Fun with sheepdogs

I was at my sheepdog lesson Thursday (the lesson is more for me than the dog) and found out that there was a trial this weekend. The trainer encourages a few of us to go and the facility is only a mile from my house so, why not? Here is a picture of Rusty before:

I had to worm all the ewes this morning and at noon I had Rusty gather the rams for their treatment and then do some more work. Just trying to take the edge off so that maybe he'd be calmer in the trial.  That photo is how is looks after a dip in the wading pool and then a roll in the dirt.

After he dries off he doesn't look so bad if I brush him. Here he is waiting in anticipation for his turn.

We watched the Advanced competition, the Open competition and then we werer third to last in the Started dogs. Lots of waiting. Rusty did very well and came home with a third place out of 16 entries!

We'll go back tomorrow for another round of this. If he gets a qualifying score again then he gets a certificate of some kind.  (And according to the Wizard of Oz its those certficates that are important--don't ask me where that came from--too much sun?)

Hot chick!

This is Goldie, the chicken that likes me.  She runs to me and expects to be picked up when I open the chicken house door. She is hot, like the rest of us. The TV news people love it because they get to say "triple digits".  Of course they're inside their air conditioned offices.

So what am I doing on these hot days? Plugging away at everything that needs to get done. We're mainly working on getting the shop put back together. No photos until it is done! I'm taping and painting and putting down floor. Dan is building a deck, doing electrical work, etc. I have a spinning class this weekend so I have to be able to get in the door!

I've been sorting sheep again. State Fair entries are due this week so I needed to figure out who to show. I have a lot of lambs from which to choose. I sorted the lambs into groups based on sire so that I could choose 4 lambs with the same sire for one of the group classes. These are Houdini's 2-horn ram lambs...

...and these are his 4-horn ram lambs.

These photos are in the dark because it was night before I got to this task. Hard to evaluate fleece in the dark. So I looked again in the morning.

You can barely see Rusty behind the rams. They are so dog-broke now that I can work with them in the field.

They are going into one of the pastures that was so swamped with tall grass last year. We burned it in the spring. Look at the trefoil growing in what was a 4-foot tall sward of grass.

Here is a close-up. This is one of my favorite flowers--bright and pretty and good forage for sheep.

Some parts of the pasture are starting to get overrun with that Dallisgrass again. I'm hoping that the ewes can make a dent in it if I keep them out there longer. I've been letting them in the barn during the hot part of the day. If I don't make them go back out they'll bed down in the barn at night, but they will have more of an effect on the pasture (bedding down, manure deposited, etc) if they are out all night. So I've been moving them out at dusk.

Do you see that big round one--third up from the right? That's Madeline. She is pregnant and due to lamb at State Fair just before Labor Day.

I can't believe I sheared in November and I still haven't processed wool. I sold a lot of it, but I have some to process. Wait until you see the new products I'm going to have! (I'm not telling right now.) Three bags full:

These guys are waiting for something fun to happen. They are ready for the girls, but we'll wait a few months.

That's Rubicon on the left and Moonshine on the right.

Back to more painting!

When things don't go as planned

What had I planned? I planned to have my newly remodeled shop ready for a weaving class on Tuesday. Didn't make that, but of course I'd have it ready for Farm Day on Saturday (see my website for info on the Farm Club if you want to find out about Farm Day). Here's what the shop looks like today.

Not too bad. It's ready for paint and then the floor.

But what's this?

I was removing the discolored trim around the A/C unit and the hammer went right through the sheetrock. It turns out that the A/C has been leaking and the wall is damp inside. One thing led to another and now there is a big hole in the wall and we spent hours trying to figure out why he unit was leaking. That side-tracked my husband from the job he was working on--moving another electrical outlet so I don't have extension cords draped everywhere.

My sons goats are still here--well, 2 of them. And I'm still milking them. I have been giving milk away but the refrigerator was full tonight and I decided to try making cheese. I've been planning to do this, but I never have time. This is 1 1/2 gallons of milk heating on the stove.

