S-U-C-K-E-R

It must be tattooed on my forehead.

Today I received a phone call at work.

"Sherry, remember me?  My name is Mary and you rescued an Eagle at our house two years ago."

"Yes, of course Mary I remember you.  How are you?"

"Well, not so good.  We found our neighbor dead in his house the other day.  He had five ducks that we don't know what to do with that were his dear pets...he raised them as ducklings in his house."

"Ummm...are they Mallards?"  (She called me at work so I thought MAYBE this was work related)

"No, they are white ducks".

Shit.

"Let me call Will...."

Three Pekins and two Indian Runner Ducks.  Males? Females? They make softly quacking noises and some have curly tails.  We'll figure this out as we go I guess....

(the "internet" says vent sexing is only for experts, and I have to admit that most of the wild ducks I have vent sexed were dead...so maybe I'm not really an expert?! I think I'm too old for an identity crisis.)

Their wooden house is on blocks and filled with clean straw in the chicken yard.  We put up a box shelter behind their house blocking the north wind.  They have cracked corn and a three gallon pan of water and are probably wondering where Bob is. 

 I hope we can live up to their expectations, because I think Bob treated them like royalty.

(the kids are thrilled!)

A Very Barry Cherry Matchless

I received the following exciting email this weekend:

"Our vintage, matchless founder is soon to have a significant birthday. To celebrate, we’re offering a special-edition cherry Matchless double-treadle spinning wheel. The production folks are working on a not-yet-revealed special treatment/mark/bauble that’s sure to be unique and fun! We’ll let you know when we know!

If demand is anything like the last run, which sold out in days, it is best not to delay!

We’ll ship in batches beginning April 10, 2013, Barry’s birthday."

Price: Matchless Double Treadle Spinning Wheel, cherry $1450 (free shipping).

I've ordered one cheery cherry Matchless for the shop, so let me know if you are interested. I also have a price list for cherry accessories! They are worth the wait.

 

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Eye've Got My Eye on Ewe

Soleil's extra large alpaca eye....feed me, she says, and I will be your friend....

Alpacas and Llamas are not partial to pumpkins.

 "What in the name of all things wooly are they thinking!"

"Don't they know that pumpkin seeds are nutritious and may have anthelminic properties?"

(please remember that sheep are not particularly good at spelling)

"nom nom nom nom...."

Shhh...Zanzibar is concentrating. (She is B.o.B.'s fourth girl)

"Where are the alpaca bits???"

"Maaaa....goat over it already!"

Catching Up with October

October 7th- Big D turns EIGHT.

There was a party.  With lots of noise, boys, and face making.  Yikes.

October 26
 Halloween Dance for grades 5-7; the Lila Wren attended in this costume.

The Mandarin style long jacket was mine in my early 20's.  

I'm amazed at how much of my clothing from that era fits her.

She is also wearing my shoes!  Size 9 1/2....poor girl!

October 27- National Hug A Sheep Day

 

Fancy obliged me as usual.

Samhain 2012

 

I can't help but think of Terry Pratchett when I see Sam in this.  

I THINK SIR TERRY WOULD BE PROUD.

 

Zombie's won by sheer numbers at the Curtis Ladies Aid Halloween Party.  At least one third of all the kids were dressed up as zombies.  I had that Cranberries song "Zombies" running through my skull all evening.

 

The Coquettish Cat.

I made that black skirt from 5 yards of black cotton when I was 18.

 

"Cats" is one of Lila's favorite movies.  I think her costume was thus inspired.

You may have noticed the photo rich post?

Yes, we have given up and joined the ranks of those enlightened by satellite internet service. 

 It will be years before, if ever, we are given the opportunity for any other form of high speed internet.  

 You can hear the sound of the wallet being sucked dry...

 However, all the wireless devices in the house now work much to the joy of all the 

wee ones and the phone line is forever available!  Call us!

One of these things is not like the other....

I don't normally bring my work life into the blogosphere, but yesterday was a bit of a treat.

I was called to the front desk to identify a skull for a couple, so reference book in hand up I went. I didn't need the book though because the large skull was clearly from a cow. The reason I say clearly is because I have many of them in the back because they are frequently, and rightly so, mistaken for moose skulls. I tried to break the news gently.

