Polymath Chronicles

The new place.

2012-02-20T18:03:00.001-08:00

I'm sitting at my computer, using my phone as a hotspot (which is intermittent, I'm finding out), listening to the rain on the roof.

When I lived in Walton, I lived in a 14 x 60 trailer. It had a "real" shingle roof and wood siding (not a good thing where you get 100" of rain a year). My new place is a 14 x 70 trailer, which is all metal. It's interesting the difference in the snow, ice and rain sounds.

We're (the dogs and I) all toasty - the woodstove is burbling happily away.

I was warm last night in bed - my real bed is still in storage, so I'm sleeping on my "spare" bed - a queen, double-height air mattress. The first night I slept here, the single sleeping bag between the bottom sheet and the mattress wasn't enough to keep me warm (the air in the mattress is cold!). So I retrieved my 2nd sleeping bag, which did the trick. I was cozy and slept very well.

Moving a bit at a time has its merits and detractions. Until all my stuff is here, I won't feel completely settled. However, not having to push it right now (recovering from bronchitis) is a blessing.

I have found The One.

2012-02-15T18:56:00.000-08:00

The possible equine partner mentioned in the last post has met with the approval of all the unbiased third parties.

So, meet Tang.

At the end of "our" lesson - Stonepony Dressage, Redmond, OR

She's 1/2 Belgian, 1/2 Quarterhorse. Her mother was a PMU mare (used to produce Premarin...). If you didn't know it (cuz I told you), you'd think she was a small Belgian - the quarterhorse is not apparent at all. Her full name is Tanqueray (there is a pony where she lives called Tonic...")

She's 10, and has a lot of experience as a trail horse, lessons for kids, but mainly has been ridden Western. She has really nice gaits, and with work, she'll show them more often!

The first time I rode her was a couple of weeks ago. She's staying at a friend of Correy's in Bend. Correy had told me she was 1/2 belgian, but I forgot. When we got there I was surprised, since for some reason I thought we were seeing a more "refined" horse. Tang hadn't been ridden, or out of her paddock for over 7 months. We show up, put a dressage saddle on her, and I climb on and go. I was impressed with her willingness, her steadiness and the way she felt under me. I must have had a "look" on my face - Correy asked me what I was feeling.

I said, "I feel safe."

That was huge. After Annie, and all the others, I found the one... The downside - her owner hadn't decided to sell her yet. So I kept looking, and Correy's friend kept working on the owner.

Finally, last Friday, I got a message with the owner's phone #, and what she'd decided to ask for her. I called, and asked if I could take her to my lesson to get her professionally evaluated. That was fine.

So today, I showed up with my trailer, and she wouldn't get in. We tried, and tried, but no go. So I parked my trailer in the pasture, hitched up the trailer she was used to and we tried again. With some effort, we were successful. It helps to allow at least an hour for these kinds of contingencies. I was wondering how I was going to get her back in, but figured with 3 people, we could do it.

I took her to my riding lesson, meeting another friend there (we were going to carpool, but didn't). When I got her out of the trailer, she looked around as if to say, "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." But she calmly looked around, noted the horses in their pastures, and the riding lesson in progress. I got the saddle on, got the bridle arranged (mine doesn't fit, so had to use a loaner), and Nancy (my instructor) and Laree (my carpool bud) pronounced her Darling.

Turns out she has more training than is evident from the story of her life - she knows how to lounge (going around in circles on a long line). Nancy worked her both directions, got a nice trot, and a passable canter. Then I got on. She's going to take a lot of work to keep going, since it's hard work for her (and she hasn't had to do any for quite awhile)!! Since I'm recovering from asthmatic bronchitis, I have no wind. I can ride the walk just fine, but I'm only good for about 1/2 of the arena at the trot, and then I'm gasping!

After the lesson, I explained that I might need help getting her back into the trailer. Nancy supplied carrots, and after one false start, Tang got right in. She got another carrot before I got out of the trailer.

It's pretty ironic - for the last 7 weeks, I've been all over the state of Oregon looking at horses. Of the 12 that I considered (3 of which were not in Oregon), I've only ridden 3. I got kicked by one (didn't ride that one and crossed her off the list), and most of the other ones were unsuitable for one reason or another (usually body structure). So where do I find the horse of my dreams?

45 miles away...

Where does the time go???

2012-02-13T11:21:00.001-08:00

Here we are, half-way through February, and I haven't posted anything this year (up 'til now).

I'm embarrassed...

I have been distracted. I have had work to do, but that's not the biggest thing.

I've been looking for a horse. I sold Annie, after getting dumped in October, and again in early January, I realized that I can't handle a green horse. My riding confidence took a huge hit. I found a wonderful home for her in California, where her new owner is going to pack her into the mountains for a few months and then continue her saddle training. The pictures that she's sent me look like Annie is very happy (she has hay, she's happy!!).

I started taking lessons again. I found a wonderful instructor in Redmond, with school horses (who are worth at least twice their weight in gold!!). This has done wonders for my confidence. My instructor tells me that I'm a good rider, that my seat is there, my aids are there, I'm just rusty.

I have driven all over Oregon looking. Out of the 12 horses that I've looked at, I've ridden 4. Either the pictures weren't accurate, or the manners were too lacking (once I got kicked in the thigh), so only a few have been ridden. There is currently a very good prospect that I'm hoping to take to my lesson this week and get an opinion from a knowledgeable professional. If it works out, I'll introduce you.

I've also been looking for a place to rent. I have found one! It's outside of town about 12 miles, on just under 3 acres. It's an older mobile home, but it should do the trick! I can have the dogs, chickens, and... a horse. I have to put in some fencing, but that won't take long, and they'll take it off my rent.

Yesterday, Correy, Sue (another fiber ~~fiend~~ friend) went over to line shelves, etc., and clean. It hadn't been cleaned (or a guy did it...). Anyway 6 hours, a pizza and soft drinks later, we had it presentable. I called the landlord this morning and requested that they have the carpets professionally cleaned, after explaining what we had to clean the day before (it was really gross). They are getting them cleaned tomorrow - YAY! Then I can start moving in!!

So, in the spirit of having a cozy house to live in, I'll leave you with a picture of the inaugural fire:

The end of a year

2011-12-31T17:58:00.000-08:00

This year has been full of changes for me - for the most part good ones. The ones that weren't have been "character building."

With lambs hitting the ground here (7 at current count, and a couple of "impending" ewes), it's a sign that the new year is coming in. I used to use lambing as an excuse for not traveling in December (until my very bright mother realized that I could change that...). I've missed lambing. Even though these are mostly not my sheep, I still really love it when the lambs arrive - hearing the ewe talk to her lambs as she's giving birth, the first sprawling steps, the little lamb voices, and then the transition from simply following mom, to jumping up and down in place, to, finally, lamb races.

Nothing says Happy New Year to me than lambs!!

Hear's hoping that your new year brings light, warmth and prosperity!

Happy Christmas!

2011-12-25T09:12:00.000-08:00

Today is the day that we should sit and reflect on all of the blessings we've received in the last year. If you can, enjoy your family! Or friends, if that's who's around!

Most of all, be kind to yourself...

Back from the Holidays... (long, lots of pictures)

2011-12-02T09:52:00.000-08:00

I made a whirlwind trip down to San Diego for Thanksgiving, with a stop in Reno to hook up with my sister, with whom I carpooled down.

I don't have any pictures of my car - suffice it to say that it was stuffed full... I had made a dairy run to Hood River and Portland (my first experience with snow in the new car see this post - passed with flying colors), and got to stay with LindaLou on Monday night. After talking about weaving, what we wanted to be when we grew up, and having a wonderful dinner (it's always good food at Linda's!), I headed out Tuesday morning into a vicious headwind and torrential rains. Because of the rain, I had to run the defrost a lot - this is a point to remember for later...

The wind was so stiff that I couldn't coast down the hills as I approached the Siskiyous - I was slowing down! So I pulled off at a rest stop in Canyonville, which boasts a casino on the east side of the freeway, and a travel center on the west, and found that my car was making very bad noises. Like from the middle of the engine, bad pulley noises. I called my son (left a message), then called my nephew, who was in class, but called me back. The upshot is that I burned out the clutch on the AC compressor running the defrost (the compressor runs when you use defrost to dry out the air). Fortunately, it is run by a separate belt than the rest of the pulleys (water pump, alternator, main pulley), and I was advised to cut it off - which I did. I'm now the proud owner of a small, serrated paring knife, purchased at the travel center to do the job. After removing the belt, I started the engine - YAY, no noise. Did I mention that I wasn't even out of Oregon yet, not even halfway to Reno? I was happy to be back on the road.

Got to my sister's, and we took off Tuesday morning for San Diego. We had a wicked headwind all the way south to San Diego (El Cajon, which is east of SD), but made good time.

I should explain that in years past, we have met at my sister's for Thanksgiving, because it is mid-way between my dad and me. This year, my dad was getting committed - it's not what you think, really!

He has found a life partner, Wilma. They are so happy - it's like they are both teenagers again. Since my dad is 87, and I won't print Wilma's age... It really does both family's hearts good to see them.

In this post, I talked about the turkeys that I had gotten, one of which would be the guest of honor at dinner. I took the smallest one, at 24.6 lbs., and because Wilma and her family were bringing pies, and Mary (my sis) had made cranberry sauce ahead of time, we "only" had to make the turkey, potatoes (blue from Mary's garden), gravy and stuffing.

I don't think I've ever had a turkey get done early... This one, this LARGE turkey, cooked unstuffed, was done a hour early... Ok, so we had time to remake some rolls to replace the ones that had gotten a little over done, and to finish up all the rest of the stuff, but geez - who ever has a turkey get done early! You're always waiting for them at the end! I used a recipe that had fresh rosemary (from Dad's front yard), basil, olive oil and garlic that was blended like pesto, and then rubbed under the skin. The remainder was rubbed in the cavity. I think this was possibly the best turkey I've ever made/had.

Just before eating, Dad and Wilma did their ceremony. I think most of us were pretty teary-eyed. It was very moving.

And the next day, we did it again at Wilma's with all of her extended family in attendance. My niece, Harmony took pictures at Dad's, but used my camera at Wilma's -

Mary and I singing (in harmony, with feelin')

They wrote their own words

The KISS!!

After Cutting the Cake!

While at Dad's, Mary and Rich (BIL) went to the beach, and I played in Dad's shop, making warp holders like Sharon's. I found a piece of cherry, and we interpolated dimensions from the picture that Sharon had sent me. I'm increasingly distracted when warping, and needed a way to hold the cross while I went off on a tangent...

The best part? I got to play with power tools, ahr, ahr, ahr...

On the way home, I had a quick visit with Amy (saw Sadie - what a hoot), and stayed at Sharon's on Sunday night, very quick visits, but so very fun. We figured out that Halcyon Yarn carries UKI cotton, and since Sharon had UKI's color card, I made a spreadsheet listing each with the respective colors so we can order what we want in the future. Contrary to what Sharon says, I am not always right...

I stopped at Mim's on Monday morning, saw her sheep, and talked fiber. When I left it was with a slight tail wind, and nobody on the road for most of the trip home. I got 29.6 mpg, even exceeding the speed limit by a fair bit (LindaLou would be proud)...

I was just south of La Pine when I snapped this sunset:

The colors were much more intense than it shows - way more pink and purple... But it was beautiful. You'll note that I was pulled over to the side of the road at the time...

Now that I'm back, I'm farmsitting for a friend until December 20. She has a smattering of sheep, goats, alpacas, one llama and 11 chickens. Oh, and 2 cats who are not happy about my dogs being here!

This gig comes complete with breathtaking scenery:

(the place is literally just inside Smith Rock State Park), but also with a complete dye studio! I plan to wash a couple of fleeces, but also brought along the little loom to do some weaving.

I feel kind of disconnected - but at least it's pretty!!

Sometimes, when you have a deadline...

2011-11-19T20:27:00.000-08:00

You're presented with learning opportunities...

See FiberVoodoo blog here for all the details!!

Turkey Run

2011-11-12T15:29:00.000-08:00

I was very fortunate, when I called a couple of weeks ago, to obtain a butcher date for the turkeys yesterday. This time of year, it is packed, and I usually make the appointment for next year when I take them in to be butchered (as I did this year).

Correy came along as navigator, and we combined a couple of other things into the trip. With snow predicted for Friday night, we moved up our departure from home to Thursday, after yoga. One of the added in stops was to take fleeces to Creekside Fiber Mill in Lebanon, Oregon. They do a great job, and I needed to find some off-site storage for some of my fleece. Because we were going there first, the turkeys went in the truck with a barrier between them and the fleece, cooler, etc.

Once all the fleece was in, you couldn’t even tell they were in there!

I treat the animals that I’m going to harvest for meat with a great deal of respect, especially on their last day. There is another processor closer to home (by about an hour), but they a) never called me back, and b) want all of the day’s birds there at 7 am. Those that aren’t processed until late afternoon are pretty darn stressed by the time their turn comes. For that reason, it’s worth it to me to take my birds to the farther of the two. I have a specific appointment time, and usually there’s not much of a wait until the birds are taken in, one or two at a time. I hand them out to the folks who take them in to start the butchering process. The birds know me, they have had a curious ride in this mobile coop with all their buddies, and then they leave, handed out by me. There’s not much stress involved, on their part.

This weeks’ turkey run actually worked out well having them in the truck overnight. I always give them only water the night before, because their system has more or less emptied out by the time they’re butchered, which the processor appreciates. Since I had them on grass for the last week, and had no place to coop them up, taking the trip early helped make the usual possible.

So (drum roll please), weights were as follows: White tom – 39.94 lbs.; White hen – 30.36 lbs.; Bronze tom – 34.34 lbs.; Bronze hen – 24.57 lbs. These are all broad breasted birds, and ideally should have been butchered about 2 ½ months ago, but I didn’t own them then!

I have taken the toms to be smoked and then quartered, the hens are in the freezer. I’ll take the smaller one down to San Diego for Thanksgiving, and the other will be used later, I’m sure.

One of the other things we did was to stay at Michelle's, so that I could give her a spinning lesson in long draw. She had been given some "mystery" bats by a blog pal, who suggested that she spin them that way. She was an avid pupil; between Correy and I, we had her on her way. She was so excited, that she spun up and plied both bats that evening! I made some Zucchini Spice Cake muffins, which were a hit with the McMillins!

Meanwhile, the promised snow started today, and is now (in late afternoon) moving our way. We moved some round bales of hay (with the truck – they weigh 600 lbs) to a more usable location (and away from the prehensile lips of the ponies…).

By the time we’d completed that, the wind had come up and it was just time to head into the house to warm up. This is what’s heading our way:

I got old hay bales around the base of the trailer to help block most of the wind from going under. This should help some to keep it warmer. Last week, I busted the dinette seat out, and set up a small computer desk as a workspace and wire cubes for my clothes. This dramatically opens up the space in my little box, and will also give me room to have my radiant oil heater instead of the loud, only partially effective, ceramic heater.

I knit an ear warmer headband, but it’s being blocked and not completely done – check my fiber blog for details in a day or so.

So, winter is on its way – we have wood, hay and lots of food put in. Bring it on!!

Turkeys in the backyard!

2011-10-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

(to the tune of "Smokin' in the Boys Room)...

After the Farm Day yesterday (story of the weaving here), I picked up 4 turkeys on the way home. They were, of course, on CL, for $25/each. Since poults cost about $5/each, and then being fed for 6 months, this was a screamin' deal. Now, I know it's common to find turkeys in the store very soon for 49 cents/lb., but there is nothing that compares with home grown turkeys. Because of my move, I didn't raise turkeys this year, and it would mean that we didn't have a home-grown turkey for Thanksgiving.

These guys (and girls) are 6+ months old, and about 2 months past optimal butcher time - only because they're huge, not that they won't be tender. The one hen that I loaded up probably weighed 30 lbs. and the toms were much bigger (yield after butchering is roughly 65% of live weight). The folks I got them from were commenting that they were surprised that they ended up with a tom and hen of each breed (broadbreasted white and broadbreasted bronze). I explained that these turkeys cannot breed naturally because of their large pectoral muscles (the breast meat). While the toms certainly want to try, they can't assume the correct "position."

To give a little scale, they are in a "coop" of 34" hog panels. The toms' heads are just under the top... The peacock, who was kept with my former turkey flock, thinks he's a turkey. He seems happy to have a flock again, however temporary!

I'll keep them on grass for about a week (maybe two), then I'll harvest them and have 2 smoked, take one to San Diego for Thanksgiving and stow the other one in the freezer.

And I apologize if you have that song running through your head for the rest of the day...

Stocking up, and production begins

2011-10-28T20:53:00.000-07:00

We've been spending the last week stocking up: Hay and wood.
Since I had offered to help pay for hay in exchange for staying at Correy's, once the house closed, we started looking. Being the Craigslist ~~addict~~ queen that I am, I started searching. Correy called me with the number of one - by the time I called, they had sold 5 of their 8 tons - we took the rest. Then I found another and called - the farmer was eating dinner, according to his wife - I told her to have him call me, and I wanted 10 tons. She said, "Oh!"

When we were unloading the last 5 tons of the 10 tons, we had help:

Cedric Snoopervising

We had help from a couple of local farm boys to unload and stack the hay - we loaded the trailer. This was complicated for me by the fact that I had fallen off Annie and hurt my back. A back brace helped a lot, as did going to yoga twice a week. It's better, but I kinked it good, and it's taking it's own sweet time getting over its bad self...

Correy's aunt is District Biologist for the Ochoco Nat'l. Forest, so she knows where all the good wood gathering spots are. There was a thinned unit of juniper (the best stuff...) about 40 miles from home. I had to buy 2 new tires for the truck to make the trip, though... We took off in the morning, in a caravan of 4 trucks, with Lyra and Ruby, Correy's kelpie/border collie along for the ride.

Lyra and Ruby

We had help gathering wood, too:

Look Mom - I got some, too!

After working for a good long while, Bob (Correy's Squeeze) manning the chain saw, Correy and me loading the trucks, my truck was full:

It's good to have access from all sides...

There's no more room!

I managed to forget to take a picture of Correy's truck, but it was full, too. We figure we had about 2 cords of well-seasoned juniper to take home. Unfortunately, before we finished, Lyra found a dead dear carcass and liberated a front leg. She chewed it until she was bored with it, and then Ruby took over. Because Ruby had ridden in the back of Correy's truck, I got to take both stinky dead dear leg dog breath dogs back in the cab of my truck. It was pretty awful, until they both laid down and went to sleep.

As we were driving out, Correy was waving her arm around, but I was too tired to realize she was trying to show me the flock of wild turkeys - she said they were huge! Bigger than most Broad Breasted Bronze mutants you usually see on tables around this time of year!

So, last Saturday, we got 3 tons of hay, Sunday, we got 2 cords of wood, Monday we got 5 tons of hay, Tuesday we went to yoga, Wednesday we got 5 tons of hay, Thursday, Correy went to yoga, today Correy and Bob went and got another 5 tons of (free) hay, while I warped my loom for a Farm Day demo tomorrow.

We decided that we'd either be in really good shape or completely crippled by the end of the week. The jury is still out on me - Correy's tired, but still kickin'! We still have more hay to get, but we're doing that sometime next week.

Next up - the turkeys are coming!!

