So...Funny Story...

I've been enjoying baby Big Moose's picture in the 2020 Lamb Camp calendar this month.  Look at those big eyes and big ears!  He was such a handsome and silly lambie.  Still is  :-).  I'd like to say that's all the fun December Lamb Camp Calendar news...but it's not.  

I ran out of 2021 Lamb Camp calendars a week or so ago.  No worries, I just ordered some more from my maybe too local printer.  He brought home a fresh stack and I promptly sent them out to fill the waiting orders...and on Saturday afternoon noticed that he'd re-printed 2020 calendars.  

I think I've emailed everyone who may be panicking about having to go through 2020 all over again, but just to be safe, I'm posting it here as well.  Double check that you received the correct Lamb Camp calendar and let me know if you didn't.  The cobbler's kids...

While you are checking your orders, please make sure you received everything you wanted.  I ended up with an extra drawstring bag and possibly an extra felted wool pin when I tidied up the shipping area.  Hopefully I just miscounted, but at this point I'd say anything is possible.  Sigh...

Meanwhile Back At The Wool House

20 has taken over shipping out orders because he says I'm disorganized and make too many mistakes.  Fine by me! The house is pretty disorganized as well...just sayin', 20 ;-).

20 has a stack of packages for me to take to the post office this afternoon and we are hoping to be completely caught up by tomorrow except for a couple of special orders.  Hay feeding season started two nights ago and it's amazingly comforting to know that the farm calendar sales will cover that bill and at least part of the straw bill.  

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Thank you all so much!!! 

A Wool(ish) House

I found a super sweet bird nest the other day.  It had blown down during a wind storm.  I love all bird nests, but this one is extra special because of all the wool in it. Buddy and/or Woolliam, Petunia and/or Daniel and Chocula, Salt and/or Hank and probably some others as well.  Here's a quick tour:

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Thank you for all the calendar orders! I hope you know how much that is appreciated.  They are still "at the printers" waiting to be assembled, but luckily Tim's been busy this month.  That's appreciated as well ;-).

Some neighborhood news - there appears to be another stray cat hanging around.  Both my neighbor and I have been blaming the sightings on each other's calico cats and two days ago I broke up a fight next door in which "Betsy" took off running towards our farm...but then I found the real Betsy asleep in the house.  "Betsy's Stunt Double" was spotted between the two farms again last night.

Four bossy calico cats in one area is probably going to make for a long winter.  Why couldn't it have been a sweet orange kitty :-(.  Sigh...

It's Okay To Be A Fossil

I spent part of yesterday learning (a little about) using Zoom.  Luckily the friend I was talking to video chatting with is one of my very favorite people to talk to and while I've never seen her be anything but smiley and cheerful, I know she understood when I got sad and gloomy and it was okay.  Yeesh, what a weird year...

Still, it was pretty nice talking face to face.  And even though it would have been better if we'd been sitting together in one of our messy kitchens or out in our sheep barns, I can see how this technology stuff can (sometimes) be helpful and fun.  I'm hoping I can learn to use it to "open" the Wool House to "visitors".

Meanwhile back at the "calendar store", I am going to hold fast to my old fashioned way of ordering something from the farm shop.  Yeah, there are several other ways I could sell online and look more professional and probably even get my shipping labels printed for me and everything put on a spreadsheet...or whatever...but if all you have to do is click a "buy it now" button then I wouldn't get to hear how you, too, found some joy looking back or who your favorite sheep is or how much you too still miss Hank or what your favorite story was or how much you enjoy the puzzles...

So...

Here's a new puzzle :-).

"Keep the cards and letters coming."  I'll be returning emails today.  I was mired yesterday and wasn't that fun to talk to.

There are several emails I'm going to run through a spam check because I've gotten so many orders for Maisie Orneries that I'm suspicious she's been up to something ;-D

Tim is working to get the calendars put together so they can hopefully start being mailed on Monday...if I can once I figure out the shipping stuff!

I have some fun pictures to post this morning that I took while sitting in the wash room typing this out because it was too chilly to sit out on the porch and work...but the door was open the whole time so it's really not any warmer in here and I missed the sunrise.  One of these days I'll get it all together...maybe.

