# FAC ~ March 2015



## Marchwind

This is my month :nanner: not only is it my birth month but for some reason I have always loved the month March. I must have a lot of happy memories that were made.

This is the FAC (Fiber Arts Chat). We use this space to come together and talk about all things in our lives, not just the fiber related stuff. If you are new to the Fiber Forum please take the time to introduce yourself. You can do it here or start a thread of your own. If you prefer to sit in the back of the room and just watch and read, that's fine. However, we would all love it if you would take the time and tell us about yourself. You are under no obligation to post but we do like to know who we are talking to. If you ever need help with anything please do NOT hesitate to ask. There is nothing that we consider a "stupid question", we all started at the beginning. There are no, or there are very, very few absolutes in the fiber arts, so be prepared to get lots of advice, some of it may differ . Remember we LOVE photographs. You don't have to be an expert at photography, just post a photo. It really helps to motivate people and inspire them. It also helps if you have a question about something if you can post a photo of it or provide a link to a pattern so we know what you are talking about. Lastly, enjoy the forum.

I haven't been doing much fibering the last few weeks. We had our spinning meeting a few weeks ago and there were only 6 of us there. I was late just because I got do discouraged thinking about the chatterbox being there. Sure enough she was one of the 6. It got bad enough that 2 people left. The decision has been made that someone needs to speak with her. One of the women who is in charge of the group is going to do it. We have lost lots of people and lots of people are threatening to not come any more because of her. I told them I wasn't going to volunteer to help out of spin at events if she will be there. It is that bad . I feel sorry for the woman but at the same time she is an adult and this issue has come up before. She is a sweet thing but just can't stop talking, she doesn't even breath, I swear. We will see how the next meeting goes this month.


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## lexierowsell

Rainy first day of March here in Cen Tex, but above freezing at least! My lambs and ewes really need a few sunny days. 

I wonder what it is about people like that mw, I'm sorry she hampers your soul time!


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## Skandi

March is not my favourite time, it's dull wet and you really wish winter would end, but you know it won't for another month and a bit.


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## Dixie Bee Acres

G'mornin folks. Fine and lovely first of March morning.......is what I might have said if I hadn't woke up to about 4 more inches of snow and it still snowing.
Yeah, I'm over winter.


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## Kasota

Good morning, everyone! I slept late. I would still be sleeping if it were not for my dog. My dog would still be sleeping if it were not for mom. Mom would be sleeping except she decided to get up and think about what she wanted to make for Sunday supper. LOL! 

I feel decidedly lazy today!  Can't quite believe it is March already. I don't really care about March one way or another. At this point in the year I am tired of Winter and it's just one more month I need to plow through in order to get to Springtime.


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## GeorgiaGirl

Good morning all.....It's raining here also. Such a lazy day...I believe I'll knit something. I've been wanting to start a baby blanket. I've been buying yarn here, there, everywhere. Trying to figure out where I can put some shelves to hold it. The 2 drawers I use is spilling out. There are packages laying all around the chest and no more room in it. I have to admit.... I love my stash  It's not real big yet, just big enough for me.


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## MullersLaneFarm

Paul was scheduled to be back this afternoon but his job is taking longer than anticipated. He won't be home until tomorrow. The water spigot in the barn froze up overnight Fri/Sat despite being wrapped with heat tape, insulation, small heater and topped with an appliance box .... grrrr ... 3 horses, a yearling heifer, poultry & barn cats all need water ..... and my knee is swollen & back aching from the fall Friday night. Thankfully, I hauled in enough wood on Friday to last me until today.

As I was wondering just how many trips of half full 5 gallon buckets I needed to haul 50 yards to the barn over an ice covered terrain, my wonderful neighbor showed up to show off a new plow he created. He gladly hauled a few buckets from the house to the barn for me AND brought in more wood! Another neighbor came by in the afternoon and hauled more water for me. I love my neighbors!!


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## Wind in Her Hair

How unfortuante about this woman that monopolizes everything at your fiber group. 
 Seems to be a common problem and not an easy one to deal with. 

Just think about it, though- how sad for her, too. She must be very lonely and her life must be so empty- maybe the audience she has in the fiber group is the only way she knows how to be a part of something. Maybe standing up in a chair and saying "look at me!" is the only way in her life she ever got any notice at all. :shrug:

How sad that she is undoubtedly going to be hurt by being told to "tone it down or don't come any more." Obviously, she must be very needy. 

She comes to the group for a reason- we all do, right? For companionship, for approval, for comradery and inspiration and encouragement and instruction - and some people come to a group to be noticed- to feel important. For approval. 

We had a lady that behaved in a similar way- and it was making me cuckoo trying to think of a way to handle the situation, so finally, what I did was I called her one day and asked if I could come to HER house and I visited with her apart from the group and she was lovely and hospitable. A fter really getting to know her on a one-on-one basis, I was okay with her in the group and I learned to handle and steer her. 

Most of the gals in our group were VERY busy- with jobs and families and lots of interests and activities and opportunities to visit and share. But after going to her home, I discovered that THIS woman lived with a very hard-of hearing mate that could not hear what she had to say. She had once been a vital, active person in her youth and now she was isolated and unheard even in her home- and she NEEDED a place to "let it go"- so when she came to meetings, she monopolized everything, never shut up, and came off as a "know-it-all". 

And you know what, after learning to understand why she was the way she is- I was okay with it. I had some "insight" into her. I even learned anew how important it is for all of us to try to dig beneath the surface and to connect with the heart of another person. 

And suddenly, my mother's words came flooding back to me "It is easy to love the lovely...it is the UNLOVELY that takes the effort."

When I shared this with others in our group, one of the older gals in our group- that is hard of hearing herself, took this other woman under her wing and started driving her to all of the meetings in the area - up to four a week, two in one day even- and she actually started to wind down and wear out! It was hilarious.

And in time, with all these new people and new opportunities and activities, she calmed down and was much more "peaceful" in the groups and she didn't HAVE to be the center of attention anymore. It took time and effort but we were all better for it. 

We all learned that our fiber group is far more than merely a fiber group - and that we are a community of people- of hearts- of souls. Some are like us- and some are very very different. Some will stay and some will go. But it is in understanding and acceptance and tolerance and learning to love our differences that we grow as individuals. 

There are times when it is all I can do to muster up my energy to deal with so many OTHER people's energies. I do it at work - so I rarely have enough left to deal with it after hours at fiber group. I go there to UNWIND and to relax- but it is important for me to understand that not everyone feels the same. 

After my experience with this lady, whom I now call my friend, I now find it kind of funny that I now can look back and see that at one time or another in my life- in one situation or another, the woman that drove everyone crazy MIGHT have been me.


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## susang

Looks like the sun will be out today. Maybe I'll clean up strawberry beds and knit.
I made chili verde meat yesterday so I don't hate to worry about dinner. I do have everything to make chicken soup aka dog and cat food. What to do?????


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## susang

I took a brief trip outside. It's March everything but the grapes are budding. The plums are blossoming. The nights have been frosty. Weird weather as it's usually raining constantly and we have had rain almost everyday, but not the usual slow and steady rain, cloudy dreary skies. We have warm days and frosty nights.
I come in to start soup. If my male cat had a tail I would chop it off. He is 8 years old and was neutered at six months. He's a big handsome gray and white cat with no tail, he came to live with us without a tail.
So I mention this because every spring he becomes terror kitty all over the female, who is spayed. He follows her, protects her, gets all cozy next to her, paw over her back. Then he's on her, she is almost 16, she growls, slaps him and sometimes she just lets him do his thing. The thing is it's usually spring when he starts, wth.
Is this all a sign of early spring or is he just a dirty old man:grumble:


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## Skandi

susang said:


> Looks like the sun will be out today. Maybe I'll clean up strawberry beds and knit.


You reminded me I need to make a strawberry bed.. the place I live is very overgrown, there's a lot of strawberries all over, but they are mainly growing in what is now field/lawn I saw a couple in a flowerbed and some on the edge of my veg area to be. I guess I'll just have to suck it up and go chase them all with a spade and put them somewhere sensible! oh yes.. knitting, some time.. maybe!


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## hotzcatz

Got a chance to spin up some Merino fleece which was washed about a year ago. It'd been sitting unloved in a box out in the carport for about a year. Surprised the birds didn't make a nest in it. We'd pulled the drum carder out of it's corner as part of the knitting tour demos and carded up a couple of rolags of the Merino. So, after everyone left, I just decompressed a bit by spinning the Merino fine lace weight on an Ashford Traditional. Very zen and a lot of treadling, then wait a moment for the spin to get into the fibers, then draw more out, treadling all the while, wait a moment for the spin go go into the fiber, etc., etc. Much different than spinning on the CPW, it'd been so long since I'd spun fine on the Ashford. I'd spin up the second rolag, but the spinning wheels are in the van for transport back to the new house. Guess I should pack all the yarn back up to go back to the store (we sell it in a small shop in town called Vera's Treasures, even though Vera's isn't a yarn shop). Much more relaxing without having to prep for the yarn tour. Happy March Everyone!


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## Kris in MI

Marchwind, how frustrating to have to decide the best way to handle that chatterbox in your group. WIHH has some wonderful insight--thanks WIHH, because what you said reminds me so much of my mother for the past ten years or so and how it tires me out to be around her yet in my heart I know what she most needs is an ear to talk off.

We are 'warm'--as in upper 20's!--today and partly sunny here today. Supposedly we have above freezing temps coupled with snow coming our way this week. In a way I'm glad, but then again the damp weather at 25-40 degrees always has me feeling chillier than I do when everything is good and frozen below zero. I love the increased sun in March and the thawing, but I'm always so blasted cold during the process! If I could go from -10 to about 70 and sunny all at once, that would be perfect!


This afternoon the husband and wife my daughter has been doing sheep chores for came over to talk to us about sponsoring her if she wanted to take a market lamb to the Fair this year. She has discovered that she really likes sheep, and, while she would be learning about and raising a sheep for meat rather than wool, I'm thinking this is a great opportunity and experience for her. So, it sounds like we will be getting a lamb (or possibly two--maybe get the second one for our own freezer) this spring.  It/they will live over at the sheep farm, but dd will be doing all their care.

And, I have to confess, I'm thinking this means I'll have access to some wool, since the market lamb gets shorn before being shown, and I can have the freezer one clipped before going to the butcher. Right?


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## MDKatie

I was so glad to see February go, but this morning it is rainy and icy..coating of ice over everything.  I'm ready for some better weather. I feel like I've forgotten what sunshine looks like!

The insurance adjuster was out at our place for about 5 full hours yesterday. She was really nice, and very thorough. It is going to be VERY expensive though. She thinks all of our hardwood floors need to come out! Yikes. We're meeting with some hardwood floor specialists tomorrow (hopefully) to see what they think. I was really hoping they could be refinished. 

Still no lambs. I swear, these girls are going to give me more gray hair. I am leaving in a few days and don't want them to lamb while I'm gone! I put them in with the ram early enough I was SURE they'd be bred early and lamb before I had to go! Best laid plans....


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## lambs.are.cute

Look what I found in my barn! Pure bred natural colored Romneys. The lighter colored one is a boy and some variation of blue. tomorrow I'm taking my book on color genetics out and figureing it out. The girl is black.


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## Dixie Bee Acres

My boy and I dug out our driveway this afternoon, we ended up getting right at 9 inches of snow, heavy wet snow. Driveway is about 80-100 foot long.
Weather map showed we were right along the line between the 1-3 inches and 3-5 inches. I assumed that meant we could get 1-3 or 3-5, I didn't realize that we would actually get the 1-3 AND 3-5inches.

Oh, and I don't care what anyone else thinks, that dress is black and blue!!!!


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## hercsmama

susang said:


> Is this all a sign of early spring or is he just a dirty old man:grumble:


Now that I have cleaned off my monitor from the water I just sprayed it with, I'll tell you, he's just a dirty old man! LOL!!:hysterical::hysterical::hysterical:
Either that, or when he was neutered they missed one. We had what we thought was a steer once, that had been inadvertently "proud cut". Meaning when he was castrated "someone" didn't quite cut enough. Mind you, this was the year I first learned how to do this, and we didn't band, we cut, I was 9yo at the time.
Needless to say, when he was about 14 months old, he started mounting everything in sight! Including trying to mount my 6'8" tall Uncle one day.
He was delicious BTW, the steer, not Uncle Danny!:huh:
Beautiful day here today, 42 for the high, and sunny as all heck!
We shall see what tomorrow brings.


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## Kasota

LAC - ohhhhhh how precious! And color, too! Wooot!!!! 

DBA, sorry you got a bunch of snow dumped on you. Hope you didn't aggravate your back clearing it out. 

MDKatie - how many ewes to do you have? It sure is hard to wait.... 

Kris - that sounds like a wonderful opportunity for your daughter! What kind of sheep are they? 

Hotzcatz - I am glad you got some time to relax, even if for a little while. You have sure been working hard. 

Marchwind - I'm so sorry your fiber peace is being disturbed. Hopefully things will get better. 

WIHH - you always have wise words to share. (((hugs))))

Susang and SKandi - I'm dreaming of strawberries, too.  

Cyndi - I am so, so glad you got some help!!! That's a lot of water to haul!! 

GG - I love my stash, too. Doesn't matter the size. There's just something so "right" about having a bit of a stash.  

Lexi - I hope you get some sunshine!! 

I am sorry if I missed anyone.... 

My long weekend is over and it always makes me feel sad. I got maybe 1/2 done of what I had hoped to accomplish. Maybe. Well, tomorrow is a new day!


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## lexierowsell

Lyndon needed his eyes cleaned. My vicious guard dog picked up my slack.


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## MullersLaneFarm

LAC, weren't CVMs started by being colored romneys?

Lexie, I love that 'vicious' breed. My old king dobie was the biggest lap dog I ever had.

DBA, mother nature has sure spread the wealth this year.

Katie, I pray you get a lot of lambs this week.

Kris, what a great opportunity for your daughter! I love down wool from meat breeds. You'll probably have to de with 2nd cuts in the fleeces, but that isn't a real big deal.

WIHH, ol' wise one, your perception & words are spot on.

We had a warm day today ... mid-20's ... 

And ... Paul got home this afternoon!!! I feel like I finally exhaled when I didn't know I was holding my breath. I feel complete again, even though I was whole when Paul was away. Does that make any sense?


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## Dixie Bee Acres

G'morning folks! It's Monday....yay.


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## Miz Mary

Happy Monday ! My job has me starting @ 6am instead of 4am for now ...... LOVED the 3 day weekend !! 

I was able to finish a scarf on my loom , get some seeds planted, make a big pot of minestrone soup .... and enjoy some sunshine ! 

Need to pull up the carpet in the entryway and prep for the hardwood this week .... 

Have a beautiful day everybody !


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## MDKatie

First lamb born last night. :happy2: A single (darn it) ram lamb, second time mother (2 years old). She's done a fabulous job lambing, both times. Textbook perfect mothering. I'm proud of her.


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## lexierowsell

Yay!! So glad! Maybe the rest of them will catch the labor fever, and let you leave with healthy bouncy babies!!


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## MDKatie

Kas, I have 4 ewes total, 3 left to lamb. Darla, my best girl, is looking pretty close. The other 2 girls are a little farther out. Last year I got 8 lambs from my 4 ewes, and I'm hoping I'll get 8 again. That means my girl who had trips last year better deliver! :happy2:

Here's a video of Darla from yesterday. She loves scratches and doesn't like it when I stop. Sorry for my weird faces...I was looking at the screen on the camera, trying to make sure to aim the thing properly. 

[YOUTUBE]vNmv3jmMJE8&index=2&list=UUL2KJ1PxjmozqjJ-6vvPHfw[/YOUTUBE]


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## MullersLaneFarm

Katie, you're just adorable ... as is Darla


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## Wind in Her Hair

I have such sheep envy!


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## Wind in Her Hair

feelin' Monday


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## PKBoo

Adorable Katie! Both of you!

I love how Darla is 'mouthing' in beat to your scratches in the beginning. Love that haha!

I'm not sure that we're going to have any lambs this year. I got a new ram lamb last year, and he ended up with coccidiosis in October when I put him in with the girls. Really really bad! I've never seen scours in a sheep before - it was not pretty 
Brought him in the barn and trimmed him all up around the back end. And he's had it two more times since then! Not good. 

Anyway, I saw signs of heat in a few of the ewes the following month, then AGAIN the next month! So I'm not sure that he did the job :sob:

AND, he's getting 'butty' already - not even a year old! My last BFL ram never got butty. So it might be better if they didn't get bred - not genetics I want to pass on in my herd anyway. I did talk with the breeder, and I'll be trading him in on another model... She is very particular about her genetics, and knows that I value it too. So, we'll see what happens in the next few months...

I've got 2 Nubians due March 19th, so at least I'll get some baby lovin. Then another due April 16th. Love those Nubian baby ears - they feel like pot pie dough!


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## naura

WIHH I love your wisdom. I have learned that the hard way... My MIL is a hoarder, yes the kind that you might see on the show. I am a very patient person and I thought I could help her but the more I get to know her I realized all her life someone some how has always been on her case about something or she feels like she needs to get their approval. It's no excuse but I realized what needs to be done is for her to know that I am here for her if needed be and that's all. She never had that before and she is almost 70. A lot of stuff she hoards is stuff she uses to impress people not because it's important to her but it's the only way she knows how to interact with people. She finally realized a little while ago that I don't need to be impressed. 

When my mom mentioned to a mutual friend that I was going to get married to my husband she apparently felt sorry that she was going to become my MIL. Very. Sad.


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## Kasota

I'm sure lovin' these lamb pictures! Sure appreciate people taking time to post them! 

Yeah, it is Monday for sure. Never dull. My peer at work who is leaving is leaving a day early. So I will only have him for two more days. He has a 9 person second level escalation team that he supervises that will now be reporting to me. Exciting for me, yes, especially since it is the team I came from long moons ago before I was promoted. BUT I would rather have my friend with me. AND it is going to be a slew more work. I am going to have to get really really really efficient!!


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## MDKatie

PK, yes, Darla "chews" the air (or my arm) like that when I pet her sometimes. She really is quite the character. 

I'm sorry to hear about the possibility of no lambs! And I'm sorry your boy is getting "rammy" already. Darn it! I'm glad the breeder will trade him in (chuckle). Hopefully your new guy is nicer!

Good luck with your goaties!! Please make sure to post pics. I won't have goat kids until May, and I can't wait that long to see cute kids!


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## MullersLaneFarm

WOOT!

I got 2 orders that added up to 4 logs of soap ... that means I have enough for the WW for the Elizabeth!
And today is the first time in 37 years I didn't have to make a mortgage/rent payment.
What a wonderful Monday


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## Skandi

MullersLaneFarm said:


> WOOT!
> 
> And today is the first time in 37 years I didn't have to make a mortgage/rent payment.


