Farm Day - May 2015

Where is Dona when you need her? As much as I like taking photos I don't take very many  on a Farm Day because I'm distracted. Seven Farm Club members were here this morning to help with some specific tasks. We accomplished those easily all the while enjoying each other's company. This is such a great group of friends First we caught all 76 lambs. We weighed all of them and vaccinated the older ones. We chose four ewe lambs and 4 ram lambs as the most likely options (narrowing it to 2 each later) for taking to Black Sheep Gathering next month. Because my flock lambs in March the lambs are still young and it's hard to think who I might want to take to the show in June. We also caught the 4 yearlings who did not lamb this year to choose which of them I'd take and also to replace their lamb ear tags with larger easier-to-read tags.  After we finished with the lambs I showed Gynna how to go about halter breaking lambs that she is going to take home with her in a few weeks.The birds were happy when we finished in the barn because then they had free access to their babies without worrying about all the people and dogs.

After lunch Kathleen, Gynna, and Peggy went to the barn and helped me change this pile into......this one. By sucking the air out of the bags with the shop vac we condensed that pile of wool into about half the space. That's a much easier job with more than one person.

 Ginny found an out-of-the-way place to sleep.Later this afternoon Dan put the mower on the tractor and I mowed the pasture behind the barn.

I've  been trying to clean out the freezer and I found a turkey the other day. It's in the oven now and I'm getting ready for turkey dinner (without all the trappings because that would take too much work).

Farm Club's Annual Retreat - Day 2

The first day of our Farm Club Retreat was rainy and windy--a good day to relax in the parlor of the Home. On the second day the sun was out and we had a plan. But first we gathered in the dining room for our traditional breakfast. Some of the group decided to stay at the Home and continue with their projects and others went to the Asian Art Museum. Some of us decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and walk to the museum.That was a good opportunity to see some of the beautiful old houses in this part of San Francisco.First stop at the Museum was the Museum Store. In recognition of the Year of the Sheep there were plenty of sheep figurines and trinkets. Alison showed me how this Buddha Board works. You "paint" with a brush and water. The image takes a few seconds to be seen and then disappears as it dries. Alison described it as a version of an etch-a-sketch.

We didn't have nearly enough time to see all that is in this museum. We split up as we wandered the three floors that hold art from 2000 years old to contemporary that represents all the Asian nations. I found myself focusing on finding sheep and horse images--at least a way to narrow my photographs. Not sheep, but labeled "A Goat Pen" from the year 25 to 220. Now that's old!

  Here is a beautiful "glazed earthenware" horse (618-906).

 Bowl (1662-1722)"Horse with pack" (386-584).

There were a lot of other animals represented as well. Tiger netsuke (1675-1800) in ivory. Wikipedia says: "Netsuke  [netsu͍ke] are miniature sculptures that were invented in 17th-century Japan to serve a practical function (the two Japanese characters ne+tsuke mean "root" and "to attach")" Traditional clothing had no pockets so people used small containers hung around the neck with cords. Netsuke were decorative closures. 

I love this one:Buffalo (1800-1900) in rock crystal, but I think my favorite piece of the day is this one:"Ewe with lamb" (1644-1911) in ivory.

After lunch at the museum we headed back to the home where we said our goodbye's Some of us headed to Ribboneri, a store filled with any kind of ribbon you could possible want and some went to Lacis in Berkeley.

This was a great weekend and we already have a plan for next year!

Farm Club's Annual Retreat - Day 1

I think that this is Farm Club's fifth annual retreat to San Francisco where we spend the night at the Home, designed by Julia Morgan and owned by the Native Daughters of the Golden West. If you search for NDGW in my blogs you will find photos of our activities during past retreats and of this gorgeous Home. We usually try to find a farm-related activity for Friday afternoon, but couldn't come up with one this year. Since a big storm was predicted we decided that it was just as well to curl up in the parlor for the afternoon and evening with our spinning and knitting projects. And that's just what we did.We arrived in the early afternoon from the North Bay, East Bay, South Bay and Solano and Yolo Counties. Since there were to be 14 (!!) of us for dinner we scoped out our favorite restaurant and the pie place (where we get pie for the next morning's breakfast), were assured that there would be room for all of us at dinner, and returned to the Home (only a block away) to spin and knit for the afternoon.This is an example of one of the 30 rooms that can be reserved for NDGW members and their guests. Each room is decorated and maintained by one of the many "parlors" around the state.The rooms are on the third and fourth floors. This is looking down the stairway to the second floor. To the right is the dining room and a huge kitchen available to all who stay there. The atrium is directly across from the stairs and I found out on this visit that originally there was a glass pyramid in that area directly over the museum that is beneath. How wonderful that natural light must have been on the lower story. There was also decorative painting (I have just blanked on what that is called) on those columns and around the ceiling. To the left is the parlor where we spend our time socializing (albeit in pajamas instead of flowing gowns).We walked up Baker Street to Green Chili Kitchen......where we had an early dinner, which left us plenty of time for our evening of sitting around in the parlor in our pjs.There was a record 14 of us! Here are some of our projects: Alene spun Teeswater wool. Amy began a knitting project with help from Shelby. Betty was knitting a shawl.Wandering around the room to take a stretch break from projects one can find all kinds of interesting things. This is from an oversize journal in which donations to the Home were recorded. "Wool" caught my eye here. Other donations included tea towels, dishes, and preserves. Look at that penmanship!

  Carol brought spinning and knitting.Kathy set to work on deleting  what may be an embarrassing number of emails that were bogging down her computer. She worked diligently on this all evening and made good progress.

  Another break time with yoga for Amy and Shelby.I worked on the Zoom Loom and on spinning Raquel's fleece, bringing far more than I could possibly spin in a week.Joy needlefelted a guinea pig.Polly worked on rug-hooking while Janis took photos and worked on her computer.

  Another break. This is a book on the coffee table edited by John Muir.

  Kathleen finished a handspun knitted sleeve. Only one more and a body to go!

 Lisa spun and knitted. If you look closely you'll see someone else also wearing sheep pajamas.

 Mary knit a colorful sock.

 Shelby knitted and......Stephany worked on a sweater. She is wearing a Jacob sweater that she finished last year.

Stay tuned for the Saturday adventures of Farm Club in the City.

Farm Day

Shearing Day is coming up so next weekend and Farm Club members came Saturday to help get things ready. Dona took a lot of great photos and all of these are hers. There is always barn cleaning.  A break for puppy-time.After finishing with the barn......it was time to preview fleeces. Mary made cards to be put into bags as the sheep are shorn and she recorded which fleeces were reserved by Farm Club members. .Maggie watched from above.

   Everyone was anxious to get hands-on the fleeces.

This is Isadora and her July lamb, Isabelle. Shearing Day is an Open House so if you're in the area you are welcome to come. See this link.