Spinning, Touring, Fleece & Flowers

If you are a fiber person, especially if you like to spin and are on the internet at all, you have probably already heard of the "Tour de Fleece" - basically people around the world join together to spin during the Tour de France bicycling event and challenge themselves to spin in various ways (and possibly even earn prizes).  I don't go overboard in joining groups to do this because I don't have the time to spend on the computer.  But I do like to spin along, its nice to have a goal, and this year I am playing along with two of my favorite Ravelry groups - Knitters Book of Wool and Ennea Collective.  I am even contributing a prize!

I've been really good about staying on task this year!  I decided that I wanted to commit to spinning every day of the "tour", at least ten minutes.  I decided that I wanted to focus on spinning my own fibers from here at the farm (Corriedale) and that my goal was to spin yarn for a specific project - in this case Anne's lovely Currach Stole from the April 2011 edition of Ennea.  I've had my eye on this pattern since its release because I thought it would be a lovely way to showcase the variety of Corriedale colors we have in our flock.  I originally thought I would wash, hand comb and then spin Ainsley's multi color fleece:

Ainsley's fleece has pale grey, charcoal grey and smokey brown colors plus is very soft and fine

But a troublesome arm and shoulder did away with that idea and I decided instead to spin from rovings I already had in natural colors.  A call from my friend Pat to see if I could get away for a night at the lakeside cottage gave me a perfect place to start the tour!  Peaceful, pretty, quiet and with only four of us there (all spinners and knitters) I knew I would easily be on my way to success!

Haha ~ I was also easily sidetracked ;)  I loaded up all of my pretty natural color rovings and my wheel, then at the last minute threw in a small amount of dyed Corriedale top that had been sitting around just because I wanted to turn it into something and get it out of my spinning basket.  Add to that a jeweled tone of Coopworth/Silk roving called "Leopard Frog" from Carol's Hidden Valley Woolen Mill (Carol is our hostess at the cabin) and I was off and spinning the two fibers together!  Spinning Day 1 and 2 of the Tour resulted in the yarn you see pictured at the opening of this post.  Here is another "in progress" photo ~

When all was said and done, I have about 220 yards of 2-ply Corriedale-Coopworth-Silk yarn, spun and plyed on my Louet S-45 wheel.

We returned home on the fourth of July, the third day of the TDF, and I returned to my planned spinning, the natural colored Corriedale.  I had weighed out one ounce bumps of each, and found that I could spin half an ounce in the ten to fifteen minutes per day I was challanging myself to.  Then in the evenings I could ply and keep myself quite consistent.  I am spinning this yarn on the Louet S-17, aiming for a yarn that is something like a Cascade 220.  I'm pretty close, although Corriedale does "pouf" when washed!

Anyway, enough talking - how about another finished yarn photo?  Here are the first skeins, pictured with their rovings...From left to right, the white includes wool from Charlotte, Autry, Amanda and other white sheep in our flock.  The silvery grey is from some of the "Verlee Corriedales" - Violet, Bree and Eve; the smokey charcoal grey is mostly Carson and his sister Carley while the rich brown is Colette and her daughter Elizabeth.  Anne's pattern was made with three different colors of wool, but I wanted to use these four.  This is going to be a warm and snuggly wrap!  I'm having to sit on my hands to keep from picking up the needles and pattern and start knitting, when I know I need to keep spinning - although I have nearly convinced myself that I should do a small swatch to be sure the yarn is a good match, LOL!

I've been spinning mostly in the early mornings, sitting on the back porch while the air is still cool.  This is also the perfect time for some morning prayers and devotions!  I am surrounded by the farm - all I have to do is look around me and see scenes like this from the flower beds ~

I can look to my left and see this bed of daylilies, Asiatic lilies, purple spiderwort and fading lavender.  The Oriental lilies and tall phlox will open soon!

Maybe tomorrow I can show you some more of the flowers in bloom, but for now I'll end this post.  The spinning wheel is calling me!

