You Know You Are a Farmer When You Have To Fix Fencing 3 Days in a Row

Prince is an escape artist.  Every morning around 6:15 the geese start squawking and when I arrive on the scene, I find Prince outside the goose run trying to get back in.  I let the others out and they reunite and head to the puddle pond.  This morning he also went out through the barnyard fence.  At least the barnyard fence is big enough to walk back through when you get yelled at long enough.  The fence of the goose run is reinforced at the bottom with chicken wire, for the most part.  Every time I think I know how Prince gets out, I fix that area.  The next morning he is out again.  There is one more area I am going to attend to tonight.  I hope this does it.

Eloise used to escape when she was really small as well.  There is only so much I can do.  The geese just need to keep a better watch.

Where are the pictures, I know many are asking.  Well, the 2nd week of Fiber Camp started today and we have assigned documenting the week to our new assistant.  She took several pictures today but now we aren't sure where the camera went to.  It is around somewhere.  When we uncover it, I promise many pictures will adorn this blog.

A very different group this week.  Quieter for one thing.  Many of them don't know each other but by day 3 or so they will be good friends.  The chickens have been joining us at camp last week and this week.   They are making new friends too.

 Today, one of the campers had to leave at lunch time to go to an appointment.  She went to the fiber shed to collect a few things and then came in to me to say a chicken was laying on its side right in the doorway and couldn't get up.  I went to investigate.  I walked around behind the hen and started walking toward her.  She got up and walked away.  The chickens play this trick all the time.  They love to spread out in a really hot area,  sometimes with one wing extended, and usually on their side.  If you have not been tricked before and don't have chickens, you think they are dying from heat exposure or some other ailment.

Yesterday, I came back from town and saw the rooster and one of the hens over in Charlie"s field.  I went to see why the chickens had crossed the road and shoo them back.  Walking through the fringe between the road and field, I had my eyes on the chickens.  Walking back through the fringe, I had my eyes on the poison ivy I had walked through with my bare legs and sandals.  Then the two of them started walking down the road.  I said, "good riddens" and headed home, to wash with soap and water.  At dusk, all chickens were in the coop.

At least I don't have to fix fences to keep the chickens in; it wouldn't do any good.  The sheep knock the top rail off its brackets when they want to get into the upper pasture (their favorite).  Then they jump the bottom rail like horses over hurtles.  I am glad sheep don't fly or walk through the perimeter fence and head to town.

More Memory Photos

The family will be Cirrus, Sal, Eloise, Prince and Penelope.  The last egg was abandoned today and the family went for an outing.  They went as far as the puddle pond and stayed out all day.  Lots of wobbling and tipping.

 Gretta is very curious about the new arrivals.  She has gone up to them very closely but carefully a couple of time and the geese don't mind.  If the chickens are even in the remote vicinity, they get
charged by the geese.  They don't know what to think.

 I thought maybe Cirrus and Sal would be a little more organized this time with one in front and one bringing up the rear, like you always see with ducks and geese, but no.  They are, once again, very laid back parents that let their goslings swim across the pond on day 2 while they are on the other side.  I know we are talking tiny pond, but still.  Sometimes the three adults walk in triangle formation with the goslings within.

I was just glad they all walked into the run at dusk.

Day 3 of Fiber Camp was fun, what a great group of kids.  We started off the day asking the campers to remind us to take pictures, since Frances and I both forgot on the first 2 days.  We thought having 10 more people thinking about documenting our fun week would be what we needed but alas, day 3 went by with still no pictures.  When I realized this and said something, a couple of the campers said John took a picture of them when they toured the tiny house.  I asked him about it later and he told me that he took a picture of the "afternoon 8" up in the loft together.  Who lets 8 children go up in a tiny house loft all at once?  I am glad I was not there for the photo shoot.  I did want to see the picture though but when we looked on John's phone, we could not find it.  He said tomorrow he is going to tell them they have to do it again because one of them wasn't smiling.

I really do wish I had my camera this afternoon in the barnyard to record the tipping and wobbling, Gretta's curiosity, the big swim, and the rest, but I won't forget.  And how do you record the kindness and caring.  How do you photograph comrodery (sp), laughter, and summer friendship?

These are the important things.  These are my most treasured photos.  I just wish they were memory photos for all to hold close.

Prince and Penelope

Meet Prince and Penelope who hatched out today.  

Eloise has been a big help today.

Below she is sitting on the third egg while Sal takes a nap.

I hope this video works.  It in funny to watch Cirrus watch and wonder what he is suppose to be doing while the girls tend to the goslings and the third egg.

Lyndy was here for the hatching and named the goslings.  When she heard it was Prince's birthday today, she thought that it was fitting to name the male Prince and I think Penelope just goes good with Prince.  If the third egg hatches we will have to find another fine name. 

 What would Prince think.  I wonder how many creatures and critters have been named after him since his death.

My Wonderful Neighbor, Kitty

Today, I finally dropped everything to go visit my wonderful neighbor, Kitty.  I have been thinking about her a lot lately and decided I needed to go see her.

