Fallen Oak Farm : formerly Morning Star Shetland Sheep

Josie's Story

2011-10-01T06:33:00.000-07:00

http://www.amazon.com/Josies-Story-Mothers-Inspiring-Crusade/dp/0802119204

Eight years ago, I had returned to school hoping to complete the Bachelor of Science in Nursing. I completed a year, and stayed home with the children. This summer, I returned to school, hopefully to finish. It's not easy to be a full time student, wife, mother, have a house and chores,but it is going okay. Sometimes it's really hard, but I take things one day at a time and am getting through just find. In fact, it's made be become better organized and self disciplined.

In a nursing newsletter, Josie's Story, was recommended. Why? To enhance our leaning and critical thinking skills. This beautiful little girl was about to be released from the hospital when a nurse gave her a narcotic, that she was no longer supposed to have, and it stopped her heart. The mother told the nurse no, that the drug was not supposed to be given, but, the nurse gave it anyhow. The mother was uneasy several times in the hospital, her daughter was also severely dehydrated, but kept telling herself not to over react, they know what they are doing........

I have been here. We would have lost our oldest daughter if I hadn't finally switched to another hospital. Our son would be crippled if I didn't listen to my gut instinct and take him to another hospital. Even in the next hospital, her future was uncertain. Yes, I felt like a monster for questioning them and was treated like one. An estimated 98,000 people die each year from medical "mistakes"! And we are supposed to not ask questions and trust the medical communities every move. You would think they would want patients and families involved-to help prevent these accidents. This is an excellent book to read, it is heart breaking. It's bad enough to lose a child, or anyone, to an illness but it is UNACCEPTABLE to lose a child to a medical error and know their death was unnecessary. The money the family received from the hospital is NOTHING, it can't bring their little girl home. But at least they are fighting to prevent as many unnecessary deaths as possible.

They have started The Josie King Foundation http://www.josieking.org/page.cfm?pageID=1

If you don't read the book, go to the site and read her story and what they are doing.

Chicago

2011-08-13T16:51:00.001-07:00

Navy Pier

This week I had an appointment in Chicago and the University of Chicago Medical Center. Some know that we've had troubles with loosing babies late, and for that last two years, early, and everytime. Sofar all boys...the University of Chicago is conducting research on this type of problem as there is no answer for what is going on. Anyhow....my husband and I flew to Chicago, not really knowing what to expect.
And were pleasantly surprised. It was beautiful, at least where we were down by the lake. It was getting dark when we arrived to our hotel and had to hurry out to see something. Navy Pier was just a block away.
The weather couldn't have been better. I think 80's compared to our whopping 100+. There were many little parks and you can rent a bike to ride on the paths up and down Lake Michigan. Which I would definitely recommend over driving over there :-) That was an interesting experience in itself and we were in a cab. We were literally just a few inches away from other people int heir cars. I can't believe the cars weren't touching. Our cab drivers were both very courteous and honest.
There was alot of activity on the lake. They had cruises coming and going. The tallships were there and that was fun to see. Too bad we didn't have time to ride on one.
In the evening, we had supper down along the canal below at a little cafe. Once we returned to our room, we had a treat. The firework that were going off over the lake could be viewed from our window. It was really a nice trip, despite how short we were there. Next day I had my appointment and we flew home.

Chloe and Clementine

2011-08-13T16:27:00.000-07:00

Sometimes things just work out. Several years back, when we had boer goats, we had purchase two, beautiful, white Pyranees dogs who were supposed to be ready to go and good guard dogs. They were raised with goats, and they were probably at least 6 months old. It didn't matter what we did, those dogs would take off down the road. They'd go through electric fence as well, even after we had them shorn. It was like watching Dumb and Dumber. It took about 2 weeks for us to have them sold to someone else who like Pyranees and understood they weren't getting the worlds smartest duo. That experience pretty much ruined our desire for guard dogs.

This past spring, prior to lambing and after the sheep had been moved to a bigger pasture, I thought about finding something to look after them as coyotes are commonplace here. I've heard llamas were a good choice, but after extensive research...it was iffy. You had to get a good one and I just didn't feel up to trying one and having it not be suitable for guarding. So, I looked at the different breeds of guard dogs. Read different posts and it seemed like that was probably the best way to go. We weren't ready to make that commitment yet, and lambing was imminent and the dogs would have to be trained....but, the happiest people, the ones I found anyhow, were ones with crosses between Pyranees and Anatolian. That's what I decided, back then, I would get if I ever did get a dog.

So we lambed out and I lost my first lamb. Pretty confident that it was an eagle that took that one. Just before we had gotten the puppies, another one was killed...by something else. It was either a coyote or a stray dog.

A buyer had come for some sheep and she mentioned she had puppies- they were the crosses I was looking for, it crossed my mind that maybe I should get one. But I still wasn't sure. And, they were spoken for. Later, I made a comment that it crossed my mind to get one and it turned out someone didn't get theirs. So 2 were left. Of course when she emailed the photos that pretty much made the decision. At first we were only getting one, but decided on the pair. It was a good choice. One of the best swaps I've done...thank you Tabitha for the wonderful puppies.

These 2 little girls are really smart and they pay attention. Dont' run off, either. For the first week they just stayed on the porch and hung out with us. They were curious and would follow us into the sheep pens. They are now in with the girls, have their own pen right now, mostly for their own safety. I have a couple ewes with attitude :-)

I think these little girls will work out well.

