Meet the Sheep

Our annual spring open house on Saturday was a huge success. This event couldn't happen without the help of Farm Club members and, this year, the Davis Spinners' Guild (DSG). Farm Club members were here on Friday for set-up and showed up early Saturday for last minute touches.  There are a variety of sheep related displays.But the biggest attractions are the animals and the demos. Julie's 3-week old Angora bunnies were very popular... 

…as were the lambs. FC member, Mary held lambs for people all day (and suggested that next year we use smaller lambs!).

Jazz, mom of the triplets that were out for people to pet, made herself just as popular, calling to people to come back and continue petting.

As popular as the animals, were the demonstrations scheduled throughout the day.This is Farm Club (and DSG) member, Alison, showing her passion for...cleaning fleece with a fermented suint vat.   Vera, of the Davis Spinners' Guild, demonstrated use of the blending board...

...and spindle spinning. 

Kathleen, FC and DSC member wove with an audience all day.Many people brought their wheels and spent the day spinning.

FC member, Lisa, always has a carrot for Amaryllis.    She and Dona (who took some of these photos) demonstrated needle felting.

Dona, Jackie,and Colleen offered items for sale.   

Of course my shop was open and there were even sheep inside! 

There was much more going on and many more people helping then I have in photos here. Thanks to all of them. There are no photos of Rusty in this post but he wrote his own and you can find out what he thought of the day here.

At the Loom

It hasn't been all hiking and lambing. I've been at the loom too. This is a king-size blanket I wove for a customer who had their llama/wool yarn spun at Yolo Wool Mill. I also wove 2 throws for this person. These are two lap blankets woven of wool from sheep at the Barinaga Ranch, a sheep dairy in Marin County.This is a close up of all four blankets on that warp. The brown weft is Jacob wool dyed with black walnut. I'm always trying to get better photos. The photo above is shot on AWB (auto white balance). The one below, shot on the cloudy setting, isn't that much different, although on my computer the AWB photo has more of a bluish cast. But look at the next one.  The white balance was set to "shade" which is where I took the photo. What is reality? I think it's closer to the top two. I just finished a warp for three shawls. This is CVM yarn in the warp with different locally produced weft yarns.   Same shawls with white balance set to "shade". Detail of shawl on the left.

 This is on the loom now. An experiment. Hopefully all those holes will fill in when it is finished.

The pieces above will be for sale on my website and at the Fibershed Marketplace after our photoshoot that is in a few weeks.

Golden Day

I drove to Ione in the foothills today to see my uncle. On the way home I took a meandering route and stopped a couple of times to enjoy the green hills and spectacular wildflowers. With the 80+ degree temperatures this week and probably no more rain, this won't last long. I took dozens of photos but these are my favorites.  I usually think of poppies as orange but these are yellow.

This is another stop. Whenever I see fields of flowers I think of Beecher Crampton, a lecturer at UCDavis who taught a class on Wildflowers of CA. I am annoyed that I can't remember the names of all the flowers I see, but some of them pop into my head when I see the flowers up close.    Those mounds of white flowers look like this close up. I'm pretty sure this is Meadow Foam (Limnanthes). What about the yellow ones?

 I think these are Goldfields (Lasthenia) but I'll stand corrected if anyone knows for sure.

When I saw this popcorn flower popped into my head (unintentional pun) but I don't know if that is correct.And what about this one? A Brodiea species?

Even if I don't know the names I can certainly enjoy them and enjoy the California scenery.

Pinnacles National Park, Part 2

Does a 2-day camping trip warrant 2 blog posts? For me it does because we don't do this very often. And I took lots of photos. We discovered that we did sleep relatively all right in the truck, although I was told that I had more than my share of the "mattress". Huh!

The next morning we checked the map and chose the hike for the day. This was the first leg of a 5.5 mile hike. Notice the word Condor. I took my binoculars on this hike, determined to identify a condor this day. Pinnacles is one of the few remaining areas where the endangered California Condors live and nest.

This trail winds up the mountain and behind those peaks in the distance.Getting closer to the peaks. At this point we talked to a wildlife biologist who was using an antennae to try and pick up a signal of the condors who are banded with transponders. She said that they do nest in these cliffs but today she hadn't found any. They don't always stay in the park area. We saw plenty of soaring birds but they kept turning out to be buzzards.  More of the trail.   This is coming around the west side of those peaks. The vegetation was somewhat different than that of yesterday's hike except for one plant.There was plenty of poison oak, although these trails are wider than those on our Stebbins Cold Canyon hike so it's easier to avoid. I was struck by the beautiful shades of green in the poison oak. Color abounds.

