Great Lakes Fiber Festival

This past weekend was the Great Lakes Sheep and Fiber Festival in Wooster, OH (about 2.5 hours from our farm).  What a time we had.  All of my baskets went and were a big hit (this is why there are currently none listed in my shop, but don't worry, more to come!).  Above is some of the beautiful roving in one of the booths.  The colors were fantastic!  Here's some other pictures from the festival.

Our booth.  It was shared between Stramba Fiber Mill who is a local alpaca farm and fiber processing mill and Alpaca Fiber Studio and Friends who specializes in beautiful hand dyed and painted yarns, batts, and wearable art.  

Here's one of my newest creations!  I call it the "Zombie Scarf".  Maybe because of the colors.  Some people call them Fairy Scarves, but the zombie name just stuck in my head!  I'm fairly new to water/needle felting, but folks, this is fairly simple!  For those of you looking for a way to take your own wools and process them into something beautiful without having to spin them, felting is it!  There is so much potential with felting.  I never knew.  Check out this book if you need some tips and ideas: Fabulous Felted Scarves by Chad Alice Hagan and Jorie Johnson.  And there's one of my baskets hiding down there.

Here's one of the fabulous hand felted works of art by Robbie Grodin of Alpaca Fiber Studio and Friends.  She has an amazing talent for color!  We bartered a basket for some yarn.  A good trade.

 Another shot from the front of our booth.  There was just SO much wonderful color there!  I especially love the colors in the alpaca rug in the center.  I was able to be a part of the process.  It was so neat to see it come together.  Terri from Stramba Fiber Mill processed the rug yarn, I dyed it, and my friend Lisel from the Harmony Weaver's Cabin wove it all together.  How amazing when you get to see a work of art that used the talents of so many hands come together like that.

 Here's some lock spun yarn from another vendor's booth.  This was spun from Wensleydale sheep.  Another of my favorite which I hope to own some day.  I bought a few fleeces at the show and hope to combine it with some other fleeces waiting to be spun to create some yarn like this.  I had to post this as a large picture so you could see better all curly locks spun into a strand of yarn! 

Here are a couple Border Leicester Ewes in the barn.  I bought a couple of Border Leicester fleeces in what we like to call a 'behind the barn' sale.   It's not as mischievous as it sounds.  Many shepherds bring their fleeces to festivals to sell.  They are somewhat confined to the barns with their animals (as opposed to a booth in one of the buildings), so we simple asks ask them if they have any fleeces for sale.  Most of them do, and you can get them for a great price that way.  

A few of the finds from the festival.  The huge ball of roving was used to make another zombie scarf.  It in the process right now.  I'll post pictures of it when it's finished.  There was so much fiber there though that I think I'll spin the remainder into yarn.  Same with the smaller green/gray ball.  They yarn was my barter!  I also found a needle felting kit, and some silk hankies to spin, which I've never done yet.  This along with the three raw fleeces I found, should keep me pretty busy all summer!


On another note, I'm recovering from having my wisdom teeth removed yesterday and two other upper molars.  I lost a front tooth as well!  It was an old root canal from trauma as a kid.  Seven all together - Yikes!   Sounds so, for lack of a better word, Redneck.  It was the first time I had ever had anesthesia before.  What a weird experience.  Took eight sticks to find a vein.  I inherited my mother's veins, apparently.  But once they got it, I was given something that made me pretty loopy.  I started talking about all sorts of things!  I remember that, but I don't remember going to sleep, just waking up.  It was pretty quick.  In and out in two hours.  And surprisingly, I'm not even noticeable swollen this morning, nor did I have to take some of the stronger pain meds, just Motrin.  Tomorrow I will have that front tooth replaced.  I'll try not to smile until then.  Might scare someone away!  =)  No rest for the weary, though.  I've got potatoes and onions still to get in the garden, herbs and lettuces to plant, and another bed to weed and plant.  Add that to basket-making, felting, laundry, and washing fleeces and you've got one busy girl.  
Lastly, on a 'better' note - we got some rain!  And the plants soaked it right up.  It was nice to not have to water the garden, at least for one night.  

