Shear Joy

At which repetition does a novelty wear off? Our fourth year of shearing on May 3rd had a little feeling of "been there, done that" pervade the activity. There was no trip in a cargo van , no shear team coming to our farm with us seeing the process the first time, no first shave of a cria. And there is a growing mountain of alpaca fleece piling up... Nonetheless, the animals were happy to be a little cooler without a big winter coat on.

Dark Star and Leven look fresh and glossy, post shearing. They enjoyed prancing around the pasture eating hay (!) while the ladies were being shorn.

 Yesterday we moved the fence panels so that part of the pasture can recover. We accidentally allowed the alpacas to over-eat one section. First accomplishments: the obligatory rolling, nap time, and lazy eating while laying down.

 While watering the new grass seeds, I noticed that Greta (back) was very interested in the hose. I took it up to the fence, and she could not get enough to drink! Bella, the bossiest micro-manager of all time (front), had to investigate as well. She preferred getting her face soaked to actually drinking. She kept getting water up her nose and sneezing. She may be the ring leader, but she is not intelligent...

Here's to new joyful experiences amidst the well-worn traditions! For the sake of tradition, I shall add that this is CERTAINLY the year to process alpaca fleeces. Right?!

So Maybe I Cheated A Little

This Spring no time materialized to throw lettuce seeds in the ground, water them consistently, and keep them covered in times of frostiness. Just taking care of me properly was a struggle due to time constraints. 

So when I saw starts of butter crunch lettuce, spinach, broccoli, and romaine at Rural King over Spring Break, I couldn't resist the purchase. 

Eating a giant home grown salad several times a week is one of life's greatest pleasures. So glad we didn't have to wait over a month for everything to grow to edible size.

 The woodland rabbits are already raising their second or third brood, so I am keeping the greens covered with an old netting screen, hoping they won't find the gaping holes... The butterflies that favor broccoli have also stayed away so far. Look at those healthy leaves!

I decided to try several varieties of potato this summer: Russet (they were from the supermarket and sprouting in my cabinet), Yukon Gold, red-skinned potatoes, and Midnight Moon which is blue. The potatoes were started properly - no cheating with pre-raised plants!

I kept the strawberries under a winter garden cloth all winter and most of spring until about a week ago. Perhaps this is one reason the berries are ready a few weeks early! 

 

Another screen keeps the birds off the berries. The moldy and bug-eaten berries are greedily accepted by the chickens. (Ooops, I didn't mean to talk about poultry again... Maybe I should change the blog name to reflect my obsession...)

One and one half pounds of strawberries harvested on Friday night! They did not exist for more than a few hours on the kitchen counter. Hoping for a new batch tomorrow!

Enjoy what is left of your three-day weekend! Summer has arrived, and I am ready!

Cheep, cheep!

Look at the time... the end of May already! Several posts are missing from this last month,  so hopefully this weekend will be a great time to catch up. Let's start with knitting...

Eleven eggs, two nests, and two chicks!

 Over Spring Break I became obsessed with knit eggs, which then eventually led to nests and then little chicks.

 Originally there were grand delusional plans of sending a nest filled with eggs and a chick to all nieces and nephews under a certain age. In the end, I enjoyed playing with my table decorations more than a lot...

Have you noticed that the last four posts have been all about chickens or eggs??!

Perhaps tomorrow we can focus on alpacas, gardening, yarn, etc., without slipping another poultry-related post into the mix. Ba-GAWK!

Indignation

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! The Farmer and I enjoyed our nephews and their parents as they visited for their Spring Break. This picture was a favorite of mine from today. We were dying Easter eggs this afternoon with the eggs that our chicken Athena laid. She was looking on for a while...

Can you just hear her inner dialog?

"My children! What have they done to them?!"

"I could tell they were MY eggs because they WERE white!"

"Darrell! Why did you jump off the cliff!" (To the cracked one.)

"Teen-agers! Why do they need to through the phase where they dye their shells in awkward colors?"

"Let me cuff your ears to straighten you out!" (While aggressively pecking the eggs.)

"The horror! The shock! My heart!"

"Checking the merchandise to make sure they are up to Easter Bunny expectations... YES! They pass! I rule at laying perfection!"

"Whaaaaaaaaa????!!"

"NOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooo.............."

Got Kisses?

Party time at the farm tonight! The graduate students were raising money for a school in Kenya again, by donating money and voting who should kiss one of our chickens. They all brought massive amounts of delicious foods and a lot of fun games to play. 

However, somehow the animals always steal the show:

First, alpaca admiring.

Heinrich gets some love from the students.

Last year's Kiss the Chicken candidate renews his friendship.

The Farmer/Professor himself gets to do the honors this year! One kiss for two chickens... I hope they don't feel cheated.

Ensemble cast of characters

 

More loving... Tenny and Athena are soaking up the attention, regardless of who won the contest to give the winning kisses! Come back tomorrow, will ya?!

EGG-citement!

A list of things to be excited about today:

It's Spring Break!

These nephews are coming to visit next week!

Spring flowers are starting to bloom!

I'm obsessed with this knit egg pattern.

 I plan to add a nest and some chicks as well, before it's all said and done.

Between knitting sweet nothings and accidentally picking up my favorite Harry Potter book, I am not getting as much accomplished as I had planned so far this week. But I am enjoying myself for now!

Joining with Ginny's Yarn Along today. Have a happy day!

Omelet

"Finally..." should be the name of this delightful knit. It took me a long time to knit and finish this lovely lace-y goody:

            Start date: June 15, 2012, during a sleepless night in Innsbruck, Austria

            Finish date: February 23, 2014, snowstorm raging in Indiana

            Posting date: March 31, a beautiful Spring day

The pattern is Omelet from the 2011 Summer issue of knitty.com. Yarn is left over Fiddlesticks Knitting Exuisite from THIS epic project.

I'm not sure why I thought a second lace shawl would be easier than the first. It was definitely just as taxing, especially when I had to tink back 4 rows of 300+ stitches. I should really just knit what the chart says. Some lessons are learned the hard way, over and over again!

Modeled photos will follow in another post.

Lastly, I am delighted to share that one of our chickens has recommenced laying for the season!

Omelets for all! Happy eating, happy Spring, and happy lace shawls to you!

Linking to Ginny for the Yarn Along!