 This was an interesting trail. Notice that railing under the overhanging rock.The Park Service (or maybe it was the CCC years ago) thoughtfully provided steps (and, thankfully, railings) so that hikers could get over these rocks. The views are worth the climb.What would a hike for me be without a few flower photos? Believe me, I took many more than this even though, due to the dry conditions in Northern California, there was not the abundance of wildflowers that I think there would normally be at this time of year. I think I have identified this as a patch of California Gilia (Gilia achilleifolia).  I think that this plant is Wild Cucumber or California Manroot (Marah macrocarpa). What we noticed on this hike is that the spiralling tendrils that look like a telephone cord (yes, that dates me) start out straight. When the straight tendril touches something it coils and hangs on. Amazing. 

As usual I tried my hand at wildlife photography. Those bee photos are the only ones I'll show. The bunny, the crow, and the lizard weren't all that great. The condor look-alike perched on a branch turned out to be a buzzard when I looked at the photo close-up. 

This looks like condor country to me……but this was the closest I got to a condor.  Good trip anyway.

Pinnacles National Park

Last week was Dan's spring break and we took two days to go camping while my son was in charge of all the sheep including the last few ewes left to lamb. We got to Pinnacles in the middle of the afternoon, secured a campsite, and went on a hike. We didn't have a plan other than to start with the trail that goes through one of the caves at the park.

These caves are sometimes closed when the bats are raising babies, but they were open at this time. This cave is not one big chamber but a series of smaller chambers connected by narrow passages under overhanging rocks, following waterways, or up stairs.

This is the exit of the cave. These photos don't do justice to the scenery. In fact I was disappointed in my photos from this trip because they all seem so washed out. I think I'm regressing as an amateur photographer. (You'll be glad that I didn't include my wildlife photos in this blog! I don't think National Geographic will be calling me anytime soon.)

This view is that exit but looking back down the stairs. We came out of the cave to this small lake.

We looked at the map and decided to hike the trail that went southwest to North Chalone Peak. It was getting late in the day but since we were camping there it didn't matter when we got back as long as it was still light. This is the view from part way up the trail looking back down to where the cave entrance. Do you see that small lake at the bottom center of the photo?

 We didn't know what to expect at the end of the trail until we came around another corner and saw what looked like a fire lookout in the distance.

 Here is what it is like close up.And this is one of the views from the peak.  This turned out to be an 8.5 mile hike so we both felt glad to get back to camp and put our feet up. We used this one-night camping trip as a trial run to see how we liked sleeping in the old green truck because we are thinking about a road trip during the summer. It wasn't like home, but was much better than sleeping in the back of the Explorer at the Grand Canyon a few years ago.

To be continued...

Cute Lambs

Lambing is over and I have 76 lambs. Here are some cuties.

Spring Shearing in a Big Way

A couple of friends and I went to see shearing on a commercial sheep ranch about 30 miles south of here. We got there in just enough time to see the last part of shearing 3000 sheep in 2 1/2 days.The original flock was made up of Corriedale sheep and over the years was crossed with Targhee and other commercial white-faced sheep. The sheep are gathered at the back of a trailer that is hauled from ranch to ranch with all the gear. They go up the chute with the encouragement of...…Border Collies as well as people.Here is a view from the other end of the trailer. That sheep in front hangs out for awhile in that position because the other sheep are more likely to go forward if they see a sheep in front of them. Notice how the sheep walk on a raised alleyway while the freshly shorn fleeces are shoved out of the trailer below them.Here is a photo of the inside of the trailer. There are seven shearers at work. The sheep walk forward on the raised alley. Fleeces are pushed out beneath.When the shearer is ready for the next sheep he pulls the door down with his foot and flips the sheep off the alleyway into position for shearing.

After the sheep are shorn they are sent out the doors on the other side of the trailer.

 The fleeces are scooped from the trailer and quickly examined by a sorter/classer who determines where they end up. The fleeces are thrown into the appropriate pile. My friends who owns the ranch had requested that the finer fleeces shorn on that day be put aside for us to look at. It turns out that even the not-so-fine fleeces seemed just as nice to us. Last year's core samples indicated that most of this flock's wool graded in the mid-20's (microns) and the finer fleeces were in the low 20's. For reference Jacob fleece ranges from about 25-35 microns and most of mine is probably about 28 to 29 microns. So all of this wool is finer than what I am used to using. The fine fleece pile is the one nearest the table. The pile to the left are tender fleeces (fleeces that have a weak place usually due to nutritional stress or illness). The pile just barely visible behind the plywood is the "not as fine" pile. We chose our fleeces (all of the fine pile and a lot of the one behind the plywood) and the remaining wool was quickly baled.  The wool is shoved into this wool press...

…and compacted... …and sealed into bales that are marked with the pertinent information. I forgot to ask how much these weigh but on-line sources say they would hold 240 to 450 pounds each. Before we left the shearing trailer was pulling out and everyone was getting ready to go to the next job.Freshly shorn sheep turned out to graze.

In about six months I hope to have blankets woven from this wool. They will be available at the Artery and the Fibershed Marketplace.

Moms and Babies on a Spring Morning

 Sweetie  Alison Mud Ranch's Ginseng Kreutzer Farms Kyra Lulu with triplets Mary EarsSonata Some of these ewes are for sale. You can see details on the website.