That must feel great. should be 5 years here untill it's paid off, can't wait myself! 

My chickens are being dumb, two of them have decided to lay from the perch. one doesn't do it all the time, as I've found 5 eggs in the box once. but one of them always does! grrs so I heaped up some more straw under there, hopefully that will give a soft landing, one of todays was cracked


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## MullersLaneFarm

Woke up to 1/2" ice covering everything. I'm not going outside today, not even with Yax Trax on.


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## Wind in Her Hair

CYNDI - STAY INSIDE!!!!!! Yeah on the soap order! That's awesome. 

Skandi, I am sorry about your chickens being dumb.


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## MullersLaneFarm

There's not enough bubble wrap in the house that can force me outside today

Oh darn, I may have to dye some rovings today since I can't go outside


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## hercsmama

Skandi, stupid chickens can really try your patience, can't they?:hair

Cyndi, I'm with WIHH, under NO circumstances are you allowed outside to play today. :hobbyhors

UNGH! I hate conflict, and I made a huge one for myself.
I had applied for a job at one of the co-ops, just working in the office part time, until planting season, then switching to full time through the summer. The money is great, and it would really help us catch up, after all the money we have had to dump out over the past few months helping out oldest ds. 
Well, they never got back to me, it's been three weeks, so I committed to the Spinning Lady job. Which is totally ideal for me, except it is an hour drive each way...
ANYWAY, the guy from the co-op just called, it's 10 minutes away, and the money is fantastic! Mind you, he has decided he wants full time from the get go, it would be close to 2400 a month, take home, and like I said 10 minutes away.
BUT, it would be 7am until 4 pm Monday through Friday, and every other Saturday morning..
Not to mention, I already committed to the museum...which is way less money, and a way longer commute, but the hours are much more conducive to my little farm, and the Farmers Market that I do on Saturday mornings.:bored:
The money would be amazing right now, but it isn't always all about that, now is it?
I'm just feeling very conflicted right now...I hate when I do this crap to myself.


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## MullersLaneFarm

Oh Debi, what a conflict.

Which would make you happier? Catching up on the bills is a great feeling, but it's not always about the money. Even though the museum pays less, you might be able to sell your items ... and there's something to be said about spinning and talking about fiber arts every day ... pray on it ... the right answer will come.

Some photos from the front porch (don't worry, I put down a couple rugs on the ice so I would have a firm footing)


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## Skandi

That's a nasty choice on the job front, will the museum one give enough money to do what you want after you have paid all that petrol? If it will, go for that. Jobs in a office are a lot more common as well, so there will be other chances for one of them if you need it later.


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## Wind in Her Hair

argh.

tough choices.

Ask yourself what you hope to accomplish by working. :shrug:

Is the goal _just the money_? Or is the goal something else? 

Good money, predictability, schedule. (sigh) :bored: 

or a creative outlet that might lead to even more creative opportunities? Or it might be a dead end road. 

Are you in a position to choose what you WANT to do over what you NEED/are expected to do?

Is being a creative artist as important as being financially secure? Can you be satisfied with being a creative artist in your "leisure time"?

Can you do both? Would both jobs consider having you "part-time"? 

Personally? 

If it were me, I'd do the demonstrator lady job - because that's where my JOY would be. "Working for the man" 9-5 and every other Saturday morning? :nono: that's no good. Essentially tying up your whole day? by having you work a half day? That's lousy. I don't work half days. :nono: I either come and work a whole day or I don't come. 

9-5 kind of means selling my soul for a buck - which is what most of us do. :shrug: Some of us just put in our 40 hours for the medical insurance/benefits. Working as the demonstrator? That feeds your soul. 

One of the happiest people I have ever known was the demonstrator at Iron World /MN Discovery Center. She lived alone, off-the-grid, and spun and dyed yarn and wove birch bark baskets and stars and made a LIFE - maybe not what everyone would call "making a living" - but she made a life. 

BUT - you also have to consider that you (and I and everyone else) have a limited number of days that we will be in the workforce. 

Can you AFFORD to trade a whole "season" of your earning potential in exchange for making yourself happy and maybe breaking even?


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## hercsmama

I've decided to keep the Spinning Lady job. 
I don't really have to work, outside the farm. Dh would prefer that I don't. He just likes everything taken care of, and he doesn't mind working for both of us, so that his life runs smoothly, lol!
Susan, you make very good points about feeding my soul. The whole point of us moving up here, and starting the farm, was so that we could develop a small fiber business. By taking the 9-5 job, I have to put all of that on hold, until whenever. By taking the Spinning job, I can begin right now.
Not to mention, how on earth would I deal with the Farmers Market, and my gardens, and do all the paperwork and billing for the plumbing business, if I am committed elsewhere 40+ hours a week.
My darling dh would most likely die if his supper had to wait, or his undershorts weren't folded properly in their drawer at night! LOL!!! ound:


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## kandmcockrell

I really need to get to knitting! I have 2/3 to 3/4 of the baby sack done, but still want to knit a hat for the little one as well. Have just under 3 months if all goes well and she bakes for the full time.


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## MDKatie

Cyndi, good call staying inside!

hercs, you go girl!! People practically begging you to work for them!! The spinning job sounds amazing, and how awesome you get to start your business now instead of waiting!!


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## Dixie Bee Acres

Sounds like you are making the right choice, Debi. Back when I had my shop open, I had one opportunity to close it down ( when business was still good) and go to work elsewhere for better money. I chose to keep my shop because I really liked what I did and hoped to grow it into a bigger business.
I would rather make $100 and be happy than to make $150 and be miserable.
Unfortunately, in 2009 when the economy tanked, my community and surrounding areas could no longer support my business and I had to close down, but for 6 1/2 years, it was great.


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## Woodpecker

I'm having such a hard time. I am filling for my pension and am working up to telling HR that due to my health I need to go. I'm heartsick, I'm leaving behind a very good job with awesome benefits not to mention the people I've worked with. The only consolation I have is knowing this is what's best for me.


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## Marchwind

Here am im glad you picked the spinning lady job and that you are listening to your soul. This way too you will have time for your grandson. Plus you get paid to do what we all love so much, luck you!

WP would it be possible for you to work part time?


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## Miz Mary

With all this talk about jobs .... I have to say, getting up and going to work is so much easier when its doing something you ENJOY doing !!! I am really enjoying this seamstress job .... sewing wet/dry suits is not easy, and they put my on zippers first thing !!! AKKK !! 
But I am learning so much, the hours are great and the people are nice !! 

DH has ripped out the carpet in the entry way , getting ready for laminate flooring !! YAY !!! He is finally on board with this, and didnt even wait for me on the weekend !!


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## hercsmama

WP, MW has a point. Maybe you can go part time, or even as a sub for when people take vacation, or sick leave?

Well, I managed to get my "costume" finished yesterday. Nothing fancy, just a very simple long skirt and an long apron. I have several shirts that I think will work ok. My sewing skills are no where near as good as Kelseys, or Marys, (zippers?:run, but I think what I managed will look nice.
I should be getting my schedule here in the next week, looking forward to that.
We got about an inch of snow over night, no biggie. Just enough to amuse Maggie and Murphy this morning.
I'm heading into town shortly, and then home to get more seeds started, and arrange my new office space. My wireless router came in the mail yesterday, so I can move my computer into the extra room. Which means I can also set up my spinning corner in the livingroom, finally!:nanner:

Well, off to town!:hobbyhors


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## Wind in Her Hair

How exciting, Debi. I am envious. How wonderful you will be doing something you LOVE. 

My friends that are reinactors do natural dyeing of their handspun yarns in a kettle over a fire and then they sell they yarns.











They have a little "Dyer's Garden" planted out back of the little log cabin and they also sell handwoven baskets. 

Handwoven birch bark stars (like all the ones hanging in my windows) are popular because they are cheap and make nice little Christmas gifts!


----------



## Woodpecker

I'm not sure that working part time would work as I am going on SSD too. I need to take a break and continue to pray for God's guidance. I'm still really worn out from the chemo and the treatment I had on Monday. On a good note my doctor finally got an egg! Lorretta laid on Sunday so when I had my treatment Monday I gave her one. She loved it and said it was delicious and her kids thought it was really cool.

WIHH I'd love to live in that cabin! I love birch bark baskets there so handy.


----------



## Wind in Her Hair

Woodpecker, I can't imagine being where you are.  Right now, what is most important is you regaining your strength and your health. 

_If_ you can work, _IF_ your employer will let you "work" (remain on the payroll with limited function/performance) that would be great. 

If you can't, you can't.

We had a dear friend that was battling cancer and his company basically told him that _IF_ he wanted to show up for work, that would be fine. So, he did. He walked into his office, closed the door and then laid down on his sofa and slept. Bless his heart. 

If you can't work, do you lose your benefits? If you are on SSD, is there anything you could do at home to earn a small supplemental wage? (I think you need more chickens!)


----------



## hercsmama

Susan, do you have any contact info for those ladies? I would absolutely love to get a couple of their baskets for my little booth!
That one in the picture is amazing!


----------



## Wind in Her Hair

Believe it or not, my friend carries her DRUM CARDER in that basket! will see what I can find out.


----------



## Woodpecker

I'm looking into the insurance situation since I will lose my benifits. I work for the state so it's going to hit me hard. I doubt I can work as the job is way too physical which is why I'm turning in my papers. I don't know about more chickens. I just finished cleaning Lorreta's flooded coop. Remeber me not being able to open the door? Well that's all flooded now and leaking into the coop. I didn't want to put too much shavings down as it will just flood again. I fixed part of the door which was broken by chopping ice. What a big mess.


----------



## Kris in MI

Woodpecker, I don't know much at all about SSD, _but_. . . 

For over a decade I worked with a man who was on SSD, and he worked about 30 hrs a week too. He just had a cap on the number of hours per week he could work and the dollars per hour he could make in order to still qualify for SSD. If I remember right, he also had medical coverage through the state at the time (as in through social services, not through an employer); I know he could not function without his medications (he has schizophrenia) and he was always making sure that his working did not go over what was allowed. Our employer was very understanding about staying within his limitations and helping with any paperwork he had to turn in to the state.

It's worth checking into, perhaps you also can work part-time and keep your SSD


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

I agree with Kris. I work with a disabled veteran. Our boss allows him to work and is sure to never go over his allotted time. We have a really good boss, since we work outside, he always gives him days off if it is icy because he has a prostetic (sp?) leg. He can't work much, but hr is grateful that he can work when he can.


----------



## Woodpecker

Thank you for the advice Kris and DBA. Let me talk to my Union rep and see what's possible. My other concern is all the chemicals and asbestos I'd be around. Every summer they do at least one abatement. I'm thinking of maybe working part time but in a different capacity. Thanks again for all the advice! Being in my late 20's I never thought I'd have to go through this, I must admit I know very little. I do have a professional helping me and mom is a huge help. More snow on the way 1"-3", hurry up spring!


----------



## Kasota

Cyndi, how awesome about the soap orders! Wooot!  I'll bet it sure felt good to not have to make a mortgage payment! God is good! How did the roving come out? 

Skandi, I used to have a hen that did that. The thing was that there were not enough choices in the nest boxes. Having "just enough" or even just a couple extra (if there are lots of hens) sometimes doesn't work. Can you add a couple additional nest boxes? Or maybe use a different sort? I had one hen that would NEVER use a nest box along side other hens. She was finally happy when I gave her an old cat litter pan in the corner with hay in it. Go figure. 

Debi, I think you made a good choice about the job.  

KandM, that is so exciting!!! What colors are you working with? 

DBA, I'm so sorry about your business that you had to shut down. But it seems like you are growing your farmer's garden business, too! I think some big part of being an entrepreneur is that you just have a heart for working for yourself. Lots of things fit into that. 

(((WP))) I am so sorry you are having such a rough time. I am glad you have a rep and your mom to help with some of the decisions. The most important thing, though, is that you take care of YOU. Give yourself the time you need to heal. I don't like the idea of you being around chemicals and asbestos. Ack! Be gentle with yourself. 

Miz Mary that is so awesome that you are enjoying your job and learning new things! I have been wondering how things were going for you! 

WIHH, those pictures are awesome! 

So today was my friend's last day at work on the same management team as I am. I am going to miss him very much. He actually was the person who hired me 8 years ago. As a going home present I bought him a bottle of 12 year old Scotch. His face lit up like a Christmas tree. I remembered that he enjoyed the very end of the day sitting in front of his woodstove and partaking of a bit of scotch. 

So...I am kinda sad...and kinda excited over having some new challenges at work...and mostly just more than a little tired. I took Friday off to do my taxes and my mom's taxes and my sister's taxes....


----------



## hercsmama

It doesn't look like much really, but the shear amount of crap I had to shift, out of this space was amazing!
All my office stuff is now hidden, in our extra room, and this is my new spinning corner. 
The cats seem to approve.:happy2:
I still need to sort out where to put my other two wheels in this area. Not sure yet, maybe one under the window, and the other I have no idea.....:bored:

The painting were my Moms, and I just love them. The cedar chest was my Grannies, it is full of my "special" yarns.


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## BlueberryChick

Debi, I love your spinning corner! I literally gasped when I clicked on the photos. It is beautiful.


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## kandmcockrell

kas - it is mostly hot pink with flashes of other colors. I will try to take a picture tomorrow.


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## hercsmama

Thanks BBC. I really like it too. I do wish my livingroom was just a bit wider though..but it's a cozy spot.:happy2:


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## 7thswan

hercsmama said:


> Thanks BBC. I really like it too. I do wish my livingroom was just a bit wider though..but it's a cozy spot.:happy2:


Tell us about the floors!


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## SvenskaFlicka

I agree! Your space is lovely!

I altered a wedding dress and sewed half a corset and ironed 8 yards of fabric and started the toe on my second sock and picked out yarns for new duffers and worked on mortgage papers and calculated shipping for the knitting machine to South Korea and not much else today.

I'm ready for bed.


----------



## hercsmama

7thswan said:


> Tell us about the floors!


:happy2: I love my floors!
They are not hardwood, although, even people who have seen them IRL think they are.
We got them at Home Depot. It is, believe it or not, a vinyl floor! Totally waterproof, super simple to install, and maintain. 
The brand name is Allure, here's a link, http://www.homedepot.com/s/allure+ultra?NCNI-5

Really affordable, super easy install. Absolutely adore these floors!:happy2:


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## Marchwind

Such a nice cozy corner Hercsmama! I can see why the cats like it . Do you sit on the wicker stool or the chest to spin?

Kasota it's hard when people you really like leave your work environment. I can imagine that bottle of scotch was appreciated


----------



## Wind in Her Hair

Prayers are much appreciated for my daughter and her husband and their babies as they face wintry road conditions today trying to get to east Texas to gather the family due to a tragic loss. Noah's mother passed away last night quite unexpectedly and he is just shattered.


----------



## Marchwind

You got it WIHH.


----------



## MullersLaneFarm

Prayers coming their way for safe travel and comfort for their loss.


----------



## BlueberryChick

I'm so sorry, WIHH. I'll be praying for them.


----------



## 7thswan

Prayers from here.


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## Woodpecker

Prayers from here too.

Lorreta's coop is still soaking wet and while I was cleaning it yesterday I must have unscrewed the heat lamp bulb. She did good without it. I think all that work yesterday made me sick as today I have a low grade fever. We are getting way more snow than we need too.


----------



## SvenskaFlicka

I'm praying too.


----------



## weever

Prayed for your family, WIHH... how sad.


----------



## Kasota

WIHH, I am so sorry to hear of Noah's loss. He must be just heartbroken. Surely saying prayers!

WP, wrap yourself up and stay warm and snug!!


----------



## PKBoo

WIHH - so sorry to hear of you and your family's loss! Prayers and healing thoughts sent your way


----------



## Miz Mary

Praying for your family WIHH .......


----------



## MDKatie

I'm so sorry, WIHH. I hope they reach their destination safely. 

Another snow day here. We're in the 6-10" band of snow, and it's looking like there's already at least 8" out there. I'm NOT happy! I was supposed to leave tomorrow morning at 7 AM to head to my knitting retreat. Now it looks like I'll be leaving later...maybe midday at best. I'm frustrated.

Also, I have 2 new ewe lambs. I'm happy about that, but the ewe's milk hasn't been great and I've supplemented them with bottles today. I wasn't expecting this ewe to lamb quite this soon. I'm hoping things look better in the morning. Poor DH has been working crazy long hours from the snow, and he's going to have to take care of them all weekend. 

My girl Darla STILL has not lambed yet! I'm crossing my fingers and doing every dance I can to try to get her to lamb. :happy2:


----------



## GeorgiaGirl

Prayers from me also. Keep us posted.


----------



## BlueberryChick

Continued prayers from here, WIHH.

This isn't Lake Wobegone, but it has been a rather quiet week here. 

My older daughter is back at work after having her wisdom teeth out and the younger two have colds. They aren't too sick, but have spent the last couple of days laying around. We've mostly watched science shows and done a bit of history reading.

I'm hoping the 9yo is well enough to go to her riding lesson tomorrow afternoon. She's already missed two because of heavy rain.


----------



## Wind in Her Hair

Thank you, one and all for your prayers and kind words. 

Noah has lost four generations of his family in just a little over a year - he lost his only sibling- his 28 yr old brother, he and Autumn lost a baby, he lost both his grandmother and his grandfather and now his mother. It has been a dreadful, dark season of loss- and yet, his Faith is strong and he is so thankful for the comfort, care, love and support of so many. I am so thankful for the wonderful husband and father he is. 

In July, he starts his new job as a Clinic Physician and I know that his patients will all benefit from his care and compassion- you don't walk through a fire storm and NOT come out a changed person. 

Noah and Autumn arrived safely in east Texas and today they go to make arrangements and begin the sad duty of settling his mother's affairs and emptying Noah's childhood home and readying it for sale. 

We all know that one day we might have to do this for our relatives- we just don't ever expect to have to do it when we- and they - are so young.


----------



## Marchwind

Tomorrow I head over to Weever's in Holland, Michigan for their shearing day. It is open to the public and lots of families come. My friend and I will be doing demos of spinning (spindle) and carding and anything fiber related 

If anyone wants to show up it starts in the morning and lasts for a good part of the day. The weather sounds like it should cooperate too, almost 40 degrees. 

In fact all next week should be in the high 30's to mid 40's. Mud season it on its way  I'd rather have the snow than the mud.


----------



## lexierowsell

Is anyone on here a LeClerc dealer? I need to order pirns. They're back ordered through woolery, my LYS doesn't do LeClerc and the closest store that does is about 2 hr. At this point I'd rather just order from a person who can tell me the status rather than chasing a company.


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## hercsmama

WIHH, Keeping your family in my thoughts today.

Everyone who ordered fleeces, today is SHEARING DAY!!!!

I'm off shortly to go, and most likely, just get in the way! LOL!:hobbyhors
I'm going to tote my camera along, hopefully I can get some decent pictures, without totally being obnoxious about it.:happy2:


----------



## Kasota

Good morning, everyone! 

