Tag: Dottie

Just a Little Off the Top, Please

denisemor 2 April 9, 2018

The most unlikely of walk-in customers approached me this evening about getting a little trim

Yep, that’s Dottie.
Last year she was a bit of a handful at shearing time. Bucking bronco/jumping bean type of thing.
But this year she was all about getting rid of that heavy coat so I could give her some good scritches 🙂

I wasn’t really prepared for the shearing, and so didn’t have anything on hand to put the wool in as it was coming off- so I just stuffed it in my jacket as I went. Here is me afterwards-

And here is Dot with her partial haircut

Lookin’ pretty sporty, girl!

Pretending it’s Spring

denisemor 2 February 11, 2018

The sun is shining, the air is fresh, and spirits are high out in the pasture today.

Frank even came out of his shell a bit

Amazing what some sunshine and “falfers” (alfalfa pellets) can do 🙂

For as wet as it’s been, I was pleasantly surprised that Dottie doesn’t seem too felted

I got a little bit of quality time with her and Chone , who is sporting a mighty nice-looking fleece himself

Esther’s fleece looks kind of messy on the outside (tips are pretty weathered, and some chicken keeps pooping on her!)

but I think it’s still really nice underneath. One thing’s for certain, there is lots of it!

I’m still not officially done with the argyle socks, but I’ve given in to the the green and cast on my cabled sweater-

I know it doesn’t look like much yet, but I’m really excited about how it’s coming along. The fabric feels great, and it’s fun to work on. I’d almost forgotten how satisfying this kind of textured work is.

Here’s a better look at how the cable panel on the back is shaping up.

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!

Latest thing in Chicken Sportswear

denisemor 3 June 19, 2017

I never thought I would consider buying clothing for a chicken.
But here we are.

I’d been noticing that one of the little Amerucana girls, who was already missing all her back feathers, had sustained a bad wound on her right side. I think it was the result of too much/ too aggressive rooster attention. I’d sprayed her with Blue Cote, but knew that unless she was able to keep away from the boys that it would never heal up.

So I thought I would give this hen saddle thing a whirl.
It’s a Hen Saver, ordered on Amazon, the most low-key color I could find. Got here in two days, I think.

She wasn’t too pleased with me getting her into it,

But now that it’s all in place, she seems good. It doesn’t appear to impede any of her normal chicken activities- and she’s actually been out of the shed more, so hopefully that’s an indication that she’s feeling better.

I have to say, it seems to be very well made, sturdy but light and breathable, and the elastic straps are doing a good job of keeping it in place. They seem to run a little small, so I’m glad I got the large.

So there you go. Now I have a chicken with an outfit.
Crazy.

And speaking of vests, I’ve started one for myself as well.

It’s an easy knit- The Oregon Vest, by Oat Couture
And a great layering piece, so I’m making one with my heavy worsted weight Dottie yarn-

Because Dottie goes with everything 🙂