Near the finish line

 

I've made good progress on my Tour de Fleece efforts, in spite of taking my two rest days at the very beginning of the race.  I've managed to put in a little time at the mini-spinner every day since and have spun 2 lbs. 7 oz. of singles, which I'm in the process of plying.  The Hansen Mini-spinner has a huge bobbin, which I love.  Combine the size of the bobbin with the Woolly Winder and you can really pack some fiber on there.  The first plied bobbin was 314 yards of worsted weight and I have enough singles spun to have about 1000 yards of two-ply yarn.  I'm now thinking I might like a cardigan, rather than a vest, and I'll most likely spin another bobbin full.  So, it looks as though I'll make it across the finish line.  I'm not sure I deserve a medal this year, even though I met my goal.  It doesn't feel like I've been dedicated enough, especially when I see the efforts and discipline this spinner and this one are putting into the race.

I certainly haven't broken any records this year,  but the best thing about the Tour de Fleece is that it gives me permission to take time for spinning every day, which I don't often do.  I tend to tell myself I need to finish the laundry, the ironing, the mowing or whatever before I can take time to do something I love (which is lame, I know) .   I'm going to try to improve on that attitude......that's a goal I really need to reach.

Lunch and a bun report

It's that time of year.......the zucchini avalanche has already started and the yellow squash is not far behind.  This morning on the way to the barn,  I cut through the garden and found 8 good sized squash that I swear were not there last night.  I love zucchini bread, but let's face it, if I bake enough zucchini bread to use up all the squash, I'll end up as big as the side of a barn.  So, as a proactive strike against that thought, this was my lunch today and it was so good, it will probably be lunch tomorrow and the day after.  ( I used the Alice Waters method: a little olive oil, plenty of salt and pepper and roasted it for about 40 minutes. )  At the moment, I'm feeling just a little proud of myself for resisting the urge to bake zucchini bread.  

 It's hot and very humid here.  The heat index was 109 yesterday.  I started filling the pool for the alpaca boys and they went right in before I could get more than a few inches of water in.  Kinda wish I had a bigger size just for me.

The bun is doing quite well.  She is still in the studio and I expect now that she will stay there for some time.  That was not my original intention, but it is mostly working out well to have her there because it's much, much cooler than in the barn and it gives me a chance to handle her and socialize with her often. I've hesitated to mention it, for fear I would jinx it,  but it's been more than 2 weeks now and she's been very consistent in using a litter box.  I noticed that she was urinating in just one corner of her cage, so the next trip to Tractor Supply, I bought a litter container made specifically for rabbit cages.  As soon as I put it in her cage,  she hopped right in and used it!  I'm so proud!  Not all the poop goes in there, but that is not such a big deal and hopefully she will get better with that.   I've been letting her out to run around freely for several periods each day and this morning I got a reminder of something I knew and had forgotten.  My new wireless printer is not working at the moment because Phoebe chewed on the cord.  Thankfully, she wasn't hurt.  Rabbits are notorious chewers.  Sometimes I get just a little tired of having lessons to learn  ( or re-learn ) all the time.

(Phoebe - resting after one of her sprints around the studio)

Down, up and they're off.....

Once in a while,  I look out in the field and see something like the scene above.  My first thought is, "Oh no, there's a ewe down.  Is she dead ?".   How, I ask you,  could this possibly be a comfortable napping position?  Wouldn't you have a permanent kink in your neck if you tried sleeping like this?  Usually I clap my hands or yell or watch for a twitching ear.  This time I walked right up to her  before Gabby roused herself.   Two seconds later............she's up and back to business as usual.

(that's my good girl, Olive, in the middle)

After a very, very slow start, my Tour de Fleece challenge has finally left the starting line.  I'm going to have to spend some quality time at my Hansen mini-spinner to catch up.  I probably should have skipped the competition this year, but it feels good to have an excuse a reason to spin during the day,  even though there are many other things I should be doing.  There is so much stuff going on around here right now,  I set a pretty wimpy goal for myself  ( to spin enough of my wool/alpaca roving to knit a vest or maybe a sweater---depending on how it goes ).  So, if I complete the spinning part, I'll start knitting.  That's presuming I can manage to pick out a pattern by then !  Never have I felt so unmotivated for a challenge,  but maybe once I get the first few hills behind me,  that will change.

Holiday ?

Someone told me that this past weekend was a holiday ! Huh?  We missed that bit of information here on the farm.  It was just work, work, work, pretty much daylight til dark.  And, who was the wise guy who wrote that song, "Summertime and the livin' is easy...."?  Our theme song around here runs more along the lines of, "I've been working on the railroad all the live-long day...".  Mike spent 20+ hours on the big tractor, mowing all the fields and I spent all of that time trying to find the actual perennials in the perennial beds and working in the vegetable garden.

( don't you just love the expression on the bunny's face?)

Grand-daughter, Mia, was here from Friday until Sunday,  so we did have semi-regular meals for a change.  Nothing like having a small child around to make you consider having dinner earlier than 10 pm!

And, least you think I have my vegetable garden under control (well, except for maybe the walkways. I'm working on it).......this is the other half.  In my defense, I've been begging Mike for at least 10 years to enclose the raised beds and this year,  we are finally making some progress.  We're half way done .  Nothing like having a wedding at the farm to get things done.  I highly recommend it.