It's Just Part of the Journey

Morning farm chores were pretty miserable this morning.  The mild and sunny weather that graced us for the Christmas weekend has now allowed a large rain system to move into northwestern Pennsylvania.  They are calling for it's change into snow by evening, but for now it's just a lot of wet.  All this rain we've had recently has really turned this farm into a mucky mess!  Needless to say, the chickens have been 'cooped' up since Saturday, so they didn't much care what was going on outside, they just wanted out.  I can't blame them.  I propped  open the rabbits just a bit to let some air flow in, but that's the best that I could do.  I've always been told that "a wet angora, is a dead angora."  Sounds kind of harsh, but it's true.  All that fiber is great for keeping them warm in the winter, but it would be like trying to sled ride in a soaking wet snow suit.

It's supposed to rain all week...

While my farm chores only took all of 20 minutes, I feel worse for my husband, who is out working at the alpaca farm the next three days.  At least he'll get to spend most of his time in the barns.  All I could think as I was sloshing a fresh bucket of water down to the coop (half of which some how ended up in my boot) was how nice it would be to just have a barn to work in today.  One of these days.

On a 'sunnier' note, we were blessed by a friend who at the last minute offered to stop out and take care of the animals for a couple of days so we could go home for Christmas.  I was extremely thankful for her help.  We may only be three hours from home, but it's still too far to just swing back to the farm to close up the animals after that filling Christmas dinner.  I think sometimes it upsets my mom that I can't come home as much.  It upsets me too.  But becoming a "farmer" is a choice that I am serious about.   It's not just a ephemeral hobby.  I am a determined woman.  I know she understands that, and even looks forward to a day when she can participate in the whole process.

Christmas brought pretty much our whole family together; even those a half a country away.  We had 36 people at my grandparent's house on Sunday!  We chatted, played some music, and ate lots of food.  It was I good time.  But we are home now (as of yesterday evening).  It's sad to see the holiday's end.  If we were home, we'd spend most of the next week's days with family.  Sharing meals.  Chatting about old memories.  I do so look forward to the day when we will be homeward bound.  But for now, I will make the best of my life here.  After all, this is where many of my dreams have begun to come true.  I will never forget that.  Life is a journey.  We glean from our travels.  For me, this is a big part of it.  I have learned skills that I will have for a lifetime.

For now, I will take these (literally) soggy bottoms, soak in a nice hot bath, and reflect on the journey.

Unseasonable Weather

Gorgeous landscape on our way to Hell's Hollow

We live in a place were it can be sunny and 70 with a cool mountain breeze one minute, and the next has turned into a blizzard so windy you feel like, if you close your eyes for even a second, you'll open them up and be in Oz.  The weather sure can change fast around here.

This past weekend was gorgeous!  Beautiful blue skies with wispy white clouds, 65 degrees or better, cool breeze.  It was the perfect weekend to be outside.  We took advantage of this on Sunday, knowing that we're not likely to have too many more of these.  After breakfast we decided to go for a walk.  It was my husband's idea, to my surprise, and me and Kenai were all for it.  His first thought was just to take a walk to the back pasture, which is only about a quarter of a mile from the house.  I suggested we head down the the nearby park.  I had an ulterior motive of course, to gather some more osage oranges that were lying all over the ground down there.  I gave my sister my last few the day before.  It's a nice little walk down there, right next to the stream.  And most of the time it's pretty quiet there with a nice paved trail that I would guess is about a mile around.  We were graced with a special fly by from my favorite bird, the Belted Kingfisher as we meandered along the stream.  But once we had gathered the osages and made it back to the car, it just felt like it would be a shame to head back home.  So we decided to take a little hike up to Hell's Hollow near McConnell's Mill.  It too is actually a short hike, but it ends at a gorgeous waterfall and an old time furnace.  I couldn't help but take some pictures along the way to capture the wonder.

Fungi and Bryophytes are my favorite!  I love their crazy life cycles!

Look!  Sporophytes!!!  And when I touched them, spores went everywhere!  

Isn't nature beautiful?!

The weather has since settled into something, err..., more seasonable.  The temps have dropped, and we even had snow the other night.  Not a lot, but I hear that more is on it's way.  We've really been blessed with 'unseasonable' weather for the last month.  So I'm sure it's about time Old Man Winter to lace his icy fingers around this farm.  Bring it on, I say.  I don't mind.  Winter gives me the excuse to sit at my spinning wheel and spin, knit up a storm, and create to my heart's desire.  But for now, I've some fuzzy bunnies out there that need attending to.  They'll be receiving their last plucking before spring.  I do look forward to spinning some of that angora up!

