Sunday Muse

The Lightest Touch

Good poetry begins with
the lightest touch,
a breeze arriving from nowhere,
a whispered healing arrival,
a word in your ear,
a settling into things,
then like a hand in the dark
it arrests your whole body,
steeling you for revelation.

In the silence that follows
a great line
you can feel Lazarus
deep inside
even the laziest, most deathly afraid
part of you,
lift up his hands and walk toward the light.

~ David Whyte from "Everything is Waiting for You"

In the Fiber Room

We've combined the lovely Lucy's wool with some fawn mohair for these beautiful spinning batts!
Available here http://ow.ly/ZkS7q

Late Winter

As we go through our normal day to day late winter chores, this year we're busy getting ready for some early arrivals.  Nine of the ewes were bred early by two 'bad boy' fence jumping rams and are due, not in April with the rest of the flock, but in the next couple weeks.  It is a challenge to adjust our usual spring lambing and feeding routine to a winter one, but we're working hard on the logistics.

We're also working with Tilly, the family milk cow (wow, it feels really great saying that) who will be having her first calf in March.  We're so excited about this addition to our family and our daily routine.  So wish us luck for the next month or so, it's been a long time since we've milked a cow.  Oh, and be sure to stay tuned for the baby pictures ☺

Sunday Muse

"In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks."
~ John Muir

In the Fiber Room

We've been busy skirting raw fleeces in the fiber room. Check out the new listings in our Etsy shop.

Happy New Year

Tilly - "All together now... Happy New Year!"

Happy Winter Solstice

Welcoming back the light... Happy Winter Solstice!

Meet the New Mister

We'd like to introduce the 'New Mister' in the flock - Frey (Anglo-Saxon God of Fertility).  He is a Teeswater - Finn cross.  We are so excited about those beautiful, curly Teeswater locks, but kind of hoping the Finn prolificacy doesn't come through too strongly :)

Alfresco Skirting

We took advantage of a break in thunderstorms to do a little alfresco skirting.  What a pleasant experience with a background of birdsong, bleating lambs and answering mamas.  We were even joined by a beautiful visitor :)

Happy Summer Solstice!

Sunday Muse

"...thinking of driving again the gravel roads of America at thirty-five miles per hour in order to see the ditches and gulleys, the birds in the fields, the mountains and rivers, the skies that hold our 10,000 generations of mothers in the clouds waiting for us to fall back into their arms again."
from "Cold Wind" by Jim Harrison

Happy Mother's Day!

 

Shearing Day

Saturday dawned with sleet, hail and strong winds... not the best way to begin shearing day.  Joe and Melvin made short work of our 37 ewes as we ooohed and aaawed over each beautiful fleece as it came off and was bagged.  We vaccinated with CDT, checked FAMACHA scores and checked body condition.  By the time we moved the ewes back out to pasture, the skies were blue and the sun was shining.  What perfect timing!
Lambing will begin in the next couple weeks.  And of course we can't wait to get our hands on all those gorgeous fleeces!

Six Months

Hard to believe... the boys are six-months-old!  They are doing great and are right now on their own with the bred ewes.  They do still have their... ummmm... teachable moments but all in all they have wonderful natural abilities and are just amazing.

Asher - ready to take off down the hill

Birka - guarding Hera

Red - watching the chickens

Farewell to February

February said farewell in a lovely way... cold temperatures but lots of sunshine.  It seemed as if suddenly the birds truly believed that spring would soon arrive and began their songs in earnest.  March 1st definitely roared in like a lion, but oh, on that last day of February, we all enjoyed the sunshine and had a renewed sense of hope.

Your Sunday Muse

Overnight the flakes had descended,
and left a carpet of pure white,
A fox awakened from his sleep,
patrolled the frosty night,
The silent frozen world had now,
become a canvas, new,
For patterns to be created,
by the feet of creatures, who
Had ventured out to sample
this delightful snowy land,
Fashioned by an invisible Master,
with his gifted hand.

His paints so subtle, had with skill,
produced true moonlight hues,
Such lovely shades of brilliant white,
soft yellows and deep blues,
An eerie earth, a changed and strange
vast open wide expanse,
Where, up above, each dainty snowflake,
had started its downward dance
And settled, on the serene landscape,
clothed, in its simple dress,
Where we imprint our patterns too,
across a snowbound wilderness.

by Ernestine Northover

Happy Lunar New Year!

Of course around here, it is always the Year of the Sheep!

{this moment}

A Friday ritual.
A single photo - no words - capturing a single moment from the week.
A simple, special,  extraordinary moment.
A moment to pause,  savor and remember.
Participating with the SouleMama blog

Good Fences

The boys are working hard and growing into wonderful guardians.  They are full into the swing of things... helping with the night time guard duties and sleeping much of the day.  

Joining The Run-A-Round Ranch for Good Fences

Birka, Mama Bella, Asher and Red

12 Sheepy Moments of 2014