Do you have these? I love fiber, knitting, dyeing, felting, spinning….all of it. But I am blocked on making anything happen right now. I look at knit patterns, look at my stash, can’t make the two meld, think ‘oh, maybe tomorrow’ and it doesn’t come.
What do you do to get out of this funk? Do you ever get there at all? I have friends who are immersed all the time in fiber projects, producing beautiful results and I marvel of late.
Looking for the way back in! Help!
We ended 2008 with a bitter wind overnight and the thermometer reading zero. The sheep got the royal sleeping quarters beginning yesterday and through tonight. We have a small barn attached to their freestall area which is bedded with straw and sleeps 10. For those less inclined to battle the dirt floor of the barn on a cold night this suite offers plush accomodations.
This morning the birdfeeder was a hoppin’ with loads of finches….Webster was in heaven watching them from the warmth of the kitchen window!
After feeding, the sheep enjoyed stepping out into the bright sunshine to bask. The wind had died down and the day, although frigid, was great sheep weather.
Memphis has had a bit of an intestinal disorder….not uncommon and most likely the result of the ups and downs in the temperatures the past few weeks. Sheep are very sensitive to any changes in their daily routine (aren’t we all!) and the weather can be the culprit quite often. The symptom is loose stools. The bug is coccidia, brought on usually by stress. She is on day 2 of a three day treatment with an oral sulfa drench and a dose or so of Pepto Bismol. The sulfa drug attacks the bug and the Pepto, as for humans, instantly attacks the loose stool issue. She was quite friendly this morning as if to thank us for noticing. Memphis is an awesome ewe. She has taught us many things about sheep care across her years with us and never failed to thank us for the care. She is the face on our logo and a true lady in every way.
While Jack plowed from yesterday’s snow storm, I washed all the sheep coats that had piled up after the last coat change. Greasy, dirty job, but necessary. Now clean, I have a few repairs to make in the morning and the pile is replenished for the next change.
The hens were not allowed out today…too darn bitter cold. So I brought them some treats. First some alfalfa cubes broken up and added to their grain feeder…they loved it! Then two tubs of snow. They love to eat snow! I left this tub for them and checked on them in a few hours and it was gone, empty. We have been leaving the warming lamp on 24/7 of late just to keep the coop at 20. Although they prefer dark at night I don’t want to risk the coop getting too cold. Spoiled they all are but you need not wake in the night wondering if the animals, wild birds and hens at Long Ridge Farm are uncomfortable. Sleep well and Happy New Year!!!
There are benefits to having chickens but there are also drawbacks. I thought we’d have a handle on the biggest drawback now that we only have 6 free-ranging rather than 18 prior but I guess that is a silly notion!
The drawback is they are EVERYWHERE. The rule is in the AM they can’t come out unless it’s 30 degrees or above and the past few days it has been all of that, 56 on Sunday! And aren’t they having a ball. In the mud on the roadsides, at the bird feeders, all over this farm, scratching, foraging, dusting, what have you. Even with the two feet of snow that has melted to 8 inches they are having a grand time.
What I didn’t realize is they have zero traction on ice so this morning in an effort to distract them from the yard I shooed them down the lane and it is still pretty icy. They were walking and slipping landing on their feathery butts,it was quite a sight.
Last week we took down the electronet fence we have in the front yard to have it shortened and then reset. The fence has served as a containment area for Sidney and the cat. If the UPS/FedX truck rumbles by, for instance, Sidney jumps through the roof and would roar off after it, were it not for the fence. It is peace of mind for me if I let them out, knowing they are safe but able to stretch their legs and survey their domain. But the fence also served as a barrier FROM the chickens in our front yard and a temporary fence is now back up and that’s that. I couldn’t wait til the other fence was reapired. Enough is enough! No more raiding the birdseed I toss on the ground, no more hens at the shed door staring at me, no more scratching away at the grassy areas, not to mention the chicken s***. Today as I pondered the situation from the kitchen window, one hen kept looking at me from the feeder area as if to say “gotcha!” No, no hen…got you!
