Of Spring and Things.....

Gracie works the crowd for cookies on shearing day

 (I started this post probably close to a month ago...)

We've had a few days of really warm weather and a good, if somewhat violent, rain last night.  The grass is growing and the fruit trees are s-l-o-w-l-y flowering.  The sheep have been pretending to graze most days.  They are eager for those tender morsels of grass, even if they are on a pasture that hasn't any growth on it yet.  It gives them something to do and makes them happy.  Then they come back to the barn and pick through and mostly waste their hay at night.

I've been cutting them allot of slack lately.  Mostly out of guilt.  And because it looks like a geriatric hospital out there right now.

Patient Lanny Wilson gets his 10th 'haircut' --he is 11 this year

In case you haven't kept track lo these many years, I now have  have two sheep that are 12, two that are 11, several 10 and a whole host of 8 and 9 year olds.  Let's just say that sheep are like people--some age a whole lot more gracefully than others!

Shearing was a week ago last Thursday.  (perhaps a post about that soon?)  It turned out to be a good day in many ways.  However, it was also a bloody mess.  I don't know what the heck was up with the shearer and I don't know what the heck was up with me.  Scarcely did a sheep escape a nick this year and there were way to many that fell in the 'really nasty' range.  Something was certainly off.   Towards the end  I was just praying that they'd all live through it.   If that wasn't bad enough, the first several sheep I trimmed hooves on, I quicked.  One so severe that blood literally spurted out and splattered my shirt.  I've trimmed many a hoof in my day and sometimes I do misjudge, but what appeared to be overgrowth...wasn't on that day.   It was a mess.    My wondering mind blames the full moon.   I've had this shearer for 11 years--he is gentle with the sheep always.  He has nicked them, on one occasion bad enough to stitch up--but over that many years and that many sheep it seems small.  Until this year.   We have two shearers for this area.  Two.  I'll have him back next year, but I'm prepared to find out what the heck is going on if it goes this way again.   Something was certainly off.

Spring A Week Ago

One little yearling ewe lamb got off the shearing floor without me or apparently the shearer noticing she had a very deep cut where her shoulder and side join.  She is a light fawn moorit and truthfully sometimes it is hard to see cuts right away on the brownish background.  But I sure saw it when she was out walking around.  I kept thinking it can't be as bad as I think.....  It was.  There was a three to four inch triangle of flesh hanging down and it was deep.  Friday afternoon I tricked them up again, and caught her.  I fastened her in the stanchion and cleaned and stitched the wound.  It still doesn't look good, but she seems fine over a week later and it is slowly healing.

Spring Last Night---Flood! 

The day after it was like the walking wounded, when I gazed out upon my little flock.  I felt a little shell shocked, and they sure looked it.   However I must say they seemed to be in good spirits.  The ewe that I quicked so bad limped for a week.  Talk about guilt.

Back Gate -- stepping stones disappearing into the 'flood'

Another ewe did some super sheep hijinks while I was attempting to pen up and catch the little yearling ewe.  I think that ewe hurt her leg then --she limped for a few days.  There was allot of random limping it seemed there for a bit.

Sheep are unpredictable critters.  Do something that you think is relatively minor--like dose for worms or wear a skirt with big swirls on it--and they won't trust you for weeks.  Then again do something truly awful like catch them twice in two days,  once to shear and another to stitch them up and you become war buddies.  Go figure. 

Then the weather got colder and they looked so forlorn with their little nekkid shivery bodies.  Extra eats helped with that and fortunately the weather warmed back up within a few days. 