The next step for this simple cheese is to add vinegar and drain the curds into cheesecloth. OOPS. Wouldn't you know? I finally decide to make cheese and I can't find the cheesecloth. Can you tell what I used instead?

That's my cheese hanging in pantyhose! I'd say that's a better idea for the pantyhose than it's intended use.

Visiting friends and relatives

I'm home from a 9-day vacation. I missed the 112 degree day in Vacaville--spent it in Vermont where it was raining off and on! My husband took care of things here including milking the two goats that are still here. I flew first from Oakland to Grand Rapids, MI (with stops in Salt Lake City & Detroit) where I stayed a night with my friends, also Jacob sheep breeders, who had moved from Davis, CA a few years ago. They have a beautiful home and barn and live in a beautiful part of Michigan--rolling hills and farms with huge red barns everywhere. After a night at their farm I went to Kalamazoo to stay with my sister-in-law and her family for another night. They gave me a ride to the fairgrounds in Mason, site of JSBA's AGM (that's the annual meeting for Jacob Sheep enthusiasts).

It is always interesting to meet people who's names I recognize from preparing registration certificates and it's fun to see those whom I've met at AGM in other places. Too bad I didn't get very good photos. The event that I'd been worrying about was the Fun Sheep Show. They kept emphasizing FUN, but I wasn't thinking it would be so FUN since I was one of the judges. The "old-timer" (in Jacob sheep history), Luke Hardy, was to be  the other judge. It turns out that this old-timer wasn't old and stooped and wearing overalls like I'd imagined. He is about my age and looks younger! Anyway, the show went well. We were to each place the top 4 sheep in each class and he and I were pretty close in all the classes. Sometimes we had the same top placing, sometimes the top 2 were switched, but we chose the same top 4, or at least 3 of the top 4, in almost all the classes. I wish I had a photo of my first (and maybe last) judging event.

After AGM it was on to see my daughter in Vermont. That was a flight from Lansing to Detroit to New York to Burlington.

This is the only photo I have of me on this trip.

Katie had to work while I was in Vermont so I was on my own for 2 days. I visited the Shelburne Museum--what a fantastic place. You need 2 days to see it properly. I was only half way through when I realized that I had only 2 hours left and I hadn't even seen the special textile exhibits that I wanted to see.

This is a Jacquard loom in the Weaving Shed that was built specifically to house it.

One of the special textile exhibits is  hooked rugs by Patty Yoder, a contemporary fiber artist who died not long ago. The rugs are stunning. I took photos of all of them. I think the one below is my favorite. Here is a link that shows more of her work:  http://www.gmrhg.org/site/features/features_2005/yoder/yoder_p.html

Below is a carousel horse from an exhibit of the Circus. I love these horses. If I could get my hands on one I'd keep it in the house!

There is so much to see at this museum. I didn't even try to see many of the buildings. I had 15 minutes left to see the exhibit of Tiffany glass, Nature by Design. That was only time to glance in each room and snap some photos. When Katie is living in VT after she finishes school in TX I'll be sure to go back.

Katie got off work early one day and we took the tour of Ben and Jerry's. It has given me ideas of what to do at my place to make it more interesting for visitors. Paint my Explorer and add horns? Copy Ben and Jerry's idea of the Flavor Graveyard? Hmmm. I don't think anyone would want to see the graveyard at a farm. I'm going to try and get creative--wait and see!

Isn't this a fabulous barn? This is not too far off the Interstate near Burlington.

This is the house where Katie is living this summer. It was built in the 1820's and there are 5 other residents, including the owner who grew up in the house. Here are a few others from the neighborhood.

I flew out of Burlington Thursday morning. This trip took me through Detroit and Phoenix before getting back to Sacramento. It's good to be home although I miss my daughter. My kids are so much fun when they actually seem to like me being around!