Of Rides and Riding

2011-10-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

So, the last trip with the last "stuff" from the west side of the mountains is done. I'm over the hill (literally and figuratively). The house has closed escrow - YAY. Given that I'm going to be making periodic trips to Eugene for work, and that my truck a) gets great mileage for a truck, but still..., and b) it has 221-ish thousand miles on it, I thought I would look for a car to take those trips in.

Last week, I had to drive over to Portland area to meet with the folks that I'm doing contract work for, and thought while I was there, maybe I'd look. I found a Saab and a Subaru that looked promising. Now, I have always wanted a Saab, as long as I can remember. This one seemed like a good one, and I checked to see that there was a Saab mechanic east of the cascades (in Bend - he also does Subaru's). I called my sister (known as the "rational twin") to see what I should do. She recommended the Subaru, since Saabs, while fun, are expensive to fix. I talked to my friend, Sandi, and she suggested calling the mechanic - Brilliant!

So, I did. The guy didn't know me from Adam, but spent about 15 minutes talking to me about the pro's and con's of both cars. He than asked me what I wanted the car for, and it turned out that he was selling one of his cars (he had 3) in my price range. I didn't look at the cars in Portland. I went back home on Wednesday, after staying with Linda Lou in Portland (see below), and Thursday am went to see the car.

I was in LUUUUV. It's a 98 Subaru Legacy GT, all-wheel drive sedan. While the odometer shows 189+K miles on it, it had a used engine put in at 180K, and a new clutch disk at 177K. The mechanic that owned it has worked on the car for years, and has all of the records. Since it is a 5 speed, it is very sporty, and it handles really well. It's very short, compared to the truck, but it has a lot of room. The back seats fold down giving access to the truck. So, here it is:

The stereo is also very cool!!

I stayed at LindaLou's in the Multnomah Village area of Portland. We went to an awesome Thai restaurant, but before we ate, we went to the Multnomah Art Center, where the Portland Handweaver's guild was having a show. There were some awesome pieces (see Fiber Voodoo post for more pictures); Linda had 2 pieces (nuno felted) and there were a number of really lovely pieces.

I really like the colors in the second one, and the first one is cool because of the texture the felting made in the silk scarf. Go Linda!!

The last trip over involved picking up Annie and bringing her home. She's now ridable, and is so different from the little mare that I dropped off in June. Since my trailer lights weren't working, I dropped it off at the Trailer Vet before I headed up to Portland. When I headed back down to get Annie, I forgot to pick it up - what a moron... It was ok, since it wasn't done, anyway. So, I continued down, and Jordan showed me the "routine", and then rode her a bit.

Then I got to ride her. I was thrilled. I don't mount from the ground anymore (haven't for years), so I got a 5 gal. bucket to step up from (she's only 14 hands). She gave it the hairy eyeball, and then had to turn around to look at it when I stepped up on it (so had to move her back into position). She stands to be mounted, and moves out well to voice commands. She stops without resistance. We only had one "incident" - we were coming around the arena towards the bucket, which we had gone inside of before, and I wanted to go outside of it, but didn't give the message early enough. She was heading straight for it, and got very worried. Her reaction is to jump forward slightly, and continue more rapidly. This form of "spooking" sat me down into the saddle, where I can't fall.

It took about 3 strides to get her settled, then we continued on, came down to a walk, and then stopped and removed the bucket!!

She's adjusting to life on the east side, where it has been raining so it probably seems like home. One of Correy's pony's thinks she is just beautiful... She shares a fence line with the rams, and that doesn't seem to concern her (I haven't had sheep while I've had her).

She is going to be a very fun pony to work with. I found a very nice harness, which will the next part of her education. More on that as it progresses.

I guess I have two new rides!!

It's Done!

2011-10-08T09:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry for being incommunicado... Last Monday, after OFFF, I found out that the house was to close Oct. 7 - EEEK!

Correy and I went over to the house on Wednesday, and spent until Saturday mucking it out. We started the trip by stopping by to see Annie, who's training is coming along very nicely, and who will be coming home next week. Since that was later in the afternoon, when we got to the house, we (Correy) made a plan of attack - I can hear Amy snickering...

My neighbors allowed us to hook into their water via a series of hoses so we could flush toilets and wash hands, etc. Over the next 3 days, with no electricity, we worked from can see to can't see, taking 4 or 5 loads of crap to the dump (I lost count). To put it in perspective, I lived there for 5 years, all but the last one in a lot of pain from very bad knees. Not much got done... at all.

After filling the sheep trailer (6 x 10 x 4) with save-able stuff, I arranged to exchange it for Jordan's (Annie's trainer) stock trailer to get the 16' panels home. By the time I got back to Walton with it, it had started raining - a lot. We did the Walton Wet T-shirt contest, loading it up. The house was as clean as we could get it, and my agent had told the buyer's agent since it was considered of no value, we weren't cleaning it thoroughly. We pulled out of Walton at around 5 and reached Prineville at 8:30pm, very tired and somewhat drier than when we started.

Yesterday, a whirlwind run to the valley to:

get the last load from the house
drop Kiri and Whoosie off at their new home
sign papers for the house closing.

The intent was to leave Prineville by 9 am. I think we got out of the house to take the canopy off my truck, install the stock racks (purpose will be clear later), hitch up the stock trailer to return it, load the ponies at about 9:15. Needless to say, we didn't leave as early as planned.

We got to the valley about 1:15, and delivered Kiri and Whoosie to their new home. I'm glad that I got Kiri from the stockyard where she was bound for slaughter. When it became clear that she was pregnant, I wasn't thrilled, but figured it was a new experience for me, right? Now that Whoosie is 4 months old, Correy started working with both mares (her's is a new mom, too), and Kiri was not at all pleased to be reminded that she needed to be a horse. To be fair, she's probably been shuffled around alot (which I just did, too), so she has probably learned to buffalo people to get her way. To make it clear to her that it's not ok takes physical punishment, and I have a hard time doing that. I've tried being nice, using treats as bribes, but until you physically show her you are the boss, she's not buying it. I don't need to work that hard with a horse. She's now with a early-20's young woman who, though looking like she's a sweet young thing with firey red hair, takes no shit. They have a 5+ acre pasture that is shared with 7 alpacas, and at least one cow. There is shelter and it will be a very good place. Since the new owner is a friend of Correy's daughter, Brin, I can get updates on her progress. If nothing else, they will keep them as pasture pets.

We left there and went into Eugene to get lunch (it was 2:30). Since it would not make sense to drive out to Walton just to turn around for my appointment to sign, I called the Escrow officer and made arrangements to go in earlier. After signing (which was kind of fun - she had handled the previous failed escrow), we went out to the house to load up.

There was some wood from 7 trees that the sheep had girdled, already cut and well seasoned, which we took for Correy's wood stove. This was the purpose of the stock rack - a support for stacking up the wood. We picked up 4 pallets (one can never have too many on a farm), the two hoses from last weekend, a couple of boards and cut the 20' pvc into roughly 10' lengths. There were also many more canning jars (gold, if you have them) and a bunch of sheep coats. When we were fully loaded the truck was wallowing. After picking up Brin to give Correy some "daughter time," we picked up the previously filled and parked sheep trailer to bring it home.

After dropping Brin off in Springfield, we headed back up the mountain IN THE RAIN. We went very slowly (max 50 mph) because of the load. It was snowing on the top of Santiam pass, but just barely starting to stick on the side (the road was just wet). Once over the top and out of the clouds, we could see stars - a welcome sight.

We pulled in at 10:30 - exhausted, wobbly and ready for bed. This is what we hauled back over the mountain.

Note the tires...

Thursday, I just wanted to veg, but I had 2 traffic plans to do by Friday, the truck and trailer to unload, and 2 loads of laundry to do! And Correy and I dragged our sorry sore butts to Yoga. After Yoga, I became a veg. To make up for it, I worked until midnight on traffic control plans (just one more plan...), and then was too tired to sleep.

The buyer of the house was supposed to be signing Thursday, with funding and closing Friday. She didn't. I lost it... She decided she had to know if she still got the forest deferral (on taxes) if she logged off the property. First, there is not enough lumber on the deferral plot to log right now - the trees are maybe 15 years old. Second, this was not a contingency, so wtf?? She finally signed Friday, after completely pissing off the escrow officer (not a good thing, I can tell you!!). The lender had already funded the loan, so we'll close on Monday,but because the banks are closed for Columbus Day, I won't have the $$ in my pocket until Tuesday. At least there's $$... I'm very grateful for that!

The traffic control plans turned into a bigger job than I had anticipated - one job turned into 8 sheets, good for the pocket book, but really hard on the wrists. I need to get a more ergonomic set up in the trailer to do these. I'm meeting with the company owners, etc., on Tuesday - I've been working for them without the "Hi, welcome to the company - here's how we do things", which has been a little frustrating. I'm looking forward to all of us being on the same page, or at least in the same book!!

There's still organizing to do, and I need to get 5 dowels for my warping reel so I can warp my loom. I hope to get that done this weekend. It will be good to get back to weaving.

Re-entering an old job

2011-09-16T18:21:00.000-07:00

I have a degree in Biology, with a Chemistry minor, and I have monitored the swarming behavior of motor vehicles for the last 6 years for the City of Eugene. Part of my job there was drawing and/or approving temporary traffic control plans for work in the City's right-of-way.

I learned to draw traffic control plans while living in San Diego in the mid-90's. I ended up working all over So. Cal. for about 3 years, until I moved back to Reno in 2000.

In my search for what I want to be when I grow up, and the necessity for continuing income, of which there is currently none (having left my City job when I moved), I called a flagging company that I had worked with and offered my services. They allowed as how they would be "stupid not to take advantage of my experience" (their words). So, I'm again an independent contractor preparing traffic plans for this company. They will have me working all over, including Vancouver, WA.

It's actually kind of fun - I get to satisfy my inner geek by playing with the cad program I have, and I know that I'm doing a service by drawing a plan that will keep the workers and the traveling public safe.

I got one plan done today - getting used to the program again slowed me down. I'm also waiting for a call from the utility to clarify the work they're doing. The next few that are in the mail (20 locations in Salem - woot!!) shouldn't take so long.

It will be interesting to get feedback from the company about my work. It's very different from what their in-house people do (using a cad program allows for more accuracy and detail). We'll see!

Anyway, it's good to be working, even though it isn't necessarily steady, it's something!!

Check out the dyeing...

2011-09-13T13:04:00.000-07:00

I dyed, and dyed and dyed... and then I went to Shaniko, where I sold only a little... See more here (Fiber Voodoo)...

Cultivated Silk top - Yum!!

Fanfare, please...

2011-08-30T07:55:00.000-07:00

I've started a new blog, strictly for fiberish pursuits. Please check it out!

http://fibervoodoo.blogspot.com/

Hope you enjoy it!

When everything you touch turns to ...

2011-08-29T09:17:00.000-07:00

The sale of my house has fallen through. Evidently the male half of the duo buying it is/was a scammer (or has no cojones), and after promising to have the $$ to close Friday afternoon, took the opportunity to skip out while his girlfriend was at Wal-Mart. I have told my agent to dump the price $15K, and put it back as active.

Meanwhile, after having a rough Friday and Saturday, I managed to get stuff packed into the truck and travel trailer and moved it over to Prineville. I didn't think to take pictures of backing the trailer into it's space - there was about 6 inches on either side of it (it's 8' wide). It's in, it's level, and just needs me to come back and make it livable with the dogs, bedding, etc. Soon...

The cancellation of the sale means that I either a) need to sell 18 birds very quickly (by Wednesday), or b) have to move them, which complicates things enormously. I'm not sure I can move dog jail (10 x 10 x 6 powder coated, welded steel panels) and pull a trailer at the same time, AND keep the chickens, etc. in the bed of the truck. I'm still pondering. (and avoiding putting them on CL)

There's less stuff on the floor since the dump run was made Saturday morning. It is getting there, but there's still so much stuff - the pantry is full, and there's all the canning jars that aren't going anywhere but storage because I WILL use them (someday...). I took the freezer stuff over except for the tequila (everyone keeps theirs in the freezer, right?) and some fruit. The fridge stuff will go over this week.

Meanwhile, looming on the horizon is Shaniko Wool Gathering, on September 10 & 11. Correy and I have shared a booth there forever, even though I haven't been to the last 3. Normally, it takes me about a month to prepare - dyeing, winding, labeling, etc. - I have about a week. Fortunately, I won't be working full time, so that will help - I won't have anything else to do!

I have some new yarn, Alpaca Lace, that I'm dying to try weaving (or to throw on the knitting machine). It's very fine, very soft, and the natural color is a light golden color (even after washing). It should dye beautifully. At about 4400 yds/lb, there's a lot of yardage there. I have more of the superwash merino/bamboo, which I sold out of at Fiber Market day, some superwash merino in sport and fingering, and some superfine, 80's merino fiber, all to dye before the festival. I also have some raw silk yarn (I love the smell), that I'm hoping to weave with. I've used it in the past to make scarves, which turn out really beautiful.

In my last post I mentioned being a little scattered. That no longer applies. My brain has left this geographical location and is MIA. I'm hoping that doing some fiber stuff will help ground me a little while I navigate this now more difficult transition.

Like the song says, "you can't always get what you want, but ... you get what you need" - I keep telling myself that. Over and over...

Moving update...

2011-08-23T10:16:00.000-07:00

I have gotten down to the stuff all over the floor stage. I'm about to grab the dust pan, shove it all into trash bags and take it to the dump!

Escrow hasn't closed, but the buyers have signed the papers. The bad news is that it hasn't closed - the good news is that I have 3 days after closing to get out, so it's kind of ok...

Thanks to Brin and Tristan (Correy's Daughter and SIL), I got all the big stuff (Freezer, Washers and dryer, Loom) and the kitchen and all the previously packed books over last Wednesday and into storage. I drove home Thursday, and Sandi (a Eugene friend) helped me get all the smaller furniture and odd assorted bits into the borrowed stock trailer, which I hauled over Friday, and then drove back Saturday. Whew - a lot of too-ing and fro-ing!

Work is odd - I don't really have much to do, given that I'm only here for another 5 days. However, I'm not really here, anyway! They're planning a party - I told them to have lots of kleenex... Also, Chocolate Brownie Thunder ice cream.

The truck is in the shop to the tune of $600 - major tune up, new distributor - or I wouldn't be able to haul the travel trailer over the hill this weekend...

Sorry I'm a little scattered - it's weird coming home to a mostly empty house. Last night my dinner was fat-free fudgesicles and a beer - I have no pots or utensils until I bring the trailer home tonight! Then I can use some of the food in the pantry...

Oh well, onward!!

Why I can not be considered "normal"...

2011-08-15T10:02:00.000-07:00

I am in the midst of moving. As you may know, moving sucks... So, I, in an attempt to be a "responsible adult" applied for a job in Bend, for which I had an interview on Friday. It went well, other than the fact that I woke up at 2:50 am that morning and couldn't get back to sleep. I don't do sleep deprivation well.

By the time I had driven to Prineville, changed into interview clothes (which I had to buy, not having any suitable...), driving to Bend, doing the interview, driving to Madras to look at a house to rent (not suitable), and getting back to Prineville to change back into "real" clothes, I was a wreck.

I went to the Fair anyway. I had a good time, but was well and truly somnambulant by the time Correy and I got back to her place. I called about another house, which sounded good, but when they found out I had one of those evil, wicked, killer dogs (a pit bull who sleeps under the covers on the bed, loves cats, wants to lick people to death), I was declined. That was the last straw. I lost it. I'm not giving up my dog. We did watch "The Tourist," which was fun.

So Saturday morning, I got it together, and drove home with a migraine. When I got home, I did pillow-blankie-night night courtesy of oxycodone (it's prescribed, never fear - I'm not an addict). When I got up, I called LindaLou.

I may have mentioned this before, but Linda and I are both INFP's - Introvert/Intuitive/Feeling/Perceiving, per the Meyers Briggs personality inventory. There's some very small percentage of humans that are this type. She understands me. So I called her about having second thoughts about the job interview (they are to call me this week for another go). She calmly asked me why I applied for the job, since I wasn't settled enough to know where I was, and why I thought I *needed* a job right away, and, basically, what was I thinking! I said that I guess I was trying to be normal, having a job, being a responsible, self-sufficient adult, to which she replied, "But you're not normal!"

Thanks, Linda, for whacking me upside the head with the cosmic 2 x 4 and getting me back on track.

I'm still kind of a wreck, but I'm going to take the rest of the week off and pack and move stuff, since the house is supposed to close on Friday and I have to be out by Monday. Yesterday, it took me all day to do my very small bathroom... My bedroom is the stuff of nightmares, and then there's the kitchen... I know it will all work out, but I swear, if I were a normal person, I wouldn't leave it all until the last minute.

I think the P really stands for Procrastination...

It's been a year!

2011-08-03T09:07:00.000-07:00

Last year at this time, I was in the hospital on major drugs recovering from double knee replacement surgery. While the initial recovery was painful, I am now pain free, and lovin' it!

I saw my doctor yesterday, and he's still very pleased (as am I), and I don't have to go back for 4 years. I told him that I was moving, and he said he could refer me to a group in Bend, but said that he'd be happy to have me come back to see him (which I will probably do - we have a good raport). As I was leaving, he gave me a hug! I almost cried.

I've been baby-sitting 2 breeding groups of Correy's sheep at the pasture near my house. Last night, I stopped by to check water and found the owner wringing his hands about a water leak. The upshot is that he's had to turn the water off that serves the sheep, and I'm making an unscheduled trip over the hill with sheep on Friday. I may be able to bring a load of sheep from the east side to the sheep buyer - at $5/head, it helps with the gas...

Annie is now being ridden - I'm going to see her today after work (and to pick up the stock trailer that I'm borrowing to move sheep!). More pictures soon.

You know what? Moving sucks. Let me repeat that - Moving sucks!!! I have so much stuff - I should have a garage/yard sale, but I don't have time to price everything, move it out of the house to where the sale might/could be (it's foggy at night still), and most of my cast offs will probably go to a) the dump, or b) goodwill. I have boxes, but probably need more, and am still up in the air about where I'm going (other than plan A, which is Correy's back yard with the trailer). I think I'm going to get a storage unit this weekend when I go over there, just in case. I can also take the boxes that I have packed so far, which would be smart...

I think I'm like my bosses - I'm in total denial. I know it's coming, I know I need to get stuff done, but I just get paralyzed and don't do anything... Not good. I envy LindaLou - she's moving the same weekend that I am (or I would be helping her!), but all her stuff has been in storage so it's already packed. I need a fairy godmother to come wave her magic wand and make it happen - or whack me up side the head with a 2 x 4 to get me going...

Oh my, how things change...

2011-07-19T12:27:00.000-07:00

So I called my benefits administrator at the City to discuss my coming separation. After talking about some options, we got off the phone. She immediately called me back. Since I'm 57, I'm eligible to retire!! I can still work for a non-PERS employer without interuption of my retirement payment...

SO I'M RETIRING!! Wow. Interesting. It takes some getting used to...

A welcome interlude

2011-07-18T06:32:00.000-07:00

On June 20^th, I took Sweet Annie to a trainer, Jordan Stevens, in nearby Creswell. I had met with him, and really got a very good feeling for his calm, quiet manner with his horses. As he also said that when they deserved discipline, they got it, I knew he wasn’t a complete softy!

I’d been back to see her twice – once the next day, when she was so pissed off (and in flaming season) that she wouldn’t let me touch her, and then again last week, when, with the bribe of cookies, she was happy to bless me with her company so long as the cookies lasted. I have not been avoiding her because of any instruction from Jordan; rather I felt it would be less confusing for her not to wonder where her loyalties should lie. It seems that I was right.

