Well, life on a farm is kinda laid back...

. . . at least for some! Hmm, after loading this morning's photos, I realize that all three of the resting bodies pictured are male . . . . ;-)

Meanwhile, I'm playing sheep wrangler. Thanks to Laura's and Susan's comments on yesterday's post, Marta is now getting Nutri-Drench twice a day to combat possible toxemia. That means catching and haltering her, and to be safe-not-sorry, catching and haltering Nightcap first. He's easy, though, usually standing calmly while I walk up and halter him. (Such a gentleman! Anybody want a nice polled ram? Because if Nightcap doesn't leave Boulderneigh, Blake will have to. DH doesn't see the point in keeping more than one ram.) Marta, on the other hand, has to be cornered. Last night my frozen shoulder got hanked but good, leaving me incapacitated for a few minutes. YEEOUCH!

Sarai is still holding her cards close to her hay-covered chest. I'm seriously tempted to have Rick ultrasound her to see if any little lambies are visible in there.

As for knitting, I took the easy way out and cast on another Bridger Cowl last night, this time in a pale gold. It's a good way to use up stray skeins of yarn I've collected over the years, and building up my gift stash this early in the year makes me ridiculously pleased with myself.

Finally, I leave you with last night's western sky. Definitely more "my" colors!

Sayonara for now from . . .

Back in the saddle: It's the Year of the Horse!

I've been home about 36 hours. I've almost put the house to rights; am almost completely unpacked; have almost caught up on laundry. Brian's schoolwork is all caught up (my husband did a great job keeping him mostly on track), and I've been back on my horse (hurray!). I'm sleeping better in my own bed and enjoying being back in my rut routine. (Yes, I'm a creature of habit.  ;-)

It was sprinkling when Rick and Brian picked me up from the airport Tuesday night and continued off and on yesterday, but today is partly sunny and dry. The daffodil shoots are growing taller and the daphne buds are swelling, getting ready to perfume the air with heavenly scent.

I wish I could say ewe bellies are swelling, too, but it's pretty difficult to tell under their full fleeces and sheep suits. No udder development showing yet, either. Marta has me a bit worried. Yesterday morning during chores, she was standing in the lot (above), and didn't come running over to try and snitch some of old Annabelle's daily grain ration. This morning she acted more interested, but was grinding her teeth a little. She looks wide, but she also has the longest wool of the three girls. I have wondered how she'd cope with carrying twins; she's such a petite thing. Time will tell.

I have nothing on the needles, which needs to be rectified – and soon! I got a big skein of Browning's yarn wound before I left,

I maxxed out the capacity of my trusty ball-winder!

but didn't have time to swatch. I could do that now . . . or cast on another Bridger Cowl to add to this year's gift stash. I also need to decide on which Romi design I'm going to knit during the Romilympics (a friendly gathering of knitters on Ravelry utilizing Romi Hill's designs during the Winter Olympics).

Ah, knitting. It's is such a satisfying hobby; it keeps my mind and hands busy and produces useful results. I took my Lanesplitter skirt, a keyhole scarf and a Gnarled Entling Warmer on my trip and wore everything but the Warmer (my nephew – he's very enamored with hats – wore it for me). He also modeled the hat I knit for him, although it's really too small for him (now that he lives where he actually needs it!).

My mom wore her Escargot hat a lot on the trip, too. It's nice to have knit-worthy people in my life!

Happy Year of the Horse, from . . .

Cold hands, warm hearts

That would pretty much sum up my trip. Last Thursday I flew to Wichita, KS, where I was picked up by my folks so we could travel together to Lincoln, NE to celebrate my nephew's second birthday. It was 18 degrees when I landed in KS, 8 degrees when we pulled up at my sister's place, and bounced between a high of 52 to a (known) low of 2 the rest of the time I was there. But the time with family was warm and wonderful, and I got a healthy dose of sunshine, too. (I sure was hungry for GREEN by the time I returned home last night, though!) Here is a pictorial summary of my trip:

Two of my favorite people in the world

The star of the show

Glorious Midwestern skies

Micah's birthday celebration

We helped do some things to ready my sister's new home for move-in

Cowboy art seen in Kansas

Completed trip knitting – Bridger Cowl

That's it for my trip, from . . .