Finally weaving

I have started to work on the projects that are backed up from BBA (before broken arm). This is a Jacob wool blanket for a local Jacob breeder. The wool was spun at Yolo Wool Mill. It's very open right now at 4 epi but I have notes from the last blanket I did using this yarn  and the blanket came out great. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. But now I'll have to wait a week (at least). I'm leaving in the morning for Michigan and Vermont! I'll take photos!

Who's in the barn?

The lambs in the last post are 10 days old now and yesterday I let them into the pasture with all the other sheep. Last night I found the little ram lamb limping and I diagnosed a broken leg, but wasn't sure where.  I took him to see my vet today and she came up with this splint to immobilize the leg. The break is at the top of the tibia and this splint holds the joints on either side immobile.  We'll leave it on about 3 weeks and see how he is.

While I had my camera in the barn I took other photos.

Amaryllis, the donkey.

Jasmine, one of my son's does. He has gone to his summer job and I'm milking the goats that are left.

Ewes and ewe lambs on the pasture.

These ram lambs were so happy to get out onto the pasture after being in a dry lot getting hay for weeks. I have to keep them separate from the ewes now so my options are more limited. This pasture now has plenty of feed.

This is trefoil, one of my favorite flowers, and good sheep feed. There is a lot of it in that ram pasture.

My husband came back from the hardware store and told me he bought something for me. The other day when I was irrigating I broke the only shovel that I could find --one with the handle taped. So this is MY shovel.

Lambs in June?

I guess its normal for people in cold climates to have lambs later in the year, but June seems pretty late for me. This is Hillside Sidney with ram and ewe lambs born a couple of days ago. I got Sidney along with 5 other sheep in February and there had been a ram escape at the previous owner's farm.

Here is one of the things on the list for today. I have lots of buttons waiting to be drilled and sanded. I like to do a lot at once because it's kind of a dirty job--horn dust  in the hair and all over. I want to have a new batch of buttons for the Spinners Day on the Farm in Healdsburg tomorrow.

Empty Nest

This has been quite a week--nothing having to do with my business. My daughter flew in from Vermont last Friday and her boyfriend got here from Texas on Saturday. They both left this morning. My youngest son, Chris, will leave today for his summer job. Yesterday the Empty Nest thing hit me. But here is a glimpse of how we spent our week. We spent a day in San Francisco--taking the ferry to Alcatraz, watching the sea lions at Pier 39, visiting Coit Tower, and ending with a walk on the Golden Gate Bridge and a visit to the Marin Headlands for a look over the bay.

Isn't this a perfect plant to have at a prison? Look at those spines. Actually, this was part of a decorative garden. The employee families used to lived on Alcatraz and had normal lives other than the fact that the kids took a ferry to school.

This photo is taken from Marin County, northwest of the Golden Gate. Alcatraz is the island to the left of the north tower and San Francisco is south of the bridge.

Katie celebrated her 21st birthday. I guess this was the first time she has tried to blow out candles with her hair not in a ponytail...or maybe its just the number of candles that was a challenge.

Katie and Aaron painted the barn!!!

We visited son and daughter-in-law in Pollock Pines and drove up to the Forest Service helispot where Matt works so that Aaron (from TX)  could see what real mountains look like.

We also went back to San Francisco to see the show, Wicked. This is the story that explains the history of the Wicked Witch and the Good Witch in the Wizard of Oz, including how the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion originated. It is an excellent show--well-done and very funny. It's a great experience if you ever get the chance to see it.

Here is the culmination of the weekend.  Chris, the #3 kid,  graduated. He leaves for Lake Shasta today so he can start work tomorrow morning on a Forest Service Hotshot crew. He spent all night at Grad Night and I hope we can wake him up in time to get there before dark today!

Tomorrow--back to work for me. I have ignored everything. I have wool to sort and get to the mill, buttons to finish, looms to warp, classes to plan, website to update, etc. My husband now has 2 months off (teacher) and his next task is to enlarge my shop/classroom! We'd better get busy. Maybe that will keep me from realizing that there are no happy little faces in my house anymore.