Good morning!  

The sunset last night.

The 2021 Calendars

From the back cover...

"As most of you know, I really struggled with creating the farm calendar this year.  2020 was a year of incredible loss on and off the farm and I've heard so many folks talking about how much they are looking forward to welcoming the new year and putting the old year behind them. I can't help but agree...and yet, in having to look back through all the photos I took throughout this strange, sad year, I actually found so very much to be grateful for. I hope I’m not alone in that.

So, once again, Miss Tilly is still keeping our feet warm, but now Kate is mostly just trying to keep herself in line.  Salt has taken on as many of Hank's duties as she can and hearing her deep ba-roo makes me smile.  Betsy is still on house arrest for not only the menacing of birds, but now also sweet little Possum out in the barn. Every so often I catch a glimpse of orange out of the corner of my eye and can't help but hope that Comby is napping in the sun somewhere nearby. 

As always, a very special thanks to Saint Tim for doing all the hard work and heavy lifting and a grateful thank you to all of you who have become such an important part of our farm family.  You were spot on in voting to give everyone a Victory Lap.  I hope you enjoy welcoming the new year with this calendar."

The Victory Lap was hard...but it was the right thing to do...if for no other reason than to force me to go back and look at pictures from when the year was new and some of my oldest and dearest friends were still pretty young at heart.

I like the new format.  The calendar is a bit larger, but not outrageously so.  It was a bit more expensive to print, but luckily I "know a guy" ;-).  The shipping will be a bit more too, but hopefully not outrageously so.  

The big pictures are a little bigger...but so are the little pictures and I like that.

There are more columns (7 days) the rows (weeks) which left a gap at the bottom, so I filled that in with a little something, sometimes a story, sometimes just some thoughts.  I like that, too.  The calendar feels maybe a bit too personal at times, but as the only place it will be for sale is here with us, not at a random crowd festival, I think that's okay.

Of course there's Hank...

...and Early and his adopted moms and dads.

...and Comby with some of his oldest and dearest friends.

The Lamb Camp calendars are comfortingly the same.  Lots of cute lambs and good mommas...

...and Early doing what I hope we all remember most about him.

The Lamb Camp calendars are still $10.00.  The Equinox Farm calendars are $16.50.  The shipping, which has become the bane of my existence these last few days, is where it gets a bit messy.  

For the past couple of years I was able to use the USPS flat rate envelopes no matter where in the country I was shipping. The new calendar doesn't fit in those envelopes.  This could be good news if you are close by because it may actually be cheaper shipping to you now.   If you live in California, the shipping could cost around $15.00...if I'm understanding everything correctly.

To make this even more exciting, I'm going to try to do all the shipping from home this year rather than stand in line at the crowded post office every day.  Also, I realize that UPS or FedEx might possibly be cheaper...but I don't have those options in my small town.  Thank goodness for the USPS.

While especially in this year of no fiber festivals, these calendar sales are going to be an important fund raiser for the farm, I also know that the farm calendar is important to many people who look forward to turning the page on each month.  

2020 was hard on everyone.  I'm sorry the costs have gone up.  If you are not in a position to pay for a more expensive calendar this year, send what you can.  It will all work out somehow and 2021 will be better if we all have Hank, Salt, Tilly, Kate, Comby and Possum at our back.  Maybe not Betsy so much ;-).

As always, if you are interested in buying a calendar or anything else from the farm shop (except for the felted pumpkins that I just can't seem to get made this year :-o) just drop me an email and tell me what you would like to order.  Don't forget to include your address.  I'll send everything out from my "on farm postal desk" (:-o) and include an invoice and return envelope and you can drop a check back in the mail.

What The What?!?

 

I'm still working on the 2021 calendar, but there will be a calendar.  It's been tough going back through all the pictures.  I'm still skimming through the Early pictures and I have not watched any of his videos, but someday I will.  Hank and Comby have been hard as well, but I'll admit it was nice to see some pictures from before their last months.  So Velveteen Rabbit-ish.