Autumn's Final Hoorah?

This just came out of nowhere.   I checked the weather earlier this evening and (I'm not sure how) I completely missed this.  The storm is long, extending all the way from Oklahoma to New Hampshire.  By the the time I realized what was happening I was battling 60 mph winds in attempts to keep my rabbits covered.  See we re-tarped the hutches in preparation for winter.  Unfortunately the new tarp is not as heavy and blows all over the place.  It was our goal to construct sort of a suspended tarp weight that would help to anchor it during storms likes these.  I now fully understand it's necessity.  With the winds we get on an almost daily basis up here, it needs to be done ASAP.  In the mean time, I did my best to anchor it for now in the hopes that they will fair this storm at least.  I think the worst of it has past now.  I wasn't just wet when I came back in the house, you could ring me out!  I suppose this is autumn's last hoorah before winter sets in and those winds carry white outs instead of just rain.

I hope everyone else out there is staying dry.

Anachronism

I've often felt like I am a living anachronism.  Out of place in time.  That I should have lived some time ago, when life was simpler.  You worked hard for what you had, and still had little.  Yet those few things you did have were cherished beyond today's worldly comprehension.  My whole life I have been drawn to skills of the past such as sewing, gardening, and animal husbandry.  I remember as a little girl, tagging along to my mother's garden club meetings, and hours spent with her and my grandmothers teaching me how to sew and knit and crochet.  These used to be skills that every little girl learned as she grew up.  I raised quite a menagerie of critters too, from hamsters and ferrets, to chinchillas and lizards!

Today, most I my time is spent spinning, knitting, and sewing.  We have lived down here near Pittsburgh for two years now and have accomplished quite a lot.  We raise our own chickens for meat and eggs, have two alpacas, 5 angora rabbits and a big enough garden to provide some of our own produce.  This is small in comparison to most farms, but this one has BIG dreams.  We still rent you see.  We have been fortunate though, to be located far enough north of the city as to seriously live in farm country.  The house we rent sits on a working diary farm.  But still it's not our own.  Don't get me wrong, we feel blessed for what we have, but are so desperately hoping that we will find our own property soon enough so that our our farm can grow.  We've reached our capacity where we're at without getting ourselves evicted.  But our alpacas have to be boarded on another farm and there are sheep, pigs, and other livestock calling to us.  More like bellowing.  I have such a desire to become more of a farmer that it aches.  I sit at work dreaming about furry creatures, spinning wool, canning vegetables, and yes, mucking out stalls.  While most other girls are reading magazines about fashion and gossip, this girl scours the pages of her Grit and Mother Earth News trying to devise new schemes for building a cold frame, raising meat rabbits, and composting.  I collect buckets, mason jars, chicken wire, and books on homesteading.  I visit other homesteader's blogs trying to glean from their experiences and long for the experience to hold day old piglets in my arms.  Barn boots are not just the latest fashion statement, they are a necessity.

I realize that for most this may sound unusual.  Especially in this day and age.  But this is who I am.  In a day and age of uncertainty, of rumors of economic collapse and instability, this girl wants to be prepared for anything.  And even if these things weren't a possibility, I would still want to be doing exactly what I'm doing.  Farming.  Gaining skills from a lost generation.  And one day, perhaps helping others to learn these skills as well.  There are joys to be found in these simpler ways, and I intend to find discover them!

Another Season Gone

I realize that we are technically in the middle of autumn, really I do.  But Halloween, for me, marks the end of a season.  A season full of gardening and harvesting, sowing and reaping.  I can't help but to close my eyes and imagine what it might have been like for people a few hundred years ago - possibly even a thousand years ago.  And not just here, but in countries abroad.  My ancestors came from Scotland and Ireland mainly, though sadly, I have to admit I don't know much about them.  All I have is this information passed to me by my parents, grandparents, and other relatives.  Yet I feel haunted by the past.  I past that wasn't mine, than belonged to those ancestors I never knew.  In a new age where we take most things for granted, it's hard to fathom that there was a time when there were no grocery or other convenience stores existed.  People were thankful for the bountiful harvest, as it meant that they and their families would be fed during the colder months.

So, every year during this time between Halloween and Thanksgiving my thoughts wander to the ancients.  Yes, Thanksgiving is a relatively 'new' holiday to this country.  But I've read that the Native Americans before us celebrated their own form of 'thanksgiving' to mark the end of harvest, and with the arrival of the Europeans, these traditions sort of intermingled.  Regardless, history is full of stories of celebrations that mark the end of the harvest.   A time to be thankful for just simply the abundance that will allow them to survive another long winter.

