Happy New Year!

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!

It only takes time...

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...

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

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!

fun and games!

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! 

 

 

 

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

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...

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.

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

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/