Along with the struggle to pick out the pictures, there is also the deciding who gets in and who doesn't.  There are only 12 months. Do I put Hank in, but leave Salt out?  Lancelot, but no Frankie?  Eli's used to playing second fiddle to Comby each year and Betsy's on our last nerves right now for her terrorizing Possum, so it's not too hard to leave her out as well ;-).

I was searching for a good picture of Hank and Salt together when I stumbled on this gem.  "This one is cute.  Hank is still looking pretty good.  Wish the barn lights weren't doing whatever it's called with they do what they are doing with the green dots.  Too bad it's from the old cell phone and not very sharp.  Hey...wait a minute...they left Maisie in charge???" 

Priceless :-D

A Couple Of Calendar Questions

 

I'm (finally) working on the 2021 farm calendar. In past years I've chosen 12 of my favorite pictures from the previous 12 months.  This year has been a tough scroll back.  Lots of the top billed calendar stars are not heading into the new year with us.  I can't imagine making a calendar without Comby or Hank or the Titans...but it's hard to make one with them.

Do you want to see them one last year?  Would that be too sad and you'd rather not?

If I use photos I took for Instagram posts, there are many more scenes to choose from.  To use those pictures though would make the calendars a little taller because the pictures were taken to fit a square format rather than rectangle.  

Is that going to make anyone twitchy?   

Wovember Memory

The prompt for today's Wovember Instagram post is "Memory".  I thought, oh, this will be easy and started scrolling back through the blog...and scrolling...and scrolling...and couldn't pick a specific favorite memory and finally, after I'd long drained my coffee cup, just. picked. one.  

I chose Liddy playing on and falling off the wool bag when Miss B and I were skirting fleeces for the first batch of Lamb Camp yarn.  It's a great memory.  It's got everything - cute lamb, lots of wool, funny story, friends, good photos...  Done.  Checked the Day 25 box.  Headed out to do morning chores.

.

.

.

And then I remembered that I almost anti-memoried that today is Maisie's birthday!  She's SEVEN years old.  Seven seems wrong.  Like surely she's been here for longer than seven years.  She's been here forever, hasn't she?  And yet, seven...was it really seven years ago that she rode home on my lap and started sleeping on our couch?

That in itself is a good memory.  Her whole childhood was a....well...it was memorable, eh?  Here's a bonus memory for today.  In fact, I don't think this story ever made the blog, so it's a new one for almost everyone...although it's one of my favorites.  It's about Maisie's name.

Maisie came from The Training Center, now known as Tring Farm.  Vergil and Annemarie Holland are two of my favorite sheep and dog mentors.  Vergil is sadly no longer with us, but he's still mentoring, as just yesterday I was able to share something he'd told me about flock dogs years ago.

You'll have to read back through the archives if you don't know Maisie's story about how if she wasn't so tough and ornery she would probably have never lived through her lambhood.  It took a village to keep her alive and I stayed in close contact with Vergil and Annemarie.  

It took a couple of days to decide on a name for her.  I wanted to call her Poppet.  Saint Tim picked Maisie.  We went with Maisie.  When Vergil heard that Maisie wasn't my choice, he said "It's your lamb.  You should call her whatever you want!"  I said "Well, Tim pays all the vet bills."  Without missing a beat he said, "Helluva name!"  Seven years later and that still makes me laugh.  

Seven years later and Tim no longer has to pay all the vet bills...but he still comes up with all the best names.  Maisie did end up being the best choice.  Crazy Poppet just doesn't have quite the same ring ;-D.  

Thank you for all of the calendar and Christmas orders!  Thank you for being part of the village. Your support means more than you'll ever know.

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Looks like Maisie is taking the first shift so Hank can sleep for awhile. Good night 😴. #livestockguardiandog #guardiansheep

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Happy Birthday Crazy Maisie!

Well, What Do You Know...

I mentioned that now that the folk art winter/holiday farm scene Christmas painting series is "complete" that I wanted to try something new for the upcoming year.  I love watercolor paintings, so that is definitely on the list.  

I went online looking for some painting tutorials.  You can learn to do most anything on YouTube, including how to operate a skid steer...but that's a story for another day ;-).  For now I'd love to be able to learn to paint watercolor pictures of our sheep.