Finally when I thought they were getting better, Lanny Wilson, my big white Dorset/Merino wether started acting 'weird'.  He wouldn't lay down, and would stand looking depressed and shifting his hind legs back and forth.  His appetite seemed to be good...but he just wouldn't or couldn't lay down.  My first thought was urinary calculi.   It's always worst case scenario with me.  I consulted with the vet on Friday and decided to treat with pain reliever, muscle relaxer and something to break up urinary crystals.   After I gave him all his doses that evening (after a fairly moderate rodeo--he is a big boy) he urinated.  Well.  That was good...no blockage.  He finally lay down Saturday evening.  He was very relaxed.   Another shot of muscle relaxer the next day and he has improved quite a bit--he is walking more normal and was waiting at the gate this morning.  We will see what happens when the drugs wear off!   We think 'since he is at the age where he could have back trouble' (vet's words--I think he was poking fun at me...) that might be the cause.  He possibly could have gotten it hurt during shearing, although I remember him being very quiet through the whole thing.  At eleven sheep years though, I expect one becomes more fragile.

The flooded back alleyway--I had to get the hay on the dolly through that mess.....the dogs were no help

Friday after I got home from work and the vet, I sat out and watched the sheep for awhile to see if Lanny could/would urinate.  While I'm watching him, I see Callum in the background going through his elaborate ritual of trying to find an easy way to lay down.  Cal had his back fractured (we think) many years ago in a ram fight.    While he has since them had an odd pacing gait, he always seemed to move and get around just fine, until a year or so ago.  Now he is stiffer and it takes him longer to get up and down.   Sitting with the sheep wasn't particularly restoring that afternoon.

And of course the sheep were high and dry in the barn awaiting their evening meal...thankyouverymuch...

I'm happy that shearing is behind us now.  I'll have to do some trimming on some that were in the rise, but the bulk of it is done.  I have 19 fleeces stored in the garage that I'll need to skirt for the second time, get weighed, labeled and sorted out into 'process' or 'raw fleece sales' .

For now though, I'm still spreading some seed on the pastures--only a little as it's very expensive--but there are bald places from the drought.  Most of the clover didn't make it.   Little jobs like that are keeping me busy in the evenings. 

A River Runs Through ....the Pasture

 Here it is a few days later and I still don't have this post completed.  Kinda the story of my life right now.  Anyway we got heavy rains yesterday--almost three inches-- so I'm pretty sure some of the latest seed I spread earlier in the week floated off to the river.  Little bitter about that.   The weather has also turned off much colder...again.  It's suppose to be in the 30s  tonight. Back to building fires in the stove.   Hope that beautiful growing grass doesn't get bit back. 

I'm pretty sure though after this spell of cold it is going to really be Spring. 

Sunset on the lake in my backyard.....

Hope Spring has sprung at your place!  

My First No-Kill 'Sheep Skin' Rug

Rug Designed But Not Yet Felted

After shearing, the fleeces are skirted two times. The first time what comes off is pretty much garbage--good for mulch and that is about it. When I skirt them later for the second time, there is often some really nice stuff that gets pulled for a variety of reasons like excess veggie matter or mats for instance. It can be a bit heart breaking to throw some of it away.

Enter the 'no kill sheep skin' rug! These things are way fun to do and so far I've made two out of the bag full of skirtings. Combining some roving for the base and the individual locks from a variety of fleeces and felting it together is the basic concept. Keeping the lock structure intact is important to give it the 'fresh off the sheep' look. They are lovely soft to step on, even though they do still have some veggie matter in them (hey, just like my real on the hoof fleeces-ha..).

Care of them should be minimal--a good shake out weekly or on occasion a soapy soak in the tub, a rinse and a flat surface to dry on.

They are fun to make and because they are fairly small in size, I can easily 'roll' them in the bathtub. I'm looking forward to making many more--I'm even eyeballing a couple of trashy lambs fleeces for future NK Rugs!

Here are a few pictures of the unfinished and finished rug:

Another view of the rug after assembly but before felting

Rug has been wet-felted and is in the drying process

Finished NK Rug
Rug has dried and been 'picked' to bring locks back up and also some needle felting was done to reinforce thin areas.

This little rug is already in it's new home, where it will help keep a spinner's toes warm this winter.

Other Things...