November 1st comes as a reminder that old man winter is just around the corner and could reach out his icy fingers any moment now.  Heck, we had our first snow this past weekend!  Not a lot, mind you, but it was snow that covered the landscape, even if for just a few brief moments.  And while I feel that we could have accomplished more to store for winter, I do have two bushels of butternut squash and a few baking pumpkins in my basement to cook up throughout those cold winter months.  I had hoped to have some canned tomatoes, at least, lining my shelves, but that just didn't happen.  Our tomatoes seemed to rot before they were ripe for the picking.  Every year is another learning experience.  Last year we had jars of pickles and sweet potatoes.  This year it is squash and pumpkins.  Maybe next year I will have all of those plus the tomatoes!  The goal is to one day be able to grow and harvest enough to provide at least 75% (or more) of our food for the winter.

So stop for a moment and think.  What final preparations you will be making for winter between now and Thanksgiving?   For some of you, it might be just as simple as making sure the snow tires are on and the car is tuned up.  For others it may mean stocking food not just for yourselves but for all of your livestock.  Admittedly, we are somewhere in between.

Nothing like a beautiful fall day...

It was a gorgeous fall day yesterday!  Just the right temperature, sunny, and bustling with folks either setting up their booths, wandering the collections, or just enjoying all the tasty vittles.    I was so thankful for my dad's help as this was my fist ever festival and it took me a bit to figure out how to get set up.  I think he ran home to get me something three different times!  Good thing they live right down the street. Within a couple hours of organizing, rearranging, and putting the final touches on pricing, I was sitting down to the spinning wheel with the visiting elementary students flocking over to see what I was doing.

Today looks like it is going to be another beautiful day today!  And all the lumberjacking festivities and horse pull start up at 11am!  So we'll be heading back down to start setting up for the day here in a few minutes.  So head on down and enjoy a day of festivities reminiscent of the past.

6th Annual Johnny Appleseed Festival - This Weekend!

Well this weekend I will be a vendor at the 6th annual Johnny Appleseed Festival hosted in my hometown of Sheffield, Pennsylvania.  It will be my first ever vending event!  My feelings are a mix of excitement and  apprehension.  Excitement because I get go home for a weekend, spend time with my family, watch some crazy Appalachian Mountain lumberjacks, and share my products with the world.  Okay, well maybe not the whole world, but certainly a small part of it.  Apprehension because I've had such a busy past month with a series of (sometimes unfortunate) events, that I had hoped to have a better variety of products made. But I suppose I will just go with what I got, and make the best of it!  I've got at  bunch of colorful baskets, bits of fiber and yarn, and some wax dipped origami stars.  And best of all, I'll be sitting right by the horse pull!  One of my all time favorite events.  Weather permitting, I may bring a couple of my angora rabbits to pluck as a fiber demonstration as well as my spinning wheel and knitting needles.  I'll also be sharing that booth with a friend of mine who makes some wonderful hoops (yes folks, for 'hula' hooping).

So if you're out and about this weekend, and anywhere near Sheffield, or if you're looking for a beautiful drive with a unique festival at the end of the road, head on up to the heart of the Allegheny's!  You won't be sorry!  See you there!

A Homesteading Weekend

Last weekend was great!  My sister and I had fun from beginning to end.  If you didn't catch the last post, we attended the second Mother Earth News Fair at Seven Springs, PA.  Talk about homesteading and sustainable living galore.  They had everything from livestock and cooking, to foraging and hammocks.  Seriously folks, if you can thing of it, there was probably a lecture or workshop on it.  In fact, there was SO much to do and see that it would have taken you a week to see and attend everything (if you had a week).  We had to do a little strategic planning to figure out what we wanted to see and when.  They great thing about going with my sister was that we pretty much were interested in the same things, and outside of maybe two lectures, we took in the same information.

So it was great from the start!  We had booked a 'rustic' cabin at Kooser State Park for the weekend.  I'm glad we made our reservations ahead of time, as I think every single cabin was spoken for.  Let me say, for 'rustic' we sure made out pretty darn well:



Other than the absent bathroom, it had all the amenities you could ever want.  Seriously, I think I could live just fine in one of these if it had a water closet of sorts.  We got all settled in, made some dinner in the wood stove and spent the evening folding and waxing origami stars, pickin' on the strumstick, and chatting up our excitement for the upcoming day.

