Goodbye Goats

They came.

They saw.

They ate.

Now that the pasture is cleared, Daisy, Bo and Luke packed their bags and headed down the road today. Like, um, literally. They only moved two miles away. I’ll be able to wave at them and toss them a cookie when I drive to town.

The Dukes are going to go live with a neighborhood farmer who has lots of goats. I think I actually heard their collective sigh of relief when they found out they wouldn’t have to live with sheep anymore. I’m trying not to be insulted by it.

The Loom Room

I have a new friend. I met her on Craigslist. We plan to make beautiful things together.

She is a 45” Loomcraft 4-shaft, 6-treadle jack loom. She came as a package deal with a bench, warping board, 2 extra reeds, 4 sets of lease sticks, a set of warp sticks, 2 boat shuttles, two rug shuttles, two ski shuttles, about 20 bobbins, a bobbin winder, threading hooks, two huge boxes of yarn and a box of weaving books and other miscellaneous things. It was basically everything a beginner would need; a weaving studio in a box.

In anticipation of her arrival I’ve been cleaning out the spare bedroom we’ve been using for storage and pawning all our crap family heirlooms off on my daughter. It is her turn to be the “keeper of the stuff.” I figure it is similar to a right of passage in our family of packrats.

I neatly organized my stash of rug fabric and clean fleeces.

I put my first rug up on the wall for inspiration. I’ll need some sturdier shelves eventually but the plastic ones I already had will work for now.

I saw a great idea to put a chalk board behind the warping board. That will be next on my list of things to do.

The best part is the room is conveniently located across the hall from my sewing room, Sheville. Certain individuals think if I continue to annex any more property I may have to incorporate Sheville as a city. I told him to go back to watching ESPN and not worry about it.

Baton Down the Hatches

Have you been following the news about that crazy snow storm? I’m not ready. Not even close. We've stepped up the pace and put the fall chores in high gear. Cleaning the chicken coop is a major undertaking; it is the most daunting task of the season.

The dust and cobwebs have to be swept, the nest boxes washed and the pine shavings removed. It’s a lot like cleaning out a giant litter box.

It is no fun but has to be done to keep the chickadees healthy and happy. Not to mention making my visits with Sammy more enjoyable.

Now that it is finished I can move on to cleaning the barn. The sheep, alpacas and llamas all still need their pedicures and a couple of the boys need to have their “procedure.” Then we’ll be ready for the long winter’s nap. After we get more hay… oh and we need to drag out the tank heaters…

I keep working but my to-do list isn’t getting any shorter.

Pretty Paisley

She is a wallflower, quiet, unassuming and shy. Paisley most often stands back and lets Popcorn steal the show. It doesn’t bother her though because deep down she knows SHE is the pretty one.

You may not realize it but under those brown tips she has the  most beautiful grey fleece.

Blond Popcorn may have more fun, but Paisley knows it’s what is on the inside that counts.

“Yeah right,” she says. “I’m still not feelin’ the love. Popcorn has a fan page on facebook for crying out loud.”

“Oh she does not!” I replied.

“That’s what she said.”

“Well no, she’s too young. I won’t allow it.  Here, would you like a cookie?”

“Oh sure, now you’re going to make me fat.”

“I can’t win here can I?”

Farmland Border Patrol Officers

It looks like they’re just standing around, but they take their jobs very seriously.

Yesterday for instance, Thelma noticed that Tula, Paisley and Popcorn were on the same side of the fence as she was. “Uh, Louise. I think we got some illegals,” she said.

“One, two, three, four…Hey, Thelma you’re right we do have more of those little fur balls,” replied Louise.

“Quick we need to determine their intentions,” said Thelma.

“Hey, hey you!” “Stop, I need to see your passport,” shouted Louise.

“Halt, we need to do a sniff search of your bodies,” announced Thelma.

“Run, run for your lives!” shouted Tula, leaving Paisley and Popcorn in her dust.

“Great, you lost them,” Louise said accusingly.

“What do you mean, I lost them? Are you not part of this team?”

“I’m just sayin’, look at the length of your legs and then look at theirs.”

“Oh, that’s how it’s going to be, huh? Fine, you handle it. I’m going to go roll in the fresh stall bedding.”

And Then The Fat Lady Sang

It’s over. For the past several months I’ve not known for sure if I was coming or going or if it was 2011 or 1861. I love doing it, but for a homebody like me it has been more than a little over-stimulating. I feel like I could crawl in bed and sleep for a couple of weeks.

I couldn’t have done it without the help of my wonderful family who did a great job of holding down the fort around here along with some good friends.

Peggy joined us at Billie Creek Village Friday to demonstrate quilting. It looks like she’s hard at it doesn’t it?

In reality we only demonstrated when we had visitors. The rest of the time we were huddled up next to the fire, toasting our buns like Karen here. That old house is cold in the morning!

Of course, I have to thank the star of the show as well. Popcorn is now famous in certain circles. Every time we walked to the village for lunch we had visitors calling me Mary and wanting to photograph us in front of the schoolhouse. I had more offers to buy her than I can remember. Of course, I turned them all down. Although… Popcorn did seem really interested in the one lady who asked her if she wanted to go live with some cats. It became rather apparent during the festival that Popcorn doesn’t really understand that she is a lamb; she thinks she is a designer dog.

A good time was had by all, but it sure is good to be home. The barn and coop need cleaning, hooves need trimming and errands need to be run.

All is right in my world again.

Spinning Yarns

I love volunteering at Billie Creek Village. I only wish I could do it full-time, year-round. The village is currently for sale though and it is anyone’s guess if it will even re-open next year so I’m trying to make the most of the last hurrah the Covered Bridge Festival brings.

I learned quickly last year to sit down as much as possible. There is such a flurry of activity that you don’t realize how exhausted you really are until you drive home. Since Friday I’ve spun six skeins of yarn and have two more bobbins full of singles. I don’t think that’s too bad given all the interruptions.

I love how the spinning wheel has the power to mesmerize people. Most people really are drawn to it like bugs to a zapper. The men tend to look at the wheel and the mechanics of it, the women look at the yarn. Not that I’m being all stereotypical or anything, it just seems that’s how the different brains work. Interesting.

Even the bus loads of school children this year have been engaged. I’ve not wanted to shoot a single child so far.  (Hey, no judging, you have NO idea.)  There are, however, children all across Central Indiana right now with wads of raw wool in their pockets. Their mother’s will be thrilled when they find that in the wash, tee hee!  Some of them have actually shown some serious interest in learning the craft. I feel like a spider spinning a web to catch unsuspecting victims. Mwah, ha, ha…

I also managed to fix up the old Kromski Symphony wheel that belongs to the village and start using it. It had seen better days, as in it was rusted so much it wouldn’t spin. (Now I can bring my cherry Matchless home and e-mail Schacht and prove to them the whirl they sent me is absolutely NOT cherry.)

It has been a great, productive festival so far. Today it is freezing cold and poring down rain though. I’ll be staying home since the wagon rides that bring the visitors to me at the farmhouse won’t be running. As much as I’d like the day off to rest, believe it or not I’d rather be there in front of the fire in my costume spinning yarn and sipping cider. Even if nobody else ever showed up.