sheep shopping

My friend Albert is a shepherd who keeps a Romney flock. He invited me along on a journey to buy a new ram. (I'd mentioned in that earlier post that his old ram wasn't up to the job anymore.) Yesterday, I arrived at Albert's farm at 7:15 AM. I visited with his two chocolate labs, waved to the sheep, horse and cows... and we journeyed down to Tennessee in a pick-up truck with a special sheep and goat pen on the back.

It took about two and a half hours to get to Far Out Farm. Kim and her mother Jane (contact information in that link...) breed Romneys, Cotswolds, and Shetland sheep. They also have some fascinating cross-bred animals, great for wool, and some very entertaining Great Pyrenees dogs.

As Kim says, "Predators? We don't have predators. We have big white dogs!" Great Pyrenees are serious, gentle, guard dogs who mean business...they aren't pets, but working dogs. They live with the farm's 160 or so sheep.

However, as of January, the farm was taken over by a litter of puppies, big fluffy puff balls of play. There were, of course, also the other dogs: the brown farm dog taken in as a stray, and a Greater Swiss Mountain dog. (Everybody's got to have a pet or two!)

I didn't manage a lot of good photos on this trip. We were busy visiting and shopping seriously for the right ram (Albert has only 20 ewes or so and he needed just one special man--ahem-ram for the job.)

What do you look for in a herdsire? In this case, the shepherd wanted a smaller ram than his last one; his flock was getting very big, and an oversized ram produces larger lambs that may not be easy for their mother ewes to deliver. Also, we were looking for a good fleece, preferably colored (not white) and a healthy young animal. Jane and Kim separated out three potential rams for us, and also showed us those ram's sires. (dads) We got a great idea of how these younger guys would look when they were fully mature. These rams were all so cooperative that we were able to step into a small pen, examine their fleece, feet, and other features without any worry of agression. Rams can be dangerous, but these guys were very laid-back. Kim and her mother have a way with animals. Everyone was loved, petted, and discussed, from the smallest lamb to the largest ram, as we walked by. One Shetland cross ram came up to be scratched and wagged its tail whenever Kim was nearby!

We chose a white ram whose mother was colored and his father was white. This way the flock (nearly entirely dark colors) has some lighter fleece genes introduced. A handspinner, after all, can't live by brown and gray alone! Also, this ram was cooperative and good looking. Downright sexy, as young rams go!

I was sincerely restrained and did not come home with even one fleece, although some of the fleeces in the "to be skirted" pile really turned my head. This is a barn room, roughly the size of a large bedroom, full of fleece. I should get a medal for resisting the siren song...but I will be seeing some of these fleeces in just two weeks, when I teach at a festival in Tennessee. I hope I can hold back, but it's hard!

Back in the truck, I munched on my peanut butter and jam sandwich as we drove another 140 miles back towards Kentucky. The new ram, in his wire livestock crate, got a lot of attention as we drove through downtown Nashville on the highway! (sexy, I'm telling you!)


At home, Albert pulled the truck into the pasture and we opened the crate. The ram leapt out to check out his new surroundings and ewes.

I said goodbye and went home to town to rest--Getting up at 5:30 and travelling just under 300 miles before 3 in the afternoon is a little tiring! It was a fun trip, a learning experience, and I hope it'll be a successful "match" for the sheep at my friend's farm!

Next time: Rosemary's questions.
Festival Update: There was a theft of a cash box at New Hampshire Sheep and Wool. It's no longer looking like on isolated event...please help by taking responsibility and keeping your eye out when you attend a festival event! Everyone can help prevent crime--like a fibery neighborhood watch?!

