Breathing

The photo above really has nothing to do with life at the moment.  This is a picture however of my Bess and one of her triplets back in 2005.  We haven't had sheep since late 2005.  I miss them.  Terribly.  I long for them.  My poor husband does not.  Right now, and every year about this time, I begin to think about the sheep.  Their warm wool.  It's the time of the year to think about knitting sweaters, scarves, hats, gloves, and wool socks.  One day we will have sheep again. 
The last two weeks have been a bit rough around these parts.  Last week I was drained emotionally.  Just wiping the table brought on tears.  Towards the end of last week the little ones came down with colds.  I became a bit proud over the fact that I hadn't gotten a cold the last few times they've had them.  Well, pride goeth before a fall.  Sunday morning I awoke to a very sore throat.  By Sunday afternoon I was horribly congested and it just seemed to get worse on Monday and Tuesday.  Today is much better.  Now we're looking forward to a visit from a dear one and this Momma is looking forward to getting back on track with school.  We need structure.

Fiber Fest

This past weekend our family was apart. Daddy took the kiddos camping and I headed to OFFF Saturday morning. Giddy Up! Last year I went with rabbits to sell but this year I was a consumer. A gauker. A budget was set and stuck to. I determined that I wasn't going to buy pretty braids of painted roving this year but instead went with a list of potential future sheep. We've had Romney in the past and while they were gentle sheep, I've been studying other sheep. The guy who's picture is above is a CVM / Romeldale. After spending TONS of time talking with breeders/ranchers of these mellow sheep I think I'm pretty well set that they will be the sheep in our future.

Hopefully a couple alpacas will be in our future too. I don't want to breed Alpaca...just have a couple for my own personal spinning use.

This is the "loot" I came home with. Really it's not much. The black fiber at the top of the picture is Gotland. It's a rather new breed in America and I was curious. It has an open crimp so is more like curly locks. Dark brown stuff on the right hand side is Romeldale / CVM, the stuff at the bottom is my splurge. 50/50 yak/merino. Oh.my.softness! It will be saved for a later date. The fiber on the left hand side is romeldale/CVM from a different farm. Told you, I'm in love. :-) All in all it was a nice weekend but the silence gave me a lot of time to think. I realized just how much I need my family and caused me to appreciate so much more the blessings God has given me. At times I feel like throwing my hands in the air. Child rearing is so frustrating...and ever so worth it. Because of my children, I am learning how to love unconditionally just as they do. I miss them and the Mister terribly when they are not near me.

Last but not least we have a new "pet" erm...science study living on the coffee table. You can't see it in the picture but there is a caterpillar hidden in the leaves. My little Em was beside herself with excitement over a "live surprise" she had for me. Through a little research on my part I've become certain that it will (hopefully) emerge as a moth in the spring. It has given me a perfect opportunity to add more "school" to our day. The best part of the whole thing? The excitement and interest the kids have. I love that the kids have a zeal towards nature. This has also provided me with the opportunity for us to put together our first lapbook. Yippee!! Oh...dirt has been added since this picture was taken since several moths go into chrysalis in the ground.

Eggs!

The self proclaimed queen of the hen house

We love eggs in this house. Well...all but one of us and since we don't buy meat from the grocer we eat a lot of eggs. I mentioned in the last post that I had chicks. The first 4 quickly turned into 10. Who knows how that happened. By Saturday morning I had 10 chicks and 2 laying hens. By this last Wednesday I had 10 chicks and 4 laying hens. Yowzer. The hens are pleasant thus far. No, all 14 will not be kept. I will most likely go down to ??? At first I said 8 then I said 5 then I think 6 then...well... We live in the city and on our lot can have up to 8. Do we need 8 for our own use? No. I think 5 will sustain us well. I have a secret though. They're kind of addicted. Now I need to figure out how to quit spending $$ so I can save and have my little chunk of land again.

This girl is stunning when the sun hits her feathers

This girl was a bit tattered but after a week she is looking so good the little black one behind is so very shy

Always Something

Ha! The city recently changed the zoning regs and we can now raise chicken! The bummer is that rabbits have been thrown into the same mix. On our lot size we can raise a total of 8 chicken, rabbit or combination thereof. I have wanted my own chicken for the last...well...probably around 24 years. Okay, most of my life. :-) Today, I bought 4 chicks. They are all supposed to be female but I wouldn't be surprised if one ended up being a rooster.
All 4 are different breeds and all 4 have names. Now we're gearing up to look for a couple laying hens and I'll probably purchase a few more chicks "just in case".
Isn't this such a sweet face. So feminine.