This, That and ta Other thing

Miscellaneous doings around the farm/life/etc....

The second to last day of school Lila was recognized for having the highest score on the MEAP test for Reading of all fifth graders in the Eastern Upper Peninsula Intermediate School District!  She had 100%.  Thats my girl!

This day also was field day.  I hung out with the 2nd and 3rd grade class.

This was a team work exercise passing the hula hoop down the line of kids holding hands.

The obligate sack race.

More team work on a three-legged race. 

Good thing Sam kept up cause big Nick would have just dragged him across the finish line!

This was taken just prior to Morgan and Duncan tripping over each other and then blaming the other one for falling over.  They didn't quite get the teamwork thing down.

Phew!

Alternate use for stock tank. 

This tank was given to us by a friend but it is too deep for the sheep to use so we use it to collect rainwater in to water the plants.  But first it was used as a mini pool.

We couldn't find Lila's suit so she is wearing one of mine (that I no longer fit into but kept for some reason). She now has a more appropriate suit (but will probably be wearing this one in five years time again)!

Well water.  Cold well water.

Duncan gets his cast of today...yay!  I don't think I took a single picture of him with that cast darn it.  He thought he was pretty cool wearing it too.  I'm glad he will be able to take a shower by himself again....no more assisted baths!

I'm half way through washing fleeces and then Lila and I will make the mad dash down to Zeilengers to have it magically converted to roving while we hang out in little bavaria with Grandma Marilyn, and then drive north again.  These mini road trips are exhausting but a fun bonding experience. 

One of the Speckled sussex X Buff Orpington chicks from last year hatched FIFTEEN eggs a couple weeks back.  She was sitting on a clutch of 19 eggs.  These chicks should be 75% Buff orpington and 25% speckled sussex, except I think her mother laid a couple of eggs in this nest so there will be a few of the 50:50 crosses again.

More good news...it is raining!  Grass is growing as we speak so sheep can convert it to wool.

  That is the real purpose of grass in case you were wondering.

Sheep Shearing Day

It has been a busy couple of weeks around the farm! 

The kids are out of school, we've had weather in the mid 80's and have hit freezing once or twice in the past two weeks.  Very difficult gardening weather.  Little rain also.

One of the most notable recent events was that the Sheep were Shorn!  David Keir once again came to us via Wisconsin to shear on May 31st. Here he is working his wizardry.

Chunk volunteered to go first.  She always does! 

 I think she is in love with David based on the look on her face.

She is hoping he has cookies in his pocket.

Liz in the "headlock" pose. I love the way the fleece just peels away from the sheep so smoothly.

I realize you can't see much of the sheep here...but look at his arms!!

This is Fancy getting her summer Fancy do.

Being delicate around Fancy's ears.

Cameo.  She has a large fleece; spotted fawn and white which makes a nice oatmeal color blended.

Zanzibar, our sheep with the identity crisis.  She hangs out with the llamas.  She is a musket colored Shetland with a very fine fleece (so we forgive her eccentricities).

Deja...the silvery black sheep goddess of the flock.

I think this must be Beltane, Deja's son.  He has a lovely dark taupe fleece that is wicked soft.

Snowball, one of the silly Olde English Southdown Babydoll sheep. 

I added this photo mainly because of the onlookers in the background.  Chunk just couldn't drag herself away and I had to keep shooing her out of the barn.

The other babydoll- Cocoa!  I wouldn't know where on earth to start on these hairy beasts.

The final product!

Now the hard work begins!  The fleece must be washed....

I'll have some more updates soon.  Some end of the school year kid photos and fun.

I am a Schacht Dealer!

I am VERY pleased to say, that we will be carrying Schacht spinning wheels and accessories

 here at the farm!  We will also be able to supply weavers and order looms and accessories for weaving!

Jane Patrick had called and left a message on our phone and the soonest I could call her was on a fifth grade trip to Mackinac Island (in Lake Huron in the Straits of Mackinac).  I called her after lunch while sitting across from the fountain on the lawns of the Grand Hotel...an idealic spot to recieve such exciting news!  I will have a post soon with some Lila Photos from the Island.

Now I have to decide what to order....

In other news....on the last day of school, Duncan (sitting on the edge of the slide and looking over) fell off the slide at school and fractured his arm.  He has a torus fracture across both bones just above the wrist and was rushed to the emergency room for x-rays and a temporary cast.  He goes today to the orthopedic surgeon for a permanent cast.  He is most excited about getting to choose the color.  He isn't excited about us hollering at him to slow down, quit running, stop fooling around, etc...in all our parental paranoia about him hurting his arm more.  This one is helping to speed up the graying process.