Uh-Oh

I was terribly disheartened to hear of this. The short version? There was theft and vandalism, including the release of animals, at Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival this year. In a world full of terrible natural disasters and war, I've found these festivals to be almost an oasis of kindness. I attended a dozen or so events last year to do research for my new book, Fiber Gathering, and attended many others in past years. I'm teaching at a festival in just a couple of weeks. People I've met were overwhelmingly generous and friendly. The animals slept safe in their temporary barns. The vendors occasionally had losses--due to wind or rain...but not theft. This is something we, in the fiber arts community, would not expect to hear.

So, ok, why am I posting about this? The sheep or goat has left the barn, so to speak...and maybe this was just an isolated event? I hope so, but, well, here's the thing. There are dozens more festivals this year. There are literally millions of us who might attend one. We don't want even one vendor or farmer or participant to stay home because of these incidents of vandalism or theft..we want all our fiber festival friends to feel safe! I'm asking everyone to keep your eyes open. Take care, and take care of those around you. Pretend every festival is your village, and be outspoken and loving in your protection of what we care about. People, farm animals, children, precious yarn and fiber supplies? We want everyone to feel safe, welcome and appreciated at their local festival. A watchful crowd really matters in terms of everyone's well-being. Spread the word.

Please link to this blog post. Promote safety for our animals, vendors, and friends at festivals. Thank you.

glad to have a friend like you

Yesterday I visited a friend's new house and an enormous garden. We talked about her goals, her marriage, and choices. Sometimes coming home makes you realize how lucky you are with what you've got! It made my home and garden seem not too big, not too small--just the right size!

I walked past the professor's newly planted irises on my way in: Irises symbolize "faith, wisdom, promise in love, hope, wisdom & valor" in the language of flowers... how appropriate it seemed for us. It does take both wisdom, faith, and a lot of hope to fulfil a promise in love to someone else... Anyone else.


Gladioli also came up recently, and that's another one I looked up in the language of flowers reference I found online. Glads mean "generosity" or "I'm sincere." Sincere? In my gut, I think that means honest. Be generous and loving but honest when your friends want to know what you think...even if it hurts sometimes.

I've been thinking about longterm relationships--with my friends and with the professor and family. When I become someone's good friend, I hope it's for a good long time. I want to be generous and sincere to the person, and it does take wisdom, faith, hope and love, too. In less glamorous terms, it takes effort. It's not all easy.

Constancy? Also necessary, and not always convenient. In this picture, the reddish bushy thing on the right is a Japanese Maple. Last year, during our early freeze and long drought, we worried it would not come back to us. This year, it is big, hearty, and shimmering. Next to it, though, is my Schefflera. When I started college, I had a difficult roommate situation. (There was a lot of drinking and drug use going on. I wasn't doing it...) Within a few weeks, I'd found and moved into a small single room. My parents sent me a plant to celebrate my new, private "home." Part of that original arrangement is this houseplant. 17 years later, the professor and I have transplanted this so many times that I can no longer carry the plant outside each spring--it's too heavy. Harry the dog tried to bury bones in its pot (indoors) as a puppy. It's moved from upstate NY to Virginia, from Virginia to North Carolina, from there to upstate NY again, and then to Kentucky. It's such a hearty plant...and it's a commitment! It has its own special chair in the dining room near a window these days during the winter--so that Harry isn't tempted to dig!

My best friend (met her at age 12!) isn't the obsessive knitter that I am, but recently she's been knitting a lot. She was visiting her grandmother (in her 90's) and had to rush out to buy some cotton yarn and needles. Apparently she really wanted to sit with her grandmother, listen to her, and show her love and respect. However, it was hard to stay focused on it all--without something to keep her hands busy. Sometimes constancy is hard, and you need a little boost (from your knitting, or from a dining room chair!) to stay true to your purpose.

Sometimes, my flower garden is just a bunch of flowers. Lately, while I sit outside and knit, it's allowed me to think more about the quality and meaning of my friendships and relationships. Weirdly philosophic, I know, but there it is. Dependability in the blog posting thing means sometimes the post isn't always fascinating fiber twice a week--or maybe it is. Maybe it's about moral fiber?

serendipity

I'm missing Maryland Sheep and Wool, the first of many festivals I went to last year. It's bittersweet. On one hand, I wish I were there at every single event, but on the other, I'm hoping to have a much more relaxed and reasonable spring/summer/fall than last year, when I attended 12 or so events in order to do research for my book, Fiber Gathering.