Weekend Full of Activities

This past weekend was a whirl wind of activities.  I don't think we got to truly sit down once.  Saturday began early with a trip to the Waynesburg Sheep and Fiber Festival just south of Pittsburgh.  This was my third year attending, but the first with out my husband.  He's been so busy taking a class and working full time.  He needed to stay behind and get caught up.  This was okay, as I headed down with a friend who we've met up with the past two years at the festival anyway.  Last year I rode back home with her to 'chaperone' the two pygora goats in the back of her car.  Oh the adventures we have!  I'm really not much for garage sales (I've got enough junk I'm trying to scale down), but we stopped at a few along the way.  I did managed to find this wicked broom!  

I think I'm going to hang it on the wall in my craft room.  Perhaps it will get some use one day, but for now, I just want to admire it.  I attended a broom making seminar last September at the Mother Earth News Fair in Seven Springs, PA.  I couldn't believe what all went into making brooms, especially if you grow your own broom corn.  I guess that's why I couldn't pass this one up - for a whole $2.  What a deal!

The Fiber Festival was actually rather small this year.  Perhaps people were still getting over there fiber shock from the recent Maryland Sheep and Wool festival.  Still I picked up some roving to spin.  Here's the before and after.  At least for the purplish one.  I've a ton of fiber I need to process and dye.  I'm hoping these beautiful colors will give me the motivation to get some art batts made to spin.  I've yet to really try some of the core spinning.  There were some amazing handspun yarns at the festival.  We refrained from bringing home any goats this time, but my friend did find a great little loom.  So it wasn't a complete bust, but we didn't stay as long as we have in the past.  


The remainder of the day was spent working in the garden.  We've really been working hard the past few years to try to build up the soil.  We even brought our own compost pile when we moved down here.  Sound silly!?  Well it took at least a year to establish those beneficial microbes and attract the worms!  How could I just leave them behind.  It was only a large Rubbermaid container-full, but we made it, and I wanted to bring it.  Now our pile is 20 times that size (or more).  We're working on building semi-raised beds within the area our landlord has offered for us to garden.  It's just a corner off of his corn/soy field, but I appreciate it all the same.  The only downfall has been that the soil has been stripped over the years from growing just those two crops.  So we've been building the compost to help rebuild at least our little section of the field.  We'll see how it goes this year.

Here's a small section.  We used grass clippings to lay out the plots
for this summer.  We move them every year.

Notice that there is some growth already?  The garden was full of weeds two days ago.  When we went to weed-wack, we discovered that our Parsley and Cilantro came back from last year!  I was really excited to see that. We'll let some of it go to seed.  The Cilantro is already flowering.

Cilantro!

Parsley!

In Comes the New Year

Whether we like it or not, the new year has crept in (for me) almost unnoticed.  I think the older I get, the faster each year passes.  Does anyone else remember how time used to pass slower when we were kids?  Summer breaks went on for ever, Christmas's and Birthday's couldn't come quick enough.  Perhaps that's just part of the magic of being children.

So with the advent of the new year, most people are busy making their new year's resolutions.  I will admit, I've never been one for new year's resolutions.  I think you should be able to make resolutions any time of the year, not just January first.  However, I do like to reflect on where the journey has led me, and where I hope to travel in the up and coming.

This past year we saw the birth of our very first alpaca cria, Bramble (aka "string bean").  She is strong, healthy, and independent.  Don't let the fact that I call her a string bean mean she's "lanky," she's a sturdy little thing - just all legs and neck!  If you're curious about what an alpaca birth is like check out this link to our YouTube site. 

