FOOD STAMPS FOR PETS-WATER IN THE BARN AGAIN-WOOL-SPINNING HOOKS THIS WEEKS PROJECT

HELLO

The weather has been up and down and now we are in warm weather.  Yesterday was fog and ice and rain.  Water is coming in my barn again and I will be out there with the salt trying to melt the ice and get a grip on the situation.  The winds have picked up so maybe some of the water will wick away.  The warm weather is supposed to last till at least Tuesday. I will enjoy it.

YESTERDAY, RAIN, ICE AND FOG

FOOD STAMPS FOR PETS

What a great program, I am going to see if there is something in my area.  Maybe I could volunteer there.  In life there are good times and bad times and with this economy many people are having very bad times.  If nice to know that there are ways to keep pets.

PROJECT OF THE WEEK

This weeks project is spinning wheel hooks.  I will need to pick up some supplies, more wire and some beads.  They are quite popular and reasonably priced.  I would like to get 50 done this coming week.

WOOL

Lisa and I are meeting sometime this week to get our wool project going.  I have been jotting down ideas about the wool promotion.  Maybe farm open houses, wool days at farmers markets.  Lisa raises beautiful Merinos and Leicester sheep.

THIS BULB HAS OUTDONE ITSELF

Thank you so much for reading my blog and I hope you had a wonderful day.    Carole

LAKE WOBEGON-WINTERS LONG AGO-WOVEMBER-A LAMB JOINS THE FARM BRIEFLY

Hello

When I am in the car I listen to Vermont Public Radio or favorite Enya, CLannad  or Deanne FItzpatrick’s inspiring CD.  Yesterday I was listening to Lake Wobegon with Garrison Keillor, where the women are strong, the men handsome and the children are above average.  He was talking about winters gone by and the day they were recording it was snowing and he said that God had turned the globe upside down and the world was white.  It’s a very nice way or saying it was snowing.

WINTERS LONG AGO   

When I was young winters seemed harsher.  Much more snow, enough to build igloo’s as I did many times.  Sledding was done on flexible flyers.  There were so many places to go.  My Dad had an adult size Flexible and I had the child size.  I still have my Dad’s, I don’t know what happened  to mine.

 We would take walks in the woods, checking out the animal tracks, its was a fun time of year.  Of course there weren’t as many cars and you didn’t watch a lot of TV, listened to a lot of radio though.  Your clothes were made right here in America out of natural materials mostly wools for the winter.  I remember when I was 5 or 6 I had so many clothes on I almost couldn’t walk!!!!!!  Pants lined with flannel and snow pants on top of them.

Close to CHristmas my Grandfather and Uncle Roger, my Mom and Dad and myself would pile into the green Chevy Sedan and off we would go for hours of looking at Christmas decorations.  Making Christmas cookies was always a special few days at our house. The house would be full of relatives and friends on Christmas Day.  My friend Francine and I would spend hours putting up our CHristmas villages under our trees with the old cardboard houses, fences, animals and trees, they got more elaborate each year.    She still does hers and I am going to bring back that tradition this year.  There was always a train going around the tree.  We would also make that wish, I hope there is a pony under the tree.  I finally did get  a horse when I was 40. Although I loved her it was not the same as getting one when you are young , but i see the wisdom of not having one then too, 

A LAMB IS COMING CHRISTMAS EVE

Does anyone know how long it takes to fall in love with a lamb. A nano second, or a minute.  My son asked if I could house a lamb for an overnight so it can be in the live Nativity service at his church.  I said yes.  I have never had a lamb and I know that I will fall in love with it.  Provisions will have to be made, fencing cut and put together, I do know that lambs are very sneaky and can get out of everything.  I am so excited about this opportunity and to be able to see a live nativity will be wonderful.

WHO MADE YOUR CLOTHES

There is a big movement within the UK and some other EU countries to make your own clothes.  It asks the question WHO MADE YOUR CLOTHES.  I am sure we all have seen pictures of the factories where most of our clothes are made and the paltry sum that these people are paid.  Very few clothes are made here and the material  is not make here either.  At the fall farmers market there was a gal who made dresses, skirts and pants and she was very busy.  My friend Debbie has always made lots of her clothes. I think that I will be doing more sewing this year, it is a good idea to make your own or purchase locally made clothing.

