Author: denisemor

Just a few snaps of the homestead as the sun sets on a lovely weekend-

Wool work will resume shortly, once our cloud cover returns 🙂

Yeah, I can dig it, man.

But it wears me out more that it used to. Whew!

No footage of the digging, and the subsequent soil sifting and rock hauling. While necessary, it is not a particularly photogenic activity. And we’re anxious to put that behind us. So lets skip to the planting!

So far, I’ve got cucumbers, melons, okra, and two kinds of tomatoes in the ground in the hoophouse. The tomato varieties are Cherokee Purple and Super Beefsteak, both of which I traded for. They are the only ones I’m growing in cages. Everyone else will be trellised.

Also potted up a bunch of herbs- some grown from seed (Basil, oregano, cilantro) and others acquired in swaps (lemon verbena, rosemary, savory).

Still have to decide where these little roses grown from seed last year will be planted.

But they are shaping up nicely- in fact the larger is on the verge of blooming!

Such promise in a bud. 🙂

Have a great week everyone!

Took part in a garden swap event this afternoon over in Alger-

and found homes for a bunch of extra seedlings. In exchange I got bunch of other cool stuff- rosemary, lemon verbena, wild bergamot, bee balm, echinacea, shasta daisies, golden hops, calendula, and some beefsteak tomatoes. So that was awesome. Nice that it was good weather for the outside event.

Some shots from around the garden-

And in wool news, I’m planning another sweater vest for my friend The Shepherd, of Marietta Shetlands. So, getting to know the yarn, and swatching to find the right gauge for the project

The lighter yarn above is for the vest. First one I did (on the right) on size 5 needles, second one (top) size 6. Think I like the feel of the second one a little better. So now it’s time to do the math and get this baby cast on.

But what is that other pretty little swatch? the smaller gauge on in the rich brown? That is a sample of a fleecy treat that I acquired as a prepayment for the vest project. Just couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. Really beautiful stuff from a sheep named Cali.

I know. Like I don’t have enough wool. 😉

Tiny chickens transitioned to new living quarters this week! They are now out in the shed with the big chigs- though they have a separate area set up with their baby food that the grownups can’t get into. They seem to be adjusting well, and sticking together, so that’s cool.

First night they made some questionable decisions about where to sleep, but they are figuring things out now and mostly keeping out of trouble-

And on the sheep side, I made more shearing progress on Saturday-

Daphne was surprisingly cooperative, and I was able to get her tidied up quite nicely. But Dottie and Felix weren’t really into it. I got halfway done with Dottie and only about 1/3 through Felix, but at least they are started. For me the neck and chest is always the trickiest bit, so it’s good to have that part done on each of them.

And here is a cute photo that The Man took of Fiona this weekend-

So sweet. You’d never guess from this photo what a crazy little bugger she is. 🙂

Have good week everyone!