BUSY,busy.....

We have been busy with the first part of lambing and kidding. Looks like the next round is fixing to get started...We had a set of twin goats born Saturday. It was a good thing we were here. The little buck was a big one. All came out well in the end. Both are real sweeties.
Last weekend we were in Franklin IN at Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival. We met lots of nice people & saw old friends...Bad part was when we came home to find someone had decided to cut down 12 trees on our corner property. I was busy all last week with that. We have no clue what the deal is. I just get sick when I look out that way and see the big ole gap in the tree line.
I have been working in the garden. Everything is coming right along. Something tells me it will start needing picked right in the middle of the time Mom and Add will be in from TX. I think I will tell her to bring jars so we can fill them...
It is only 3 weeks til the wedding now. I am excited. I told them both the other day I think the day they went and got their marriage license was to me the day a Mom realizes the kid is making big decisions....The ceremony just finalizes it...
This heat is horrible. I hope it is doing this now and when Mom and Add gets here it evens out. Texans can handle heat. I am just not sure about the humidity.
I am suppose to get my bathroom totally cleaned out. We are putting a new tub and shower surround in. That may be the only thing I will miss is the second bathroom. My other bath will go with Hannah/ Jarrod apartment. But we will make it. Just gotta get accustomed to it...
Em has the day off. We are going to run into town and do some errands. I need to get boxes to pack some fabric away.
I better get busy. Cat is wanting out...I will have to get a picture of him. He got a hair cut....

I think I have everybody tucked in for the night....

We have a whole bunch of chicks right now. They are a full time job til they get up a little larger. I think tomorrow I will be able to spread them into a couple cages. I will be able to put the bigger waters in also. That helps...

Fed my little bottle baby his last bottle for the evening. He is coming along nicely. His little belly is filling out and his walks are getting longer. Quite a cutie.

My Shetland ewe, Delilah had her lamb. She had a single ewe but she is just beautiful and black. Just loaded with curls...

We are having to move our lawn furniture . The electric company should be here in the next few days to trim back a tree there at the power line. They are actually going to cut a willow tree down out by the road. It seems the tree is just growing right for the power line...Since the drought a couple years ago it had been looking tacky.

My helper comes tomorrow. I have been putting together a to do list today as the day went. I think it is going to rain tomorrow so we will mainly work inside.

I am heading to bed. David watches LOST so I think I will go get some reading done...

It's Been a Little Chilly

Last couple days we have had to get our jackets back out. Wind to go along with it. Guess it was sent our way to remind us how nice and warm we have had it for this time of year...
Em and I went to Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival last weekend. I do love that show. It was a long trip out. We drove straight out, stayed a day and half and headed back. Split the trip up made it easier. It was toasty in MD. I mean like 95* both days. We walked around w/ lemonade in our hands. Inside the buildings got a little stuffy with all the people...I bought a Finn ewe lamb. She is a cutie and was a very good traveler...
We stayed in Comfort in there at Baltimore. We met this older gentleman who had come from IL with daughter and her family to pick up the kids sheep they had won from American Livestock Breeders Conservancy. I told him my daughter had done the same thing 5 yrs ago. We stayed in the Comfort Inn at Cambridge OH and the next morning got up and there they were again...It can be a small world.
I have been busy in the barn and house both. I am about ready to make a clean swoop out of the big room and take it to the barn. I need to get a shop ready out there and then get busy finishing up the apartment. Orange County is going to put out a Artisan Trail Brochure and we are going to be in it...It is in conjunction with the PGA Gold Tournament coming to French Lick....Yes, I know I don't live in OR County but they are very good to us. We participate in the ORANGE COUNTY Homegrown Farmer's Market also. Which brings me to the next subject. Farmer's Market starts in 2 weeks...Then a couple weeks after that is Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival then onto the Lotus Dickey Festival. Em and I went to Bedford the other day and noticed there is a bill board advertising the festival. Looks good. Is kinda high up in the air. Em saw it. I was watching the road...
we have been lambing and kidding both. Banner year for boys...I am not joking. We have ONE DOE. The only female born on the place...I am so proud of her ....She is from my favorite TEXAS doe...I have 2 more finn ewes to lamb. We will see...I am out there talking to them nicely ....
David trimmed some low limbs off the tree line trees. I can get along the fence mowed now. Got lots done. Sure looks nice. I am going to finish in the morning. It is suppose to rain Tuesday. Wednesday we will start over again probably. I hope the summer bonus is nice. I told David I sure would like one of those weed eaters on wheels...
Tomorrow is my birthday. I got my present from David early. He gave me a GPS unit to go to Maryland with. I had always thought I would not use one. Boy was I wrong. Em and I were laughing that we let a blk box lead us around. That is the handiest thing I know of...I have been wanting to go to Louisville wandering around. May just have to now. No, I haven't done much in Louisville. Have always gone to Bloomington...
I better get this day wound up. My little bottle baby is fed. Em made him walk all the way to the house to get his bottle. He did well. I put him up. Let me tell you...I didn't carry him... Well, except for the last 20 ft. He just stopped and sat down...He has a clean dog coat on and all warm now. I told him hopefully this was the last night for that...