The Thinker

Despite what it may seem like, I have been doing other things, besides playing with and taking pictures of the collie puppies! Although they are a big distraction and tend to make many chores much more time consuming.
This is an especially 'hard' time of the year for me, when Spring is sprung and suddenly everything is growing like crazy and everything needs to be done right now. I have a tendency to get overwhelmed and a bit discouraged. Usually though by the time June rolls around, things are a little more under control.

My yard is a mess, but I've slowly been whacking it back. Got it mowed last week for the first time, and while it's raggedy looking at least the puppies don't get lost in the jungle. I've also been working on one flower garden at a time. By the time the goose grass, henbit and creeping charlie have their way, you really can't even tell there are flower gardens there. Fortunately goose grass and henbit have a quick growth and equally quick die back (after they've produced eleventy zillion seeds for next year...). However the creeping charlie, it's another story.

I've been rotating the sheep through all the smallish lower pastures, while letting the upper pasture get some good growth on it. I'm re-seeding the pastures as we go, letting the sheep work the seed into the soil. This year I used the lower pasture as the 'sacrifice' spring pasture while giving the upper one a rest. The upper pasture needed this, as it has rarely gotten a good rest and time for a good regrowth over the years. In about a week, I'll put the sheep up there and then hopefully the lower pastures will rebound and I can switch back in a month. Lotta hopefuls there. Blue was switched over to his other pasture last week and was in a grass induced stupor for several days! He is fat as a tick now.

How Does My Garden Grow?

My garden is starting to emerge. Last weekend I spent quite a bit of time planting tomatoes, peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, onions, and some lettuce and spinach seed. Later in the week I put in a few beans and corn. Almost all of it will be container gardening this year. I have about a dozen Cherokee Purple tomato starts growing (slowly) that I will transplant out into the tomato patch and hope for better results than last year. Bedding plants, like everything else are getting more expensive it seems. I hope to get some squash, pumpkins, more beans and corn seed planted, as well as some mint varieties that I also bought. Then I'm calling the garden 'done'.


The weather has been cooler than normal and very, very, very wet. The grass (and weeds) are growing like crazy but the garden plants are just kinda sitting there.

Skirting Station--Blackberry's Fleece on the table

Of course it's also that time of the year, when the fleeces need to be skirted, bagged and tagged in time for the Marshfield Fiber Fair on the 21st of this month. My helpers on shearing day went through and did an initial skirting to remove the yuckiest parts. This time through I'm more picky and remove any of the questionable bits. So far I'm not impressed--five fleeces in (of 21)--it looks like the sheep bathed in the hay. As I get them processed they will be added to my website in the fiber for sale section. With all the wet weather it has been next to impossible to get this skirting started let alone finished! So it goes. Only 15 to go!

Persia--Staple length photo

Other things on the 'back burner' are plans for a large outdoor kitty run (attached to the house) and if I've the money a patio door to replace the large window in back. This will access onto a deck (I hope) and the kitty run. More about all this later, as I have to wait until I get things ready for the fiber event before I can tackle another large project! There has been some trouble in paradise with the kitties as they mature into their second year, so more space is needed and hopefully this will help.

We'd appreciate a kitty pen addition allot--says Trinity!(she also probably says we could put all her rotten brothers out there and let 'em freeze and bake...)

Anyway...like everyone it's a busy time of the year, but I sure hope to get back to blogging a little more oftener!

Have a great week.

Cob Web Felted Scarves.....

As usual I didn't get as many crafty things done this winter as hoped, but I did manage to do some 'cob-web' felted scarves. At least my version of cob-web felt. These were fun and much easier to do than the nuno felted wool scarves with the silk base.
Awhile back I sent off a bunch of white merino/dorset raw fleece to be processed into batts. Well, when they came back the batts were huge and there were two bags full. I haven't even touched the second bag, but the first one, I cut up into smaller felt blocks to sell and/or made longer pieces for scarves.


The process is simple---cut or gently pull apart the approximate length and width of the scarf that you want from the batting. Then separate the layers, until you are left with a very fine layer of batting. Start pulling length and width ways and work your way down to the end. When you are done, you will have a thin piece of batting, with some holes in it....looking very much like a tired old cob-web. The real beauty of this process is that you can't 'do it wrong' as each piece is unique. Some have scalloped looking edges, all edges tend to be uneven etc. etc. If you are a perfectionist this might not be the project for you....

