Talking shop sheep

Yesterday a couple of sheep people stopped by on their way to Black Sheep Gathering to look at Barbados as a possible future flock sire. I had kept the ewes and lambs in the fold so they were easier to catch and examine; we looked at most of their fleeces and they all seemed to impress.

Since Benny still has all his parts, he was of interest to the visitors, too; they are looking for a ram with a light-colored fleece. White would certainly qualify!

I don't have any photos of Bali Hai, because as our visitors found out yesterday, Bali is a love-sponge. Hard to get a good photo of a sheep who is always in your face looking for petting!

It's nice to have a good excuse to lift coats and fondle fabulous fleeces with like-minded people.  :-)

I haven't had any time since working at Rick's clinic on Tuesday to use my miniSpinner, and probably won't until the puggles are rehomed. Spindles are more portable, so between a doctor's appointment, a meeting, and listening to a presentation, I have found time to finish spinning up the sample fiber that came with my little red Finch:

And here's an updated photo of the elephant in the room winery on our road:

That's it for today from . . .

Pugged!

What can I say? My husband has a tender heart, and I do love him for it. He got a call from a elderly woman referred to him by a client. Her life has been upended – her husband died last winter leaving her in financial straits; she's gotten hurt trying to manage their rural property and dogs by herself; needs to sell the place and move.... She wanted her vet to put her two pugs to sleep but he demurred, offering instead to help rehome them. She said no one would take care of them like she has; she said they missed their daddy and want to go be with him. The vet wouldn't budge, so she called Rick and asked him to put them down. He has been stalling while trying to talk her down from her position, and yesterday she finally relented and said he could pick them up, take them home, and perhaps find them a new home.

Eight-year-old litter mates Woody and Rosie arrived last night. Oh, how I wish you lived within driving distance, Mary Ann! These little puggles need you, and I think you need them! They may look happy and well settled in my photos, but believe me, they are very unsure of their world right now. When Rick and Brian took them outside this morning, Woody ran off, causing great consternation among the humans and his sister. Fortunately, Rick was able to track him down (in the trees in our lower pasture!) and lure him in close enough to catch with treats and his sister as bait. Whew!

The pugs have taken over the living room for now. Our dogs are banished to the laundry room or outside to reduce the newcomers' stress, which causes our dogs much stress; it is a stressful situation all the way around! Brian, ever the acquisition baron, is campaigning to keep them, of course. I'm teetering on the edge, not desiring to stress them more with yet another move, but not at all sure they would incorporate well here. Besides, I was having trouble keeping all my plates spinning as it was....

To be continued, at . . .

Bashful bloom

At least that's what came to mind when I saw this daylily holding its leaf over its face. What I didn't see, because I don't usually wear my glasses outside, was that itsy-bitsy spider hanging from the leaf! Happy surprise when I looked at it on the computer screen with my glasses on. Ha!

That's it for now from . . .

Training for le Tour

Now that my big knitting project is done (with yarn I knit started during last year's Tour de Fleece), I've started training for this year's Tour. I'm warming up my newest Jenkins Turkish spindle, a Bubinga Finch, with the sample fiber that came with it:

started during Brian's violin lesson yesterday

and I'm warming up my miniSpinner with some Sweet Grass Wool Targhee top that a friend gave me. Once spun, I'll knit it into some fingerless mitts for her, as these are her colors.

started while filling in at Rick's clinic today

Don't you just love "forced down-time"? There's always something fun to keep my hands and mind occupied!

By the time the construction workers left yesterday, all the trusses (I think) were in place on the winery building, so here is an updated photo:

Yes, it is a huge building, and yes, it will bring more traffic to our road – but not by our house which is further down the dead-end lane. For that I am thankful.

That's it for today from . . .