Author: denisemor

Driving Miss Esther

denisemor 2 July 30, 2017

Yesterday we brought a new girl home 🙂

Her name is Esther, and she’s of CVM/Romney/Icelandic parentage- so kind of a big full-figured gal. Too much sheep for the back of the Subaru! (how I brought Dottie home last year), so we had to get out the big blue truck.

Here is Esther contemplating the ramp we rigged up to get her into the back…..

And safely loaded up.

Thankfully it wasn’t a very long trip, and we got her back out of the truck and settled at home without much fuss. She’s a sweet sheep and was a pretty good sport about the whole thing 🙂

She’s just getting her bearings in her new environment, and Dottie has been making sure she knows who is the boss out there, but I think that she’s going to be a great member of the flock, and a good buddy (she’s very people-friendly).

Welcome Esther!

Summa Summa Summatime

denisemor 2 July 23, 2017July 23, 2017

Over a month without any measurable rain.
Grass is starting to dry out, but berries are still going strong!

Already harvested my small crop of black currants and made them into jam.
Raspberries just keep coming, and blueberries are just now starting to ripen.

Baby chickens are hardly babies anymore- about 12 weeks old now, and we’re starting to get a sense of how many roosters are among the brood.

They are still really cute, and I keep hoping that a couple especially pretty (handsome?) ones are hens.
It’s pretty certain that all new roos are going to have to go- either to new homes or to the freezer.

In sheep news, the downed poplar tree is still producing some new foliage, so the feasting continues (at least when I come out and pull down some branches for them).

Branches make the sheepers so happy.

And I’m pleased to report, I officially finished the Dottie Oregon Vest!

Zipper is in and, it’s a good fit. I’m so happy with it that I’m almost looking forward to Fall and the weather cooling off 🙂

Speaking of Oregon, I was just down in Portland last week for work, and found some lovely souvenirs at the local yarn shops.

The greens seemed to be calling to me this time.

I think that they are going to turn into a Zephyr Cove shawl,

perhaps with a twist of juicy tangerine thrown in to make it pop.

Pop!

Wool in the Sunshine

denisemor 4 July 9, 2017

Just finished the Dottie Oregon vest this weekend, and she turned out great. Just needs a zipper now, and that should come in the mail in a couple of weeks.

Minor adjustments to the pattern- I added a little waist shaping, sloped the shoulders off just a bit, and widened the neck by a few stitches.

I’m really in love with the way the fabric feels. Substantial and strong, but fluffy and with a little bit of a fuzzy halo.

It’s too bad it’s too warm out now to wear it, but I’m sure it will get a lot of use once the weather turns cool this fall.

And here’s a fun little bit of splashy color to round out the week’s wool-work. Approximately 380 yards. No idea what it might eventually be. For now, it’s just fun and fruity yarn basking in the sun.

Beautiful Bales

denisemor 2 July 2, 2017

It’s seems early for second cutting local grass hay to be available, but it arrived this morning, and is just gorgeous.

I realize that it might seem weird to describe hay that way, but I tell you what- when it looks right, and feels right, and smells amazing- there’s no other way to put it.

And it should make the sheepers very happy. 🙂

In other news, I tripped and sprained my ankle at my day job, and so am a bit gimpy right at the moment. Icing and elevating the foot makes for good knitting time, though- so I’ve been making pretty steady progress on Dottie’s Oregon Vest.

It’s coming together nicely- just have to figure out what I want to do for the closures. I really like zippers in things like this, I just don’t like installing them….