WIHH, my heart just breaks for Noah. It is simply stunning that he has had such loss in his life in such a short time. 

I am home from work today. It was wonderful to sleep in and almost sleep myself out. "Almost" was due to a wee little dog who was so happy that I was unexpectedly home that she couldn't help piling stuffed animals on the bed and wiggling around in the middle of the pile. She was fairly bursting with exuberant delight. So I had to get up.  

Tax day here. I will be glad when they are all done.


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## Woodpecker

Continued prayers WIHH. The last line of your post really struck a cord with me.


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## Wind in Her Hair

Woodpecker said:


> Continued prayers WIHH. The last line of your post really struck a cord with me.


 hugs, Woodpecker. &#9829;


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## Woodpecker

Wind in Her Hair said:


> hugs, Woodpecker. &#9829;


Thanks WIHH! :kiss: I will certainly keep Autum and Noah and you in my prayers. How is Clark Henry? I love that name, it sounds so regal.


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## Kasota

I'm wondering how shearing day went. I hope Debi got lots of good pictures. I'm looking forward to getting that fleece! 

And Marchwind was going to a shearing today, too! Hope you had lots of fun!


----------



## lambs.are.cute

Praying for you all WIHH. 

I was up too late with dori (as in the fish for finding nemo). She is a royal pain in my rear and spacey. These are her first lambs so she is learning. Fast. At least she didn't have lambing problems. The photo is her and one girl, the other was up bellowing (boy she has a set of lungs).


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## lambs.are.cute

And one of the ewes yet to lamb..... Any guesses on how many? Last year was 3.


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## susang

WIHH, I have a hard time exoressing myself, don't often see me responding. My deepest thoughts of peace for your family. I know all too well everyone in your sil family will be affected. Heartache doesn't pick and choose it only is and hopefully it will turn to joy in remembering those gone.


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## SvenskaFlicka

Philip is busy with his pepper seeds! We have a ton of seedlings and about 100 more pepper seeds to plant. 
And tomatoes.


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## Woodpecker

Look at all the snow I had to walk through to feed the birds.


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## Kasota

Good morning, all! 

Mom and I are going to the thrift store today. I have to get her out of the house. She is all blue and weepy today.  She likes thrift stores, though, so we will get her out and about a bit today. Hopefully that will help.


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## hercsmama

Morning!:happy2:
Waiting for the photos to get from my camera to my email so I can load them on here. I even managed a short video, we'll see if it loads right.
I managed to get all the fleeces I was sent for, took me two trips in my Suburban to get them all home! That was with the two back seats down, and the third one out completely. Some of these are monsters!
They each take up an entire one of those black lawn and leaf bags, I have no idea how I'm going to squish them small enough for cheapest shipping, but I'll be giving it my best effort.
I am going to do a light skirting on them all, as I don't imagine any of ya'll want to pay for dingle berries to be shipped to you, :umno:.
So I'll be out in the back today doing that, thankfully we should be up around 65* today, so it'll be a nice day to be outside.


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## hercsmama

Well, these aren't that great, but here's a few pictures of yesterdays endeavors..


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## BlueberryChick

Love the pictures, Debi!

I haven't left our property since Tuesday and that was to take my older daughter to the oral surgeon who took out her wisdom teeth. She had some pain and swelling we wanted him to check. It wasn't serious, but he treated it with something that smelled like cloves. She's been much better ever since.

My younger two children have had colds. My son, 13yo, is much better but the 9yo girl is absolutely miserable. She is so stuffy she's having trouble breathing well enough to sleep and she has a sore throat. Please say a prayer for her to get well soon (and so I can get some sleep!)


----------



## Wind in Her Hair

BlueberryChick said:


> She had some pain and swelling we wanted him to check. It wasn't serious, but he treated it with something that smelled like cloves. She's been much better ever since.


That was a Eugenol treatment- Eugenol is truly "oil of cloves" and is used to treat "dry sockets" where the bloodclot may have been disturbed resulting in pain transmission. Sometimes the dressing is removable and sometimes the administering dressing is "absorbable". Bless her heart- healing takes time.


----------



## lambs.are.cute

Well dori is truely on my short list. She rejected the second girl and I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have because she's sooo spooky and I can't do anything without her going all wild and running over babies. Anyway long story short, I am not finishing the hen house. I am attempting to revive a hypothermic baby who needs constant monitoring....... Bah intelligence and calmness in sheep can't be over rated.


----------



## BlueberryChick

Wind in Her Hair said:


> That was a Eugenol treatment- Eugenol is truly "oil of cloves" and is used to treat "dry sockets" where the bloodclot may have been disturbed resulting in pain transmission. Sometimes the dressing is removable and sometimes the administering dressing is "absorbable". Bless her heart- healing takes time.



That sounds exactly like what happened. She's doing much better and was back at work on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Andy (DH) just got back from a "minute clinic" at CVS with Janie, the 9yo. She has a slight ear infection so she came back with an antibiotic and children's Sudafed for congestion. Hopefully we'll both have a better night.


----------



## Kasota

(((LAC))) I hope things get better. Hopefully you can get the lamb revived and doing better. 

BBC, your household has been going through the wringer! Prayers for everyone to heal up quickly! 

I can't believe I have not done any work today.  My sister and I took mom to a couple thrift stores and then out to lunch. I think it helped her spirits to get out of the house. I found a new bedspread at the thrift store and a really cute project bag and a brand new pair of shoes. Sweet deal they are 80.00 leather flats and I got them for 15.00. I'm washing up some rather greasy fleece (I don't know why it is so greasy it is a Shetland cross fleece) and hoping the water is hot enough and not too hot. We'll see.  Now I have some time to crochet or knit or whatever. 

Yay for fibery time!


----------



## BlueberryChick

Thanks, Kasota! It will get better; goodness knows, plenty of people are facing much worse. My 23yo will stay up with her sister tonight so I can sleep. Bless her!

And, Kasota, that is an adorable bag!


----------



## Marchwind

Well I'm pooped! Yesterday I was at the Women's Expo from 12 - 6 with dogs and cats from animal control, it's a adoption event we do every year and usually have good luck getting animals adopted.

Today I was at Weever's farm all day. My friend and I arrived a bit after 9:00. I brought my drum carder, wheel, and some drop spindles. We were BUSY. I wound up carding up mini bats for people, mostly kids, then they took them to the spinner next to me who had them sit at Weever's Country Spinner and they spun up a very arty yard which then got quickly plyed and became yarn necklaces. We actually had a line of people holding their batts to be spun. I had no time for photos. We were told that 366 people came to the open house/shearing day. I came home with a Polypay fleece, Mr. Weever sold it to me for a huge deal, $1.50 a pound :happy2: the day was beautiful, at least what I saw of it, sunny and about 40 degrees. I am so tired. Tomorrow I go to Ann Arbor for the day. I'm actually on vacation since last Thursday. I was really looking forward to some down time. I still have a week so not to worry.


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

My daughter attended her first rabbit show today. She had a great time and learned a lot, well, actually, we both did. She didn't win a ribbon, but the judge did point out some things about her rabbit (Belle) to us, told us her strong points and her weak points. Good thing is, she is still growing and may actually outgrow a couple of her minor flaws. But, aside from not placing, we still enjoyed ourselves, and greatly enjoyed seeing a gal and her daughter that we met initially her on HT.
We also came home with two more rabbits, a very nice little Cali doe, and a beautiful mini lop doe. That doe won grand champion last year in a 4h fair, she will make us some great looking bunnies.


----------



## weever

Marchwind, many thanks for demonstrating today! It was crazy busy and I am pooped, too. I am so tired I can't sleep. 

You saved us by buying that fleece at a discount. We would have had to start a fifth wool bag.


----------



## MDKatie

Morning, everyone! Hope you are all doing well on this fine Monday! Ha. I cannot stand daylight savings time! I really wish they'd (whomever THEY are) pick a time and stick with it! I'm excited for it to be warmer out, but I can't help but mourn the long, quiet evenings indoors. 

I got back last night from the Outer Banks of NC. This weekend was the "Knitting by the Sea" retreat. I taught a Needle Felting 101 class, and then did a demo on felting soap. It was so much fun!! I also vended my "wares" (soap, lip balm, etc). 

My sister was at the retreat with me (and our aunt is a member of the guild that hosts it), so it was great to spend time with family! Oh, the COOLEST thing...a yarn truck!! This is Geraldine, the yarn truck. I wish I had pictures from inside the truck! It was a mini yarn store on wheels! Actually, the truck had quite a bit of yarn! My sister and I visited the truck separately, and out of ALLLLL the yarn on the truck, we bought the SAME EXACT yarn!!! Same colorway and everything!! :happy2:

Oh, and my ewe Darla cooperated and had twins on Friday at 3 AM. Can't remember if I said that before or not. I'm glad she had them before I went away for the weekend. 

Now I need a vacation to recuperate! :happy2:


----------



## MDKatie

Ooh, here's a pic of the inside of Geraldine the yarn truck! :happy2:


----------



## Marchwind

That's a great idea MDKatie! Have truck will travel, no set up and unpacking (not really).


----------



## Wind in Her Hair

awesome idea - the yarn truck. 

(and seeing this picture of people wearing flipflops - even though we had -35ÂºF on Wednesday morning  , knowing that spring is popping up around the country gives me HOPE!)


----------



## MDKatie

WIHH, Friday night was cold and windy, and Sat and Sun were in the 50's! 

I've got my toes painted baby blue and I'm soooo ready to bust out the flip flops!!


----------



## Wind in Her Hair

Yesterday, I was "feeling spring" so I took the leap and painted my toe-nails PINK!


----------



## GeorgiaGirl

> I'm soooo ready to bust out the flip flops!!


Flip-flops......OH YEAH!!!!


----------



## Skandi

Today it was warm! The sycamore was flowing sap so I had a go at tapping it, well that failed. it went drip drip drip for about 5 mins and then just stopped. So I left them all on overnight.. and it's POURED with rain, sigh bucket of rainwater anyone? maybe with a hint of sap. I swear there wasn't a cloud in the sky when I put the chickens in for the night. grrs
We had a nice bbq and ate outside, ok we both had coats on.. but it was a huge improvement on freezing rain and hail. I started some globe artichoke seeds, up to four of my 30 types planted now. And the onions have germinated! tiny little white loops in their trays today.
And the best bit of news.. we went exploring down in our swamp "garden" and I found 10 rhubarb plants just coming up and another apple/pear tree I didn't know was there. Can't tell what it is as it's not even budding up yet, but the bark says fruit tree. I think I have 5 apples/pears now. Hoping to find something else lurking as well. We rescued a tree that had fallen over a couple of years back by the look of it, as it's had two supports before it must be something interesting.. can't wait till they all leaf out/flower and I can identify them. The only fruit I would expect and I have not found here is raspberries, so I will be looking in the shrubs for some of them come spring.
(found strawberries, blackcurrents, redcurrents, goosberries, rhubarb, 3xapples 2x apple or pear (can't tell) and a grape so I expect raspberries too!)


----------



## lambs.are.cute

We hit 70! Today. It was a bit windy but over all not too bad. 

Exciting about the trees skandi. Around here trees are precious no matter what they are, since they all have to be bought and planted, and watered for at least 1 year usually around 5. Of course I live in high stepp desert. 

I let dori and her remaining lamb in a small out door corral with old experienced ewes to test if they will be fine out over night. Baby loved it. Mum promptly forgot baby for food, but the baby found her after much running around screaming, upsetting everyone but her mum, and then promptly lost her again. Sooooo they are in the jug except during supervised free time until one of them smartens up. The aunty ewes were careful with the baby and allowed her to sleep with them when she lost her mommy. One of them Even laid down after her to block the wind.


----------



## BrownYaks

I'm also in the high step desert. Trees are actually what my mom asked for for her birthday.


----------



## Skandi

Trees here are weeds, I have 8 or 9 to fell as soon as I can organise someone to do it and a lift on the same day, (they're overhanging the house so going to be a pain to get down) We're in a very windy area, so trees grow horizontaly after a 10 feet up or so, and blow down increadibly easily, The house used to have a windbreak of huge 2-3ft di elms but they have all died and been cut down, so now the wind blows all across. I'm very happy to find fruit trees though, even overgrown ones. much faster to get a crop than planting my own, and I don't want to go any buy any until I know what I have!


----------



## lexierowsell

I haven't posted any Lyndon photos recently! The little guy has been spending his days (when the weather is fair) out with the big flock and is doing famously. 

With his twin








No one is at their best before coffee!








The flock LOVES that I finally broke down and bought electro net. Horse pastures here they come!








"I'm tired mom..."








He just wanted to lay on the couch with the other dogs, this morning he figured out he could just hop up there. 








It looks like the winter weather has broken for good here now, Lyndon is on his way to being an outside sheep. To be completely honest, I'm going to miss him around! He's totally crate trained, quiet and easy going-- less effort than a puppy by far!


----------



## hercsmama

Morning all!
Have been so stupid busy the past few days, haven't really had time to post. 

I've been having a spinning marathon, need to get some skeins done so that when I start work I have something to put on my table, besides an empty basket or two.:bored:
We've been having the best weather! In the 60's for the most pat, and sunshine, sunshine, sunshine! Just gorgeous.

I do have some nasty news to report though. Apparently, someone, we have no idea who, has been playing with our mail :hair. We had noticed it a few months ago, but then it stopped, and it looks like whoever it is, is back at it. So our Mailman is being ever so sweet, and as of yesterday is hand delivering it to the door, until we can get a locking mail box. So frustrating. 
I think it is probable some bored teenagers, I can't imagine anyone else doing it...hopefully they get tired of the game soon.
Off to start spinning for the day!
Take care.


----------



## Marchwind

Love Lyndon!

It has warmed up enough here that I can go out without a coat. I slept with my bedroom window cracked last night . All week will be in the mid-40's an occasional 50 and next week it may actually get to 60. Lots and lots of melting going on here. I has 2-3 feet of snow in my front yard that may take awhile to melt since I'm on the shady side if the street. Now I need to go start picking up poop :yuck:

My kitty, the sick one, is at the vet to have x-rays done of her head. She is actually doing really well right now. I told them if they get in there and find something really awful to not even bring her out of the anesthesia . So prayers to St. Francis or whoever would be greatly appreciated today.

I have this whole week off work, I've been so busy with volunteering for things and taking animals to vet appointments, I haven't had a day to sleep in yet. I'm deep cleaning my my house. The bathroom was yesterday. I had to wash the walls there was stuff that seemed to be dripping down the walls, ewww. I'm hoping to get that finished and at least one more room then I'll knit or spin.


----------



## Wind in Her Hair

*hercsmama*, I am sorry about the mail drama. That's ONE of the reasons we have a post office box in town. It's a little more trouble and expensive and we don't get to check it every single day, but at least the mail and packages we get are always safe. :thumb: I guess that's all just part of the joys of living in and around other flawed human beings.

Enjoy your week off, *Marchie*. I only get 8 days PTO and I use that up in just one trip to Texas.  :sob:

Prayers for your kitty, Marchwind. 

Our snow is melting here too - water water everywhere as the ice bergs and snowpiles begin to recede. What a mess. But trucks are still parking and driving on the lakes for ice fishing. I only wore a light fleece jacket to work this morning - it feels so wonderful to be able to shed the parka!

Good for you on the "deep cleaning" project, Marchwind.

I seriously need to spend some time downstairs organizing some fiber that a dear departed friend left me. Her husband brought it to our fiber meeting and all of us split it and set aside piles to go to charity knitting groups, etc. 

I glommed the Lopi bulky stuff for fulling - I see more slippers and duffers in my knitting future :teehee: - and I think I might be over dyeing some of it this weekend.


----------



## lexierowsell

I don't remember if I shared or not here, but I had a calf born last week in the arctic storm that came through (of course). It was 22*, and this little guys mama is a feral heifer so I couldn't do anything to get em inside. Alls well that ends well though, and here is beef 2016!


----------



## Osiris

Wow Lexi! So CUTE. Glad it turned out positive.


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

What a great looking calf!!!

I had a litter of (meat) rabbits born today but no pics, momma didn't really care for me snooping around the nest box. But, you probably don't need pics anyway, newborn rabbits look like bald anorexic mice.
Have another litter due next week, but show rabbits.
In 3 1/2 weeks I should have another litter of show rabbits born.


----------



## lambs.are.cute

This made me late to work:


----------



## lambs.are.cute

And this made me come home early.


----------



## lambs.are.cute

The ewe with trips is 12 years old and VERY experienced mum. This is how she enforces nap time.


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## hotzcatz

How cuters! Will the little black lambs stay dark?

Cute burgers, Lexie!

Bunny pictures are always good, DixieBee. What kind of bunnies are they?

Hope your kitty is better, Marchie. Given an option, I'd probably opt for sleeping in instead of deep cleaning, but probably deep cleaning may make you feel better in the long run.

Nothing much going on here, mostly waiting for Spring Break next week so we can move out of this house and finally officially over to the other one. If anyone wants a rental house in Hawaii, let me know, we will have one available soon. The other house is gonna need a new roof, but we will put that in while living in it. Oh frabjulas joy.

Took some of the last of last year's yarn around to two different stores today. One store has a shawl and nine skeins of yarn on commission, the other one took the remaining yarn I had and paid cash. Woot! Working on getting the bunny fluff ready to go to the mill. And gotta go give the bunnies a hair cut to round out the bunny fluff shipment.


----------



## Marchwind

Well the outcome for my kitty is as good as I could hope for. She came home to me . The vet is still thinking all the signs are pointing to a fungal infection. He says that as odd and unlikely as it seems, she is an inside cat, the signs point that way. He also says it could be cancer but can't be certain. She had a fantastic weekend and she must be feeling really good. She slept with me last night and ate like a little pig last night. My vet sent a blood sample to the university to be tested for the fungus. I hope it comes back positive so we get a definitive answer. Thank you all for your positive thoughts and prayers.

Cleaning us going a lot slower than I thought it would . What I've done looks great. HotzCatz, I'd love yo be sleeping and playing with fibers too but... Here I have forced air heat, which I hate. Because of that and with all the animals the dust is ungodly bad. I would have to dust every day at least twice a day to keep thus place clean. This is my "spring cleaning". I wish it was warm enough to open the windows to get the winder funk out. Ah well, soon enough.

Lexi your calf is cute 

DBA bunny pictures in a week will be great!

LAC so happy your old girl came through her pregnancy alright. Such cute babies. Baa, baa, black sheep......


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## Dixie Bee Acres

Here's a couple pics of our two and a half week old frankenbunnies.


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## lexierowsell

Little Lyndon had to up his cute factor:

















Gosh this little guy is too cute. 

Twin BFL x Rambo, the little ewe in front stretching already has 2" of the most glorious fleece (born 7 Feb)








Lyndon's twin, Grover. This guy is the nicest looking lamb on my farm, youngest and bigger than them all. Love his mama, glad to be able to keep him on as a ram.