Walk on Water

Graduation is just around the corner, so high school classes are finishing up projects. The Physics classes at Dixon High have a project called Walk on Water. The idea is for teams to figure out a way to get across the pool using "foot-power". I don't know all the criteria, but I do know that they couldn't make a boat, use oars, etc. and they had 2 minutes to cross the pool.  The teams who are able to accomplish the task (and turn in the written work) can use the Physics final as extra credit. The day started with one of the students playing the National Anthem on his electric guitar. Then the crafts were christened by dumping water on them. I took photos of all 16 entries, but will include only a few here. There seemed to be 2 main types of creations--raft-type of crafts powered by feet and  floating foot-gear. The former seemed to function better than the latter in most cases. There was a 3rd structure as well--wait till you see that photo at the bottom!

This is my son's team with the smallest guy as the "walker". That's Chris in the water in front. The "walker" had a bar to stand on but brought pedals forward one at a time that turned the paddle wheels. They used large water bottles as floats and old plastic pipe that has been lying around our place since we moved here--they had to buy a lot of fittings though. (I think the local hardware store has to stock up on duct tape and PVC fittings for this event.) And, of course, there is baling twine.

This team used a similar idea but taped shoes onto the pedals so the feet would stay in place and they made a different kind of paddle-wheel.

Here is the most successful of the floating foot-gear style. I don't know what the big tubes are, but the walker's feet are so well sealed in them that she had a hard time getting them off.

Here is another raft type of craft. The walker used the supports to hang on and paddled the water directly with her feet.

There were several of this style, but they kept filling with water. I think that this one finally made it after a few attempts.

This is was a crowd-pleaser--the hamster-wheel craft. There is a PVC pipe framework inside and the walker rolled through the water in a record-breaking time of 21 seconds. It's a good thing that it moved quickly because it didn't take too much longer until the cardboard structure was falling apart.

A bunch of clever kids, don't you think?

Decisions, decisions

I decided to donate a lamb to the raffle held by JSBA (Jacob Sheep Breeders Assoc) to support AGM (Annual General Meeting)--  http://www.patchworkfibers.com/raffle.html --but I needed to figure out which lamb.  So it was also time to  figure out which lambs I want to keep (and choose the raffle lamb from this batch).  This is not an easy thing for me, especially since I just counted sheep after an auction trip and I still have 114 and I really should have only about 50 by the time breeding season comes around! The first step was to sort out the ewe lambs and then sort them into 2 and 4 horn groups. I didn't get them all in here, but I sorted out most of the older ones. This is most of the 2-horn lambs.

And this is most of the 4-horn ewe lambs.

I don't think that there were any lambs that I wouldn't be happy with in the flock, so it was a tough decision. Here are the 2-horn lambs I chose.

Here are the 4-horn girls.

The girl on the left is the lamb for the raffle--guess I should come up with a name.  Here she is:

She has a very pretty fleece and her sister is in the 2-horn group that I'm keeping.It was a tough decision. I think that my thought process on this might be a good topic for my Farm Club News--maybe that will be the next one.

http://www.meridianjacobs.com/exec/eFarmClub.asp

The rest of my lambs are on my website:

http://www.meridianjacobs.com/exec/eSheep.asp?categoryID=Ewe%20Lambs

My New F-word--F...Foxtail

Also could be titled "Yet Another Reason I Don't Get to the Loom". I trimmed border collie, Rusty's, feet this weekend. I was late in the season and his toes were packed with foxtails. I was able to pull most out, but there was one place that was oozy and I couldn't find a foxtail with my non-medical equipment (tweezers). I waited until Monday and took him to the vet. While he was on the table the oozy spot squirted out the foxtail and we were going to let it go at that. The vet, as any good vet would, suggested checking Rusty's ears. He hadn't shown any signs (shaking head, etc), but he sure wouldn't let us hold him well enough to look in the left ear.  So I left Rusty to be knocked out for a better look. The little foxtail on the left below therefore cost me $200. Two days later the foxtail on the right cost me $50 (lots of shaking his head, but able to pull it out without the sleeping drugs).

