Peepers 2.0

We got a new chicken house from a neighbor a few weeks ago (crazy story of getting it to the house), and felt compelled to get some new birds.



Introducing Thanks and Giving, the new turkey chicks.



They are adorable, with the softest, highest pitch peeps you can imagine. So cute!



Yesterday was the first day they were allowed to be outside. They sat in one place for nearly two hours before they started to move around. I think they enjoyed themselves once they got over their skittishness. Here's looking forward to a summer of fun bird watching!

Camelid Collection

End-of-year thank you notes and gifts made their way to my desk the last few weeks.

There were quite a few handmade alpaca cards and a llama drinking bottle in the mix. So thoughtful of my students to remember my passion for these animals and so polite to write heartfelt messages! And a good reminder to me that creating and writing notes of appreciation completely make someone’s day. I am starting my summer with that lesson and returning some personal emails. Letters to follow!
Happy Writing!

Washcloth Factory

It’s Yarn Along Day! Check other crafty goodness out here: http://www.gsheller.com/2018/06/yarn-along-june.html 

Let’s start with the reading, which was featured in January as well. I am actually going to through-hike the 58-mile-long Knobstone Trail this week! Just a little reading to brush up on the details before I leave early tomorrow morning. I am beyond excited!!! Woohoo!

I’ve been wanting some mindless knitting and needing some quick end-of-school thank you gifts for the secretaries. Washcloths to the rescue. Now I can’t stop, though, so if you know someone who needs a washcloth, message me!

This is the little gift combo I came up with for some important secretaries: reuse cute pails that a student gifted me cookies in with a handmade washcloth, some organic handcrafted soap, and a thank you note.

Happy Summer and enjoy your crafting!

Shearing 2018

Every shearing day is unique. Unfortunately this year no one was home to see it happen. The Farmer had to hood a graduating doctoral candidate, and I had State Orchestra Finals, both pretty important reasons to miss.

The animals were sleek and skinny when we arrived home and there was plenty of fleece for processing in spite of the reduced herd size. All of us are ready for summer!!

Next up: GARDENING!

Athena with Egg #1

There was snow and ice this week, but Spring is right around the corner! The proof is that Athena laid EGG #1 of the season yesterday, a stunning first for this reluctant layer hen. Our other chicken, Heinrich, is still molting, which she started in January this year: oddly late.

Anyway, my iPhone died a pitiful death on Wednesday, and my replacement iPhone is not completely decked out with all of my apps yet, so I'll post the picture of the egg some other day. Just wanted to document the first egg of the season, as I do every year.

Happy Day to All!

Nice Rug!

It's Yarn Along day at Ginny's blog, so I decided to keep my monthly streak of posts going. Do go see what all the other crafty people are making (and reading) this month by clicking here.

After finishing my baby watermelon dress last month, I also just finished an ultra chunky rug out of our homegrown Suri alpaca rug yarn. My cat immediately found it, and he looks very possessive here. My Ravelry notes are here.

These rugs are soooo comfy to stand on while brushing teeth or perhaps cooking in the kitchen. I made my husband one last year, and it is holding up well and is a treat for weary feet at the end of a day.

I'm not sure what to work on next... I have a few knitting projects that are in the "deep winter" category and need finishing. I might be ready to do a lighter cardigan, like Amiga, though. My reading at this point in the year is strictly in the musical score department. My school is doing "The Little Mermaid" in May and I get to conduct the pit orchestra this year! Woohoo! So much work, but so much fun!

In other news, some early Spring flowers are starting to pop up in the yard. I'm not sure we're finished with snow and cold, but it sure is delightful to spot bright colors amidst all the grey and brown again!

Have a wonderful month, and see you all next time!

Celebrating Dreams Coming True

I had some friends welcome a long-awaited baby recently, so of course I had to help them celebrate with some adorable hand knits and my favorite book, Mole Music! Here's to many happy years of family life to them!

Notes to my second watermelon dress are here. I got the watermelon bloomers from a shop called "cureasme" on Etsy. I'm thinking about making more alpaca greeting cards as well. They are so fun to send to friends. 

Have a great day!