Saturday, May 31, 2014

Synchronized grazing

Brought to you by the equines at . . .

Friday, May 30, 2014

Construction

Last night I ran out of yarn – well, ready-to-knit yarn:
Another skein of Browning's yarn has been washed and is drying as I type.

The neighborhood winery continues to grow up and out:
I guess the figure of 12,000 square feet I heard mentioned by a friend is true, after all.

Lots more on my mind, but I gotta run!

That's it for now from . . .

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Woolly goodness

I spent some quality time with wool on our trip,
but it's not the same as quality time with my sheep!

The chores had been done by the time we got home late Sunday night. I turned the ewes and lambs out on pasture first thing Monday morning because they hadn't been out since Thursday. So Monday evening was my first opportunity in several days to snoggle my sweet babies.

Don't worry; they all got their share. After getting thoroughly sated, first Barbados, then Blaise, and finally Benny laid down at my feet, the first time any of this year's lambs have done that. There's nothing that makes me feel more trusted as a shepherd than to have my sheep lay down next to me; it is special!


This morning I turned Blake and Browning out on the strip between the horse paddocks and the arena.
They ate this down completely in the spring; as you can see, it has regrown nicely and should keep them busy awhile.

On my way to the house, I stopped and talked to my two-year-old "babies," Bing and Bittersweet. It didn't take them long to remember how much they liked to be petted and stroked.

This afternoon I returned home from running errands to this sight:
Naughty little lambies don't just go walk-about; they make themselves comfortable! (Their weary mothers were bedded down INside the fence.)

That's it for today from . . .



Monday, May 26, 2014

Highlights

The setting was spectacular, as always:
LOTS of different wildflowers were in bloom, but my heart belonged to the lovely dogwoods:

We enjoyed riding, and visiting, and campfires:

In short, we had a great time!

That's it for now from . . .

Friday, May 23, 2014

The grass is green(er)

The ewes and lambs haven't been able to keep up with the middle pasture, so the other evening I turned the horses out there to eat some of the tall stuff. I took this photo from the deck; I'm not sure Breezy would have been visible at ground level!

The next morning during their usual walk-about, I spotted the lambs (barely) in the upper pasture that the horses have been in:
The grass may be green everywhere, but it seems to be animal nature to want to be where you aren't!

I stopped to get our mail on my way to town yesterday evening and snapped this:

Today, the mountains and valley are obscured by clouds, and it's drizzling. Figures; we getting ready to go horse-camping at Mt. Adams this weekend. However, the forecast for the nearest town doesn't look too bad:

Mr. Brownjeans is going along as my traveling/camping project. Yesterday I had to rip out the sleeve and start over with a needle two sizes larger; just goes to show you how different gauge can be between knitting back and forth and knitting in the round!
Knitted with the same size needle, the sleeve really constricts (taken with flash)
Knitted with a needle two sizes larger; much better (no flash)

That's it until after the weekend, from . . .

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Things that make me smile

I had part of the morning to myself today, which is both lovely and frustrating. Frustration #1 is choosing what to tackle from the huge list of things I want/need to accomplish that are difficult/impossible to do while riding herd on my challenging adolescent. (Heh; parse THAT sentence!) Frustration #2 is never feeling like I get enough done during those rare and precious times, and feeling the return of my parental/homeschooling duties breathing down my neck the entire time.

ANYhoo, first I got a couple of the Japanese maples I bought last fall in pots on the deck.
This collection of plants makes me smile. The two roses on the right plus the money to buy the six little maples were all gifts from my mom. The Apple Blossom geranium was a gift from one of Rick's clients, and the day lilies came from my paternal grandmother's home in Kansas via my step-mom.

Next I pruned the Japanese maples at the front of the house to make the access to the front door a little more open.
While pruning, I spied a little surprise:
I didn't learn what kind of bird/nest it was until later. When I showed Brian the nest when he got home, Mrs. Robin squawked and flew away. At least if a fledgling falls out of this nest, we will be able to return it!

Bramble and Sarai still need to be relieved of their fleeces, but there wasn't enough time left to roo/shear one. So I lunged my horse and headed back to the house. Bali and Barbados were playing in the tree next to the sheep fold, so I stopped and took some photos.
I succumbed to the cuteness. I went in and sat on that sloped trunk in front of Barbados, loved on my lambies, and documented scur growth. Barbados has little chocolate chips at this point; Jet's and Benny's are bigger:

I was thrilled that Blaise not only allowed me to pet her, but stepped closer and sought out more attention when someone else barged in!

Hangin' with my sheepies has got to be one of the most peaceful activities there is!

There's always something to smile about at . . .