The Boys- Sold

2011-08-13T16:14:00.001-07:00

Sorted sheep again this week. Some of the sale ewes had gotten loose and in with the main flock and some of the ewes from the main flock decided to go in with the sale ewes. This gave me the opportunity to go ahead and catch my ram lambs and separate them from the ewes.

They adjusted to the change well. A little head butting and running around, but it didn't last long. Neville-the big ram, would get in on the fun and when he'd hit them, they'd go rolling. That pretty much put an end to the fun.

This guy is solid black. Super nice fleece. He is one of two black rams that were born this year.

This little guy is another really nice one. Nice fleece, conformation...... this year there just weren't any "bad" ones.

The Boys

2011-08-13T16:14:00.000-07:00

This guy is solid black. Super nice fleece. He is one of two black rams that were born this year.

This little guy is another really nice one. Nice fleece, conformation...... this year there just weren't any "bad" ones.

Ram Lambs

2011-08-08T16:35:00.000-07:00

I have several nice ram lambs available. Colors range from a dark black, grey, fawn and moorit.

Price: $175

I've sold several of the ewe lambs. As with the ram lambs, the ewes came out super nice. Excellent conformation, fleece-the whole package. Prices are $175 3 or more together- $125/each

I have a few 2-3 year olds to move out. They are $75.

Sale Ewe Lambs

2011-06-21T17:13:00.000-07:00

Sold

Lambs on Ground, Photos Soon To Follow

2011-04-08T05:12:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy winter. Lots happening- good and bad. Computer was down in January and I still don't have the new tower up and running. Got it a couple weeks ago and haven't had the time to finish reloading everything. I've been working on this laptop in the meantime and am really liking the portability of it. It's nice to work at the kitchen table instead of my little computer cubby.

Lambing wrapped up just about 2 weeks ago. My first lamb was on the ground early March and the rest all pretty much came 2 weeks later, in a span of a few days. I've somewhere around 25 this year.

Vanderbilt Home - Hyde Park, New York

2010-10-31T16:00:00.000-07:00

We had arrived in New York a day early and made a stop in Hyde Park. The Vanderbilt's had built one of their homes there and it is available to tour. The view as you drive into their former estate was beautiful.
One can walk the grounds for free, and they are vast. There is a gift shop and the office in one of the homes they had built for guests. This is the main house. We were able to tour it for a small fee, but no photos were allowed inside. It was something to see the beautiful woodworking, sculpted marble, painting on the ceilings....... They brought in skilled laborers from Europe and everything was done by hand.
They had a nice view of the river from the back of the house.

This was the back of the house.

It is something to see all of the detailed hand carving on the pillars and around the outside of the home.
They had several greenhouses at one time and vast gardens. Off to the left, there were terraces where they would have sat at on time.
In the back ground is the gardener's home. When the Vanderbilt's had lived here, there was a farm, as well. It's owned by a private individual and not part of the tour, but you can see the tunnel that went under the road and connected it to the main property. The farm workers would show the livestock at the Duchess County Fair.

At the back of the garden is a water feature that they had. The tour of the house is guided and it was informative. The rest of the grounds your are free to walk and look around.

NY Sheep and Wool Festival

2010-10-20T13:25:00.000-07:00

This year I was able to make the trip to the New York Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, New York. I brought two of my daughters along and we made our trip via the train. It was a long trip out there and back, but well worth it.

There were barns and buildings full of different vendors with beautiful yarns, rovings, shawl pins, handmade drop spindles, hand woven and hand knit items............. It was almost overwhelming. The grounds were packed full of festival go'ers and it was just about impossible to maneuver through the buildings at times.
One of the buildings was dedicated to crafts and wine/food tasting. We came home with several cheeses and a bottle of wine from the Finger Lakes region of New York. Outside, there was a vendor selling various apples and pears from their orchard that was located a few miles up the road from Rhinebeck. They were delicious and we brought home some of those. There were a variety of sheep, lamas and several alpacas. We spent some time watching one of the shows.
We had arrived a day early, hoping to take some time to enjoy the area. We weren't disappointed. The fall colors were beautiful. The water in the background is the Hudson River.
We took a little time to visit the Vanderbuilt mansion in Hyde Park. It offered the chance to drive down to the rivers edge.
One of the last places we visited was the lighthouse in Saugerties.

2010-09-19T12:17:00.000-07:00

It's been a long, hot summer here. We saw many days where the heat index soared up to the 100's. There was a brief spell of cooler weather that lasted about 2 weeks. A relief for both humans and animals. The sheep had a rough time with the heat and humidity .
Some of the ewes are in the picture above. We are up to 21 adult ewes with a variety of colors and fleece types. It's about where I want to stay. So next year, there will be several for sale.
This is one of my favorites. Her fleece is extremely soft and has a nice feel.
The lambs were moved to their own pasture. I'm happy with the lambs this year. They are looking good. Nice conformation, soft, crimpy fleece.
The girls named her Cinderella. She is a sweetheart. As friendly as can be. Her mom is Lockfield Eloise.

Spinning Project for the Fair

2010-07-30T12:35:00.000-07:00

I entered several skeins at Ozark Empire Fair this year. It's my first year taking anything to a fair since I was a child, in 4-H. All of the skeins received 1st place and one was given a Champion. I was surprised!

2010-07-16T15:24:00.000-07:00

Summer is flying by here on the farm. The adult ewes were loaded up and spent several days on a neighbors farm. They grazed around the outbuildings, cleaning up the grass. I saved a little fleece from one of the ewes that were recently shorn. She was out of Salem and Crescendo. It is the most amazing fleece I have felt as to date. An intermediate fleece that is buttery soft. I've carded some and will spin a sample. I didn't save the entire fleece. There was too much new growth.
I have made some changes to the blog. It's primary purpose will be to list sheep for sale, or other sheep/fiber related things. With everything going on, I just don't have the time to "blog" and when I do post, I don't get back on until the next post( long stretch in between) to make "comments" a worthwhile feature.

