on top of the rabbit cages for them to lay eggs in but only a handful of chickens are cooperating with that arrangement.  I have to hunt around the barn and barnyard to find breakfast.  Yesterday I happened upon a clutch of eggs along the driveway.   Contrary to popular belief, eggs don't have to be immediately refrigerated.  They are good for weeks in room temperature.  I did, however, give this batch to the kitties for a treat.  I'll have to catch as many hens as I can to put them back in the chicken room before the winter snows come.  I remember Matt and I scrambling through snow banks to catch a mother hen and lone chick she managed to hatch a couple of winters back.  Much easier to take care of everybody in one enclosed room.

Sheep Trails

When I walk over the land with the dogs and kitties we follow the sheep trails.  The sheep know where the ground hog holes are.  They take the best route over the hills and dales, nooks and crannies, to get where they want to go.  I'm sure major traffic arteries have grown out of the clever directional instincts of livestock.  The bright colors of autumn have gone from the hills around my farm but the yellow birch leaves are hanging on for a few more days.  I love the various hues of browns and tans that will remain until covered in snow.  I decided to start feeding hay today.  There is still grass on the ground for the flock, but I want to be sure they have enough.  Winter means a step-up in activity on the farm.  I'll have to get up earlier, suit up for the cold, but wear layers so I can take something off once I start sweating, and climb the ladder to the hay mow where I'll fork down breakfast and dinner.  Dry hay and no pond means filling up the hanging water buckets.  I can't use big tanks or the chickens and ducks will get in them and soil the water.  I don't even want to think about the lambs I've lost in water tanks...I'll still let the flock out to graze, but as the land is covered up with drifts our lives will center around the barn.  We have to get the barn cleaned out.  When the black gold is spread over the land it will seep into the soil and make the spring grass thick and green.  I inquired about buying fertilizer but was astounded by the price.  No need here,  with two feet of fertilizer provided by my four footed friends.

The Feed Mill

I journey through the Brookfield State Forest to the Louis Gale Feed Mill in Waterville at least twice a month.  I get a much better deal on egg layer and cracked corn if I buy it in 100 pound sacks, almost half the price of the local feed stores.  I don't feed a lot of grain, as I truly believe wild forage and good hay is the best for sheep and goats.  I tell people who ask to think of grain as chocolate candy bars.   The goats are very clever.  If they come back in the barn before the big fat sheep they will get a treat of cracked corn.  I put it on top of the minerals to make sure they get their vitamins.  If I put down a pan of corn I just might catch that limper I've been after, or grab a goat for shearing.  Every shepherd has her own way of managing her flock.  Some have more resources than others.  We do what we can to get the job done.

Owls

A colleague gave me a stack of old wallpaper sample books.  I'm always looking for ways to use these wonderful gifted materials in my art classes.  They are free and challenge me to come with ideas to put them to good use.    We have a large wall on the landing in the middle of my wing which was filled with my wild elephant mural for many months.  It was time to let the elephants go home to their respective artists and come up with another big project.  I decided to have the students make snowy owls out of torn pieces of wallpaper.  They did such a fantastic job.  The challenge then turned to how to display the crafty owls?  We decided to build a large tree out of brown craft paper.  The result was perfect.  The owls have branches to roost on and we filled up our space magnificently.  My art aide, Fawn, had a great idea.  She suggested we go to the cemetery across the street and do some grave stone rubbings.  We took some older students over there and did some exploring.  To our delight we found the original colonial settlers of the land our school was built on.  Our art project turned into a foray into local history.  The rubbings added a Halloween element to our wall.  We've had many positive comments from staff.

The Wild Mohairians

Time to get the hair off the Wild Mohairians.  Mohair grows faster than sheep wool and is harvested twice a year, in spring and fall.   It's not as easy as you think.  I have a shearing stand - rusting in a pile in the back of the barn.  Most farms have the pile in the back of the barn they are going to get to when everything else is done.  That opportunity rarely arises.  I always had to have another body standing next to the stand to keep the animal from jumping off, even with the head secured by the stand.  Somewhere along the way I started clipping my goats with someone sitting on a stool, holding the horns.  I use my sewing scissors - bad girl - to clip the luxurious mohair off the goats.  With the cold weather coming in, and goats being desert animals, I leave an inch of hair on them to keep them warm.  I trim hooves and worm the goaties when I clip them.   I love mohair. It adds a lovely slip to roving and is much stronger than wool.  Socks knitted with

