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!

The Worm Bin

Here's our worm bin. We built it about a month ago, and have had worms eating our garbage for the past three weeks. I have to say, I'm quite impressed at the voracious appetites these little creatures have! Do you see all the little flecks of brown below? That is worm poop! We started the bin with moistened shredded newspaper and cardboard, a few leaves, a bit of dirt, and some food scraps. More food scraps were added as we accumulated them. And I have to admit, we had no real clue what we were doing. But it looked easy enough to start, and it was.

Our journey in composting started about three years ago. We lived in a barn (yes literally) turned apartments and had a small area outside along the barn to plant and compost. We were becoming more aware of all the garbage that we produced and wanted to start to do our part in decreasing our footprint on the earth. Actually it was recycling that we started first. Though recycling seemed to become big in the 90s (at least that's when I remember it becoming big), I've been astonished by the number of communities that DON'T offer a recycling program. At least no longer offer one that allows you to put bins out with your trash to be collected. In my opinion, sadly, it's made a lot of us lazy. And I had fallen into that category as well. So we made our own bins. Nothing fancy; we just cut some holes in large Rubbermaid containers and stacked them, designating each for what we recycled (plastic, glass, tin/aluminum, and paper). We made the effort (not much effort at all) to find a local drop off for recyclables, and once they were full, we took them to the recycling center. We were amazed how even just that little bit decreased the amount of garbage that we generated. So we took it a step further and started a compost pile in a 3X3 square outside our kitchen. We had now decreased our trash production from a couple bags of garbage per week to maybe one every three weeks! I couldn't believe how much of a difference composting and recycling made! I was so proud of my compost pile that when we moved, I packed it up in a bin and took it with me.

We are still composting outside (most of which just went into the garden), but I've been wanting to start a worm bin for a couple of years now. We keep it in our kitchen so that we can put the scraps right there into the bin. It doesn't stink (I'm sure someone is wondering that). It smells like earth. And those happy little red wigglers are chomping away. This (above) is some of what was produced in just three short weeks.

There are lots of resources online for starting your own worm bin. So get at it! Even if your a city dweller, this is a great way to compost without having to own some land to put a pile outside! Happy Worm Farming!

Cool Morning in the Country

{play this while reading}

It's been raining A LOT lately. And I mean we've been lucky to get one sunny day out of seven. Not only has it been rainy, but also hot and muggy; the kind where you crawl into bed and feel like you just made it with sheets straight out of the washing machine. Wet. Sticky. Yuck. However, this last slew of storms brought in not only a bit of sunshine, but also cooler weather. The last two nights I slept like a baby!

This morning it was cool enough to need a sweater to go take care of the morning farm chores. I like days like this. The sun was shining bright, and that cool breeze....oh the cool breeze. Nothing could be better. As I drove off to work I plugged in my iPhone and turned on my Nickel Creek station in Pandora. On came a song called "Big Country" done by Bela Fleck and Edgar Meyer (posted above). There couldn't have been a more perfect song to describe how I was feeling. It was like the soundtrack to my life at that moment in time. I drove slowly and deliberately down off the hill this morning. Looking over the fields, watching the farmers already at work, breathing in the sweet summer air. This was one of those small glimpses into heaven, I think. For one short moment all the rest of the world melts away and you are just at peace. Everything is as it should be. Like God opens up the sky and what shines down is a reflection of what is to come. A window into another dimension. A place where time no longer exists. No deadlines. No timelines or places we have to be. We just exist. We are all connected somehow to the earth and the light. We work the land together and share in the profits. There's not more sadness or regret, only peace and joy. Sounds like a place where I'd like to stay forever.

Creature No. 1 - The Aubergine (Eggplant)

The finished product! I was pretty happy about how it turned out considering all the new knitting techniques I had to learn to complete it. The artist/author does a pretty good job and describing each technique, accompanied by illustrations for visualization. When I encountered one I still couldn't quite get, I headed over to good ole YouTube for video clarification.

Now on to the tomato!

The Eggplant and the Orphaned Chicks

'Creature' No. 1: The Eggplant. Actually it's not an eggplant, it's an Aubergine. But it looks more like an eggplant to me; short, plump, and purple. Either way, it is almost complete and with fairly little trouble. I'm happy about that. I learned some new techniques along the way, which I suspect are going to make the tomato (creature no. 2) quick and simple. Before long I'll be out of the garden and into the deep blue sea.

Here are our poor orphaned chicks. Their Bantam 'mom', Ginger decided last week that she would rather rejoin the rest of the flock and start laying eggs again. She wants nothing to do with them and pecks at them if they come near. I was worried at first. They're only about a month old. But they seem to be getting along well for themselves. We keep an eye on them throughout the day and put them in the bucket nest at night. So far, so good. Cute little buggers. Everyone else seems to be doing well too. Our Silkie hen, Delilah, by far wins the 'best brooder award' for this hatching season. Her chicks are now about as big as she is. She still tends to them when they need to be mothered, but they are starting to venture off on their own now. You should see them when we come out with bread. They are starting to be the first ones to feast. Ah, chicken life. What could be better?!

An Amigurumi Adventure

This past winter I taught my self how to knit (with a little help from all the wonderful videos on YouTube), for one reason, and one reason only....the book pictured above. I can't even remember how I stumbled upon this artist on Etsy, but being a fellow 'creature' lover, I was absolutely captivated by her designs. At the time I was an avid crocheter, but none of the crocheted amigurumi patterns came close to the uniqueness of these. So I set out on a journey to begin learning some basic techniques and honing in on my skills as a knitter. A few days ago, I decided to purchase Amigurumi Knits by Hansi Singh and give it a go. She has cleverly organized the creatures in to related sections; starting with vegetables, then moving on to under water creatures, backyard critters, and finally mythical creatures. There are 20 patterns in all. I can't wait to start! I had to order my needles online as I couldn't find the right size and length at any of the nearby stores. I've decided that I am going to start at the beginning of the book and knit my way to the end! There are a few that I absolutely can't wait to knit, but I won't give away any details. Stay tuned for 'creature' number 1...