Introducing the Lambs.....

2010-06-13T06:07:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy start to summer here on the farm. Soccer is finished until fall, but there are many more things to take its place. Swim lessons started this week. The fair is coming up and it's time to be thinking and more importantly, getting some of those projects done. I am still working at getting the garden in. Most of it is planted. We've been renovating the pastures that the beef have been in. The grass was poor, thin and it needed some attention. The dairy pastures have been getting replanted, some are planted yearly. Right now the sudan is going in.
School is officially done, but we do some here and there yet. I've been working on the curriculum and ordering books. I've officially transitioned to a classical curriculum, which I have already been doing except for the addition of latin and the advance literature-of which mine are just getting old enough to start into those levels anyhow. Most will be an adjustment of how I teach and incorporating their participation in discussions.
To understand this method, to which I have always been drawn-but it seemed so foreign (words like trivium and quadrivium), I was fortunate enough to attend a conference up in Kansas City. Laura Berquist was the featured speaker. She taught her own children, several others and started Mother of Divine Grace School which gives children a classical education.
There were other speakers- I attended several on nature, literature and working with older children. It was a wonderful experience.

This past Wednesday, we finally sheared. It was much later than I would have preferred. At least it's done and I am certain that the ewes are appreciative. While they were up, I trimmed hooves. They were pretty overgrown this year. The only thing I can attribute to this may be the wet weather we've had.
The older lambs were pulled to be weaned. I had already pulled 4, several weeks ago. I went ahead and tagged, banded and gave CDT vaccinations. We've been bottle feeding our lambs for about 2 weeks, just to help with making them more friendly. This has been a great thing for the wethers. They love to come up and be scratched, pet and enjoy being around people. There are several photos of lambs here, there are many not pictured.
This is our favorite little ram lamb. He is wethered, so we can keep him for a pet. He is a pretty little boy.
We love the markings on his face.
This was another ewe out of Crescendo. She is interesting as I have not seen another like her.
She is pretty white, just a few brown hairs, more, perhaps over her top. But I didn't notice that many more.
Here, you can see into the fleece and how white-or cream, colored it is.
We were happy to see Kaya have this pretty little ewe lamb. Kaya is also mom to the ram lamb/wether we like so much.
Salem had this black ewe. Right now, her fleece is black. The only white I've seen is around her face.
She is a nice ewe with a great temperament.
This ram lamb was the only one retained for use in a breeding program. He was the most correct and is a nice little boy.
His tail is super, although the wind was blowing and you can't really see.
Another nice ewe lamb our of Allena's ram. Also, correct with a nice tail.
Our escapee hens have been busy. It's always fun to walk into the barn and hear the sound of new baby chicks, somewhere. Eventually mom brings them out. I've incubated and raised chicks, but it is much better for the hens to do the job. They do it better than I ever could. It's amazing to watch the chicks and how healthy they are.
One of our giant Blue Cochin roosters.
Those little Muscovy ducklings have grown quite alot over the last several weeks. They've made themselves at home in the chicken house and I am not sure that they don't think they are chickens. I've seen a duck, raised with several border collies, think it was a border collie and would work horses just as the dogs did.

Lamb Photos

2010-04-16T07:54:00.000-07:00

The weather has warmed up and we've gotten quite busy. A couple of the kids are playing soccer this year and are really enjoying themselves. The older girls are busy preparing for the Stockton Music Festival this weekend as well as their first horse show. Isabelle is going to be showing her new horse, "Peaches". It'll be the first time she's taken her out. We've been calving in since February, with a little break in between then and now. The beef who were due this spring have all calved, except for one. The sheep started lambing- earlier than I thought. Sofar there have been no problems and the one new mom I had, did great. I'm still waiting on several first time ewes. I've been so busy with other things that I've not been doing much in the way of spinning. My roving came back from the fall and is still sitting in the box. Computer ended up in the shop after a storm. It was unplugged- the only thing we can figure would be a charge went through the antenna that is attached to the wireless modem. It's been in and out of the "shop" for the last 2 weeks. I'm still reloading things here and there. Several things are completely gone, along with my emails and addresses. I had a short stay in the hospital after having emergency surgery. I'm feeling good aside from dealing with a low blood count. As long as I sit- I'm good. LOL I've long given up on resting-just not possible with a busy family.
1st Soccer Game
Nibbling Leaves
Kaya's Ram Lamb
Kaya's Ram Lamb
Kaya's Ewe Lamb
Concetta's Ewe Lamb- also out of Crecsendo
Not sure who's lambs these are
Salem's lamb.
Braeton with her lamb

Twins

2010-03-24T16:56:00.000-07:00

Kaya Peppers new lambs out of Fletcher Crescendo. The one that is mostly white is a ram and our black one with a white face is an ewe.

This little guy loves attention and follows a person around.
She is equally as friendly, not yet as mobile as her brother. I was surprised to see two and how they are marked.

Lambs on the Way

2010-03-24T12:16:00.000-07:00

Kaya is going to be our first to lamb. She is definitely in labor today,so hopefully we'll have a lamb before evening.

Our weather had been interesting. A 70 degree day and then this. Snow.
This past Saturday it snowed, and snowed. By the time it was through, we had over 9 inches on the ground.
It was really amazing.