Photographic Challenges

This is the year that I am determined to get those perfect jumping lamb photos. I have posted some others here and in other posts. I welcome any advice from you photographers out there. My lens info is at the end of this post.  Too darn many lambs in the way.The lambs are most active in the evening when there is lower light. I am shooting with a larger aperture and therefore more shallow depth of field. Notice the lamb in focus is not the one that is jumping. In addition, those black lambs are hard to photograph in detail.  More lambs in the way. Lambs in the way AND depth of field issues. Same problems. And more lambs in the way. Focal length issues again. Lambs facing the wrong way. Focal length and shutter speed issues. I think I got this one on depth of field. Too bad the lamb is facing the wrong way. Sort of OK but needs a faster shutter speed to really get it. Also the black one lying down is distracting. This photo probably has the fewest issues.The running lamb photos have similar challenges. These photos were all taken with my Nikon 40 mm f 2/8 lens to take advantage of the larger aperture but that gives me the more shallow depth of field. My other lens is the 18-135 mm f/3.5-5.6. Any recommendations?

Hiking Close to Home

Dan suggested hiking today. The closest place for a hike is to go to Stebbins Cold Canyon Preserve in the Blue Ridge Mountains southeast of Lake Berryessa. There is a five-mile loop trail that has enough elevation change to make you feel as though you had a workout, especially for us flat-landers.Do you see those switchbacks on the map? The rest of that isn't exactly flat. This was perfect timing to hike in this area. We finally had enough rain for grass and wildflowers to grow (although not nearly enough rain to make up the deficit).Dan walks. I keep stopping to take photos and then I catch up. This is the lower part of the area in Cold Canyon where there is a lot of greenery. It is a completely different ecosystem than what you find up on the ridge.It is good to stay on the trail because there is poison oak everywhere. Even if dogs were allowed on this part of the hike I wouldn't bring them because they would be covered with it. The interesting flower of CA Dutchman's Pipe or CA Pipevine (Aristolochia californica). California Bay Laurel (Umbellularia californica)Shooting Star (Dodecatheon) Wild cucumber or California Manroot or California Bigroot (Marah macrocarpa). The flower books say that the root of this deciduous vine may weigh 50-100 pounds.Indian Warrior (Pedicularis densiflora) is parasitic, attaching to the roots of other plants.As you leave the canyon and start climbing through the chaparral the vegetation changes. This is a beautiful big digger pine.  Did I mention the poison oak? View of part of Lake Berryessa.More climbing to do before we start the downhill. We didn't get enough rain this year for the grass to grow up through last year's old dead grass. Those hills are faintly green, but not enough.  Dan recovered my lens cap after it rolled several feet down slope. Most of that is not poison oak, but "most" isn't "all". My hero.  

More Leaping Lambs

This is why I get distracted at chore time.

Fifty Lambs So Far

I talked to a friend of mine today and she asked what has happened since I wrote about Marilyn's fleece in the post about a week ago. Hmmm. I guess it's been about 40 more lambs here for a total of 50. I think there are about a dozen still to lamb. Here are some photos and you can go to YouTube for videos of lambing and lambs playing. Meridian Loretta x Meridian Hendrix Meridian Jane x Meridian Miller Twin to the last one.Meridian Jazz with triplets sired by Meridian Miller.I'm not sure what happened here. This is less than half a lamb at 3.8 pounds. This lamb was up and nursing when I found it and hasn't needed any help. It's the smallest lamb I've ever had here.   These are 5 of the 6 yearlings that I kept from last year's lamb crop. They sure look different than a year ago.

Marilyn's Fleece

Marilyn is one of seven lambs that I kept from the 2013 lambing season.Here she is with her mom, Hot Lips. Marilyn was my choice to take to Black Sheep Gathering last year where she won her class. (Hot Lips was Champion Jacob Ewe at BSG when I took her there!)Here she is at 9 months old last fall. When Farm Club members chose their fleeces "on the hoof" I put my name on Marilyn's.Shearing Day. Marilyn's fleece looks brown, but those are sunbleached tips. This is what her fleece looks like from the cut side. Isn't it gorgeous? Detail of the staples. Last week I carded Marilyn's fleece on my Clemes & Clemes electric drum carder.   Here are the batts ready to spin. Hopefully there will be a post before too long in which I'll have photos of finished yarn and a project. To be continued...

Loretta's lambs

  This lamb is missing his Jacob facial markings, but I still like these photos. He was on his feet and walking in less than 10 minutes. The twin has all the right spots. You can watch their birth in this video.

Mary Had a Little Lamb…and then Another

I have been anxiously awaiting lambs. Athena started us off early by lambing last week, but there has been nothing since. Mary was calling for lambs all morning and she finally got her wish. Others came to investigate.  I moved Mary and her ewe lamb inside where she had her second lamb, a big ram. It will be a busy few weeks.