----------



## Skandi

hotzcatz said:


> Cute burgers, Lexie!


ha ha ha! FiL had a terrible time with calves this year, lost 4 out of 6.
So he killed one of the older cows for some meat, (prob 7-8 years old) she had 140lb of fat! not as much mince as he hoped, but his wife has also oversold. so they've ended up with nothing. oops bad planning! We got 20lb off of them, and I have to say it's much nicer than any of the other mince I've had from them, their beef animals stay indoors all their lives, and while sure they're tender, they taste of nothing. Whereas the cows get to go out all summer on pasture, so they actually have some taste. They also used the slaughterhouses butcher not their normal one, and that helped, the normal one doesn't trim enough and some bites of mince taste vile, we even had steaks coming back with the mould still on. urgh


----------



## GeorgiaGirl

Hello all,
I've been busy here as well. The weather has been warm and glorious. Hubby and I cleaned out the chicken coop/duck house. *_gross_* So glad to get that done. 


Had to make a trip to the Dr last Wednesday. Menopause.......lovely, menopause 
I've managed to skip 4 months in a row. If I can just get through the next 8 without Aunt Flo visiting.....I'll be freeeeeeeeee!!!!! YAY!
I have come to find out menopause has it's own set of woe's. Hence the Dr. visit. 

On a pleasant note.................I am planning a women's retreat for the ladies of my church. Most of us knit or crochet and I would love to hire someone for the day to come and give us a lesson on fiber. Like tell about the different kinds, weights, do some spinning, etc. Some of the ladies know nothing about yarn and I can't really say I know a lot. Haha. It is going to be in October. 
I just thought that would be a great treat for those who attend. 

LAC.........that last picture is my favorite! I LOVE it http://www.homesteadingtoday.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/


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## lexierowsell

Skandi- I lost 9 of my butcher lambs this year. Our entire profit. I count my blessings that my jersey dairy cows are made for making babies, and that their babies come out kicking and screaming, ready to take on the world. They grow out on grass, and in the case of this calf he will stay with his mama until he goes away (because she's wild and not part of my milk string). They are the tastiest beef on the planet, absolutely worth the two years it takes to get them to weight.


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## Wind in Her Hair

that looks delicious, lexie. The grill marks on the squash have my mouth watering. I usually get squash about August 1st. :sob: I think I need a greenhouse. 

Skandi, I am really enjoying hearing about things in Denmark.  I &#9829; this group!


----------



## lexierowsell

WIHH- it's actually polenta! 

We have squash starting in about May-June though, and then we have squash 

F O R E V E R

Until you never wanna see another summer squash again.


----------



## MDKatie

Morning, everyone! Cute lambs, LAC!! And that older ewe...what a great girl! Hope you've kept some of her ewe lambs. 

Lexie, cute calf! Delicious beef, eventually!

DBA, cuuuuute buns! Bunnies, that is....not the other buns. LOL. 


I'm finally starting to feel a little better today. I've been in a fog the past few days after the retreat, and then the time chance (Which I hate with a passion!!!!), and all the house repair stuff after the burst pipe. We've finally gotten an estimate from insurance, and I have a question about it so now I have to contact our adjuster. Usually she's pretty easy to get ahold of. I also had to contact a second person for our personal property inventory. I've been waiting on the form to fill out for almost 2 weeks! I'm going to start getting a bit squeaky, because I want to start moving things along!

The house we were interested in buying is now pending.  We weren't able to put an offer on it with our house causing such troubles. I'm trying to tell myself another better one will come along, but I'm not convinced right now. 

And the weather is SO dreary!!! It's warmer, which is nice, but rainy and cloudy and just plain nasty. Some sunshine would sure be appreciated about now!


----------



## Wind in Her Hair

polenta - I can see that now. Mmm mmm. 

And yes, I do know what you mean about the squash. Our neighbor has a roadside vegetable stand and when I can't stand to eat, can, dehydrate, or freeze one more squash, I pick the ones in my garden and do a "drive by" ...

and leave them at his vegetable stand! :idea: :heh:


----------



## hotzcatz

That's true, WIHH. One must lock one's cars and house during squash season.


----------



## MullersLaneFarm

I leave my truck unlocked .... they use the bed anyway ....


----------



## MDKatie

LOL!!! I'm just picturing WIHH's neighbor, wondering how he was ending up with more squash than what he started with! Hopefully they all sell!


----------



## lambs.are.cute

I am glad she came out fine too. I was quite worried for a while, but she is thrilled. She loves babies and is a wonderful mother. I don't know if the babies will stay black. They are Dorset/Suffolk/romney cross and so it really depends on the individual because you have three distinct color genetics going on. Their heads and legs WILL stay black since they were born with it, but the wool? Who knows. 

I wish someone would give me squash. We had 4! Yes 4, zucchini plants and still needed more zucchini. We can zucchini relish, lose some blossoms to the chickens, and feed the extra squash to the birds and sheep. We only got half as much canned as we needed last year........


----------



## lexierowsell

My most exciting fleece this year (I think) will be Annie's, a rambo lamb fleece. 

About 4", almost plush it's so fine and teensy crimped. Almost zero dirt and vm. 

















Makes me wanna start shearing now!!


----------



## lexierowsell

I will have 4 other yearling rambo lamb fleeces... Just sayin'


----------



## Wind in Her Hair

I am thankful for happy kitten and calf and lamb and puppy and bunny reports! Spring is definitely here. (I smelled my first skunk on the wind this morning at dawn- that is always a harbinger of spring in these parts. :yuck

I am really looking forward to all the shearing news and fleeces for sale - NOT that I need any. :sob:

In exciting news, *Shepherd's Harvest* just released it's class schedule and "sign up" starts on March 15th! :dance: :bouncy::nanner:

Anyone wanting a particular spinning class better be ready to sign up the moment registration opens. As many of us know, classes fill up almost immediately when there is a "rock star" teaching the class. 

This year's featured spinning instructors are Spunky Eclectic (Amy King), Deb Robson(The Fleece and Fiber Source Book) , and a newcomer that happens to be a delightful and precious young fiber buddy - Melissa Bohrtz (Hello Purl) http://hellopurl.com/ as well as Carol Wagner (Hidden Valley Farm). 

http://shepherdsharvestfestival.org/festival-info/friday-classes/

It is a real dilemma - I _*want*_ to take classes from Deb Robson and Amy King, but I also _*want*_ to support my young friend Melissa. What to do what to do what to do.

I _*HAVE*_ to be shopping at 9:00am when the doors open on Saturday morning(this is my Black Friday :teehee and I _*HAVE *_to be available when the fleece silent auction is nearing its end(not that I need any fleeces) ...so...

I have to time my classes appropriately...

oh dear oh dear oh dear


----------



## BlueberryChick

So many cute babies!! And that fleece is just luscious, lexie.

WIHH, I didn't smell skunk today, but it's chicken manure spreading time for the farmers around here. Ick! My 13yo, 9yo and I went for a bike ride this afternoon to the local beaver pond and the "aroma" was powerful.

And I made my flight reservations :kung: for a trip to Shepherd's Harvest today! :dance::happy: I need to set an alarm on my phone to remind me to sign up for classes on the 15th. I can hardly wait! :buds:


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

I don't know anything about sheep, but that looks like some thick wool to me.


Ok, I just went out to check on the baby rabbits born yesterday. This time momma didn't fight me and let me look in the nest. Sorry, what I found had me excited enough I forgot to snap a pic. No more dead babies, but 9 lively little ones....nine!!! Which means she had 11. This is only her second breeding and she had a litter of 11, and 9 survived...yeah, I'm pretty excited about that!

Oh, and hotcatz asked about breed, she is a Californian. I have her and a Californian buck as my meat breeders. I have another cali doe who will be another meat breeder, but first, my daughter is going to show her at rabbit shows and 4h this summer. Then I have a pregnant mini lop doe, a non pedigreed mini lop buck (who is looking for a new home), another mini lop doe who we just bred to my daughter's mini lop buck and daughter also has another mini lop doe. Then my wife has a Holland lop cross house bunny who is the mother of the frankenbunnies pictured previously. The father of those is the non pedigreed mini lop buck.


----------



## 7thswan

I have a Baby! From a ram and a ewe that were not supposed to ,well the ram was not supposed to be able to produce! Shetlands, a black ram lamb!


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

Unexpected lamb is a good thing.......right?


----------



## 7thswan

Dixie Bee Acres said:


> Unexpected lamb is a good thing.......right?


Well, it was one of those neighbor things-someone needed to git rid of a couple of sheep, so "take them over to that one lady's house" dh bought them 50. I had gotten rid of my sheep and mohair goats quite a bit back(my bad back).


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## 7thswan

lexierowsell said:


> My most exciting fleece this year (I think) will be Annie's, a rambo lamb fleece.
> 
> About 4", almost plush it's so fine and teensy crimped. Almost zero dirt and vm.
> 
> View attachment 45351
> 
> 
> View attachment 45352
> 
> 
> Makes me wanna start shearing now!!


I have no problem with 4 inch fleece:happy2:


----------



## PKBoo

Shearer comes Saturday!! :bouncy:

DH said he saw udders starting to develop. I looked and looked, and I'm not convinced. Saturday we'll know for sure!

Just took some washed fiber to the new mill on Monday, and she texted that it will be ready Saturday!!! WOOHOO! The fleece is from 2012 and 2013 - it's fleece that I had washed myself, and just haven't gotten to process it yet. I can crank out the yarn when it's in roving, so I'm excited to get this back


----------



## Kasota

Just doing a quick drive by wave... 

I have been ill... 

Hopefully will feel better today. 

Love all the critter pictures!!


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## MDKatie

Kas, I hope you are able to get some rest and let your body heal! Please take care of yourself. 


We have an elderly cat who probably doesn't have much time left with us. He's a sweet, sweet cat. We got him almost 9 years ago, and they thought he might be around 8yrs old when we got him. He's orange...I have a thing for orange cats. Last night I went out to the barn to check the sheep before bed, and I walked into the barn and heard some scrambling, then a young orange cat dashed out of the barn. Hmm...a sign! I think it's meant to be. I'm hoping I can trap it, because I'd like to get it tested for FIV/FeLV and get it altered and then it can hang around. 

This is the second cat that has shown up at our place since September. I'd like to find out where they're coming from.


----------



## Marchwind

MDKatie I bet you gave a neighbor who has unaltered barn cats or someone is dumping them. Put some food out in the mean time. It's that time of year, I had two kitties show up here the evening of my birthday, friendly, one let me pet him. I think they might be related. Definitely unaltered males, no doubt about that . Good luck getting him! I hope your old kitty has a good amount of time left and when it's his time his passing is peaceful. My oldest cat lived to be 24 yrs old, your may have a few more years. I have two orange kitties I'd be happy to send you 

Kasota I'm sorry you aren't feeling well. Fling those windows open and air out your house to get the winter germs out. I don't know if that really works but I like the visual of germs screaming and running 

I had doors opened yesterday, gosh it is beautiful out. Today it is supposed to be 51, it should be 60 tomorrow. Cleaning is super slow but it is thorough, walls are being washed. It's amazing how much dirt is on the walls and doorways at about knee to mid thigh level from the animals :shocked: :yuck: I got my DVDs yesterday for Outlander from Netflix, sadly one of discs was missing and of course it was disc one :sob: now I have to wait for a replacement to arrive.


----------



## Wind in Her Hair

feel better soon, Kasota! At least the weather is improving - hopefully you will be, too!

BBC, so thrilled you will be joining us again for SH! :dance:


----------



## hercsmama

I see I have a ton of catching up to do here. Goodness!
Been just spinning my brains out here. 
Yesterday, I had to go with dh to the Dr.'s for some testing. He had a Colonoscopy done a few weeks back, and they found "something". They won't specify what exactly other than telling us that he has some polyps that have them concerned..so yesterday was another one, and blood tests. They will be doing out patient surgery in 2 weeks to remove what they found, and have it checked.
We are trying to not worry about it, as if it was really something, it seems they would move a lot faster than they are, right?
Of course with us not having insurance, they never seem quick to do anything for us. Yesterday dh's appointment was with the VA, as at least they seem to "do" something besides just put us off.:huh:
I'm off to do some catching up around here, then more spinning!
Take care and I hope everyone is feeling well, and all the babies are healthy!:happy2:


----------



## Marchwind

Hercsmama, wishing your DH well and hoping all tests are negative for anything nasty.


----------



## MDKatie

Goodness, hercs! I'm hoping for the best for you and your DH!


I got an email this morning from a friend who raises pigs, wanting to know if I wanted a runt piglet. He said he's weaning the litter and doesn't think she'll make it if she's taken off milk. Man...the timing isn't great, but how can I say no to a cute little piggy? :happy2: I'm such a sucker!


----------



## Marchwind

Please send quick thoughts and prayers my way. I have surgery on my other eye at 3:30 today. Doesn't take long but it's still creepy having it done.


----------



## MDKatie

Marchwind said:


> Please send quick thoughts and prayers my way. I have surgery on my other eye at 3:30 today. Doesn't take long but it's still creepy having it done.


Good luck to you and I'm sending speedy recovery vibes!! Please let us know (when you're able) how you're doing.


----------



## hercsmama

Big hugs MW!!!


----------



## 7thswan

Prayers and good thoughts!


----------



## Wind in Her Hair

Praying for all you undergoing surgeries and dealing with worry and illness.


----------



## Woodpecker

I'm late but praying for a speedy recovery.


----------



## BrownYaks

Well I almost got a 52 inch Murph floor loom today. They sold it an hour or two before I called


----------



## GeorgiaGirl

I can hardly believe it! I *finally* packed up some of the wool from last years shearing and it's ready for the mail. I'm sending it to a fiber mill that was recommended over on the sheep forum a few days back. I also pulled up a project on Ravelry that had been made from 100% Tunis wool. Here is the link..................
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/deejw/ashby
I have been wondering if anyone uses Tunis wool or not. There was not many projects, just a few.


----------



## GeorgiaGirl

I was looking up the different weights and plies of yarn today and found a website that really helped me a lot. Here it is................
http://jordanapaige.com/blog/2013/1...osing-yarn.html#sthash.aQPVDWSs.0rgl7cN0.dpbs

I'm sure most of you already know this http://www.homesteadingtoday.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/


----------



## Marchwind

Thanks everyone. Everything went well as I knew it would but it's my eyes and my eyesight and things can happen. I have a pretty cool doctor and he just lights up when you ask him questions. I asked him if I could see the hole in my eye and he said no and looked sort of disappointed. Then he lit up and said we can take a picture of it and show you. Cool beans 

It occured to me I don't think I talked about this on here so those of you on FB bear with me. I apparently have glaucoma but it isn't the traditional type of glaucoma no medical marajuana for me. I didn't even know I had it until I went to get my eyes checked for my new glasses. My sister also has it but to our knowledge no one else in the family has it. There are several different types of glaucoma. Now that I know and once the doctor told me I was lucky that I had never had an attack, then went on to describe what an attack felt like. Now in hindsight I wonder if what I have thought were my worst migraines ever were actually glaucoma attacks. This is the type I have http://www.harvardvanguard.org/spec...-complex-eye-conditions/glaucoma-narrow-angle. Anyway if any of you are migraine suffers and if you ever have a migraine that feels like it I behind your eyes, and if you wear glasses get this checked out. I have worn glasses for years, since I was 40, and no one ever caught this although they did do glaucoma tests. My optical nerves are healthy and in great shape. Even after I mentioned it to one doctor about my sister it wasn't found until this one doctor found it years later. Probably more info than you want to know but just know this is a possibility.

Here's something I see all the time and in my mind it seems incorrect, they even do it in that article. I know it seems silly but here goes.

Do you call a single, a single ply or a single? Inn my mind it is a single, it is not plyed so it cannot be a single ply. It just is, itself, a single thread or yarn. If it is a ply it is a 2, 3, 4, or Navajo, or whatever ply. But a single is a single. 

Now like I said it is silly but it does catch me every time I see it. What say you all?


----------



## hercsmama

I call it a single as well, for the same reason.

As to your eyes, is this something that can come back, and cause permanant damage? It sounds very scarey, I'm so sorry you are having to deal with it.


----------



## MDKatie

Glad you're ok, MW!

Hm...with yarn I just call it a single. With toilet paper, it is called single ply if it's just one sheet. :happy2:


----------



## Marchwind

Lol, I don't want to know how you know that much about TP :facepalm:

The doctor said I'm good, it will not have to be redone. I'll keep you all posted on the migraines.


----------



## BlueberryChick

I'm glad you're doing okay, MW. I also call a single a "single" and for the same reason.


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## lexierowsell

With 7500' of row going into the garden in the next week, we enlisted some professional soil prep help to clear out the winter crops and aisle cover crops:

































They have 7 days. Let's see if they can do it!


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## lexierowsell

Also, I'm officially accepting wagers on how many babies Mildred will have:


----------



## hercsmama

Hmmm, with out more details, I'll say large set of twins.

When is she due? That might change my answer....and being a Gemini, I reserve the right to ALWAYS change my mind!:happy2:


----------



## lambs.are.cute

March wind, glad your surgery went well. It can be stressful. 

I cleaned out my 150 gallon stock tank. Finally hit on something better than bucket bailing, using a fish tank cleaner thingy. Takes just about as long and i can sit there and read a book...... The fish seemed to like the tank. 

I ordered a pound of merino fleece from a flock I'm considering buying breeding stock from. It is suppose to be some where in the 20s and super soft. I have no idea how to wash it........ I assume that I need to be a lot more careful than with my romney? I'm thinking that some merino romney cross lambs might be scrumptious. In addition to the two pure breeds.


----------



## PKBoo

Marchie glad your surgery went well and glad they are both done now!

Lexie - has she dropped? Looks like she's carrying lower. When is she due? I'm betting trips just cuz I like that word. We only had trips once and but only 2 were born alive.

Ewe possibly on labor - will be doing barn checks tonight. Should find out tomorrow after shearing how many are bred. I didn't think he got any of them!


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

I have another rabbit getting ready to have babies. Only her second litter, first since I have owned her, and I'm a nervous nelly just waiting. I can't imagine how anxious you lamb ladies are waiting for the babies to pop out into the world.


----------



## Marchwind

I'm guessing 3 also and that's just a pure guess. I like your professionals, I bet they get the job done.

LAC I have a black Zmerino fleece I bought from Ugly Dog Farm when they came to my guild to talk to us. I was told to wash it using the original Dawn soap (I found mine at the dollar store) and VERY hot water. Use lots and lots of soap, don't let the water cool and rinse also in super hot water with a dash of vinegar. I haven't got brave enough to try it yet. I agree a Merino x Romney sounds fantastic.

Wishing your sheep well and hope for healthy babies PKBoo.