Farm Fresh

Taken in June, snippets from around the garden and farm ~

The berries are now finished and the broccoli is huge.  Arugula and lettuce underplanted and now consumed ;)  The chives and basil are a constant source of goodness and so are the eggs.  The green ones, by the way, are duck eggs!

You didn't think I was going to show you a picture from the part of the garden where the weeds are threatening to overtake the potatoes did you?  LOL....

The other thing we are enjoying fresh from our farm is lamb (grilling a lot lately) and the first of our recently butchered chickens. 

Now, when did July arrive?!?

Making Hay, Part 3

Be sure to read Making Hay Part 1 and Part 2!

We had some special overnight guests during the haying session ~

Our special Percheron horse guests!

It was good to have horses in the front pasture again.  After a good, cool nights rest the horses were ready for the new day to begin.  I was even able to help brush them down before harnessing ~ what a treat!

The next set of pictures was taken in the afternoon at the Burnham Farm side of our property, to the east of where our house is.  I tried to get a picture of the horses with the Round House in the background but never did.  The barn does a pretty good job of filling in though ~

This picture was taken from our daughters yard, it's next to one of the hay fields

I was kind of sad when the horses went home, I miss having them sometimes.  I know that Bill does and he spent a lot of time outside watching these four work while they were here.  I hope they come again!

The final hay field at the Burnham Farm.  This is made into square bales, over 1,000 bales from this small field alone!

On the last day, after all of the hay was baled, it started to rain.  Some of the wagons were still in the field but only got slightly damp.  Ours came into the barn fifteen minutes after the rain started, so we threw the top bales off to the side, spaced apart so air could get to them.

It's beautiful hay, our thanks to the farmer who makes it for us now!  On Fathers Day our son-in-law, our boy Alex and our eight year old grandson unloaded the wagon and stacked the bales in the west mow, ready for winter feeding.  I couldn't help but think how blessed we are.  We don't take that for granted, believe me!  I keep thinking about friends I know of who didn't have luck getting their hay up this spring - we have been there ourselves before and will be again sometime I'm sure.  It is the way of farming.

I first started writing these hay posts in early June.  I finally started getting them posted on the first day of summer, LOL!  It's been raining for the past four days, but I'm glad to say that the sun is out in full force this morning and with the moisture in the ground and this good sunshine we look forward to the hay fields growing in preparation for a second cutting of hay.

Taking A Day Trip

To nearby Maple Valley Farms for a Farmgirl Frolic! 

Cottage window charm at Maple Valley Farms Cottage

With the hay finished here on this side of the farm, the farmer who partners with us made the wise decision to wait on cutting the other farm because it rained for two days.  I hesitated when Angie made the invitation, but my dear husband thought I should go ~ and I'm so glad that I did!  A small group of us made our way to a flea market and then shared good food and fellowship at The Cottage.  It was so good to see Homemaker Ang after the long winter (if you have never visited before, be sure to check out her amazing family farm blog at the link above!)

These were my flea market finds/purchases - a set of wooden platters with the flower detail you see above (a set of four for $2 and the vendor threw in a second set for no extra charge - I didn't even have to ask, LOL!) plus a lovely new Martha Washington geranium and several scented geraniums as well.

A very good day.  Thank you Angie ;)

Making Hay, Part 2

This next picture (below) was taken in May, looking north from the house across the sheep pasture.  The sheep pasture is the one with the yellow dandelions blooming.  Can you see the bright green beyond the fence on the left of the photo?  That is a new seeding field of alfalfa.  To the right, in front of the woods, is an older meadow that is cut just once in the spring.  After that it becomes pasture for the sheep.  It is a sheep smorgasbord of grass mixes, timothy, alfalfa, June clover and Birdsfoot trefoil.  Sheep love it and so do deer and wild turkeys ~

Cutting the hay started the first full week of June with this field.  Conditions were perfect - dry, bright sunshine and a warm breeze with low humidity.  The hay was cut, raked, cured and baled by Wednesday evening.  Most of the big round bales were even moved off the field before the rains began that night!