The following month we did our own very first breeding while working out at the farm we board our girls at.  It was a success, and we can expect Bracken to deliver another cria next fall.  We are  very excited to see what this year's breeding will produce.  The funniest thing about breeding, is that it is quite literally a herd 'affair'.  All the unbred (and ready to breed) females cush next to the breeding pair.  The little up and coming herd sires 'practice' on all the cushing mamas.  Don't worry, they're not old enough to be successful yet!  Bramble wouldn't keep her nose out of the face of the breeding herdsire, nor would the other little females.  This is all a part of it.  It's a learning experience, so to speak, for the young ones.

I also vended at my first ever fair, the Johnny Appleseed festival in my hometown.  I was delighted and amazed by how well it went and can't wait to do it again.  Perhaps this has given me the confidence to participate in a few other events.  On top of this, I reopened my Etsy site, which has also done well.  It is sort of surreal to know that you've sent your crafts all over the country.  That my baskets and yarn are being enjoyed by someone other than myself.  I started making basket out of necessity.  I needed some place to put all the yarn I was spinning; something 'pretty' and colorful.  But once I started making them, I just  couldn't stop!  They are just so much fun to watch come together.  And while I'm a huge proponent of baskets, I realized that a girl could really only have so many.  So I reluctantly (at first) decided to offer them to others, though I wan't sure how I could bear to sell them.  The reluctance has since passed, and has been replaced with the joy of knowing that someone too will smile at my creations.  My advice to anyone who has always wanted to be share their creations with others - just do it!  Get out there!  You may be completely surprised by the support and encouragement from others.  I know I was!

Here are some of the other highlights of the year:

We hiked...

...gardened...

...canned...

...spun at festivals...

...grew pumpkins...

...learned to dye fiber...

...attended the Mother Earth News Fair...

...supported my sister's purchase of three meat
rabbits at the Mother Earth News Fair...

...found that we had quite the demand for our eggs...

...learned (or began to learn) to cook in cast iron...

...learned to play the banjo...

...learned to weave...

...and taught my sister and nieces how to weave...

...developed a love for blue cochin chickens...

...and ended the year with family (and pets!).

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!

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!

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)

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...

Keepers for Sure

We're Expecting!

Okay, so maybe not it the way you think "expecting". Meet Bracken! The newest addition to our 'farmily'. She comes from one of the many beautiful animals at Highland Alpaca. And she is expecting her second cria in September of 2011. The gestation for an alpaca is about 11.5 months. Her first cria, Blayberry, is a gorgeous bay black. We can't wait to see what this cria will bring. Her herdsire, Enzo, is pictured below. He's such a handsome boy. It's really going to be hard waiting another 9 months to see who pops out.

Life on the farm hasn't been dull. It never is. Each weekend is always packed full of something. Last weekend I plucked both of my angora rabbits. I'm getting much better at it. Poor Mr. Buns no longer loses ALL of his fiber. And I've finally figured out how to keep all the fibers going in the same direction; just in case I want to sell some of my angora in the future. It's a learning experience. And if you expect to go into it knowing how to do everything perfectly, you'll be sadly disappointed. It's certainly not rocket science, but it does take a little practice.

In my 'spare' time, I've been working on knitting a shawl that I saw posted on another blog that I enjoy (it is also available as a free download here on Ravelry). I've been using the alpaca fleece below to spin and knit it from. It's the fleece I picked up at a fiber festival in Ohio this summer and is absolutely wonderful to work with. I'm hoping to have it finished by Thanksgiving so I can wear it. I'm down to the last set of rows before I start the border. I will need to spin up some more fiber for it though, so it is taking a bit longer than I had hoped. I'll post pictures once it's done.

It's been hard to believe that winter is upon us as we've had a late Indian Summer. This weekend has been beautiful (except for today's rain) and the temperatures unseasonably warm. I have a feeling that this isn't going to last too much longer. I'm okay with that. I don't mind that changing seasons. Sure winter can hang on longer than we like some years, but it's a nice time to rest, slow down, and focus on the things that really matter.

Etsy Shop Reopening!