On a whim Friday, I went down to see her. Jordan was helping his whole family get the hay in before the next rain (that night…). He was grateful for the break, and walked right up to Annie (I couldn’t ever do that), and brought her out to show me what progress she’s made. And what progress it is! The skittish mare that I left is no longer in evidence. He expressed the opinion that since she’s the omega horse, she just needed someone to tell her what to do. She takes instruction very well! Even though she had been worked with earlier in the day, she graciously demonstrated all she’s learned:

Having a rope flipped up around her head, and all over her body

Standing untied to be saddled and bridled

Ground driving at the walk and trot

Stopping quietly with her nose down!

Standing quietly while Jordan mounted and sat on her

He’ll start having her carry him around with a friend leading her this next week. He’s thrilled with her progress (as am I). She’s not stupid, and catches on quickly and quietly to his instructions. One really great thing she does that was unexpected is that when he crosses behind her when ground driving, she doesn’t care. Many young horses are very unnerved by the “disappearance” of their human behind them, out of sight. Not Ann. This bodes really, really well for continuing her training to pulling a cart. I’ll continue that part of her further education, since I have a little (very little!!) experience with that. My arab was pulling shafts of pvc while I ground drove him around the fire roads near where we lived, but I never added weight. If Ann is this placid about new things (Jordan says she’s actually a little lazy…), putting her to cart won’t be a huge deal, if taken slowly.

It was a really very calming interlude in my otherwise crazy life to spend time with my pony – after she was finished with show and tell, I led her around for about 45 minutes, letting her eat grass, which she thought was a great reward! Now that she a Jordan are working together well, I’ll check in more often (like once a week). He’s sure that by the end of her 90 days, I’ll be riding her instead of him – I can’t wait!!

Sometimes the change comes faster than you're ready for...

2011-07-12T08:17:00.000-07:00

Lots has happened since the last post.

First, I have sold my house. Close of escrow is on or before August 19, and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. The good news is that the buyers have agreed to clean up the property - I just have to get the house cleaned out. The bad news is that I have to get the house cleaned out.

How can one person accumulate so much crap? Ok, I know that when I moved in here 4.5 years ago, I went from a 1436 sq. ft. house into an 840 sq. ft. house, and didn't have enough room for everything, so I purged big time, I thought. Since then, I've managed to accumulate more stuff, acquired some of Mom's stuff after her passing (I needed a dumpster even before that!!), and now find myself doing the 2nd run through the clothing (how many t-shirts does one need??). I have already taken 4 bags of clothes to Goodwill, and one bag of shoes - my ex used to call me Imelda...

Needless to say, I've been procrastinating. I need to find a flatbed trailer to haul the panel gates and hog and cattle panels over to Correy's, since I don't want to sell them (I might need them someday...). Also, fencing, t-posts and 4 x 4's that can be used for animal stuff. I haven't found a borrow-able trailer yet, and don't want to spend the $$ to rent one. Correy has generously offered to babysit my loom, and a couple of vintage oak dressers (one is Mission), and all the fiber... I'm not sure she knows how much that is... ;-)

But along with the full-blown panic of moving, there have been some really fun times in the last few weeks. Two weeks ago, I headed over to Correy's to help skirt fleeces (maybe she does understand how much fiber I have after all...), and got to see Who's Your Daddy in person. Man, is she a pistol! We haltered both foals, and Correy did the initial leading training.

Her colt is relatively mild mannered, and really cute. He's out of her Arab/Appy/Paint mare, Jazz, and her Foundation Quarter Horse Stallion, Duster. The colt's name is Duster's Sunday Surprise, as he was born early on a Sunday morning, when everyone had decided that Jazz was just going to be permanently pregnant (she was about 3 weeks overdue). He has the greatest markings, and the promise to be a very nice-looking horse (he will be gelded). A couple of pictures:

Whosie (tater is not appropriate), on the other hand, is a total control freak like her mother (and me...). She does NOT want that thing on her head, and she does NOT want to walk with you and she does NOT really care if you touch her or not, even when it feels good. She threw herself on the ground several times that first time after getting the halter on. We took advantage of that and scratched her all over, moved her legs around, played with her tail - all the while she was rigid with indignation. Make no mistake, this filly was NOT afraid. Combined with the fact that this girl is going to be around 15 hands (her knees are already at the same height as Kiri's), it's going to be imperative that I figure out what makes her tick and get her to acquiesce to a human being alpha. Should be interesting. First picture is before we "tormented" her:

Note how tall she is in this picture - she's one month old - Kiri is about 13.2 (54" at the withers):

After her exhausting afternoon (aren't baby teeth cute?):

Also, here are a couple of pictures that I forgot I had from the Reno trip. These were taken at the marsh about 1/4 mile from my old house. I swear this Yellowheaded Black Bird was posing:

Not a great picture, but a Great Egret is always fun to see:

And last but not least, this last Sunday, Correy's daughter, Brin , and I went to what turned out to be the finale concert of the Oregon Bach Festival. Brin had gotten a voucher for 2 tickets, and let me choose the concert. Since the one with Yo Yo Ma was exempted from the voucher (dang...), we went to see Beethoven's 9th Symphony (Ode to Joy). I've never seen it live, though I have a really nice recording of it. I almost got to sing in it, but had to drop out last fall when I strained my voice trying to sing it. I'm a first soprano, but there are more high A's in that one piece than I've sung in my whole life up to that point, and it was too much. Anyway, the music was really good, the soli were adequate, but the chorus rocked! They were so tight, entrances and cut off's were perfect and the sound carried out over the orchestra like ocean waves - there all the time. I had goosebumps the entire concert. I'm sure my seatmate (not Brin) was wondering about this loony sitting next to her bouncing her feet and swaying to the music - I just can't help it!!

So, onward. Tonight I'll sort the clothes again... Honest...

Sometimes, a change is gonna come...

2011-06-20T15:01:00.000-07:00

I've been putting off writing this post for about 2 months.

I've put my house up for sale. Annie is in training and not at home, Prize went to a much better home than I could give him, given the craziness that is currently my life. It's very weird not having livestock at home (other than poultry). With Annie in training until mid-September, I don't have to worry about her. When I pick her up, she'll be rideable, and I will be able to continue her training in dressage and driving. Kiri will be caring for the 'Tater (Who's Your Daddy), who won't be weaned until at least December, and probably later, given that mid-winter isn't a good time for that kind of stress.

I have come to the realization that I can't live where it rains 80-90 inches per year. I have asthma, and this last year has just about killed me. My 1984, semi-permeable mobile home is full of mold, mildew and assorted fungi - probably the reason I developed my anaphylactic mushroom allergy. I have had more lung problems in the last 2 years, than all the years before, and find myself increasingly short of breath (ok, I'm out of shape, too, but not that bad...).

I've also realized that I'm not like normal people. I thrive on change. Oh, I can stay put in a job for several years, but then I need to be doing something different. I've been at my current job for 6 years. To say that I'm feeling chaffed, is putting it mildly - twitchy is a better adjective. My current job is as close to a dream job as you can get - good people, good, interesting stuff to do, and good pay. However, it's in a location that will do me in.

Some of my favorite jobs were temporary in nature. I would go, clean things up, kick butt, take names - they loved me and I moved on. Life was good. I also really enjoyed working for myself, setting my own hours, doing fun stuff in between doing my work. I'm not all that concerned with my future - so long as I keep putting in my share, the universe has always provided what I need at the time.

So, my plan is to sell the house (mainly the land - the house isn't worth much), and move east to central Oregon. The climate is more like Reno - I miss that way more than I thought I would. It's has more "big sky" than where I live now. Walton is in a canyon, and while the trees and green are very nice, my eyes are feeling squished.

By the end of summer (Sept/Oct) I will have relocated.

The hardest part right now is that I feel like I've failed as a farmer. Anybody can have chickens... Someday, I'll have another place and have pigs and sheep and maybe goats (along with the ponies), but for now, even the chickens are going to a new home soon (which they already have, thank goodness). It's very strange not to have hooved stock outside the back door - that's what brought me to Oregon in the first place! I wanted a place where my sheep could graze for at least part of the year, so I wouldn't have to feed so much hay. Now I have unused hay in my barn. It won't go to waste - I'll haul it over to Correy to help feed Kiri and 'Tater. But it's like it's the end of a dream. I'm hoping it's just a suspension, and that I'll get back to it.

The universe may have other ideas, though. There are other things in the works, which are too nebulous to mention now. If they solidify, I'll post about them later.

In the meantime, I'm purging stuff like mad. I'm hoping to get down to just the bare essentials beyond bed, loom, fiber stuff, cd's and books - that's not asking too much, is it?

Reno and back in 4 days...

2011-06-06T15:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, so "normal people don't do that... But I never said I was normal!

I took Kiri over to Correy's on the 27th, and we left from there Saturday morning, traveling through Klamath Falls, Alturas and into Reno. It was snowing almost all the way down (not sticking, thankfully), an being drier on the east side, the road was mostly dry, too. That meant I could actually cruise at 70 mph, which my truck likes, very, very much - I got 17.1 mpg on that leg of the trip (less than one tank of gas from Bend and over 500 miles).

We got to my sister's, who was not home, and went to dinner with my dad, who had beat us by a day coming up from So. Cal. with the trailer. We went to my favorite Vietnamese restaurant, Pho Golden Flower, where we had War Won Ton Pho, and salad rolls - yum!

Side note: I'm still not used to the fact that I'm a) allergic to mushrooms (like, epi-pen allergic), and b) they're in everything. Of course they are in the pho... I picked mine out and gave them to Correy. Fortunately, my reaction doesn't set in until about 30 minutes later, by which time we were back at my sister's. I was feeling a little weird (like my head was full of helium) - oh, and did I mention that I left my epi-pen at home?? - so I took two benedryl. I haven't reached the stage of being instantly affected, nor do my breathing passages close up quickly, so the benedryl still works. But if I don't quit forgetting, pretty soon, I'll be in trouble...

On Sunday, we kind of lazed around, went shopping at Borders and Jimmy Beans Wool (yes, I bought yarn), and I made Alpaca shank stew. Unfortunately, while we were out, my sister and BIL came home, and he turned the crockpot down, so they didn't cook in time, changing dinner plans. We salvaged them and had them on Monday.

Monday morning, Correy and I went out to Red Rock and visited with Sharon and Mim. After a tour of the pastures and seeing the sheep and adorable goats, we hung out in the Womb Woom - talking fiber, playing with the dogs and cats, and catching up. We left in time to meet Allison and Amy at Walden's Coffeehouse for lunch. What fun - Amy and Allison duelling with their iPads and we were all laughing. It was really, really good to see all the Reno friends - I miss them.

Got back to my sister's, where we were expecting my niece, Harmony and her husband, Jeff, my nephew, Mackenzie, and his girlfriend, Aubrie. They were all adventurous enough to try the alpaca stew (and loved it...), along with the bbq'd chicken and roasted veggies - it being Memorial Day, bbq-ing was mandatory.

We left early (5:43 am) on Tuesday to wend our way back home, trailer in tow (dang - I forgot to take pictures!!). We had quartering, cross and headwinds all the way up and still got 11.5 mpg pulling the trailer! After dropping Correy off at her daughter's in Creswell, I got home at 5:30 pm - whew, what a long day!

Everyone at home was very pleased to see me... I was very glad to sleep in my own bed.

Home again!

It's a girl!!

2011-06-02T07:46:00.000-07:00

I delivered Kiri to Correy's house Friday evening, and then we left for Reno (more on that trip in a later post).

I was on the phone with my sister, whose birthday is today, when Correy called to let me know Kiri was no longer pregnant, and had delivered a filly sometime late last night or early this morning. Her name is "Who's Your Daddy," barn name to be determined. It appears that she will be bay, with a left hind sock and a star. Correy's mare is not interested at all, for all that she's due anytime now, as well!

So, debut pictures:

Kiri looks relieved . Correy says she's not pleased with the calves trying to check the filly out! I can't wait to get over there to play with her!!

Wedding, Ponies and Travel

2011-05-26T08:53:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I spent Thursday through Sunday in Prineville. My goddaughter, Brin, got married. Now, you probably didn't know I had a goddaughter. I was given the honorary title of Fairy Godmother by Brin, who is Correy's daughter. There are actually several of us Fairy Godmothers in Brin's life - we all love her very much. FG Sue made her veil from the wool of one of Correy's sheep, and FG Belinda made her dress. When they announced that they wanted pictures of the new couple with the moms, we FG's all looked at each other and decided they didn't mean us!

My part in the wedding was to deliver Brin in all her gorgeousness to the base of the aisle in the pony cart.

I'm concentrating really hard!

The wedding was outside, and the weather was perfect, after a morning scare. It was raining Saturday morning, and we were all a little concerned. By about 9:30, though, it quit, and then for the ceremony, it was just overcast, perfect for pictures. After the ceremony, the clouds broke up and it was sunny, and the party was on!

I don't really like having my picture taken. So when a friend was aiming my way, standing with Correy to my right, I stuck out my tongue. Unfortunately, another "friend" took advantage of another angle and got the shot. Ok, so it's not my best pose!

We had a great time, as did all of the participants and guests.

I think I've been bitten by the driving bug. After driving Levi (the pony), I could just picture Annie in harness. She has a a really lovely trot - very elevated action, which shows off the feathers on her lower legs. While she's not as dark as Honey was, she's still a pretty good looking pony. I may try to get her and Prize trained to cart - he's pretty flashy, too! First, I need to get a harness. Ok, first I need to start working with Annie and get her used to basic things before the harness parts...

Tomorrow, I'm starting the trip to Reno, via Prineville, to pick up the travel trailer that my dad is giving to me. It's a 1979, 19.5 ft. Komfort. It's going to be used as the party pad at sheep shows and the guest house at home. While in Reno, I'm hoping to get together with all the friends down there, as well as seeing family - too much fun!!

There's a new kid in town...

2011-05-16T09:06:00.000-07:00

Once again, I find myself with 2 horses, neither of whom is rideable. With Kiri pregnant (her udder is developing, so there’s no question now…), she’s out of action. Annie hasn’t gotten there yet.

Enter Eyes on the Prize. He’s an 8-9 year old, 14.2 ish, half Arab, half Quarter horse gelding. He’s been under saddle since he was 2, mainly used in 4-H, so his ground manners are really good. However, since he’s been a kid’s 4-H horse, he doesn’t know much other than go, stop, trot, lead, pick up feet, etc. Lateral work will start tonight after work. He’s been on trails, all over Silver Falls St. Park and other areas near his previous home. He’s pretty laid back, but has a mischievous streak – apparently he picks up tarps and drags them around, or swings them over his head. He also doesn’t like blankets, and will remove his and anyone else’s he can reach. I like this! Michelle accused me of falling for the flashy paint - Not!!

He needs dental work (wolf teeth that make a bit very painful) and his feet done (hadn’t been done since October… what were they thinking???). I can ride him with a hackamore (no bit) once I get his feet done. Hopefully he inherited the Arab feet, which are tough as nails. If not, I’ll get some boots – they’re cheaper than repeated shoeing.

The funny thing is that Annie chases him, and he lets her (sort of half-heartedly). She has never been anything but the bottom of the heap in any herd she’s been in. Now, there is a sparkle in her eye, and an arch in her neck, and there’s a bounce in her step that I haven’t seen before. She thinks she’s hot stuff… There’s a new-found confidence in this little mare that will be interesting to watch play out. When Kiri goes over to Correy’s for maternity care/leave, that will leave Annie and Prize at home. I’m sure that she will think she’s alpha mare, and that we will have to have words, much like Kiri and I did a couple of months ago. However, I think that once she sees her boundaries take shape, she’ll actually like knowing her place. I also think it will help her in her training – she won’t be so tentative.

Anyway, I now have a riding horse – and I’m really glad.

Is she or isn't she?

2011-05-05T15:14:00.000-07:00

When I got Kiri, I was suspicious that she was pregnant (one of those intuitive flashes I get), but then while at Michelle's, she was being such a turd and her back/ovaries were sore, I decided that I was mistaken.

This is a picture from the slaughter lot where I got her:

Note the rather tightish belly line. This was in December.

This is now:

Note the downward sag of her belly.

Equine gestation is 11 months, roughly. Since I don't know when she was bred (before going to the slaughter lot, I'm pretty sure), I have no idea when she's due. I can tell she's foaled before from the look of her udder/teats (they've been used!).

While this is exciting, it's also very worrisome. I don't do baby horses. I don't have the time it takes to get them handle-able, and comfortable with humans. I hadn't bargined on a two-fer!

However, when talking to a friend today about it, we came up with a name for the (very possibly impending) foal - Who's Your Daddy. It's gender neutral, and the barn name can be anything.

Progress reports will be intermittent, but forthcoming.

Oh, and I've had 88 inches of rain in 6 months. $%(^*$_)(%^*(^

Interesting times

2011-05-04T07:09:00.000-07:00

I find it difficult (more than usual, at least) to like my government right now.

Yes, I know Pakistan has not been entirely forthcoming in their dealings with the US. Yes, I know that bin Laden has supposedly been the target for 10 years, and in the name of "getting" him, we've become embroiled in 2 wars, and a number of other skirmishes causing deaths to thousands of our soldiers, and many thousands more of civilians (not counting the "enemy"). While I agree the man was evil, misguided, and caused many, many people to die, but did we have the right to play God or Allah or whomever, in ending his life?

I saw a quote yesterday that said that the intent was not to assassinate him - bullcrap. Yesterday they were saying that he had a weapon. Today they are admitting that he didn't. Sorry, shooting an unarmed man, whoever he is, is just not right. Capturing him, bringing him to trial (though where in the world could he have gotten a fair trial is a discussion for another day), and dispensing justice is what we're supposed to be about, right?

I understand the thought behind burying him at sea, but didn't they realize that shrines can be made anywhere? Look at our own capitol (D.C., that is). Like that isn't a very large collections of shrines to the memories of our founding fathers and the ideals they stood for? Followers of this man will find a way to enshrine him for posterity, body or not.

I'm very disillusioned right now. I worry about our future. He's not the only one capable of planning heinous acts and finding the willing fanatics to carry them out. I think we have created a bigger problem than we've solved.

It disgusts me.

Thoughtful Thursday

2011-04-21T13:41:00.000-07:00

Pulled off the road this morning on the way to work - it was too glorious to pass up.

Warning: Rant ahead

2011-04-14T13:00:00.000-07:00

I realized last year that it wasn't economically feasible for me to keep turkeys or pigs over the winter (to make more for next year's crop). When I purchased this year's pigs, I let a couple of people who have gotten pigs or turkeys from me before, and sold 1 1/2. I estimated, when I talked to them, what the final price would be.

Here's my rant: The price of pig feed has gone from $10/50 lbs. to $12/50 lbs. That's a 20% increase. That's really, really hard for a small operator like me to absorb. I now have the unenviable task of letting my customers know that their pigs will cost more, and refund their deposit if they decide to back out. This is also going to affect the cost of raising the turkeys, which arrive May 5 (Ole'!).

The driving force behind the price increase? The price of corn. Now that everyone wants to be so eco-conscious, and use ethanol-enhanced (diluted) fuel, the cost of corn has skyrocketed. The fact that to produce ethanol uses more energy that the ultimate product will ever produce is immaterial.

