Perfect afternoon

A perfect afternoon yesterday gave way to a nasty morning today. It felt like a southwesterly wind was blowing, perfect for outside work. I had several dye pots going on the stove, I threw some silk scarves in the dye pot first, which left a lot of dye still to be absorbed. So I threw in some wool fleece, then a handful of handspun yarn that was on the table and not wet, still more dye, so I threw in some silk top. Many shades and fibers emerged that will make interesting roving for spinning or felting projects. But the fun part was enjoying the dye process. I never know what will come out of that dye pot, nothing is measured or repeated, even the same fleece from the same animal is different from shearing to shearing. Keeps life interesting.

Time

Where is all the time I used to have? I'm ready to chunk every gadget I have. I want my time back. All gadgets require upkeep, and they suck up all your time. It's part of the rat race. We have to work around the clock to buy gadgets that consume our time. What if we woke up one morning and they were all gone. I remember when I was young and gadgetless, I had plenty of time to dream about the gadgets I wanted. Now, even the grandkids have no time. It's time to do something about it.

Not a Zebra

This is Pennelope, the mini horses winter coat. You can see she was prepared for a cold winter, she was right, and she has not shedded all that hair just yet, and there is a reason, there will be more cold weather. Forget the ground hog, you can trust a horse that is raised outdoors. My Papa always forecasted the winter by looking at the coat of his horses. A horse that was used everyday for plowing or hauling. A horse that was well cared for, because she provided for the family. That groundhog has a hole to bury in, so how accurate can he be?

Change

The woods have changed from gray to many shades of pink, red, white and greens. A lovely sight.While I was waiting for the rain to let up, I watched a very sad documentary called earthlings.com. It is a shame how we treat animals and each other. The whole planet is a wreck. It's really about greed. One thing we can do to change things is to stop buying from big business and buy locally from small farms and humanely treated animals. Visit the small family farm that grows what you buy. You can tell if the animals are cared for, fed well and kept in a clean, natural environment. Are those sheep, goats, chickens, cows happy? That means proper care is given at shearing, processing and even death. All those things contribute to a top quality product. All the extra care and feeding the best grain and hay, good shelter and plenty of pasture so everyone has space to rest, cost more than factory farming, so the price of their product will be higher. You CAN you tell the difference in farm fresh and so can your body.

Scratch that spot for me

The warm weather is making the goats itch, but it is way too early to shear them. They are enjoying the pretty days as goats dislike cold, rainy weather. It makes them cranky. I am carding the last run of roving and packing up for the Peachtree handspinners meeting. This month I have dyed and carded mostly shades of blues. The hens have been laying eggs like it is Easter, so I have plenty to sell. I am ready to plant the early garden, but am sure we will have another cold snap. Only two bred ewes left to shear, but I would like for their wool to be a little longer. Moved the bred does with the ewes in the front pastures where I can watch them closely. Moved three mature bucks to share a pen in a pole shed, they are getting along with each other and the rut seems to be over. Moved last years kids and some older does to the original small lambing barn. Goats prefer to stay in the same pasture year in and year out, and it is not easy to make them move. Sheep love to move to fresh pasture as often as possible.