Waxed Origami Stars

The next morning we arrived at Seven Springs by 8:15am, hoping to get a close parking spot (which we did).  The outdoor grounds were opened by 9am and my sister seemed to make a beeline for the livestock.  I don't think it was intentional; maybe some unseen driving force, or the subliminal whisper of, "over here."  Whatever it was, she made it to the meat rabbits in break neck time, and by 9:15 had bought herself a pair of Silver Fox does and one buck from Mule's Eared Farm.  Well that was fast.  We happened to run into Jenna Woginrich of Cold Antler Farm (one of my favorite authors and bloggers) purchasing herself a Silver Fox doe.  She was one of the keynote speakers at the fair that weekend.  We were able to attend two of her seminars on Raising Meat Rabbits (I guess that was fitting, seeings how we just bought three) and Living A Sustainable Life.  Both were great.  She's a great speaker as well.  Before I forget, here's my sister, happily holding one of her new rabbits:

A girl and her rabbit.

Well, that's all i have to tell for tonight as my computer is about out of power!  And I suppose it's past my bed time.  I'll share more hopefully later this week (I've only just touched the tip of the iceberg), as well as my preparations for the Johnny Appleseed Festival coming up in my home town this weekend.

Mother Earth News Fair! This weekend!

We're off to the fair this weekend!  Me and my sister, braving the elements (it's supposed to rain all weekend!), spending our nights in a 'rustic' cabin with no plumbing!  Ah yes my friends, this will be one great adventure.  And I can't wait!  For all of it!  I will get to see some of my favorite authors and hopefully come home just  a little bit smarter as a homesteader.  There's SO many great workshops and seminars going on this weekend that I just don't know how I'm going to choose.  All I can say for sure is that I will be stopping by to hear Jenna Woginrich from Cold Antler Farm and Joel Salatin from Polyface Farms.  Those 2 are a must for me.  So if you live in the greater Pittsburgh area and have nothing better to do this weekend, hop on out to Seven Springs for a little taste of my world.  We'll be there both Saturday and Sunday.  Young or old, there will be something for everyone!

Bramble's Arrival

Baby Bramble, not even 2 hours old.

So she finally arrived; Tuesday of last week.  There has been so much going on that this post has been in the works for over a week now.  A classic alpaca birth, so I'm told.  I'd been waiting for the call that Bracken was going into labor for over a week prior; ready to drop everything when my phone rang.  See, we still board our alpacas on another farm, and that farm is 50 minutes from home and 1:15 from work.  So I was sure that by the time she started showing signs of delivery, she would have already delivered by the time I got there.  It just so happened that I did indeed arrive in time though.  And not a minute too soon.  There were 2 little hooves and a nose just peeking out of the birth canal.  On went the camera and out came a beautiful baby girl!  In less than 3 minutes no less!

We were so thankful to see that healthy baby girl.  She was up and nursing with in an hour and a half.  It's amazing to watch how quickly these events take place.  And as I looked at her standing next to her mamma, I though, "How on earth did she fit in there?"  She's all legs!

Baby Bramble next to mamma Bracken

By the following day, she was galavanting around the pasture with the rest of them.  Rolling in the grass and just enjoying the fine weather.  I can't wait to see how her fiber develops.  She's just the softest little thing.  

Lessons in Dyeing

 So I'm hoping to be a craft vendor at my hometown's Johnny Appleseed Festival in a month.  I'm not sure if that makes me ambitious, entrepreneurial, or just plain delirious.  It will be my first vending event if I can pull it off, but that means that I need to more than double (maybe even triple) my inventory; most of which is already posted on my Etsy site.  So I got to thinking about what I might bring with me:

Baskets

Hand spun and dyed yarn

Hand processed and dyed roving

Decorated origami stars

Knitter's mittens

Hats

Woven scarves

And whatever else I could find ready to go in my craft room.  

I still have not sent in an application and payment.  I have till mid-September to decide, and that's sure going to come up quickly.  I spent the past couple of days trying to work out what needs to be made, prices, tracking down a tent.  There's a lot to think of.  So I started with the fiber!  I pulled out my trusty book on Hand Dyeing Yarn and Fleece by Gail Callahan and went too it.  I have thirteen colors to work with, although if I mixed them, the possibilities could be endless.  

Not shown - Fire Red

And here was the finished product drying in the bathroom.  It was too humid to dry it outside.

And once it was re-skeined.

Two hanks of Alpaca and one of Babydoll Southdown.  Not bad for a few hours.  Er, a few hours of dyeing that is...I already had the yarn spun up.  Still, I'm pretty happy!  And if you're not familiar with the Sheffield's Johnny Appleseed festival, take a peek HERE!  It really is a neat thing to see.  Makes you want to go out and get your own axe and start a swinging!  And let me tell you, the women are just as tough as the men!  It's quite impressive.

