A Rooster Stolen

Well, not really a rooster, but a portrait of one -

Here is the link to Kat's Blog entry about her painting -

http://artzkat.wordpress.com/2008/07/17/its-been-a-while/



Andrea

Farmer's Market is FUN!

Yah, you heard me right - dragging an ez-up tent and cinder blocks around can be fun!

Well, thankfully, I have my dad (pictured here) doing the dragging for the most part ;-) But I'm meeting a bunch of folks up at the Berkeley Springs Farmer's Market (I'm there on Thursdays 2-5) - selling eggs, lamb and yarn - and my mom's really cool stuff made WITH my yarn!

You can check out the information on the market - http://www.berkeleyspringsfarmersmarket.com

Or just come and visit me ;-) and shop a bit! I'll be the one wearing the shirt with the infamous rooster! (More about a STOLEN rooster art piece next blog entry)

Spinning madness

When I started with sheep, I decided I wanted a wool breed (Black Welsh Mountain) - but I don't knit, crochet, hook, you name it - fiber arts were a deep unknown.

Last October, I walked into a fiber shop in Berkeley Springs - The Fiber Collage, and met Linda Lawhorne - and started taking spinning lessons. Now I'm hooked, err, spun? wrapped? warped? (no that would be weaving...)

I spin primarily on a drop spindle, portable, takes up very little space and always handy. I prefer to spin naturally colored wools, and am working my way through the breeds to try just a bit of everything! I have even gone as far as processing my own wool at home (from sheep, to washing, to carding, to spindle) into yarn that I will be selling at Farmer's Market later this month.

I entered two hanks of yarn in the skein competitions at Maryland Sheep and Wool - and both ribboned!

These are both primarily Black Welsh Mountain lamb fleeces that I hand carded with other purchased (but hand dyed by artisan) fleeces - I'll be recreating the first placed ribbon blend for some sale yarn!

At the farm we are now experiencing record high heat, so I've turned up the A/C and have been spending a lot of time spinning. Will have pictures to post soon, and links to the fiber shops I'm finding around here!


Andrea

A logo, A logo!

Finally! We have a logo!

Doesn't seem like a big deal, but I've been struggling, or shall we say, been having an 'identity' crisis for about a year now.

Goat page has Amos and Andy, the farm has featured Chloe on the back hill. Great when I was just doing informational/resource and promotion. Now I'm selling stuff. And lots of different stuff.

So the question was, how do I represent everything I'm producing (lamb, yarn, eggs, pork, goat, website design) all in one logo?

HA!

We use a ROOSTER!

Thanks to my very talented neighbor...
we have Rowdy the Roo (well, a modern representation thereof)...struttin' his stuff...


More on where we are selling our products soon!

It followed me home, dear!

I've been researching and contemplating the implementation of a 'mule flock' here at the farm for about two years. Last October, at the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival, I met two wonderful ladies who are passionate about their Leicesters. Cathie Cody at Wit's End Farm, and Kelly Mansfield at Spring Breeze.

Since Kelly is right down the road from me, I took a trip on Tuesday to 'see what she had'. Specifically to put a down payment on a yearling she had available that I thought would be 'it'. I met the lambs and the yearling. Now don't get me wrong, he's incredible. His fleece is like SILK. His pedigree includes new lines from the UK that most breeders would go miles for. But then there was 'Titanium'. SIGH.

I'm not into white sheep. But the Blue Faced Leicesters are, well, not entirely 'white'. Their faces are blue! Well, Titanium IS BLUE! His fleece! Now of course, Kelly will probably move into the barn with the sheep before she'd consider selling the boy, and I'd have to off a few other breeders (including the lovely Miss Cathy!) to get a hold of him...

So I 'settled' for



one of his sons ;-)

I went for the length, since I'll be breeding him with my Black Welsh, a smaller hill breed. But his fleece is gorgeous, he has presence, and great growth.

Kudos to Kelly on a beautiful batch of lambs. I wish I had more time and money, or I'd have quite a few more here!

Cub Scout Bluebird House Project on the farm

I am very thankful to Amanda and her Pack 120 of Hedgesville! Her boys dressed up our farm last week while providing secure nesting spots for bluebirds. Sustaining the habitat of the Eastern Bluebirds is a priority here, as they originally suffered a huge decline in the 70s. This beautiful chattery bird helps control the mosquito population (we have a pond right next to our house) and is a welcome sign of spring.

Not a day after the houses went up - I spotted a prospective resident!

More pictures will be added to the photo album as I have time.


Happy birdwatching!

Andrea

Catching up

Well, it's not as if I didn't have any profound thoughts to express this past winter - it was just that I was pretty busy.

Best laid plans failed - we ended up with a group winter kidding. From December 20th through January 2nd, my does gave us 14 kids. This year the bucks will be REMOVED from the fields and locked up with padlocks after August! I truly thought everyone was bred, so I let them run with their boys. Silly me. Don't I realize after 3 years that goats don't read your planners!

I'll leave you with a different kind of baby - Born a week ago here. He's our first lamb this year.