 mohair in the yarn won't wear out at the heels.  Commercial sock companies add nylon to their socks for that purpose but I don't have to as I have mohair.  Goats are fun to raise.   They have lots of personality, unlike the sheep who are largely calm, pastoral creatures.  My goats know how to open the door to the Milk Room and raid the feed sacks.  They know how to body block me and make me spill a bucket or scoop of  rabbit food on my way to the hanging cages.  Goat horns can stab you in places you'd never imagine, not out of maliciousness, just their up-close nature.   They are fantastic mothers for the most part, although I have had a couple of weirdos, including my Monkey, who would always favor one twin over another.  Her mother, Celeste, did the same thing.  A year ago last May I had 11 buck kids and only 2 does.   I kept the bucks and wethered them (a simple band around the sack at two days old does the job painlessly) and now they are giving me some lovely mohair.  With all the preparations for Rhinebeck goat clipping was pushed to the back burner and now it's cold.  Clipping them with scissors allows me to keep an inch on them for warmth.  My barn keeps them dry and out of the wind.  I have a couple of dozen more goats to go, and spouse can't sit still on a stool for more than one goat at a time, so I am in a bit of a bind.  I heard a rumor that Hannah and Luke might come to help me next weekend.  I heard the same rumor about the Parkinsons.  Wouldn't that be nice?   

Week After Rhinebeck

This time last week I was scrambling to get ready for NY Sheep and Wool, going full tilt between work, farm and product, wondering if I was going to pull it all together.  Well, it came together like a perfect storm of wonderfulness.  The ride through the Catskills was gorgeous with weather cooperating nicely.   Kim and Daryl met me at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds and got the Maggie's Farm machine going.  My booth was bursting with colorful balls of wool, yarn and goodies.  Bundaflicka on parade in all her glory.   We retreated to the Everready Diner for dinner, then tucked ourselves into Kim and Daryl's motel room.  Up early for showtime.  Mia met us Saturday am and the crowds came in force.  Is Rhinebeck ever not well attended?  All the hard work, investment of time and $$, paid off with the most heady experience I've had since the last time I did Rhinebeck.  I felt humbled and completely validated through the weekend.   Mia stayed with us Saturday night and through Sunday before she returned to New Jersey to prepare for her departure to Panama for a vacation with her pal, Lisa Palmer.  I was thrilled she was there to share in a most successful weekend.  Daryl minded the booth while Kim, Mia and I roamed the fairgrounds taking it all in.  I was definitely in my element, with every form of fiber art imaginable on display, complete with the people who raise the animals, like me!  As the mundane work week grinds on with every problem imaginable presenting itself between work and home, my mind wanders back to an incredibly wonderful wooly weekend.

Market Day

There won't be too many more market days.  I hesitated to go with so much to do for Sheep and Wool and sat in the driveway for five minutes before deciding to just go on and do it.  Matt was staying back to do some work on the farm.  I hate to miss the market when I know people come by to see if I'm there (thank you, friends).   I took a skeleton booth and no tent.  I needn't have worried as the Pettingills and Tennants, my wonderful booth neighbors, jumped up to help me unload.  I even got a curb parking space in front of my little patch of lawn.  The market was slow and steady.  I scored a dozen of the fabulous mugs I need for shaving soap from Susanne Farrington.  She likes to trade mugs for wool she can use for her beautiful, and warm, felted garments.  The morning was cloudy and cool, with market friends stopping by to say hello.  Robin Mizrahi's son, Nathan, is now raising English Angora rabbits.  She was delighted to see that I have a buck for him to use on his doe.  We decided to trade for her delicious granola.  Bartering is very popular around here and makes perfect sense when we raise or make products we all can use.  I got a lot of soap wrapped while sitting behind my table.  Home to the farm where I stopped at the upper field to check on the sheep.  They were lying so comfortably on the hillside, sunning themselves and chewing their cud.  The flock is so used to me chasing them back down to the barnyard they got up and started in that direction.  Tanner, Bertha and Reba heard me up top and came running up to greet me.  I couldn't go back on the road with them following me so I slowly drove the Honda van down the hill.  Matt showed me the flood lights he put up in the hay mow with another shining on the north side barnyard.  The mow won't be quite so spooky this winter.  I'll have to climb up there to put the barnyard light on, which is inconvenient, but here we are. New wiring in an old barn is tricky and expensive.  When the farm was in it's former glory, and the giant mow was filled with thousands of square bales, Sister Bernadette would climb up to the roof and replace the bulbs on the existing lights.  With the round bales I'm using now, and the gamboled roof, I can't get up that high.  We're talking 30 feet up.  Times have changed and life goes on.  On deck for today...working very hard to get ready for sheep and wool.  That "other Maggie" seems to be showing up a lot lately, the one who stays up late, stirring pots, spinning wool and running the machine.  She looks a little rough around the edges at work the next day, but the farm, it's own living entity, has to be sustained by whatever grist the mill requires, as Captain Jack would say. 