Me: " hi! That is a really nice skull you found, it is a cow skull."

Couple: "yes!"

Me: "I mean a moo cow skull not a moose cow skull."

Couple: "No, it can't be a cow, why would there be a cow in the middle of the woods?" ( the wife has her eyes narrowed at me and the fella is very skeptical)

Me: "Well bear hunters and coyote hunters place carcasses and parts when they are hunting and those parts end up being brought to the office to be identified. I have several cow and pig skulls as references, I will go get some." (I trot to the back and bring out a cow skull and a young bull moose skull I have that only has one antler.)

Wife: "That can't be a moose, it only has one small antler!"

Me: "It is a yearling bull moose and he lost an antler in the altercation that allowed me to have his skull."

Wife: " It doesn't look any different from the skull WE brought in."

Me: "Let's look at the dentition. Cows have very flat grinding surfaces on their teeth while moose have somewhat sharper cusps. Also, the top of the skull is considerably narrower on a moose as is the back of the skull. You can see that your skull is almost identical to the cow skull that I have and different from the moose skull here in these ways."

Wife: "Well it looks the same to me!"

Me: " Erm....."

Wife: (eyes narrowed to tiny slits) "Do you know any Wiccan witches? I'll bet THEY can tell you how that skull got into the woods!"

Me: (incredulously maintaining my decorum) "Ma'am, I think I'd bet on the hunters."

The couple left muttering, utterly unconvinced of my scientific prowess. I am left one bovine skull richer and the idea that any Wiccans in the greater Luce County area (population 5,000) are about to be discovered by this couple.

p.s. the moose skull is on top and the skull they brought me on the bottom. Another cow skull is sandwiched in between. You be the judge!

 

 

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B.o.B.'s Girls

I took advantage this past lovely warm and dry weekend to spend some quality time with the sheep. 

 Some of them were quite eager to get some chest scritches.

Fancy was the first one there.  I can always depend on her for some sheep hugging. 

I Love Her.  We Understand Each Other.

Then Snowball shows up.  He is one of those silly southdown babydoll sheep.

I find him hard to give scritches to because he has so much dense wool.  Hard to find those bare spots.  It is almost time to trim the wool away from his eyes.  AND change sheep suits.

He is beginning to look like a stuffed sausage.

Elle came next.  She is going to be one of B.o.B.'s girls. 

She has a sweetly bossy personality.  When she wants pats, she walks up and pushes her face on mine or will paw at me until I give her attention.  If I am sitting down, she will walk onto my lap and stand on those sharp little hooves with her face pushed into my cheek or shoulder until she gets her chest scritches.

Slightly more stand-offish is her daughter Gaia, who is also going to be a B.o.B. girl. 

Isn't she cute?  Her cuteness is misleading...she is the girl in charge out there; the lead sheep.

Deja is also going to be a B.o.B. girl.  She has a BIG fleece.  Soft too.  I like the way she looks.

The last and final B.o.B. girl is Zanibar.  She, typically, wouldn't come anywhere near me. I'll sneak up on her to get an updated photo.  They all need their suits changed or adjusted so there will be an opportunity!

Not something I had considered.....

It has been awhile, and much has happened in our neck of the woods.  Fall is most definitely upon us and the wood furnace has been a comfort.  All of the rain that was denied us this summer has deluged us this fall, making those few sunny dry days delightful indeed.

A dear friend needed to find good homes for some of her fiber animals (I bet you can figure out which kind) and it was rather hard to say no to her given the situation.  Her business parter, at whose farm the animals lived, wanted to get out of the UP and head south after some life changes so he is selling out and wants to be gone by the end of November, hence the desperate search for homes.  I am honored to be considered a good home for those lovely ladies and they have taught me a few new things already!

Item number 1:  It is good to have friends.

Item number 2:  Having one good eye is a blessing.

(Luna, the alpaca in front, only has one eye...an accident we were told)

Number 3:  If you have two bad eyes, having friends is helpful.

