Random Snow Shots

Just a few more pictures of the snow from the other day. It was really pretty--which I can happily say because I didn't have to drive in it. Usually the reality overrides the lovely for me. By Thursday the roads were in great shape so it was back to work to catch up on what needed to be done. The temperatures have gradually warmed up, and I was finally able to dump out all the water tubs. I use the black rubber ones, but when there have been too many below freezing days, they get frozen solid and not easy to dump out. Today (Saturday) the temperatures are into the fifties and it's nice outside, despite the snow cover. Much of it is melting, but I don't believe it will all melt off today. All the critters are basking in the sun and enjoying the warmth.

I'm not sure why but this picture of the birdbath, looking slightly tipsy and whimsical in a snow hat, makes me smile.

The chickens hesitate to step into the white stuff, but the rooster thinks it might taste pretty good.

The girls enjoying some 'free hay' and you can tell several of them opted to spend the night outside and are wearing snow blankets.

A little dark, but here is Boone enjoying the snow.

Exciting Day in the Life of a Sheep

The hay 'ring' has been removed. It's free buffet for everyone--crowd, push, shove, and above all else, eat as fast as you can.

Some think it tastes much better if you stand on your food while eating it. Gracie has the grace to glance back at me and say thank you, even if her mouth is full. (More likely she is watching me to make sure some other edible doesn't slip by).
Chickie says...."What"??

Random Shots

A few weeks ago the moon was spectacularly full and as usual my camera just didn't quite get the job done. I did have some fun with it though and hope you enjoy!

Storm bank moving in from the west.

The moon was full, big and bright, and the little spider dropped down to sit beside her.... Okay, it wasn't a spider (since this is January...), instead this is the seed pods and vines from some wild morning glories.

Same night, same moon, peering through the tree

Trumpet Vine seed pods, create artful arrangement amongst the leaves.

Snow...

Annalea

Giant Marshmallows

Rain turned into ice, ice turned into sleet, sleet turned into snow......and snow turned into sunshine! The storm system has finally moved itself on out of the area and today, the sun finally broke through. We got four inches of snow last night on top of about an inch of sleet/ice. The roads were a mess, so our boss told us not to even try today, and who am I to argue with that! I think (hope) today will help the roads, as the sun hits the asphalt and activates some of that chemical.It sure is nice to have time to do chores at a leisurely pace and to take care of all those little things, instead of rushing through to get ready to head off for work. The sheep have hay in their big round feeder, but it was fun to drag out a half a square bale for them. Gives them something exciting in their lives on a snowy day. The chickens didn't want to walk in the white stuff, so I tossed some hay down in front of their door and most of them were standing in a miserable pile just outside of the door when I finished chores. Good news though, as they have started laying again. I'm getting two to three eggs per day, which is great since the weather is in the teens and the chickens are 'aged-ed'. They took about a six to eight weeks off, so I figure that is a reasonable vacation!

I shoveled off the paths, carried in more wood, did the normal chores, fed the birds and swept the floors. Now I'm planning on staying inside most of the day, and likely do some more paperwork and keep shoving the wood in the stove. The dogs are loving this white stuff--even old Ariel is out there plowing around every time I look outside. Boone loves it--he rolls in it, runs and just acts like the nut we all know he is. Those two sure are a funny looking 'pack'. ;-)

This is our first real snow of the year, and it's actually a bit of a relief that it finally turned into snow and quit that nasty freezing rain and sleet nonsense. I guess down south in Arkansas they sure got battered---many thousands without electricity. We were 'on the line' where it could have went either way for us.

Have a great day!

Insulated chore boots--Check.

Big smashed nosed farm dog helper--Check.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs..

Say what?? (biggify the picture if you can't read the sign. ;-)

Boone on the political trail. Vote for_________and take a bite out of crime...or

Vote for ___________, he'll get the job done and that ain't no bull(y)!

Sittin' at Home, Counting Flowers on the Wall...

...well, maybe not flowers, but cobwebs? Today is a 'snow day', or more accurately in this case a sleet/ice day. So far we have missed the worstest of the worst (large accumulations of ice), which is going to those poor slobs to the south of us. (Sorry , guys, but better you than us....we spent our time in the bad dark places of the mind, driven there by multiple inches of ice and it's lingering affects..or so I hope).

Last night the sleet and freezing rain tapped the windows constantly for hours. I thought I might go insane(er). I did have one NOOOO I can't take it anymore moment, but the cats and dogs just looked at me and then went back to sleep, and so it seemed rather useless to be dramatic. I crawled in bed, turned the t.v. up loud and finished watching the Last Templar.