Who knew that alfalfa had such pretty flowers?

In the Silence of the Day

I woke up this morning to the sound of thunder rolling across the hills.  It was a slow drone that seemed to fill the air you breathed.  My husband had just gotten up and was preparing to meet a friend to work on a new butcher block for the kitchen, while me and the dog still laid in bed in that twilight somewhere between sleep and awake.  It was a still morning; still is.  One of the kind that make you feel like if you move too fast, you might accidentally stir something up, and awake the farm in a flurry of commotion.  A morning where you seem to walk gently and purposefully as you do your morning chores.

I checked the weather channel on my iPhone before I got out of bed to see what kind of weather I could be expecting (we still appreciate some of this fancy technology here on the farm) and was excited to see that we had a severe thunderstorm warning listed.  I love thunderstorms!  But when I turned to look at the map, I found that it looked like nothing more than a tiny red, orange, and green burp in the sky.  Oh well.  Another day perhaps.  I got up anyway.  Might as well at least enjoy the morning chores as the burp passed.

An hour later and that thunder can still be heard passing over hills and through fields, but the sun has broken through the clouds now and chickens are fancying their nest boxes and fussing when one of their fellow hens seems to be taking too long.  I appreciate these exaggerated mornings.  They give us time to reflect.  The storms long gone now, and though the Weather Channel says there's a 40% chance of rain all day, the movement of the radar seems to indicate otherwise.  Then again, I'm no meteorologist.  So we'll just have to wait and see.

All In A Day

ella's first art batt!

Yesterday was quite the busy one.  I was blessed with the company of my sister and two nieces for the whole day.  The older of the two was working on a wrapped clothesline basket to enter into their county fair later this month, and wanted to use my sewing machine to complete it.  She worked hard all day and turned out a beautiful project.  I'm hoping to see a ribbon on it come judging time.

Sewing baskets wasn't the only tasks performed and completed.  My younger niece (and sister) carded, spun, and plied a wonderful art yarn.  We also made two new hoops for my nieces, which were used on and off all day, and made origami omega stars.  It was quite the busy and productive day!

Come evening, I had them happily on their way back north and my husband and I headed up to the Farm Show.  Let me tell you, farm shows have a whole new meaning once you enter into the world of farming yourself.  Even if your farm just  consists of chickens, angora rabbits, and alpacas.  The first place we always head for is the Poultry tent, perusing through the menagerie of different breeds and admiring their plumage, color, and size.  Also of interest were of course the sheep barns and the rabbit tent.  Meat rabbits are seriously on our list, and visiting the rabbit tent allowed us to get a good idea of the breeds out there raised for that purpose.

By the end of the evening I was exhausted and ready to go home, put my feet up, and work on some knitting before heading to bed.  It was a good exhaustion though.  I love that sense of accomplishment and the sleep that comes after a good day's work.

A Full Weekend

The past two weeks sure have been sultry!  It was so hot that for a solid week we brought our buns inside to keep cool.  They never would have made it out in that heat and humidity.  Since they don't have the option to burrow into the cooler ground like the wild rabbits, we created for them their own little underground sanctuary - in our basement, which stays a nice 60 degrees year round.  I have a feeling they were much obliged.

The garden (for the most part - I'll get to that later) is doing well.  As a matter of fact, it's doing so well, that I'm realizing that I should have planned it out just a little better.  My butternut squash is taking over the whole lower quadrant.  Not surprising in that I planted 8 seeds (all came up) in a 4 by 8 plot.  I didn't have the heart to thin them out.  And now they will be the squash monster that takes over my whole garden; I'm sure of it!  The roma tomatoes plants are full of fruits.  Beans producing like mad.  Okra enjoying the ridiculous heat.  And pumpkins starting to trellis up our TV antennae tower.

This past weekend we travelled up north to help move my brother and sister-in-law back home.  It was a long and exhausting process, and by the time we left to come back down to the farm, you could tell everyone was whooped.  Even after the moving truck had been unloaded, it was still a full weekend.  We visited the local farmer's market (Eat Local!) and open air market - something new for Warren County, and went a saw a movie.  And of course ate more than we should have.  That always happens when mom's cooking.

Can you find the Sphinx (Hummingbird) Moth?

This is not to say that we didn't find time to relax as well.  We certainly did.  I took the opportunity to shoot some pictures of the flowers and wild life in her gardens during one of those times.  My mom's flowers always seem to attract Sphinx moths.  I love these little things.  They never stop flitting from one flower to the next.