I have, for many years, followed the writings of Gene Logsden. He has a blog, The Contrary Farmer. The current post is on just this topic, and has many more facts, etc. than I have time to look up (I'm concerned with my bottom line - those figures are harsh enough!). I believe, however, that the 1/2 gallon of oil per bushel of corn should be 1/2 barrel. Given the number of acres of corn planted in our country, and the equipment needed to seed, fertilize, harvest, ship, not to mention the oil that goes into the fertilizers and pesticides, 1/2 gallon doesn't seem to cover it.

If your power lawn mower, chainsaw, weedeater, etc. have needed to have their engines rebuilt (or you threw them away because it was too expensive to fix them), thank ethanol. Because ethanol is an alcohol, it dries out rubber (gaskets, etc.) causing them not to work. There's a reason you can find non-ethanol gas again - it's also bad for motorcycles and cars. What I find interesting is that it costs more to get gas without the dilution, than with it. Think about this, the next time you fill your gas tank.

Fiber Weekend

2011-03-29T15:52:00.000-07:00

This weekend was wonderfully exhausting!

It started with hauling two equines over the pass in my horse trailer – Chris, who was going to a new home (she loves him!) and King, a B Welsh pony for Correy’s next driving project. Talk about Mutt and Jeff! Since the weather has been icky, I figured I’d have to chain up, and needed chains for the trailer. When I went to get them, the ones they had were so slick to put on, I bought a set for the truck too (I have some chain chains that I’ve never opened, and will now return). I had Correy’s daughter, Brin, with me – what a helper! I guess I should admit that until this time, I’ve never put chains on a vehicle… in my whole life! Fortunately, these new-fangled chains are a snap to put on, and easy to take off. It was slow going over the top, but we made it, and everyone was fine.

Got to Correy’s and dropped off the pony (sorry no picture, I wasn’t thinking…). He looks like a miniature Clydesdale. We then went to the fairground to set up (Correy and I share a booth). Again, no picture (ditto…).

We went back the next morning to finish, and these pictures don’t really show much… (Except LindaLou having a good time!!)

I was surprised very surprised by the almost complete sell out of my dyed yarn, and all but 2 skeins of Mom’s “Vintage” mohair yarn. I sold a fair amount of roving, but not as much as last year. The yarn was a total hit, in spite of both of my swifts committing suicide the night before I left so I couldn’t finish rewinding the skeins (to mix up the colors). I sold all of the superwash/bamboo, and all but 1 skein of the superwash. WOW!

I couldn’t resist this picture:

This little guy was “helping” his mom and dad in the booth behind us. It was a very long day for him (and everyone else). I was so envious!

On Sunday, Correy and I traveled out to Ashwood so I could pick up this year’s pigs. After helping with pig rodeo, I brought home these 3 boys:

They’re still pretty wild, and contained in my horse trailer. I don’t think it will take long for them to get used to the human that feeds them, however!

Rainfall total: 75 inches since November 1, 2010.

Have I mentioned that I’m ready for spring?

March Madness (fiber style)

2011-03-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, when you’re in a hurry you don’t take the time to check… I was in a dyeing frenzy this weekend, and thought I’d use some of my remaining Gaywool dye for an 8 oz. chunk of Blueface Leicester/Tussah silk roving. When it came out of the steamer, it looked like this – kind of fugly.

Since I had invested 8 oz. in this fugliness, I thought I’d spin some up so that (hopefully) it would look like something people would buy. I think it works really well! Note the sheen - I really like this stuff!!

Ok, so I learned that the roving needs to be really wet to use the shake and steam method with this dye, otherwise the dye won’t dissolve through the roving.

I also tried spinning the moorit merino/alpaca blend again (see this post). I figured out that the whorl on my wheel was not the one that I was used to using, and once switched, it was really a breeze to spin. Ok, it took me 5 hours to spin and ply 171 yds. (about 1.3 oz), but I must say, it’s rather nice. I was going to sell all this roving, but now I need to keep a bit so that I can have enough for something…

Some of the results of the dyeing frenzy:

Yarn (superwash merino/bamboo)

Various rovings

I have 1.5 lbs. of yarn yet to dye, the above yarn to rewind so the colors get mixed up a bit, labels to make, and… Uh Oh – I think I need a list!!

Also found a wonderful home for the big horse, Chris. He’s going back over the hill to 40 acres, where he may be ridden, or be a BIG pasture ornament. He is a) too tall for me and my $100K knees and b) eats 3 times what one of the ponies or all of the alpacas eat. I will miss his sense of humor, and his general doofyness, but I won't miss the feed bill. He served a great purpose - got me back on a horse before and after my surgery, and for that I'm grateful - but given the investment in my lower appendages, I need a shorter steed. I’m also hauling a pony over for Correy (a driving project), so I’m hauling the trailer full on the way over. I’m bringing 3 piggies back, but they’ll be riding in a crate in the back of the truck (they’re about 9 wks. old).

This will be a fun weekend at Fiber Market Day in Prineville. It will be good to see old friends, maybe make new ones, and sell some stuff!!

Fiber Frenzy and winners!

2011-03-14T08:24:00.000-07:00

In honor of the switch to Daylight Saving Time, I have a new verse to my feeding song:

I’m feeding in the dark.

What a gloomy old feeling,

Where’s Noah and his ark?

It’s hardly a lark

Not a walk in the park,

I’m feeding, I’m feeding in the dark!

I’m in the count-down-to-Fiber Market day frenzy. I’ve started winding off yarn into smaller skeins for dyeing. As they come from the supplier, they are in 8 oz. +/- skeins, and are too fat for all the dye to penetrate. I was trying to figure out a way to somewhat accurately measure ounces or yards, and remembered someone’s tip about using a fishing line counter ($12.99 at Bi-Mart). I put the swift onto the loom so that the skein was vertical, hooked the line counter to the distaff of my spinning wheel (click for big) and then wound it onto an antique clock reel. Linda says I Macgyvered it. (man, I thought I'd cleaned up...)

Now I just need to figure out a way to use the spinning wheel to power the clock reel and I’ll be in business!! Next time, I think I’ll just order the yarn on cones, and wind them off in ounces instead.

In my twitterpated state when I realized that I had been blogging for a year, I didn’t take time to reflect on what’s happened in my life in that time, and there’s been a lot:

Probably the biggest thing is that I had both knees replaced. Even though it was difficult, and not pleasant, I’m very, very glad that I was able to do it. I am no longer in constant pain. It’s funny – you never realize how pain rules your life until you don’t have it any more.
I’ve made a number of decisions about the farm, such as no keeping turkeys or pigs over the winter. I’ve also decided that someone’s brain must have left the building when I decided where to put the barn. It’s at the bottom of the hill, so guess where all the water goes? I will be putting up a new barn, on higher ground this year. The old barn will become hay storage, initially, and then repurposed as an equipment shed, or dye house (depending on electricity and water access). Needless to say, there will be French drains installed around it.
I’ve made some new acquaintances through my blog, all of whom I value and enjoy. I’ve also been able to keep up with old friends through blogging. Everyone has such different lives, and yet we all have at least one thing in common with one another. It’s a form of technology that I’m glad that I embraced, luddite that I am.

Drum roll please! The two winners of my anniversary contest are: Sharon and Mim! While I know that neither of them really need any more fiber, I’m glad they are getting some of mine!

Thanks to everyone who responded, and thanks to all who follow my perambulations, however erratic!

Opps - need a deadline for entry.

2011-03-09T15:23:00.000-08:00

So the blogiversary giveaway entry deadline is 3/13/11. Like I said, teflon for brains...

OMG - I've been blogging for a year!

2011-03-09T08:09:00.000-08:00

Actually, the anniversary was March 5th. But since I have teflon for brains, I was thinking that it was later in the month and wasn't worried about it.

In honor of my anniversary, I will give away 4 oz of loveliness to two readers. There are a few different forms of loveliness to choose from:

Dyed (or undyed) merino/tussah/bamboo
Dyed (or undyed) BFL/tussah
Dyed (or undyed) corriedale top
Dyed (or undyed) yarn (superwash merino, merino/tussah/bamboo or mohair)
Moorit merino/Brown Alpaca Roving
BFL roving (white)

Leave a comment, feel free to forward to your friends/blogpals. Winners will be chosen by random number generation.

Being as ADD as I am, I can't believe that I've stayed with it! And more to come, I promise.

Shameless self-promotion...

2011-03-08T08:22:00.000-08:00

Part of the reason for all the dyeing going on is my participation in Fiber Market Day in Prineville, March 26th. I've gone for many years, and had a booth for the last 4.

This year, in addition to having the booth, I'll be giving a class in Natural Dyeing on Sunday, March 27 (also in Prineville). If you will be in the area, it would be fun! Here's a copy of the flyer - click for big.

One of the cool things I'm going to do is have everyone bring a skein of yarn from their own animals (or stash). We'll dye them, too, and everyone will get a sample of the different skeins. Not all fibers take dye the same, and this will be a good way to demonstrate that (not to mention "test drive" your own fiber!).

Iz hab code in by nose...

2011-03-07T11:33:00.000-08:00

Today is a better living through chemistry day – Airborne and Mucinex are my friends. I finally succumbed to the cold that I thought was allergies all last week (dang). I should have known when my nose became leaky faucet Saturday, and I couldn’t seem to get warm. Oh well, hopefully, it will be the last one of the season (the first one and only other was at Thanksgiving).

As such, I had a very bori... um, relaxing weekend. I read 3 books (I read very, very fast). I brought the dyed fiber in from the porch (see previous post) because after 2 weeks it still wasn’t dry. It’s now suspended between my hutch and a box over the window thingy, and mostly dry. I fluffed and braided all but 8 oz. of the fiber that was dry. I took a nap with Lyra. I walked Annie around the pasture, having her stepping over logs (she’s very aware of where her feet are, unlike a very big horse I know), and picked up all of her feet. She had forgotten that skill when I first got her – with some work (not really all that much), she’s remembered. And I did it without her being tied up. What a good pony.

My sister reminded me that I had not sent her pictures of Ted.

He basically fills this basket, which is 20" across – he’s becoming rather rotund… If he looks like he's glaring, he is. I still can't touch him without him hissing and growling. He was all comfy before I interrupted him. I would like to be at home curled up under my down comforter with Lyra.

Oh, and after 2 days with no rain, and a little sun, it's raining again, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Current rainfall total: 60 inches since Nov. 1, 2010.

Spring is coming, right?

It was a good day to Dye!

2011-02-22T14:03:00.000-08:00

It was a wonderful weekend, even though it started Thursday with a migraine that lasted through Friday. However, on Sunday, LindaLou came down from Kelso to do some dyeing. Linda and I met in Reno, and then I moved. She was pissed! She grew up in Portland, and wanted to get back, and finally did about a year ago.

Preparations for dyeing were interrupted because my washer died. It’s really nice to use the washer to presoak and spin out the fiber.

Sunday, we started out by soaking the warp she bought from me when I moved up here from Reno. Its rayon and cotton mixed, and takes the fiber reactive dyes. It’s been eons since I’ve done any of that kind dyeing, so I had to read up. I found the notes and instruction sheets from a class I took many years ago in San Diego. So, carefully following the instructions, I mixed up the dye.

Then we realized that we really didn’t know how long the warp was, because it had been chained. So after we took it out of the activator soak, we measured it – 16 yards! What was I thinking! Anyway, decided it’s probably enough for 6 shawls with fringe. Because it’s boring to weave 16 yards all the same, we decided to bag up the soaked warp, and Linda would take it, the dyes and accessories home to measure out each shawl on the warp so she could dye them all different colors.

We started on some of my fiber (of which I have a lot…). I use a turkey roaster with the little chaffing trays that I’ve modified by drilling multiple 3/8 holes to make them into steaming trays (sorry no picture of that…). I got a pound and a half of the Merino/Tussah/Bamboo (MBT) done Saturday night, and some prep work done for Sunday.

Water Lilies colorway, MBT and BFL/Tussah

Sunday, we did a lot. It was such a beautiful day that we moved everything outside, and even tried to catch some rays. I finished the first colorway, on Border Leicester/Tussah (boy, does that dye well…).

In the meantime, Linda was thinking that I was wasting dye, so she brought out some mohair locks. I used them to blot the dye off of the roving, and then put it into a plastic bag to steam. It turned out really lovely.

Water Lilies in progress with mohair

Mohair "blotter"

She also does really cool scarves – nuno felted, felted and shibori. She brought some silk scarf blanks and we blotted color with them too. The one on the right is my favorite – it looks like aged copper.

Silk Blotter scarves - future shibori

The next colorway is warmer, also done on both the MBT and Border Leicester/Silk. I like the MBT better, personally, but they’re both pretty cool!

BFL/Tussah Smith Rocks Colorway

About the time we were hanging stuff out to dry, it started clouding up. When the temp started dropping, we moved everything back inside, leaving the roaster on the covered porch. The fumes bother both Linda and I, so leaving it outside was the best option. I also moved the poles that I hang stuff on to the porch.

Relocated Drying racks (note undyed fiber - it won't last)

However, with some snow, and more rain last night, not much dried! I’ll have to bring it all inside to dry.
The good news is that I’m picking up a washer today after work, so I’ll be able to rinse everything that needs it, and spin it out, which will hasten the drying process. UPDATE: The guy's wife gave it to a co-worker, so I'm back on the hunt... I hate going to the laundromat...

I made up a new song for farm chores (to the tune of “Singing in the rain”):

I’m feeding in the rain

What a soggy old feeling

Slip sliding away

I’m slogging out the hay

Keeping the ‘pacas at bay

I’m feeding, I’m feeding in the rain.

Looks like I’ll be singing this song for the foreseeable future! I've had 52 inches of rain since the beginning of November.

Hello, my name is Laura...

2011-02-12T12:09:00.000-08:00

And I have a problem. I collect horses. I should be happy with one. But then there were two. Both are rideable, though one isn’t sure she should have to be…

FIBER NEWS: I’m gearing up to go to Fiber Market Day in Prineville on the 29th of March. I have lots and lots of fiber/yarn to dye. I’ve also been asked to do a Natural Dyeing demo, and will coordinate that with a class on Sunday. I’m really excited – I’m going to change my normal class to include a skein from each of the participants of different fiber (from their own animals). In addition to making it more personal, it will also give all the participants the chance to see that not all fibers take the dye the same way. My goal for the future is to expand this class so that people will have a sample book like the one that I did for myself a few years ago with different yarns, overdyeing, and a record of the % of dye to weight of fiber. To an extent, natural dyes are repeatable, though they’re dependent on the mineral content of the water. If you’re using well water, that is variable, depending on the time of year, just like the color content of the plants. The scientist in me loves this!

Back to the title content: When I got back into horses, my first horse was a Haflinger mare, named Honey.

Honey had been injured, and I thought that I could let her heal for 6 months to a year, and then ride her. Unfortunately, x-rays showed that her injury was much more extensive than first thought, and riding (and breeding) were out of the question. She was the blond bombshell in the pasture, until I found what I thought was the perfect home. A family had a son who didn’t want to ride, but wanted a horse to lead around, groom, and generally be a buddy with. The agreement was that she would come back to me if circumstances dictated that they needed to lighten their equine load. She didn’t. Last fall (a year later), I found an ad on CL, which from the description, was Honey. I emailed the poster, with Honey’s name in the subject line, and told them that I would pick her up on the weekend. The woman was very nice, explained how she ended up with Honey (the people lost their home, and “boarded” two of their horses with her, but never paid).

When I picked her up, it was obvious to me that she hadn’t been getting bute (horse aspirin) for a good long while, as she was quite lame. I made one of those difficult decisions, and had her put down. I kept a lock of her flowing white mane in memory of the pony who got me back into horses.

Fast forward to 2 weeks ago. I was cruising CL (there should really be a 12-step program for that site!!), and found a 4 year old Haflinger mare for free. She is untrained, other than haltering and leading. I called my horse conscience, who gave me the go-ahead (she knew Honey, as well). I took the afternoon off, went home to pick up the trailer, and headed north. The mare was in far northwest Oregon, which you get to by going through Washington. I got there just after dark.

The mare had been caught, and as I walked around her in their barn, she was snuffling in my hair. She was curious, but unsure, but seemed very sweet. They called her Annie – I’ve renamed her Sweet Annie, since she has a nice golden color, which reminds me of the citrusy scent of the herb (sometimes odors have color for me).

Ann had not been in a trailer since they picked her up as a weanling. I led her up to the trailer, she shuffled her feet for a couple of minutes, and then walked in. YAY! From there, we had a long drive home.

When I got home, it was 11 pm. She very calmly let me lead her out of the trailer, walked over a tarp like it wasn’t there, and into the barn, where Chris tried to eat her over the fence (the big turd). She was the bottom of the order at her old place, and seems to be at the bottom of the equines here, too, but over the alpacas.

Last Saturday, my farrier came out. Kiri was a poop, and had to have the stud chain to stand. She shaped up. Annie wasn’t sure about picking up her feet, but we were able to get her front feet trimmed, and her back ones picked out. I’ve been working on picking up her feet and she’s getting much better. Next weekend, I’ll have my farrier back to do her back feet, so she can be on the same schedule as everyone else.

I’ve actually put a saddle on her back – this for a mare that basically knows nothing. I didn’t have a girth on it, but she let me put it on and off.

The reasoning for this acquisition is this: I’m tired of dealing with other people’s baggage when it comes to “used” horses. I have trained a horse before, and it was the most satisfying relationship I’ve ever had with an animal. Sure, he had baggage, but it was my baggage and I knew how to deal with it. Annie will be trained my way, with my methods, and it will be all she knows. I won’t have to convince her that it’s a good idea (Kiri…) – she’ll just do it. She’s calm, accepting, curious, and will be great fun. She will be the last horse I have in my life (I hope!).

FARM UPDATE: The free chickens have turned out to be all roosters, after all. I’m able to take them back, so Monday, they will go with me to work.

I installed my new-to-me stove. My old stove's igniters quit on the right side, and then a couple of weeks ago, it started smelling like propane in the house - not good. In the process, it drained my 25 gal. tank. The new one is a 5 year old Kitchenaid, convection oven with probe, jetted for propane (this is why I like CL). There are no gas leaks, and all the burners light automatically except one, which needs a match. Hey – it’s better than nuking everything. I’ve been subsisting on Ramen and pasta (8 minutes for ramen noodles, 12 minutes for pasta). Don’t even try to do meat in a microwave…

As soon as I have some stuff dyed, I’ll post pictures. I’m always surprised at how they come out – like Sharon’s son’s comment: “Where came this?”

First Flight

2011-01-31T14:10:00.000-08:00

She looks so cute and innocent!

Riding a new horse is kind of like piloting an airplane for the first time. I traveled to Michelle’s house on Sunday, to take my maiden flight on Kiri. Unfortunately, I forgot my girth – fortunately, Michelle had one that worked. Since it was cotton web, and stretches, I walked her around a little before getting on, which is when this picture was taken. (I do wear a helmet when I ride…)

So, I got on, got settled, and Michelle let go of the reins. Kiri hit the eject button, and I was summarily dumped on my butt…

I’m ok. My knees are ok. It’s actually rather nice falling off a horse that’s so close to the ground. I got back on (after putting the halter on over the bridle). Michelle led us around the arena. Every time Kiri got pissy, I made her turn around. By the end of the ride, she was a little better.