Early morning driveway view

At five this morning, I groggily pushed the buttons on the two remotes, two because the t.v. is now hooked up to it's HDtv box and evidently this countries' great genius fails at combining remotes. Ahem.. anyway, I lay there covered up entirely, listening to the dire news of slick roads and falling precipitation, deciding if I should even try to go to work. I had mostly made my mind up not to, since over 200 schools in the area were closed as well as many work places. The clincher was when I finally dragged out of bed and went outside. It was beginning to sleet/freeze rain again, and I decided no way, no how. Snow, maybe, but ice, she is a different animal. The forecast for the day is for continued precipitation to move through, which also factors in to the decision. If I get stranded anywhere, I sure want it to be at home!

The sheep were all bent out of shape last night and yelling at me when I walked out to do a final check. I ended up going back out later to check them again, because they were acting so weird and I didn't get a head count. My great imagination had sheep caught in the hay ring, rams loose, ad nauseum. Sometimes I hate my imagination. Gracie was dashing around like a race horse, and when I accidentally rattled the plastic baggie that covered the gate latch, the whole flock came screaming down there. Cookies! She's got cookies! I didn't have cookies, so you can imagine how that went over.

Today, I thought I'd update my sadly neglected blog, list some stuff on Craigslist (22 sheep for sale--today only! Just kidding....), order seeds and tackle the dreaded tax information gathering, sorting and spreadsheeting. It's a chilly 16 degrees today, so I'm trying to keep warm, bundled up in sweaters and booties. Hope all that nasty stuff misses you, wherever you might be!

Snow treads on and ready to go. Check.

Tips for Coping During the Bleak Midwinter

Take lots of Quality Naps

Take bathes....don't turn into a slob, no matter how tempting it is.

Meditate as long as it takes to find your happy place.

Try to ignore interruptions during meditation from the hired help ..ohmm...happy place...happy place....

Dream big. I am a mighty mountain lion lying in wait ...I am a.....

This message brought to you by Sage Grass Cat.

Staying Warm

Since most of the Midwest is in the deep freeze right now, it seemed like a good time to post how I stay warm. My heat source is wood, which makes for a nice warm fire---right next to it. The rest of the house tends to get pretty chilly though, with temperatures in the front room/kitchen area going down to about 40 to 42 at night. The back room/bedroom area usually bottoms out at about 50. Unless it is really frigid, with 20 degrees or below, I won't get up in the night and build a fire. This helps keep the amount of wood burnt lower as well as helps me with sleeping. If I get something in my head, I can lay there all night thinking I need to get up and put wood in the stove! On really frigid nights I will get up once in the middle of the night and pack more wood in, and leave the water dripping, with the goal to keep the pipes from freezing. In some respects I'm pretty lucky in that the pipes are located in the ceiling, and since heat rises that helps. Except the well house is way up behind the house and that doesn't help at all.

When I first moved out on my own, I had some really miserable times during the winter. I didn't have a clue. Not about building fires or what kind of stove I needed or anything. My first chimney was stove pipe wired for stability to the outside of the house. It actually worked well, but was a constant worry. My first wood stove was a.....fireplace insert. Yep. And I don't have a fireplace. Needless to say that was a pretty miserable winter, as the 'firebox' was tiny and it wouldn't draw properly. Over the years, I graduated up to an old 'basic' wood stove that had three legs (and a concrete block), and then my parents found a wonderful Ashley at an estate sale and things started looking up! By this time I pretty much had learned from the school of hard knocks how to start (and keep) a fire burning. I used that Ashley up! I now have a pretty little Vermont Castings stove with glass doors which I love passionately, but wish it were a little bigger. I've also been blessed for the last umpteen years to have as a 'wood guy' someone who knows what they are doing and takes pride in their work. My wood stack is filled with mixed dry and green of just so length and size. My house is concrete floors and concrete brick walls inside and brick outside, so I had some leeway to be really stupid concerning the learning curve of the wood stove.

Somewhere along there in the many winters of discontent, I got an electric blanket. Oh that was lovely! However I never felt really comfortable with it, and worried endlessly that I would burn up in it or be electrocuted. My overactive imagination never fails me. However I used it til I used it up. (See a theme here!)