MY DOGWOOD TREES...

I was out mowing the tree line this afternoon. I was so excited to see my dogwood trees blooming. We have been here in IN 8 yrs now. When we first bought this property the trees were so small we did not even know they were here til after the signing when the guy we bought from came out and told us. The dogwoods were slow growing. The last couple years they blooming here and there but the trees have really grown this winter and they are really looking nice.

THE FIRST FIBER EVENT OF THE SEASON

WE JUST CAME BACK FROM THE FIRST FIBER SHOW OF THE YEAR. It was a beautiful weekend in GreenCastle IN...We met lots of new people and visited with lots of friends...It was good to hear what everyone has going on.

We got home and bailed out to go check on everybody. Jarrod was here to open gates in the morning & close at night. I had everybody well watered before we left and we gave plenty of hay so everyone was fine. We had some new chicks that hatched before we left so was glad all them were doing well and Chase, my white cat was fine. He was glad to see me...

We are counting the days til Hoosier Hills Fiber Show. Franklin IN ...

I have the washer going, got the dishes done and have chicken breast and beef ribs in the oven cooking. David has gone to Tractor Supply. We have a new one near us and had a good coupon so he went to get more gates. We are doing up a couple pens in the barn for the Finn sheep and want to get them done this week. Flaker's is bagging up nicely.

I am heading out to go fill up water tubes...Going to do some accounting studying. Have a test tomorrow night. I think I have about 4 more classes left in this semester. I was thinking I had time for this. I am getting it done but having to squeeze in the study part. I know for sure I couldn't do it in the fall....At least I can relate well now to what the kids have going on...

I have a couple spinning wheels coming in I intend to stain in colors....I can't wait. Maybe they will get here this week while there is so much sun shining....

ANOTHER RAINY SUNDAY

KINDA YUCKY AROUND HERE TODAY BUT I GOT LOTS DONE INSIDE. Finished my accounting test, got it packed and ready to go tomorrow. We got my old freezer taken out to the barn. It still works, just needed another. We emptied out a cabinet I am going to move to the kitchen til I get new cabinets done. THEN, what I have been waiting for. David got my first book shelf put together to put in the front room. I have been in the need of these for a long time...I have to move that cabinet out and sweep and mop, clean the wall then put another shelf together and start filling them up. The shelves will go all the way to the ceiling...

Chase, my white male cat took a trip to the vet this week. He needed to get fixed before he fixed my house up...I kinda worried at first. He wasn't as perky as the other cat that went with him but the next day he started coming around...Today he has been quite funny. I think he knew he had our undivided attention...

It will be about a month and we will start lambing and kidding...Everybody is starting to get really fluffy...This next week it will be mid 70's here which is pretty warm. We will have to get on the shearing. Bad part is it will rain til then...

I was watching Bob a Louis the Donkey trying to get Corey the male Llama to play with him...The donkey had a stick and was carrying it around. Corey just wouldn't quite take it on...So funny. Bob a loouie has kinda gotten moved around. He was being a little rough with my goats...He is in with the Rams. Everyone stays on their own territory and lots of time the Donky goes and lays at the fence with the bucks. He had my young brown buck by the other day and he was yelling....I didn't wait to see how it was going to play out. We moved him...

BEAUTIFUL SPRING DAY...

SPRING HAS SPRUNG AROUND HERE AND BOY HAVE WE BEEN BUSY....FIRST, SINCE I HAVE POSTED LAST, A WEDDING DATE HAS BEEN SET AROUND HERE. Jarrod and Hannah will be married in July. They will be living here. The large room at the back of our house will be an apartment. They will get married life started here. That way they won't have to get into any mortgage or lease til they figure out for sure where they will want to live or a job will take them. We are excited but I think Hannah is pretty excited also. The wedding will be at after Farmers Market then onto a reception. More details will be posted....So things have been a little busy around here....

I did get the garden good and started this week. We did get a good freeze like Thursday and Friday night...We don't really plant to much til after Mothers Day...

The geese have been flying over this week. They are just beautiful. Cranes were coming through a week ago. We do live in a bird flight path. Of course the fighter helicopters flew through today also...Doing practice stuff. They are big....

In early February we were vendors at a Quilt Workshop in French Lick at the Hotel...We had a very good time ....Met lots of nice people....I am busy now getting ready to go to Greencastle IN in a couple weeks for "The Fiber Event." Onto the Lotus Dickey the first of June and Hoosier Hills Fiber Event the very next weekend. I better have everything all ready before it gets here...

Boy the wind Thursday night was a bit rough. We lost a little of a ridge cap off the top of the barn. I have to threaten David he can not put it up there. He will be trying before I know it...In case you don't know our barns are a bit tall for him to be up there...

We started shearing. We get 2 or 3 done every couple days. Weather is just not on our side.

I was just weighing out felting fibers this week. It was the first I had been into the load of felting fiber I had gotten processed. It is nice and perfect for the job...I should be getting in a load of fiber to spin with and also a new yarn weight....

Most important...SOCKS...They will be perfect for the winter hiker or hunter. I can't wait...They will be done with kid and lamb cut wool...

2010 is an exciting year for us....Stay tuned....