Multi-tasking at it’s worst
I have days like this. Do you?
Come ride with me!
Call me nuts but winter is made to enjoy and whether you ski, skate, sled, snowshoe, snowmobile or what have you, the season flies by if you get out and about. 
We have been snowmobiling for 17 years this winter and still love every minute of it. We’ve ridden all of NH and Maine north to Canada, depending on the snowfall. This week we have been enjoying our local trails as the snow in southern NH is fabulous this winter. The thermometer got stuck at 10 degrees most of the day and the wind was bitter but we were dressed right and have been having a ball!
Take a ride with me!
A parting shot as the sun went down on trail looking to the hills where our farm is set.
Balance
New Year’s morn I started full throttle at catching up from the Christmas season. So much gets put by the wayside in order to spend time with family and friends and soak up the peace, joy and love that shines throughout the holidays.
These past few weeks I wanted to take stock of my year back and this one early unfolding. What would I accomplish this year that got sidetracked or forgotten in 2010? What matters most as I saw another birthday pass? Is it my work? My family and the farm? Getting in shape? Losing a few pounds? Traveling more? Reading more? Working on my dyeing education? The list is endless and in order not to spiral out of control it takes great balance and thought to keep perspective.
First I tackled the desk. Do away with what I could let go of and focus on the most important tasks for just January. One month at a time. Desk work is so boring though, isn’t it? A desk, at least mine, is layered with decisions. Ideas I jot down on post-its for future thought, a stack of files filled with upcoming workshops here at the farm as well as for my teaching, at the farm and away, dyeing projects for other clients, the items are many.
Mid-January I have pulled the reins in on the piles, sorted through the decisions with my plan of attack to focus on just one of the larger items a week with a smattering of niggley items daily. Yet even with that plan of attack, each day brings unexpected interruptions that are more pressing than the last and the post-its morph and exchange spots on the desk pad.
Something else I have come to realize is that entire days can be spent on duties rather than my art, my love for natural dyeing and working with fibers. Maybe it’s the time of year? Or perhaps it’s my method of peddling through the day and how I prioritize. The days are so short there is barely time to get going before the sun is down again. Or I’ll say, “I’ll just get these few things accomplished in my office and get them off the “table” and then get to the studio.” I always have a backlog of stories I’d like to blog about but by the time I get the camera in the office to download the pics another event comes and goes before I can post the first.
As I look across last year I achieved many of my goals and as I look into the eye of 2011 I am focused. The dreams and goals are in my sights. 
Color Institute ~ Michele Wipplinger
Goal accomplished. The 2011 Summer workshops are posted and filling! I am delighted to be hosting The Color Institute with Michele Wipplinger, Earthues in July and Joan Morris will teach a shibori workshop in August. Both are sought after classes with these artist/instructors. Take a look…maybe one will appeal to you! 
“forget ginger and bell”, detail,
Joan Morris, shaped resist dyeing on wool substrate
Goal in progress. Peach. She and Crystal are still in the big barn on week 6. Peach is balanced and able to put her weight on that leg and get about nicely. It is still inflamed on the front just above the fetlock so it has a way to go before I’ll bring her back into the flock. I think both ewes are quite comfortable at this point…treats, comfy digs and no competition at the hay racks. They have been able to get outside daily for the past week. The entry to and from the barn has a ramp which is risky for a leg injury so we put a rubber mat on it for gripping and it seems to work well enough. 
The snow is 18″ plus deep now with a forecast for 5-10″ tomorrow so there isn’t much room for them to roam. Winter reigns.
During the storm last week when we were gifted with 24″ of snow, Katie and I stopped to talk during shoveling. The flakes were fast and furious and unannounced I tipped over backward whereby Katie followed suit. We laughed and chatted buried deep in white fluff! These moments of spontaneity, quick, fun and easy, are vital and so healthy!
I am staring at a file folder…it beckons me. Must be done. Purchase a plane ticket to Ohio for a teaching workshop in June. Balance, balance, balance.
Lamb’s first snow
Winter snow arrived last night with a vengence although we are always ready for it in New England. We got about 18″ of snow overnight so getting to the barns this morning was a knee deep excursion. The wind was howling and the snow still swirling when we met our cheerful greeters at the winter barn this morning. 
Due to the storm’s wind direction we shut the flock into the open barn last night to reduce the blowing snow load inside this morning. Prudent decision. But in order to get the flock out for loafing Jack had to remove the snow from their area.
While cleaning and feeding I realized the spring lambs hadn’t seen snow before as they were born in April so upon opening the barn door what a surprise they found!
From their side they faced a flat wall of snow keeping them inside the barn.
While they licked snow and gazed out upon the morning’s wonder, we cleared away an area for them to roam about…they love the snowfall. Shown here are Wetherby and Maggie.
Here is Della with one of her lambs, Maggie. Striking genetic resemblance.
Welcome winter!
Christmas enters….
and the celebration begins! 
Blessings, love and joy to you as the season unfolds!
Three’s company
Things come in threes, they say. And number two was a surprise.
We have had a long period of cold weather this month. Daytime highs in the teens, moderate winds and no snow cover to temper the edge. One day this week we decided to leave the hens in their house for the day, with the option for a small outer fenced area. They have pretty nice digs really but I suspect it was a bit tight for a full day. I actually don’t know what happened but when I closed the hens in for the night our beloved Bianca was bloodied up. During the day something got to her (probably literal hen pecking) and the rest of the hens took to the blood, which is their wont, and she was a bit of a mess in the head area by 5pm. Although the damage doesn’t show, this was her after I got her to the big barn (now known as the infirmary!)
I wisked her straight away to join Peach and Crystal for some recovery time. I set her up so she could rest and recoup. She is able to get into a pen for her food and water but still be able to come out to hang with the ewes and mill about.
Peach is doing a bit better as of today. Your prayers are helping. Last Friday I called our favorite vet supply, Pipestone Vet Supply, who have, in addition to the best inventory of sheep supplies, a phone line connection to large animal veterinarians. It is the darned best connnection for livestock questions ever. When Pipestone answered the phone, as usual, they forwarded me on to a vet who happened to be Dr. Kennedy, Pipestone’s best (and all the docs are darned good). I have called them for about 6 years now and never had the honor of speaking directly with Dr. Kennedy. He’s a sheep vet and a sheep owner. He has raised more head than I could ever imagine running. He’s encountered it all and he just plain loves sheep farming. I told him about Peach’s predicament. I described the place in her leg where the injury is. I explained what course I had taken with injections, meds and x-rays. To make a long story short, he offered a one week course of another anti-inflammatory and the assurance that, knowing the leg wasn’t broken, that in due time and limited movement, she would heal. Perhaps this won’t be true… but on that backside of a cold day I was given hope that, in time, she would recover. I felt elated. 
Peach’s course now is for another 8 weeks in the big barn with the company of Crystal and perhaps Bianca! The barn space is large and as healing permits, the area provides enough space to move about for the winter. She is putting actual weight on her hoof now as she ambles about.
While Peach rests, Crystal chooses to have an inquest with Bianca. 
Meanwhile at the winter barn Friday night, during chore time, I found one of the wethers had an abcess. Nothing serious…we rounded him up, did a bit of cleaning and flushing and all is healing nicely.
That’s farming, that’s three and that’s it!