Once that is done, you use the same process as nuno-felting (again my version...) and lay out a long piece of rubber shelf liner that is longer and wider than the scarf. Place a short piece of pool noodle at the end and start rolling the whole thing up around the 'noodle'. When you are done pop a couple of rubber bands around the ends and head for the nearest sink or bathtub. Because you want to shock the wool and cause felting, it doesn't much matter the soap you use--just something that lathers well. I usually use whatever dish soap I have on hand and hot hot water from the tap. Submerge the roll and start kneading it, and rolling it--gently at first so the fibers catch. Again you are wanting to shock the fiber and cause it to felt. It really is kinda fun, although your arms can get tired! Depending on the piece, I usually roll and thump and knead it for about 15 minutes. Then I take it out, remove it from the shelf backing, turn it over, lay it back on the shelf backing, re-roll it and return to another 10-15 minutes of hot soapy water and thrashing.


When that is done, I rinse in cold water, and remove from the roll (you have to be careful as it will often stick a little to the backing, and the cobweb at this point is fragile).

Now is one of the fun parts! Lay a thick towel on a solid surface, wad up your scarf (after wringing out excess water), and start throwing it down on the towel as hard as you can. Thunk, thunk, thunk. Turn it often and do all sides. I think this is what is termed 'fulling'. About five to ten minutes of this and you are done.


Then comes the really fun part! Dyeing! I use Koolaid, because for now I don't really have the time or inclination to research and use more powerful dyes. Someday I would like to use more natural dye materials, picked from the sunny meadows and cool forests of my own tiny little farm. (lalalala)

For now though Koolaid is fun, and it smells pretty good too. There are lots of good internet articles that detail how to do this, if you Google it. Basically you take a large bowl (microwave) or pot (stove), add the Koolaid color of your choice (the less water the darker the dye), enough water that the scarf will be covered and your wet (or pre-soaked) scarf. For different effects you can sprinkle some Koolaid powder straight onto the scarf, or knot string around pieces of the scarf for a more tie-dye look. Heat until very hot, let set and cool, heat again and so forth until the water is clear and your scarf has absorbed all the dye. I then fill the sink with cold water and vinegar and put the scarf in there to set the dye. Koolaid is very acidic so you probably really don't need to do this part, but what the heck, and it rinses it of any remaining soap scum.

Let dry and you have a nice felted and very unique scarf!

Note: It's very important that resident cats are basking in front of a wood stove or other heat source before attempting this project. Trust me.

Gabe & Noah Basking....

Blessed Rain

..before the rain....even the trees and shrubs were wilting....

After weeks of hot dry weather, everything was becoming scorched and wilted. The pastures had stopped growing, even the tree leaves were drooping. Finally after getting rain all around us for several days, we were blessed with an inch of rain Wednesday evening. Thursday we received another 3/4 inch. Everything has perked up, but it's still hot and humid and pretty miserable. The animals pretty much lay low except for early morning and late evening.

Monday the last of the two lambs went off to their new homes. It's always hard to see them go, but am pleased they went to a good home. These two were the '2.50 cent wether and the 75.00 wether'.

The other three lambs will be staying and it will soon be time to round everyone up and check if they need worming. There is also some serious halter breaking that needs to happen--this years three lambs and last years three ewe lambs. There is some big snotty attitude radiating off those three yearlings and it's time they became civilized--again. (Excuse me, did you just stomp your foot at me--you little turkey??)

Day lily refreshed by the rain...

The flock now stands at 21 sheep total. There are 15 Shetland (three wethers), 4 Merino/Dorset crosses (1 wether), 1 Dorset and 1 Merino (ram). This is the smallest my total numbers have been for a few years.