As near as I guess, these contributed to her general bad mood:
• She’s suffering from the mare version of PMS, and her ovaries hurt (I was sitting rather near them).
• She didn’t like the girth (it was a little tighter than I usually do it).
• Unlikely, but possible – her teeth hurt (see below)
• Most likely – she was out of sorts being asked to DO something.

Michelle’s husband is an Equine Veterinarian. When I got Kiri, I knew that she was going to need pony orthodontia. Since Rick was home, and had his dental tools there, Kiri got a shot of pillow/blankie/night-night, and had her teeth done. She has what’s called “monkey mouth” – basically an undershot jaw, like a bulldog. Lack of care had caused one of her incisors to grow abnormally long (the rig she’s in simply holds her head up, and her mouth open – pretty slick and totally painless).

After cutting off almost ½ inch spur, and evening up her teeth, it almost looks normal.

This view shows how “off” her jaw is. The last top tooth and the last bottom tooth should be directly opposite each other.

So, we can cross off the third bullet above – no teeth excuses.

The first bullet will be solved by putting the 1” copper pipe back into the stock tank (the copper helps with mares’ cycles), and getting some Mare Magic (raspberry leaf supplement that really works…).

The second bullet will hopefully be mediated by using my girth, which is a little more elastic.

The final bullet will be good for both of us. I’m going to put her into the training surcingle, attach the drive reins, and ground drive her around the pasture. As soon as she’s convinced that stopping is not an option, we’ll be well on our way. I’ll be walking up and down hills with her (great for the muscle tone, and cardio).

I’ll also start riding Chris to get my riding muscles in shape.

I’ve now lost 8.5 lbs!!

The beginnings of a happy cat

2011-01-24T08:47:00.000-08:00

Chaos has discovered my lap. With much purring and rubbing, in fact. Lyra is jealous!

And (drumroll...) I rode my horse yesterday. Chris was not sure that he should have to do anything, being 20 and having the last 6 months off, but with a little persuasion, he settled down. We had a nice amble around the pasture. Between that ride, and unloading a ton of hay, I was very tired, hence the lap availability for the cat...

Kiri is home, new chickens, future gardening.

2011-01-21T09:33:00.000-08:00

And Chris tried to eat her... He was quite bent out of shape that he only had 24 hours to himself as boss of the pasture. However, after locking Kiri in the barn, and then letting her out and locking Chris in the barn, I knew that this was not a routine that I could manage for very long (like never...). Plus, neither of them were very happy being locked up - Chris paced and wove and worked himself into a complete lather. By Monday, they were both getting twitterpated when the other one was out of sight, so I thought I'd try putting them together. Success! After a slight bit of "I'll show you," they wandered off grazing together. The size difference is rather comical - Chris at 17.1, Kiri at about 13 hands.

Kiri has already established her place in the herd as higher than the alpacas. She's very quick to turn her butt to them or bare her teeth at them, and after their experiences with the big boys, they are very respectful. I think Chris will now get all the feed he's supposed to. She seems to have let him be boss (good call...), so I don't have to worry about her stealing his ration. After almost a week, he looks like he's actually gaining weight.

I stopped last night to put in my turkey order (15 std. bronze, 15 royal palm and 10 midget white), and was deciding what kind of replacement chickens I was going to get. My Dark Brahmas are really lovely, and very friendly, but they haven't laid an egg since Sept. There is no free lunch on the farm. I have had Buff Orpingtons in the past, and my sister has had Black Australorps, and I was trying to decide between them, when the feed store owner mentioned that they had some crossbreds (buff/Australorp x) that some guy brought back because he thought they were roosters (they aren't). I went out to look at them, and they appear to be 3-4 months old, and took them home (there are 5).

I have a chicken/turkey tractor that I broke last year when I moved the turkeys to their bigger pen. It's made out of a 2" pvc frame with 3/4" electrical conduit "hoops" covered in chicken wire. Because it is raining today, I covered it with a tarp. In the dark last night, I just put some straw in, their box, and opened the lid. This morning (in the dark), I furnished water and food - one of the girls was out of the box the other 4 were huddled in their box wondering what was going on! Of course, Lyra, the chicken terminator, was quite interested. The plan is to repair the tractor - it broke the fitting at the corner - and start moving them around when the weather gets nicer. Where they are now will make a nice garden-ette, particularly with their manure added to the horse poop that has been piled there in the past.

It would be nice to make a quasi-green house where the chickens are at the end of the house. It would help keep the underside of the house warm in the winter, and give me a place to grow greens, brassicas, and roots. I may move them before the weather clears up - I want home-grown salads...

Like Leigh, I have 5 acres. While I would love to be self sufficient, I know that I won't ever be able to feed the large quadrapeds from my land. The birds can scrounge a lot, but they still need more nutrition than I can provide from my land. I can, however, work towards growing all my own herbaceous food and canning, freezing and drying it for future use.

Last year, I raised 32 cornish x chickens. I should mention that I'm a practiced procrastinator. I arranged for them to be butchered (I'll do one or two myself, but 32?) at 10 weeks. I forgot how fast they grow. I had cockerels that dressed out at 10 lbs. I sold 6, gave a couple to neighbors for being "neighborly", froze 5, and canned the rest. It's really nice to just grab chicken off the shelf to use in cooking. This year, I would like to do some tuna and salmon. It would be fun to catch it too, but I don't think I can make the time to go that far, but a couple of the grrls here at work are talking about it so maybe we will!

Thoughts for the day...

2011-01-10T09:25:00.000-08:00

I found this on Arlette's blog (Ranching with Sheep) - it was very timely:
1. Strength is not a matter of size. We are much stronger than we think if only we believe we can.
2. The biggest effort is getting started.
3. When you gain a little momentum go with it and keep it rolling.
4. If you get caught in a depression it's okay to sit, rest and ponder for a bit.
5. If you find yourself wallowing in your depression or getting angry, you've been sitting for too long or trying too hard.
6. Going uphill is more difficult no matter how small the load or slight the incline.
7. It really is easier to go with the downhill flow of life.
8. It's okay to cut the strings that tie you up and spread yourself out a little.
9. If life isn't unrolling smoothly you need to turn and go a different direction.
10. Sometimes all of your best efforts will go unnoticed and some days we all need the freedom to run around and be crazy.

I've been stuck in #5 for too long...

I tried to take Merlin to the auction on Saturday. I started early, catching him, giving him a sedative, letting him eat while it took effect, etc. I lead both he and Chris down to the trailer so he wouldn't freak out. After trying unsuccessfully to load him with Chris standing outside, I put Chris in the trailer (told him to duck, and he did), and tried again. After an hour and a half, I lost it.

Realizing that it would be counter productive to continue, I put the boys away, and went in the house and cried. It's hard enough to make the decision - it's doubly hard when the horse in question knows something's up. It's three times harder when the freaking drugs that cost $28 don't do squat...

So, and so. I will try again this weekend. I will see if the vet can come out Friday afternoon to give him really, really good drugs, and haul him over Friday. I've talked to a friend about borrowing his trailer - however, he thinks that even though it's a slant, it's shorter in height than mine, which makes borrowing it a less than ideal solution.

On a happier note:

Go Ducks!!
Call me a duck! This was done by On the Rocks - a local group that went national, though they didn't win (they should have...).

Flock the village! My boss' wife and daughter were in this crowd somewhere!

And, the Wolf Pack won, too!!

Life is really ok...

Happy New Year!

2011-01-05T13:47:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I’m a little late, but I can explain…

I had a wonderful time for Christmas with my cousin, Glenna (see this post). We sat around and I knit and she read, and we talked and laughed and cried, ate prime rib, drank wine and margaritas, and generally let our hair down. The time was too short. She is the perfect guest! I also dyed some yarn for projects - some are included later in this post.

The day that she came, I had a farrier appointment (pony pedicures). It took me 20 minutes to catch Merlin after he busted out of the barn :-( I’ve been having trouble with him for awhile, and have hesitated to mention it here – the upshot is that he’s dangerous because the human race let him down. I had decided to take him to the local livestock auction while Glenna was here (some of the source of tears).

I have $100,000 knees – I don’t want to mess them up “saving” a damaged horse. His behavior is like that of a fear bitter dog. If he’s cornered, he fights – he’s too big to fight with. He also picks on Chris, who is currently injured and lame because of some interaction (but getting better), and harasses the alpacas. Life will be much calmer for the large quadrupeds when he’s gone.

I hadn’t planned to get another equine (you can tell where this is going...).

There is a feedlot in eastern Washington that a group rescues horses bound for slaughter and rehomes them. I was cruising CL last week and found this:

(can you say "dressage pony?")

She’s a 10 year old, grulla quarter pony, 13.3 hands. I called – she was still available for adoption. In their evaluation, they found her responsive to leg and rein, and very calm.

My New Year’s plan was to go to Prineville, spend the 31st with Correy, cook duck and hang out. We did that, but on New Year’s Day, she and I drove to Washington to pick up the pony. We arrived at the holding area (half-way house for feedlot rescues), to find her happily munching away on a large bale of hay with other horses. Since she was near the fence, I held my hand out with a treat. At first, she was “busy” eating, but kept looking over. Finally, she came up, took the treat, and let me scratch her – ears, neck, shoulder (beautifully sloped), pretty much anywhere. When I put the halter on her, she just stood there calmly. She leads beautifully – slack lead line, head just slightly ahead of my shoulder. She also loaded in the trailer nicely. All in all, she seems to be a very level-headed, easy-going, and very friendly.

She’s still at Correy’s, in quarantine. Being a feedlot rescue, they have been exposed to various diseases, and Correy has the ability to separate her, where I don’t. After a couple of weeks, depending on the weather, I’ll drive over to bring her home. I’m hoping to get some riding in this winter – hauling the little one will be much easier than shoe-horning Chris (once he’s sound) into the trailer! I’ve named her Kiri – her previous name was Jingles. My mom’s childhood nickname was Jingle, and somehow it just didn’t seem appropriate to call her that.

The kittens are running rampant – Chaos has slept under my bed, and in the living room on a sweater – he’s really coming around. The other two, Mayhem and Ted, are still pretty standoffish, but they come running for food. Last night, they were both in my bedroom while I was reading; Mayhem sniffing my hand, Ted just watching from around behind the dresser – progress.

Harry and Lyra are good, though Harry is fighting his flea allergy. I’m going to try some new stuff, as Frontline seems to have stopped working.

I’ve also been knitting. I used some of the yarn (see this post) that I had spun to make this cowl. It’s warm and I really like it!

Note the tassel - it's kind of my signature. I love putting I-cord and tassels on things - this helps me get it on the same way each time.

I’m making another out of merino/silk from KnitPicks that I dyed – the Victorian Neck Cozy from Ravelry (link here). The copy of the pattern that I printed was in black and white – the yarn I dyed is a lot like the yarn in the color picture!

I’m also working on another hat, this one’s for Correy. Her maternal line is of Sami extraction (Northern Scandinavia, Lapp, with a little Alaskan native thrown in), so I’m using some of those colors and patterns in my “yurt for your head” style. It’s barely underway here, but it’s a start!

I have resolved to increase my fitness level and eat better. It’s so cliché, but I really need to do something about my cardio-vascular fitness. To that end, I’m embarking on riding my bike (on a wind trainer) three times a week, and looking for healthier meals. I’m starting slowly – don’t want to shock my system, or anything…

So far, I’ve had almost 30 inches of rain since 11/1/10. The storm on its way this week should top that. The ground has been frozen for the last few days, giving everyone a respite from the mud.

I’m also welcoming back the sun. I did chores last night until after 5:00, and it was still light enough to see – YAY!

Deck the halls...

2010-12-20T10:55:00.000-08:00

For the first time in about 9 years, I put up a tree.

It’s not that I’m opposed to them, it’s just that it never seemed important, or I was not going to be home, or I was (frankly) just not in the mood.

My cousin, Glenna, is coming up to spend Christmas weekend at my house. She’s the nearest female cousin in age to me (my sister and I are the youngest of our generation). Over the years, particularly as adults, we’ve become the dishwashers after family parties. I’m not sure how that happened, frankly, since I really hate doing dishes. However, with a glass of wine and Glenna, it became really fun. We got to catch up on all the gossip, avoid the crush of the rest of the family, and sometimes, got well and truly toasted (like after our grandmother died and we had the first Christmas ever somewhere other than her house).

Glenna’s parents (my aunt and uncle) both passed away within 3 weeks of each other this spring. This will be a very difficult holiday for her (and me…). My uncle was my dad’s last remaining brother, and my aunt was the last remaining wife of the original 4 couples. My dad is now the patriarch of the family. So, she’s been feeling the need to escape San Diego. When I heard about this, I immediately invited her up. She flies in Thursday am. To say I’m excited is an understatement!

I apologize in advance about the picture quality - these were taken with my new iPhone! I finally got tired of having no signal at home, unless I was standing mid-pasture by the pumphouse. I broke down and joined (partially) the new world order. I've downloaded 2 apps, and have figured out how to transfer photos, music (purchased Mannheim Steamroller's 25th anniversary set). I know there's lots more it can do, but I'm kind of a luddite, and refuse to do texting.

So, in putting up the tree, I found ornaments that I had either a) never used them, or b) used only once. To take the picture, I had to leave the new led lights off – they are really, really bright!

Some of the cooler ornaments:

Sun/Moon

Spike, the devil dog (thanks, Amy!!)

Poinsetta

Beaver (thanks, Mary)

Because some of my ornaments are small fruit, and Lyra loves apples, the dogs have been banished to dog jail. Last night I had to discourage her from “trying” one out numerous times! I know they don’t smell like fruit, but her search image for apples is finely honed.

Harry’s tail is also hard on ornaments. That, coupled with his obsession with balls, prompted me to leave the red balls off of the tree. He would have spent every waking hour staring at the tree saying, “Throw the ball, throw the ball, throw the ball…”

To my knowledge, the three mouseketeers have not seen the tree yet – I’m hoping it is still upright when I get home…

I also rearranged my living room with the added benefit of having room for the tree. The configuration makes my small room seem much, much larger. I live in an 840 sq. ft., 14 x 60 mobile home with no weather tight outbuildings, to which I moved from a 1436 sq. ft. 1.5 story antique house with a large attached pantry and covered storage. To say I have no room for all my stuff is an understatement. My power tools are all scrunched into a small cupboard – more a testament to my puzzle solving ability than a comment on the number of tools I own. In the previous post (here), I mentioned the involuntary stash reorganization – it was really a blessing in disguise. Now if I could just do that with the rest of the house!!

Of cats and wool (and rain)... Picture heavy

2010-12-14T14:50:00.000-08:00

Before going on a tour of the Creekside Fiber Mill, I’d like to introduce you to the rodenators-in-training:

Chaos and Mayhem

Ted

I went through many possibilities of names for Chaos and Mayhem, and ended up coming back to the original idea after all. It’s hard to tell them apart, though possible if you get close, but the end result by either one is still the same – chaos and mayhem!! Ted is the anti-social one – you can tell, since the picture was taken of him hiding under a desk behind a box!

Unfortunately, after I picked up the fiber from Creekside, I attempted to organize my stash. I have a garden bathtub under which the floor is rotten, so the bathtub can't be used. Perfect, non-floor covering stash location! However, the kittens did very naughty things and ruined a significant amount of the wool that was stored there. I have two contractor's size trashbags full of stinky wool in the back of my truck to go to the dump. The good news is that I got it all organized, labled, and stored in a kitten-proof manner. I borrowed the idea of hanging bags from Mim - I call them the pod people.

On to the mill. It’s nice to have a fiber processor within driving distance that can do everything. They wash, blend, card (bats or roving), spin into your choice of yarn and make needle felt. Check out the website (Here). I have no affiliation, just a satisfied customer, yadda, yadda…

The front Door

Drying lovelyness

The Picker/Blender

After going through the Picker once

Through the carder once

After going through the carder twice - into roving

The pin-drafter

The spinner

The plyer

The needle felter with some alpaca felt

And here are some of the results of their efforts:

Yarn porn

This is 47.2% wool, 37.3% alpaca, 10% Mohair and 7.5% silk, sport weight, 2-ply. It knits up at 6.5 sts/in on size 3, and 6 sts/in on size 5 needles. The wool is from a crossbred sheep – Rambouillet, Romeldale, Montadale (known as a Rommanot), and was a nice variegated gray with really nice crimp. The alpaca was white, as was the silk, and the mohair was brillo pad gray (though not texture!). You can see the sheen of this yarn in the photo – it’s really luscious to work with, and I’m sure will dye really well. I have calculated the info for a couple of scarves – one on my loom (4 shaft) and one on my Mom’s (8 shaft). Should be as fun weaving with this as it is to knit.

Merino Alpaca Roving

The picture doesn’t accurately show the color of this fiber (it's much darker). It’s 50% moorit merino, and 50% Rose gray (though it was really chocolate brown) alpaca. It’s also really wonderful to handle, and I need to work a little on my slow skills for this – otherwise it becomes very thin rope… I’m hoping to make something for myself out of my half – Correy contributed the wool, I furnished the alpaca, so we’re sharing the result!

I've been knitting a baby sweater for a co-worker - pictures next time.

Current rainfall since November 1, 2010: 21 inches. I'm trying not to float away...

I think I had too much fun...

2010-12-10T11:06:00.000-08:00

I got back from Thanksgiving and crashed (got a cold…). It was a great time, the turkey was wonderful, if I do say so myself. It was fun to see my sister’s new house – she has a great view of Mt. Rose. Here is a sunset view:

She also has a *very* large cat, Watson (he weighs about 22 lbs.). This is a standard size barstool that he’s sitting on:

He is really a golden retriever in a cat body. He loves water so much that you have to close the toilet lid so he won’t play in it. He will curl up in a sink and beg for you to turn the faucet on. He also fetches, and particularly likes the little plastic spiders you can get around Halloween. He and my dad’s dog, Snickers, have reached détente – this picture makes Snickers look really tiny (she actually weighs about 18 lbs.):

The trip down was uneventful, mostly rain, and no snow, and I could actually see Mt. Shasta, though it looked like the mother ship was parked on top:

While there I got to visit with my friends in the area: Friday I got to see Allison’s new horse and Amy gave me a Wolf pup stuffed animal, that was appropriate, as the Wolf Pack beat Boise State on Saturday; Saturday I drove up to Mim’s and Sharon’s into this:

I had to use 4wd to get to Sharon’s and decided to park at the top of their driveway instead of driving down and having to chain up to get out. I managed Mim’s driveway in 4-low.

All of us forgot to take pictures of ourselves together… I guess we were having too much fun!

I probably could have gotten the trailer, since it didn’t snow on the way home, but it was much less stressful to drive without it! The view of Mt. Shasta was even more breath-taking on the way home:

There’s something about that mountain that says, ‘Here I am’ – there is a presence about it, and it never ceases to awe me. I guess I should say all volcanoes do that, since the Three Sisters, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Hood, and Mt. Rainier, to name a few more local peaks, do the same.

I picked up some loveliness from Creekside Fiber Mill last week – next post will include a photo tour of the mill (I love those machines), and a picture of the products that I had done. I have to say, that the yarn I had done is really, really nice, and I have 7.5 lbs. of it (roughly 12,000 yds)!!

As promised - pictures, and SNOW!!

2010-11-23T10:55:00.000-08:00

You'd think that leaving Reno on the heels of a winter with 3-4' of snow and sub-zero, lamb-freezing nights for 2 weeks would make me not like snow. However, since my roots are farther south (about 5 miles from the Mexican border to be exact), snow is always fun to me. They were predicting snow to fall last night, and it did! These views greeted me as I did "farm snow maintenance" before going into work:

And:

This is in my back pasture, looking north (more or less).