As of today, it's pretty much all gone. Everything is green and it looks like spring.

Short Update

2010-02-15T04:51:00.000-08:00

Lot's of snow-since Christmas, we've had snow on the ground constnantly. Usually we have a snowfall, and it melts right away. Not this year. It's been nice and we've enjoyed our snowy winter.
It's been busy since the last post. School, lessons and appointments. The dry cows and heifers have started calving in. Over the last few weeks, 20+ have calved in. Lots of calves. Several of the Angus cows are close. Hopefully it'll warm up for them. The sheep are looking pregnant. Soon it'll be time to vaccinate and shear off the growth since fall. I decided to lamb later this year.
My Hello Yarn Fiber Club roving arrived last week. It's a Mohair blend, mohair, some nylon and 2%merino. I'm almost done with the last batch of fiber. The swirl shawl is coming along. I have 8 swirls finished.
Made a change to leaving comments-had comments that weren't really comments, I'd say and not needed- so I am screening them for now.

Error

2010-01-23T08:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went back over the breeding group posts from last fall- double checking lambing dates- and there was an error with Three Ring Henry's data. I had mistyped in the AFD at 36.6. That was wrong- His AFD is 23.6. SD 7.9 CV 33.5 Garrett posted a comment bringing it to my attention and I somehow missed that comment.

New Project for the New Year

2010-01-02T15:24:00.000-08:00

I spied a knitted scarf in this pattern at One City Market some time ago. I couldn't resist picking up the pattern in hopes I'd make on too. Today I cast on...........

I'm knitting mine using Jojoland Melody 100% superwash wool-Dye Lot 005, Color# MS27. I finished the first octagon. It was a little bit of a challange getting started. It called for a Knit On Cast On. I'd never cast on with that before and I still tend to be a little awkward with the DPN's. I ripped back a few times until I became comfortable with the pattern. Once I got it, it went quickly and was really easy. It's a pretty neat pattern and I enjoyed getting the first octagone done. I'll pick up 10 stitches along one edge and cast on another 50 and do the same thing over and over...for row A. When I get to row B, I'll pick up 10 on one edge, 10 on another and cast on....

More winter weather on the way. We are forecasted to see another 1-3 inches by tomorrow afternoon. It's cold enough that it'll stick. We have to bring a heifer in, she's due to calve and she can't do that out in the frigid temperatures we are seeing. The horses had to be moved around. They can be a pain sometimes. You've always got someone wanting to fight. Glory and Misty are no exception. We thought we put the two timid ones together- Glory kicked and bit Misty- leaving her with a pretty sore and swollen leg. We thought we were doing a favor for Glory. She is at the bottom of the herd with the other horses and they'd tend to keep her out of the barn. That's why we put her in with Misty. Now, she will just have to cope with the others. Last night something got one of our chickens. Ripped it to pieces. Could be a coyote-they've been getting close. We also have seen stray dogs around.

Fair Isle Hat Finished

2009-12-29T13:16:00.000-08:00

Finished my Fair Isle hat today. It was a quick knit and I think I'd like to make more for Christmas gifts for next year.

Outside of Knitting -

Yesterday we went into Springfield. I had my appointment with the Perineonatologist for my genetic counselling and work-up. They drew 15 tubes of blood and a finger stick. What are we looking for? Good question- I've done alot of research on my own so I was somewhat familiar with what was being discussed. I think the main tests are for clotting disorders- V Factor Leiden being one of these, an Balanced Translocation (in me) - meaning I have 2 chromosomes- Chrom. A and Chrom. B. Chrom A has some of Chrom. B in it, Chrom. B has some of Chrom. A, in equal amounts. If the baby gets one of these chromosomes- dad's wouldn't match because his are normal and the baby will die at some point- in womb or out. If mine come back okay- he'll be tested. The results should be back in 1-2 weeks. I need to know what is going on. Can this be prevented by simple measure- i.e. an aspirin a day for a clotting disorder ( or warfarin), hormones or is this something that just is (Balanced Translocation) and nothing can be done. I'm not into the weird things they are doing with invitro. fert. and the other stuff. With the things that can't be helped with medicine, hormones..... it is simply in God's hands and I am okay knowing there is nothing else that I can do. Now we wait and see. We may not find any answer with these tests, but it's a start.

I sure am not asking for sympathy. It's amazing to me the things that happen to us in our lifetimes. When we lost our 1st son, it all was a blur and my husband had to take pictures of cemeteries to bring for me to look at and choose in the hospital. There was no time, no warning. A few years later, we were there, burying another son. Painful, oh yes. But, if I can spread awareness and share what I am doing. Perhaps someone can be helped, maybe it'll be a friend or relative of someone who reads this blog post.

Blocked and Ready for Wrapping

2009-12-13T16:53:00.000-08:00

I managed to get my scarf blocked this morning. I used the wires and pins for this and it went quickly. It's a beautiful scarf and the photo does not do it justice. I used a wool/silk blend in an eggshell color. I cast on for the second one already.
This afternoon we ran out to rephotograph the bulls. They've put on alot of weight and thickness. Spent some time visiting before it was time to head home for chores and milking.