As a fabulous consolation prize, spring here has been unbearably lovely. If you need a poetic interpretation of this, e.e.cumming's "in just" is just what I mean! (scroll down to that poem or maybe read them all?!)

I've spent time knitting, spinning and gardening out of doors, and my just laundered sheets are drying in the sunshine today. Strawberry season is upon us, and lasts here until mid-June. I was driving home from an appointment in Nashville and I took the older highway home in order to avoid the rush hour traffic. I followed a "Pick Your Own" strawberry sign on a whim and a few minutes later, I was in a field, filling up a basket with sweet springtime.

An aside--I'm pretty sure it was sprayed with pesticide, so that's the downer...buying local is possible here, but organic is harder. My local farmer's berries (not sprayed) cost substantially more and it's hard to beg or barter enough for one batch of jam. I may just go back to the "Pick Your Own" place. Strawberries are some of my favorite foods, and I try hard not to buy them fresh out of season...because it wastes so much energy just to ship them the thousands of miles to my table. I celebrated my local find with homemade strawberry shortcake with a vanilla cream sauce. I think I've eaten about 10 plates of this in the last 5 days. Oops.

I somehow came home with TWO good movies from the library last time-amazing luck!- and can recommend The Girl in the Cafe. I also listened to a great new book, Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. It had just the right magic and Southern folk tale narrative. Perfect for spring time gardening, knitting projects, and long drives in the car.

Our roses are blooming. The professor's in charge of the flower garden around here. I made him a deal when we were first married...that whenever he had the inclination to buy me flowers, he should put some in the ground instead. As a result, we've beautified a couple of different gardens along the way, and from early spring through fall, I'm always enjoying what pops up. I also like to live in older houses because the gardens are already started. Someone before us planted flowers, and they are always such a lucky surprise. (more photos of irises, gladioli, and other treats may follow.)

Our garden is flourishing this year, or maybe I just have lower expectations than in past years! In this photo, you can see radishes up front, then the big garlic greens, and beyond, the potato patch. These aren't glamorous crops, but I am looking forward to some garlicky potatoes in a couple of months. The radishes are like little red presents. Pull up a few and decorate a green salad with color!

I focus on all alternative food sources like local farmers and my garden because the grocery store situation here hasn't been ideal. Organic and local are big buzzwords in the national media but the news hasn't really hit in our area of Kentucky. We're behind on the recycling thing, on walking or biking, etc. I've had to work hard to find healthy and fresh food. Our grocery store is part of a big chain, and it monopolizes this area. Recently, my store's been renovated and dragged kicking and screaming into this century. Today for the first time--I could buy stuffed grape leaves at the store. Bulk food? A new thing! Also, wonder of wonders, I saw organic chickens on sale. (I'll stick with buying the fresh and locally raised free range ones; I like driving by and seeing them clucking first, and I know my money goes straight to a local farmer.)

Serendipity means "an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident." I'd argue that it isn't luck exactly. It starts with that capability...that aptitude. I actually work pretty hard to find my luck, so I'm not embarrassed about enjoying it thoroughly and sharing it with you! I mean-- first, you have to know enough to take a risk and follow that country road towards the strawberries! Then all that's left is the wallowing in strawberry shortcake!

Thanks so much for all your kind notes to my last post. I just wish I could show you photos of all my knitting projects(alas, some is top secret; for books or other publications)--but your feedback is so kind!

cold snap

We've been all snuggled up on warm blankies with our tails tucked under our chins here. The temperatures dropped from 80 degrees F to about 35! The heat got turned on again because suddenly, we feel cold from that damp spring chill.