I've finally re-opened my Etsy shop! And it's about time. I've been...err...collecting finished projects. There are a bunch; I'm starting with posting some of my fiber and then moving on to some of the other handmade goods. I'll have everything from yarn to fiber projects (and carded batts coming soon!) to clothing and origami. I have too many creative outlets. Life is never dull that way. If you are a knitter and/or crocheter you will definitely want to check it out. My favorite fiber to spin is ALPACA! And if you've never worked with it...you are in for a treat! It is amazing and oh so warm!

On a different note, the farm has kept us busy. Mostly with the chickens. We've lost a couple to the hawks (which is very sad) and there seems to be some sort of upper respiratory infection going around. Most seem to be responding to the antibiotics and colloidal silver pretty well, but it's heart-wrenching (for a chicken-lover like me) to watch them suffer through the snots and sniffles. And if you know us well enough, you would know that antibiotics would be a last resort. Some might say to cull the sick ones (others, the whole flock), but THAT would be the absolute last resort. Those only mildly affected are still outside; others who are a bit worse for wear are brought into the house...a sort of chicken hospital.

Mrs. Buns tricked us with yet another false pregnancy. I'm not sure yet if I will breed her again.

On a happier note, I will hopefully have news of a NEW ADDITION to our farm family soon! So stay tuned!

Two Busy Weekends and Another to Come

("smile for the camera" - a cute goat from the fiber festival)

Goodness how busy I've been! So much to write that I think I'll have to do it in segments. Where to start:

This weekend we travelled ALOT! On Friday we travelled an hour and a half (one way) across the state line to pick up a new partridge silkie hen. I lost my Eleanor a few months back and have been looking for another, as one silkie hen just doesn't seem like enough. She's pretty cute and we refer to her as the "new" Eleanor. Some may think that recycling a name is a dumb thing to do, especially if you're other one died, but I have to tell you...new names are more difficult to come by that one might think. So she's 'Eleanor the second' in memory of my wonderful first partridge silkie hen.

Saturday we went BACK across state lines to a fiber festival in upstate Ohio. It was quite the drive (120 miles one way!), but I came home with 10 pounds of unprocessed sheep's wool and 5 pounds of a gorgeous gray alpaca fleece. Give me fiber, and I'm a happy girl! I've been processing a good bit of alpaca fleece lately. Today was my first experience washing a sheep fleece. For what it lacks in cost, it sure makes up for in washing. It's very different to process. It will take some practice, but I can't wait to dye and spin it. Our travels were extended another 60 or so miles on the way home as we swung up to Butler to pick up a dozen silkie eggs to stick under my broody silkie hen, Delilah. She just finished raising a clutch of six (who need to find new homes) and had already been found in the coop making nest. It's a little crowded in the coop right now with all the new chickens, so we've created her own little protected sanctuary in the corner in a big old dog cage that keeps everyone else out. Though her chicks are certainly old enough to be on their own (and almost twice her size now), they still seem to want to be close to mom sometime.

Last weekend was an exciting one on the alpaca farm. But that will have to wait for another day, as my bedtime has come and gone, and 6am will come far too soon for my liking.

Open Barn Day at Highland Alpaca

(picture from Highland Alpaca website)

DON'T FORGET: Open Barn Day at Highland Alpaca this coming Saturday from 11am - 4pm!! I'll be there spinning, so come on out!

Alpacas vs. Llamas

So let me catch you up on our alpaca adventures: We have visited four alpaca farms to date and have met some really amazing people along the way. Every one has been so kind and generous with their time and experience. Each visit has been unique, allowing us to build on previous knowledge we've gained. You are already familiar with Bully Hollow Alpacas, this was our first farm visit. The following weekend we visited Highland Alpacas in Grove City, PA, which is an alpaca farm on a much larger scale (100+ alpacas!). Where our previous weekend's visit to Bully Hollow gave us a great introduction to the alpaca world, our visit with Highland allowed us to get an idea of the business aspects of raising a herd of alpacas. And let me tell you, these two ladies know their stuff! I spent a couple days afterward with my head still processing all their wonderful information. Not to mention that their farm is AMAZING! That's really been one of the most beneficial things about all of our different farm visits is seeing where/how people started, how far they've come, and all the various set-ups for the farms. The general information is the same, but everyone tweaks it to make it work for them. There's no "set-in-stone" way to do things. I like that.

