Perigee Moon

There's been so much going on this past five months, it's hard to know where to start.  I suppose the best place to begin is with the present and then continue to revisit the past until I've covered it all.  At least what I can remember.

This past Saturday was this year's Perigee Full Moon (aka. the Super Moon).  Did anyone get to see it?  The perigee moon is it's point in orbit where it is closest to the earth on it's elliptical travels.  This actually happens once a month, but doesn't always coincide with the full moon (which only happens once a year). Because it is closest to the earth, it appears much larger and brighter.  I have always had a fascination with the moon.  I stare at in amazed that there is this huge orb floating out in space, circling the earth, affecting the tides and perhaps all other life on earth.  After all, we are 70-ish percent water.  So I had my photographer husband outside taking pictures for me.  He doesn't yet have a telephoto lens, but I'd say his pictures still came out pretty good.

We finally got some rain today.  It's been hitting just about every place but on top of our little hill lately.  And we've desperately needed it.  I took a friend for a hike to Hell's Hollow on Saturday and can't think of a time that I've ever seen the creek so low.  This concerns me as this is supposed to be the rainiest time of year, and already the water table is low.  Those of us who rely on well water have to think about these things.  Even now it is thundering outside.  I'm very thankful for this.  Rain plus thunder, who could asks for more.  

We got our garden fenced this past Sunday.  Clearly you can see that it's not ready for planting.  But now that it's staked out we can begin preparing the mini plots inside, and keep the chickens out.  They were quite helpful in scattering the rabbit droppings, though.  Handy little birds, those chickens are.  Hopefully this rain will open up the soil a bit.  It was so dry.  And we've accumulated a great compost pile to mix in since last summer.  Here's a few other recent shots from the farm:

There's a few Jersey cows on the farm now!  

Found some Lemon Balm growing in a pot my mom gave me last summer!
Yay for Lemon Balm!!  What a nice surprise!

My new love...hanging my batik fabric out to dry on the line.
It looks so pretty blowing in the wind.  

And I'll end with the story of this little bird.  Yesterday I found her wandering around in the "seed row" where we scatter seed in the morning for the chickens.  I picked her up hoping that her mama and papa were somewhere close by, but no one came squawking.  I put her next to the garage in a grassy spot hoping she'd find a safe spot for the night, but fearing that she'd be.....er.....food for someone else.  This evening I went out to collect eggs with my husband, and who did I find in the seed pit?  This little girl.  I knelt down and she hopped up into my had chirping.  She then hopped right up my arm to my shoulder and started pecking my nose!  I think she thought maybe it was my "beak".  She stayed on my shoulder for a bit and then flew away.  She's not quite a competent flier yet, but I figured she flew well enough that I would just leave her be.  

Well as dark grew closer I went out to close up the chickens for the night.  I got them all in and accounted for (we just integrated our new spring chicks), closed the door and heard a peep at my feet.  Lo and behold, there she was looking up at me.  It was like she was saying, "what about me?"  She then began scurrying around the coop trying to find a way inside.  Finally I just scooped her up and took her in the coop.  I had a broody hen that I thought would keep her for the night.  She snuggled right into the hen's feathers, and the hen certainly didn't mind.  Those chickens would mother an alligator when they are broody.  I thought I would check on her once more before coming back in the house.  The hen was on a roost and the little sparrow had fallen off.  She was asleep in a corner, but I wanted a safer place for her.  So I put her in one of the least used nest boxes and surrounded her with a bit of hay.  She immediately fell back asleep.  I don't know what will become of her.  And I typically try to let Mother Nature take care of her own.  But there's something special about this little sparrow.  If she thinks she's a chicken, so be it.  That's all for now I suppose.  So I will bid you all a good night and head off to enjoy the thunder and rain.  

Victorian Farm - A MUST See!

I've just finished this series, and it was absolutely wonderful! If you, like me, have an interest in living a simpler life, a life of old, seemingly long and forgotten, you will love this. The documentary was shown on BBC in 2009, spanning six, hour long episodes. However you can find the series on YouTube broken into 36 roughly 10 minute segments.

The story follows a British team of three who recreate the lives of those living in the mid-19th century for one year. They must learn to farm, cook, and survive only on the resources available during this time period. You get to share in their struggles and triumphs, watching them grow crops, raise livestock (sheep, pigs, chickens/ducks, a dairy cow), cook, clean, and fellowship with others of this era. People were so connected to the land, their animals, and others; something I think we've unfortunately lost over the years.

A Very Eventful Week(end)!

So much has happened or been accomplished over the past week and weekend it's hard to know where to start! I'll try the 'beginning' with all my little captions:

A NEW BAG

I absolutely love to sew! And I love the fact that I always have so many projects going at once. Sure, sure, it can get hectic, especially when it seems like I never get one project accomplished before I am starting the next. But on those occasions when I do actually finish what I set out to do...well it's just pure bliss! Above is one of my creations from this past week. I found this Debbie Mumm fabric on sale a few weeks ago and couldn't pass it up. The pattern was actually for a simple bag (which would consist of only the outside layer that can be seen. I thought it was far to beautiful for that so I added the inside fabric and quilted them together with bamboo/cotton batting. I threw this together pretty much in one evening. Other than a few minor problems (one of the straps got sewn on twisted...you'd never know) it turned out fabulous! I have some more of the same panels to make a couple more. Simple, fun, and very colorful! I have collected a bunch more of her fabric since I first bought this and I'm hoping to make an Earth Day themed dress before the event next month!

THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS

Some friends of my husband's (I've yet to meet them) sent me some amazing huacaya alpaca fiber (the brown fiber) to spin! I love how God puts such thoughtful people into our paths. I was blown away to think that someone I've never met would send me a gift. You better believe I had that spun as soon as I could get my paws on it. What a dream it was to spin! I'm going to ply it with some Suri alpaca fiber a bought a couple months ago. Oh, and that wasn't the only fiber I received! Another alpaca owner sent me (via my husband) some her her alpaca fiber to card and spin (the white fiber)! Talk about fiber overload! Guess its time to be looking for an affordable drum carder. I still have a whole Lincoln sheep fleece and some llama fiber to wash and card (these were also given to me). My most sincerest thanks go out to all of those people who help make my dreams a reality. What more can I say, I'm blessed!

COW IN THE BACKYARD

We got home late on Friday night. It was dark by the time we pulled up to the house. It had been another gorgeous day! I went about the nightly chores of covering up the buns and closing the coop when low and behold I came face to face with a cow in my backyard! If I haven't already told you, we live on a diary farm; not our cows, our landlord's. I suppose this isn't the strangest thing I've encountered before, but she sure did make my heart jump. We chased her through the fields and back through the yard before we finally got her corralled back into the pasture with the rest of her lot. Oh the adventures of farm life! I absolutely love it!!

CHICKS

This week I will be chick-sitting for a friend. I'm really excited because some of those chicks will find a new home on my farm! And these aren't just any old chicks...two are supposed to lay chocolate-colored eggs and two are supposed to lay green eggs (called Easter Eggers)! I got to see them only a couple days out of the egg and already they were peeping up a storm and waddling all over their cage. Amazing! And the funniest thing is they all seem to have these narcoleptic moments where they just lay down and fall asleep. It's a hard knock life being a chick, I guess. They'll be coming to stay on Tuesday, so stay tuned: more to come!

G'night!