DBA hope this is a big healthy litter for you too.


----------



## Kasota

Debi, surely saying prayers for your dh! Talk about nerve wracking. I hope he gets the care that he needs. 

MDKatie, congratulations on the piggy. We need pictures! 

MW, keeping you in prayers as well. Glad your surgery went well! 

BrownYaks, I'm sorry you missed on the loom.  

GG, those are some nice links! I'll bet you can hardly wait to get your fiber back! How exciting!  

Lexie, it takes my brain a while to comprehend "Winter Gardens." LOL! Glad you have some great helpers! I think she'll have twins. 

DBA, hope the bunnies are all born healthy! 

I am sorry if I missed anyone. I'm still waking up....

Feeling a little better today. At some point if I don't shake this crud I am going to have to go to the doctor...but not today. Today it is warm and I might have some sunshine. Dog is going to the groomers (sorely needed poor thing). My only plans this weekend are to rest and rest and rest some more. I cannot be sick next week. I'm the only supervisor on in our location...my manager will be in Houston, one sup is on vacation, one is at a Claims Summit and we haven't replaced the one who took a different job. So it is just me. I gotta be on top of my game...so I am going to take lots of naps this weekend and I'm not tackling any big projects. 

I did find some strong ginger tea that seems to be very beneficial. Yay for ginger tea.


----------



## Tommyice

March I'm so happy for you that your surgery turned out so well. The thought of losing eyesight scares me just about more than anything.


----------



## Miz Mary

Marchwind, glad things are going well !!! 

lambs.are.cute , sounds like you will have the perfect blend of fleeces ( Merino/Romney ) !! 

Im guessing 3 lambs lexierowell !!!! Goodness she looks heavy ! 

DBA, anticipation of new bunnies is nerve racking !! I hope she has an easy time !!


----------



## Woodpecker

I'm with PKBoo I say trips but I am aGemini too and reserve the right to change my mind too. That literally happens every 5 seconds, I can never make a decision and stick with it.

Et Hope you are feeling better Marchie.


----------



## lexierowsell

I have no idea when she's due! Next year, Rams will all have marking harnesses. Agh, the lessons you learn. 

I would say she will be in the next week or so. Big heavy belly, but her cow-udder hasn't filled yet. 

She is my nicest dairy sheep, produced nearly a gallon once a day milking, 7+ months fresh last year; in poor body condition! Super excited to see what this year brings.


----------



## lambs.are.cute

Lexi this is my 3rd year not using marking harnesses. A little bit more stressful on the tail end, a lot less stressful on the front end. All the Rams I have seen wearing harnesses have had bad rub marks and sores. It is near constant checking and tightening of the harness too. And then you have to try to get the non water soluble greasy bright colors out of the fleeces. It really is a balancing act with sheep isn't it?


----------



## lexierowsell

I'm so torn about them lac. I will have 2-3 breeding rams next year, I suppose I can just go by time period. I know one thing for sure, I will control a lot more next year. No Rams in until November, earliest. Record dates in and out. Hands on ewes (wether the wenches like it or not!) every week, min. 

If next year is like this year, I'm selling the whole lot.


----------



## lexierowsell

It's a glorious spring day here in Cen Tex! Hookin' the boys, gonna mow some mulch hay!

They're less thrilled.


----------



## hercsmama

Lex..I'm not big on the harnesses either.
As you know I bred at the end of November. Mind you..just one ram this year.
Hopefully next year I'll have 2..and will not use the harnesses.
I'll simply plunk whichever boy, in with the girls when I know they are cycling. If you watch your rams..you'll know when.
At least every one I ever had I could tell. They get decidedly more "rammy". Lol.


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

Ok, you guys asked for it, here's a pic of Tuesdays babies. Also a pic of momma, papa is on the other side of the wire.

And yes, momma is filthy, ever since giving birth, papa thinks it is great fun to pee on her face whenever she gets close to that side of the cage.


----------



## lexierowsell

[YOUTUBE]https://youtu.be/TCL7IWn3CW4[/YOUTUBE]



A video of the day's adventure!


----------



## MullersLaneFarm

Cute, cute, cute, DBA


Oh, Lexie ... ain't nothing quite like that first harnessing & hitching of the drafts for the season ... especially for mowing ... I miss being behind a pair of big blond butts with the ssshhh ssshhh ssshhh ssshhh of the mower under a warm blue sky with just a hint of a breeze blowing

We sold our last Belgians about 5 years ago. I miss them but I don't miss the hay they consumed!!!


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## Marchwind

Although I don't have sheep and I don't breed livestock I do pay attention. Decades ago when I lived in England and lived in the country what the farmers did was they had a sort of grease paint and they only marked the ewes right above the tail.m usually it was a big red splotch. When the rams mounted the ewes they got a red splotch on their chest. To my knowledge these are not great wool areas so no real lose there and I think it washed out but was water proof. I would assume they checked each day if there was more than one ram. That might be an alternative to using a harness and I know it worked and worked well for all the sheep farmers over there.


----------



## BlueberryChick

Lexie, thanks so much for sharing the video. I was fascinated watching it.

Well, I am worn out. In the past three weeks, my older daughter had her wisdom teeth out and the younger two have been sick. Now Andy (DH) is sick with whatever crud the children have had, sinus congestion and cough, and last night he woke up with fever and said his chest hurt. Advil and Mucinex to the rescue.

I'm ready for a very long nap but we have church today and choir practice for the Easter program this afternoon. There's a pretty good chance I'll doze off during at least one of them. Ugh.


----------



## Skandi

I've seen it done with no harness, by putting a blob if grease paint on the ram between his front legs. I doubt it would work for a lot of ewes, as it will rub off fairly fast, but it seemed to work on the 9 in the field over from us.


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## Dixie Bee Acres

Lexie, as usual, I love your horses, even though they aren't halflingers.


----------



## lambs.are.cute

That is called raddle. I've seen ads for it in sheep magazines as an alternative to the harness and thought about it. It is a powdered pigment mixed with a vegetable oil (traditionaly linseed oil in England) to a paint like consistentsy. It needs to be painted (read liberally smeared) between the from legs. If it is on the front of the ram he will paint every part of the ewe. The raddle is renewed every day or maybe second day, and colors traditionally run light to dark. I think that there is a set time that they used to switch colors but can't remember. I have not used this for several reasons. 1) the constant renewing of the raddle would mean that I'd have to catch my ram a LOT more often than i would like and out of the pasture. 2) still water proof ( it came out of England). 3) it just seems to me that putting a lot of oil and pigment on a ram would be uncomfortable for him in the months he'd have to wait until shearing. 4) would it effect shearing getting all that gloop on my blades? 

The best process I've found for lambing is to be consistent on feeding times. There is a university study that concluded that if the ewes know when the food is coming they will lamb so that they can have their meal. And if you feed the evening meal at dusk or a bit later they will eat and then want to sleep. I only had one night lambing this year and that was at 8. For the rest of the time I check at 6 when I get up, feed at 7, at 12:30 when I get home from work, somewhere between 3-4, feed at 6, last check at 10. The majority of my lambs were born around 6 am, and the moms would be all done in time for breakfast. I've never had due dates be super accurate anyway so I just trim around the bum and check for goo. No goo means i probably won't see lambs before the next barn check. Goo means I check every 15-30 minutes.


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## lexierowsell

My issue isn't time of day at all, it's generally which week? Who's coming due? Who's giant that I need to watch because they aren't due for a while... Etc etc.


----------



## lambs.are.cute

I had a due date of Feb 22- ? on all of my ewes this year. Normally I see some of the ewes being bred but this year I went on vacation. Watching their body change is always a more reliable signal than due dates (although it is scary to give those up). I do admit I was surprised on one of my ewes and that was mainly because she hadn't had her rear trimmed yet. I watch all giant ewes regardless of due date so that wasn't a change for me, and I have hands on most of my ewes when they are eating so I can feel the changes. For me its more of a watching thing. Who's getting skinny (and thus needs grain), who is migrating to the edges of the flock (will lamb soon), who isn't coming up for feed (probably is lambing or has new little ones), who brings them to me (looking seriously smug), who is eating or not, who is calling out to lambs (really close to lambing), etc. It the changes in flock dynamic and individual behavior and body that you really are looking for, and those, if you know your flock, will tell you who is close to lambing. From there I just make sure that those are the ones that for sure get checked every time I go out. My point on the timing was that it gave me a routine to check on and gave the ewes a routine and so there was a lot less stress. They would be at the feeder waiting and were more relaxed about me getting my hands on them. If they weren't at the feeder I knew why. I didn't check at night (past 10) at all, it wakes everybody up and you are more likely to have night lambs. It saves a lot of work. 

I am officially done lambing for this year! My last one was from a first time ewe. He was 15.5 lbs (I'm averaging 10-12 on singles) and she had him all by her self. Currently she is being a good, if slightly over protective mom. I get the stink eye every time I check him. It is funny how fast they go from running away from the alien trying to eat them to MY BABY!


----------



## susang

I had one of those Ahah! moments today. I'm not much of an Oprah fan but I was watching her show Soul Sunday. The guest was Pico Iyer, he said something that really made sense to me. BUT first remembering the trouble with my daughters while I was up north, coming home I looked at some pictures of our back yard, garden, orchard all in one small space, I saw my paradise. I knew that I must put my energy into my paradise, my life, simple, poor and loving. I have always sought approval, never feeling like I have it, trying to prove my worth to others when all I need is my own approval.
Also my cousin is dying, I know we all die, today is her birthday last Wednesday the docs told her she has three months to live, she has a brain tumor.
So back to Ahah! Pico Iyer lived in Santa Barbara during the Painted Cave fire. I lived there at this time, it moved fast jumped freeway in a couple minutes, people had no time to get things. He lost everything but the clothes on his back, as did so many people. Later he thought if 'I only had 5 more minutes', he then realized if he only had 5 minutes he would be dead. 
I realized I don't need to live for that 5 minutes, my cousin doesn't need to live for 3 months, all we need is to live for now, for ourselves, for our own achievements.

On that note I also realized I have slipped stitches in knitting as if to knit, it should be as if to purl. All these years I've done it wrong, but the outcome looks good and I like it. I will never be the best, smartest (although I'm pretty smart, except for slipping stitches while knitting), I'm just me and I need to be joyous with that fact, live in my paradise, live vicariously through all of you, that's all I need. 
Oh! and maybe some yarn along the way.


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## Kasota

> I saw my paradise. I knew that I must put my energy into my paradise, my life, simple, poor and loving.


:grouphug: Priceless words, Susang. I am right there with you.  

Feeling marginally better tonight. I ate a real supper and don't feel like I got kicked in the stomach by a mule. That's huge progress. I have rested most of the day except I did bring my car up to be cleaned. For 18.00 they vacuum the car, wash the floor mats, wipe everything down inside and wash and wax the outside. They hand-dry it afterwards. Even adding in a tip, it's a good deal. I have to take my manager to the airport tomorrow and I didn't want her getting into a end-of-Winter-dusty-dirty car. 

Going to take a long hot bubble bath and slide into fresh jammies and go to bed early. Well, maybe I will knit a little.


----------



## Osiris

The past is a memory, the future is a dream, today is a gift. That's why they call it the 'present'!


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## PKBoo

Susang - that was beautiful! Good for you - coming to that realization is half the battle! 

We had lambs on Saturday! I was hoping for them to come on my birthday Friday, but they waited until sometime after midnight to arrive. I found them in the barn at 3:30 am. All's well!

The ewe is named after my niece, so she got to pick names. She's in college, and has a great sense of humor 

Here's a copy of what she wrote:
"Oh wow this is too exciting! So I think we should name the boy Archimedes (for Archimedes of Syracuse who was one of the first people to get an accurate estimation of pi) but you can call him Archie for short. The girl we have three options. We could name her Emmy (after famous female mathematician Emmy Noether) or Meringue (aka lemon meringue) or KeKe (Key lime) pie. Thoughts??"
So I posted it on Facebook to get votes - fun! 

And now one of my goats is feeling loose in the ligs, and there's a lot of rippling going on in her sides. Will check at midnight, and another check at 3:00. I hope it's not in the middle of the night - takes me a day to recover from those! 

I took some washed wool from my sheep to the new mill last week, and got it back Saturday. It's absolutely gorgeous! She did an awesome job on it!! I got about 4 lbs of lamb's wool roving back that is soooo soft. So very happy with it! I got 3 lbs of alpaca roving back too, so I'm blending some of that with some of the other roving I have. Have to get spinning! 


(pictures in the next post from my phone)


----------



## PKBoo

Cute lamb pics (they are BFL x Shetland crosses)
















My very pregnant doe


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## PKBoo

And my newest stash!! 








Bag of lambs wool roving








Sample skein of yarn - hard to see the luster - it's beautiful!








That's a lot of roving to spin!


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## Marchwind

Susang, my inside me was jumping for joy as I read your words, she was shouting, "YES, Yes, yes!!!" Good for you and you have got all the support of us to back you up.

PKBoo those look like very healthy, sturdy lambs. Holy moly that goat is huge, makes me ache to look at her. Do you think twine or triplets?


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## Dixie Bee Acres

PKboo, I like the second pic, the lamb with the dog.

On another note, Shiloh, one of my mini lop does, finally had her babies! From what I can see without reaching in the nest, it looks like 5.


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## Dixie Bee Acres

Susang, thank you for your post, really makes a person think. That's one reason why we moved out to the country. We don't have the nicest house, but it serves its purpose. We have our two kids, our animals, our gardens, our fruit trees, and each other. Soon will have more animals and will be planting the gardens.
It's us, its for us, and its by us. If someone else doesn't like it, they can go on and dislike it all they want, we like it and that's all that matters.


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## Wind in Her Hair

good for you, susang! "Ah ha moments" are precious, indeed. 

PKBoo, that is some spinning stash! Beautiful - is this from your critters. or no? The sample skein looks beautiful -what breeds are involved?


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## MDKatie

Howdy everyone! Just checking in here. Seems like I've been gone for a long time, but it really has only been a few days. 

Just to chime in on the sheep breeding...I usually use a harness, and did not this year. Awful. I hate not knowing! I try to be very observant and usually see some breeding action, but this year I did not see a single breeding. The ewes could have been due as early as Jan 19, but of course they all were WAAAAY past that. I'm still waiting on one ewe to lamb, and it should be sooner rather than later judging her udder. 

I've not had issues with the harness rubbing on the ram, nor have I had problems getting the marker off the ewes' fleeces. It seems to mostly fade by shearing, and then should scour out pretty easily. Raddle seems like a good idea, but I'd rather not catch the ram that often. It's easier for me to just change marking crayons every week or two.

I love having estimated dates on each actual ewe, especially because I work full time away from home. I can check often, but not nearly as often as I'd like, since I'm not there during the day. 

The feeding times/lambing times thing....I'm not sold on it. My ewes always lamb at sporadic times. This year I've had a 6 AM, a 9 pm, and a 3 AM. Still waiting on the 4th and final ewe. When I worked on our campus farm in college, we had about 25 ewes lambing each year, and they were also all over the board. 



On the pig....I got a little piggy on Thursday and all was well until Friday when she got scours. It got worse very quickly, so I started treating her for bacterial scours. She seemed to be much perkier on Sat morning, but then we ran errands for a few hours and when I got home I found her totally crashed. She was on death's door. Since then I've been babying her and doctoring her. Talked with my vet/best friend and she suspected septicemia (yikes) and now piggy is on 2 different antibiotics (3 injections per day, she's not a fan), electrolytes, bacterial scours meds, and I'm mixing her milk w/ some rice baby cereal to make it slightly thick so she won't aspirate if she's not great at swallowing.

I've been swaddling her in a towel and carrying her with me, and she sleeps on my chest when we watch TV at night. I love that little pig, and I'm really hoping she can pull through this. As long as she fights, I will try everything I can. 

Here are some pics from when she first came to me. (I'm carrying her in a sling in the one pic)


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## 7thswan

Prayers and good thoughts for Piggie!


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## MDKatie

Thank you, 7th!!


PK, CUTE lambs! I would have guessed they were part Cheviot!


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## Dixie Bee Acres

Love the baby pig. I will start buying pigs in 3-4 weeks.

Here's my "baby pic" of the day.


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## Wind in Her Hair

poor little piggie.


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## Marchwind

MDKatie I'll keep piggy in my thoughts and hope all goes well. You are doing a great job! Does the piggy have a name? Is it a boy or girl piggy?

DBA spotted babies? Which mom are these out of? Have we seen her picture?


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## Dixie Bee Acres

No, I haven't taken any pics of her, she is a gold tipped black steel solid, father was a broken opal.


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## MDKatie

Cute babies, DBA!

My piggy is a gilt (a girl). I thought about naming her Ruby...but once she got sick I decided to hold of on naming her just yet. I have been calling her Baby. :happy2: She's doing ok this afternoon, and (TMI, sorry) had better poops.


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## Woodpecker

Katie I didn't read your post before looking at the last picture, for a second I thought I missed something. LoL!


----------



## PKBoo

Wind in Her Hair said:


> PKBoo, that is some spinning stash! Beautiful - is this from your critters. or no? The sample skein looks beautiful -what breeds are involved?


WIHH - this is from our lamb's wool from 2 years ago - it's 3/4 BFL x 1/4 Shetland, and it's NICE! I'm so happy with it! There's also a few bags of Copper, our alpaca, that I had washed a little too hard (remember that???) She picked it, and it's awesome! Just so so happy about her processing!

We had the sheared in the fall, so it was only about 8 months growth. You know how the ends on lambs can get 'tippy'? I was afraid that it would create a bunch of neps and noils, but there are none! She did a really awesome job!

I had sent some wool to another mill last year, and it's got a bunch of neps and noils in it. I don't mind - I do like the 'textured' look it give yarn, so it's okay. But that's what I was expecting with this, and NONE!!!

So I'm going to try spinning this really fine, and making some shawls woohoo!!


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## Kasota

Just doing a quick drive by wave as I head to work. Read all the posts but haven't a minute to comment.... 

Love the photos, everyone!!!


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## hercsmama

Hi Kas! Bye Kas!:happy2:
I love all the pics as well. 
Hope Piggie is doing well today, and DBA the bunnies are adorable!
I am alive! just busy.
I've managed to get about 1500 yds. spun up, and plyed into 150 yd. skeins, I start work officially, next Tuesday. then there is AG Day next Wednesday.
I have a guild meeting this coming Saturday, but may skip it, as my Fairy Sheep Mother asked if I would be able to come up to her place, about 2 hours north of us, to help with shearing.
These are the people we got Shiner from, so I told her that it was no problem. She just has to confirm the shearer. They have a few hundred production Columbias, and Corriedales, with just enough Rambo's to keep it interesting.

Off to start the day!


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## SvenskaFlicka

And here I was waiting to deliver your socks at the guild meeting...
I am packing up that knitting machine today. It's heavy.


