We Haven't Had A Good Hank Post In Awhile

As I was sorting through the 'sheep in the snow pictures' I took this morning, I found a couple of Hank and had to think back to the last good Hank picture I've taken.  He's like an anti-virus program for the computer, seamlessly running in the background, keeping all your files (and sheep) safe from harm.  

I took one picture with him looking at the camera, but he was making a funny and not ferocious face and he wouldn't want that posted online ;-).  Before I could take another, he went back on duty looking out towards the ponds where I think the fox has been hunting lately.  

So Hank gets his own post today.  There will be sheep pictures tomorrow.  If you'd like to see a short video walking through the flock while they ate breakfast this morning, it's posted on my "Stories" on Instagram and will stay there until about 9:00 Saturday morning.  

I missed the "save it" option and I can't figure out how to share it anywhere else.  Also, I think it's only going to show up on your phone/tablet maybe.  I just tried to find it on my desktop version and I don't see it.  Why is this stuff so complicated...

Rebecca Boone is doing much better.  She felt well enough to eat some Cheerios this morning! :-D

Two Birds...

I posted five pictures to Instagram and tried to just embed the post here, but I don't think all the pictures were going to come through so I've copied and pasted it over here mostly to let you know Rebecca Boone is still fighting and maybe showing a little improvement and also a little Liddy to make you smile ;-).

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First an update on Rebecca Boone- she’s still fighting and maybe a little better this morning. Thank you for all the prayers and concern. I love how we take care of each other. It matters. ️
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If I’d read forward on the Fiberuary list I would have held off on my pictures from the other day because I actually nailed several challenges that day . So I’m not just sharing the same pictures for days, I’m going to combine a few challenges with this post, which also gives me a little more room to keep my focus on sheep care. .

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Days 4, 5, 6 and 7 - Close Up, WIP, Outside, Technique. .

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The close up of my work in progress that I was knitting outside looks complicated, but it’s not!  Only one color per row and the patterning comes from a simple slipped stitches technique . .

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I included a picture of Liddy because... Liddy . The two Moose thugs pillaging my knitting bag while I was rescuing the short dog who was on the wrong side of the gate. And the muddy hoof print at the top of the super close up . Oh, and that’s Woody, the king of close ups .
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#fiberuary #fiberuarychallenge #agatecovehat #farmyarn #lambcamplegacy #lambcamplegacyyarn #knittersofinstagram #barnyardknits

Top Nine 2019

It's the time of the year to join the "Top Nine"...whatever you call it...thingy...where you "click the button" (my brain is mush) and it searches through your year of Instagram photos and assembles a collage of your nine most popular photos.  Mine is pretty cute this year :-).  

Two from Wovember, one of silly Mini Moose and the rest from Lamb Camp at Final Frontier and Tring Farms.  I kind of thought Frankie would show up somewhere, but as we all know, it's hard to compete with babies ;-D.

The card is painted and printed and hopefully going in the mail this afternoon.  Whew!  It was a real struggle this year and I'm not really sure why.  Now that's it's done and I'm almost 48 hours away from it, I'm pretty happy with it.  It's cute and sweet and I think everyone will enjoy it.

Here's a funny story...Saint Tim's superpower is making me laugh when there seems to be nothing to laugh at.  After several super late nights struggling (unsuccessfully) to paint the card, I got up (still too tired) the other morning to find Eli's tree ("the stairway to heaven") had fallen down after the latest 3" deluge of rain.

The tree was very old.  There were only a couple branches left on it and they were barely, but bravely hanging on.  Eli used it to climb up to the porch roof (his "office").  I framed pictures of the back of the farm through it's lacy leaves.  Momma birds raised babies in the hollow trunk.  It was a good old friend.  

I stood there staring at it...turned and walked back inside...stood in the kitchen...didn't pour myself a cup of coffee...finally went to tell Tim...and then the tears spilled.  Tim's not as sentimentally attached to trees as I am, but it was Eli's tree and it was special because of that.  

He listened to the tree story, the unhappiness with the card painting, the "I wish I'd stopped after last year like I'd said I was going to"...and "clicked the button" in his brain and said, "You should just download the Loony Tunes font and plaster "That's All Folks!" across the front...and all I could see was Maisie pasted in where Porky Pig usually is, saying "Th-th-th-that's all folks!" :-D

That's (probably) not all folks, but it was just what I needed.  

Keep laughing!

And To All A Good Night!