Lovely Fall Sunday Morning

I got out early with the doggies while the frost was crunching under my boots.   The morning was already giving way to a lovely sunny fall day.  The sheep and goats were out grazing already.  I am still in awe of the wild beauty of the pasture in the early morning.  It is the perfect time to give thanks in my Church of the Universal Shepherd.  We wandered back down to the barn to check on everything.   I love to do my morning chores in my long, plaid nightie and boots with a sweater that is quickly removed when I build up some heat.  The barn is my favorite place at this time of year.  The flies are gone in the barn, but, sadly, still active inside the house.  I have several tasks in the morning including carrying water and grain to the front barnyard for the dogs, chickens and ducks, and more to the driveway where the chickens and two remaining Swedish Blue ducks live.  So far they've eluded the fox.  I'm planning to bring them inside the barn when it starts snowing but they won't like it.  The rabbits get fed and watered morning and night, with snacks of fresh hay stuck in the doors for snacking.  My new sheep, Gippetto, Finute, Edie and Erin (they came with those lovely names) are still in quarantine in the pig run which stretches the full length of the barn and offers them views of the barnyard and hillside. They are very healthy and sturdy.  The ewes have thick coats of lovely black wool.    I saw Louie, Wensleydale ram number one, on the hillside, trotting after a ewe, checking her back side for the signal that tells him if the time is right for mating.  I still have not seen him successfully mount a ewe, but he is trying, and I'm not always outside to look.  Some sheep prefer privacy - the ewes not the rams.  I don't think they care.  I'll let Gippetto out as back-up in another month.  I'd like all my lambs to come on spring vacation in April.  Wouldn't that be lovely?    With my luck - not a chance.  I had a very productive day yesterday with a batch of Lemongrass soap that set up very nicely.  Soap is tricky and most people take it for granted with so many people doing it.  Truth is if you are not very careful you end up with a failed batch that has to be re-poured.  I got two more knitting totes partially completed last night.  Summer School put a real dent in my production and I'm struggling to get back into speed.  It took me two hours to cut out three totes last night.  When I was too tired to sew any longer I sat down to cut out soap wrapping fabric and spin some yarn from my latest roving.  I still have three more runs to get shipped home before the next wool show.  So much depends on how well I do.  Many repairs are waiting, like the sliding wooden doors on the East End which have been bashed to bits but sheep pushing through.   Fence must be repaired.  Once again time has run away with me and many jobs will have to wait for spring.  With spouse laid up for three months things had to be put off.   The big barn cleaning and manure spreading on the fields will cost me a fortune.  Why do I do it?  This life is amazingly wild and wonderful, with never a dull moment.  With all the anguish and heartache, I wouldn't trade it for the world.  It challenges me and keeps me outside in the fresh air.  The farm keeps me healthy, mentally stable, and young.  I love the smell of wool and manure in the morning.  Without my sheep I would be as fat as a cow, sitting on the sofa knitting sweaters and reading books all the time, sorting out my antidepressant, blood pressure and rheumatism pills.  No thanks!

Stunning

I can't walk out my barn door without gasping in delight at the burst of colors on the piney ridge running along the edge of my land.  This is the spectacular week of peak foliage here in the middle of New York State.  The weather has been cooperative and provided us with sunshine and mild temps to be outside and enjoy the show.  The flock is still enjoying a hillside covered with lush, green grass.  This time two years ago I had been feeding hay for a month already.  Local farmers are getting third and fourth cuts of hay.  I'm happy for them and all the animals that will have full bellies through this winter.

New Blood

I've been talking to Dr. Ann Merriwether of Nyala Farm in Vestal about a Wensleydale ram for a year or so now.  I finally took Louie home with me.  He is absolutely adorable and a real sweetie.  My plan is to have fewer sheep with heavier fleeces.  I adore my Bluefaced Leicesters and crosses but some of the fleeces are very light.  I've been noticing that Bluefaced Leicester breeders often have another breed of sheep that produce a heftier fleece.  I tried a Border Leicester ram, Zack, for a year or two and have two lovely ewes from him, Margot and Margareta.  The Border Leicester wool is a tad coarse, but the fleeces are huge.  Louie was living with his buddy, Spike Lee, a purebred Nubian buck, for a month.  They kept each other fantastic company while I was feeding them well and preparing them for the task ahead.  Spike Lee is going to pair up with Fancy and Matilda soon to give me Nubian babies and goat milk in the spring.  When I put Louie in with the flock he went right to work, doing his best to mount the big girls from behind.  Louie is on the small side but his will is mighty.  I don't see a lot of breeding going on - some sheep like privacy - but I see that his nose is always in the right place.  We'll see how it goes.  In the meantime Louie is enjoying the lush green grass that still covers the hillside.