Even though I'm a competent snow driver, most of the people on this side of Oregon are not. I was able to drive into work in 2-wheel drive until I got 5 blocks from work, when I had to shift into 4-wheel drive. It's a mess in town, and they only got about an inch. There's glare ice everywhere, and not enough sand down on the roads. Since that's the Division that I work for (though not the section - I monitor the swarming behavior of motor vehicles), I was a little disappointed. Hopefully they'll catch up during the day today, so I can get out of town to get home!

I called my dad last night - since it's going to be snowing all the way home for me on Sunday, I made the decision not to try to get the trailer. My dad is pleased, other than having put $110 of diesel in his van, since he can drive his car, which is much easier on him. Maybe in the spring, around Memorial Day, I can get down there to pick it up. With the new chain rules, Even with 4-wheel drive and traction tires, you have to have chains on the tow vehicle AND the towed vehicle. Since I've always maintained that if you need chains on a 4-wheel drive, you shouldn't be on the road - this makes much more sense and will be safer.
Here's a picture of the turkey stock (isn't it gorgeous??):

We had a potluck on Friday, which included two deep-fried turkeys. During clean-up, I asked what they were going to do with all the bones, etc., and since no one else wanted them, took them home to make stock. They also threw away the necks and giblets (horrors), which I retrieved, and the dogs enjoyed them for dinner. I simmered all the leftovers for about 6 hours with a chopped onion, some celery (including the leaves), and some carrots. When it was done, I took it outside to cool (it was 40 degrees). When I checked on it later, it was still rather warm, so I bailed some water out of a stock tank, set the stockpot in it, and went to bed. 30 gallons of water does a marvelous job of cooling 16 qts. of liquid/bones, etc. down! After straining out the biggest chunks, I warmed it back up, and put it into the jars. Now for the neat thing I 'unvented' - since I knew that I hadn't gotten all the solids out, I poured the stock through some butter muslin (a tighter woven cheese cloth). While it's not clarified, it's definately chunk free! Amazingly, even though the turkeys were deep fried, there was very little fat. The broth is really rich in flavor, probably because of the caramelization that happens when the bird is fried. Yumm!!

Speaking of turkeys, here is a picture of my Auburn tom and one of his hens:

These are a very rare, heritage breed. Because these particular birds spent a lot of time in my house, he thinks I'm one of his hens and displays to beat the band when I'm around. Both hens are also very friendly, as well. These are basically a "brown" standard Bronze - a Moorit Turkey!!

This is a picture of my Black-winged Bronze pair. They're about 3 yrs. old, and I really like the hen's structure (which isn't very visible in this picture). I'm hoping to get some poults from them this year.

Ok, so here's the final picture - my sister's sweater, so far. Now, I know that I am not enamored of the color scheme, but there have been some other opinions floating around. Here's your chance to comment (not that it makes any difference!!) on what you think of the colors! It's actually a sweater from "Color Style," and the colors in the book are more my style! However, I think the pattern is written weirdly, so I'm doing it my own way (bigger steek, not shaped, duplicate stitching in some of the colors instead of having huge long floats on the back). Since this is actually iteration no. 5, I'm hoping it meets with Mary's approval - I'll know tomorrow evening!

I'll be taking my computer and camera down to Reno with me. It'll be fun to take "touristy" pictures!

Tomorrow...

2010-11-22T07:20:00.000-08:00

After some discussion with my sister and Sharon, I will post a picture of the sweater whose colors I don't like. Sharon was surprised that the "Queen of Overdye" couldn't fix them, until I explained that they had been chosen by the recipient, and weren't subject to change! I will gladly entertain your opinions of the color scheme!

I also canned 11 qts. of turkey stock yesterday - I'll post pictures of that, too, since I think they're beautiful!

We're in for some cold weather, just in time for me to be out of town - dang. Last year, when it got this cold, my well pump froze and I had to replace it. I'll be scrambling tonight to get the pumphouse secured and heated so that doesn't happen when I'm in Reno! I'm thinking about stacking strawbales around the outside (some large equine or other used the pumphouse as a rubbing spot, so it's all cattywhompus, and needs to be straightened up). Of course, until the straw bales get wet, the 4 footed animals in the pasture will nibble on them.

As of today, I have had 10 inches of rain in the month of November. I usually start my rain year the first of November, since that's when I got my rain gauge 3 years ago. The first year I kept track, I had 89.75 inches of rain. The next year, I had 68.5, and last year I had 52+/-. Since I'm on the coast side of the coast range, I get lots of rain and some snow. Right now, the ground is saturated, and the rain is just pooling or running off. The guy I get my hay from lives in the valley just to the north of me, and speculates that in our area, the land can only hold so much and all the rest runs off. I'm not sure, but right now that's the case!

It only takes time...

2010-11-18T14:46:00.000-08:00

As you can see from the following photo, I've had another set-back in the knee healing process. I jinxed myself last Sunday by saying they felt almost Normal... After going to the doctor, he prescribed being in an imobilizer brace for 2 weeks, and then we'll recheck. He thinks it's the chip from when I ran into the truck hitch (back when I was still in crutches), but I'm not convinced, since the discomfort is on the other side of my right knee. The brace actually feels good, and I slept with the "real" imobilizer the other night, which I think helped. Considering that I had both knees done, and that the right one has always been the weaker of the two, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it's being a little slow, but geez - let's get on with it, already!

A Merlin update: He has, after 6 months, decided that I'm more or less ok. He seeks me out in the pasture if I'm out there doing something, and follows me around out there. In his own unique way, he's "joining up." I'm really looking forward to working with him, and more so, riding him! He's a very sweet horse, kind of a turd to his own kind, but is really softening his attitude towards people. Interestingly, he really likes men, of which I have few around, so when a male type visits, he's all over them - pretty funny, since he's 16.2 and seems rather large (until you get around Chris, who is 17.1 and makes Merlin look petite).

Both boys have had 2 trims by a natural hoof farrier, and their feet look like horse feet should. With the biotin supplementation, their crappy thoroughbred feet are looking much better! My new farrier is about 5'2", and rides her Haflinger in dressage. She really admires Merlin's conformation, and thinks he will be really good at dressage (assuming I can get his brain to stay with his body!).

The last of the turkeys have been butchered and delivered. I have an Auburn trio left, a pair of Blackwinged Bronzes and the Peafowl pair. I'm going to move them down to the front of the barn, along with the chickens (in a separate pen) so that it's easier to feed them in the rain. This has the added benefit of moving the peacock away from my neighbor's bedroom... I learned alot this year (as I do every year after harvesting the livestock): A)I had about equal numbers of people wanting big birds and littler ones; B)The Auburns don't get that big (the toms dressed out in the 12-13 lb. range); C) I need to be able to separate the smaller, slower growing birds from the faster ones; D) I'm going back to getting standard Bronzes for the big ones, the Auburns will be the mid-sized birds,and I may get a few Midget Whites for those who want a really small turkey. I need to get an incubator, and have a brooder room for the eggs that the girls lay this coming spring. I'm thinking about a permanent "bird pasture" and turkey building that I can move them through to use the pasture effectively. Of course, this will involve using, you guessed it, a tractor and power tools! Arr, arr, arr.

I've been dithering around with fiberish things. I have a sweater that I'm knitting for my sister; unfortunately, I think the colors are hideous (sorry, Mary), and it's really hard to work on it! I have a couple of things on the needles for me, including this shawl:

As a bonus, when the turkeys were butchered, I was able to save some wing primaries from the Auburns - Is this just too cool, or what?

It has all sorts of possibilities, now. The yarn is a mohair/viscose/nylon that was in Mom's stash that I inherited. The shawl is loosely patterned on EZ's Pi shawl, but knit back and forth instead of in a circle. In the increase rows (yo, k1, repeat), it leaves these lovely spaces to put things, like leather stips with silver cones and turkey feathers...

Somehow, I've not found the time/inclination to spin lately, and as such I'm taking my mom's wheel back to my dad at Thanksgiving. He has more room, and can gaze on it lovingly and remember putting it together and finishing it for mom. Eventually, it will come back to me, but maybe by then I'll have more room!!

A friend of mine and I are driving down to my sister's in Reno for Thanksgiving - I'm bringing the bird. It will be fun to see the Homies while I'm there. My dad is bringing up his travel trailer, an older 19.5' Komfort, which he is no longer using, and is giving to me. I'm going to use it as guest quarters, and the party pad at sheep shows! In addition, if next summer is too hot, I'll just go in there, since it has air conditioning! I'm hoping that I won't have to drive back through snow, but it's not looking too promising... Gotta get chains, dang it. I'm planning to split the drive home up into two parts, which will make it way easier, and I'll be able to drive during the day, when it's warmer, and I can see...

What I do in my "not so" spare time...

2010-11-05T07:11:00.000-07:00

When I walked into work today, the guys (I work in a building full of men) were all saying that I was famous! Turns out my picture is in the paper - ok, sort of the back left side of my head, but still...

A local reporter did a story on the City Singers, of which I'm a part, and came to our rehersal yesterday to take pictures. The story appears Here - click on the "photo" tab to see the picture. I think the article was pretty well done, actually. As it says, we will be performing tonight, about an hour's program. It's always fun to sing at our library; we stand under the "rotunda," a large 3-story tall space between spiral staircases. The accoustics are awesome!

In other news, I have acquired 3 rodenators in training. Unfortunately, I accidentally knocked my camera off my desk at work, and it's not working. I might just have to follow Michelle's lead and go to Costco. As soon as I have picture-taking abilities again, I'll post their pictures. Only one has a name, Ted (as in Kusinski) - he's a Maine Coon looking kitten, really pretty, but not at all socialized. They're in my spare bathroom, where he's usually found hiding under the toilet... The other two are brothers, all black (black tabbies, really), and they are much more friendly. Both mothers of these kittens were feral, and I got them from a gal who caught the kittens when they were older to get them off the streets. I'd like to name the black boys Chaos and Mayhem, but those don't really fit. Oh well, I'm sure in a couple of weeks, with liberal applications of margaritas, I'll come up with something!

RIP, Golgi, wherever you are...

2010-10-27T07:57:00.000-07:00

The one member of the family that I’ve never introduced you to has disappeared. He’s been gone for 60 hours, something that he’s never done. Since he was such a hedonist, and loved sleeping on the bed with the dogs during the day, I can only infer that he’s no longer around. Last night, I went out to see if I could find him, and the Golgi presence is gone from the world. In preparing for this post, I discovered that the only pictures I had of Golg were from when I lived in Reno, with his late dog, Ceili. She passed on 4 years ago, and left a huge hole, somewhat filled by Lyra, whom you’ve met.

Golgi and Ceili

I got Golgi and his brother Quark after my cat, Sigmund died. Amy (purple fuzzy mittens)was instrumental in bringing them home from the Humane Society for me, and getting them settled, as I had taken the previous day off, and then the HS said they had to re-treat them for ear mites, could I come back tomorrow? Not with my psycho boss… I had the kittens for 2 weeks, trying to think of names, and then one night, in a tequila-inspired haze, came up with them.

Golgi was an indoor cat for most of his life, until I got tired of his peeing on my stuff when he got his nose out of joint. The final straw was when he peed on some brand new roving… Out he went. He didn’t really understand, but enjoyed having the great outdoors and the accompanying rodents to play with. It wasn’t until later that I found out that he needed to be an only cat (when my munchkin, Otter died), and that solved the peeing problem.

Golgi and Otter

When I moved to Walton, Golg was the first one to figure out the dog door (before Harry, the border collie, even). He enjoyed his freedom, survived a bout with bad cat food (almost died, actually), and generally had a great life. He loved hanging out on the hay in the barn, waiting for rodents to appear. He would follow me into the back pasture while I was feeding or filling water troughs, enjoying the company. If I sat down for a minute, there he was, with Lyra wanting to be in my lap too.

When Lyra arrived, as a 7 week old puppy, he never unsheathed his considerable claws on her (he weighed 16 lbs.). He let her roll him around on the floor, and when he’d had enough, he’d bite her cheek until she let go. He put up with Harry, but he adopted Lyra as a replacement for Ceili. Sometimes, it seems as if she is Ceili reincarnated – weird.

Anyway, I’ll miss him. He was a good cat. I will have to replace him, probably with more than one, because I live on a farm, and have lots of juicy rodents to keep in check.

RIP, Bud…

Added: Dad emailed me a picture of Golg taken when Dad was helping me recover from surgery. I took the picture because my dad doesn't really like cats, but Golgi didn't care!

Turkey Re-cap, and " taking the scenic route"

2010-10-11T08:26:00.000-07:00

Saturday was D-day for the Broadbreasted bronzes. Correy's daughter, Brin, came over Friday evening for some knitting and dinner, and because it was too late to take her home, spent the night. At O'dark thirty, we got up, had coffee and loaded turkeys in the dark and the rain. It was actually easy to tell which was which - the Auburns were skinnier!

After hooking Brin up with her boyfriend, I headed north. Belinda wanted a live hen for breeding some meatier, faster growing birds in her home flock, so I stopped there and her daughter, Elise, picked out the biggest hen. Belinda came with me and off we went to Willamina. After the birds were in process, we went into "downtown" Willamina to get ice to pack the birds in for the drive home.

Ok, I'm weird - I have a compass in my head, and rarely get lost. Google maps must have gotten in there and messed with it, because coming out of the grocery store, instead of going straight, I turned right. I mentioned that I didn't think we'd come that way, and Belinda avowed that she knew where we were, so we kept going. By the time it was too late to turn around, we were over half-way to the coast. A 6 mile drive turned into almost 60. It was very pretty, in a primeval, drippy sort of way (lots of fog, moss and ferns), but I'm not used to driving/sitting that long yet. Fortunately, my knees came through it very well - I wasn't as stiff as I thought I'd be.

So weights: 16.95 lbs., 2 in the 17 lb. range, 2 around 19 lbs., 1 20 pounder, 1 at 21 lbs., a 23 lb., 2 in the 25 lb. range, 2 in the 27 lb. range, one 28 lb. and one 29.5 lb. They were averaging 80% of live weight. Since most everyone I talk to wants smaller birds, I am re-thinking my breeding program. The standards will be mostly around 18 lbs. for toms, 15 for hens, and that will work, but I'm thinking about adding in some midget whites, who like their name, are smaller. I was fortunate to find a buyer for 5 of the larger ones (I kept the "big guy"), so have only medium-big ones to find homes for, with more to come in November.

Even with the addition of the new birds (none of whom are actually standard bronzes, but more on that later), the feed bill will be drastically reduced with the hoovers out of the picture!

I'll take some pictures for next post to show the difference in all the birds that I have...

The universe provides, even when people mess up...

2010-10-06T07:45:00.000-07:00

Last week, when I was feeding/watering the turkeys, I suddenly realized that the bronzes were huge, and getting huger (is that a word?). BFO (blinding flash of the obvious) - these are broadbreasted birds, not standards. DOUBLE DANG - my breeding program will be set back for a year, and I need to get them butchered now or they will be 50 lbs. dressed out in November! I'd like to see the oven that a turkey that big would fit in!!

I went in to the feed store where I purchased them - they checked their records, and the hatchery shipped the wrong birds. I know they ordered the right ones because we had a long conversation about why I wanted the standards and not the BB bronzes. They are really sorry, but really can't do much about it at this point.

Anyway, over the last couple of days, between Craigslist and phone calls, I have a) found 10 standard bronze turkeys - 2 toms and 8 hens, and b) gotten a butchering appointment this Saturday morning at 10 am. YAY!

Anybody want a turkey for thanksgiving a little early? I don't have the freezer space to keep them all until then (unless I find one on CL), and only have 2 sold at this early date! Special pricing is in effect...

The colors of October, sort of...

2010-10-01T14:13:00.000-07:00

I have some new color at my house. It's a pair, and they will be helping with the turkey project (now set back a year because the hatchery sent me the wrong birds...). Ok, so all I wanted was Standard Bronze turkeys, and I think they thought I made a mistake, and send Broad-breasted bronze. NO! I need the standards because a) they can reproduce naturally (the BBT's can't), and b) crossing them with the Auburns gives me the sex-linked colors in the poults, so I can market a pretty close count of hens and toms. Hmph.

So the new residents are (drum roll please) - a yearling pair of Peafowl. Since the incubation period for both species is the same, 28 days, I can change out eggs and have the peahen hatch out the turkeys (turkey hens are notoriously poor mothers).

As yearlings, they should start breeding this coming spring, which will give me a chance to try out the turkey egg swap. It's amazing how long it takes those tail feathers to grow. They are currently in with the turkeys, who really don't like their kind. Bigotry in the aviary - who woulda thunk.

A disturbance in the Force.

2010-09-29T07:32:00.000-07:00

Last week, I went to the Dr. for a knee post-op. I’m still doing really, really well, but have had some swelling and pain in and around my right knee. I hadn’t had x-rays since the 2 week post op visit, so I got some more. He looked at them, and turned around and said, “See this? You broke your right patella (knee cap). How did you do that?” I said, “I don’t know, how could I do that?” Needless to say, he was not pleased, and I left feeling like a school kid caught throwing spit wads (don’t ask how I know how that feels…)

On the way home, I started thinking about how I could have done that, and remembered a week or so before, when I was first back at work, crawling under my desk to plug in my laptop. I have way better tunes on it, than my work computer. It wasn’t very comfortable to kneel, but since the nerves are currently deciding whether or not they will resume their pre-surgical duties, I can’t feel anything. That’s the only time that I could have loaded the patella, and caused that chip to happen – it’s just a small piece on the bottom end, which will heal by itself. He said no more heavy lifting for several weeks. I had to call back to ask him to define heavy, since I was sure our definitions were very different. His medical assistant called me back. Since she also has a horse, she was laughing and said that 50# feed sacks were off-limits for about 3 weeks. Dang. I have 300 lbs. of turkey feed to get into the feeder, and have to, um, hmmmm, ask for help. It’s really hard to feel dependent on others, but I’m glad they are there to help, believe me!

So my physical therapist was worried that I was despondent over this turn of events – I told her that I had been smacked up-side the head with the cosmic 2 x 4, and understood that I needed to back off, and quit pretending that I was Wonder Woman (complete with wrist bumps). I’m not sure she believed me until I went back in this week! I’m back to simpler, strength building exercises (they’re easy, so I do them…). Since I was so far ahead of the curve before, I can take my time and cruise for a little while, and then start the Wonder Woman routine later.

On a happier note, I went to Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival this last weekend. I only took 3 pictures – shame on me! I camped in my truck at the fairgrounds, and brought food, etc. Correy and her daughter, Brin, camped in their rig next to me. I fed us. This is Saturday morning, none of us is really awake yet (no caffeine yet), but I made hash out of left over tri-tip, potatoes and onions. With salt, pepper and ketchup, there’s nothing better!!

The American Romeldale/CVM Association (ARCA) had a booth in the barn, along with our national show this time. Here is the booth, partially set up.

Correy got a couple of champion awards, as well as Best of Breed. She has really awesome sheep.

I spent most of my time spinning some alpaca/silk that Mim (Desert Peach Farm) gave me to try. It took me about 12 hours to spin, and another 1 ½ hours to ply it, but I ended up with just under 3 oz., and just under 300 yds., which works out to 1600 yds./lb. I double checked it on the McMorran Yarn Balance, and it came out the same.