For those of you whose dogs live in utopia and don't know about foxtails here is what they look like:

And this is a whole field of them. The vet recommended that we landscape our yard so that we don't have foxtails. Ummm...that would be another thing that has been on the list--not "landscaping", but planting some bushes and turning the dog paths into paths with some kind of surface that doesn't turn to mud in the winter. I did go out with the weed eater and try to zap the foxtails growing in the yard around the house.

As I was weed-eating  I noticed the pomegranite trees. I love pomegranites--not just to eat, but the whole cycle of the flower.

Here is a flower that has just lost it's petals and you can see the part behind the star-like points will become the pomegranite. Those are flower buds that haven't opened around it.

This one still has one petal but is already starting a baby pomegranite.

These pomegranites will be included in the fall produce baskets for Gourmet Farm Club members.  See the following link:   http://www.meridianjacobs.com/exec/eFarmClub.asp

Hot dogs

The TV weather people are thrilled. They get to say "triple-digits" for the first time this year. We're not so thrilled--I like the 80's and even the low 90's, but I can do without triple-digits. We don't have A/C and count on the whole house fan and the evening delta breezes to cool us off at night.  I don't see any delta breezes yet and I have a little clip-on fan blowing on me while I sit at the computer. My son and his new wife are finishing up their honeymoon. In fact they are on a plane as I write and we'll be picking them up in S.F. tonight. I've been dog-sitting since Thursday. The dogs' other grandmother had them for the first part of the week. These dogs live in the foothills and aren't used to triple-digits either.

Sam is an Akita-mix. On his first day he spent a lot of time in the pool.

Guiness is a 7-month old puppy (already 70 pounds) and spent a lot of time in the hot afternoon sleeping near my computer. He has his head on the teddy-bear that he carries around with him.

The hot dogs will be glad to get back to the mountains tonight.

Leash it!

I'm trying to figure out a name for my new product. This is the one that is going to make my fortune. Well, maybe not...but it involves yarn and it's fun to do. These are the leashes I've been working on. I think I still need to do something about some of the tassels and beads to neaten them up. My original idea was to splice the ends, but that would involve learning something else and a lot of time and then I wouldn't have an excuse to go buy beads.

There is a member-screening at the Artery's Annual Meeting this weekend and I've been planning to get these ropes done so I could take them to the screening. I also need to finish some more buttons.

I'm back to the loom--trying to weave off the warp that I put on before I broke my arm in January. This is a baby blanket warp on the AVL.

This blanket is still on the loom. Purple enough?

These will be listed for sale on my website soon I hope.

Dixon May Fair

What do we do Mother's Day weekend? For the last 20+ years it's been spent at the Dixon May Fair because my kids have been showing livestock. My youngest is a senior and this is his last year (or maybe next to last) showing his dairy goats. This is Trista, who was State Fair Champion last year.

Chris had help showing his kids--they would have had the Cute Award if there was one.

Chris has won Dairy Goat Showmanship every year that he has showed. That means that he enters Supreme Showmanship in which the winners in all the other species compete. They show beef cattle, dairy cattle, meat goats, dairy goats, swine, and sheep. Here is Chris showing a dairy cow. Chris has won Supreme Showmanship in the past but was 2nd behind one of his Dixon FFA friends this year.

Now Chris says that he'll need to come back and show next year so that he can win Supreme Showmanship. He is eligible to show in FFA for one year after high school. The trick is to figure out who will be maintaining the goat herd if he is off at a job, school, etc. Hmmm, that would be me.

More wedding photos

Here is a photo that shows the back of the shawl--my fiber friends are asking for this.

This is Chris catching the garter. When he learned the significance of that he tried to give it away as quickly as possible.

What flower girls do when waiting for all the adults to finish with photos:

I Have a New Daughter!