Chinese Lantern Plant

I acquired this plant from a friend of mine when we both lived at the barn.  I think these are fabulously bright and wonderful!  I love the orange color they change as they mature.  Inside is a tiny little fruit that reminds me of a type of tomatillo.  Don't just go out and eat them though, as I can't tell you if they are edible or not.  Some have told me they are edible and others have said they are not.  If anyone knows for sure, I'd love to know!

Knitting Addictions

I ran across this animated short a couple days ago, and the whole time I watched it, I sat there shaking my head thinking, "I can relate!"  I would knit just about anything to keep on knitting.  Once upon a time I ran out of fiber, so I actually spun up some plastic bags into 'plarn' (plastic yarn).  I never did knit it up into anything as someone felt so bad for me that I had resorted to making plarn, that they gave me one of their sheep fleeces to process.  I will not deny that I have a fiber addiction.  I have more fiber up in my craft room than I could probably process in an entire year.  Then again, who knows.

So to all my other fellow addicted knitters, crocheters, and fiber artists, I hope you enjoyed this clip!  Happy Knitting!

The Buck Moon

Tonight's Buck moon rose to a chorus of coyote's out in the back pasture.  It couldn't have been a more perfect scenario.  As a matter of fact, I have never heard the coyotes so close, and so active before.  It was just as if they needed to make sure that the man in the moon felt welcome as he looked down over our hills.  In the background, the fireflies dashed to and fro lighting their little paths all over the sky and through some of the tall vegetation (including my garden).  It was picture perfect, really.  


The full moon goes by various names as it rises each month, and varies according to different peoples and traditions.  From what I have read, the Buck Moon dates back to the Native American peoples of the northern and eastern regions of North America.  It's reference it to the the new growth of velvety antlers poking out from the foreheads of the bucks this time of year.  We visited an animal sanctuary this past weekend which houses and cares for a small herd of reindeer.  I got to feel first hand what that wonderful velvet feels like and now have a better appreciation for the name of this month's full moon.  All I can say is that velvet is a wonderful texture to feel.  


It's nights like these that make me thankful that I live in the country and not the city.  I realize to each his own, but oh the wonderful sounds of nature.  It's peaceful.  And that's how it should be.  

Heat Lightening and Lightening Bugs

Tonight as I drove up the hill, heading back home from a long day at work, I was greeted by the most beautiful display of heat lightening illuminating the sky and lightening bugs (aka fireflies) dancing through the fields.  It was one of those moments that most individuals take for granted as they speed through life mulling over the less important details.  I, on the other hand, was completely mesmerized.  The lightening coruscated through the clouds like the grand finale of the Fireman's Festival Fireworks, though mute as the atmosphere absorbed their sound.  These things are a rarity to see.

I feel fortunate that we still see the fireflies up here.  I remember running around with a jar as a kid, trying to capture enough to act as a lantern; something right out of a fairytale.  But as I got older I noticed their numbers seemed to be dwindling.  No one really knows for sure why they seem to be disappearing but there are many theories: increased land development, light pollution, lack of suitable habitat, and reactions to agricultural chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides.  It's true that the landscape is changing, and quickly.  Every day it seems that more and more housing developments are going up, invading our shrinking farming communities.  It saddens me to be seeing so much farmland being sold and converted.  And it scares me to think that less than 2% of the population in this country are still farmers, desperately trying to provide for the more that 98% of the remaining population (statistic from Food Inc.)  Will we wake up and realize this before it's too late?  Will we be able to repair the damage that has already been done.  These are hard questions to ask, and I find that if I dwell on them too long I start to feel like Alice falling down the rabbit hole.

So back to the Fireflies.  A friend of mine must have been floating on the same wavelength as me tonight when she posted a link to the Firefly site pictured above.  I was encouraged by the knowledge that there are others out there wondering the same as me.   How much would be lost by the disappearance of these illuminant little creatures.  They truly are magical.

Garden

Yellow Squash Seedling

We did our garden a bit differently this year.  Other that two tomato plants, one basil, and one cilantro, everything was planted from seed ~ the first weekend of June.  It was a late start but except for the stevia, everything appears to be coming up and doing well; especially the potatoes, onions, squash, and beans.  My focus this year were root cellar crops.  I wanted to plant as many foods that could be stored and used throughout the winter as possible.  Last year we had sweet potatoes in the basement as well as some canned pickles.  I'm hoping to expand that this year.  Baby steps, folks!  That's how it's done.  I have grand ideas for my gardens, I really do.  But can find myself quickly overwhelmed if I try to do it all at once.