(Star, the paca in front, has a cataract in one eye and very limited sight in the other.  She is Luna's mother...perhaps accidents are congentital for alpacas?)

Number 4:  Black is not ALWAYS black.  The golden brown alpaca's registered name is "Black Ice".  We call her "Soleil" because she is golden as the sun.  The wee cria next to her is a suri alpaca...also black.  (Brownish black is called Bay Black in alpaca speak.  Looks like dark brown!)  We have been calling her "dark matter" in fitting with the space themes but it is a bit clunky.  Have any suggestions???

The small white alpaca is "peggy Sue".  She came with that name and is a sweetie!  She has HUGE eyes, but wouldn't look at me when I wanted her too.

This is Lyra.  She is Soleil's daughter.  One eyed Luna looks on worried I am going to put eye medicine in her socket...she had an eye infection when we picked her up.  That sounds confusing I realize...but there is an actual eye sunk in the socket but it doesn't work.

We also have learned that it is easier to handle alpacas than llamas (they are half the size), you can pick up the leg of an alpaca to trim their feet (you have to lay on your face in the dirt to trim a llamas toes because they immediately lay down on top of their feet when you bring out the clippers), and alpacas are much more vocal than llamas with quite the range of tone from soft humm's to indignant squeals!

So, now Spinner's End Farm is home to two species of camelids (which seem to be getting along fine now after a brief altercation which put miss bossy Igraine in her place!).

Over-exuberant Gardening

I know I should be grateful that the fruit of our earlier labors has been so prodigious, but I can't help thinking that I really am tired of canning.  Don't get me wrong; I love canning and seeing the pantry shelves pile up with lovely glittering jewels.  It makes me feel good. 

It is just that there are only so many hours in the day.

Yesterday's forcast was for 30-32 degrees overnight.  This meant a panicked rush concerted effort to bring in what was left in the garden that is susceptible to low temps.  I came home from work after lunch to help Will bring it all in.

This is a reasonable amount of squash for our consumption.  We generally plant butternut squash instead of buttercup squash but a friend gave us plants she started in her greenhouse.  I do think they are cool looking!  The wee delicata's in the background are amazingly sweet.

I appreciate their stripey-ness.

The flower end of the buttercups have an interesting texture and pattern.

Peppers in the basket were a nice surprise...they were hidden under leaves on the pepper plants which had dissapeared under the tomatillo plants.  We will be making sweet pickle/pepper relish this evening. MORE tomatoes.  Mostly heritage in the box in front.  Some of the green tomatoes were fried last evening at the Lila Wren's request.  The leeks were a gift; they will go in potato-leek soup (at Duncan's request).

Tomatillo's and even more tomatoes.  We'll be making salsa verde this evening also.  The tomatillo basket was overflowing but I shared with a few friends.

Eggplants or aubergines did overly well this year!  There were two varieties; one japanese or asian eggplants that had a lighter skin and were much thinner, and another that were supposed to be egg or globe shaped...which were not.  They were long and a chubbier- skinny eggplant!  This is about 20 pounds worth, and after my friend Jodi came and took about fifteen off of the top.

Seventeen pumpkins (not all in the photo) of varying sizes, and yes; we picked sprays of green cherry tomatoes to enjoy later.   Psychologically we had a hard time leaving even the green tomatoes in the garden even though we had way too many tomatoes to begin with.  That is not to say we didn't leave any tomatoes there....we did.  There were way to many cherries to pick!  Will estimates our tomato harvest at ~300 lbs.

This is probably about three bushels of basil.  Some will be distributed to friends and the rest dried or turned into pesto.  This is not a typical harvest in the U.P.!

We ended up with a very light frost, not a killing frost.  The plus side is we don't have to rush next time a frost is predicted.  The down side is....we have to deal with preserving all of this that much sooner!

Lila is taking a canning class at school that meets twice a week.  She is learning how to use a pressure canner and they canned beans on Monday.  The school has a lovely garden that was started by the kids; click this link for a video story done yesterday from a "local" news station out of Traverse City.  Lila could barely stand it because she is certain that the jar of beans the reporter is holding was the one she canned.  Much better evidently than having your face on the news!