Tomorrow’s mission is to protect one roadside bank that they are really going to town on. Then I’ll fix that and they’ll find yet another place to ravage! Man vs beast!
Today Jack and I are enjoying a quiet Christmas here on the farm with our friend Mary.
This is the day to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and it is a marvelous and wonderful blessing. Last night when I did the chores and put out the hay for the sheep, I reminded them, as I do each Christmas Eve, to be sure to make room for Joseph, Mary and their unborn son should they arrive, needing a manger. Some of the sheep turned and looked as if to say “of course we will”.
Wishing you and yours a warm, peaceful day filled with hope and love eternal!
Here is Webster this morning anticipating perhaps a new squeaky mouse hidden somewhere to open and basking in the sun as he watches the birds come and go from the feeder, an endless source of live entertainment for him! 
Yesterday was the longest day of the past 9. Still no power and yet we had settled into the rhythm of the situation. We had a routine to maintain a level of comfort, order and all systems functioning. It was 10 degrees at 9 AM and not above 15 the rest of the day. Friday night we got foot of light fluffy snow and all day Saturday it continued to flurry and add another couple of inches. It was absolutely a beautiful snowfall. This is our shepherd assistant with her little sister Bethy who played in the snow for hours Saturday afternoon. Refreshing in light of the strife going on around us!
By 8AM our next door neighbor had buried his plow truck in his driveway and asked Jack to help him pull that out, then Jack plowed while I did the farm chores and shoveled around the walkways. At 11AM another neighbor came by to ask Jack to get his daughters car unstuck in their drive. He, his wife and daughter had been holed up around their fireplace for 9 days, showering away from home and exhausted from just surviving. While Jack was gone another neighbor stopped to say a LINE CREW!!!! was on the adjacent road repairing the last problem they had in order to restore power. When Jack returned we hustled (against his wishes, he didn’t want to bother them) down to where the line crew was working. I walked into the woods and politely asked if they knew our road was without power. They had no idea! At least 10 homes on our road had called multiple times to report the problems. Poor communication, I’d say.
One of the lineman knew the area well and had worked with Don Paine who we bought the farm from. We chatted for a bit and they said they’d be up within a few hours to check out our problem. Oh my were we hopeful, finally! Jack and I went off to get more gas for the generators and take a trip to the transfer station and upon our return lo and behold they were repairing the snapped pole on our road. By then two line trucks were there, roughly 3:00 PM. We started calling neighbors to let them know the work was in progress….it was a want to be block party as we all anxiously waited.
At 4:00 PM neighbors came up to ask if Jack could come pull out the line truck as it was stuck at the top of Cass Hill at Evelyn’s. The workers didn’t know the land and in turning around went to far forward and got one tire buried. And they hadn’t put their chains on first. Once again Jack roared off to help but this was too big for him to manage.
The truck that wasn’t stuck drove off to restore the circuit. Jack and I went to the barn for chores and as we were getting the hay to feed, the lights came on in the barn! And everywhere! It was spectacular! I have a radio that is on in the barn 24/7 and it was set to classical and the most beautiful piece of music began…very moving choral. I felt an overwhelming tearful thankfulness. Whether we had gone another 10 days or another 10 hours we were surviving and nothing crumbled around us. God was with us, our neighbors and even the line crew. 9 days.
We had one last task after chores and getting the buildings and animals back on regular power systems and that was to go up to Evelyn’s house to start her furnace. She is 91 and was taken last Monday to her daughter’s house as she could not continue to feed the wood stoves and battle the daily grind with no water, although she wanted to. Over the weekend we had gone by and given her a large water container with a spigot so she could have drinking and cooking water and Jack lugged wood for her wood stoves, but it proved just too much to manage for her.
We couldn’t get to Evelyn’s until 9:15 PM when the tow truck finally pulled the line truck out and the three trucks lumbered off down our hill to safer ground and hopefully some rest. After a bit of fiddling around we did get the furnace up and running and her 60 year old jade plants had managed the week despite no heat. They smiled as the furnace came on. 10:30PM we poured into bed and listened to the weather report for Sunday. Another foot on the way and high winds by nightfall. zzzz……my hero, Jack!