I'm pretty proud of what we've planted this year.  We've a 4X8 plot of butternut squash as well as another of a variety of bush beans.  A third plot is split between red potatoes and yellow onions.  A fourth with jalapenos, broccoli, okra, eggplant (which I don't think is going to grow), and carrots.  A fifth with roma tomatoes, beets, and green onions.  And lastly a small strip planted with the basil, cilantro (one plant, the rest seeds), parsley, and stevia.  That's just the garden.  I also planted in a couple of large pots yellow squash and zucchini, and a half barrel of potatoes, and a small pumpkin patch next to my bleeding heart.  Just making the most of the space I have.  I still would like to put in some lettuce but I'm having a hard time keeping the  chickens out of the planter I want to grow them in.  I suppose I could fashion some kind of lid to start them off with.

In the mean time, the weeds have come in along with the sprouting seeds.  Mostly Lamb's Quarters (which I just recently found is edible) and some suspicious red-bottomed leafy plant.  I'm not sure what that one is just yet.  Perhaps it is edible as well.  All I can say is that they came from our compost as none of the 'compost-free' areas have it growing.  I don't mind the weeding that much though.

A Late Start

(one of last year's sunflowers)

We are finally getting our garden in.  Yes, it seems late.  It is late!  But with all this rain, traveling, company, and then stifling 95 degree days, planting has been nearly impossible.  Better late than never, I suppose.  My dad was down for a visit this week and brought us his Mantis tiller.  So we've spent the last 5 or so hours weeding, raking, tilling, and marking off our new beds.  I transplanted a few sunflowers that God must have planted, because I sure didn't.  They looked dreadful 15 minutes after their shuffle, but I have faith that they will spring back to life in a few days.  I did the same thing last year and they did just fine.  There were only 7 transplants, so I'm going to plant a few more sunflowers to keep them company.  I love watching sunflowers grow.  So big and tall.  There are three other beds that were plowed and mixed with compost today.  I'm not sure yet what will go in them.  I do know that I want Butternut Squash, Green and Yellow beans, and potatoes for sure.

It must have been a good time to break.  Both my husband and dog are completely out.  I suppose it's time to start thinking about dinner then.

And there we go!

The 31 days of May comes to an end.  Hope you enjoyed.  Now back to normal blogging.  There's still lots going on round the farm, so stay tuned.  Oh, and Beaky says, "Hello!"  It sounds more like a "cluck cluck squak," but I'm sure that's what she means.

Humidity

We spent the weekend up north in the ANF (Allegheny National Forest)at my parents. It was good to spend time with family, something running your own farm (however big or small), doesn't allow you to do as frequently as you'd like unless you live close by. Unfortunately, at the moment, we do not. The weather, for the most part cooperated (as if we really had any say in it to begin with). The only rain we had was a fast moving thunderstorm that swept through last night around 10pm. Though it was quite warm this afternoon, there was still a pleasant enough breeze to allow us to enjoy eachother's company in the pavilion.

It wasn't until we drove through the little town of Zelienople, on our ay back home, did we happen to look up and see that the thermometer was reading 99 degrees Farenheit. Yes, 99 degrees. We were so comfortable in the AC of my little Beetle that we simply weren't pondering how stifling the temperature would be once we stepped from its icy confines. Fortunately for us, however, the temperature dropped to 91 by the time we reached the top of our hill. The temperature around bedtime is hovering in he mid 80s but the humidity has picked up. We try not to AC the whole house if we can prevent it, but we did put the small window unit in the bedroom window. I can tolerate the heat and humidity during the waking hours, but I find it awfully hard to sleep when I feel lime I'm suffocating.  So we put our small window unit in the bedroom window just for the night.  Quite frankly, in this kind of weather I'd be just as happy with a hammock on the back porch.  The problem is, I don't have a back porch.  Nor do I have any trees nearby to sling up my hammock.  I sure do miss it!  A partially wooded lot is a requirement for my own place.  I sure do miss shade.  I sure do miss my parachute hammock.  I think I'm going to pack it up and carry it around with me, looking for places to hang it, even in (especially in) odd places.  If you've never tried a parachute hammock, visit Ticket to the Moon's website and check them out.  They are super portable and ridiculously comfortable to boot!  If I had my way, I'd probably sleep in it every night.  Another house requirement: the capability to hang my hammock.  Yes, inside!

Foraging

Here's Grey Baby.  I love her color.  All the buns love some 'free-range' time.