Luckily, my constant companions have been working hard to warm me up. Never discount the warming powers of a furry dog that is trying to get into your lap!

I also finally finished Thermal. I started this back in mid-September, and something about the pattern (4 row repeat, but textured enough to make movie knitting disconcerting) and the needle size --US#3--very slow. Basically, knitting this was like making a very big sock with a pattern in it. I loved the yarn I chose, Merino Bambino, and I like the sweater style very much. I did sort of lose enthusiasm for the whole thing halfway through, as I had so many other knitting projects going on simultaneously. Anyway, here's Harry and me, modelling the sweater, on a day that is still cool enough to need a one! I think a darker color would have been more slimming and the arms are just a bit longer than maybe I needed (although that was hard to judge) but I'm not undertaking another one of these any time soon, so this will have to do! (Please forgive the dorky expression, it was hard to model a sweater before breakfast, and that's when the professor was available!)

The professor also grabbed my camera the other day to show what I look like sometimes as I am emailing people back or writing. Note Harry and his bone are right along side, Sally is keeping watch, AND I'm wearing a great oversized v-neck aran cardigan my mom made for me.

The professor himself is very harried. It is the end of the semester and he's had a particularly rough one. He's just about narrowed things down to eating, sleeping,and working. I'm very much looking forward to the end of the term in a couple of weeks! The funniest part about this is how oblivious he is to what's happening around him though. Last night he was working in the living room as I watched a fascinating movie, Stranger Than Fiction and knit. (He also managed to watch portions of it, because I heard him laugh.) Now, the piece I'm knitting is very very long, perhaps a yard long, and already 10 inches across, and yet when I said, "I'm designing a curtain," the professor said, "What!! You're knitting a curtain?!"

Yup, it was almost as surprising as that electric fence wire knitting I did, I guess? ...but don't you think he might have noticed this enormous thing in his living room and said, "Gee, what you working on there?!" Ahh, the absent minded professor. Perhaps it's too cold here for his brain. He maybe needs a dog warmer or two.

here sheepie sheepie

Every year, I get the phone call from my friend, a retired geography professor. "Hey, the shearer's coming in a week. Usually on a weekday. At some inconvenient time. Can you come?" And year after year, I'm there...driving just 7? miles and into an oasis of rural springtime. It's hard to imagine skipping it! First, there's the company.

This man's farm is no normal farm. It's like a big bunch of household pets...a horse, two cows, two enormous labrador retrievers, geese, and 18 sheep-- right down to the sign at the front gate, that says:
Drive with Caution. Canadian Geese Nesting.
You can imagine the geese flying in, making reservations, grabbing the keys and saying to the farmer, "Shhh! We're making babies over here!"

Of course, I was there for the sheep. The flock fluctuates, but it's a Romney cross flock. The other breeds in the mix are something like (put your hand over your mouth to mumble this) Suffolk/Polypay/Dorset/Border Leicester/something else the cat drug in. Whatever, the fleeces are luscious. Long stapled rich colors of grays, browns, and even a white one or two.

Before being shorn, the sheep look scruffy, like teenage boys with longish hair who are trying to grow goatees. Also, quite disgruntled, because they've all been herded into the horse's stall for one morning and they're resentful. (again, like some teenagers?)

Gerald, the shearer, set to work. I found out this year that Gerald has been shearing this particular flock since 1986...that's a long term relationship! The day is full of interesting conversation. I helped open and close some gates, and I scooped up a lot of fleece. Too much fleece.

"Colored" or "Black" fleece is only of value to handspinners. So even though these fleeces are stellar, they aren't worth anything in the commercial wool pool. The farmer is delighted to gift me some. The shearer will take whatever's left to sell online. This year, we saved 3 fleeces for the farmer's adult daughter, a beginning spinner. I'd planned to come home with 2 fleeces, one white and one black. I brought presents...jars of homemade plum port and blackberry brandy jams. I brought two chapter drafts from my forthcoming book about the shearing last year for the farmer and the shearer to read. Then, somehow, 5 fleeces followed me home!

