The Year Of The Horse - Part Two

Remember this project?  They're finally finished!  Tim had Claire at Clever with Leather make me a pair of custom chaps :-).

While I picked my colors mostly as a tribute to Handy, the big red horse of my heart, there's a bit more to it.

The main color matches Handy.  The fringe has white mixed in just like his gorgeous tail.

The weaving worked perfectly!

The silver western style buckle is in memory of Aria.

The brown piping is for Hickory.

I love them.

And the chaps, too ;-).

The Year Of The Horse - Part One

While every year as long as I can remember has been "the year of the horse", this year I have something really neat in the works to celebrate some of the horses who have made those years so special. 

I've had several really nice horses.  Horses that taught me so very, very much.  Horses that opened doors for me and took me places I never dreamed I'd go.  I have very little left but memories.  I didn't even own a camera back then.  What I wouldn't give for some pictures of pretty Aria as a young mare.

I remember quickly cutting these locks from Handy's tail as the backhoe lumbered up the driveway that awful morning last year, but I don't remember specifically cutting the different colors.  Maybe I did.  I don't remember cutting that chunk of mane either, but there it is.  And that's all we're going to say about that. 

Several years ago I found a chunk of Handy's tail out in the "pond field".  He was never out there and even if he had been, there was nothing out there that would have snagged his tail and cut it like a knife.  I think he must have caught it on a fence nail and a bird picked it up and tried to carry it away to build a nest.  I saved it.

Tim gave me something for Christmas that including a flat piece of hitched tail hair would be icing on the cake.  I don't know anyone who hitches and didn't want to risk sending Handy's hair off to a stranger so I decided to see if it could be woven.  I did a tiny sample using some of Hickory's tail and felt encouraged enough to give it a try.  I used that tangled bird nest hair...just in case.

Because there was no way I was ever going to be able to separate out each individual hair, I decided to cut it into manageable lengths and work from there.  At first I pulled out random groups of 15 hairs and let the colors fall wherever they ended up.  As I worked further, I decided to try and manipulate it into a pattern. 

I used a simple straight twill threading and the stair stepped picks look remarkably similar to hitched hair.  The strong linen warp I used was slick, so I added a little beeswax to each strand to help it all grab better (not sure if that's going to help or not, but figured it couldn't hurt).  I threw in some sections of wool too because everything's better with wool ;-). 

The white wool is Punkin and the red/brown is some Keebler dyed with walnuts.  Wait!  That's actually Buddy :-D.  See, blogging really does help you remember...or reminds you when you forget ;-).  When I looked for the walnut post to link, there it was - it's Buddy :-). 

And as I was weaving I glanced out the window and saw a snow heart in one of my favorite trees.

Here's a hint for Part Two - coming soon!

And here's a great thing to do with scrap horse hair (and yarn, thread, wool, dog hair...).  Maybe there will be a bird out there this spring who'll be saying "Remember when grandma talked about that big chunk of horse hair that was so big she couldn't carry it home?"

Spring will be here before we know it and I'm going to be looking forward to riding!

Hooking Handy

In the old days, "Hooking Handy" would have referred to hooking up Handy for a carriage drive. These days Handy is happy to be hanging out in the field with his buddy Hickory, letting someone else take over the hooking. Rug hooking.



I have a couple kind artists willing to test hook my first patterns. I'm hoping for some feedback on the designs, ease of use, if I drew them out and enlarged them properly... I'm also dying to see what they look like finished :-D.



I like the idea of sticking with simple farm inspired designs. Like Handy, for example, walking past as I'm taking pictures of his rug pattern. Not that Aria could ever be replaced around here, but in a hooked rug, she could be easily changed into Hickory. I don't think it would be hard to customize any of the designs.



And, of note, the sun came out! I don't really mind dreary days, but after so many sloppy days of flooding rains...



The sheep (and Hank - do you see him?) were thrilled as well.

The cats haven't noticed yet...all tucked away in the condo.

The Three Amigos

I've had several questions about how the other horses are handling their loss of Aria.



They waited with her that evening until we got home. Once we got over to her, they all, side by side, walked down the hill towards the creek. Gato stopped and turned back to look at me. He might have just been wondering if I was going to bring out some cookies, but in my heart I think he knew something was wrong and was concerned. I was obviously upset. He's that kind of horse.

Aria was the queen of the field. If you wanted to catch all the horses, all you had to do was catch Aria. Those boys would follow her to the ends of the earth. They weren't always nice to her, but each was sure he couldn't live without her. She preferred to be with them as well...not that she didn't enjoy a day off here and there ;-).

Now there is no one to fight over, no one to boss around. I keep finding them gathered around the automatic waterer. In this heat, my first thought is always "something's wrong with the water" and I run out to check. They are just standing there sloshing the water around. I think they don't have anything better to do anymore. And they are inseparable.



We got a little rain yesterday late afternoon. Even though there are plenty of folks out there way hotter and a whole lot dryer, I still breathed a big sigh of relief and sat down on the porch (with the ever present, loveable Betsy on my lap :-) to watch.



I grabbed the camera in hopes of getting some cool shots of water droplets bouncing on the railing, but it didn't rain quite long enough.



But I enjoyed every drop.

Now That Is Some Good Help

Thank you for all the kind words, thoughts, prayers and hugs. Aria was a nice mare. One of the good ones. I'd seen her out grazing just a couple hours before. We went to dinner, came home and she was gone. While I'd liked to have said goodbye, I'm relieved it was fast and it didn't appear that she'd suffered. She knew how I felt about her. She was buried on the farm.

