Monday, August 11, 2008

Cacophony

Today I separated the three little wethers from their dams (and sister) and put them in their own little pocket pasture. I'm not ready to risk their bodily safety by putting them in with daddy-o Braveheart, so right now I have sheep in three paddocks - which is all the sheep-fenced paddocks I have. All the sheep can see and hear each other, which is making for quite the echo effect of different sheepy voices calling back and forth. I hope it's not driving the neighbors crazy! In a week I will pull Bevin from the ewe group and put her in with the little boys, so she's weaned and ready to go north to Wrensong Farm with Rechel on August 24.

We had a nice horse-camping trip. Got a little rain Friday night to settle the dust, the temperatures were moderate, and there were no wrecks. Well, one of our horses (Ollie) broke his halter and got loose in the wee hours of Sunday morning, but I caught him without difficulty and he didn't get hurt during his adventure - even though he went crashing through a small creekbed.

Our group's logo, which I designed:Coast Range backdrop:My horse Russell:Oh, and Brian got stung by a yellowjacket on Saturday. His hand really swelled up and is still swollen today, even after a couple applications of hydrocortisone gel and a charcoal poultice, which has me a bit concerned. Not about the swelling itself, per se, but by the fact that this is the first time out of at least half a dozen stings that he has reacted so dramatically. I hope he's not developing an allergic reaction to yellowjacket venom; we'll keep a close eye on him, just in case.
I took the tam along to finish, and switched to double-point needles for the home stretch. I really dislike DPs, because the stitches can slip off so much easier. And apparently a stitch did; I have a boo-boo I can't seem to fix invisibly. The only solutions are to rip back, which scares me spitless because I'm afraid I'll never be able to pick up all the stitches correctly once I start unraveling, and tinking. I'll probably tink (knit backwards), as tedious as that is, so I have a nice finished piece to gift instead of a pile of unraveled yarn.

That's it for now at . . .

4 comments:

~~Sittin.n.Spinnin said...

Had to go back and reasure myself that Brian was your son; those don't look like little boy hands! Just me, Im sure :) Hope it goes down soon! I swell up like a balloon when I get stung by a yellow jacket also, it isnt pretty!
I, personally, am glad I dont knit. It really looks tedious lol
What beautiful riding country!

Tammy W. said...

Don't you just love weaning time Michelle? I only have one ram lamb left - and I will pull him in a few weeks. Not sure where I'll put him though.
Poor Brian - have an eye on the stings. My mom swells up like that when she gets stung. It's kinda scary.
Oh - and the scenery is beautiful - like your artwork as well.

Deb said...

Beautiful scenery Michelle - looks like a wonderful place for a trailride.
My son, Tyler, has been allergic to bees since he was little. He's starting to grow out of it and doesn't swell up as bad as he used to. Benedryl works good to take the swelling down. I hope Brian is feeling better.

Weaning happened here a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday the two little ram lambs that are still here met their Papa. All went well although they are giving him wide berth :)

country girl said...

I use these little rubber thingies when I use double pointed needles. That way the stitches don't drop off. I think just about any knitting store would have them. They are a life saver.