I think I’d like to weave it with some black silk, either in a color and weave pattern, or in plaited twill. I don’t think I’ll dye it, since the color is so sophisticated on its own.

I also handed off the latest edition of 'fiber porn.' It's going to be a blend of Romenot (Romeldale/Rambouillet and Montedale) in variegated gray, iron gray kid mohair, bombyx silk and white alpaca. I'm haveing it spun into a 2-ply sport yarn, which I can then dye, weave, knit, or whatever. I didn't do much shopping, but I bought a dark brown alpaca fleece, after talking with Correy about one of her merino fleeces. I'm going to drop them off at the processor to have half put into yarn, and half into roving - Correy and I will split it. (Alpaca on the left, Wool on the right).

I got to see Michelle (Boulderneigh), and try out her turkish spindle. I'm too ADD for spindles, but it did spin nicely. I also met Wanda, who's husband makes the spindles - very fun.

I also acquired/rescued another alpaca. He had been living at someone’s house who had agreed to watch him for a friend, and it turned into a long-term proposition. He didn’t fit in with her two older alpacas, and hasn’t been worked with much, so she just wanted him gone. Since Correy has a female llama, and he’s intact (they will cross breed), I said I’d take him. His fleece looks like a reddish fawn underneath, though the outside is pretty bleached. I'm hoping that I can salvage some in the spring - it's really nice fiber. His name is Mr. Higgins, but I’ve been calling him Mr. Stinky. I need a new name for him. I was going to take a picture this morning, but I forgot how dark it is!

We got him into my truck, and he shook all the way home. I had to pull him out of the truck when I got home – he was concerned about the dogs, so I backed them off. He would walk a couple of steps, and then lean his neck into my side. We made slow progress across the front yard, and then he saw the chickens – OMG, they were scary. He had just recovered from that, when Merlin stuck his head out of the barn, and whinnied. I thought he was going to leave town! He finally made his way through the barn and into the pasture, where I took off his halter, and let him go. The horses were very interested, and he kicked at them, something Merlin wasn’t expecting (no one got hurt). Then the other boys began sorting out the pecking order. By yesterday, it’s more settled, but evidently, he’s been pestering the horses. When I went to feed, Merlin picked him up by the scruff of the neck, and then Chris picked him up by the fleece behind his shoulder (not at the same time). I think he’s been trying to figure out if these animals are just big, ugly alpaca girls (NOT), and the horses are tired of it. Looks like I need to get the winter quarters put together more quickly than I thought…

Ok, Ok, I'll tell you...

2010-09-21T13:39:00.000-07:00

I know you were all wondering: “what critter is she getting now!”

Hah! It doesn’t eat. Ok, so I have a fair amount of work to get it into service, but it’s not a vehicle, either. It will take one to make it work tho…

Ok, Ok:

15.53 tons of ¾ minus gravel for the “mud free zone” for the horses! To give some scale, the geo-textile on the ground underneath the pile is 24’ long, and when the fence is moved, will be 24’ wide, as well. Needless to say, I'll be renting a tractor/bobcat (they're too fun) to move this around - no shovels and wheelbarrows for this girl - mainly because I backed over my wheelbarrow several years ago, and still haven't replaced the broken handle...

I’m going to pen the horses on this for the winter, separately, so Merlin the punk can’t pester Chris and steal his food… This will also give my pasture a rest, and let it grow for the spring.

The alpacas will have their own separate enclosure, off the south side of the pole barn in the photo (you’re looking at the west side). They are also quite pushy when it comes to food, or mom doing interesting things in the pasture with this little box she puts in front of her face…

Hmm?

Something (not wicked) this way comes...

2010-09-17T14:54:00.000-07:00

I'm getting a big delivery of something this weekend. What could it be, you ask? Fiber - surely not. The master bathtub is filled to overflowing. Yarn? Ditto.

Photos and explanation on Monday.
.....................................................................................
Edited on Monday: Ok, tomorrow, I promise - I forgot to take pictures. Fortunately, nothing's changed!

The "mostly" Whole Story

2010-09-13T15:55:00.000-07:00

What I learned in my 5 weeks off:

• Doing 2 knees at the same time is not for the faint of heart. There were some really tough days in the beginning (I don’t do “dependent” very well). Thank goodness for Belinda and my dad – they did yeoman duty taking care of me and the “farm.”

o Because I don’t do dependent well, I’m the perfect candidate for doing 2 at a time.

o At 6 weeks out, I’m functioning at 10-11 week level. My physical terrorist, with an evil grin, said I’m going to be fun… I wonder what that means…

o When you’re in bed, on really good drugs, the funniest things happen. I had lots of chemicals while in the hospital, and I was seeing things, hearing things, talking to shadows standing next to people in the room, and sometimes words would come out of my mouth that my brain wasn’t aware of. I only knew because of the puzzled looks, so I would ask that they please just ignore what I just said. In hindsight, it’s pretty humorous, but not having ever done recreational drugs, it is not an experience that I’d care to repeat. The aural hallucinations took almost a week to go away – it was like having a radio playing in my head all the time – geez!

o Walkers only work if you take little, geisha steps. How can I learn to walk again (and I did have to) if I can’t walk? I tossed the walker after 1 week, and used the crutches. At about 2 ½ weeks, I got up without the crutches, and didn’t realize it until I was in the bathroom. So I started walking around in the house without them, but used them outside. Merlin thought they were potential torture instruments, so wouldn’t come near me. Chris wasn’t perturbed in the least.

o When you’re stuck in bed, there is not much to do. You notice things like the weird patterns in your ceiling.

o Sometimes I was too bored to even knit.

• Dad did a wonderful job as “Farmer Lane.” He admitted that it was an “interesting experience,” but that he wouldn’t want to do it all the time. Did you know that animals don’t care if it’s Sunday, or Labor Day – the still want to eat! He got so comfortable with the big animals that when Merlin discovered Pig Beer (more later), my dad was waving his arms and yelling at him to get him to move – a big step!! He found the pigs very entertaining, and was glad that he was going to be back home when they became little white packages.

o I did manage to finish his sweater before he arrived, but forgot to take a picture. I had my nephew take one .

I only steam blocked it, so he’s going to try to find a weaving friend in San Diego to wet block it for him.

o My boss came out to help unload feed – I had about 700# in the truck. Since I wasn’t moving that well yet, I supervised, Dad directed to the correct container, and Tom unloaded.

o I finally am using the Turkey Feeder (holds about 500# of feed) for its intended purpose. Dad helped me extract it from the encroaching berries and move it (in the back of the truck) up to the turkeys. This helps with my evening chores enormously. Every two weeks, I top it off, and in the meantime, only have to do water. I had previously used it for a lamb creep feeder, back when I had sheep.

• Pig Beer – it’s what’s for dinner! Basically, it’s 50# of whole wheat, 50# of rolled barley, mixed together with 2 cups of sugar, and covered with water (with some extra headroom). It ferments nicely, the pigs (and everyone else, as it turns out) love it. The last time I bought feed before the piggies left, I over estimated what I’d need, so have about 200# left. Since it’s still in the dry state, the horses are getting most of it, but the chickens are trying to cage their share. Here’s my favorite picture of the piggies before they met their destiny.

• Driving was scary at first, but I discovered that not only could I drive the automatic Volvo, but I could actually drive the truck, so long as I didn’t have to stop and go too much (the clutch tires me out). This is a good thing, because getting someone to drive me to pick up feed falls into that “dependent” thing, and I’m not good at that.

Last week was my first (mostly whole) week back at work. It was amazing how quickly I was absorbed back into the routine. I thought I was doing great. Friday night, four of us from work went out to see “Eat, Pray, Love.” It was really fun, but I forgot about sitting without moving for 2 ½ hours. I was completely stove up when we left the theater. We were talking about the moving and stuff in the parking lot, and they noticed the 600# of feed in the back of the truck. I was accused of being Wonder Woman – what could I do but tap my wrists together! So then they wanted to know what my super power was, and without thinking, I said, “Persistence.” They argued that my new knees were my super power, but I said, “No, I got them because of persistence.” My physical therapist cracked up when I told her this story, and now uses that gesture when talking about me – pretty funny!

Ok, so it’s not all rosy. Saturday, I slept all day, and I mean all day. With the exception of breakfast for me and the critters, lunch, and then dinner and book reading, I was comatose. I guess I really needed it. Sunday was much better, and I went into town to go shopping. I can’t wear jeans yet – the scars are still too tender. So I have to dress as a girl – eww. I got some skirts, a pair of shoes and several tops, since it will probably be awhile before I can handle denim on my raw skin. (this was after the staples were removed - before they were totally "Franken-knees"!!)

And, because she’s never been in my blog, here’s a picture of my 55# lap dog, Lyra.

She’s almost 3, a pit bull, and all she wants to do is lick you and sleep under the covers. Along with my border collie, Harry (8 yrs. Old) and cat, Golgi (10 yrs. Old), that is the total of the indoor pets. Interestingly, when I was first home, Lyra was on the bed, and Belinda came down the hall – all Lyra could see was her shadow. She stood over me and growled, even after Belinda turned on the light and came in the room! I finally got her calmed down. I told Belinda that my dog had put her on probation – she came, took me away for a week, and the brought me back broken. The pack doesn’t like the alpha to be in less than perfect condition… She’s much happier now, and has forgiven Belinda.

The next project is to get the chickens moved, so that I can remove the roof on their current coop. It drains lots of water directly into the horse barn. Then, I have to put up a shelter for the alpaca boys, and separate the horses (so Chris gets all the food he needs), and mud-proof their stalls and give them an area to escape the mud. The rain is coming, the rain is coming!!

I really haven't fallen off the face of the earth...

2010-09-10T15:11:00.001-07:00

I'm back at work, and have lots to say, but I'll have to do it this weekend. Pictures are promised - piggies, dad's sweater, my knees - all the good stuff!!

T-minus I don't want to think about it...

2010-07-21T16:10:00.000-07:00

Whew – had to go back to work to get a rest!

Saturday, I was the energizer bunny – I unloaded 20 bales of hay into the barn, rearranged part of the barn to accommodate more hay to come, loaded up the truck for the first of several dump runs (it’s right down the street – why don’t I go more often?), and drove to Corvallis to get sack feed. At the current time, the sacks of feed are still in the truck.

When I got home, I hit the wall… big time.

Sunday was spent on pain meds and reading a book – so much for getting the turkeys moved! However, there is progress on their new pen:

I need to back up – Friday was Pony Pedicure day. Some of you may remember when Merlin got done last time and the blow up we had (see this post). This time, I broke my vow not to catch the boys in the barn – it was the easiest thing to do. Since they both have issues (Chris weaves, Merlin leaves his body), I got them in with their vitamins, and lots of hay, and fed everyone else. I came back and stood between these rather large brown hunks of horse, and calmed them down. Chris started eating, and Merlin actually came back to his body! They both ate some, and then when the farrier arrived, I caught Chris and tied him up (since I can), and caught Merlin and held him. Of course, Chris was the perfect gentleman for his pedicure – his feet are really awful (cracked and split), but I can see where the new growth is coming out much better with the supplements that they’ve been getting. Merlin was a little apprehensive, but I had filled my pockets with treats, and so long as he was eating or looking for a treat, he was fine. He did really well. Meanwhile, the alpacas were standing around the outside of the barn humming and wondering what was going on.
Since then, Merlin has been more accepting of me coming up to him loose in the pasture and patting and petting him, and he even seeks me out for strokes. He’s still very much 9 going on 2 – and I will start him over in a logical, calm progression as soon as I’m mobile again.

And just because they’re cute, here’s an updated picture of the piggy girls:

See this post (link here) for the contrast in size…

Speaking of mobile – in 1 ½ weeks, I’ll have new knees. I know better than to listen to all the horror stories that people tell about what they’ve heard, but I want to be on my feet as quickly as possible, and I’ll do everything in my power to make that happen. I need to be able to drive back to work in about 3-4 weeks. I have the choice of the short (lots of bending to get in) automatic Volvo, or the tall (easier to get in and out) standard truck. Neither is great, but I’ll make it work.

I’m almost done with my dad’s sweater:

About 20 years ago, he and my mom were in Maine and bought enough Peace Fleece yarn for my mom to make a sweater. Over the years, she’s knit and ripped, knit and ripped, and never finished it. When my sister and I were going through all of her stuff after she passed last September, we found the balls of yarn and the ribbing. I told my dad I’d take it home and knit it. Well, as you can imagine, the yarn was toast. There were lots of places where it had been chewed completely through, and more that were only partially chewed. On top of that, the yarn was just plain awful to handle. So, I called my dad to get permission to chuck it and get new yarn. Permission was given – my sister bought the yarn and I have been knitting off and on since December. I found a pattern in an old Interweave Knits that was close to what I wanted, and with modifications, I was off and running. Since my Dad is coming up to stay with me, I wanted to have it done before he got here. Right now, as you can see, all I have left is to sew the right sleeve on, sew up the underarm seam, and put the buttons on.

YAY! I’m very proud of myself. The yarn is Knit Picks’, Wool of the Andes worsted in Arctic Pool Heather (the picture does not do it justice). I really like this yarn – I buy a lot of it to dye to sell, since it’s rather inexpensive. It has a really nice handle and their heather shades have a real depth to them. The buttons are hand-cast pewter from The Ram's Horn - they have beautiful stuff (link here).

Since I am not able to do everything I wanted, I’m scaling back my preparations. The turkey house is almost done, and with the installation of roosts, birds, food and water, I’m calling it good. I would like to get more feed stockpiled. The house is coming along, but needs more work. I’m getting there… Really!

Progress Interrupted...

2010-07-09T12:58:00.000-07:00

I got the auger, but fell feeding the turkeys when I got home and sprained my arm to the point that I couldn’t operate the auger. Fortunately, when I called the rental agency, they said bring it back and they’d zero out my account (I love these guys!). I got my arm x-rayed, and there was no break, but I wanted to make sure. So… On the way home, I stopped at my local organic farm (Morning Glory Farm), and got some wonderful cherries. I asked if they would sell me a box, and while they couldn’t right then, they would order me some.

Wednesday I got the call that they were in. I picked them up on the way home – 20+ lbs. of Rainier Cherries.

So instead of putting stuff in the truck to go to the dump, I pitted cherries. I have a pitter, and it clamps onto my counter with the dishwasher door open.

In the background you can see a partially done seal-a-meal bag, and the seal-a-meal. I love this tool. It sucks out all the air and then seals the bag so there is very little, if any, freezer burn. Since I don’t have time right now to make my special Cherry/Basil Jam, I’ll store them until I do.

I saved some for eating, but they won’t last long!!

I did get the younger auburn turkeys out into the tractor with the bronzes (man are they getting big) this morning before work. It’s been very warm so while it looks like they have algae water, it’s really a vitamin/electrolyte mixture. This frame arrangement is easy to move because it’s light weight – it’s a good thing, too. With that many turkeys in there (about 25) it gets moved 2x a day!

This weekend, I have Tristan (Correy’s future SIL) coming to help me put up some sort of semi-permanent turkey shelter. I have several car canopy/carport tent frames, and plan to use one for their pen for now. I can add the run on with t-posts and wire, and cover the frame with more chicken wire and tarps. That will get them through the winter and be easier for my helpers to feed them all in one place. If you’re interested in building one for yourself, email/comment and I’ll send you the plans.

My chickens are not laying well right now – 2 raised chicks (only 3!), 2 are setting on nests – hopefully they’ll be more productive in the chick department – and two are running around with the roo like valley girls. It’s really fun to watch the roo interact with his kids – he’s very good with them. Of the three, 1 is a dark brahma, the other two are from the late RI red hen. They’re really cute – little reddish chicks with feathers on their feet! I’m hoping that whatever the other two hatch out are dark brahmas – it would be nice to have them reproducing themselves! They’re fast little boogers – I’ll try to get pictures soon.

T-minus 30 days and counting...

2010-07-02T08:17:00.000-07:00

My knee surgery is August 2. I'm not ready - what a surprise! It's not that I'm not ready for the surgery - I would do it tomorrow if they'd let me! It's all the prep stuff at home that's fallen behind. In an effort to make it easier on my wonderful caregivers-to-be, I need to get the animals situated. Let me count the ways:

I have to build a turkey house and run. I'll rent the auger this weekend and hopefully get the posts in and maybe get some of the roof rafters on.
The horses need to be separated so that at feeding time, they don't knock my dad down (he's 86 and coming to watch over me - he's in better shape than I am!). Turns out, he's somewhat afraid of horses, and my two are not small ones... I was feeding the other night and they were rumbling around me, and somehow I got in the middle. I saw a big brown butt swing by my head and slapped it as it went by. It brought home how much I am able to read their actions, but even I am not always on it - my dad doesn't have a clue about how to read them. I need to divide my pasture - Merlin and the alpacas on one side, The Big Guy (more on his name later) on the other. I can do it with t-posts and hot wire, but it still takes time.
The Pigs need to be moved so that I can build the turkey house (maybe this should have been #1...). That's not hard, I can feed them, lock them up, move the electric fence after turning it off, turn it back on and let them out. Also need to come up with a better feeding arrangement - they move their trough around, and they're getting too big for me to get in there with them! I did the other night and the biggest one ran between my legs (don't know why and it surprised her, too!), and almost ended up on my butt... Don't want my dad (or anyone else) having to deal with that, so I'll need to secure their trough to the fence somehow. Also need to come up with a better way to water them - they like using the 50 gal. stock tank as a wallow, and get mud and ... in it, which requires emptying it daily. This is not fun! Any suggestions would be welcome - remember that pigs are bulldozers on legs, and gladly tip anything over that they can...
I need to finish readying the house so that I can navigate through it easily when I'm mobility compromised. I've started this one, rearranging my bedroom so that I no longer crawl into bed from the foot, but have lots of books (where did they all come from?) to move and arrange in the other bedroom, which needs to be done so I can set up the spare bed for my helpers!
I need to put in a couple of tons of hay so that I don't have to go get it while I can't. I also need to stockpile feed for everyone else, and it needs to be in a rodent-proof container. I kind of hate to do it, but I think I'm going to have to break down and get an old chest freezer to hold all the extra stuff. I may hire the young men from the farm down the street to unload it for me, otherwise it would take me all month just for that!
I need to get a new camera. I was awakened the other night by a buzz-click-pause-buzz (repeat). Turns out my camera had a seizure, and was turning itself on, pushing out the lens, pulling it in and turning itself off, over and over and over. Dang. Looks like Craigslist for that one!
I want to cook a bunch of casserole-type things, put them in seal-a-meal bags and freeze them so that dinners (or other meals) aren't a big deal for me or my helpers. I have lots of hamburger, ground sheep, pork chops, canned chicken on hand, so it's just a matter of doing it. I'd really like to have a bunch of bread made, too, but it's just not as good after it's been frozen. Since I use the bread maker to do the dough, I guess I can make it fresh when I need it.

I had my first pre-op appointment yesterday - I gave blood for myself. I do that again next week, along with the pre-surgery class, then a couple of doctor's appointments the week after that, and then two weeks to wonder and panic before surgery. I have 4 weekends (this one's a long one, though) before I go in to the hospital, and with my knees hurting as they do, it's hard to get stuff done.

Correy reminds me that it's ok to ask for help, even though it's really hard... This is a skill that I don't always appreciate, preferring to do things my way. I think I need a crash course in this! Also, rather than hurting, and moping around because it hurts, I need to take drugs and get to it, with rest periods, of course.

