Invisible Children

As I was dashing through my first caffeine hit this morning, the pieces finally fell into place. For years now, the clues have been there all along and yet somehow I failed to see. Perhaps because it's difficult to believe that which we cannot see. The only evidence of existence is subtle (or sometimes as subtle as an atom bomb) change. I can't really say why this dawning is so slow in coming, only that it is come.

I have two other children. The only information that I have of them is their names and the change that they create. From the information and clues that have been left, I believe that they are twins (one of each). Their ages, place of birth, etc are all unknown. So without further ado, I will introduce them to you.

Nautmi and Idano.

My other 5 have been fully aware of them for some years now, I can't say why no one really clarified this point to me.

"Who left the lego mine field in the hallway?"

"Idano."

"Who left the peanut butter mess on the counter?"

"Nautmi."

"How did that sweater and hanger get 20 ft up that tree?"

"Nautmi."

"Why is it up there?"

"Idano."

(Now I'm not sure why Idano wanted that sweater and hanger up in the tree like that, or how Nautmi got it there or looking for all the world like it belonged there, but I would really appreciate an explanation....took me forever to undo their work!)

I also realized, I really can't be too hard on them for causing such mischief and mayhem in the house. No birthday cakes, no Christmas presents. I'd raise a little cane too if I were them! They're highly intelligent, of that I'm sure. It takes quite a feat of engineering to get a wad of wet toilet paper that probably weighs a 1/2 lb to defy gravity and stick to the bathroom ceiling like that! You'd need just the right force and momentum. Too much and it splatters, not enough and it will simply fall to the ground again.

The one that neither Justin nor I have been able to figure out was how they managed to get the Winnie The Pooh figure THAT far down into the toilet S. It took all our strength and cunning to get it out again. You really need to admire feats like that.

They play well with the other children, have good appetites, good hygiene practices and really are the quietest of the bunch, albeit a little messy. So all in all, we proceed as normal. It does feel good to have this settled though.

(Don't worry, I've been concerned as well about my sanity for some time now. ;)

Do you think the hubby and children would think I've completely lost if I asked them to tell Nautmi or Idano to come see me so we could discuss their misbehavior?)

Animal Cornucopia

We're getting fairly varied (say that 10 times fast) these days in the animal department. The farm cycle is running very well, now it's down to fine tuning for optimum performance. I hadn't really thought of all the critters that come around that aren't part of your standard idea of a farm, until this morning that is.

This winter brought a little mouse to the barn. Why do I mention the mouse? Well because for about a week, he'd pop his head out of the hole and get a milk squirt or two...thus Milk Mouse. Do I really know if it's the same mouse, have no idea....but it's Milk Mouse and probably always will be. I hadn't seen MM for some time and figured Fluffy had, had herself a nice milk raised mouse for dinner. Come this morning...MM shows up, gets a couple drops of milk and is off running back to it's hole. There's a nice smile in the morning (I realize it's a rodent, but I like mice, not rats, mice...and not in the house, I realize I'm being picky). Milking finds it's rhythm, Amy starts dozing, calf is snarfing for any missed bits of grain. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a bird staring at me. I peek under the boards and there's a couple of birds scratching around to see what there is to see. MM comes out to see what's afoot and starts doing the same. So there I sit, with a barn full of critters, wild and domestic, on a warm, sunny morning...just enjoying the show.

You have to love moments like that.

Natural Beauty

I have an affinity for naturally colored wool and fiber. While adding color and the dyeing process is very enjoyable, the natural colors have a beauty all their own. If I wanted to analyze this, I can probably trace this back to the fact that my first fleece was a Jacob. On a recent rabbit excursion, some wool (sans sheep) managed to jump in the Suburban and come home with me! One woman willing to travel, one woman with a generous spirit and enough cargo space to accommodate has started my Private Reserve.