This past Saturday we visited two farms, and we found that the second farm put a whole new twist on what we thought we knew and were looking for. Let me explain why. The first farm was Lippencott Alpacas in Waynesburg, PA, home to 20+ alpacas. After taking some time to talk to and get to know the owners of the farm, we headed out to get our feet wet (literally...it was pouring) and get some hands on experience with the alpacas. Perfect! Another visit that was completely new from the rest. We helped give vaccines, dewormer, and even clip some toenails. Up until now we hadn't really worked with any of the animals. It was a new experience and well worth the visit. A bit after noon we traveled to Temple Ridge Llamas. Yes you read that right; I said llamas. Llamas and alpacas are both related. Alpacas are smaller than llamas and for the most part have a fiber that is more sought after. So here's were the 'twist' came in. We couldn't get over how friendly and inquisitive the llamas were. Sure, we've met some inquisitive alpacas, but they always seem to want to keep you at arms length. Not so with the llamas. They came right up to us, stuck their noses right up to ours, gave us a couple sniffs, and decided we were okay. I couldn't keep my hands off of them! "Why" you might ask, were we visiting a llama farm? The answer is simple, llamas make good guard animals for your alpacas (sheep and other animals too). We met the owner of the farm last weekend at the fiber festival and he invited us to meet his herd. So we came, and I'm so glad we did. What does this mean for us now? I think we want both, and at the very least we want a guard llama. We were absolutely smitten by their personalities. You can also shear them for fiber as well. But guarding and fiber are not the only uses for the llama. They are great pack animals and companions, can be trained to drive (pull) a cart, and are very smart.

I dreamt about llamas that night....

Sheep and Fiber Fest

This past weekend we attended the Sheep and Fiber Fest in Waynesburg, PA. It wasn't a big festival, but you could tell that all the vendors and exhibitors were passionate about what they were doing. We saw various breeds of sheep, llamas, alpacas, and bunnies. And these were only the fiber species. They also had Border Collie herding demonstrations with both sheep and ducks (the ducks were so funny!).

The first exhibitor we visited was a shepherding couple (pictured below) giving a sheep shearing demonstration. It's amazing to watch how they are sheared so that their fleece comes off in one big blanket. We got to take a look at those shears; they are wicked! One wrong move and you could cut off an utter or leave a gouge the size of the San Andreas Fault. Still, I think I would like to learn how to shear. This fella has quite a few years on me (and no, I'm not talking about age); he's been shearing since he was 15. No wonder he's so quick and efficient!

After the demonstration we meandered our way down through the other exhibits, checking out all the different breeds of sheep that were brought for show or sale. My next goal is alpaca, but I would like to raise some sheep as well. They are good not only for fiber, but also for meat. My favorite sheep's wool to spin thus far is BFL, short for Blue-Faced Leicester (pronounced "lester"). It has a great staple length and crimp, making it a good fiber to learn on. Though there are better sheep for fiber, BFL (I'm told) is also a good meat producer, which in my opinion makes it a good breed.

Further down the line we finally ran into some alpaca. Ah, the wonderful sound of their nervous little humming. I must have been mesmerized by their cuteness, because I didn't take any pictures. We did however meet the owners and hope to schedule a time to go and visit their farm. I will remember to take pictures. To date, we have visited three alpaca farms. And each time solidifies how passionate I am about these animals.

In other news, the garden is slowly going in. I would have loved to have gotten it in much sooner, but life happens. All that means at this point is that I will have to buy my plants instead of sprouting them from seeds. We have in corn and sunflowers, which we sowed right in the ground. There are two other 4 X 4 plots ready, and hopefully we'll get 4 more of those plots ready soon. I also want to try my hand in container gardening as well. So many projects! I'm sure there will be a lot of trial and error this summer.

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!