Sew Nice

I've had this fabric for years and am finally making some totes with it.  I know why...because I have the perfect buttons for it, thanks to Kim and her tools, along with some gorgeous sheep horns courtesy of our friends Mother Katherine of Zoar Farm and my long suffering shearer, Big Jim Baldwin.

Buttons

The button makes or breaks a tote in my opinion.  Kimmie Cornerstone makes these gorgeous, artsy buttons by breaking up sheep and goat horns by smashing them with hammers or cutting them with a band saw.  She sands the edges then drills holes.  The natural intrinsic beauty of the horn speaks for itself.  I love fashioning my own buttons with Femo or Sculpey clay, but these horn buttons are the cat's meow.  I was blown away when Kim brought me a bag of extra large horn buttons for my Bundaflicka totes.  I've already sewn four of them on new totes.  

Sunday Paper

I still have the paper I read while speeding along at 60 mph on Maine country roads.  It was a bit tricky turning the pages but I managed.  I loved riding in the sidecar of the Ural.  Harleys sped past us and waved.  I thought we had a much more classy bike.  Wish I could travel to school in such a vehicle - or be driven there, even better....in good weather, that is.

Pine Tree Beach

I can't imagine living a half hour away from such a lovely beach, but that is what my family enjoys in southern Maine.  The sand at Pine Tree Beach is dark brown and reminded me of the black sand beaches in Hawaii.  The water is calm as it is protected by the cove - perfect for young kids and old folks whose days of braving the rough New Jersey beaches are over.

Camp Hinds Summer Tradition

At the end of the camping season the counselors at Camp Hinds in Raymond, Maine, part of the Pine Tree BSA Council, have a tradition we were lucky to observe.  I was happy to see about a half dozen female teen counselors in the group.  They bore the brunt of it being pushed back in every time a girl climbed out.  An hour later we all attended the end of summer dinner where the women looked none the worse for wear.  Hannah will join the summer counselor staff next year.  I hope she is the primarily the shover not the shovee.

Stone Craft

The Parkinson kids, Lindsay and Jarred, surprised me with a lovely stone wall around my little fire pit in the barnyard.  My farm is loaded with lovely flat slate rocks, extracted from the soil when the farm was being created two hundred years ago.  The kids even made air ducts to keep the fire going.  I love it.

Pine Point Beach

Whale Tales

Booth Bay Harbor is a lovely, quaint little touristy village a couple of hours north of Portland.  We ate lunch in a cute cafe overlooking the harbor before boarding Cap'n Fish's Whale Watching boat.  Twenty miles out and we spotted three small minke whales and a pod of dolphins riding in our wake.  The captain apologised and told us we had to turn back, time was up.  Just then a Fin whale appeared to the delight and relief of all aboard.  This magnificent mammal is the second largest whale.  All we saw was the sleek, long back and the characteristic dorsal fin that resembles a hook, diving, coming up, diving again.  I managed to get one shot with my point and shoot. Memories last forever.

Maine Vacation

Short but wonderful.   We drove to Gorham, Maine, where Eric, Annie, Hannah and Luke live.  The next morning we jumped in the Russian Ural motorcycle and took off for Booth Bay Harbor and whale watching.  Annie made reservations for us with Capn' Fishes' Whale Watching outfit.  The weather could not have been more perfect - sunny and warm, but cool enough on the water to make me glad I brought my jacket.  Lobster pots everywhere, even miles out to sea. 

Kitty Stew Recipe or Severe Seperation Anxiety

Kimmie Cornerstone will be mixing the kitty stew for a couple of days while I'm away on a very short, quick vacation.  Gone are the days when I go on a real vacation.  The last one was 14 years ago but that was B.S.  Before Sheep.  Eric and Annie invited us to visit them in Maine and go whale watching.  Yes, "whale" was all it took.  We'll be motoring from Portland to Booth Bay in Eric's Ural motorcycle. I saw "in" because I won't be "on" the bike.  I'll be riding in the side car, nice and cozy, with a blanket and my knitting.  Won't that be just duckie.  In the meantime, here is my Kitty Stew Recipe for Kimmie Cornerstone and Crew.