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## Wind in Her Hair

*SvenskaFlicka*, I just ear burned you about free advertising on the ravelry Shepherd's Harvest forum. Its your chance to show folks what you are offering and whet their appetites! 

*BBC*, you will enjoy Carole Wagner - she is a really great instructor and sweet person. She has taught at SH virtually every year I have been going and she is very knowledgeable and raises wonderful Corriedales. I think those classes will be well worth your while - and besides, you will have plenty of time to shop before and after!  IF I don't buy everything first!. :grin:

I signed up for a Core Spinning class on Friday afternoon with Melissa Borhtz of *Hello Purl*.  I have taken spinning classes WITH Melissa when we were both students- so taking a class TAUGHT by her will be really fun. She is just a doll and a creative fiber genius. She and her partner do an amazing job witht heir etsy store, and I always invest deeply in their wares. I WISH I had the willpower to take her Saturday morning carding class :sob: but I MUST be shopping at 9:00am on Saturday or I will explode.


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## hercsmama

Kelsey, I might still be there, I'll know for sure on Friday. I'll be sure to post and let you know!


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## MDKatie

Piggy came to work with me this morning, and has been sleeping in her box in my car. I went out to do her PM feeding and she had climbed out of her box and was on the floor looking around. LOL. She is doing much better! Still not 100%, but getting closer every day!


----------



## Woodpecker

I let my employer know today that I will be going on SSD pension. It's hard to let 10 years go. All I have left to do besides clean out my locker is write my resignation letter.


----------



## Wind in Her Hair

This must be so hard, Woodpecker, but if this is the cost for helping you regain your health? It is time to do it. Hugs.


----------



## Kasota

(((((WP)))))) Hard indeed, but your health is what is important now! 

Yay for shearing and Yay for classes at SH and Yay for piggy being better. 

I am tired and not feeling 100%. Feeling better than I was though. So that's a good thing. Going to hit the hay. I am too tired to knit.


----------



## Miz Mary

(((( HUGS ))))) Woodpecker ....... Change is hard,but I'm sure God has big plans for you !!

After 12 days at this new job , they love my work ( sewing / putting zippers in wet suits for diving ) .... I get to sew a new type of pocket in for a Canadian Search and Rescue team .... and they asked if I was interested in getting involved in the pattern part of this process ...um .... YES !!! They will teach me all about alterations and pattern making !!! I will also be starting @ the 4 am time next Monday !! 

Hope your feeling better Kasota !


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## Dixie Bee Acres

WP, change is hard, but, remember, closing one door allows you to open another.

Hope you get back to 100% soon Miss Kas.

Congrats on the job promo MzMary.

Mdkate, how bout more piggy pics???


And here is a pic of the rabbit litter that was born a week ago. They look so much better than newborns, newborn rabbits are nasty looking IMO, until they get hair.
These are from the litter of 11, 9 survived.


----------



## Woodpecker

Thank you all for kind words and support.:grouphug:


----------



## lambs.are.cute

Well I am leaving in a few minutes to take a ewe and lambs to the first of three library story times. The other two are next week so we will have time to recover. Last year it was 120 2-5 year olds....... There was even one cutie who dressed up like a lamb so she would scare the baby.  the kids love it (the lambs not so much) and ask for the babies to come back next year. For a lot of them its the only time they see a farm animal, and I live in what is considered a rural community..........


----------



## MDKatie

Thinking of you, Woodpecker!! 


What a neat thing to do, LAC! Have fun!



DBA, I don't have any new pics of the piggy, but here's a video I took on Monday night. She has improved since then! She seems to be getting stronger every day!

[YOUTUBE]R5u7dNBz48M&list=UUL2KJ1PxjmozqjJ-6vvPHfw[/YOUTUBE]


----------



## Marchwind

Oh MDKatie she is so small, awwwwww! What kind (breed) of pig is she? I think Ruby is a great name for her.


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

It's a duroc isn't it?


----------



## 7thswan

Dixie Bee Acres said:


> It's a duroc isn't it?


That's what I thought too.


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

Could be a tamworth too, but they are a bit darker red if memory serves.


----------



## MDKatie

Ugh. Bad news, guys. She had been doing this weird seizing now and then, but this afternoon it was almost non-stop. She would have a seizure almost once a minute or two, and I could tell she was in distress and it was exhausting her. DH and I decided it was best to put her down. :Bawling: I cried and cried...I loved that little pig. 

And yes, she was part Duroc and part Spot. Really, she was just so very tiny for her age. There must have been something really wrong. I tried, but it just wasn't meant to be.


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

Katie, I'm sorry to hear that


----------



## lambs.are.cute

Mdkatie, I'm so sorry. It always the hardest to loose one that you have spent so much time and heart nursing. 

I am done in. The ewe and lambs did well. I had to pull one of the trips because she went into full blown panic attack and about kicked a kid in the nose. So I let the helper hold the one I had and the ewe and I calmed her down. She fell asleep in my arms...... All 60 kids enjoyed their time and most of them thanked us without being prompted (one even thanked the ewe).


----------



## SvenskaFlicka

It's been a rough night. We have a yearling ewe that was really small and she's trying to have a good sized ram lamb. (We know he's a ram because we can feel the horn nubs and they are huge.)
We spent an hour and a half pulling. I spent a good deal of time with both hands up in her up to my wrists trying to get his head maneuvered and out. Nothing doing. His head was too big to fit through her pelvis. And he was in a weird position. 
When we left her she had stopped pushing. I imagine we'll lose her short of a miracle. :'(
Being a shepherdess sucks sometimes.


----------



## Marchwind

MDKatie I am so sorry to hear about Ruby . Rest in peace little Ruby.

Svenskaflicka gosh that's got to be really hard on everyone. Do they do c-sections on sheep?


----------



## Kasota

Katie and Svenska, my heart just goes out to you. Having critters is so rewarding when it isn't breaking our hearts. 

Two more days to get through of my brutal week. Today I am in class all day learning new process improvement techniques. I don't feel all that great and just hope I can make it through the day.


----------



## 7thswan

I am so sorry about your little piggie. I know how one falls in love with these babys that need us so.


----------



## MDKatie

I'm so sorry, Svenska. Is there an update? Is there a vet nearby that could do a C-section?


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## Dixie Bee Acres

Too many gloomy posts this morning. And to top it off, after two days off, I go back to work today.
I guess I need to try to cheer everyone up, make y'all smile even if only for a moment.


So here, Everybunny have a great day, HOP everyone's day gets just a HARE better.


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## MDKatie

Awww, thanks DBA!! Cute little bunny wabbit!


----------



## Marchwind

I love Lops DBA. We had a Holland Lop we got at the Minnesota State Fair when the kids were small. We named him Stew Rabbit but called him Stewy he was a sweetheart.


----------



## hercsmama

Katie, I am sorry, she was so sweet..
Kelsey, is the ewe alright?
DBA, thanks for the smile this morning!
Marchie,, yes, they can and do preform C-sections on sheep. I had to have one done last year.
As a matter of fact, my vet left a bag here, locked in my feed shed, just in case we have an emergency in the middle of the night. That way he won't have to go by his office first, and can come straight here.

Well, today is my first day of work, and I'll be leaving shortly. Looking forward to spending the day just playing with all the wheels, and picking out the one I'll be doing most of my spinning on. They even have a Great Wheel, but my long draw needs work, so that one, while I will be playing with it, will definitely NOT be the one I'm spinning on.

Kelsey, I'll be at the Guild meeting Saturday!! I'm going up to Alliance on Sunday instead. Just letting you know!
Take care all!


----------



## Wind in Her Hair

Kasota said:


> Having critters is so rewarding when it isn't breaking our hearts.


I am so sorry for your loss, MDKatie. I know that hurts. 

 so true, Kasota. 

as a former hog farmer that farrowed 300 piglets every 4 weeks year round, I have found that the ones that "chilled" - despite heroic measures to save them - rarely if ever "came back" fully and lived to ripe old adulthood. 

When they start displaying opisthotonos - and brain stem breathing/seizing/arching their back and "running" - its over. 

And those little, runty, immature bubble-skulled ones were always suspect for it happening to them. So sad. 

Kelsey, I am sorry about the ewe. You must feel terribly helpless. You have done all you can do. 

I spent many a night with my arm in a sow trying to help along a bunch of piglets all bottle-necked in a traffic jam. Hog and sheep and goat C-sections are costly and always more than the monetary value of the animals involved and in most situations, you lose everyone. 

Kasota - hope you make it through this crumby week and your difficult day! Let me know if you need my husband, Cabin Fever, to "butt call" you again to confuse and delight you!


----------



## hercsmama

Susan, too true, they aren't cheap. I am extremely fortunate that my vet is who he is. 
As has been proven to me so many times on this board. We are truly blessed that we live, where we do.


----------



## MullersLaneFarm

Sad news from so many. My thoughts are with you all.

Thanks for the cheery bunny, DBA.

Nothing new here, just checking in.


----------



## Woodpecker

Hugs Katie.


----------



## GeorgiaGirl

I was doing a U.S. search on craigslist yesterday for yarn. I came across an ad that said "over 100 skeins of quality yarn." I thought for sure someone would have answered the ad before I did but I was the first one. After texting for a while, I told her I wasn't local and would she be willing to ship it. She agreed  All total cost for yarn and shipping was $75. She sent me individual pictures of most yarns and said she was sure there was over $500 worth! There was Noro, Tahki, Sublime, etc. I tell ya......I was a bit excited


----------



## Marchwind

score!!!!


----------



## hercsmama

Georgia that's AWESOME!!!!!!!:nanner::nanner::nanner:

Well I walked into a mess of biblical proportions yesterday. Hooboy.:huh:

It's really not all that huge, but it was nasty. Moth Strike, MASSIVE MOTH STRIKE.
They have a really nice, very roomy closet, back behind where I do the spinning. It was completely full of some really wonderful fiber, all sorts, that they said I was free to use. So I decided to poke about in there, reorganize it, as it was rather jumbled up. My first clue was it was all just stored in open bushel baskets. Them I sunk my hand in one full to over flowing with some, what had been gorgeous pure black Alpaca. EWWWWWWWWWWW!!!

Needless to say, I spent most of the day, making back and forth trips to the dumpster.:bored: Every bit of it went in. 
I brought the baskets home to properly clean them, and asked the Manager if they had a pest control person they could call, or if I needed to do it myself. They will take care of it by Monday.
What really killed me was that the woman in the office couldn't understand why I had to pitch it all. Why it just couldn't be washed. Needless to say, she got a lesson in proper fiber management, lol.:happy2:
I did get my wheel picked out, she's a bit sticky, as the previous Spinner liked to use, of all things Vaseline on her. But she spins fairly steady, and when I can be sneaky, I'll take her into the back and give her a good solid cleaning, and re-oil her properly.:happy2:
The biggest issue I'm going to have is they have allowed me a huge space to display thing for sale. I have no idea how in the world I'm going to fill it!


----------



## MDKatie

What a great score, GeorgiaGirl!

Hercs, ewww for the moths! I found a few in one bin of yarn I was gifted, so I put it in the freezer for a while and then cleaned out what I could. Then I put some of those sticky moth traps around the area. Plastic bags don't stop them. 

And hooray for the huge space! You better get spinning! :happy2:


----------



## Marchwind

Ugggggg, Hercsmama what an aweful thing to walk into. I sure hope you washed and cleared out everything you had with you, including your hands. I would hate to take those things home and have them devastate my stash  hopefully they don't have textiles I that museum that would be effected.

I bet you could fill that space with all sorts of things. Think if all the sassanack cowls you can make and fill the space with, skeins of yarn, shawls, socks.


----------



## Woodpecker

We got 3" of snow yesterday, I'm so sick of it! Hopefully with the temps getting warmer it will be gone soon. Loretta laid me an egg yesterday which I plan to have for breakfast. Yum!


----------



## Kasota

Hello, all....just checking in. 

GG - SCORE on the yarn! Woot! 

WIHH, that was so funny when Cabin Fever called!! Hahaha! I had the feeling that he was wondering, "Why is it that I called a wrong number and this woman knows my name....." 

Debi, that is just sickening about the moths. UGH!!! Give us a pic of the wheel you chose to use when you have a chance. 
DBA, love the bunny pics! 

Svenska - any news on the ewe? 

Lexi, how are things going down there in the land of never-ending gardening? 

WP, hope you enjoyed the egg! 

It's blue sky and sunshine here today. Chilly, but no snow and it sure looks pretty out. I'm tuckered and not feeling well. I honestly can't remember when I felt 100%. Blech. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful day!


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

I almost bought a sheep today. She was young, but was old enough she had a lamb on her. I told my daughter if she went cheap enough, I might buy her (salebarn)....
Holy cow, I think her and the lamb were gold plated. She weighed just less than 100 pounds, the lamb looked like it couldn't have been 3 days old, combined, they brought $227.00


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

Thank Kasota, I will try to get more pics soon. The newest litter of rabbits isn't quite a week old yet, only four of them, but in a few days I will try to get a good pic of them.
On the rabbit front, I am picking up another rabbit Wednesday, a beautiful opal colored doe, then on April 4, I am getting 3 more, one of which is a solid white mini lop.


----------



## Kasota

DBA is going to get sheep. It's going to happen. It didn't happen today...but now that he told his daughter he would consider it...it is as good as done. DBA is going to get sheep.


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

Now now now, just wait a minute.....if I can keep her away from the salebarn, I may be off the hook.


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## MullersLaneFarm

nah ... resign yourself to it .... DBA is going to get sheep.


----------



## Marchwind

DBA do you know what breed of sheep that ewe was?

Remember when you weren't going to be getting rabbits, than okay just one now you have how many? And they breed like rabbits, how many babies do you have one the ground?

Yea, I say you'll have a sheep before the end of the summer. But you know you can't just have one, they are herd animals.


----------



## Marchwind

DBA do you know what breed of sheep that ewe was?

Remember when you weren't going to be getting rabbits, than okay just one now you have how many? And they breed like rabbits, how many babies do you have one the ground?

Yea, I say you'll have a sheep before the end of the summer. But you know you can't just have one, they are herd animals.


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

No, I have no idea what breed, I may be able to give you a description. She was white, her head was shaped kinda like a goat, long nose. No wool on her legs or her head. She kinda looked like a white goat wearing an albino summo wrestler suit.


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

And no, I likely won't get sheep. Had I bought that one I would have had to put her in the dog pen for a couple days and had to rush to start putting up fence for sheep. Shortly I will be starting to fence in the area we will be putting goats in, once it is done, I will get a few goats, but not likely any sheep.


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

And for Kasota, and everyone else, about a week and a half ago I posted a picture of some Californian rabbits a day or three after they were born. They were 11 days old yesterday and looking good, a couple had their eyes open.


----------



## Marchwind

Sounds like maybe she would have been a BFL, especially if she was going for that price, but I don't know.


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

I saw some other sheep selling super high, again, not sure of breed, but their wool seemed very tight, and covered their entire body. All white, you could barely see their eyes, even their faces had wool.
It was a group of 14 lambs, average weight was 65 pounds, if I remember correct, they sold for $2.47 pound.


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## Kasota

DBA, look at their little colored noses!! Oh, the bunnies look soooo adorable! Goats are probably a better homestead choice. Few critters are as useful to a homestead operation as a couple goats. But I still will not be surprised down the road to see a picture of a sheep.  Just sayin'  

What kind of goats do you want to get?


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

I think we have decided to get a pair of nubian does and I think I want a boer buck. Though i am wondering.g if crossing the two would cause issues when kidding.


----------



## SvenskaFlicka

Kasota said:


> Svenska - any news on the ewe?


We lost both her and the lamb. Not surprisingly. We also lost our guardian llama to other issues. (Age.)

Yesterday my mom and I went to the Weavers Guild meeting. (We saw Hercsmama! )
It was fun! On the way home we stopped at a bookstore and I scored two great books. One on funky sock patterns and one on Single Breed Wool yarns. It is very British and very interesting.


----------



## bluefish

Dixie Bee Acres said:


> I think we have decided to get a pair of nubian does and I think I want a boer buck. Though i am wondering.g if crossing the two would cause issues when kidding.


If they are nice sized does, it shouldn't be a problem. My alpine just popped out 3 half boer babies with no issues.


----------



## Marchwind

Aren't Boer goats bred from Nubians?


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

Hmm, don't know. I just know nubians seem to be docile dairy goats and boers are some thick tanks of meat goats.


----------



## SvenskaFlicka

Nubians are big dairy goats though. They eat a lot and don't give much milk in return. 
I much prefer the little Swiss dairy breeds.


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

Ok, thank you, I hadn't heard that. Do you know anything about troggenbergs? I think that is what they are called.


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## Osiris

Oh those bunnies are so cute DBA. This thread is such fun to watch. 
HT is such a gas! I just ordered a gallon of pure maple syrup from someone on the barter board. 
I was also checking out the handmade brooms. WOW! Beautiful. Really tempting. 
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/country-living-forums/barter-board/512336-handmade-brooms-sale.html


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

Thanks, glad I can contribute something.


----------



## Marchwind

You all this is very serious. I know many of you contribute important and valuable information on HT. I feel compelled to share this information with all of you. You can form your own opinions and make your own decisions. I encourage you all to follow this link and read all the pages. http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/ad...s-i-made-here-showing-up-cattleforum-com.html


----------



## Skandi

Hmms.. what to say, today is my grans birthday, she's 88 or 89 depending on who you talk to, at some point we're going to have to corner her passport and find the exact date, the 90th will be important! 
Have to get someone to sneak in and find it when she's taken shopping on a friday. I think the chickens have nearly finished in the greenhouse, they can go back home to the barn tomorrow. then I'm going to go in with the weedkiller to get the nettles and sedge that they don't want to know about, THEN I can use it! woops (well after I fix the roof as well) 
Knitting a shawl, and urgs, I hate things where the rows get longer as you go along, the last two pattern repeats are about half the work, so depressing. it's also in a pink I really don't like, but inherited so have to find a use for, luckily my mother and aunt like pink, so I have a home for it once it is done.
All your baby animal pics are making me jealous. and to the post before.. shh don't mention it here you'll only get told to delete it, keeping it to one thread so it's easy to remove later.


----------



## Kasota

Svenska, I am so sorry about the ewe and lamb. And the llama. Ugh. Some days are so hard. 

I used to have Saanens and one of my good friends has Nubians. My Saanens were from a commercial dairy and my friend had some of the best Nubians in several states. She never did things by 1/2 measures. Nubians have the highest fat content and since she is a soap maker she preferred them over Saanens. They do produce quite a bit less than a Saanen, though. Alpines are kind of in the middle at least in my book. They give more volume of milk than a Nubian but less than a Saanen. It is not as sweet as a Nubian (IMO) and it has a lower fat content. 

YMMV.


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

Wow, now I want many different goats, or none, lol.