Yes, I have a new daughter (-in-law).  And I didn't have to deal with the teenage years. My son, Matt, married Kaleena on Saturday and we are all very happy. Kaleena started planned the wedding last summer and her organization paid off. (If she ever wants to quit her U.S. Forest Service job she could probably be a wedding planner.) The only thing she couldn't control was the weather, but the rain didn't dampen anyone's spirits. Here are some photos.

In the photo below that's my husband, Dan, me, Matt, Kaleena, and her mom, Mary. I am wearing the v-shawl that I wove to wear with the dress that I dyed. That was my wedding dress and with the input of my weaving friends, I finally chose a color to dye it.  Then we chose yarns for the shawl. My main idea was to not stand out in the crowd. I figured that if no one noticed me then I did all right.  I didn't want to have people say "Who the heck is that?" or "Why is she wearing THAT?" Kaleena's colors for the wedding were dark brown and sage green and Mary and I both matched pretty well. (Mary sewed her dress and jacket too.)

In this photo that's my other kids, Chris & Katie on the left of Matt & Kaleena, and Kaleena's sister on the right. Didn't Kaleena choose a great setting for her wedding colors? Or did she choose the colors to go with the setting? Even the clubhouse where the wedding and reception were held was perfect. The carpet and chair upholstery was the green of the dresses and the huge picture windows had a view into the tree tops.

Kaleena let all of her little nieces and her nephew participate in the wedding. The littlest flower girl tried picking up the rose petals that the others dropped down the aisle.

Another weaving class

I taught the Weave a V-Shawl class in Stockton this month. Judy Allen of Gilmore Looms organized it and we used the space at the shop to hold the class. Five students took the class and here's what they created. These shawls are right off the loom so fringes and wet finishing will be done later. Aren't they incredible? And all so different.

In the photo above you can get a feel for the warp. It's the photo below that shows what happens when the shawl is woven--you get fun plaids on the back. The second, third and fifth shawl are out of my Jacob wool. The first is a cotton mix that Judy wove for her mother (modeling the shawl).  The 4th shawl is out of beautiful handspun and the shawl on the far right is a variegated alpaca yarn--so soft.

One of the most fun things for me was that I took an old Gilmore loom I have to the class on the 2nd day and Bob spent a lot of time fixing things for me. This loom was made in 1962 and I acquired it a few years ago. Bob fixed the space where the reed goes in the beater so that I don't have to jam it in. He cut slots so that the top bar that holds the reed in place will slip out without having to undo the bolts. He showed me how to fix the reeds that have the tape coming off of them. And most exciting--he turned the beam into a sectional beam for me. Photo to come later.

Thanks to Bob for the loom work and to Judy for organizing the class...and of course the students.

Changing Clothes

I thought you might be interested in this project and website by Lea Redmond. Lea contacted me several months ago to buy some black and white Jacob yarn. She planned to weaving clothing labels. Huh? About a month ago she contacted me and said her project was finished and she was having a show at The Cheese Factory http://www.artatthecheesefactory.org/ near Petaluma, CA. Lea used my wool for a giant size clothing label as part of her Changing Clothes project in which she "investigates politics and ecology of clothes". Go to this website-   http://www.leafcutterdesigns.com/projects/changingclothes.html and explore more of what she is doing in this project. There are some interesting ways that all of us can participate.

A Successful Weaving Class

I spent the last two days in Placerville, about an hour from my place, teaching a beginning weaving class. The Hangtown Fiber Guild meets at a great facility. They use a classroom at a local church with plenty of space--tables, running water, etc.  There were 7 students and a few helpers and everyone finished their scarves in the allotted time. It is always fun to see the variety of scarves and this class was no exception. Here are some photos of the scarves on the looms.

These are the finished scarves before washing or finishing fringes. Great job!

Poppies & goats

When I was sorting wool the other day it such a beautiful day I was distracted by just about everything. How could you not be distracted by this?

And this...

These are the Toggenburg kids and this is how we feed them--a bucket with 9 nipples. It's sure faster than individual bottles. We're feeding them 3 times/day right now.