Some years ago I found this very heavy old blanket at a yard sale. It was homemade and the underside is flannel with the outer side (very likely) all wool or perhaps a wool blend, and is very heavy. It has been tied off and was one of the best $5 bucks I've ever spent. When winter descends, out comes The Blanket. At the time I got this blanket I had a 'fuzzy blanket' that goes next to a person, I think some sort of blend. It was also older, and not like these stiff weird acrylic fuzzy blankets you get now days. Unfortunately it wore completely out and had to be recycled into pet blankets. Then I hit pay dirt. I was at a flea market one day and found two blankets---brand new, one still in it's packing, made in the 60s or 70s (I think). I've lost the tags now, but they are wool or wool blend. They are something like 14 foot long and what makes them extremely effective is you fold them at the end to make a normal size blanket, and the two pieces form a barrier to trap the warmth. I gave one to my Mom and kept the other one. I hope it never wears out.

My latest addition is the wool mattress pad this year. Wow. I am a wool sandwich! I stay very toasty all night long once I climb under all the layers. Sometimes a little too toasty. It's very hard to roll out of bed into the frosty house the next day! The only small glitch to this setup is on the rare occasion when everything gets off kilter and the whole mess of blankets starts a slow slide off the bed. However I can guarantee you that my wool nest stays every bit as warm as any electric blanket.

The latest acquisition to this wool fest, is a neck pillow. I have some trouble with getting 'cricks' in my neck--from too much computer time and awkward t.v. viewing--so I made a wool stuffed neck pillow. I really like it, although it looks a bit 'wild'.

Of course the cats have their duty as well, even if they are furry instead of woolly. Meshach crawls under the blankets (where he spends the balance of his days as well), and lays next to my side. Sage props himself against my legs and acts as a foot warmer. The beauty of it is, yes, they are using me, but I'm using them too! Win-win!

Here's hoping everyone stays safe and warm and weathers this cold patch. Remember wool---it's what keeps you warm! ;-)

Start with a Wool Mattress Pad

Layer (cotton) sheet over that, then add double layer wool 'fuzzy' blanket

Next comes "The Blanket"---wool and flannel

Comforter is added on the top, but just for 'looks'

Here Meshach demonstrates how to appreciate a warm nest (he was actually under them, until I rudely pulled the top cover back)


Herein Meshach--reluctantly-models my neck rest pillow, with Sage supervising

Four Little Piggies

...Piggy Sheep that is. Normally I don't show backside sheep photos, because, for the most part they aren't very attractive. Especially if said sheep have been lounging around in the mud and muck.

I had to show my four little piggy sheep and their morning routine though. Gracie is on the right side. Gracie is one of my very first sheep and is seven years old. She is a smallish old style Dorset and as sweet as can be. The large monster just to her left is her very first lamb, daughter Annalee. Annalee is half Merino and her sire is the ill tempered Blue. Annalee is a very sweet sheep but not overly friendly. She is content to just hang around. She also has a 'weight issue'. Last winter she got so fat on hay, that I feared she would just keel over. She did reduce (although I cannot truthfully say, slimmed down) some over the summer. Next left is Nancy. She is also a Gracie/Blue daughter and is no slim pickens herself, but seems to carry her weight a little better. Nancy is friendly, but not in Gracie's class of friendly. Nancy is more friendly if there is something edible involved. Lastly on the left, is Gracie's last lamb/daughter, Hope. She is also sired by Blue. Gracie and Hope nearly died while Gracie was birthing Hope. I don't know what to say about Hope. She looks like she is ready to lamb at any moment, but isn't even bred! My, my. Hope is very much a sweetheart like her mom, but maybe a little on the slow side (just between us), which just adds to her sweetness. Because I have too many sheep and want to concentrate more on the Shetlands, all these girls were left open this year (I hope).

Every morning, I feed the Shetland girls first. They have their own special feeding area which has a lower creep gate that the big sheep can't usually go through. Gracie escorts me in the main gate, looking for a chance to get her nose in the bucket, despite my threats. As I feed the Shetland girls, Gracie keeps up a steady, baaing, at three second intervals. Gracie, Hope and Nancy all mill around the entrance to the creep gate. However, Annalee prefers to go straight from the hay bale to the barn and wait for me to come up there and feed them. (I don't understand why she has a weight problem). Once I come out of the Shetland area, Gracie and Hope trot off to the barn as hard as they can (Gracie still baaing) to join Annalee. Nancy is left as the designated herding sheep. She gets behind me and makes sure that I keep moving in the direction of the barn. It is pretty amusing. Once I get within about four foot of the barn, and shut Rocky (the wether) into his stall, she peels off around me and runs up to the feed trough with the other girls.