Four Percheron horses pulling a large motor on a cart in front of the round baler

This picture gives you a better idea of the order of things.  The teamster, Chester, sits next to the motor and drives the horses.  Here the round baler is kicking out a finished bale

In  days past, my husband might have raked the hay with young horses he was training.  It is fairly easy work yet gets the horses tired enough to learn to walk quietly and appreciate the chance to stand still and rest at the end of the rows.   He can't work horses any more, so this hay was turned with a tractor and rake before our friends came with the horses and outfit you see pictured above to finish with the baling.

An old horse drawn hay rake, this one used for parts but no longer needed and parked along the woods edge

That took care of the hay fields on this side of the woods.  In Part 3, I'll show you baling from the Burnham Farm fields.

Making Hay, Part 1

If you're involved in raising livestock in any way, then you know that of course you have to feed them.  And if you live where there is winter weather, then part of the year that will mean feeding hay (grasses cut, cured and put up for animal feed). 

You either purchase your hay or you produce it yourself.  Sometimes that includes not just raising the crop on your farm but also having the equipment and manpower needed to cut the hay; rake the hay (turn it over and let the sunshine cure it till dry); make the hay into bales to store through the winter (either big round bales or small square bales); wagons to haul the hay and then a barn or shed to store it until needed.  Equipment can be tractors and machines, like in the picture below (that's quite an array of mechanical horsepower parked in our front yard!) ~

or the original horsepower (draft animals) and implements ~

Four Percheron horses at the hitching post, getting ready for noon break

Sometimes you have a combination of both!  That was the case for the 2011 hay season at our farm, and what a joy this was. 

Here at Serenity Farms the majority of our farm is pasture land for seasonal grazing and hay ground, with some acreage rented out for row crops (usually corn and soybeans, sometimes wheat or spelts)  As a farm raising livestock, haying time is pretty intense!  And it doesn't end with just getting the hay put up in the barn, there are also decisions like "how much" to put up.  You want to be sure you have enough to last through the winter months and just like everything else on the farm that is related to weather, how early winter comes and how long it lasts until  you can get animals back out on spring pasture will effect that decision.  I am pretty obsessive about how much hay we have in the barn for winter - I always want to much!  This year, we cut it pretty close - here is what the hay mow looked like when we first started turning the sheep out on grass ~

The spelt straw (golden yellow on the left of the photo is in good order) but the hay (bright green to the right) was cutting it pretty close - only about 25 bales left at the start of grass season!  Whew, I was stressing a bit ;)

Hay has been a part of my life as long as I can remember, and even the parts that I can't ((grin)).  I grew up in a haying family, and even when Mom and Dad didn't have a farm my grandparents and uncles did, and Dad worked with them.  I married into a haying family - my husband had this farm already set up for hay production when I came along ;)  We don't have our own equipment anymore for various reasons (health and circumstance) but we do have the hay ground and now it's put up "on shares" - where a farmer who does have the equipment makes all of the hay and we get our portion as part of the rent of the land.

Trust me, this does not take the stress of hay season away completely, LOL!

I'd like to share a few photos with you of the first cutting hay making (there will be a second cutting, and hopefully even a third) and I hope you enjoy them, and maybe  understand and appreciate that this isn't just a group of serene, pastoral farm photos but a glimpse of the toil and sweat and hard, hard work in some of the most extreme weather that farmers go through to produce a good crop.  The other key ingredient is the weather, and God is in charge of that.  Some years we get it made just right, some years not.  We have had our share of both, and are grateful that this year it was perfect.

I'll do this in three parts, mostly with pictures and not so many words, so it will be easier for you to view.  This is Part 1.

Farm Kids

Kids ~ Grandkids ~ Farm Kids!



Yes this skinny girl is my child, mother to these two boys!  I was that skinny once, too, a long time ago ;)





Wonder...