 Half fill three little red buckets half full of dry dog kibble.
Fill the rest up with warm water.
Feed/water the chickens and collect their eggs.
Bring buckets and eggs to the big table inside the barn.
Divide eggs among the three buckets, throw shells on the floor for chickens and ducks to eat.
Open and dump a can of Friskies in each bucket.  Roll up sleeves and mix up eggs, kibble and cat food, squeezing it between your fingers to really mix it up.  If too squeamish use a red scoop.
Pour half of one bucket in the big metal dish for the cats.   Divide half of another bucket among Thor, Finn and Knut's dishes.  As you carry out the dog dinners one at a time, add a can of cat food to each one.  Watch out for hungry attack kitties while you do this.
Climb ladder to hay mow with half to 2/3 bucket of stew.  Pour into dishes at top of ladder.  Helps to have someone hand the bucket up to you.
Pour contents of another bucket into dish on top of the armoire in the barn and in the dish on the front porch.
Dry food is for snacking in between time, but you have to guard it from the marauding attach chickens.
Fill the milk room kitties' dishes with dry food and put some on the milk room steps, but throw corn out for the ducks and chickens on the driveway or they will steal the cat food on the steps.  Same for mixing the kitty stew.  Give the goats their corn in the cow stanchion bowls or they will jump on the table while you are mixing the kitty stew.  Sprinkle some on the floor for the chickens, too.
Don't forget the dog bowls in the kitchen and the water/food bowl in the former Kitty City.  The mik room is now Kitty City.
The sheep are easy this time of year.  They have a lot of grass to eat.  Fill their water buckets inside the barn with the green hose.   Thor's bucket is inside the barn.  Finn and Knut have water buckets by their igloos.
OH, and two cats, Lizzie and Portia (all white) get a can of Friskies in the bathroom every morning.  Portia was out for a few days and came back not feeling well.  I'm trying to get her back on her paws.



Yes, this is complicated, but you can do it.  Call with any questions.  Thanks a million, Kim and Darryl!

Sublime

With so much to do before going to Maine for the weekend I was keeping the doggies waiting for their walk.  Every time I got up from my seat they would run for the door.  I finally gave in and I was not sorry.  The weather is fantastic - cool, sunny and breezy.  We walked up the hill diverting through the apple orchard.  Apples are already starting to drop from the boughs, giving the sheep and goats the snacks they desire.  I still harbor visions of a rejuvenated orchard, thinned out so the sun can get inside, with trees pruned in the fall.  In the meantime there is a shady wonderland inside.

Teal

I adore this color.  I'm dyeing a big part of this spring's white wool teal.  Not that it needs any other color blended with it but I can't help myself.  I'll have it variegated with purple, magenta and maybe canteloupe.  Not sure yet.  Won't this lovely fiber make beautiful yarn, or felted works of fiber art.

Swimming

I opened the door to find this happy scene.  I make sure the pans and lids are filled with clean water every day, although the barn roof run off from all this rain is helping.  The duckies are very appreciative.  We are down to seven ducks from nine and holding.  Nature takes a toll on the young and vulnerable but freedom to roam builds stronger, smarter animals.

Blue Skies

Looks like the weather has taken a turn for the better.  Might get some wool dried today.  Many bags of wet wool lying around with two giant dye pots still on the stove waiting to be rinsed.  Maybe Kim will get them out on the rack for me while I'm away for a long weekend.   Very much looking forward to seeing the kids again.  Weather permitting we are taking off in Eric's Ural motorcycle to Booth Bay Harbor for a whale watching excursion.  It was almost 20 years ago I was on the deck of a cruise ship playing shuffleboard when a giant whale tale came up out of the water and flipped water all over me.  What a thrill.  I spent some time cutting out bags last night.  I've had this fabric for a couple of years and oh, it is lovely.  Very easy for me to sit down and sew, forgetting about "other things" I should be doing, but sewing is much more fun and I love the results.  I'm blitzing through my white Bluefaced Leicester fleeces, and oh, are they wonderfully soft.  Like buttah....but very, very light.  How can great big sheep have such  a small amount of wool?  They are great sheep, healthy, need no grain, friendly, but I wish they grew more wool.  Long range plans include fewer sheep that carry more wool.  My chickens are giving fewer eggs, which I put into my "kitty stew" every night.  It's oatmeal with nanners and honey for me lately, and, yes, good strong coffee.