Fair Isle Project

2009-12-07T17:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I started on my Fair Isle hat project. One City Market (Yarn Shop) has mini classes called Saturday Snipits where their teacher, Vanessa Montileone, teaches a new technique to advance ones knitting skills. The last class was Estonian Braid- this class, held on Sunday afternoon, was the Fair Isle.
I'm really liking knitting this. It was difficult at first and the first row had to take well over 15 minutes if not 30 to get through. It was the knitting with 2 fingers, one yarn on the left hand and one yarn on the right. I'm used to carrying my yarn on the left hand ( Continental ?) and using the right was quite a challenge. Carrying yarn on the right hand just increased the difficulty.Although it was a struggle at first, it didn't take long to become comfortable knitting this way and now it's almost effortless and I can speed along.

One of the main things taught was how to make the inside neat and tack/secure the strands of yarn on the inside so that you don't have long strands to catch fingers on. This is especially true with sweaters. I never thought I'd learn to do this, knitting with a variety of colors seemed daunting. In the end it wasn't all that bad and I'm so glad I gave it a try.

Update

2009-12-02T15:44:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since the last post. Our life seems to have been turned upside down and my normal, comforable level of chaos hasn't been for the last 3 weeks. Which, I can barely remember much of. We had a warm spell and I took full advantage of that. The garden was made ready for winter, pruned the raspberries, burned some brush and washed windows. Everyone seemed to have appointments for the dentist, eye doctor.......even the horse. Glory had gotten a really bad infection of some sort. I had her on antibiotics for over 2 months. She saw a special Equine vet last week and underwent ultrasounds of her uterus and urinary tract. We also pulled samples to send out and culture. All came back okay. Great news. Had a large load of alfalfa hay trucked in as we are about officially out of grass. That also means we are officially broke until Spring. Within a span of 3-4 days- I stepped on a nail, went in for the tetnus shot and then followed that up by stepping on a tack. Tacks are deceiving. You'd think they would come out easily, but this one had to be worked out. My children had never seen their mother cry until the tack, and it alarmed them. I don't usually cry-but they've left no stone unturned with regards to destruction, getting into things and trying to kill themselves. I've hung on to my sanity rather well - daily trips to the coffee shop for 20oz. Mocha. This happens to other people- not us. I don't know what is going on but I hope it stops soon. L.O.L. Of coarse there was still the house to care for, meals to cook, lessons to teach, records to keep, lessons to get to and chores to do. I did manage to find time to spin and ply all of the singles I had. I also have started a Fair Isle hat-I've never knitted Fair Isle before so it is a challange to myself. I've also started a lace stole made from the pattern "Twinnings" (I think) from Knit Spot. One of these days I'll have to post photos. We had a nice Thanksgiving. We've gone to friends the past few years and it has always been nice. Rushed, but nice. Dairy farming doesn't leave much social time- basically showing up to eat and by the time dessert is finished, heading out and your about 2 hours behind in chores then milking. This year we decided to stay home. I think we are just tired, not in the physical way- this is different. It's been a long, hard year and we needed some time to just spend time as a family and rest. I made the big dinner and we all chipped in to clean up the grand mess. Spent the afternoon watching movies- which we never do. It was nice. The sheep had gotten out one morning and managed to get into something and made themselves sick. They were depressed, wouldn't eat, drink, baaa...nothing. We hit them with everything we could and drenched them with baking soda and mineral oil. Did the soda drences for 2 days. Vitamin B shots, thiamin even an antibiotic just in case as one had a low fever. After about 5 days, they started feeling better and are back to normal. Yesterday was the first day they were out on grass and they were loving that. Below are some photos of the handspun I've managed lately. I'm always intrigued with process of watching those colors in the roving come together in the finished, plyed product.

Hello Yarn's Winter Storage
Hello Yarn's Patchwork

Hello Yarn's ??

Hello Yarn's or Spunky Club -I can't remember.

Fiddlehead Mittens

2009-11-10T12:55:00.000-08:00

My Fiddlehead Mitten kit arrived today. I had first found the pattern on Hello Yarn's website and I loved the colors in the mittens she had knit. Tanis at Tanis Fiber Arts www.tanisfiberarts.com has been putting together these Fiddlehead Mitten kits in several colorway groupings, with just the right amount of yarn. I'm finally going to be able to make myself a pair.

This Years Rams and More

2009-11-08T14:42:00.000-08:00

Meet Three Ring Henry. Allena was too generous and loaned him to me this fall. He was a Spring 09 lamb, not very old but he's getting the job done. I like his size, fleece length, and overall looks. Is AFD was a low, 23.6. The only thing I'd fault him with it a high CV at 33.5.

Fletcher Crescendo has a gorgeous head. I really like this ram. He's double coated and his numbers are pretty good for that type of coat I.M.H.O. -AFD 26.4, CV 32.2. He was born in 06. He has 2 of the girls.

Lettie is a Crescendo daughter.

Glory (Parr T on the Bar) and Geno (Poco G Sassy Lady) were up waiting on us. Glory is the 2 year old filly(Buckskin) I bought this spring. She has a fantastic disposition and has thusfar been easy to work with. I've several rides on her now. We named her Glory after the kids kept saying her name was Party on the Bar, at church and everyone knows how some people can be. Geno came with her name. Named after a friend of the previous owner. She has been a wonderful horse. She had been used for everything-from shows to rodeo. She is definitely a cow horse as she is amazing to watch when she is let loose with the calves. She flies around penning and sorting a calf or two out. While she is chasing them off, she is watching the others to hold them in their "corner" of the pasture.

Several years ago a big gust of wind and blew a big Walnut tree, like the one pictured below, over. It was sudden and the wind was indredible. My husband thought a tornado was down, but it was just straight line winds. Anyhow, it crushed half of our garage. For the last few years there has just been a gaping hole there.

This is only half seen in this photo. The Black Walnut trees can be huge.