That ostentatious title is how I'm tricking my brain into being okay with not giving it all away. So, shhh, so far it's working. Aside from the color, there's a nice new range of breeds I haven't spun before. This will in turn help me decide which direction to go with animals....should I choose to accept the mission (hmmmm...what do you think?)

Back to the wool that followed me home. 100% fun.

I can't be certain, but I'm pretty sure this is from a sheep named Jill. This was an introduction to spinning in the grease.

Igor

Shetland

It's a family tradition to have issues with chocolate....so I'll blame it on genetics. He's next on the play list...I think.

Huck

Montadale cross/Jacob

I'm biased, I'll admit it. It's a first love thing.

I spent almost 2 weeks basking in the heathery pleasure of this wool. My free time was dedicated to it.

Carded (there was a wool explosion in the kitchen while I accomplished this) and turned into roving.

All spun up! This just tickles me. There's the color for one, but it's bulky weight. I spun fat yarn that isn't going to take a lifetime to work up into a sweater. It came out pure sproing and squoosh.

May Day!

Bad, bad me for not keeping up with the blog. In playing the catch up game, I'm splitting it up into a couple of entries.

May Day!

I can't believe it's here already! Spring has arrived in all it's green and color. Garden beds are ready for planting when the time comes. Amy is back out on pasture and the steer is weaned.

Recap start:

I was able to get some gifts knitted this year with some of the handspun I've done. These two scarves are a pattern called Column of Leaves, the top was for Great-grandma Weigel, the next for my mom.

Christmas also started off a tad early, 5 am to be exact, due to a vocal little puppy. Jager is a red Golden Retriever....who retrieves very well, whether you want him to or not.

After a fun and food filled Christmas Day.

Seamus was less than pleased for a time, but figured out we don't love him any less...even if he has a stinky ear.

Amy decided to play ping pong with her abomasum again and we ended up having to tack it down surgically. She's now giving 4-5 gallons of milk a day, we're happy, pig is happy, chickens are happy...calf is unhappy that he was cut off.

January also brought the rebirth of the green Suburban and a conga line of trips to the car doctor. You know you've been spending too much time there when they start giving you price breaks out of sympathy. It's a place best left unexplored if at all possible.

It also brought Lars's birthday and mine. His last pre-teen year, I'm going to ignore the ever present shadow camped out under his nose...for one more year.

He's having a great year, has a teacher that likes to play Big Band during study times in class. Sweet!

March brought the death of my dryer. It had a good run, but did not go out quietly...it sounded possessed. So we have a pretty new dryer, that has no idea of the endless toil it's been sold into.

I'm being sent to retrieve caffine, so it's a good time to wrap this up for now!

Last of the births for a while

Amy calved this morning! One little bull calf. So her record to date is bulls-3, heifers-0. Lars was the lucky one to bring the news, she'd calved just before he dropped the morning feed. Dang he's cute, he's also destined for the freezer. He's been out exploring, trying to romp and keeping Mama busy....I guess somethings never really change. Amy's proving to be a good mom, with the way she kept those two steers groomed we weren't too worried about it, but you never know. So, here we go! My year is starting a month early, whether I'm ready or not. I was sitting the other day thinking it's kind of like being excited about someone dumping a pile of paperwork in front of you and going crazy with anticipation. Another reason that I question my sanity on a regular basis. Yep, I do it every Spring with the garden....oh yay! Can't wait to get it all planted so that I can stand over a steaming canner while it's 105 out with no a/c and firmly convinced that winter can't get here soon enough.

.....................................yeeeaahhh...................

This morning was filled with the flurry of our first calf, I'm not sure where the afternoon flew off to, probably somewhere less chaotic. So this evening was catching up on the Christmas baking (I learned a few years ago not to start this too soon). My first couple of batches of gingerbread disappeared mysteriously within 2 days. Amazing, there must be a gingerbread vortex somewhere in the kitchen. So I was off to get dinner in front of the masses and bake. I still have "one" batch left, but I now have 100+ gingerbread men sitting on my counter. Yes, I counted, I'm also keeping track of the how many have been authorized to report to duty. Phase 1 is almost complete, but I ran out of steam. Phases 2-4 will begin tomorrow and continue on through the afternoon. That should have me well placed for the end of the week, provided I can fend them all back for a couple of days.

