Sticks redux

A "spear" checked at the door. (I'm such a mean mom; I make Brian leave the long ones outside.)

Sticks in my "flower"bed. Left there by dogs or boy?

Dozer says, "There may be sticks everywhere, but I want THAT one."

There are LOTS of sticks in the wooded sheep lot.

"All the better to scratch with," says Bonny.

In the opposite direction (UP), clouds are moving in. Next week is supposed to be a wet one - just in time for breeding season. Cadbury is feeling it; he just knocked off most of one scur.

That's it for today from . . .

Webified

Tina posted her results from this quiz on her blog, so of course I wanted to take the quiz, too. My results (click to biggify):

With the exception of those ugly little plastic monsters (What do they MEAN - or do I really want to know?), I love it!

That's it for now from . . .

Sticks and stones

One of my first posts talked about the "boulder" in Boulderneigh. Well, today I'm here to talk about sticks. Because trees+boy+dog=sticks . . . EVERYwhere! I'm constantly walking by, over or around them outside, and moving them out of the way inside. I guess I shouldn't complain. They are free, and do a lot to keep Jackson and Brian occupied.

On Brian's bathroom floor

On the dining room table (amidst the clutter)

Installation just outside the arena

Could have named the place Stickneigh instead of. . .

One year ago today...

...my 48-year-old husband had a heart attack that shocked the pants off everyone but me (and maybe both our moms). I am so very thankful he got a wake-up call instead of a curtain call; so thankful that he is still my husband, Brian's daddy, our provider. Here's to 27 more years of marriage!

That's it for today from . . .

Flamboyant bookends (blog ends?)

On Sunday I noticed a late-season addition among the dahlia blooms. Such vibrancy; yellow and orange and fuschia, oh my!

Sunday evening Laura arrived to stay for the night after spending the weekend at the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival. She said it had poured there, like last year only worse. I have such fond memories of OFFF on Sunday of last year in spite of the rain, for I got to meet Wanda for the first time (as did Laura) and bought my HansenCrafts miniSpinner. Yesterday was a fitting anniversary of those events; Laura bought her first Jenkins spindle at OFFF
(a Burmese rosewood Swan) and taught me a new technique (Navajo plying) on my mS! No photos of the latter yet, because I'm not done with my Water Lilies singles so we used some practice fiber.

Laura also helped me finalize my breeding groups so I can finish planning a major sheep shuffle next Sunday. Thanks, Laura!

Before she left, Laura showed me a hat her friend Correy purchased at OFFF. Talk about flamboyant! Laura plans to recreate it in natural-colored locks to match her hair. Hee!

That's it for today from . . .

A new record!

Do you think they'll go for four at a time?

That's it for today from . . .

Summer lingers

I see it in the solitary daylily amid the dry stalks

and in the bounty of garden vegetables and orchard fruits.
But as we put up produce and firewood

the light changes,

and fall finds a foothold in the foliage of the trees.

That's it for now from . . .

Gallery

Some days I feel no photographic inspiration; other days I find it everywhere. This morning was one of the latter. First, I was drawn to the morning light on the side of Rick's swaybacked old cutting horse, Sammy.
My camera didn't see what my eyes saw, so I played with Preview's tools to recapture the image.

Then, when carrying hay to the pasture, I noticed how the dew had highlighted the tracks in the sand of the arena.
Was that made by a horse or a BIG wolf? (-:

Finally, I decided to ask Mr. Lumix to give me his best impression of a macro lens, using the blooms on my potted mint:
I think he did well! As always, click on any image to biggify.

That's it for today from . . .

Revolving sick ward

Jackson is on day two or three of feeling fine; it is so good to have his "happy face" back! But this morning Dozer wouldn't eat and has thrown up quite a bit of foamy mucous. Good grief, Charlie Brown! Dozer got sick a week before Jackson did but quickly recovered after a dose of sub-Q fluids. Then Jackson got sick and didn't bounce back for a week and a half, even with sub-Q fluids and drugs. Now he's bouncing and Dozer is not. I guess I should be thankful that they haven't been sick at the same time!