Dog Nosed Kisses

I love my dog, I really do.  There's nothing better than having your own warm fuzzy four-legged friend to cuddle up to on a cold day, to snuggle close to you when you are sad, rejoice with canine excitement when you are happy, to wake you up in the morning (or in Kenai's case, the middle of the night to ask if he can come up on the bed), to ride in the car with you, chase the chickens, and alert you when someone pulls in the driveway.  I'm not sure how people get along without them.  Someone once commented to me that, "it would be a inconvenience to always have to take them out or find someone to watch them if you wanted to go somewhere."  Maybe since I've never been without a dog that I can remember, I don't even think of those things.  My husband and I went on a mini-vacation two springs ago and left Kenai with my parents.  He of course was well taken care of, but when we would go to bed at night in our big king-sized bed, we felt like something was missing.  Kenai is such a permanent fixture in our family that going somewhere without him is hard.  And yes, he sleeps right between us at night, all 75 pounds of him.  Not the whole night; usually right when we go to bed, then he'll get down until about 4am, then hop back up.  He's like clockwork.  And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Farm at Dusk

Sure looks peaceful, doesn't it?

Follow the country road.

Dandelions Abound

MountainMud Handmade on Etsy

I've finally re-opened my Etsy shop, MountainMud Handmade.  And what a more perfect day than my birthday.  I stayed up until 2am to get items posted and ready to be displayed and I couldn't be more pleased.  I have been a basket-making fool this past month and a half.  I love stitching these together!  I am addicted to color, the more the better.  For the majority of these baskets I use quilt quality batiks.  I have many of these around the house stuffed mainly with handspun skeins of yarn.  They are just so happy to look at, and very versatile in their uses.  I can just imagine many of these lined up side by side on a shelf holding all of the things we love to see and touch.  I'm a very tactile person, so these fit me to a T.  So hop on over and take a look; let me know what you think.  Just click on the Etsy link to your right, and it should take you right there.  I do have a few other items for sale as well:

(beautiful vintage fabric patchwork skirt) 

(aromatherapy bags) 

(100% handspun amazing angora yarn)

Fair Weather

True, we've had a lot of rain, but the past week we have also had a bit of fair weather.  Enough for most of the farmers to get their fields plowed and planted.  It make be later than what was hoped for, but many field are on their way to sprouting vegetation.  It sure is nice to glimpse that blue sky.

All Spun Up!

It didn't take long to get my festival fiber all spun up.  I was on it that evening when I got home, and finished the next day.  As a matter of fact, most of the fiber that I bought at the festival is spun up.  I love to spin bright colored fiber.  It is so peaceful for me to treadle on my spinning wheel and watch the colors blend together like they do.  I have a ton of spun up yarn.  Most is from and dyed roving that I bought on Etsy, but I've recently started dying my own fiber.  While there will always be something fiber-related to learn, this seems to complete my ability to process my own fiber from start to finish.  Now if I can ever seem to part with any of it or knit it into an actual garment.  Right now all my skeins are in one of my huge handmade baskets.  My husband asks me all the time when I'm going to do some with the yarn and my response is always the same, "But I just like to look at it."  Seriously.  I love to fish through the basket admiring the kaleidoscope of colors and textures.

By the way, this basket really is huge.  It's 12 inches high and 15 inches in diameter.  And as you can see, it's filled to the top.  My goal is to eventually knit it into my own technicolor dream-sweater.  But I haven't mastered the art of sweater-making just yet.  Coming soon...

8th Annual Waynesburg Sheep and Fiber Festival

(60% Merino, 30% Bamboo, 10% Nylon)

Today we travelled down to Greene County for the 8th annual Sheep and Fiber Festival.  Last year was our first time attending and we met so many great people that we went back again this year.  It is really a great little festival with a medley of different vendors and fiber animals.   We got to chat with some of the people we met last year, eat some lamb, and fetch some fiber to spin.   I even bought a Dorset fleece right of they newly sheared sheep.  We chatted with the couple from the llama farm we visited last spring, who invited us back out for another visit, and I bought some of their llama roving to spin.  I've yet to spin llama.

 (new lamb)

 (Babydoll Southdown Sheep)

(introducing the pygmys to the new pygoras)

We also acquired two pygora lambs (not me, my friend Cheryl).  Pygora means a cross between an angora goat and a pygmy goat.  Their fiber is wonderful!  It is softer than just the angora goat, yet the pygmy gives the goat it's hardiness.  Cheryl already has two adorable pygmy goats (seen above - on left); these two were a perfect addition to her little farm.  It was quite a ride home with these two in the back of the car.  They actually did pretty well.

Lastly (no pictures yet) we found a table loom for sixty bucks!  We couldn't decide which was the better deal of the day: the goats or the loom.  Both were amazing finds.  Stay tuned for some loom productions!