This afternoon I noticed a flock of Bluebirds in our yard. They are my favorite bird so it was a treat to see them.

Superman is our white Silkie rooster.

And finally, our Peacock was roaming around. He's almost 2 and has a few eye feathers on his back. I've heard that it takes 3 years for their adult feathers to come in.

Trip to A Yarn Shop

2009-10-27T16:11:00.000-07:00

I'd never been into a "yarn shop" until today. It was a little bit overwhelming as there was so much to see. The owner, Lisa, was wonderful. I spent a good 3 hours there, mostly just chatting.

I found 2 balls of Wendy happy-bamboo/nylon, a skein of hand dyed sock yarn from Pagewood Farm and a ball of Schoppel Wolle. I'd been eyeballing that yarn on Paradise Fibers site and now I have some. She has alot of yearn to choose from, along with books, undyed yarn and dyes.... The name of the shop is One City Market and it is located in Rogersville, Missouri.

I'm ready to ship out my fleeces, just need to tape up the box. I kept one back to card myself. It's Concetta's fleece, grey, 5" staple. The ends are yellow and a bit funny looking and feeling. I know they could be weather damaged but I didn't think they were at shearing. I am wondering if the detergent can do that sometimes- maybe if too much was used or on certain fibers.

I did a bit of spinning over the weekend, inbetween chaos here and there. Thought I was doing well untill I realized I was plying in the wrong direction. So I got up, and slowly stepped away from the wheel. Haven't been back. l.o.l. I guess I'll have to cut it off. It's a shame though. I don't know what happened there.

Sheared and Picked Wool

2009-10-21T17:36:00.001-07:00

Yesterday afternoon I moved the sheep to another paddock and took down the temporary fence. I had planned to just wait to shear because of the cold weather we were having, but it's warmed up and my husband suggested going ahead with it while their fleeces were clean. At 3pm I called the shearer and by 4:30pm he was here. All went well. A few sheep gave us trouble heading into the barn to be penned but all in all it went well. It'll be warm for the next week at least and if it gets cold, we'll just move them into the barn.
Their fleece was extremely clean- even the belly wool was clean.
This afternoon I started in on the fleeces-skirting and picking out what little vm I could find. Tomorrow I can start washing.
Once they are out of grass in their current paddock, my plan was to move them to a pasture and have them help graze down what our replacement heifers won't eat. Shearing now means I will have something vs waiting and having prickly things, possibly burrs and hay embedded in their wool. The staple length was good-nothing under 3 inches and one yearling had a 5 -inch staple length and that is just the growth since shearing this spring.

First Handspun Shetland

2009-10-19T17:41:00.000-07:00

Last week I worked on plying the my Shetland/Alpaca blend and this is the finished product. I finally acheived a perfect, even yarn. There is about 240 yards and there is 2.4 ounces. I think it'll make a nice lace scarf or shawl.

Amber Myst Reaches New Heights

2009-10-14T16:20:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy week here on the farm. We are running 20-degrees below normal from what I've heard and it's been wet. There were showers last night and will see more tonight. I've been trying to figure out what to do about breeding this fall. What I had planned, I am reconsidering even at this late date. Why? SD and CV values along with the AFD. The SD and CV values on my girls, especially the lambs, are so high that I don't want to waste a breeding season perpetuating more of the same numbers. I enjoy my sheep, but I also want to see them reach their fullest potential. That's not to say that I would get rid of all of my girls, I won't and can't as I only have a few and they are "pets". But, I do want to breed them to the best rams with the best numbers to improve the offspring and move me closer to my goals. I want fine fleeces and conformation. Having a small flock, I am limited on what I can do in some ways. So I need to take advantage of every breeding season and make it count.

On another note, the girls manage to climb up a little higher on our bales. They did jump from there to make their escape from the "paddock" they were in. We just stood in disbelief watching. They were fine though.
I have lots of full bobbins and lots of plying to do. I'm working on the Shetland/Alpaca that I washed, carded and blended.

I'm really happy with how it is looking and it's super soft.

Isn't she a cutie. Gotta be the cutest kitten I've seen.

Tomorrow I am taking the day off from home :-) and heading down to War Eagle Mill in Arkansas for the big Craft Festival they have. I believe they have something like 300 + vendors there and on the way I remember circus tent sized tents along the roads in fields with more crafters. If I remember right, Rogers, Bentonville even have craft things going on in town at convention centers. It's a biggie anyhow and will surely be alot of fun. Planning on hitting road at 4:30-5 am!

The girls have a horse show this Saturday. Friday we'll be busy getting ready for that. They'll have their horses over at where we have lessons, practicing, clipping and braiding. They'll have to be up early Saturday and do the last minute things before we head out. A busy weekend for sure!

Knitting Under The Influence

2009-10-10T16:04:00.000-07:00

This week has been catch up on grading and work on lesson plans week. So when I had the opportunity to be sitting in our Suburban for a lengthy drive, I was looking forward to working a little more on my sock. I've been struggling with car sickness for just over a week now and get gagging, can't stand the movement, please stop and let me walk home....sick. I hang my head out the window, chew gum, lay down....to no avail. After my 4 year old was watching me struggle to hang onto my stomach contents and eventually close my eyes, she sighed and said,"well, I guess mommy's is dead". My 10 year old said, "no, she's sleeping" and the 4 year old replied, "nope, she's dead". At that point I burst out laughing. I've had to resort to Dramamine. Wow! When they say "marked drowsiness" on the label, they aren't fooling. I tried some last Sunday, to get me to Church and home. I barely made it through without keeling over. Sure enough, I had to take it today and what you see in the above photo is why you shouldn't knit while extremely drowsy. I lost a stitch somewhere. I'm still feeling the effects and it's been 4.5 hour since the symptoms hit. I'll be glad when the allergy season is passed.
We had opened up the fence to let the sheep have shelter from the rain. One of them figured out how to climb up higher and was sunning herself this morning.