There are millions of painting videos out there.  There are even several specifically for painting sheep.  How about that?  There is even one teaching how to paint a specific sheep.  What?  And that specific sheep?  Does this big brown sheep look familiar?

Well, hello there, Count Chocula!

While I wish the artist had asked for permission to use my pictures and kindly given a photo credit, we've been in contact and she's working on correcting that.  In the meantime, if I want to learn how to paint one of our sheep, it's pretty hard to beat a video of someone actually painting one of our sheep!

I'm always happy for blog readers to use my photographs as screen savers, inspiration, educational purposes...  Obviously if someone wants to use a picture for commercial purposes, that is a different story.  I'm easy to work with though, just ask :-).

Actually, speaking of commercial purposes, there are 4 Lamb Camp calendars and 9 farm calendars left...if anyone is still needing a 2019 calendar.  Sale price of $7.50 and $9.50 sound okay?

The Week In Review...Because It's Been A Busy One

Don't get excited.  There wasn't any knitting.  I had great hopes for posting with the monthly Yarn Along on Wednesday and even took some pictures of my current (sadly idle) project.......  Maybe today.

So, let's see...

The 2018 Christmas card is finished and printed.  Not stuffed and mailed, but they are painted, printed and in hand.  Whew!!!  I'll post a puzzle version this weekend for anyone who'd like a sneak peak and I'll also have some at the Wool House tomorrow.  Not for sale until next year, but if you come out to the farm (open this Saturday from 1:00-4:30), I'll give you one :-).  

If you didn't follow along with the Wovember Instagram photo challenge by daughterofashepherd last month, I encourage you to go check it out. There were so many interesting prompts and excellent posts from all over the world.  What a fun way to really focus on sheep and wool.  One of my posts was selected for the top ten!  :-D

The sold out calendars are back in stock.  Tim brought home some more Lamb Camp calendars last night, so everything still here on hold will ship out today.  Thank you so much for your patience...and all the orders.  Your support, on all levels, really means so much.

There are still three 2018 Equinox Farm fleeces left (Baaxter, Liddy and B. Willard) and several Tring Farm fleeces (lovely Maybelline and a few other white, grays and blacks), in case anyone is looking for a fun winter project.  Rebecca Boone was so dirty and greasy I offered to wash her fleece before shipping, so that was my fun project for yesterday.  Look at that shine!  Some is from the grease, some just because it's fun, shiny Cotswold.

I divided her into two parts so there'd be plenty of room in the washer to loosen up all the dirt.  Before washing on the left.  Washed on the right.

Washing wool in the winter is like an all day spa treatment.  The room gets warmer and steamier as the day progresses and it smells like heaven, not "smelly animal fur".  If you aren't aware of the Duluth "issue", here is one article that addresses it.  Clara Parkes always says it best.  

All washed and set out to dry.

Isn't she pretty?

So back to the picture of the yarn and project at the top.  That's Rebecca Boone!  I spun that yarn several years ago and had never found the perfect project for it.  Isabell Kraemer's Indigo Frost capelet keeps showing up in my favorites and it (finally) dawned on me that the design shape looks just like Rebecca Boone's cool dreadlocks...and if I dyed some of the yarn, I could match her colors in the color patterning.  So I did!  

I overdyed her light gray to get a darker gray like her nose and legs and a reddish/brown to match her sunbleached locks.  I then spun some Woolliam for her white nose.  I wasn't thinking and didn't wash her yarn before I put it in the dye pot and the remaining fabric softener made the dye take up unevenly and I love the effect.  

I'm ready to start the colorwork section and I can't wait.  Maybe today!

[Sheep] Business Saturday

Because shopping with Maisie is way more

...um...interesting than going to the mall!

We are developing an exciting new program here in the commonwealth (Kentucky is a commonwealth, not a state), The Kentucky Fiber Trail.  Kentucky is already well known for it's Bluegrass Trail (horse farms) and Bourbon Trail.  Now you can discover fiber farms throughout the state as well.  

Okay, let's give this a try!  Our farm shop (and barnyard) will be open this Saturday from 1:00-4:30 for Small Business Saturday.  We'll call it Sheep Business Saturday :-D.  

