Simple pleasures
A snack
Chewing the “fat” with your friends
And some time for rest and reeelaxation!
Jackie O
And now we wish Jackie happy birthday!
We bought her in 2002 with our original starter flock and she was 4 months old. She had traveled all the way from the west coast and by the time she reached us she was so skittish. As with all the newcomer sheep we keep them in a safe environment where we can watch them and visit with them and get them used to us, our voice and handling.
Jackie was so timid it was impossible to get near her unless we confined her. She has a crooked lower jaw and so her teeth are offset. Not sure if it was an injury early on or she was born that way. But now it is endearing characteristic for sure. Below is a photo early after her arrival. Perfect conformation.
She came to be known as ‘Jackie O’ for Jackie Onassis, both beautiful and mysterious. It took 6 months for me to be able to touch her at all. And the day she decided I was alright it was over in an instant. Jackie walked up to me, I got down at eye level with her and she folded into my arms. It was such a special moment. And now we are buds for life.
WIP Wednesday
It’s an old WIP, but a good WIP!
I have made peace with a pair of thrummed mitts I started but got set aside for awhile. I just unearthed them and will now wrap them up. They are knit with the yarn from my ever so soft Ashley, shown here.
She gives the softest Romeldale fleece I have ever felt, as soft as butter, really. And for a few years now I save her fleece for my personal stash only! She only yields about 5 pounds a year and by the time it is gone to the mill and back I get 3 pounds of yarn. 
The wool is a soft brown so I jazzed it up with a strand of a hot limey colored yarn made of 70% kid mohair and 30% silk…yummy combo! For the thrums (fleece in roving form) I used Ashley’s roving in very small pieces and knit a bit of fleece into every 3rd stitch in every 4th row. I am on a size 2 needle. I wanted mitts that were fitted and a bit more elegant.
On the move
We had a herd of deer cross through our back field yesterday. 
This is a pretty healthy looking doe.
There has been enough snow loss that they are able to get out and about and find new food sources. They circled our hill and headed up to Cass Hill where there is a lot more feed for them. Living through the winter is a challenge for deer if the snow is deep. They depend on browse from small bushes and saplings, prefering maple and oak buds and acorns and if times get tough they will eat the bark from Hemlock trees.
More about the little bird
Below is yet another note from the Deb at Winchester WildLife Rehabilitation Center about the little bird….
For those lucky enough to live near us in the Monadnock Region make note of this wildlife rehab center: Deb Gode can be reached at wildwaysrehab@aol.com and Irene Ruth can be reached at iruth97@aol.com One thing they do make clear is that they take on NO baby birds.
Check your bird book for the microbird, the ruby crowned kinglet. They look like finches only the beak is black and slender, like the bird you brought me and the beak of a finch is thicker and rounded because it is a seed eater. The black poll looks similar to a finch only smaller. Your bird was a kinglet. They are here year round unlike the black poll who is here early spring and summer and they like pine trees. Very active birds.