Chicks Hatching

2009-10-08T15:34:00.000-07:00

It started rain sometime during the night and hasn't stopped. I couldn't even tell how much rain we've gotten, but a neighbor stopped by this morning and had 2 inches. The forecast was for 2-3 inches this morning, another 1-2 this afternoon and who knows how much tonight. We've had some dry years so the rain is much appreciated. The neighbors cattle don't seem to mind the rain either.
We opened the cattle panel so that the girls could get in out of the weather. I see they still chose to spend most of their time out in the rain. Shearing has been postponed until they dry out.

Yesterday afternoon one of our eggs hatched. This morning a few more decided to come out of their shells.

Still have several eggs that could hatch. It's day 21, and that was technically this afternoon- so we'll see in the morning. It's been exciting for everyone to be able to watch the progress. I'm really happy with this incubator ( Genesis 1588) - I didn't have to do a thing to it, no fiddling with the temperature, etc. It has the fan and a thermostat. I'd definitely recommend the clear top.

Micron Results In

2009-10-08T14:43:00.000-07:00

The Micron results came back today.

AFD 28.8

SD 8.9

CV 31.1

% greater than 30 34.3

Several of my ewes are older girls and I didn't expect alot. They ran at about 30 AFD. The lambs on the other hand, I expected better. My lowest AFD was 26.4, SD was 7.7, CV 25, % greater than 30 was 22.7. Definitely room for improvement.

New Books,Spinning, Hatching Chicks, 1st Dark Marans Egg

2009-10-07T04:24:00.000-07:00

I've found several new books to add to my library. "Start Spinning" has alot of general information and photos. There isn't alot of indepth information like the Alden Amos book- It's a really good starter book and I liked the photos. Found the "Knitting Circles Around Socks" at JoAnns. It shows how to knit 2 socks at one time. The photos are great and very self explanitory. "The Shepherd's Rug" is another fantastic book. I had stumbled onto Pine Lake Karakuls page with their rugs. They are beautiful. The book explains how they make the rugs from felted roving. What a great way to use roving. I'm interested in taking wool that may not be the best in microns, or britch wool..... and making rugs with it. They web address for Pine Lake Karakuls is http://www.plfkarakuls.com Tomorrow will be day 21 in the incubator. Yesterday afternoon we heard chirping coming out of the Bator. One shell had been chipped open and another this morning. Several of the eggs are moving around.

I've finally started Hello Yarn's August fiber "Patchwork".

It is really beautiful. I'm especially taken with the blues/greens, browns and golds.

It's spinning up nicely.

Below is a picture of our first Black Copper Marans egg that is dark. The picture makes it look lighter than it actually is.

Socks 5(or more) : Me 1

2009-10-03T06:42:00.000-07:00

Last year I decided I wanted to learn to make socks. Forgot, got sick and just over a week ago started. Allena started me on 2 circular needles. I'll admit, I couldn't at the moment figure the concept out. I ordered a good set of needles and practice joins, knitting in the round on dpn's. Yesterday my Addi needles came and I began casting on for the 5th time (maybe more) on those, got the switching needles figured out and the join, made a few rounds and lost a stitch. So I put that back into my bag and started these. I've never made anything for my son. I've sewn lots of things for the girls and I figured the first pair of socks would be for him. They are a simple sock pattern out of the book "Getting Started Knitting Socks" by Ann Budd. I had forgotten that I had this book sitting on my shelf and glad I found it. It's been a great help.
I've found now that it pays not to cast on too tightly, I knit fairly tight. It makes knitting on the dpn's easier. The more rounds I do, the faster it seems to go. So I think there is hope.

Kettle Dyeing and Spinning

2009-10-02T07:38:00.000-07:00

Allena emailed yesterday about coming over to dye. She made it over and gave me a lesson in kettle dyeing. Wow, it's neat. After she had headed out, I put the kids skeins in the pots, on the stove to add a little more color. I let it set until the color absorbed before adding a different shade.

This is a skein for a pair of socks for myself.

These two smaller skeins are for socks for the girls. The bluish skein is a little softer than the picture shows. The purple doesn't stand out quite so.

I haven't started on my Hello Yarn fiber as I have been busy spinning some of my own Shetland fiber instead. It has been amazing to start with a sheep and work through the process to a handspun yarn. This was off of Fletcher Friday. He was a gorgeous ram.

The actual color is somewhere between these two pictures. It is a beautiful oatmeal color. I blended in a little silver and fawn alpaca. It didn't change to coloring, surely added softness though.

First Breeding Group Established

2009-10-01T05:36:00.000-07:00

Fletcher Crescendo
Locksfield Kaya Papper, MS Concetta and MS Sara

Sheep Work Day ~ Lambs Come Home

2009-09-28T15:47:00.001-07:00

This afternoon I corraled all of the girls and wormed everyone and tagged the ones who needed their tags. I also collected a 2 inch sample of wool from their midsides to send in for micron testing.

