Work to Do

This white wool yarn is ready for dyeing. Now I just have to beat the rain forecast for the day. I had done a little dyeing before a quick Ohio trip & now I am playing catch up as I have two different sales to attend this weekend. In just a moment I am going to mix up some nice green dye and some nice brown dye - I've already got lots of bright colors dyed so thought that with the rain coming it seems like more subdued shades might be appropriate.

The Hay is a Blessing

Every time it rains, I think of how grateful we are to be able to get hay now. These last few years of drought have been a challenge, one that even included bringing hay in from Kansas a few years back. We got another hay delivery last week from a fellow south of town. He also had more hay to bale. Although we don't want to feel overconfident, it sure is nice not to be scurrying around and praying to find an odd bale or two.

Rudy

Rudy is such a happy old guy. He is stone deaf and loves to nap but is still a pleasure to us. He comes alive at supper time - I caught him gently holding a sheep by the head just yesterday. The little ram had the nerve to try to snag some dog food and Rudy was just warning him.

Drier Days

I ran across this picture of Oliver & Amber that was taken on a warmer summer day. Amber is our oldest Tunis ewe. She spends plenty of time napping but is also busy for a fair bit of the day. When she puts her mind to something she can accomplish it. Just yesterday she shoved on a gate long enough until it finally shifted open far enough for her to squeeze through. Next time I'll just have to be sure the chain is a bit tighter on the latch.

Wet Ducks

The ducks had an absolute field day! With almost 4 inches of rain in two days, there were small ponds even on the higher end of the pastures. I would see what looked like fountains shooting out of the grass only to realize it was a duck flapping its wings and glorying in the latest puddle it had found. We had no water damage and only one tree fell but it is obvious we'll be needing our mucking boots for the next few days.

Still alive & kicking

Tip is our old goat who tried so hard to die a few weeks ago. She had apparently been battered by a buck in the night and we found her unable to move one morning. She could barely draw a full breath. After lots of tender care she managed to recover and is up to her usual tricks which include being one of the first goats to try to shove her way into my pockets in case I have a treat.

Fuzzy Photos

The photos look fuzzy because they are! It is carded wool carefully teased out to the consistency of spiderwebs and layered to be wet felted into a scarf.

Two old ladies napping...

Mollie is our German Shorthair Pointer who we acquired a good twelve or so years ago. She was not a pup but a gun-shy young lady who'd been overlooked in her litter. Although she's never hunted, she's quite the bird dog & a threat to our chickens. When they come into Mollie's large yard, she will "worry" them until I come along to rescue them or it dawns on them to fly over the fence. I've even seen her crouch and crawl up behind the pine trees in her yard to sneak up on a bird. Luckily, Mollie has a soft mouth so usually the result is a few ruffled feathers and lots of squawking.

Little girl is at least thirteen years old and is a Manx cat that resembles a Siamese in the face. She comes in the house each evening and heads right for the back bathroom where she can eat with the door shut and no competition. Although she loves to be in the house, she is seizure-prone and has rolled down the stairs before so can only be inside under supervision. She has several cozy places where she loves to nap outside. We go looking for her when she isn't at the door for dinner but she's a headstrong old lady who is usually right on schedule.

Little Girl was napping on the couch when I let Mollie in to visit. Mollie wanted on that couch so badly but could not figure out what to do about the cat. She finally crept up onto the couch and curled tightly into one corner. Little Girl instinctively snuggled up against her and they both napped the afternoon away.