I do grain everyone in the morning, but we are talking minuscule amounts for these girls (just ask them!). Sometimes they can't believe how minuscule and give me incredulous looks. Here again we have a routine. They always line up like this. I will allow a little bit of variation between the three daughters, but they aren't allowed to jostle Gracie out of position. They are the ones that get flustered if the three aren't in their proper place. There is a big salt block between Gracie's section of trough and the others. This helps her keep the rest out of her space. Two little splishes of grain across the trough for the girls, one on the ledge for Hope, a nicer amount for Gracie (since she is older) and another three or four grains each for Annalee and Nancy, tossed in from behind. I have no idea why Hope eats this way, but she prefers her grain up on the ledge and surfs it until I throw some up there.

These girls are very trainable, and as long as I'm around will nicely eat where they are suppose to. Once in a while I have to tap a behind with my foot and issue a stern warning, by name, and then they will behave.

So these are my 'big white sheep'. I also have Blue, the merino ram, Rocky the crossbred wether, and Lanny the crossbred wether who stays with Blue (both Merino/Dorset crosses), so altogether I still have seven big white sheep. Their temperaments vary as much as the Shetlands, but as a whole they are fairly calm and react slower than the Shetlands. Sometimes they get accidentally involved in the Shetland's wild antics and it's quite funny to see.

Celebrating the Incoming New Year

As most of you have probably figured out I'm a 'homebody', close-to-the-edge-almost-a hermit. However I do enjoy friends and family (most of the time...;-) and so when some folks from Church invited us all over for New Year's eve, it was something to look forward to. Usually we do get together on NYE, but it is sporadic and never a sure thing. Lest you think, that, whoever hosts this is inviting a huge amount of people, they aren't. Our little church averages about 18-20 folks on a good day, and not all those will show up at a 'gathering'.

This year, a couple that have been working on building their new house for several years, decided to open up their home to us. The house is amazing, although they still have quite a bit of finish work to do. There is allot of wood, and a southwestern feel to it (they are from out west). The floors are wood, the kitchen cabinets a beautiful natural hickory blend of light and dark wood. I'd give my eye tooth and my false eye tooth for their Soapstone stove and their elevated (and huge) hearth. I also loved the little closet that was completely lined in cedar.

Getting there proved to be a slight challenge. I rode with my Mom and Dad and was the 'designated driver'. Mom had the directions and a little flashlight and we set off. Of course it was dark and of course I got some loony-toon on my bumper who was either flashing his lights at me or had a defective headlight (I think the latter), so that I was halfway blinded during a good part of the drive. I was a little skeptical of the directions, since they were something like this 'go down 73 Hwy til you see Such and Such's Beagle's and Such and Such's Leather Shop, and then turn left on This Road right after that'. Well....that is all very well and good in the daytime, but when it's dark, in the country, you can't see anything that is three foot off the road, much less read, including business or road signs. I think I ended up turning left on three different roads, or maybe just two, before finding the correct one--with the help of Mom shinning her little flashlight out the window onto the road sign! After that it was all back roads and with the judicious use of the brakes and flashlight all signs were properly spotted and the correct turns were made in a timely manner. Wonder if those folks noticed us spotlighting their house number sign??

So, what do a bunch (fourteen to be exact) of old fogey churchy people do on New Year's eve? We have fun of course! First there was food (we are Baptists)and lots of it. Snack type stuff and it was all good. Lots of good hot coffee, and sodas to round out the caffeine overload. We visited. We toured the house. We ate. Visited some more. Then I was challenged! Time for the card games to come out and the gloves to come off as we became, uhm, slightly competitive. Sequence was the game of choice. One of the ladies from church is like the master game lady and has a closet full of fun games to play. She actually made the sequence board (and one for me too, one year!). Anyhoo, the guys magically faded out of the room when they saw The Board go down on the table. Us gals divided up into two teams of three each, with two spectators. We all had to have refresher courses on the rules, and there was massive confusion throughout the game on the uses of the Jacks--one eyed and two eyed.

It was all fun. The laughter flowed and the constant bantering, hassling and secret signals were a hoot. Some of the players got all caught up in conversations, and that was the best time to make covert, but strategic moves. Our team won, not that that is important of course (but I wanted to make sure you knew that we won! Winners! Woot! Woot!). Ahem...well anyway, it was all good, winners, losers, it's all the same.