The consistently hot,humid weather this summer takes it toll--just as the extreme cold of last winter did. Rocky my crippled wether started going downhill this week and died Friday morning. He had been losing ground a little since the winter--first he stopped going out on pasture, then he would hardly stir out of the barn etc. This week though, he became very restless and when he didn't eat his grain Wednesday night I knew things weren't good. He was still eating leaves I'd picked for him up until Friday morning. It was a blessing I believe that he died, as there was no hope for improvement. He will be missed.

Saturday I met up with Jama and Jim to check out the Fiber U event in Lebanon. It was interesting to see, and they had a good turnout in vendors. They also had classes scheduled for all day long. Since we had missed the deadline and the fees were a bit steep we opted not to sign up for any classes this year. We are considering signing up as vendors next year, and perhaps there will be a class or two that will appeal as well. This would be great if it worked out as another venue to sell my wool products. This would give me three events for the year, all within thirty miles. Anyway, it was an enjoyable outing. I bought a pair of 'irregular' Alpaca socks (shhhh...don't tell the sheepies!), which was my only purchase of the day. The event was primarily given over to the Alpaca industry (gotta admire those Alpaca people for their game plan!), but there was at least one sheep breeder there (Icelandics). Lots and lots of beautiful items for sale--from fine shawls to rugs, wonderful felted items and of course lots of yarn and spinning supplies.

Afterward we headed to a local Chinese restaurant and had pleasant meal. Then a few errands in town and it was off for home. Where I directly turned on the air and let the dogs in for a nice afternoon's break from the heat.

This week's goal is to get the areas around the house and the front pastures mowed. They need to be trimmed up after the sheep had thoroughly grazed them. I was afraid to touch them before with the extremely dry weather. Better a tattered unkempt look than grass killed because everything needed to be 'neatened' up. The container garden is growing like gangbusters, and there are quite a few green tomatoes and one large pepper already.

Hope you have a great week!

Fermented Suint Method

Or something stinky like that. So it's done. Nine days after submerging Jeff's fleece in rain water, and putting the lid on it, it was time to fish it back out. Technically it was suppose to soak for seven days, but these things happen. I had peeked in on it a few times and while it did smell a little obnoxious it seemed to be doing it's thing, without turning into a horror show.

"Are you really sure you want to go out there and do this?"

Being a little dubious of the entire process, I first assembled all the needed equipment so that there would be no delays in dealing with the fleece once it was pulled out. I could only hold my breath for so long.

Sawhorses with metal gate on top to lay the fleece to dry. Check

Plastic milk crate to transport the fleece from nasty container to drying location. Check

Hose hooked up and stretched to the drying location. Check

Nosey cat. Check

Rubber gloves. Check. Face mask. Check. Vicks Vapo Rub to mask the smell the face mask didn't mask. Check. (it is slightly possible I read too many crime novels...)

Equipment assembled.

Okay, enough stalling, it was time. On with the mask & gloves, off with the lid, and out came the fleece. Only the fleece weighed like seventy four hundred pounds. Water logged doesn't even begin to describe it. Finally by lifting and pulling and slopping it over the side into the crate I was able to get the fleece out little by little. Once in the plastic milk crate it quickly drained. There was a little incident while carrying it to the drying table, when the plastic crate cracked and I momentarily lost my grip. Let's just say there was spatter.

After taking the lid off...whew dawgs...

By the time I got it to the drying table and flopped it on there, I had taken off the face mask. While the aroma was pungent, it wasn't overwhelming. Maybe just a whiff of sewer gas mixed with a fresh perm smell, with a dash of slightly rotting potatoes thrown in? However if you have a weak or tender stomach you might want to avoid this entire experiment.

Here is what the water looked like once the fleece was out.

Once on the drying table, I worked to spread the fleece out, then took the hose to it. I ran lots and lots of water over it, so if you are thinking of trying this to conserve water, don't. The fleece seemed a little discolored along the back, there was still quite a bit of vegetative matter, and there were...things. I think they were mosquito larva but I'm not sure. There weren't that many, and they washed out with the hose treatment, but still. And I had a lid on the bin too, although it didn't fit on there tight (since the lid belonged to a different tub). So if you do try this, I'd recommend some kind of screening over the whole thing as it soaks.