Meanwhile, I have two big bags of very ripe pears sitting on my kitchen counter, courtesy of one of Rick's clients, and a bag of apples from one of our own trees (with more to pick). Brian is in the garden picking green beans and tomatoes as I type (he's avoiding violin practice), so I'll need to deal with those as well. I think I'll freeze the tomatoes until I get enough to fill a canner with tomatoes or condensed tomato soup, roast the green beans along with some beets from our garden, and can some apple+pear sauce. By the end of the day I'll have some happy chickens, a tasty homegrown supper, and more food in the pantry - if I get to work!

Happy last day of summer, from . . .

Still spinning

Still working on my Water Lilies roving from Laura, in hopes of finishing it all in time for our Navajo-plying lesson (IF I can meet up with her for our Navajo-plying lesson!).

Wouldn't have a problem finishing it if I could spend as much time on it as the spider girls in the sheep fold do!

That's it for now from . . .

Best buds or beasty boys?

This was Blake and Bunker several weeks ago:


This was Blake and Bunker last night:


It's a sure sign of fall - and approaching breeding season!

That's it for today from . . .

Apple blossom

That's what this geranium variety is called, according to my husband's client who gave him the start. It has flourished in a pot on our deck, filling in with foliage and blooming profusely. I've never been all that fond of geraniums, but I must say that this one has charmed me. ❤

It was a working Sunday for our red Ford farm pick-up; it hauled two loads of oak rounds and two loads of third-cutting orchard grass hay. Rick did the majority of the heavy lifting, with some help on the wood from Brian and on the hay from me. He was grumbling about the number of sheep we have (a goodly amount of the third-cutting is for them), even though he and Brian claim the three unused horses that stand around eating and pooping and don't do a thing to offset their expenses. There, I've grumbled in return so now we're even. ☺

Jackson got sick over a week ago, presumably from eating junk and giving himself pancreatitis. After sub-Q fluids, he improved - then got worse again. After a few days on metronidazole, he improved - then got worse again. Yesterday he was the sickest he's been - all day, poor pup. I gave him a big dose of Pepto Bismol last night, which he hated, but this morning he is somewhat better.

That's it for now from . . .

Perspective

When you look UP, it's summer:

When you look DOWN, it's fall:

When you look IN, it's wool!
That's so-soft Sarai's incredible crimp at last rib mid-side, taken when I changed her coat (to a D) the other day. She's my BSF (best sheep friend); we'll see if she still feels that way after tonight! The breeding girls will get CIDRs then, followed in two weeks by a short tryst with Bachelors 1, 2 or 3. Short trysts are a definite selling point for using CIDRs here; I have limited options for keeping many groups of sheep separate during our long, wet, muddy season - which usually begins around the start of breeding season. Now to pencil out who's going where and with whom for a few short days....

That's it for today from . . .

Sweet spinner

One must always "pay" for a day off, and after the lovely beach ride, I had to put my nose on the grindstone before my guys returned Thursday night. Today, of course, it's back to the full-time job of "school teacher" on top of everything else, and no more quiet solitude. But I am glad to have my guys home - a Minnesota mountain of stinky, wet laundry notwithstanding. :-p

When Wanda met me here for our beach ride, she brought with her a spindle I had reserved.
I saw this one's twin on the Jenkins Ravelry forum and my heart melted over the precious symbolism of its carvings, reinforced by the use of olivewood for the arms. I emailed Wanda and told her I'd be in trouble if Ed made another one like that - and she told me he already had! I immediately spoke for it, and she brought it with her. It exceeds all my expectations in appearance and performance; now I must stop looking at all the pretties posted on the internet!

Speaking of pretties, my mini-Kleio (scarf instead of shawl) is coming along slowly:
I'm going to have a nice little selection of scarves/shawlettes to warm and accessorize with this winter!

That's it for now from . . .