My Carder

I spoke to my personal carder, John Erlinger, from Frankenmuth Woolen Mill in Frankenmuth, Michigan, today.  John is shipping four of my seven runs to me so I can take the luscious blends to shows with me.  The rest will come soon.  I'm anxious to see what John has done with my fibers.   It was at least a dozen years ago that I was at my booth in Rhinebeck when I dashed out with a raw fleece to drop off to a processor.   The line at Zeilinger's Mill, coincidentally also in Frankenmuth, was a mile long.  There was not a single person in line at Frankenmuth's trailer.  I had to get back to my booth inside so I gave the wool to them.  I've been patronizing Frankenmuth ever since.  I'm very happy with John's work.  I harvest, wash, dye, wash again, and dry the different colors according to the look and feel I'm trying to achieve.   He knows just how to feed the various colors into the carding machine for a lovely variegated blend.  When the bags are heavy or light, John figures out how to distribute them evenly through the runs.   The turn around time is better than any other mill I'm aware of.  Sadly, the owners of Frankenmuth Woolen Mill have decided not to go to wool festivals anymore.   They have so much business with mattress pads and comforters they don't see travelling to shows as cost effective.   I don't get to visit with John in person and we do all our business over the phone.   He ships my wool back to me postage free.  It's always an exciting day when those giant boxes are dropped off at the farm and I can play with my newly blended fibers.  I spin them into yarns that are so much more luxurious and beautiful than commercial yarns.  An added bonus is knowing the yarns come from animals who live out their lives in comfort and are never subjected to the terror of auctions.  . 

Subtle Changes

The trees are slowly changing color.  It seems earlier this year.  It has not been dry for long periods of time.  The grass is still lush and green with clumps of clover and soft dandelion leaves.  The sheep are so fat some of them have a hard time pulling themselves up the hill.  Even the withered old ladies have a little meat on their bones.   The cold weather is not far away.  The barnyard thermometer registered 38F. two mornings ago.  I'm still doing chores in shorts and tee shirts.  What bliss!  I'm not looking forward to dragging hoses around.  Green grass and the pond provides the flock with all the water they need. When they are eating hay in the winter they are thirsty all the time.   I've been busy making soap.  Last night it was Cinnamon Leaf.  The night before I made Clove soap.  The flies fled the kitchen when I was cutting up the clove bars.  Didn't realize clove was a bug repellent.  Nice surprise.  I have several totes on the machine.  A hundred plus pounds of lovely colorful wool blends are waiting for me at the carding mill.  It's a very busy time of year.  I don't feel like I caught up from summer school.  No vacation this year as spouse used up all his sick/vacation time recovering from the two foot surgeries and subsequent staph infection.  The four days away in Maine last year will have to suffice.   The picc line was removed and IV meds were discontinued on Monday.  The surgeon says he's fine and all the numbers look good.  He's back to his exciting job, meeting with our congressional representative to discuss energy issues, and travelling around the state teaching technical certification courses.  I rush home to the farm every day and hike up to the top of the hill to let the dogs drink from the pond.  Soon it will be covered with drifted snow.   The forecast says early snow and a long, cold winter.   

Sheep in the Mist

I forgot to lock the gate and the sheep were out grazing early this morning.  Apples are starting to ripen on the trees and the few that fall down on their own are enough to keep the sheep waiting, hopefully, underneath.   I've started knocking the apples down with a big stick, which is comical to watch as my aim is not that good.  I get more results when I stand directly under the branches and shake them.  Large apple orchards have machines that shake the trees to make the apples fall down.  When I get conked on the head I wish I had a machine like that.  One would think the apples would be shaken off in the wind, but that's not always the case.  They will rot or be bug eaten if left on the branches.  I often think how lovely it would be to rehabilitate my orchard.  I don't have the manpower or the time to give it what it needs.  A team of Amish farmers would love this orchard and bring it back to it's former splendor.  They may get it someday, and that would make me very happy.  I had to leave for work and, just as I was rushing out the door, I saw them emerging from the mist, headed down the hill, but there was not a minute to spare to collect them all and lock the gate.  I know their habits and they should have gone back in the barn to sleep on the cool poo-pack, avoiding the hot sun.  Let's hope that's the case.   I would love to install barn and field cams so I could take peeks at the goings-on while I'm at school.   I'm thinking about letting my new Wensleydale ram, Louie, out with the flock.   He's very small, even at a year old, and I'm worried the big FAT ewes and wethers will knock him around, a natural thing to do with a new member of the flock.   His buddy, my new Nubian buck, Spike Lee, has to stay in his separate area so he doesn't breed the angora does.  I will put the Nubian does in with him for breeding.  He is also very small at six months old.  The Nubian does are gigantic - big strong girls.  I hope they are very fond of him and accommodating as well.  They will have to be in order for him to service them.   I'm hoping for goat milk this winter and the girls can't produce it without being bred.  That's how it works. 