----------



## SvenskaFlicka

I used to raise champion Toggenburgs. My littlest doe, Lupine, gave about a gallon and a half every day. She was a milk machine! In comparison, a Nubian that was given to us gave us about a quart per day.


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

Thank you Svens. I had a young weather last year for a short period of time. He was really cool, looked like a little brown donkey. In fact, I named him donkey.


----------



## MullersLaneFarm

That is very disturbing, Marchie


----------



## Osiris

Agreed Cyndi. Doesn't make me feel any better how Angie explained it either - "a trial"??? And it's been "turned off"???. So it follows that it it can be turned ON again!
Sounds like something that may become common practice with the growth of the Net, not only here but on other sites too. I'm thinking Weavolution, Ravelry, Weaving Today just to name a few.

Maybe I should just go ahead and change my name to ALICE! Get a head start on things!:idea:


----------



## lambs.are.cute

Dba you know there is such a creature as a milking sheep? Wool and milk off the same critter. How could it go wrong? My run or the mill nothing special east fresians give me a gallon a day from May (after the lambs are weaned) to October when I dry them up. They'd milk longer but I'd rather not fish them out of the field with the ram.m

Marchwind thank you for posting that. I almost never venture out of this section and would have never seen it. Scary how little privacy there is. And respect.


----------



## MDKatie

I'm so sorry about the ewe and lamb, Svenska (and the llama, too). :-(


DBA, I don't think I would use "docile" to describe Nubians. :happy2: Some people love them, and each person needs to find the breed that works best for him/her, but in my experience, Nubians are loud, obnoxious, escape artists!! I also like the Swiss breeds. I have Oberhaslis, and they're the most quiet and least obnoxious goats I've ever had. If I had to switch breeds, I'd pick Alpines, which are close cousins to Obers. 

But I do think Nubians would do fine bred to a Boer buck.


----------



## AngieM2

I see that Marchwind has imported this to the Fiber Forum.

We have been keeping the conversations about it to the Announcement & Supporting Forum at the bottom where the link is.

We are deleting and pointing to all conversations to be put there, so we can find all the questions and answer them. And so what happened is not embellished by others. If you don't want to post there, send me a PM.

So, if you want more information, or have comments; start a thread in that forum or PM me.

Angie


----------



## lexierowsell

Please point us back there. With a link.


----------



## lexierowsell

Also, there are a lot of questions not being answered, and a lot of inflammatory bs. We don't (generally) roll that way, hence our majority seclusion to FA.


----------



## AngieM2

Here is support and announcement forum

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/homesteadingtoday-announcements-support/


----------



## GeorgiaGirl

Over the weekend, I stopped in a wonderful yarn store in Trussville, AL. I was short on time so couldn't stay long but guess what I found?? Little dinky circular's to knit baby hats! I purchased the 9" and 12" ones. Also some DP needles to finish the hats off with. Oh....and 2 skeins of baby yarn  I wish I could have stayed hours in that place. It is my favorite yarn store so far!


----------



## lexierowsell

No Angie, to the thread.


----------



## lambs.are.cute

That was fast work. It popped up and the out. We went from 16 pages to 15......


----------



## AngieM2

lexierowsell said:


> No Angie, to the thread.


It's in Marchwind's post above. Sorry about that.

But, this will not become an issue in this forum. It has nothing to do with this forum at all.


----------



## lexierowsell

I apologize. I'm in the mobile app and marchies post wasn't showing up anymore. In conjunction with what you said, I thought it had been deleted.


----------



## AngieM2

Sorry lexierowsell . I thought you'd have seen it when looking at the thread.

I didn't mean to blow you off. I forget about some that are on the app most of the time.
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/adm...forum-com.html


----------



## lambs.are.cute

That the reason I stop using sites that force me to use the app on my iPad. Annoying. It may be easier to use but I'd have to learn a whole new system, and not everything is the same. It wouldn't be a problem if everybody was using the app but........ You miss things.


----------



## lexierowsell

It was most likely a "iliveinthemiddleofnowhereandhave****tyinternet" issue more than the app. The HT app is good. It was great til the last update.


----------



## Skandi

ooh ooh we vacumed the car, and out of the little crack where the boot closes popped my missing 2.25mm dpn! I can use 5 again not 4, woots! No wonder I couldn't find the blasted thing, it's been missing for months. Glad I didn't need to buy another 5, having 9 would have been a little excessive, but knitting with them might have been fun.


----------



## Wind in Her Hair

Marchwind said:


> You all this is very serious. I know many of you contribute important and valuable information on HT. I feel compelled to share this information with all of you. You can form your own opinions and make your own decisions. I encourage you all to follow this link and read all the pages. http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/ad...s-i-made-here-showing-up-cattleforum-com.html





AngieM2 said:


> I see that Marchwind has imported this to the Fiber Forum.
> 
> We have been keeping the conversations about it to the Announcement & Supporting Forum at the bottom where the link is.
> 
> We are deleting and pointing to all conversations to be put there, so we can find all the questions and answer them. And so what happened is not embellished by others. If you don't want to post there, send me a PM.
> 
> So, if you want more information, or have comments; start a thread in that forum or PM me.
> 
> Angie


This is the forum where we live. 

"Importing" it? You make that sound like a bad thing. * :shrug: Marchwind made us aware of it* because she knows many of us ONLY post here - but we are affected by this as much as anyone else on Homesteading Today. 

As to your statement that "we" have been keeping the conversations about it" elsewhere, well, that is all well and good. Nice and tidy. But I am not even sure who "we" is anymore. 

It used to include "all Homesteading Today members" but now it seems "we" means something else entirely. :umno: 

However, I do believe that WE (the good people of the Fiber Arts Forum) have a RIGHT to know whats going on. 

Thank you, Marchwind for letting us know.


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

I whole heartedly agree with WIHH. 
You see, (to anyone who doesn't frequent this section of HT), what I have found is that the folks in the FA forum here, are not random internet forum users. I started visiting this section when I was learning to use and teaching my daughter to use a knitting loom.
I don't do much with yarn at all unless I have nothing else to do, which typically means winter time and im off work.
But, I found the regular members here, are more like a close family. I don't have any fiber contributions to make recently, but many of the other members still enjoy me telling of my daily activities and adventures, just as I enjoy hearing of theirs. We all lift each other up, congratulate each others accomplishments, advise each other when needed, and offer support and condolences when needed. Like I said, this group is like a family, and I love them all.
So when something is happening in the town from which this family resides, we like the option of knowing about it and discussing it in our own living room without each family member having to run down to city hall individually.


----------



## GeorgiaGirl

WIHH & DBA.................:clap:


----------



## lexierowsell

lexierowsell said:


> Also, there are a lot of questions not being answered, and a lot of inflammatory bs. We don't (generally) roll that way, hence our majority seclusion to FA.



What DBA and WIHH said is what I was trying to say here. DBA really nailed a perfect analogy.


----------



## MullersLaneFarm

He really, really, really did. 

Thanks DBA.

I haven't liked the direction our 'town' has been going for quite some time so I've kept mostly to this & the soapmaking forums

I'm thinking our Ravelry forum is looking better suited, cozier & much cleaner


----------



## Osiris

I agree with MW and she's expressed it a lot more eloquently than I can. THANK YOU MW for bringing this to our attention. I think the admins of this site know we're pis*ed by now. I'd prefer to watch the proceedings from the sidelines tho. 

Regards, 
ALICE


----------



## Wind in Her Hair

Osiris said:


> Regards,
> ALICE


 hee hee Alice. You are funny.


----------



## Tommyice

It seems that someone wants to, dare I say, "pull the wool over our eyes."

Sunshine is the best disinfectant


----------



## susang

So I'm confused about all of this. If I post a picture of a sweater I created or a quilt I designed it gives the forum owners the right to use these as they see fit without attribution to me? I have seen this on other forums forcing people to put a copyright mark or watermark on their photos. This is rather sad on many levels. I love seeing all the pictures. I also think omg I have said things that are personal but felt comfortable enough to talk about.


----------



## Marchwind

Okay, I'm home and more able to address these.

First of all, AngieM2 I did not drag anything over here. I clearly stated in the post on the admin. and support forum that if felt compelled to bring this over here. And contrary to what you or the other admin think this has everything to do with this forum. Not only do we have one if the Mods. from the cow forum, we happen to gave lots of other people who may be directly impacted by all of this. It is VERY disingenuous to assume it does not effect us. Do NOT spark me on my own forum. For you to delete posts from my trusted members without being asked or without notifying me is NOT acceptable. The is MY forum and is independent of the general crap that goes on around us.

To answer Susang's question, my understanding is this; by posting here they can use your posts and your pictures. What they cannot do, and gave done, is to use your material without properly crediting you. THAT is the big BEEF everyone has. The fact that they took someone's post, posted it with under a fake name, edited the post and claimed it as their own. On top of that, they they went on to claim it was a mistake and they didn't know it had gone so wrong. You can read it all on the from the link I provided above (I'll get it and post it agin). This IMHO has caused irrepiaratable damage. Not only have the administrators lost the trust of me and many others it puts the moderatorators Ina very awkward position, of course we had nothing to do with any of this. I do encourage any of you with further questions to post them on the Admin. and Support Forum. Do NOT be afraid to ask any question or to hold the admin's "feet to the coals". If any of you want o send me a PM please feel free to do so.

Do not forget we have groups and pages on FB and on Ravelry. Send me a message if you want more info. Right now Ravelry seems like the it may be our go to place for now, if something happens http://www.ravelry.com/groups/homesteading-today-fiber-arts

I will NOT holed back on my disapproval of what has happened. This is totally unacceptable, and just plain, NOT OKAY! 

I aplologize for those who have to witness any nastiness that may ensue, but it has to be said and done for the protection of all of us on HT.


----------



## Marchwind

I'm guessing tha MLF's post us going to deleted since I can't "like" it and the names of those who "liked" it are already is "grayed out". So let's keep this going. If anything happens we will meet up at http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/homesteading-today-fiber-arts/3166468/1-25?jump=1

Spread the word


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

I can't even view ravalry without signing in. I'm not sure i should join there as it is obviously a fiber arts site, in which, I really don't have anything to contribute.
But, if it goes form, and y'all leave, just know it has been my pleasure to kick back and shoot the breeze with y'all. Many of you have my contact info, keep in touch. Love y'all.


----------



## Osiris

Don't bail just yet DBA! We're all still here and I for one, have no intentions of leaving. I might cause some problems over somewhere else, but we're PAYING to be members here. We have a right to fight. Oh and WIHH! Excellent letter. So well expressed. 

We got 6 inches of snow today! AND....it's almost gone. 40 tomorrow 50 Wed, nothing will be left. God I love SPRING. Can't wait for the Scilla to bloom. I'll have to post pics of the woods here. In fact..... here is the pic from last year!


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

We just got light flurries today, mixed with sleet and freezing rain. Looks to be a good chance of rain all week. Of course, kids are out of school for spring break and i am off work all week.


----------



## lexierowsell

It's 83 here. I have, in the last 4 days, planted 4500 row feet of spring/summer garden. I have that much again to get in the ground before 4/4. 

Ouch I hurt. All I want to do is sit. 

And drink cold beer.


----------



## Skandi

lexierowsell said:


> It's 83 here. I have, in the last 4 days, planted 4500 row feet of spring/summer garden. I have that much again to get in the ground before 4/4.
> 
> Ouch I hurt. All I want to do is sit.
> 
> And drink cold beer.


HA! I had to go break the ice in the chicken water this morning, first time I have had to do that. and 83 ?! internetz tels me that's about 28C it might make it to that in july, MAYBE if we're lucky!


----------



## lexierowsell

At 5:40 pm, in Celcius:









Fahrenheit:









Glooooorious Texas.


----------



## PKBoo

Marchie - thank you for letting us know. I only venture outside of here if I have a question, then I usually use the 'search' function. However, I attribute HT to my success as a 'homesteader.' When I discovered this site over 8 years ago, I read as much as I could to learn about keeping critters. DH & I had always had a garden, but we were venturing into new territory with animals. 

I can't imagine life without having the knowledge and resources of all of the wonderful people here at HT. I learned so so much from just reading, and asking 'dumb' questions  I would have spent a lot of time and money, had this site not been here. I am saddened by this whole turn of events. 

I also can't imagine not having THIS forum to turn to! You have all become family - I have not been very active this past year, but still value your friendship, support, and ENABLING that happens every day.

I will be checking in to Ravelry later today - as I want, no NEED, a place to be able to keep in touch if things go downhill here. I had no idea that so much has happened on this site in the last few years till I read some of the posts in Countryside. Makes me very very sad. Had no idea so many people have been banned (and people who I LOVED to read posts from!) *sigh*

DBA- we have Nubians. I LOVE Nubians! Yes, they are loud. Yes, they are obnoxious. Yes, they are in-your-face. But wow do they have personality! And their milk is the most delicious, IMO. I like the high butterfat for cheesemaking...

BUT, YOU have to live with them. When we were going to buy sheep, we went to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, and spent half a day cruising up and down the 'Breed Displays' where they had the live sheep, samples of their wool, samples of yarn, etc. I decided I wanted BFL for the softness, and I really liked the way they looked. I found a local person that has ShetlandxBFL crosses, and am so very happy with them! We've had sheep for about 5 years now, and I'm thinking getting a few CVM now. Just to add to the mix haha.

When we wanted goats, we went to the Farm Show, and browsed the goats, up and down, and talked to a LOT of different breeders, getting a lot of different opinions. Frankly, I just loved the floppy eared Nubians, and thought they were adorable, and all the other stuff is just a bonus. We dam-raised two batches of kids last year, and I have to say, they are a lot quieter than the bottle raised Nubians. Well, some of them anyway haha....


----------



## Marchwind

DBA our group over there is similar to this in feel. It is a small room in a big house. You can choose to come in and stay or venture out into th other rooms or even get really adventurous and go out into the yard. If course those are only a figure of speech. Join check it out and see what you think. I know I need a quiet place away for a bit to cool and calm down and we all need to talk about options. Please at least join us for a bit. You won't get notifications about posts do you have to check in. You do get notifications about private messages. All are welcome no matter if you work with fibers or not.

Lexi I can't believe it was that warm. I think I would die if I lived there, especially in the summer.

We had a bit of snow here. I think we dodged the bullet and sent it to Osiris.


----------



## Pearl B

Marchwind, it's a pleasant 75% here in Az now, @ 5:30 p.m. We hit temps in the upper 80's last week. This is a little on the warm side for this time of year and I'm not really looking forward to this summer either.


----------



## 7thswan

Hi everyone, I'm the Rottie face over on Rav. (5thelement). Just joined the HT group there.


----------



## Woodpecker

Marchwind said:


> DBA our group over there is similar to this in feel. It is a small room in a big house. You can choose to come in and stay or venture out into th other rooms or even get really adventurous and go out into the yard. If course those are only a figure of speech. Join check it out and see what you think. I know I need a quiet place away for a bit to cool and calm down and we all need to talk about options. Please at least join us for a bit. You won't get notifications about posts do you have to check in. You do get notifications about private messages. All are welcome no matter if you work with fibers or not.
> 
> Lexi I can't believe it was that warm. I think I would die if I lived there, especially in the summer.
> 
> We had a bit of snow here. I think we dodged the bullet and sent it to Osiris.


Thanks for the heads up Marchie!


----------



## MullersLaneFarm

Marchwind said:


> I'm guessing tha MLF's post us going to deleted since I can't "like" it and the names of those who "liked" it are already is "grayed out". So let's keep this going. If anything happens we will meet up at http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/homesteading-today-fiber-arts/3166468/1-25?jump=1
> 
> Spread the word


It wouldn't surprise me ... I've been on Angie's watch list since Chuck left.


----------



## Dixie Bee Acres

Don't feel bad, I'm sure that I'm on Angie's list now.


----------



## MullersLaneFarm

Feel bad??? Why it's a badge of honor!


----------



## hercsmama

Holy moly people, i go away for a few days and look at all the trouble that I miss!:bored:
Been a bananas couple days, and not looking to settle down any time soon.
Saturday was our Guild meeting, had a blast seeing Kelsey and her mom.
Also, I got my socks from Kelsey!1 They are gorgeous, and I wore them to work yesterday!! I will try to get a pic up, later this afternoon, or this evening after I get home.
Sunday we were up in Ainsworth, helping our friends shear their commercial flock, and a few of their fiber ladies as well.
That leads me to another really amazing announcement, that must be posted with pictures, but I need to load them still, so remember, patience is a virtue!!:happy2:
Yesterday I was at work for day three, too much fun! We had about 200 kids come through, lot's of really great questions. One little girl, about 8 or so, just kept dragging her mom back over to sit, and watch. I ended up giving her a big handful of the carded Rambo I was spinning, and told her to get her mom to let her watch you tube videos on Drop Spindles, and practice. Both she and her mom said they would be back in August to let me know how she did. So cute!:happy2:
Today, I'm off to Ag Day at the State Fair grounds. Roughly 900 FFA and 4H kids coming. Should be fun!
Of course with all this busy, I haven't spent any time with my own sheep, in like 4 days, and I have a buyer coming tomorrow morning to cart off all the rest of my Barbados :hobbyhors. So happy!
I need to get Shiner out of the pen with the preggos, but was unable too, due to the Barbados ewes cycling right now. So they will be gone, and he can go in their pasture. He won't like it, but the preggos, and I will be thrilled! LOL!:happy2:

Off to get my samples ready for today, take care all!


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## Wind in Her Hair

MullersLaneFarm said:


> It wouldn't surprise me ... I've been on Angie's watch list since Chuck left.


 you, too? :hysterical: I like the company I keep "on the watch list".  :kiss:


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## Mrs. Jo

I'm really sad about the plaigarizing going on. I've been around for almost 15 years, and leaving HT would create a huge hole in my life. I don't have many social contacts who share any of the same values my hubby and I have, and it feels very painful knowing that anything I post could be used in a manner not intended by me, and that our admins were doing this on purpose...makes me feel so bad. 

Well, I have finished my second knitted hat, and now I will start a knitted scarf.


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## Dixie Bee Acres

Hello my friends.
Still cold here today, but at least the sun is shining.

Mrs. Jo, I agree, the plagerizing is bad enough, it was the lies, excuses, and attempted cover-up that made it worse.
It appears we may now be on the horizon of seeing if things change. Perhaps only time will tell.


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## Billie in MO

Marchwind said:


> I'm guessing tha MLF's post us going to deleted since I can't "like" it and the names of those who "liked" it are already is "grayed out". So let's keep this going. If anything happens we will meet up at http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/homesteading-today-fiber-arts/3166468/1-25?jump=1
> 
> Spread the word



How do I find this? I went and registered at Ravelry but have no clue where to find this. I tried clicking on the link after I registered but it just brought me back to the sign up page. My name will be BillieX3 on there. Thanks.


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## Marchwind

Billie in Mo I will find you and invite you to the forum. It can be tricky to find things if you aren't familiar with the site. Check in the upper right corner of any page, it should have your name and it will tell you if you have a private message. Just click on that alert and it will take you to the group.