Most of all, I need to ride my horse - I haven't ridden The Big Guy since the day I brought him home. I made contact with his former owner - she's a traffic technician in Bend! We had a nice talk, and turns out he responds to Chris (his registered name is Chrisnesian), or Big Guy. Since the latter really fits him, that's what I've been calling him (Stryder brings no response whatsoever). I finally got a bridle that will fit him (and it's this pretty sage green), so I'm going to try to do that tonight.

I know that when I get home from the hospital it will be quite the trial, but the good news is that the end of knee pain is in sight - YAY! True to form, I want it now...

fun and games!

2010-06-15T07:34:00.000-07:00

I am an Echinacea

"You are a health conscious person, both your health and the health of others. You know all about the health benefits and dangers of the world around you."

I am an
Echinacea

What Flower
Are You?

For some reason, the code isn't working right - check it out at (what flower are you?)
I saw this on Mim's blog, and thought I'd try it out. I'm surprised, but glad I didn't turn out to be a flower that I'm allergic to!!

I have a new equine resident - "Uncle" Stryder. He's 19, 17 h tall (that's 5'8") at the withers, and a really lovely guy. He's already made Merlin more accepting of my presence. Best of all, I can ride him, and with knee surgery just under 7 weeks away (OMG!), he's helping me exercise in a manner that I like so I can get my leg strength up beforehand. In this picture, he's standing next to a 4" fence...

Mim and Becky are arriving at my house tomorrow for the BSG festivities, and Linda and Sharon (and their mates) will be as well, but staying elsewhere. It occured to Sharon (or was it Linda?) that we will be 2 people short of the full compliment of Wool Hussies - our team at the first annual fiber to shawl competition at CNCH. We're missing Allison and Amy...

I have supervisory duties over Correy's sheep while they're at the pasture near my house. Sunday, when I went over to move them to a new paddock, I heard a very strange sound - a high-pitched baaa... And there was a little gray badger ram lamb following his mom around. What a surprise! She had a ram breakout in January (the same ram that's currently in with these ewes), and he caught this yearling. She's being a good mom, and the lamb is following her very well in the crowd of 20-some ewes, so all is well. They have been invited to be on display at BSG - it's not often that there are newborn lambs at this time of year for the public to see! Not a day later, Correy called me - she has a lamb, too - one of her Border Leicesters lambed on pasture over there (Prineville area). I suggested that we call them Pete and Re-Pete...

The turkeys are doing well, and have stopped dying. Something was getting into the Auburns and trying to take them out, but couldn't so left the little carcasses for me to find - ugh... So they got moved into the house. No more losses! The Bronzes are getting big - they're a week + older than the Auburns, so they're separate. I hope to get the Auburns out of the house before Mim and Becky get here! I have an almost complete poultry tractor that I will put at least the bronzes in soon. If you're interested in the design, shoot me an email, and I can send it to you.

As usual, life is busy, but full!

Of Fiberish things and life changes...

2010-06-08T15:55:00.000-07:00

I've been knitting quite a bit, and spinning some. After spinning for 37 years (yikes), I finally found the wheel of my dreams - a Country Craftsman. It spins fast, and now that I have 4 bobbins and a lazy kate for it, the possibilities are endless.

I've been playing with and dyeing fiber that I've gotten from Mim (here) with some really nice results. I really like dyeing the Corriedale top, and had some really nice color combos, one of which I actually spun and navajo plied:

The Merino/Bamboo/Tussah (MBT) is really lovely, and takes the dye really well. Here's a skein that I did right after I got my lazy kate. I split the roving (also shown) and spun half onto separate bobbins in the same order, and then plied them:

One of my favorite things to design and knit are hats. Over the years, they've evolved, from the Nepalese ear-flap hats to my current "yurts for your head." Years ago, Allison Judge, her SIL Patty and I participated in a "Bunny to Beret" competition. I designed the hat, and then we spun the angora fiber (it was at an angora rabbit show), knit the hat and sewed it together. It used inserted I-cord, which has been lurking around in my brain ever since. So, when it came time to knit a appreciation gift for the gentlemen where my sheep have been pastured, I came up with this:

Then, I thought, what if... there were 6 "rafters" instead of 4? I had some more of the black yarn (corriedale x) and some white (dorset x from Becky [here]) and produced this:

So, three years ago, Mim gave me Booger's fleece with the deal that I would make her something out of it. It's not done yet, but will be by the time she gets here for BSG:

I told her that if she didn't like it, I'd keep it - I really like the colors, and the soft gray of Booger's fleece really sets off the dyed corriedale.

In the life changing section, on August 2, I'm having both my knees replaced - YAY!! I know it will hurt, but it hurts all the time now, and once it's done, hopefully, I won't hurt anymore!! My doctor thinks I can be back at work (sitting at my desk) in about 3-4 weeks. I asked him about riding, and he said probably 8-12 weeks. I can live with that.

On the farm front, I have butchered 31 cornish x chickens at 10.5 weeks of age, and some of the roosters weighed 10 lbs. My friend Belinda introduced me to the joys of pressure canning, and we got 14 chickens cooked, 10 into jars, and 6 of those actually caned. They are still very tender, but they look like turkeys!! Speaking of turkeys... I have 14 standard bronze (not broadbreasted) and 14 Auburn turkey poults, from which I will have some for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners (for others, too), and the rest will become a breeding flock. If you put an Auburn Tom on Bronze hens, the resulting chicks have sex-linked colors so you can tell them apart at hatching - bonus!!

Sometimes I wonder how I do it all...

I got hijacked, but I'm back...

2010-05-12T08:48:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I haven’t transferred the fiber pictures yet, so I’ll have to bore you with another Merlin story. Last week I had the farrier (Jacob) out to trim his feet. Being a thoroughbred, he has crappy feed, but I’m hoping with supplementation and good trimming and boots, I can keep him barefoot. He was reasonably good for the trim, but when I tied him to the trailer to get the money out of my truck, he set back on the rope and instead of standing back up, started flailing. He got his foot over the rope, and with Jacob’s help, we got him untangled. He did it again. The horse had left his body. He finally broke the rope, and headed over to the pasture gate. I caught him, put another rope on, and he had the expression of “how did I get here?”

He boogered up his front legs on the rope/halter, but not badly; unfortunately, he’s wrenched his back, and is walking funny behind. I can feel a vertebra that seems out of place about 2 forward from his tail.

Now, I know this horse has issues, but I was pretty traumatized by this myself! I’ve never seen a look on a horse’s face like he was when he was fighting the rope. I kept up his routine, gradually got him used to me touching him again (this must be what it’s like with a mustang…), and stewed.

I’ve used the TTEAM work on other horses that I’ve owned, and that’s what I’m doing with Merlin. He’s really come to enjoy my forelock slides (grab the forelock and slide your fingers down it to the tip). I decided to look online to see if there was a TTouch practitioner in my area, and there is!! Shelly is in Creswell, and we have an appointment for her to come see and work with Merlin and me on the 19th. We talked for over an hour – she’s worked with quite a few OTTB’s and agrees that he’s been traumatized and abused. She also agrees that getting on him is not going to happen anytime soon, and invited me down to her stable to ride! I’m looking forward to meeting her – she seems to be around my age, and as a bonus, she teaches dressage! What a gift!

Meanwhile, over the weekend, I worked with him some more – he will stand for some rubbing and scratches, but then walks away to think about it. I let him go – he always comes back for more. I messed with his program by moving the hay feeder into the barn (the pigs got moved outside – topic for another blog) so that I wouldn’t waste hay in the rain (they don’t like it if it’s damp). Since he’s very distrustful of enclosed spaces, he wasn’t sure he wanted to come in to the new “dining room” – and stood outside for quite a bit. He finally did come in, and ate his grain, but was looking over his shoulder alot, like he wasn’t sure about being in that more enclosed half of the barn. When he was done with his grain, he took a couple of bites of hay from that side, and decided that he’d had enough. He walked around the other side (where it’s completely open), and kicked the alpacas out.

So, I’ve learned the following:

• I’m going to learn a lot about patience working with Merlin.
• I’m not going to catch him in the barn to help alleviate its scariness.
• I’m probably the first one in his life other than his dam who treats him nicely.

I was reading a book this weekend (She Flies Without Wings, by Mary D. Midkiff) – basically her memoir of working with horses and developing her own self-worth, but interspersed are some really great quotes. This one is my favorite, found on page 240:

My horse with a mane made of short rainbows.

My horse with ears of round corn.

My horse with eyes made of big stars.

My horse with a head made of mixed waters.

My horse with teeth made of white shell.

The long rainbow is in his mouth for a bridle

And with it I guide him.

When my horse neighs

Different colored horses follow.

When my horse neighs

Different colored sheep follow.

I am wealthy because of him.

Before me peaceful

Behind me peaceful

Under me peaceful

Over me peaceful –

Peaceful voice when he neighs.

I am everlasting and peaceful

I stand for my horse.

Traditional Navajo Song

I’m standing for this horse – no one else has and he makes me whole.

Merlin's progress, or we interrupt our previously promised post...

2010-04-26T15:17:00.000-07:00

I know I promised fiberish things for my next post, but several things have happened with Merlin (who’s name may be changed – haven’t yet decided).

A couple of weeks ago, I took him into the vet to have his teeth checked – he was dribbling when he ate his grain. Since the lady that I got him from was not terribly forthcoming about things, though she said she had done teeth, shots and worming, I wasn’t sure. After working for entirely too long to get him into the trailer, we got to the vets and determined that his teeth had, in fact, been done. Since he kindly provided us with a sample, the vet ran a fecal, and there were no worm eggs. I’m reasonably confident that he has had his shots, based on those two things. Turns out he has a slight over-bite, causing the dribbles (which Lyra, the garbage gut dog, takes full advantage of!). I left him at the vet’s in a paddock and went back to work. When I came to pick him up, I asked them to tranq him, so it would be easier to get him in the trailer. He was a very drunk boy, and walked right in!

When we got home, he was surprised to be there – I think he was sure that he was going somewhere else again, now that he was just kind of getting used to me. I tried to reassure him that he was my man, and that he wasn’t going anywhere else, and hey, look, there’re your alpacas! He was happy to see them!

So he’s gotten a little more trusting. He leaves his body when you have a stick or anything that remotely resembles a whip, and he doesn’t like being trapped in a stall. He’s gaining weight, and starting to shed out – he’s really gorgeous!

Last Wednesday, I noticed that his left eye was swollen, and he was flinchy and acting like he was in pain. I finally got a look at it Thursday after work and there was a small white spot on the cornea – so not good. I called the vet to make an appointment for Friday, since I would be off work. Do you think I could get him in the trailer when it came time? No Way! So I called the vet to see if they could come to me (and I’d pay $75 for a ranch call – ouch), and they could, though it would be a couple of hours. I used the intervening time to work on getting him in the trailer. I finally did, backed him out, and repeated twice more and called it good. I let him eat grass. Realizing that I hadn’t had anything to eat (it was now 2 pm), I put him in the pasture, sucked down some Gatorade and sat down to relieve my aching knees. When I went out to catch him again, we played tag… I was not happy. I finally pulled the baling twine in the back pocket routine – he fell for it!

When the vet arrived, my dogs were out. I had one of the techs hold him while I put the dogs in “jail”. When I got back, they had tried to start without me, but the closest they could get to him was the end of the lead rope. When I took the lead rope, he buried his head in my chest, and I pulled his forelock (he likes it), and he calmed down. The vet tried to get close, but he wasn’t really thrilled, so he tranq’d him. He thought Merlin was more cranked up than he was, and he ended up almost asleep on his feet! The eye examination showed a closed over lesion on the cornea, a very contracted pupil, and some irritation in the sclera. I got antibiotic goo, atropine goo (to dilate the pupil – evidently it’s very painful when it contracts down like that), and a new bottle of Banamine for pain relief (his, not mine).

Now, I have some history giving Banamine. My last mare, who had to be put down because she had an impaction that was not resolving after 4 days (and broke my leg when I took her to the vet), was getting Banamine. I accidentally gave it in the carotid instead of the jugular, and things got really exciting. She basically seized, and crashed around in the barn, and I hid like a girl behind the barn post until she was done (not being very mobile myself). She came out of it, but it was really scary. Needless to say, I’m very nervous about giving this medication.

I tried, I really tried. Merlin stood like a trooper and let me poke his vein a couple of times, but I couldn’t be sure that I had the jugular, so I didn’t want to inject the drug. You can give it IM, but there’s an increased chance of Clostridial (gas gangrene) infections – not going there.

Fortunately, his eye is doing much better – the white spot is gone, and I can touch his eye lid without him flinching. I made a catch rope out of an alpaca lead rope, with a ring tied in, which I put around his neck, and flip a loop over his nose. I can put the goop in his eye with just that on.

He’s really got a ways to go in the trust department, but he’s come a long way. When I got him, I thought he was a dim bulb. He’s not. He was just completely shut down. His character is starting to come out, and boy does he have one! The fact that he’s testing me is a very good sign. I’ve been using the Tellington-Jones TTouch method on him, and need to do more. He’s very tight in his neck, but man does he use his hocks under him! I can’t wait to ride him and see what those gaits feel like.

I’m not a patient person. This horse is teaching me patience (about time, as my dad says). I’ve not ridden him yet. I’m in no hurry. I want us to have a good, trusting bond before I get on. I think we’ve made major strides, and look forward to more.

Newest residents of the farm...

2010-04-09T14:42:00.000-07:00

First to be totally up front: I raise animals to eat. I have 32 Cornish X chicks that are growing nicely, and will soon be turned out on the grass. I have raised lambs, and once raised a steer (won't do that again), and raise turkeys and pigs.

This year, I have 3 little pigs. They are sisters, and are wildly cute.

They gave me pause Wednesday, when I came home to an empty pig pen. I've only had them a week and a half, and I wasn't sure if they would *allow* themselves to be caught. I have been setting up a Pavlovian response when I feed them - I snort like a pig, and they come running with their tails just wagging! Didn't know I spoke swine. So, when they were MIA, I started walking around snorting. Ok, so this isn't something you would want to do in the city - your neighbors would think you needed mental assistance. Fortunately the friend that was with me understands my quirks, and went along with it! As I passed by the "old growth" laurel behind the house, I got a response - they all came running out, but seeing that I had no feed scoop in my hand, ran back under the tree. So, being a trainable chimp, I got the feed scoop, filled with feed, and snorted again. They came running, and then followed me like the pied piggy piper, back into their pen. Said pen has now been fortified, and there should be no further field trips until I move them out of the barn (when they're a little bigger) to the big outdoors in the orchard. They will be finished on the fallen apples - pre-applesauced pork chops - yumm!

Last year I raised two, and sold all but 3/4, which I kept. This year, I'll keep one, one is going to the family of a dear friend whose husband replaced the clutch in my truck, and the third will go to my neighbor who has a backhoe. He's kindly come and dug great big holes when I had to put my horse down (twice - last year was not good), and will grade me a 60 x 120 riding arena so I can actually work Merlin without hauling into town (unless it's raining). He has a smoker, which I'm hoping to get him to do some of my pork chops - I can hardly wait.

In the meantime, they are a riot, make me laugh out loud, and amuse the alpacas.

Next post - fiber pursuits.

I'm back... (Warning: Picture heavy)

2010-03-31T14:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, so 3 weeks is awhile to go between posts. Blame it on life!
My family (sister and dad) came up the 17th of March to attend a concert that I was participating in. I joined the Eugene Symphony Chorus, and our spring performance was March 18. We sang Mozart's Coronation Mass - way too much fun for a first soprano - mostly in the stratosphere for the entire piece.

On Friday, we went to the Evergreen Avation and Space Museum, courtesy of Michelle McMillan's (blog link) family membership. My dad, who will be 86 in June (and is planning a ski trip to Mammoth as we speak), wanted to see the Spruce Goose. Initially, I thought my sister and I would just drop him off and head up to Woodland Woolworks, but it turns out they have my favorite plane there too!

We took a tour with one of their docents (Timothy) - he was great. He had been a pilot, and knew a lot of background about the planes, their missions, the construction, etc. I was very impressed. The best view of the "Goose" was from an upstairs balcony - I took 6 pictures to get all of ONE side in! Here's a picture of the nose...

After we went to the Avation Museum, we walked over to the Space Museum (they're in separate buildings), and had lunch at their cafe (very yummy). We then did a self-tour of the museum. They have all sorts of full-sized replicas of Sputnik, Mercury capsules, rockets, rocket motors, and, of course, my favorite plane, the SR71 "Blackbird."

Saturday, we hung around home, but my sister wanted to play in the mud, tiling, that is. I have been in the process of building a hearth for a pellet stove, and had gotten all the tile, with two to cut, and sort of stopped. She is the tiling goddess, and finished it. I still have to grout it, but that's not too hard!

Sunday, they headed back to my sister's in Nevada, where my dad would stay for a night, and then drive home to El Cajon, CA (east of San Diego). We had a wonderful time. With my mom's passing last fall, it's interesting getting us together. We have so much fun, but we're still missing her...

On the farm front, I have a new horse. He's a 9 year old Thoroughbred, off the track, but for 5 years. The lady I got him from is kind of flakey. She had gotten him in October to be a pasture mate for one of her horses after losing it's buddy. He is rideable, and is really a very calm horse. After trying to get pictures of his markings and tatoo to the Jockey Club to find out what his registered name was (no such luck), I named him Merlin. He is not as smart as my last horse, Doc, but he is going to be fun to work with. He has a very sweet face.

When I first brought Merlin home, Doc was still there. He went to the absolutely perfect home 4 days later – Merlin was bereft, and quite upset with me. I brought 4 of my 5 alpacas home to keep him company. It was hysterical! He’d never seen them before, but chased them around trying to see “What are you guys, exactly?” When one stopped to pee, he sniffed him all over, while the alpaca (Willy) was looking at him as if to say, “Will you excuse me? I’m busy here!” The boys are enjoying being back home.

Before my family showed up, I had gotten 35 Cornish x chicks. They were temporarily installed in the living room, but seeing as how I was going to be sleeping in there, I decided to move them out to the "big" brooder outside. All of that peeping would not have been good for my beauty rest!!

I have started tomatoes and peppers, gotten the 3 little pigs, and done a lot of dyeing for Fiber Market Day last weekend in Prineville - those will be topics for the next post, which I promise will not be as long in coming!

I’m Back… Photos and text copyright March 31, 2010, by Laura at http://polymathchronicles.blogspot.com/

Blog Post #1

2010-03-05T14:01:00.000-08:00

So, I've finally succumbed. This is the first blog post by a spinner, weaver, dyer, knitter, equestrienne, farmer with a full-time job.

I may not post often, since I don't have internet access at home - I live in the coast range of Oregon, where we have dial-up only...

I'm hoping to chronicle the life and times at Finney Creek Farm, fiberish persuits, horse training ups and downs, and the various home repairs that I find myself undertaking (don't get me started on plumbing...).

The title of the blog comes from the definition of Polymath:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymath

Some of my friends call me a "factoid," some say my middle name is "MacGyver" (it's not), but I admit to having way more stuff in my head than should be safe or humanly possible. Sometimes it's really helpful, and sometimes I wish I could reformat the hard disk!

Stay tuned. Pictures will be included as often as possible, and descriptions of the residents of my farm will also be forthcoming.

I hope you enjoy my ramblings!!