This is the 15th year I've painted an Equinox Farm Christmas card.  We've been caroling and decorating, skating and sledding, sleigh riding, snowman building, snowball fighting, cookie baking, sweater knitting, card sending, eating Christmas dinner and even putting on a live nativity.  

As I was out of winter activity ideas for future cards, I decided 15 would be a good stopping point...and I wanted to do something different.  No light blue sky and bright white snow.  Nothing that couldn't actually be happening...except maybe that snowball fight ;-).

Once I got over feeling self-conscious about my goofy hillbilly voice and started actually enjoying doing live barn tours in the evenings on Instagram over the summer and fall, I knew what my card design for the final year would be.  

 

Here's where it gets a little crazy crazier.  Remember those adorable stamps with the sheep and horses last year?

Best. Christmas. Stamps. Ever.  

I knew the post office had some left over...I stewed on them all summer...and then bought enough for this year...and next year.  And then when I needed to add a little extra postage to two envelopes and the post office wouldn't sell me individual sheep stamps...and I saw there were only five books left in the drawer...I bought them all.

The moral of this story?  If something happens to me, would someone please remind Saint Tim that there is probably $200 worth of postage tucked away in the office (insert that cute/funny grimace face emoticon from my phone).  

Merry Christmas!

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!

Speaking Of Getting Tall!

I just noticed that my mulitiple picture Instagram posts are not getting auto posted to Twitter.  Looks like they are not hitting Facebook either.  Argh.  Here's one from last night that you'd probably like to see.  There are three pictures with this post.  Look for the arrows on the sides of the pictures to see them all.

I find Instagram to be very easy to follow and use and not at all creepy like some other social media venues.  I don't hesitate to suggest following along.  I post almost every morning and frequently throughout the day if something noteworthy is going on.  It's like a mini blog :-).

Saint Tim had to make the creep feeder opening taller for the teenagers. Biscuit thought he might like to help until the jigsaw started. Muffin was quite impressed with Tim's handiwork and Mrs. Pepperpot is wondering if maybe she might fit through now 🤔. #Biscuit #Muffin #MrsPepperpot #SaintTim #lambs #bottlelambs #growingup #creepfeeder #forgrain

A post shared by Sara Dunham (@thecrazysheeplady) on Aug 15, 2017 at 5:00pm PDT

Enjoy!

Another Winner

The moon doesn't have to be full for me to enjoy watching it "rise".  Last night's full moon though was a winner for sure.  Bright, bright orange and big.  It looks like Blogger has "optimized" my picture, but if you look really closely maybe you can still see a hint of the horses near the bottom. Sigh...

As the moon rose, a thick fog rolled in.  I couldn't capture a picture of that, but just imagine all the low areas on the farm filled with heavy white fog with the bright moon light reflecting off it.  Very beautiful.  It was still foggy this morning, so for anyone keeping score on Instagram, we are now officially at one snowfall this winter :-).

I use Random.org to pick my giveaway winners and have never really thought about keeping track of who wins.  Since the first draw, Windswept Farm, seems to have this random giveaway thing figured out, I just did a second draw to give the rest of you a chance ;-D.  Denny Gross is the second pick. Drop me an email with your mailing address and I'll get a new Punkin's Patch bag out to you as well :-).

We're Melting

What a summer. It just won't quit.

PPPP (Popcorn PeePee Pants)

Burrnie 

The little darlin'

Sweepin' on her widdle foot ;-).

Uh oh, she's listing.

And down she goes!

"I'm awake.  You wanna see me eat a watermelon?"

I'm not sure this is going to work.  In case it doesn't embed correctly, it was originally posted to my Instagram account and then to Facebook.  Here is a link that might work.

Now that's how you eat a watermelon! #Hershey #happysheep #notashappychicken #notsharing

A video posted by Sara Dunham (@thecrazysheeplady) on Sep 8, 2016 at 3:45pm PDT

Birds Of A Feather

I don't know how The Young Eagle story ended up.  I never found evidence of a Betsy ending, but he never came back to eat from my hand again.  I looked hard for a few days and even a week later if I heard a familiar cheep, I'd go running out the door...just in case.  

I've left the feeder in front of the Wool House porch and when I see little birds there eating, I just hope one is my little bird.  The dove down on the ground...maybe it's one of Woodstock's family. Woodstock was the first little bird I raised, years ago.

Speaking of silly birds, the little black and brown hen on the right is one of my favorites.  She's the second Sebright hen I've had that crows.  Yes, she's a hen.  She lays eggs, even sets, and she crows.  I caught her with my phone yesterday.  Hopefully this link will work.