Eggscellent day

Another day of lovely sunshine; our first seven-egg day in a long time; a finished object. Best of all, I had a mostly pleasant, cooperative student in my son, and a completely lovely student in my horse!

That's it for today from . . .

Delightful surprises

Based on last night's weather forecast, we were braced for yet another day of damp, gray, isolating fog. It was doubly delightful, then, to wake up to clear skies, followed by the sun's brilliant rays streaming through the trees to our southeast! And perversely pleasing to be able to look down on the fog blanketing the valley:

I laid the two washed skeins of Browning's yarn in the sunlight splashing across our bed; I need to get at least one of these wound today so I can swatch for Mr. Brownjeans. Mama needs travel knitting; on Thursday I'm flying to the Midwest to see my family and celebrate my nephew's second birthday! The opportunity to do this came about quite unexpectedly this weekend; I'm so thankful my husband was willing to let me use some awards miles and hold down the fort here so I can go. But I have a lot to do before I leave, so I'd better get at it!

That's it for today from . . .

Feathered Friday

Ah, sunshine. I took these photos of a chestnut-backed chickadee flitting around in one of my Japanese maples yesterday. I was home alone, reveling in the chance to sit quietly and soak up some peace along with the sun. Today it was back to the travails of homeschooling and fog so thick that neighbors have to be taken on faith, not sight – just like Wednesday. That warmer-and-drier second half of January predicted? Well, I'm sure, just like five o'clock, it's sunny somewhere!

That's all that's fit to share right now from . . .

Messy Little Details

Lance's unruly lock of mane:

It's one of many little things I find endearing about my equine partner. (Most of my horse activities are chronicled over on my dressage blog.)

Linking to Carolyn's Mess, Muddle and Fun blog for her weekly photographic challenge.

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Thank-you all so much for your compliments on my skirt! May the cardigan I plan to knit next turn out so wearable. ;-)

That's it for today from . . .

Wardrobe Wednesday

All dressed up for our first day of school (of winter term homeschool co-op) in my Lanesplitter skirt:

I tried it on last night to pin the elastic for the waist, and thought I looked like a sack of potatoes in it. After finishing it this morning I tried it on again with tights (Spandex to the rescue), and my son raved about it. Seriously. It would be too embarrassing to tell you all he said about it. Suffice it to say it was he who got me to pose uncharacteristically for the photo above, telling me to put my hand up, cock my hip, bend my knee. Ahem. But I must say Lanesplitter lives up to its reviews. It wore well (no saggy-bagginess), was very comfortable, and lots of moms at the co-op commented positively on it.

So that's one big WIP done, one little one to go:

Gnarled Entling Warmer #3, frogged and restarted

Ack! I need to wash and whack Browning's yarn so I can start Mr Greenjeans – soon!

That's it for now from . . .

Taciturn Tuesday

sunrise

moonrise

That's it for today from . . .

Forwards and backwards

Before the weekend I finished my third Gnarled Entling Warmer but for the grafting. However, it is on the skinny side, and I have more yarn left over than I want to toss (such lovely smooshiness, this yarn). I stewed on it for a couple days, and decided yesterday that it's going to be thrown in the frog pond. I'll cast on again with two extra stitches, hopefully ending up with a slightly wider earwarmer and a lot less leftover yarn.

In the meantime, I picked up stitches and started knitting the waistband of my Lanesplitter skirt. Wow, the end is in sight! (I just hope my "end" looks okay in it….)

There's a lot more done now than when this photo was taken

My frozen shoulder is also going forwards and backwards. I understand these take awhile to resolve, but it sure is hard to be patient and positive. Naproxen helps, but I hate to take it long-term. Physical therapy also helps; I got some unexpected PT at a church social Saturday night from one of the members who does home health therapy, and it made a big difference yesterday. But this morning I was back to feeling like hammered grunt, and resorted to drugs again. Glad it doesn't hamper my knitting!

That's it for now from . . .

Sabbath scenes

That's it for today from . . .