We'll have calendars, fleeces, roving, spindle kits, Christmas cards and ornaments, wool sheep pins, a few wool wreaths, maybe some felted sheep and for fun, let's make Maisie Orneries!  I'll have a basket of "Ornery"  supplies set out and teach you how to make your own wool roving wrapped ornament.  

So, come hide out on the farm with us this Saturday and take care of all your sheep and fiber-y gift giving needs.  We promise you won't be mobbed by fellow shoppers...unless you have cookies ;-).

If you need directions, please drop me an email.

The 2019 Calendars

How on earth can it be almost 2019?!?  I remember back in grade school being asked to figure out how old we'd be in 2000.  It was a legitimate math problem!  Boy, 2000 seemed so far away.  2000 stills seems so far away...but in the other direction :-o. When I added the page for the upcoming 2020 year...I don't know...that was a shock.

If you are crabby about the cold and snow, you can have a laugh being crabby with Baaxter...who really doesn't mind the cold...he just likes looking crabby ;-).

As always, lots of little pictures.

And dear old friends.

Large and small.

The Lamb Camp calendars have...lots of lambs :-).

Favorite lambs.

Bewildered lambs.

Chocolate lambs.

And angelic lambs :-).

Hopefully there are still a few folks out there who haven't already bought a 2019 calendar.  Sorry to be slow getting these posted.  I appreciate the kind folks who have emailed asking about them and we surely appreciate the support.  Each calendar pays for two bales of hay for the winter...and the sheep surely appreciate that!  Saint Tim's back...maybe not so much ;-).

Prices are still $12.50 for the farm calendar and $10 for the Lamb Camp calendar.  If you'd like to purchase, please shoot me an email and tell me what you'd like to order and where you'd like it shipped.  Looks like postage is going to run around $7.25 for a flat rate padded mailer.  

If you are local, or somewhat local, (or looking for a fun road trip :-) and are interested in coming out to the farm to do some holiday shopping, we are hosting a Small Business Saturday event...this Saturday...from 1:00 to 4:30.  I'll share more about that tomorrow.

Guess What!

It's time for the Kentucky Wool Festival.  This weekend.  Like starting tomorrow.  How on earth did that happen?!?  

What a year...

We're there.  We are set up.  The booth is jam packed with beautiful raw fleeces and pretty roving, a few colorful wool pumpkins, the 2019 Farm and Lamb Camp calendars, some Christmas ornaments, tote bags, Mug Shot mugs...and a fun new addition just outside the big tent.

Last year, for fun, we did the My Favorite Sheep Is... contest.  That was hilarious, so we are doing it again.  Since I didn't get any tech-y-er (see, I can't even spell the word) since last year, we are going to run it exactly the same way as last year.  Here are the instructions for how to play :-).

Come on out and enjoy the festival and please stop by the Punkin's Patch/Equinox Farm booth and say "Hi!" and vote for Maisie your favorite sheep.  You'll get a free prize!

You Think You're Funny?

"You just wait."

I think Maisie was actually happy to take the blame for a natural disaster.  She's got an image to maintain you know!

In the middle of the "natural disaster" I almost forgot to do the farm-iversary drawing.  Random.org picked Michelle  :-D.  As soon as the calendars are printed, I'll get one sent out.  

Speaking of the "natural disaster", thanks to Stanley Steemer and Auntie Monica, the Wool House has dried out and we are close to putting the carpet back down.  It could have been much, much worse. 

Now to deal with the barn.  The friend rebuilding our skid steer has "run out of parts", so it's apparently ready to be picked up ;-).  

It's That Time Of Year Again

Time to figure out which picture of Comby sleeping is going to make the calendar this year ;-).

Not A Creature Was Stirring...Except For Saint Tim

Nobody naps like B. Willard :-).

Luckily it was a beautiful, warm sunny day today.  Saint Tim had to replace the ancient waterer in the side field.  Even if it had been cold and windy he'd have had to because a [something or other] had rusted all the way through and was leaking a good bit and we couldn't shut it off because of the heating element.  

This is why I always sign off on the back of the farm calendars with "As always, a very special thanks to Saint Tim, for doing all the hard work."

Come to think of it, B. Willard is Mr. February in the calendar this year...and guess what, he's laying down ;-).