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## PKBoo

Billie - I just added you to my 'Friends' on Ravelry, and sent you an invitation to join the Forum. 

This was AFTER I had typed what I did below haha!

_Click on 'my notebook' then 'friends'. Click on my picture, and you'll see the groups I'm in down the left side. Find 'Homesteading Today' (it's bright green) - click on it and it will take you to the Forum.

Phew - there is probably a much easier way! _

There is a LOT to get to know on the Ravelry site...


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## PKBoo

What does the 'Forum Supporter' mean below our username? 

In reading this whole debacle, I saw that some people pay HT as a supporter? I have never done so (and now most definitely will NOT!).

I've been meaning to ask about this, and forgot until this whole thing blew up.


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## Marchwind

I am reposting DBA's post that Angie deleted. In spite of what she says this does concern us, it concerns everyone who posts on HT. I hope we can have a good discussion that is respectful about this issue, either here or on Ravelry. There are on going discussions on the admin and support forum. If you have any direct questions for Angie or the other admins please post it there.
***********************************************************
Angie, I'm sorry, but what good does it do to link us to another forum? You say you want all discussions on this topic to go there, but once there, questions get side-stepped rather than answered, and then the threads get locked, thusfor ending the discussion. You can't have it both ways, do you want to discuss there, or do you want to use that forum as a place to hide away any discussions on the deceptive practices and lies of those who run HT?

I'm sorry to all of my FA friends here, for dragging any potential drama to this thread, but i for one, would like some honest answers and explainations. I don't see eye to eye with Willow Girl on many matters, but she raised some valid concerns and asked some valid questions. A few were half heartedly answered, some were flat out ignored, and then you "discussion" thread was locked. How in Gods name can you discuss anything when the discussion thread is locked?

Answer, you cant. That's the admins way of tucking tail and hiding from your dishonesty and deception. The administration of HT are a bunch of cowards and frauds.


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## Marchwind

Well PKBoo I have one too and have never nor will ever pay to support this forum. I asked Angie this a while back, if I remember correctly she said that people who had been around for a long time just automatically got one of those. I never liked it because I felt it lead people to believe I was financially supporting the forum when I wasnt.


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## Kris in MI

I had one, until yesterday when I disabled it. I've never paid anything to be part of this forum, and when those forum supporter badges were issued, I was told I had gotten one because I'd been here so long (pretty much since the beginning).

Here is a link that Melissa posted on her forum for how to get rid of your supporter badge: http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/admin-archives/homesteadingtoday-announcements-support/514194-disabling-badges.html


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## Marchwind

Thank you Kris!


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## Molly Mckee

I disabled mine yesterday--I have never paid, and I certainly never will!


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## Dixie Bee Acres

Due to the gloominess of this entire group of forums over the past couple of days, I feel I should try to bring some delight to my fine friends here.
I just got home from picking up (yes, yet another) a new rabbit. She is a Cali doe. No pedigree or anything, just a meat breeder, but she looks good and is friendly.
Tomorrow my daughter and I are going to pick up a new mini lop for her. This gal is a solid opal color, very pretty.
And, for those of you that like it when I post these, here are some baby bunnies. These are 8 day old mini lops.


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## Billie in MO

Marchwind and PKBoo, thank you for helping me find the group. It will take me awhile to navigate the site and figure out how to do things but I have managed to make 2 posts over there. Been on there all afternoon and have gotten nothing done!! I didn't post here much but I admired everyone's creations and the online family atmosphere you created.


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## Jaclynne

Is Ravelry just for knitters and crocheters?


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## Kasota

Hello, everyone. :grouphug:

DBA - thank you for the bunny pictures. I needed that.


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## Jacki

No, not just crocheters and knitters, but also spinners, weavers, felters, dyers and fiber tool makers. Might be more, but that is what I have found so far.

Jacki


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## Guest

I don't post here, but I lurk often enough. I'm not real good with yarns/fabrics etc, but I really enjoy the work ya'll do and the camaraderie here. I'm glad to see how quick you were to stand up for your forum and your moderator. Anywho, just thought I'd share that with ya'll.


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## Dixie Bee Acres

I have a fiber question, hoping you spinning ladies can answer.
Y'all know I have rabbits (and seem to get more daily), what i dont have are angora rabbits.
Iffin I were to get a couple, how do I collect the wool from them? Do you just brush them while they are shedding, or do you actually shear them?

Now, once you have a thick pile of hare hair, then what do you do with it? What needs to be done with it before it can be spun into yarn?


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## vicki in NW OH

I don't post much either but am grateful to MW for linking to what was going on. I don't go down to Admin and wouldn't have known. Then, she caught flak for letting us know. That's unacceptable. The whole thing is just very, very unacceptable.


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## Guest

Dixie, I do know this one. You brush them. You kinda have to anyway, too keep them untangled, but yea, just brush them out. I would assume that it needs cleaned a bit, then spun, but I don't know as much on that end. 

Also, hare hair  I like that


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## Woodpecker

It's so ridiculous that Marchie got any flak at all.


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## Dixie Bee Acres

Toffee said:


> Dixie, I do know this one. You brush them. You kinda have to anyway, too keep them untangled, but yea, just brush them out. I would assume that it needs cleaned a bit, then spun, but I don't know as much on that end.
> 
> Also, hare hair  I like that


It probably takes a year and a dozen rabbits to get enough to make a difference then doesn't it?


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## Guest

This seems like a decent site. I didn't read all the way through, but they seem to know what they are talking about. 

http://www.homestead.org/VictoriaVarga/AngoraRabbits/FuzzyBunny.htm


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## Ketoriverfarm

I don't post much either. Just not enough hours in the day. I am a member of ravelry - in fact I found this website from a mention on ravelry. 

Today my DH and I cleaned the barn and re-arranged three sets of sheep in separate pens for shearing tomorrow. I have ewes who should be lambing within the next week. I got all of my lambing supplies out, so I think I am ready. 

After shearing I will get back to skirting fleeces. We are raising meat chicks this year. We have sixteen chicks and have had them eight days. Just starting to feather out. I thought we had made it over the hump and that they were all going to survive. But tonight I found one dead. I am so bummed! 

I just hate losing any of my animals. Susan


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## Osiris

MARCHI GOT CHEWED ON???? Okay.... That pi**es me off! I'm off to admin. check in later.


Okay.... steam's let off. YEAH we need happy pictures. 
Here's my bird feeder *at night*! Caption: WHO ME????? LOL Pay no attention to the date and time. It was last week. I still can't figure out how to set it.


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## hotzcatz

Dixie Bee Acres said:


> I have a fiber question, hoping you spinning ladies can answer.
> 
> Y'all know I have rabbits (and seem to get more daily), what i dont have are angora rabbits.
> 
> Iffin I were to get a couple, how do I collect the wool from them? Do you just brush them while they are shedding, or do you actually shear them?
> 
> Now, once you have a thick pile of hare hair, then what do you do with it? What needs to be done with it before it can be spun into yarn?
> 
> It probably takes a year and a dozen rabbits to get enough to make a difference then doesn't it?












That's a year's worth of fiber from about two dozen English angora bunnies although some of their fiber has been hand spun, too. Each of those bags has about two pounds in it.

How to collect the wool from them depends on the type of angora you get. I only have the English angora since they can have their wool harvested by combing it off although we also use small scissors and horse clippers, too. Most of the other breeds of angora don't have the type of coat that molts, especially the Germans and giants. The English is supposed to have the softest fibers of the angoras although they don't produce the most. Each of our bunnies produces about a pound of fiber per year.

You don't have to do anything to it before you spin it. You can set the bunny on your lap and spin directly off the bunny. Although after awhile they generally get bored and pee on you.

Once they've been sheared or had their coat harvested by whatever method, they don't need much grooming for about a month and a half. Then a month of weekly or every other week grooming will keep them tidy. The last month before harvest is when they need the most grooming to keep them matt free.

Here's a "before" and "after" haircuts picture link: Hillside Farm Angora Bunnies


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## Wind in Her Hair

just poppin' in to say I am still here- haven't been "banned" but I sure have been spittin' and fumin' at the Administration threads over this whole mess. I love this website. 

But if it continues in the downward spiral it is headed, I may have no other choice but to jump this sinking ship and head for shore. 

PLEASE join ravelry as a back up and join us over there. I do not want to lose any of you. 

Thank you, Marchwind, for standing up to them. They don't know who they are messing with. :thumb:


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## Marchwind

Please stay tuned there is something in the works for us (our Fold). I'll be posting more about it on Ravelry. Once a decision is made I'll post info here. Of course it may get deleted but oh well.

Thanks for the support and the votes of confidence it means more than I can put into words. I'm past my feeling very sad, I cried bucket the other day, now I'm just mad.

I want us to move past this but until a decision is made it will be very difficult to do that so please just bear with me a bit longer. I don't like controversy any more than many of you, it's unhealthy. But I'm not going to sit quietly in the background and watch things everyone has worked so hard so many years to build be destroyed or treated like it doesn't matter. We are people here, we know each other. I think on this forum more than others we are a very tight knit (haha) group. I feel about most of you the same as I do my friends and family in real life (not that you all aren't real but you get my point).

Hang in there, we will get this worked out.

DBA baby bunnies are so precious, thank you.

As for Angora rabbits, it's a lot of work. The amount of wool you get off one rabbit may not seem like a lot but it goes a LONG way. It is way too warm to use 100% for most things so it is generally blended to add softness and warmth.

I had French Angora rabbits, and two Germans. All of my rabbits (I had about 30) were hand plucked, I prefer to spin plucked vs sheared Angora. There is no preparations necessary other than maybe carding before you spin Angora. You do not wash it until after it is spun up. So I mp lucked it and stuffed it into ziplock baggies until I was ready to use it.


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## Marchwind

I wanted to take a minute to welcome our new members! It is so nice to see so many stop to say hi . I won't name all of you, my memory is that good anyway.

So Welcome to The Fold! Please stick around and join us. 

I can't remember who asked if Ravelry was just for knitters and crocheters. NO, it is not. There are people from every walk of life, from all over the world there. There are groups for just about anything you can think of.

Billie in MO there is a thread that WIHH posted awhile back about how to navigate on Ravelry. Go to the front page and you will see it there.

Wow, that's odd. I posted a smilie face above and when my post was posted where the smilie was BBC's photo was there.


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## 7thswan

Dixie Bee Acres said:


> I have a fiber question, hoping you spinning ladies can answer.
> Y'all know I have rabbits (and seem to get more daily), what i dont have are angora rabbits.
> Iffin I were to get a couple, how do I collect the wool from them? Do you just brush them while they are shedding, or do you actually shear them?
> 
> Now, once you have a thick pile of hare hair, then what do you do with it? What needs to be done with it before it can be spun into yarn?


I've had Angoras for about 24 years now DBA. You can shear or pluck. I choose to shear because I have too many and too much else to do,so when I decide it's time to get the fiber off- I can get it all done at once. I shear with a good pair of hair sizors . I sit and take my time,parting the hair and makeing sure I get no second cuts.I put the fiber into a paper bag, write on it color and sometimes the name of Bun.
Usally , I spin the fiber right out of the bag. Sometimes I save up and blend at the mill. I also will hand card for a more consistant yarn, all right out of the bag. Angora is very clean, just keep out mats and you can use it as is. No washing.


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## Skandi

hotzcatz said:


> Here's a "before" and "after" haircuts picture link: Hillside Farm Angora Bunnies


omg.. that after pic, so funny, not sure why but that look just cracked me up, "what have you done human! You have betrayed my tiny fury trust"


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## Wind in Her Hair

I am completely and totally horrified if THIS is the way 
they/he/Steve/Alice/CEO/Hyaat/whatever 
deals with anything on this site. 

If last evening's behavior was indicative of his professional ability and attitude towards us, we have all been played for fools. HT is now a corporate farm. 

HTers deserve better treatment than this and a modicum of respect. 

Please go read this in it's entirety before it disappears.

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/ad...uncements-support/535969-message-cmg-ceo.html


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## Dixie Bee Acres

Ok, goodbye good friends. I have opened an account at ravelry so I can stay in touch.
I am also on Melissa's forum. Many of you have my contact info, drop me a line if you don't see me online somewhere.
Marchie, be sure to let me know when something happens, I will be there.

I say goodbye because I am sickened by what is happening and although I know you all love wool, I don't like it over my eyes.
Time to go make, what I assume will be my last post here in the CEO thread.

Word of warning, I'm not going to be nice, so if you get easily offended by (eh-hem), slang, don't Ho looking for my post.


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## Billie in MO

Marchwind, thank you, I did see the post WIHH made about how to navigate Ravelry, but I have not had a chance to read thru it yet. Been too busy (catching up) reading about all the lies and cover up going on. While my post count is low I have been on here since the old Lusenet days when this site was started by the Countryside magazine.

I want to get more involved with my weaving and maybe, in the future, try some spinning and such. Not sure just yet. So I will be following along as you guys are such great enablers!!


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## 7thswan

Dixie Bee Acres said:


> Ok, goodbye good friends. I have opened an account at ravelry so I can stay in touch.
> I am also on Melissa's forum. Many of you have my contact info, drop me a line if you don't see me online somewhere.
> Marchie, be sure to let me know when something happens, I will be there.
> 
> I say goodbye because I am sickened by what is happening and although I know you all love wool, I don't like it over my eyes.
> Time to go make, what I assume will be my last post here in the CEO thread.
> 
> Word of warning, I'm not going to be nice, so if you get easily offended by (eh-hem), slang, don't Ho looking for my post.


DBA, there are Bunny groups on Rav. I am sure there are all kinds of gardening ect there also.


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## Wind in Her Hair

See y'all "over there".  :sob:


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## weever

Ack. A glance away, and the whole forum implodes. 

Not sure where I will end up, but it's been wonderful to comment and lurk and make e-maginary friends into real ones.

Best wishes, all...


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## Jaclynne

I joined Ravelry too. (WarpedHalo) There is a lot to see there, I'll have to find WIHH post on navigation.

hotzcatz - the before and after pics are hilarious!

Jackie


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## Osiris

WIHH, I'm in Ravelry just so you know. I just don't know how to maneuver the site yet....takes time I know. 
But this place is still too much fun! And it's home. The ship ain't sunk yet peeps. Remember, we outnumber them by an order of magnitude. Our postings alone could bring down this site. They're playing with fire if they don't move in a positive manner. ....and I think they know that


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## Wind in Her Hair

As we speak, I am being erased from this website. All of my posts will be gone, gone, gone. 
They are erasing my posts. Every last one of them. 

It will be like I was never here. But I was, wasn't I? 

Don't forget me, fiber friends! 

I DO care deeply about you. Please, friends, meet me at ravelry.com and we can regroup there.
Vaya Con Dios


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## MullersLaneFarm

Are they actually going to delete your posts??

Oh my! your post count is only 5,550 right now!

Find me at https://www.facebook.com/groups/MullersLaneFarm/


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## Marchwind

I agree 100% with WIHH about what the future of HT looks like  You know the whole Citizens United case in which the Supremem Court of the country said corporations are people? Well this is the new reality for HT. We have become a commodity which in and of itself isn't bad but it's the inhumane way they are treating us. They don't realize we are real people and we care about and for each other. We believing in helping others. The bottom line for the Carbon Media group is the almighty $$$$.

Sorry I'm not going to let someone make money off my back when I do all their work. I don't wear clothes with logos on them because I don't want to give someone free advertising especially if I had to pay good money for the item with their logo on it.

Sorry I don't mean to get political. 

If any of you want to send me your email addresses I can let you know where to find us in the near future.


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## Marchwind

MLF DBA doesn't do FB  but he is over on Ravelry.


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## Osiris

Ehhhh boy! I had to chuckle when I popped on this thread. First page: There's Marchi! I LOVE THE MONTH OF MARCH! :nanner:
Boy if we only knew......

Well, it's been a fun time. The only thing _permanent_ in life is change though. 
Okay..... as long as everyone is being deleted, how does one go about doing that??? 
I certainly don't want to leave any footprints behind either..


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## Marchwind

We can't Osiris . Only the Admin can do that and they won't. On a rare occasion they deleted a member in one case to protect the person who was being stalked, in the other case it was a particularly contentious member and I believe they deleted him.

BTW are you Osiris on Ravelry?

As for loving the month of March well, this year it seems to be going out like a bull in a china shop instead of a lamb


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## Wind in Her Hair

they have erased Zong and they are erasing me - post by post- I am watching my thread count - down from 18,285 (or something like that) to 5,550. Thats a lot of mouse clicks and someone will have carpal tunnel when it is all over. 

You CAN demand to have your posts deleted. Be loud, be ugly and insistent. 

If my posts are gone, then they can't copy and paste them to another one of their websites, then claim to their advertisers how much activity and how many posters/members they have. I ain't helping them. 

You have rights - I DID NOT SIGN A TOS when I joined HT- a TOS did not exist - neither did any of you early members. The TOS only arose later and we did not sign anything retroactively. 

My words may be in the public domain but HT has no right to copy them and claim they are theirs or credit them to some fictitious poster. Plagiarism laws demand that proper credit be given to the author and that is a rule here on HT - but the CEO of CDG says it doesn't APPLY to them - only to us. 

B as in b S as in s. 

This CEO is a liar and thief and he will use you, suck your personal information out, share it with whomever he chooses, post it and use it any way he and his minions think will benefit them. 

I will not be a willing partner in this, an accomplice to his duplicity. Thank you for listening. Be careful. 

And join us at ravelry.com and Melissa's new forum.


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## MoCrafter

I have been a member here since this was run by Countryside mag. I have posted very little, but I lurk almost daily, especially the Fiber Forum. I have been a crocheter for over 30 years. I am teaching myself to knit this year. So far I have knitted many dish cloths and a few scarves. I have all the stuff to knit socks, but have not built up the nerve yet to try it. LOL I know none of you know me, but I feel like I know all of you. I have been on Ravelry since about Feb. 8, 2008. Yet, I still am not real good at navigating it. I sure would like to join all of you over there. I am still MoCrafter on Ravelry. I will try to find you. I sure would hate to lose touch with you all. Who knows, maybe I will even come out of my shell and post some.


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## Marchwind

Hey MoCrafter! I know you or as much of you as I can. You gave posted a few times here. Im not sure if I remember you from the Countryside forum. I had a different name over there. If you haven't found us on Ravelry I'll find you and send you an invite or a link.


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## MamaTrip

Reading your posts, the Good-Byes, the exodus -----
Makes me think of the story of Fiddler on the Roof.

Will we ever see each other again?
Only God knows.
Or, "Yes at Ralvary"

Safe travel ---- and take good care of that "sewing machine" (I mean wheel).


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## Miz Mary

WOW .... all of this was news to me this am.....I have the same name in other forums .... I will try to find y'all over there .


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