The fleece immediately after taking out of the tub....

Also if you have neighbors, you might want to do this when they are all off on vacation...

I do have to admit the fleece was very clean as far as dirt and grunge go. Once I thoroughly hosed it off, I left it to dry all day in the sun. By evening, it still had a distinct odor, but at that point I wasn't sure if it was from the fermenting or just the rammy smell (which can be very strong in and of itself!).

Here the fleece has been drenched with the hose, and left to dry
in the sun

It was dark now, and what to do, what to do. Finally I filled the washer with hot water and Dawn and put the fleece in to soak. Soak, spin. Then another soak, spin. Somewhere along there I realized my washer wasn't draining right and water was splashing out on the floor. Noooo... Not rammy smelling water on my floor! Turned the washer off, and trudged outside in the dark to dig out the drainage trench. Yep, it was clogged--not with wool-- but mud and grass. By then it was getting pretty late, and I was heartily sick of the whole stinking mess. Stuffing the wet unrinsed fleece into a plastic bag, I took it back outside, rinsed it with the hose and put it back on the drying rack. In the dark. On the drying rack I had earlier moved outside the yard to keep Ashley the Shredder, from, well shredding the wool.

Fleece after drying in the sun all day.

The next morning bright and early before going to work I took the hose to it again. At this point it is a miracle the whole thing didn't felt up into a giant ball. After drying in the hot sun all day the fleece still has an odor, but it's not overwhelming. Seriously I think it's just the rammy smell. You know, the rammy smell that was the whole reason I did this experiment.

Final result, after the additional soak/spin with Dawn and drying in the sun all day

So anyway, it's now wrapped up in a sheet, sitting in my future wool-room-trailer. I'm thinking about emailing one of my processors to see if they will try and wash it again and work it up into roving. It's a beautiful fleece, and of course special because it's Jeff's last one, so I'd like to try. I'll let you know how that goes.

Take away on this? It was an interesting experiment and I'm glad I tried it. If it weren't for the little bug thingies in the water, I might have dunked another fleece in there just for 'fun'. The second fleece is only suppose to sit for two days. Again if your are doing it to save water, well it didn't work out to be water conservative on my watch. I probably won't try again, unless I just forget what a mess it all was. Which could happen because every day is a new day around here.

And there you have it.

Time Flies....

It's been a busy few weeks, but hopefully things will settle down a bit now. Here is a sort of update....

Two views of my booth...

Marshfield Fiber Fair
As you know Jeff got suddenly sick and died, despite all treatments. This was the week before the fiber fair, and as usual I was running 'last minute' on everything. The extra time I spent trying to nurse Jeff through left me a bit behind, but in spite of myself, I did manage to pull enough together to have a good showing for the fair. None of the roving I had sent to be processed made it back in time, but so it goes. At the last minute I pulled four fleeces from the skirted and bagged ones that were going to the fair. A repeat customer had requested them via the website. I believe I ended up taking six fleeces plus two 'back ups' that had only been skirted once. I sold four of them plus two pounds out of one of the skirted-only-once sacks. It was a merino/dorset cross and the lady wanted it for the heavy lanolin to make pin cushions! I also had some roving in various shades of fawn, plus a little black, and some grey. There were also batting of white merino/dorset--some I had cut into squares and sold according to the ounces. These went pretty well. I sold 64 ounces of roving plus the fleeces and the two silk/wool scarves I had made, making this my best year yet. Had some great neighbors, and lots of good help and company with my family and visiting with sheep and fiber friends.

Tempe was very happy I brought her box back from the fiber fair (I had to use it on the scale to weigh roving...)

