Tending fine-fleeced Shetland sheep and a whole lot more on a small acreage in the Willamette Valley of Oregon
Friday, January 31, 2025
Daily gifts
We had a record-breaking January dry spell that ended last night. Today looked like this (from the clinic in town):
Talk about monotone!
While the clear, cold weather was a wonderful mood-enhancer, we need rain to make the trees and shrubs and flowers and grass grow – to make this part of Oregon look like Oregon. And we need that moisture to fall as snow in the Cascades to feed rivers, lakes, and reservoirs throughout the summer. This week should help those needs, according to the forecast.
I hope it makes our grass grow; the ewes have pretty much eaten it all.
Frost so heavy it looked like snow; we turned around.
A view of Mt. Hood from the saddle.
As the weather started shifting, we awoke to fog and heavy frost in unusual places yesterday morning.
By this morning . . . well, refer to the first photo in this post.
Besides recent scenic blessings, there have been other gifts as well. Last week a church friend surprised me with this lovely antique piano chair that I had admired at her house. It made a great staging piece for my nearly finished Advent snack scarf.
Unfortunately, I ran out of the yarn I was using for the bind-off. It was one of the holiday snacks, and I have nothing the same color in my extensive stash. So I asked the others who had participated in the holiday snack exchange if they would be willing to part with that snack if they still had it in fiber or yarn form. Someone was, and her singles arrived today. I quickly plied it up tonight, and may finish my scarf yet tonight, too.
Other daily gifts have shown up in my IG/FB posts, shown below.
"Almost 180° of color this morning! A bit past its prime because my phone was dead, but still glorious."
"Chuckie, begging for attention (he got some.)"
"Our God is so creative!"
"My black beauty has filled out a lot since I got her!"
"The sarcococca is powerfully aromatic all around–and INSIDE–the house right now."
"Good night."
"I love our downtown!"
The big news of the week is that I met with an orthopedic surgeon on Thursday who is willing to replace both my knees in one big operation. He says I meet his requirements of age, health, and fitness for doing it, and sent me on for labs and an EKG immediately afterwards; I meet with an anesthesiologist to go over the results next week. I don't have a date for surgery yet; the surgeon said March or April. I'm going to vote for April or even May, as my mom thinks her move-in date is May 1 and mentioned she'd appreciate me driving her in her car from TX to NE. And I really need to get my flock of 15 sheared and skirted before then, too. Now if Rick would just find someone else to run his office and a place to move it to....
ETA the other good news of the week: DS is gainfully employed again. Hallelujah!
You have the most photogenic critters! The scarf (shawl?) is looking really good too. Frustrating to run out of yarn at the end, so it's really nice you could get more.
Leigh, I think ALL animals are photogenic – if you can catch them at the right instant! The scarf is finished now, after a minor exercise in patience – SO minor compared to some other exercises in patience in my life!!!
So glad you found a surgeon who will both knees for you at the same time. I hope you get everything arranged with timing, etc. for getting your mom up to Nebraska. :-)
Wow, first surgery. I have had 6 if I have the count right - and am facing a 7th if they do a meniscus knee repair. I will find out more later this month. I am very grateful to live in a time when medical science could actually fix stuff! Otherwise ...
Our weather has been going from light rain to light snow. My vote is for rain, if it counts!
I hope you get a really gd date for your surgery - one that fits into your important things in life.
That's a beautiful orchid! They're so much fun to have. And speaking of beautiful things - that piano chair is really fantastically beautiful! I've never seen one. And your lovely scarf looks great on it.
What lovely photos, as always, Michelle! I loved each one of them! I couldn't choose a favorite, though between the ears is always special. I so appreciate the beauty around you.
Wishing you all the best with your knee surgeries. I've had both of mine done, though four months apart. It was definitely a life-changer for the better.
I'm a homeschooling, horse training, animal loving, garden growing, part-time business running, spinning and knitting shepherd who loves the Great Shepherd.
8 comments:
You have the most photogenic critters! The scarf (shawl?) is looking really good too. Frustrating to run out of yarn at the end, so it's really nice you could get more.
Leigh, I think ALL animals are photogenic – if you can catch them at the right instant! The scarf is finished now, after a minor exercise in patience – SO minor compared to some other exercises in patience in my life!!!
So glad you found a surgeon who will both knees for you at the same time. I hope you get everything arranged with timing, etc. for getting your mom up to Nebraska. :-)
Me, too on both accounts, A. I'll admit to fighting some fear, too, as this will be my first surgery and it sounds like rather a big one.
Wow, first surgery. I have had 6 if I have the count right - and am facing a 7th if they do a meniscus knee repair. I will find out more later this month. I am very grateful to live in a time when medical science could actually fix stuff! Otherwise ...
I realize I have been fortunate so far, Elaine. I feel a bit betrayed by my knees, though!
Our weather has been going from light rain to light snow. My vote is for rain, if it counts!
I hope you get a really gd date for your surgery - one that fits into your important things in life.
That's a beautiful orchid! They're so much fun to have. And speaking of beautiful things - that piano chair is really fantastically beautiful! I've never seen one. And your lovely scarf looks great on it.
What lovely photos, as always, Michelle! I loved each one of them! I couldn't choose a favorite, though between the ears is always special. I so appreciate the beauty around you.
Wishing you all the best with your knee surgeries. I've had both of mine done, though four months apart. It was definitely a life-changer for the better.
Post a Comment