We stayed until around 10:00 p.m. (I know, but hey I was shocked I lasted that long!) and then took off for home. It was very cold out but nice and toasty in the house with good friends and fun times.

The people that own the house we went to, had this beautiful dog named Sidney. He is a Lab/Australian Shepherd mix. Short haired, Lab sized and a beautiful blend of dark blue merle coloring. That boy is smart and very cheerful. He knows how to shake (both paws, depending on which paw, er, hand you offer), sit, lay and is working on going to his bed and staying there. He was so happy to have guests and ran from one to the other, liberally offering his paws to all. They also had a gorgeous cat named Jack. He looks allot like Meshach, as he was Siamese colored, long haired, but he was also a Manx! What a pretty boy. I told Boone he was in for it for a few days, since I was inspired in all the work that Sidney could do--I mean Boone only shakes with one paw! And wheres the enthusiasm?

Back at the homestead, things had been left in a very depressed state. Boone and Ariel were inconsolable that they were not going to get to come into the house at 6:00 p.m on the dot. Instead I fed them outside and put Boone in his pen! Talk about long faces all around and sad eyes. whew... I'm surprised real tears didn't fall. I gave them belated Christmas gifts---cow bones! With lots of yum still attached! Wow! Bones guys, isn't this exciting? They wouldn't touch them. How dare I. Still hadn't touched them when I got home. Talk about will power and knowing how to professionally sulk!

It was getting on 11:00 by the time I got home and released the prisoner (Boone) and let them in the house--'for only a little while Boone'. Boone was ecstatic. He was bouncing off the walls and me, and grabbing little stuffed animals right and left. He was in the how-ouse! All was not lost! Ariel was pretty happy too, and nestled on her bed. So, while I hadn't intended to stay up til midnight, I did, so Boone could snooze in the house awhile. Hey, I guess snoozing in the house is much more fun than snoozing in his own little house. So me and the cats and the dogs all ushered in the New Year. I was the only one awake, mind you, but it was pretty nice.

Hope whatever you did on New Year's Eve brought you smiles and contentment.

and a Happy New Year!!

Beautiful River hopes for sweet little Spring (ewe) lambs!

The Chickens are dreaming about warm sunshine, kitchen scraps and green grass!

Just let out of their house in the morning, they stretch and preen, absorbing the winter sunshine. For those that remember Eddie and Sue, Sue is the grey hen in the front on the right. She is doing quite well after her reintroduction to the flock. She seems content to putter around with the rest of the flock.

Boone wants the ham hocks to just keep on a comin'!

And Ariel hopes for more good days to enjoy.

Here is hoping that you and yours have a blessed and wonderful New Year!

It's been a 'different' year to say the least. There were some incredibly hard days and some incredibly wonderful blessings and I'm very thankful we all made it through. "Hard times' seems to be the mantra, and every time I turn on the news, or something happens in the community, it feels defeating. I've worried and fretted and feared for myself and those around me, and I'm now tired of that. It does not accomplish anything. So, my 'action plan' is to do what I can to tighten up financial outflow, be aware of what is going on around me, but not dwell with the media in the throes of the agony.

I'm looking for options to improve my side line wool business, finding uses for all the bits of it, in a creative and productive manner. I plan to continue to keep the numbers of the sheep to a manageable manner, and market them in a more effective way.

It's so easy to worry myself through another day, instead of taking action and tackling some of these worries. Perhaps in only bite size pieces, but doing is so much more satisfying then thinking about doing something!

Some of my plans are opening a Etsy shop for the wool products, investing in having wool quilt batting processed, and perhaps eventually wool mattress pads. (I heartily vouch for how nice they are---I've never been as warm as I am this year at night).

Finally, I'm praying about and testing several avenues of 'creative outlet'. I've always drawn, sketched and made little crafty things, but I would like to really find something that catches my imagination and gives me a way to express creativity. Some things I'm dabbling with are felt watercolor, needle felting and other wool orientated projects.

Today, I hope to spend quietly, just piddling around doing what I like to do. Ham hocks and black eyed peas are simmering for supper, and I'm about to get out the seed catalog! I've got a wonderful large one from Baker's Heirloom seeds (which is only about a two hour drive from here) and am thinking about starting a few seeds inside this year. I have 'big' garden plans so we will see.... Later I'll take the dogs out for a walk and maybe work on cleaning up the woodpile a bit. I might read or tackle some other project, but nothing pressing. I have four days off and am looking to enjoy the break.

Have a great day!