Colorful Weekend

The 20th Annual Colorscape Chenango Fine Arts Festival was a fantastic success.  We dodged a horrific weather system which dumped rain on surrounding areas but not on the Norwich town square.  Traffic through my booth was steady all weekend.  Colorscape has many incredibly talented artists participating and I'm honored to be in their company. I received many compliments and much validation in the form of repeat visitors.  One amusing comment..."I love all this hippie stuff!"  I don't really think of my products as hippie stuff, more like farmy stuff.  Okay with me.  One woman arrived in a tizzy, having made three circles around the festival before finally inquiring at the information booth about the location of my booth.  Another woman was wheeled in with three friends in attendance.  She was covered with crocheted blankets and shawls, and looked very ill, as in terminally so.  A friend had parked her facing the bag rack, in front of a tote featuring a beach scene.  I saw her eyes melt into the picture and take on a far away look.  She said, "I want that," and pointed at the bag.  At once two of the friends reached for their wallets.  I realized they may not ever have a chance to give their friend a gift again.   The son of a colleague visited me to buy his mother a Christmas present and asked me to help him pick it out.  Many colleagues from school and our sister campus, along with former students stopped by.  People I do business with in Norwich wandered through.   A woman told me that she goes to many wool festivals and wades through the commercial yarn but, "You are the real deal."  I was reminded how wonderfully unique it is to raise my own materials, from lamb to loom.  I've never won any of the booth design awards, or prizes for my work.  I do too many different things, and my presentation is very basic.  That's okay, I'm happy with what I do.  The festival patrons loved watching me spin and  often baby strollers were parked in front of my wheel, put there purposely to mesmerize the little ones so parents could shop.  I packed up Sunday night, contented and with renewed purpose. 

Rainy Sunday

Warm and drizzly this morning on the farm.  The flies are about to pick me up and carry me away.  Need to make more patchouli creme, the best natural defense I have against them.  Forgot to buy fly strips in TS yesterday.  I hate the things and they fill up so fast anyway.  Market day was delightful.  I was able to visit with my friends Susanne Farrington and Candace Cain.  Several people stopped to say they were glad I was there.  One woman came to find colored fiber for making beads.  She said the Mill Artisans store in Sherburne has fiber but some of it did not felt well.  I assured her my Bluefaced Leicester/Rambouillet/Merino fibers would felt very well.  She was thrilled with the colors.  I will not be dyeing fiber on a large scale until my angora goats are clipped in a month or so.  They have three inches on them now but four would be better.  I have to get Big Jim Baldwin over here to shear a dozen or so goats.  I like to do it myself but he makes short work of it which is better for the goats.  I have to get them shorn early enough for them to grow back a decent coat before it gets cold.  The sheep were shorn late, in June, so they are fine for winter.  They already have nice fleeces coming in.  Mohair grows almost twice as fast as wool.  I'll have a lovely yearling clip this year.  On deck for today after morning chores...de-mold the Anise soap I made two days ago and set it out to cure.  I'm space challenged for soap curing and will have to be creative.  I have several totes cut out. They were very well received at the market yesterday, but no takers.  That's fine!  I only have ten and need them for fall shows.   I brought home three varieties of tomatoes grown in Hamilton by Joyce Nevison of Hilltop Farm.  I made a huge bowl of salsa last night and we ate it with corn chips for dinner.  One more day of freedom - to work on the farm - before school starts.  Robin stopped by to visit me at the market yesterday.  We will be reunited in the classroom after two years apart.  I adore her.  She is the consummate professional, great with the students, an organizational wizard, tough in the line of fire, and a good friend to me.   Robin knows all my quirks and eccentricities and likes me anyway.  What more could I ask for?

Home on the Farm

Yesterday's lovely cool weather is giving way to warmth and humidity this weekend.  Wish I had more wool to set out and dry but I have so much at the carding mill it will cost me a fortune to get it out of hock.  That's okay, I need it.  Kimmie Cornerstone will have a coronary when she sees it all.  She loves to spin my Mother Fiber.  Celebrating my almost-last-day-of-vacation by staying home on the farm the whole dang day.  What a joy.  I have a large batch of patchouli soap to cut up and put out to cure, and lots of balls of unscented soap to roll.  I have the ingredients to make one more batch and I think that will be almond.  Oh, the joy of it.  Inhaling patchouli and almond in the same day?   There is a pile of totes to sew calling to me by the sewing machine.  Yesterday my plans to get some work done were interrupted by a long overdue trip to the cardiologist in Cooperstown.  Nice lady but she takes so much time with her patients I waited two hours for my turn.  Next time I see her I have the first appointment of her day.  Smart move.  I shudder to think that the best remedy for my particular issue might be giving up COFFEE!  What a cruel twist of fate on one hand, but, on the other hand, how lucky I am that I might benefit from something I can do for myself without even the purchase of a prescription?  More tests to follow....yuck, yuck, yuck.  I'm the healthiest person I know and I want it to stay that way.  As I write I lift up my eyes to see the sheep grazing on the hillside, the ultimate bucolic setting.  Other than a couple of old girls with bad knees everybody looks good.  With Matt still pumping antibiotics into himself  through a pic line for the staph infection he is not much help wrangling sheep and goats with me.  Just changing the sterile dressing took us a half hour last night.  He wraps an ace bandage around that area of his arm to protect the dangling orifice while at work.  Two more weeks of daily injections.  Oh, right, I have to wait for a delivery of meds for him today.  Thank you, teacher bennies.  