Romney fleeces aren't petite. We're talking about 50 lbs of wool. I was stunned as I carried the pillowcases full of wool to my car. I just hadn't realized what was happening. As the shearer finishes a "haircut", he says, "This is a nice one" and I dart in, check out the staple length, crimp and color, say nope or yes. Nope means it goes in the shearer's enormous plastic wool bag. If it's yes, I grab an pillow case, stuff it in--largely unskirted--while rushing to get it and myself off the shearing board before the next sheep gets dragged in. Sheep hate leaving their buddies and are often skittish. It's not good to be standing, grabbing wool on the shearing board...even though they settle down the minute the barbering starts. Think about a toddler at the barber. You've got it. Sheep require coaxing at first, but settle right down, mesmerized, as the trimming begins. Anyhow, amidst the darting, I lost count of the fleece total. Oops.
This farmer treats all the sheep as beloved pets. Here the shearer is shearing a ram that used to be enormous. You can read about his fleece in years past here. Sadly, Mr. Ram has gotten on in age. There were no lambs this year. He'd lost weight (hard to imagine when you see his size) and underneath his lighter gray, coarser fleece, he looked bony and arthritic. The shearer acted more as a podiatrist and less like he was giving a pedicure for poor Mr. Ram's hooves. You can see shots of the "pedicure" option here. After he was shorn, the shearer and I had a heart to heart with the farmer about getting a new ram. Later, I emailed him another Romney breeder's contact information. Mr. Ram (senior), and one of his sons were obviously no longer up to the task.

Wednesday evening, I gave one fleece away to a friend. On Thursday morning, I went ahead and skirted 4 fleeces. One white, 4 "colored"...roughly 40 lbs of wool. By the time I'd skirted all four and packaged up the 3 fleeces that I'm sending away to be processed, I was quivering with fatigue. Turns out that the sleeping bag stuff bag technique, the crouching and sorting out sheep poop, and shlepping around of 40 lbs of wool by oneself can be exhausting. Either that, or I'm just past it, like the ram!

I'm saving a fleece and a bit for teaching my workshop in May. (Are you signed up yet!?) On Friday, the professor helped me carry two well-labelled boxes to the post office. 27 pounds of wool (too much to cope with at home just now) were shipped off!

On Saturday, I celebrated by sitting in the sunshine on my back porch. I spun some sample skeins in the grease, straight from the locks of wool. It spun--like warm butter spreads on bread--as I soaked up the sun. There is really nothing quite like freshly shorn fleece! (stinky, but delicious, like say, a good blue cheese!)

Been to a good shearing lately? Can you smell the sheepy parfum from here?

News you can use

People have asked me, when's the book coming out? How will I know when I can buy it? What's that book about, again?

Fiber Gathering will be in stores by February, 2009. I believe you'll be able to pre-order on Amazon sometime in July or August. If you're like me, and all this stuff seems hard to keep track of, here's a new tool that will help both of us! Sign up for my email newsletter and get more information on the book! There's even another newsletter, in case I happen to be teaching or travelling to your vicinity and you want to know about it. Here's how:
Click Here!

Here is some other useful information...My smart web designer Ben gave me a link to add to my blog. You'll now see a "Subscribe to this blog!" link on the sidebar. This is just in case you can't see the RSS feed symbols in your browser. I hope that ends all the concern about this--I hear it really does work!

Today I read a thoughtful essay by a man who helped his wife write a knitting book. It sounded meaningful to me since the professor took all the photos for Fiber Gathering. It's worth a read! Here's the link to Martin John Brown's thoughts on what it was like to research Knitalong. I've got no affiliation with this--haven't even seen the book itself--but the essay's great!

More soon about the sheep shearing I went to yesterday and all the fleeces that followed me home!