Great Weather for Ducks

This is October weather!  Forty at night, damp, rainy and cloudy.  I've been cranking up the wool pipeline the way I should have done a month ago, but with two days of rain I have a serious drying problem.  Lots of lovely soaking wet teal Bluefaced Leicester in bags.  Was hoping to get a package off to the carding mill before we leave for Maine.  Radar shows a clear sky coming, we'll see.  Good news - little ducky has a friend.  This baby is not as viable as the first egg buster.  He pecked a tiny hole but no more.  After a day of watching his little beak gasping for air I "helped" him bust out.  Good thing - the placenta that was keeping him alive had gone bad. He's slowly coming around with me teaching him how to drink water.  First little duck is scrambling around, climbing over him, pecking at him, etc., but I think that helps keep him stimulated.  One more egg to hatch.  We'll see.  Outside duckies are loving this rainy weather.  I find them bathing in containers I've left around, following Mama Duck everywhere, eating grass and bugs.  Was horrified to look outside when a heavy downpour was going on to see Mama had not taken the babies back in the hay mow.  She was flapping her wings and opening her beak to the rain while the babies shuddered and cowered.  I guess she was teaching them that rain is a good thing for ducks.  They are strong, hardy babies.  I'll be relieved when they are bigger and less vulnerable.  The Pekins are not as aggressively protective as the Swedish Blues.   This mama runs away with the babies when she sees me coming.  The Swedish Blue mama flys at my head and bites!  Good girl!  On deck for today - more wool dyeing and critter tending.  I'll drag the market tables inside to cut out some totes, then spread out some wet wool on them.  Not as good as sunshine and gentle breezes, but better than sitting in bags on the floor.

Contact!

Bertha has a new friend.  Little Duckie is very friendly and curious about all of us.  I sit down next to him when I write to keep him company.  It will be interesting to see how he adjusts to the outside once he is old enough.  I'm hoping another one of the rescued eggs hatches so he has a team mate.  

Everything's Just Duckie

I'm hoping another egg will hatch to keep my little friend company.  He is very frisky and perky when I sit next to his cage.  Another egg has a peep hole in it and I can see movement.  A duckling can take days to break out of his thick egg.  A hook on the beak is used as a tool to crack the wall little by little.  It's important not to interfere, although it is tempting...

Pink!

No wool drying outside today.  Woke up to pouring rain and I don't see the clouds parting.  Was hoping to get a package out to the carding mill this week.  I'm working on a big batch of black mohair blended with brightly colored wool.  Love the way mohair adds luster and slip to the roving. 

I dyed this Border Leicester wool with Dharma's Pink Orchid.  I can't see much difference between Jacquard Deep Magenta and this dye.  I'm very happy with the Dharma dyes out of California.  I have way too much fiber to use naturals dyes.  I would need truck loads of leaves, roots and berries.  I might use some of the poke weed berries once they come out, if the birds leave some for me.

History

I love stone walls.  If I was younger, and I often wish I had found this life many years ago, I would be repairing the fallen down walls on my farm.  I often think of the endless backbreaking work it took for human and horse to get these rocks out of the ground so they could graze their animals.  Surely all these wide open fields were covered with forest two hundred years ago.  Some of the walls were knocked down to put fence posts in for barbed wire.  Ouch!  Others just fell down over the years.  The hillside is mostly shale.  Little by little my sheep are improving the fields with their manure.  What a beautiful farm this must have been years ago, when it was being worked with teams of horses, and the founders were braving the harsh winters and trying to keep their animals alive without baled hay.  They were made of some kind of stuff.   Sadly, they lay in the cemetery across the road, which I do not own.  Their resting place is in the same shape as this wall.  We used to try to right the fallen stones and read the names.  Lydia, the founding mother whose spirit inhabits my barn, rests there, along with her husband, Elisha, and many of their children.  They buried many children there.  I like to think they approve of what I am trying to do here.  I sometimes hear of people buying farm land and letting it go back to it's natural state.  Trees and bushes are fine, but I wonder if they realize what hard work it took to make it grassy fields.  

Wool

I must have been a shepherd in a former life.  Wool excites me.  I love working with it.  I know I sound like a crusader but wool is a miracle fiber.  It is weather resistant, flame retardant (the US Army is taking advantage of this) and breathes......I can wear a wool sweater in the barn in the coldest winter temps and feel good.  Tried wearing an alpaca sweater once and tore it off me when it felt like I was cooking in an oven.  Don't get me wrong, alpaca, and angora, is great for blending with wool but Wool is the Mother of All Fibers.  Raising my own fibers is like a potter scraping the clay for her work off the banks of a stream instead of buying clay at the art supply house.  It's taking my craft to the most fundamental and satisfying level.