On May Day (May 1st) Cathy was here and she and Lyndy and I delivered wild flowers in tussy mussies that Cathy and Lyndy made.  Kitty  was our first recipient.  We chatted a few minutes and I told here I would be back soon to visit.  Is one month soon?  And it was a long month.

 I have been trying really hard to make sure the important things get done, when so much is going on.  I have been doing pretty good but today's visit gave me some important confidence that I am on the right track.

I love visiting with Kitty.  We laugh a lot and always come around to talking about snakes and today, bears, as well.  We talk about so many things.  Kitty was talking about her grandson and about how much he knows and doesn't realize he knows.  He just graduated from VA Tech and immediately got hired to work with a wildlife organization in NC.  He is a pretty amazing person and I like to talk to him when he is visiting his parents or grandmother, Kitty.

I thanked Kitty for all she has done for me and thanked her for who she is.  She said she didn't think she had done anything for me and I told her it was like David not knowing how much he knew, she just didn't realize what knowledge she has given me and gifts.  I am so glad I took the time to go and tell her that today.  Now, if  I don't do another good thing this week,  I have done enough.

Kitty is one of those people you want to go and help because there is much that she can't do these days.  But when you go, you realize, you are the greatest benefactor.  The love, the laughter, the stories.  Today, it was the story about the 5 foot black snake in her kitchen drawer.  I think I have heard this one before, but it is new when she is telling it.

Kitty is a wonderful basket maker and reads constantly.  I was telling her about a wonderful book I am reading (more on this later) and about a chapter on basket weaving and she told me about baskets she has made of all sizes, including a wool drying basket.  Then we talked about various ways I dry wool and problems involved.  Kitty always has great suggestions.  We talked about upcoming fiber camp and how I am overwhelmed with finding places to stash wool and finding the most space I can for 11 fiber campers to work.  Again, some great advice from Kitty.

  I hope everyone has a Kitty in their life .

Pretty Soon

Pretty soon Sal's eggs might hatch, pretty soon I will be teaching 2 full weeks of fiber camp, pretty soon some of the seeds I planted will be popping up, pretty soon Summer will be here, pretty soon Lyndy will be living in her tiny house, pretty soon Beverly will be moving.

After Sal's misfortune with her first nest this Spring, she decided to rest and then lay a few more in a nest in the goose run.  She is so smart.  Now I do not have to worry at night.

One week of fiber camp, 11 are signed up and the other has 7 or 8.  I am excited!  Many campers will be returning and a few new ones will be coming.  With Beverly moving, I have another friend helping with the teaching.  The kids and I will really miss Beverly but we are excited for her or at least I am, the kids don't really know yet.  Rosemary was here for a week and we dyed some brilliant fleece.  We have more different clean fleeces available to us (for fiber camp) than usual and plenty of it, so we will have some BIG fun.

The rain is no longer a regular daily occurrence so I have been having to water the seed I planted.  I appreciated the free days I got in the beginning but the flower seeds can use some sun too.

It feels like Summer already, since the rain stopped and the temperatures have been climbing into the 80s (ugh).  Lyndy's tiny house is getting closer to being finished every week.  Now that we know the weight is O.K. it is full steam ahead.

In a way it seems like May has been here for a long time but on the other hand it seems like the days are flying by.  And when I look at the blogs I have written in May I wonder where I have been.  Good thing there are 5 more days this month.

Tiny House has an Adventure

Look where the tiny house is.  The Maure River Bridge.  Lyndy's tiny house went for an adventure yesterday.  It went to get weighed and get it's trailer inspected. 

The weight is fine So we can continue to build.  It was a little  scary the first mile and a couple of bends in the road after that, BUT then we relaxed and took it all in-- Lyndy's house traveling down the country roads.

So sweet!

PHOTOS FINALLY

I thought as technology advanced things were suppose to be simpler and better.  Not so with the way I have to get the photos to this blog now.  At least I can have photos again.  The above is a piece of felt I made a couple of weeks ago.

Lyndy's tiny house is looking even more beautiful.  It is even further along than this.  Now that I have figured out how to upload pics with the operating system, I will put the new ones up..... AND here they are.

Lots of electrical outlets.  They say you can never have enough.  I guess you don't want to run cords in a small space.

Check out the oak counter top in the bathroom.  Just enough room for a toothbrush.  To the right of the sink is a water tank with a clear strip to check the level of water.  Hopefully this tank won't be used much but it is a good idea to have it.

Finally pictures of the sheep after shearing.    What gorgeous sheep! Above is Gretta and below is Rosa.

Look how black Annie and Sarah look after shearing.  And I think the white sheep is Amelia.  It is hard to tell Amelia and Norma Jean apart when they have short fleece unless you are close to them.

Cirrus and Eloise seem to be together all the time and Sal wanders on her own sometimes of late.  I am not sure why that is.

The chickens are so curious about everything.  They go in the tiny house and today one even came in the fiber studio when I was cleaning up.  They put on so many miles in a day.  If I followed them around all day, I would be exhausted,