Moving on from sad to creepy, it looks like I have some good help in the wool house. This small house spider has caught a moth for me. Luckily it's just a common 'fly to the light while you're burning the midnight oil trying to finish up the Tour de Fleece' moth and not a wool moth, but I figure it's good training nonetheless ;-). She and her sisters can stay.



I tend to leave spiders alone anyway. Every now and then I make a mad sweep through the house if company's coming, but for the most part, if something's not bothering me, I leave it be. Beside, with such a rich history of spinning and weaving, I figure I can use all the help and inspiration I can get.

I looked to see if there was a good link telling the story of Spider Woman (not the comic book version ;-) and found too many to list. I encourage you to look them up. I did find one interesting tidbit to share. In case you have trouble remembering which way to turn your spindle...

Spider Man, Spider Woman and Weaving (Wikipedia)

Near Tó Ałnáosdlį́į́, Crossing of the Waters, lived Spider Man and Spider Woman. They knew how to weave the fibers of cotton and hemp and other plants. First Woman asked Spider Man and Spider Woman to teach people how to weave the fibers of plants so they would not have to depend on animal skins for clothing.[6] Cotton seeds were planted, and the cotton was gathered. Spider Man taught the people to shape a little wheel, 3 or 4 inches in diameter, and put a slender stick through it to spin the cotton. First Woman said, "You must spin towards your person, not away, as you wish to have the beautiful goods come to you. If you spin away from you, the goods will depart from you."

Aria Swift Ella

1982 or 83 - July 24, 2011

A Little Off The Top...

...and the sides and the back and the butt and belly and the neck and the face and the legs and even the ears.



Miss Aria



And her hair.

At 28 or 29 years old, Aria's grown an incredible winter coat the last couple of years. And while it does eventually shed out, it doesn't do so fast enough to suit either of us. Out come the clippers.

The first clip of the year takes pretty much all morning. Even running the big clippers, that's a lot of hair. Sweaty, dirty hair. It's a good thing Don and Bill are going to offer blade sharpening in between sheep shearing demos at the festival this spring.



The first order of business after a big haircut?



A big roll.



It's got to feel good to get all that prickly hair off your back.





I could have gotten all those high and tight spots if she'd have lain down like a sheep. She's a good girl, but not that good ;-).



After a big hair cut and a big roll, a big shake is in order. I'm pretty sure if you shake hard enough that one of your legs comes off the ground, that a good one.



Horses make a funny sound as they finish shaking. Hard to describe and I wasn't quick enough with the video camera. It's a happy sound.



And then you get a big snack. Even though when the phone rang, you darted out the barn door into the yard for a pre-big snack, snack.

I love when the trees are just starting to leaf out. So pretty.

And so are you Miss Aria.

Macro Monday

Zero degrees Saturday morning. Everything was frosty.



Aria.

For more Macro Mondays...

I'll Take What I Can Get

A pretty (sorta' snowy) sunrise this morning.



I can't believe how fast the sun rises once it breaks the horizon.



Wait for it. Wait for it. And then Whoosh!



I moved the horses into the front field while I was sick so I didn't have to tromp all the way up to the top shed to throw out hay twice a day. I love having the sheep or horses right outside the door.



Aria apparently has plenty of insulation.



Handsome Handy.

Aging Gracefully

I was bringing T-Bone out of the middle paddock the other morning - the four horses had all been back in the run in shed. As we walked down to the gate heading for the front field and barn lots, I heard fast moving, thundering hoof beats coming up behind me. Miss Aria. I could almost hear her yelling "LET. ME. THE. HECK. OUT. OF. HERE!!!"

At 28, very arthritic, having some trouble breathing in the high heat and humidity, if she was making that much effort to get back to the front field (most likely away from the boys with whom she maintains a love-hate relationship) I figured she deserved to get out. I let her through the gate.



She happily claimed her very own stall at the barn - no boys allowed - and settled right in.



Over the last several days she's started hanging out with Esther. I think mostly because Esther gets extra cookies and hay, but I've noticed she's very, very careful around her, treating her much as she would a foal.



Hank takes good care of everyone. Whenever the sheep separate out into two groups - in this case Esther up on the hill and the rest out grazing - he sits in between where he can keep an eye on everybody.

Maybe a little closer to his little old ladies.

Sunday Not Stills

It's been a long week and I wasn't sure I could come up with something original enough for this week's Sunday Stills "Landscapes" assignment. Landscapes, no. Lawn ornaments, yes.



At least every now and then they do something entertaining. Here everyone is worried about something up the road. T-Bone - you gotta love him - fearlessly mugging for the camera.



"Run away!"



"Follow Aria - she'll save us!"

Of course they spend the rest of the time picking on her. Boys.



Swinging back around.



And around. She's stepping out pretty good for an old lady and looking good for 28.



Down across the creek...



Showing some nice form there, T-Bone!



Well, until the landing...on all four feet at one time. Ouch!





And moving on to greener pastures.

That's the purpose for the black muzzles on the three boys. Too much lush, green grass. The muzzles limit (there is a hole in the bottom which slows them down) their grazing to a safe level so they don't over eat in the spring, founder and suffer a horrible death.

They make these in all sizes, including for miniature horses. I'm seriously thinking about trying one on Buddy and Woolliam. They are so fat I'm worried they might founder. Green grass is pretty, but...

Anyone out there with horribly fat sheep? Any suggestions?