How time flies

I do think about getting posts to the blog, really. Life keeps getting in the way, pesky life.

So what's new around the farm? Cold. It's cold. We've warmed up last night to a balmy 6 for the day's low, I think it got up to 24 yesterday afternoon. There's a slight dusting of snow, so I'm enjoying that....of course more would be nice (hopefully the powers that be are listening). Yes, I know that winter hasn't even officially arrived, but Christmas falls just a mere 4 days after said "official" date and I do love a white Christmas. Besides, if I'm going to become a living icicle it would be nice to have Cousin Snow to hang out with.

All the animals have been heat lamped, tucked in deep straw, tank heatered all the fun of the wintertime that comes with living here. The young rabbits are now all weaned, moms are getting a winter break. I have fingers crossed for baby Angoras this next week. Amy is bagging up, so there will be a calf soon.

Christmas decorations have been up for some time, still a few to finish but all will be in place for the holiday. I finished a couple of outside projects this last week, so now it's time to settle into the house and start baking. Oh yum!

Justin has been in New Mexico for the last couple of weeks for training, will be nice to have him home soon.

There's the news, time to stoke the fire and get the day in full gear. Maybe today I can foil the pigs so there's no out of pen romping...maybe...

Sickness and such

It's got to be flu if Leif sleeps all day and I lay there not operating knitting needles. I dislike sick, but it does give me time to be crafty....I abhor sick if all I can do is lay there. None the less that's pretty much how I spent my time, that and checking Leif's fever. I do wonder though, if you're running a fever, can you reliably check someone else for a fever?

*If you're wondering where the thermometer is, cause that would make sense, join the club. It beeps you see and said above sick child gains endless amusement from making it beep while healthy and feverless....which of course means an issue arises when he is sick and with fever.*

Luckily, Justin was able to take that first day off and part of the second to oversee the household. Of course he'd had a run with some kind of creeping crud the week before. Although his was more of a hit you over the head and drop you to your knees kind of crud, didn't really creep up on him at all.

Now I'm just waiting for the rest of them to fall. It's going to happen, it's just a matter of when and this season is like some kind of sick and twisted pick a path for illness. There all manner of sickness, all of which I'd rather avoid but they seem to be very vigorous.

Rabbit trail: I loved those Pick-a-path books when I was a kid! They were fantastic, since you could read the same book and have a different story line each time. Can't find them, I've looked. I would love to get some for the kids though.

Well the beef and goats are in the freezer. No more Boyos for the moment. A word to the wise, be careful about what you use to call the bovines in with. If feels odd to have to call "Hey Boyo" to a cow.

Very tasty. The kids really enjoyed the goat, wasn't sure about that one. There's pepperoni cooking at the butcher now, so we'll have 25lbs of goat-a-roni soon as well.

I have more yarn spun up, playing with dyeing, some I'm liking more than others. Life threw a curve so I haven't gotten my shop up and running as soon as I'd have liked but I'll get there. I'm also trying to knit up socks and holiday stuff....oh the life of the insane.

Still haven't butchered the chickens, you have to admire my procrastination technique on this one though. I'm fairly sure I've out done myself with this one. I'll be canning them, now that's going to be great to have my own home-canned "dump and cook" in the pantry! Beef is on the list as well, figure I'll just settle in and pick a week to can meat...at which time I'll butcher the chickens...makes sense.....right? I could in theory stretch this out another few weeks since it would make sense to butcher when there's rabbit to can as well. Yes I've thought of that, no I probably won't do that.

Well....I'm not planning on it at the moment.