Another Day in Paradise

Monday, Lukie's Birthday, it was real hot with a clear blue sky.  Today is cloudy and cool.  No rain all week.  The clouds parted yesterday afternoon and gave us some blue sky followed by a spectacular "Key West" sunset, with dark streaks over intense pastels.  Gorgeous.  I stepped out of my barn and gasped.  I'm missing Luke and mourning for the little girl Hannah used to be when she liked long lazy summers on the farm, but they are growing up and moving on to new adventures.  Both are starting school today.  Luke will be reconnecting with his buddies.  He loves, loves, loves clothes and will surely have on a snappy outfit.  Hannah will be sporting the vintage red Coach messenger bag I found for her online.  I gave it to her for back-to-school and she loved it instantly - it matches her hair!  On the Family News front - Mia is still acting as Primary Care professional at Care Station, treating the masses who use that medical venue for every ailment under the sun.  She is learning TONS of good information she will take to whatever she decides to do next.  Father Aaron is loving active duty Army life at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma.  He is preaching weekly to an Episcopal congregation made largely up of officers from West Point and foreign soldiers attending a Captain's Artillery Training School.  With a staff of three to help with various programs he has going Father A. is very busy.  Number 1 son, Eric, is happy with the way his programs went at BSA Camp Hinds in Maine.  Annie taught pistol safety courses on the various ranges built by the Army Corps of Engineers Eric brought in to help renovate the camp.  Hannah was on the counselor staff and loved helping the little boys get over their homesickness and get into camp activities.  Maggie is busy working with wool and getting ready for the fall.  I took a walk up top yesterday and gosh, I wish my camera had not decided to die.  The sheep lined up so beautifully a couple of times, asking to be photographed against the breathtaking views.  If only I had not stored the point and shoot in the Cradle of Civilization so often.  The lens is fused and won't be budged.  Second time it's happened.  Will have to break down and get that smart phone to take pictures and keep in touch.  Maybe not so much to keep in touch, although it's good to have some way to call help if I step in a foot deep ground hog hole.  The dogs usually tell me where the holes are as they gather around them and stick their noses in.  Nobody is ever home as the White Boys have taken care of the critters long before.  I follow the sheep trails over the fields.  They know where the holes are and have laid down lovely meandering paths over the hillside....however, they lose all sense while gorging on the lovely, short, sweet grass I was hoping to get a second cut with.   The barn is FULL of hay, so I don't mind.  Better they go into winter nice and fat.  It will be a long wait for spring once the killing frost comes.  The forecast says another long, cold winter.  I don't have a stick of firewood, but I have HAY!  The sheep come first, so that's okay.

Here and Gone

Annie and Hannah came to collect young Luke and take him home.  They arrived in time to celebrate his birthday with home made apple pie.  It had been so long since I made an apple pie I had to look up a pie crust recipe online.  It was okay but tasted more like a cookie than a pie crust.  I used Granny Smith and Golden Delicious apples.  Took a long time to peel but the sheep were very appreciative of the trimmings.  I wish our little party could have been better attended and more festive.  It was quiet and intimate.  We sat outside and watched Luke build the last fire of the summer.  Annie just returned from a big Boy Scout conference in Anaheim, California, the day before she drove to the farm and was rather jet lagged.  Hannah finished her job as camp counselor at Eric's Pine Tree Council BSA camp, Camp Hinds just a few days ago.  We all remarked that summer went way too fast.  I served the big smoked ham and  yellow rice dinner and we sacked out on the sofa to watch the latest Dr. Who which we had recorded for Hannah.  Luke and I snuggled one last night.  I was keenly aware of the fact that snuggling with Luke is less and less enthusiastic with each passing year and now is always initiated by me.  He is on the cusp of manhood and very into acting very "manly."  It may be a few years before he will hug with certainty again without inhibition.  We were all up early for bacon and Swedish pancakes.  The 1980 VW campmobile was packed, motorcycle loaded, and off they went - Annie with a quart of very strong French Roast on board.  It was not too long before the phone rang and I heard the bad news - the VW had lost it's transmission not a mile down the road.  Hannah and Luke hiked back while Annie called the tow truck and rented a one-way-trip car out of Utica.  The camper was towed back to the farm and parked by my pole barn.  I drove them to Utica and said good-bye again.  Luckily I was able to ship a big box of lovely orange BFL to Frankenmuth while I was near Staples.  The second parting was not as painful.  I knew they had to get home and do a day of back-to-school shopping before starting back tomorrow, Thursday.  It's lonely without my side-kick around.  I'm thrilled I had him as long as I did.  Luke kept Matt company during his convalescence, and they were able to make a day trip to Manhattan.  I had him for a week post Summer School.  I had Hannah here for less than 24 hours but at least I was able to see how she blossomed working at the camp.  I'm keeping busy with a trip to the Louis Gale Feed Mill, chores, and cutting out Bundaflicka Knitting Totes.  I'm so far behind with product for shows.  The only thing I will have plenty of is WOOL, and beautiful it will be - once I get it back from the mill.