I figured it was time. I'm curious as to what the tests will show. Not concerned though. This is a starting point and I am looking forward to whatever the results may be and being able to use that information in selection future rams. Lately I've taken some time to evaluate my long term goals for my flock. There are alot of options out there- spots, modified........I can get a bit overwhelming, especially when one has a small flock. I have come to the descision that I am going to aim for excellent conformation and excellant fleece. The rest will come in time.
This weekend we drove out to Seymore, Missouri and I picked out a couple of my lambs that I had sold in the spring. One of these was an ewe out of Locksfield Braeton and Locksfield Joaquin. This is she. A super little ewe. Her fleece is matted from burr on the surface but underneath she has a soft fleece that has good crimp and alot of luster. She'll have an intermediate fleece. Her conformation is great.

Here she is from the backside.

This little ewe lambs is from Locksfield Rosebriar and Minwawe Tornado. She is also a terrific little ewe lamb. Great conformation and a very nice fleece, also a mess from the burrs.

She also has a super little tail.

Here is Locksfield Braeton. Dam to one of the above lambs.

And Locksfield Kaya Pepper. She is going to be our stinker. The only ewe that wouldn't come into the corral area, even for feed. Isabelle said that she was scared. I told her that she wasn't scared, she was smart. I offered $5 to the person who caught her.

Locksfield Kaya Pepper

2009-09-25T14:10:00.001-07:00

Locksfield Kaya Pepper is an older ewe I purchased from Malinda at Locksley Fields. She is out of Fletcher Sundance and Fletcher Cassidy. Her markings are unique and I thought she would be an interesting addition to the flock. My plans are to pair her with Fletcher Crescendo this fall.

Sheep-itis

2009-09-24T16:26:00.000-07:00

Isabelle, Veronica and I (1/3's) are now proud owners of Locksley ? . Nope- don't know her name, forgot to ask! They saw her and really liked her appearance.

She really is a lovely ewe. Her coloring and patterns are really pretty. Her fleece is beautiful. A bluish color.

Look at that nice little Shetland tail.

These chickens are one of several groups running around our farm these days. They manage to dig out despite our efforts to keep them in their designated area.

Our peacock was sitting outside the window here as I was putting in this post, so I took his picture. Apparently we are more interesting than what is going on outside.

Wool Washing

2009-09-22T16:09:00.000-07:00

Early last week I decided to shear the two spring lambs. Their fleeces were so nice that I hated to wait and have hay particles get buried into their fleeces. The neck wool on these lambs was 100% free of any debris.

I have one of my helpers looking through the locks for anything that needed removing.
The fleece is on a skirting table that I had made. It is foldable and when open is 8 ft. long by 4ft. wide (approx.). I had to make a minor change in the wire width and place a bar down the middle of each section. We couldn't get the wire in that width without buying a large roll at a very high price. I had found the pattern online at: http://hawksmountainranch.com/skirtingtableinstructions.html

A lock from the fleece.

Our wash vats in the barn come in handy for washing the wool . The water is 160 degrees F up there and with 2 vats and a washing machine handy, I can move along quickly.

Busy Week

2009-09-17T11:58:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy week. Monday I went over to Allena's and got a Carding 101 lesson on her Fancy Kitty carder. I had washed several fleeces and brought some over for her to look at. I wasn't too sure they were clean enough to send out. We started plucking and make a couple of batts. Adding Bamboo to one and some other stuff to the other. The transformation from the raw fleece to the batt and then roving was amazing. I was hooked. Tuesday, I grabbed my change bucket and headed to the bank. I needed to get myself a carder. Based on the UPS tracking, my Fancy Kitten will be here tomorrow. In the meantime, we've finished prepping the wool and I made a stop by Allena's and bought some wonderful brown and grey alpaca, also some bamboo. You can guess what I'll be doing on Saturday.

Our first batch of eggs made it into the incubator today. Mostly Salmon Faverolles, some Marans and Ameruarcanas. We went with the Hovabator Genesis 1588. I added water and turned it on when it came. It's needed no adjusting and has held it's temperature steady since.
Caroline, who is in the background, said she was staying there until they popped.

Next Spinning Project

2009-09-06T16:21:00.000-07:00

I'm currently working on "Soul Windows" from Spunky Club. It is a Corriedale/10% nylon blend. I have 8 ounces of this fiber total and have about 3 ounces left to spin. It has blues, greys, browns, greens, white/cream and even a bit of yellow in spots.

Update** Finished spinning the singles on September 13th.

Spinning

2009-09-06T08:40:00.000-07:00

Finished up my first spinning project on the Jensen D-30 Production wheel I received last December. It's amazing. I still have alot to learn on it. They come with several whorls and I'm not sure what is best to use and when. The fiber shown came from Spunky Eclectic. It was from her Spunky Club, fiber of the month and I can't think of the name of the colorway. It is Merino and really soft. I had 8 ounces of it so I'm hoping there is enough for a sweater for one of the kids.

Fiber

Single

2 Ply

3 Skeins

Salem and Her Lambs

2009-08-18T17:20:00.000-07:00

We had been eagerly anticipating the arrival of Salem's lambs for several weeks now, not knowing exactly when they were due. On Monday, August 17th she had them. We were fortunate to receive another set of ewe lambs. Mom and babies are doing well. We are always amazed at how hardy these little sheep are. They are out of Locksfield Salem and Fletcher Crescendo.

Baby Ducklings

2009-08-07T16:27:00.000-07:00

This Muscovey hen had been hardly seen for the last month or so. This was why. I've read that Muscovey's were good sitters and mothers, apparently it is true. The hen and drake came here last fall from somewhere. They had to be handraised, as they aren't afraid of people and like to be in the barn (eating grain from the calves pails!).