Boots with shorts is perfectly acceptable farm fashion

I love this last picture so much, it almost makes my heart hurt....8 years old and 4 years old, brothers though not exactly friends at this stage, headed out on an adventure with Grandma (me).  I just want to capture this image and hold it in my heart forever!

Farm Flowers

Photos taken from around the farm and fields over the past few weeks ~

From woods edge (below) and a hybrid Iris (above) ~

From herb and flower beds ~

An old rose, full of bloom and fragrance (above) ~

 And from the Burnham Farm, the old fashioned Mock Orange bush and our daughters flower bed ~

What has been your favorite blossom this spring?

Fluffy Sheep Clouds

Tomorrow, these two handsome guys (Ted Collins on the left, Derek on the right) will lose those fluffy wool sweaters they are wearing when they are shorn in the morning.  Just in time, I would say, both by looking at how shaggy they are starting to get and also because our temperatures rocketed to 92 degrees with high humidity today!

We sheared the ewes in March, before lambing, but left the rams with their wool as they live outside of the big barn with only a 3-sided shelter.  Plenty for a sheep in full fleece, but a little cold and wet for a "naked" sheep ;)  We no longer coat our rams.  Over the years they have managed to destoy any brand of coat we put on them, and tangle themselves and each other before they do.  I know that other shepherds get by just fine coating the rams, but we don't and I have given up trying to change it.  Life is just easier for me (and I guess them) this way!  Before they go back out to pasture they will get wormed, vaccinated and hopefully hoof trimming if they need it.  I say hopefully because neither of these guys care to have this done.

We had a heavy rain move through tonight.  Luckily, my daughter had been here to help me get the rams shut in the barn so they would be dry when Dave, our shearer, gets here in the morning.  Unlike so many other showers lately that only seem to bring more oppressive heat when finished, this was more of a "normal" spring rain that brought a cool, breezy relief when it passed out of the area.  I just came in from outdoors and could have easily been convinced to stay out!  It is cool and no bugs or humidity.  The earth smells so fresh and mingled with that rain washed fragrance is the smell of lily of the valley and iris.

If it had not been already getting dark, I would have tried to get a picture of a cloud that hurried by in the northern sky.  It looked for all the world like a sheep head!  I stood and watched in amazement while it blew over the pasture and woods.  I came in thinking of the words to "How Great Thou Are".

Sleeping will be a lot better tonight than it was last night.  And tomorrow night it will be a lot better for the rams ;)

We Really Do Have Lambs...

I thought you might be waiting for proof (grin)~

These are, from top to bottom, Carley's lambs Hayley (black ewe) and Holden (white ram); Amanda's twin ewes, Hannah and Heather; Sarah's ewe Helen (remember baby Helen, born back in February?) and then Dawn's wildly colored ewe lamb Hilda (named after a shepherd mentor and friend). These are just a few of the flock that I was able to snap pictures of this past week. Here are two more:

LOL...don't adjust your monitor, Serenity Farms has not switched breeds! The ewe pictured above is Izzie. She is an Icelandic-Hampshire cross ewe. She came to us as a yearling and is a very efficient sheep. Her sire was a stunning registerd polled moorit Icelandic ram from Orchard Hill Fleece Farm, her dam was a registered Hampshire ewe. Izzie's first lamb last year from our Corriedale ram looked like any other speckle face, commercial cross sheep. This year's lambs, also from our Corriedale ram, threw back to the Icelandic genetics in a big way. These guys are fine boned, fast growing, with wavy fleece that appears to be dark moorit on one and black on the other. One of them (the one I think is moorit) has very small tear drop shaped patches under his eyes and a bit of shading around his muzzle. They are both wethered and their names are Hoot and Holler ;)

We are still waiting on a few young ewes to lamb, first timers, then we are done for the year. Overall, we are very pleased with the quality and vigor of the lambs from our new registered Corriedale ram "Ted Collins". I'll end this post with a picture of him back on an earlier, woolier, wintery day (he is the white fellow peering into the camera):