Trip to Bountiful

We wanted to do something special today as it is Lukie's Birthday Eve and his mother is coming to get him tomorrow night.   Tried to hook up with Shepherd Mary but couldn't make it.  We packed up and drove over to the Button Falls waterfall, the scene of many happy times with just about everybody in my small circle of friends and family.  We hiked down to the floor of the little canyon and quickly noticed the water was high in the creek leading from the falls.  Our excitement built as we waded up the stone floor of the stream and heard the pounding of the water coming closer.  Luke swam in the pool while I marveled at the force of nature that carved out this oasis.  Fortunately he didn't push me too hard to come in the water.  It's not that hot today and I was not anxious to submerge in the icy water.  I watched and took pictures and tried to freeze this moment in time.  We sat and talked a while then made our way back down the rushing stream bed to the trail up the steep hillside.  When we reached the top and the edge of the forest canopy opened up to the warm sun it was quite welcoming.  I asked Luke what he wanted for his Birthday Eve dinner and he thought carefully about it.  Finally he said, "My own bowl of bacon."  I had served the bacon in a bowl the other night and he ate the whole thing.  I said fine, no problem!  Once home I teased up the Shetland I had on the drying rack and turned on the news.  Luke headed for a hot bath tub.  There are always a million things for me to do at home, from toting water to animals, throwing corn out for chickens and ducks, filling cat food bowls, taking dogs out to pee, it goes on and on.  For a few minutes I had complete peace and solitude with my grandson.  Priceless. 

Dear Diary...

It's been too long since I've written.  The days are flying by.  Leaves are changing on the piney ridge getting ready for the explosion of color around my birthday.  The weather is off and on lately.  Luke and I have been staying pretty close to home this last week of freedom from summer school.  I still get up early as I'm used to bombing out of here at seven.  Loving the freedom to do chores in my jammies, sew, spin, play with wool and watch the news.  I've had the dye pots bubbling again, working on a chartreuse mohair/wool run that I'm trying to duplicate from a couple of years ago.  Next to impossible but Kim keeps nagging me about it.  So many variables like the different animals the fiber comes from, amounts of dye I used, what colors, the mordant, etc.  I'll see what I can do.  The other run is some old black wool fleeces I found and am overdyeing them dark purple.  Love to see the porous tips take on the color and any silvery strands become purple.  The black just gets blacker.  I'm blending the black/purple wool with Shetland that comes from Freeville via Carol Schwartzott, my talented designer friend.  She brought several fleeces with her to the Bouckville Festival, with a long staple and nicely picked.  I have one bubbling on

the stove now.  I could hardly fit the whole fleece in my giant pot.  Annie is coming to pick up Lukie on Monday.  Woe is me.  I sure love having him around but he is ready to go home.  School is starting in Maine on the 28th.  I'm lucky I got to keep him as long as I did. What a sturdy, wonderful, talented boy.   I was so sorry the farmer's market was rained out this morning.  He loves the market.  We drove over to Hamilton but I just didn't have it in me to haul all my stuff out in the rain.  Soap and wool don't do well in the drizzle and dampness.  I was eager to put out my latest tote, a paisley bag with a luscious linen lining from my friend Sally Newhart who has the upscale slipcover business in New Orleans.  Not to worry, it will be scooped up somewhere along the line this fall.  Lukie got a hair trimming from some lovely ladies in Hamilton and visited the Broad Street Gallery with me.  I love that place.  I handed in my paperwork and will start teaching knitting for beginners there this fall.  I will use the same curriculum map as I did years ago with kindergarten students - cast on, knit, purl, increase, decrease, cast off, using the German or Continental Method.  That way there is no right or left handedness to worry about.  Kathy Herold is very enthusiastic about introducing more fiber art to the gallery program and wants me to spin on my wheel when I'm doing my gallery work shift once a month.  Sounds like fun to me.