Vacation:

At home, the following week I boxed up and sold six fleeces (counting the four I pulled). I think I still have about six or seven more to skirt and get listed. Monday the first day of vacation, I mostly just worried the day away. The little black ram lamb had only one descended testicle and I had scheduled for him to go to the vet's to be operated on. (I hope to post that story later too!) Sheep sometimes do not handle anesthesia very well, and can sometimes just not come out of it. At this point, almost a week later, the little guy seems no worse for wear, and is as friendly as ever. He had a very long day at the vet's but didn't really miss his stride once he got home! Also the week before his surgery I had him and his twin at the vet's ---the vet went ahead and castrated the little grey ram lamb at that time. The next evening I went ahead and banded the other three ram lambs. Jasper (the oldest lamb) and his mom went to their new home the day before. Now we are a ram free zone. Except for rotten Blue.

Two pictures of my 'view' for a day and half. See all that 'treasure'? And note two important items for manning a yard sale--cheez it snacks and a good book to read!

I also was preparing for a yard sale off and on all week. Digging out those treasures (aka junk) I've been hanging on to. It's just ridiculous how much stuff I can accumulate. The yard sale was all day Friday and half day Saturday. Since we live out in the country, there were four different outfits that scheduled the sale for those days, in hopes of drawing a bigger crowd. It seemed to work. I did 'okay' and sold allot of stuff, but seemed like I still had too much left. I've boxed up the books for the library store, and two sacks for goodwill to be dropped off Monday. Not sure what to do with all those VHS tapes! There are a couple things I'll list on Freecycle (recliner, etc). It got terribly hot and humid yesterday and it seems we are in for a stretch of that type weather. In the last few weeks I bet we've had 6 to 7 inches of rain or more. The ground is so saturated that it makes walking around hard! (esp. if you are a sheep in a mucky paddock....) Of course all that rain can really crank out the humidity once it warms up.

High cotton, er, grass for the sheepies

Finally got the ewes turned out on the lower pasture. They are less amused than you might think, since the grass is well over their heads and very wet. They lose each other often (all those bitty lambs) and there is quite a bit of squalling throughout the day. With the intense sudden heat and humidity they are really not happy campers. I sure can understand that....

Just a picture of the light on the leaves of a catalpa tree...

I transplanted some tomatoes outside but they aren't doing well at all. They got quite a beating with rain, and now the sun is intense. I stretched a light weight sheet over them to shelter them a little. I didn't get any of my garden out like I thought I would either....

Jeff's fleece getting stuffed into the tub of rainwater...

I am trying the 'Fermented Suint Method' on Jeff's fleece this year. Usually I just mulch the beautiful thing because of the rammy smell, but this year I thought I'd give this a shot. We shall see. I'll try and remember to give an update. (The FSM is basically filling a container (outside) with soft water--rain water being ideal--putting the fleece in and making sure it's all covered with water, letting it soak for seven days. From what I hear the smell is horrible, but in most cases washes out. This method uses the natural suint in the fleece to clean it and breakdown the vegetable matter. I've also heard it can go horribly wrong...)

The clematis are in full bloom. Very pretty this year. The peonies got beat down by the rain and never got to display their full glory.

It's hard to believe my vacation week is over. I hardly got started.

What's Going On?

Lots of this.....

....Skirting fleeces (removing unpleasant bits)

...measuring staple length.....

...bagging and weighing and writing descriptions..

Marshfield Fiber Fair is day after tomorrow! Am I ready? No way, no how...

There's also allot of this going on.... (grass growing)

...and ALLOT of these looks! (Boone's comments? "stupid sheep, stupid fleeces"...bored sigh")

And while some sulk, others (Ashley) make the best of it---do you think she is a little toy greedy?

Hopefully next week I'll get back into the swing of things. I'll be on vacation and am so looking towards that.

On a sadder note, Jeffery, my Shetland ram is down. All very mysterious. He can't eat, but has the strength to stand up and shuffle around, but not enough to stay standing. He can't seem to lift his head (not floppy, more stiff), but is alert. My hopes aren't high at this point. He has been on supportive therapy since Sunday, in addition to a welter of things to try and get something to work. Thanks to all the advice from a few good and kind shepherds out there. It is much appreciated.

Have a good week!