WOVEMBER

Reading the blog WOVEMBER has been so enlightening for me, discussions of things that you think about for a minute and then let go, the blog makes you rethink them and then decide to do something about them.  Their main goal is to get people back to using wool again.  I am a wool person, raising sheep for almost 20 years and selling wool to people at shows is great, but now I know that I need to do more to promote sheep and wool.  We are getting together to see what can be done for small farmers in this part of Massachusetts in January.  Maybe a farm tour similar to the Crafts of COlrain might be a good idea so people can see where their wool comes from.  When I marketed Wilbur Yarn I had a picture of him on the label with info about the farm, everyone loved knowing who the sheep was that produced this yarn and that he was still alive. Knowing that sheep live out their lives on the farm, however long that may be  is helpful to people.  I will keep you posted on how this goes.  It’s a long process with few people to get it going but I think that success will be forthcoming.

Shorty was in this chair this morning when I got up waiting for the stove to be lit, and there he stayed for most of the day.  Its a cats life.  We didn’t get the snow that was supposed to come our way today but its suppose to flurry all night the roads are very slippery, glad that I can stay in.  Many thanks for reading my blog and I hope you had a wonderful day.  Carole and Minnie

THE SHEEP-EGGS-THE NEW ENGLAND FIBER FESTIVAL-NORWEGIAN SLOW TV

HELLO,

THE SHEEP

The sheep are busily growing new wool for next years yarn.  I am planning on bringing 2 years of wool to Green Mountain Spinnery after the Crafts of Colrain.  The yarn will be from my two dark sheep, Sally and Lucy.  I am saving this years clip from Maude and Carol K so that next spring I will have 2 years of their fleeces.  I am designing a simple vest pattern to make kits with, dyeing some of the white wool.  I really would like to get something going for the small farmers in the area.  There are many of us that just have 5-10 sheep.  My friend Lisa has a group and I hope to catch up with her soon and see what we can do.

In the past I have sold Wilbur yarn, the tag on the yarn was a picture of him on the front and a short story about the farm on the back.  People loved the soft yarn and were glad to know the sheep.  I will do the same with Lucy and Sally’s, and Maude and Carol K’s yarn.  I plan on making posters of the sheep with their yarn to display near the yarn for sale..

EGGS

For the first time in all my years of raising hens I am buying eggs.  I am buying organic but clearly my fresh eggs are so much better.  I think it’s the fact that they are so fresh.  Eggs that sit around in the store lose their freshness.  Come on gals let’s get with the program.  Morticia and Mrs. Brown are still laying but not daily.  The three new gals should be laying this month or next so that will help.

THE NEW ENGLAND FIBER FESTIVAL

I enjoyed my visit to The New England Fiber Festival, there was lots of booths with many interesting things.  I met my two friends named Lisa, the first Lisa from Cranberry Moon Farm I met when I first arrived.  I had no sooner started walking down the animal isle when I saw her.  We had a great chat,  last year she started a small group called THE FIBER SHED, promoting wool and small farmers.  We will meet during the winter about getting it up and running, she introduced me to a lovely woman who lives in the Berkshires who raises Merino’s and works closely with the Hancock  Shaker Village, I would like to get to know her better.  Lisa of Spinners Hill was next on my list.  We chatted between customers.  Lisa is a warm, loving person who raises sheep and promotes sheep on a daily basis.  Her roving and dyed locks are the best in the business.  I won’t see her till the Massachusetts Show but we keep in touch a couple of times during the winter.  I hope you enjoy some pictures from the show.

SPINNERS HILL FARM

JENNY BANNOCK OF DIVINE BIRD SPINNING ON A COLORFUL CANADIAN PRODUCTION WHEEL

FLEECE SALE

HOOKING STUDIO FROM VERMONT WITH DELIGHTFUL PRIMITIVE WORK

NORWEGIAN SLOW TV

On the way down to the show I listened to Vermont Public Radio as I do most days in the car.  The talk was of Norwegian  Slow TV.   Its was an experiment that has gone wild.  Last night there was 7 hours of knitting.  The first few hours of the knitting program were talking about knitting, showing how its done etc.  The last remaining hours were of a Sheep to Jumper  like in the Sheep to Shawl contests we have here, starting with a sheep and through the carding, spinning and then finally the knitting of the Jumper.  I am hoping to find this somewhere on the internet.  Other shows they have had were 18 hours of Salmon fishing, following  a cruise sheep etc.  The shows have all been wildly successful much to the surprise of  everyone.  Sounds like TV I would enjoy, just plain every day things.  I would subscribe to something like this and give up the Netflix.!

Many thanks for reading my blog today, yesterday was an interesting and educational day for me, I hope you have a wonderful day today.   Carole