Tag Archives: sheep

MV Obsession 2023-08-21 19:51:37

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge # 262 : Faces in a crowd…

New York City

Proposal in Times Square

Grand Central Station

Junior’s restaurant

Carnegie Hall

The Cosmic Photo Challenge : Three views from one spot…

Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard fishing pier… views from front, side, rear.

Baby sheep and goats at the watering hole.

Sheep and goats.

Kids in a bucket.

RDP Wednesday – WOOL…

From the shearing of the goats and sheep to the final product, this is the story of wool. My daughter and I went to our first shearing event several years ago and it was beyond interesting. The way the animals sort of zone out while they’re being sheard to the softness and warmth of the lanolin drenched wool fresh off the sheep and goats. The last picture is of sweater my daughter made.

The shearing…

Roving to yarn to dyed yarn to sweater…

Photo A Day Challenge: Goodbye March…

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“In like a lion, out like a lamb” has always seemed a straightforward enough proverb: when March starts, it’s still winter, and by the end of the month spring has begun.

 

https://citysonnet.wordpress.com/2019/03/01/march-photo-a-day-challenge-2/

Solstice!

Well, it’s raining. Again. Still.

My vegetables and flowers are so waterlogged from all the rain that I’m tempted to scrap the garden completely and start over. We had to cancel our plans to pick peaches and roast marshmallows for Solstice. It’s too wet, and there’s flash flood warnings for town. Last time (a mere few weeks ago) this happened, people died locally from swift-moving and swollen creeks. Instead we are watching movies and hoping no one lambs in the deluge.

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We managed to get out for cherry picking not so long ago, and the orchards aren’t faring much better with the weather. The cherries were splitting and then molding on th vine faster than they could be picked.  It was a small harvest.

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We did have enough to make a small batch of Brandied Cherry Jam, though.

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Granola has gotten used me to being out to check on the Ladies (we are in the lambing window now!) , and though he still won’t let me handle him much, he does like to check my pockets for treats.

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While we wait for the rain to end and the lambs to arrive, we are going to eat our weight in blueberry gateau.

Hopefully your solstice is more summery than ours!

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Unlikely…

This week’s challenge is to share a photo of something unlikely.An object or person in an unlikely place.

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This little guy found an unlikely place to curl up and nap…

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He made it look so inviting that his brothers and sisters came over to take a look…

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And before he knew it everyone wanted to get in.

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https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/unlikely/

Scenes From An Early Spring

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One of the chickens has taken to laying eggs inside the haybale, where the sheep have made indentations from snacking. When done with her daily task, she’s been known to pause for a nap on Darby’s back for a bit.

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I’ve always seen sweet pictures on the internet of sheep with other little animals on their backs; usually cats. I’ve never had it happen here before, and I seriously doubt Samson cat will ever get up the nerve to nap on a woolly back. It’s a happy circumstance for me, then, to catch this hen hanging out with her ovine companions.

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Most of our hens now are laying darker brown eggs; a fact I realized today when getting ready to boil eggs to dye with the kids. Nothing worse than having four dozen eggs in your fridge and having to buy more so your kids can play with pastel colors.

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My Shepherd Sweater is flying off my needles with much more speed than any of my previous projects. I’m guessing this is due to the huge amount of time I’ve spent this year waiting. Waiting for Neve to get out of school. Waiting for doctor’s appointments. Waiting for the garden to wake up. I’ve got the main portion of the body done, and am about to finish the second sleeve.

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I still have to do the pockets as well. They are done as steeks, and I haven’t ever worked one before, so I’m a bit nervous.

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Handsome Granola. I hope he’s done his job!

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The Bradford Pears and Forsythia are finally blooming, and the Cherry Blossoms are on the verge.

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The peonies have only just started poking up, and I’m seeing the very beginnings of the radishes I planted starting up, as well as one lone asparagus that has broken up through the earth. I’m really hoping the rest will show themselves soon!

Welcome Spring 2018!

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It almost looked like spring out there, with all of the buds about to open on the trees, and all of the daffodils blooming.  Not that I’m complaining, mind you.  I love a good snow, and a good day off! Besides, here in Central Virginia in March, this will be gone tomorrow, and we’ll be back to business as usual. In the meantime, we are enjoying a day of relaxing and knitting inside.

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I tried getting some good pictures of the flock, but they were convinced I must have cookies in my pockets for them, and wouldn’t let me step back far enough.

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Darby unbelievably turned 5 a few days ago. 5!

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Scout has taken her usual spot for the day……

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…..and so have the cats. What’s funny about this situation on the cat tree is not that it is unusual – they do this every day. What’s funny is these two hate each other, and only on the tree do they reach any semblance of coexistence.

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Of course, a snow day would be incomplete without a baked good of some sort. This is our current favorite – the Whole Orange Bundt Cake  from Joy the Baker. The recipe can be found HERE, and I highly, highly recommend it.

I’ll be rounding out the day by knitting and listening to podcasts ( current favorite is My Favorite Murder ) in front of the fireplace. Maybe a nice wee dram of scotch later  – current favorite for that is Ardbeg.

How are you spending this spring day?

Finding Some Hygge

Once in awhile you get a perfect day. One where the weather gives you a little bit of the magic you were looking for (in the form of snow), and you don’t have to be anywhere but right where you want to be.

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We finally got a respectable snow fall this week. The schools closed down, the driveway became impassable, and we were treated to a quiet and cozy winter day at home filled with baking, cuddling with pets, and knitting.

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This rooster ( aptly named Snowball) stood at the backdoor just like this all day, alternating with leg he’d tuck up into his feathers. We tried moving him to dry, non-snowy spots, but it seemed like he was enjoying spying on us too much and kept coming back.

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I love seeing sheep in the snow.

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After morning chores I made a loaf of cinnamon bread.  Oona hung out by the fire to wait for it to be ready and to snuggle.

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I also started working on my next big knitting project: The Shepherd Sweater by the amazing Pam Wynne.

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Spending the day watching the snow by the fire, with cinnamon bread in the oven, knitting, with a small glass of lovely scotch: exactly what I needed. Any chance I can get one of these every week until spring?

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Granola!

I’m beyond thrilled to introduce the newest addition to my little flock. He is a Rambouillet/BFL/Finn cross, and his name is Granola (he came with the name, and it’s adorable, so hes keeping it). He was born last spring, and he is an intact male. Meaning, of course, that once he’s feeling it, he can breed my ewes. And let me tell you, I for one assumed he’d be a bit young still to attempt any romance, but within an hour of being here, he was already making sexy faces and advances on Willoughby. She is super not interested, but Lyra and Carina won’t leave him alone.

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This post is Lyra approved!