We shall receive instructions from the Doctor I'm sure about what he can and cannot do.  Soccer starts next week,and of course, Grandma Marilyn brought up a trampoline for summer fun.

...and...David Keir is coming to shear our sheep this week!  Thursday I think.... 

They are SO ready.

Jewell and Smore

Before this past Christmas/Yule holiday I posted about Duncan's hearts desire from Olde St. Nick: a pet that would live longer than a year (he inherited a couple of used hamsters that didn't live long and a couple of mice which biologically have short life spans and all this death was evidently taking a toll on puir wee Duncan's psyche).

Enter, Jewell.

Jewell was only six weeks old when she came.

Two weeks into pet ownership, Jewell developed an abcess that required a visit to the vet, where it was lanced and squeezed and cleaned out with peroxide.  It was a stressful event for her (and me!) and she nearly died of shock in my hands at the vet (imagine trying to describe to the child whose only present request from Santa was for a pet because his keep dying what happened to his new sweet Guinea Pig two weeks after she arrived...).  But, all turned out well.

However, Guinea's are herd animals and generally live longer more healthy lives in groups.

Last week, This little squirt came to live with us.

Her name is Smore.  You know, because she is marshmallow, dark chocolate, and caramel colored!

Smore is tiny compared to Miss Jewell, and is likely 6-7 weeks old.

They seem to be getting along famously, and Smore enjoys chin scratches and ear rubs like her big buddy.

If you haven't had a guinea pig before, I suggest visiting with one.  They are adorable wee things and very appreciative of your company (if they aren't terrified of you that is).  They fit well into our household and part of my early morning routine includes giving out some chin rubs...and getting affection in return.

If Duncan wants to move them into his room I'll be sad!

Carving Stamps for the Farm

Sometime in the past year, I came up with a design/logo for the farm.

I wanted it to have a celtic feel, hence the triskeles, swirls, and the intertwined border, and have representation of the animals here at the farm.  The FIBER portion of the farm.  Not that the chickens and other assorted sundry animals aren't important, I was just looking for a logo for the fiber end of the business.

It isn't perfect, but I like it enough.

The drawback of this particular design is that I did it by hand and then scanned it to bring it into the digital world which works for most things, but I don't have access to any really great drawing softwear so I can't make the background of the image clear so it can be overlaid onto other things, or wrap text around it.

But, I digress.

One of the things I wanted to do with the logo, was to incorporate it, or elements of it, onto bags, stickers, envelopes etc...A challenge to do without an image I can manipulate.

Then, I ordered a hand carved stamp from a fellow Etsian.

Lightbulb!

I can make my own!

No, not the intricate border.  I still want a stamp with it all on it.  I'm not that talented a carver however.

But, I thought I could probably carve the individual animals.

First, you trace your design on a piece of tracing paper.

Then, you rub the tracing paper on the Moo-Carve. 

(I imagine it got its name from the fact that you can carve it like a soft cheese.)

This way of transferring the design ensures that you have your image the right way round.

Next, I carved out the pencil marks.  With the detail it would have been harder to carve away most of the white, so the design will be in color instead of in relief.

Carving away all the extra white was the fun part!  It is easy to get too carried away...

One thing I found was that it is easier to make adjustments to your fine detail BEFORE you carve away too much of the white along the outside of the stamp.  The Moo-carve is more stable that way and you have less danger of making a big mistake.

Finally, you get out your ink pad and give it a whirl. 

Then you can make any needed adjustements to your carving based on your impression.

This is fun.

This is NOT hard.

I am hooked.

Unfortunately, I ran out of Moo-carve!

The last post of Sam's Birthday had giftwrap that I stamped all over using another stamp that I made from the "Sam's Monsters " series.  I am going to carve more of his monster designs and stamp some cards with them.  They are just too cute not to share.

Nine, Sam I am!

Some Pictures of the Big Guy on his Big Day.

Duncan made him the hat; I made the gift wrap with a rubber stamp I carved...more on that later!

Looker On-ers

Intent on the wind chime from Aunt Bonnie

Good title for a book!

He was saying "Awesome!" about the Playmobil dragon inside the box.

 This one was hard to open!

Can you figure out what this is supposed to be?  I thought it looked like a cross between a guinea pig and Gollum from the Hobbit.  (It is supposed to be a guinea pig...one named "Smore"...more on that later too!)

 Fervent birthday wishes.  I wonder what it was for?!?

Duncan looks like he is ready to help!

It was a good day.