Full Up

Eighty-six round bales in the barn, loaded in by Julia and myself as her husband, Andrew, dropped them off one by one at the hay mow door with a skid steer.  It took three trips by Julia's son, Matt, to bring the bales over from the field on the other side of Edmeston.  Somehow Julia got Clinton Tractor to drop off a skid steer to load the bales up in my barn.  Maybe something to do with the brand new $80,000 tractor she bought from them breaking down had something to do with it.  Nevertheless, around midnight Julia and Andrew showed up to get the bales that lined my driveway and barnyard under cover.  Rain was forecast for early morning and surely enough, it came.  The moon was high and provided us with the light we needed to do the work.  It's a good thing as the barnyard light had been blasted off the door of the hay mow a few years back by lightning.  Lukie lost my only working head light and I had not thought of hanging my sheep show booth lights in the mow while waiting for Julia to come back.  She put her phone on a post to provide us with enough light to get three rows going.  When it went out we did it by feeling our way in the dark.  Some of the bales were so heavy that Julia and I, pushing and heaving could not get them going.  Andrew would get out of the skid steer to help us get some momentum.  As exhausted as we were, going on 1 PM, we laughed and chatted about this and that and got to know each other better.  Julie has a dream, like I do, of making a struggling farm succeed.  She is very motivated to buy more cows, sell more milk, make hay for people, and make a future for her family.  Andrew is very supportive of her and their love for each other showed through the night.  They worked far harder for me than their bill showed.  At 1:30 they walked hand and hand down my lane to their truck to go home and get some rest before Andrew set out to work in the morning.  Julia would be up early to start milking.  I had to get ready for bed and last looked at the clock at 2 am.  I slept the happy sleep of a shepherd knowing I had a barn full of hay for hungry animals through the winter.  I  have good people behind me who are eager to help me when I need them.  I would be up at 6 to be on the road at 7 for work.  It was a bit of a hairy day as I'm used to six or seven hours but I was still high on hay fumes.  I almost paused to wonder if it was all a dream.  When I got home from work Matt and Luke were back from their two day trip to Manhattan to tour with Sean and stay with Mia in New Jersey.  Luke and I played our "round bale games" and ran up and down the rows on top of the bales with the dogs.  It was wonderful to see him playing like a farm boy, jumping and leaping across the bales, and climbing up on the balcony above the bales.  I cooked pork chops, white rice and corn for him tonight and he loved it.  Julia stopped by to pick up her money and looked her typical million bucks.  The farm life works for her, too.  Hay is life and the farm is forever.

Painting

The little ones love to paint.  It's magical to them.  When they ask if they can paint and I say yes, it's a big deal.  I don't think they get much opportunity to paint in their district schools.  They are so thrilled when I put pots of paint with brushes in front of them.  We painted clowns today for the circus theme our summer school is displaying this week.  Only four more days of school.  I'll let them paint every afternoon if they want to, after their academic work is done, and playground, and gym, and lunch, and therapies, and story time.  I'll miss the little ones.  I try to imagine their futures.  It's not an easy thing to imagine and, when I factor in their handicaps, not necessarily a promising one...but they have beautiful spirits.  I hope their spirits will see them through the hard times.  I hope I've bolstered their spirits a little in the few weeks I've had them all to myself.

Hay is Life

It's hot and breezy, perfect hay weather.  Farmers all over this area are baling, trying to take advantage of a season which has been rainy punctuated by short, hot windows of opportunity.  Julia made good on her promise to bring me more round bales.  I wasn't sure when it would be and took my time getting home.  I made stops to get gas, to pick up dog/cat food, to get my mail, etc.  Sure enough when I finally got inside and calmed my dogs down I heard the phone ringing.  I had forgotten my cell at home and there was a message on it.  Both were Julia trying to get in touch with me to tell me her son, Matt, was on the way with a load of bales!  What a thrill!  She offered me two loads and I said YES - who wouldn't?  I have room, God Bless My Giant Barn!  Matt came and unloaded the bales.  We chatted about his upcoming induction into the Marine Corps and off he went to pick up more bales in Edmeston, a half hour from here at least.   I called Julia to thank her and - nothing goes this well in farming - bad news.  She told me her brand new tractor had broken and would only go backwards!    Julia put a call into Clinton Tractor to come out and fix it right away.   Who knows how that will go?  With a forecast of 90% chance of rain tomorrow, and my bales lying out exposed (Matt was also going to load them into the barn) the nail biting begins.  There is a lot of nail biting in farming.  If everything goes well, and Clinton Tractor fixes Julia's machine, and Matt comes back with the next load, then gets the tractor to put it in the barn, I will have half again as much hay as I had last year.  I almost made it through the long, cold spring.  Hustling for local hay in April is not fun.   Matt Redmond and Luke are touring Manhattan right now and can't help roll the bales in the barn.  Let's see what the night brings.  In the meantime I'm going to fork loose hay out of the way of the new bales, and dream about the lambs I'll have in the spring, and all the beautiful wool I'll have to play with. 

Market Puppy

My booth neighbor, Jojo, brought her 8 week old Papillon/Teacup Chihuahua mix puppy to the market with her on Saturday. What a cutie.  Luke and Colleen, my other booth neighbor's daughter, were enthralled.  The puppies paws hardly touched the ground the whole morning.  Vendors are not allowed to bring dogs to the market but this dog is hardly a dog at all.  He's hardly even a puppy, he's so small.  The little guy was being delivered to his new owner.  Lucky for Luke and Colleen the man didn't arrive until late in the market day.