Little Old Ladies

This past week my 88 year old grandmother had her 6th heart attack. She is a tough Maine woman- out living her husband, losing a son to cancer, working into her golden years while raising her family.
She made the best molasses cookies in the whole wide world, her lemon meringue pie was a half a mile high, and her angle food cake made the angels sing. I made the trek to Machias Hospital -5 hours away, to see her expecting it would be my last visit ...two days later they released her. She is one tough cookie.


The day I got home, my good friend and fellow conspirator, Tammy Doughty DVM called wanting me to come a take a look at a little old Doxie that she had just performed surgery on. She was a shelter dog and it seemed such a shame to send her back to the shelter after loosing 15 teeth. So I thought that maybe I could foster her for a few days until she recovered and look for a home for her in the mean time ...yeah right.


Of course I cautiously introduced the her to my gaggle of dogs. Pirate, my own Dachshund, was not super happy about our guest but he warmed up to the idea after he realized that she was eating canned soft and yummy food and that if he looked sad enough Mom would give him some too. I warned the kids not to pick her up or get in her face, but by the end of two days, she was begging to be picked up, loved and cuddled ..she came to the perfect house.
Sometimes you don't have to think about things, they just feel right and make your heart grow bigger like the Grinch's heart when he felt the true meaning of love. I would never have considered taking an older dog into my home for my own selfish reason of not being able to let it go when the time came. But taking this little dog back to the shelter is not an option. So welcome dog #4 - weenie #2 ...welcome Puddin'.
December's Yarn Share is ready for shipping. The colors are perfect for the season. You can order on our website if you like. www.romneyridgefarm.com Yarn Shares being sent a gifts will be wrapped and include a card.
Looking to the week ahead, I will be delivering yarn orders, teaching a needle felting class, working on some rug hooking designs, and hopefully getting my garlic planted. Hopefully mom nature will freeze the ground soon so my sheep can get a break from the mud ...after I plant my garlic.:)

Wool Boogers

On the top of my list today was the task of clipping off wool boogers. What are wool boogers you ask? Well, Mike here has a few, little clumps of wool that has become felted little balls due to moisture and agitation. They seem to form around they eyes, the corners of the mouth, and sometimes under the chin. They cause no harm, but when you are known as Handsome Mike, wool boogers on your face are rather unsightly ...you get the idea.



There is no denying he was given the absolute perfect name -Handsome Mike. Just look at his perfect little Romney self. He is shy but not afraid. Sweet like old Joe and different from his brother Angus who is more brave and bold. He is in the "boys" pen with Angus and Junior, Joe and the N.Y. goats. Here he can eat without too much competition and continue to grow. Speaking of the N.Y. goats Here is Silvio. And here is Paulie Walnuts. I spent a little time with them today as well, trimming feet and clipping a few matts from between their front legs. I should have clipped them when I brought them home, but it was cold and rainy and they are such sensitive little creatures. So I'll keep them trimmed up, and wait until spring to get my hands on those beautiful locks.
The UPS man came today and delivered the calendars! I have just finished packaging them up and will be mailing out orders tomorrow. Again ....Handsome Mike is this year's "cover boy" ....isn't he just wonderful?

Tomday! What Have You Done!

Awwwwwwww! Look at my little Tomday! This morning when I was feeding he peeked out of the barn door. He didn't come running down the hill for breakfast, but instead stood and watched. I could not see his hind end, only his front so I figured he was fine, and would come when he was ready.

After getting the two-leggeds out the door and onto the bus, I began my daily ritual of filling up water buckets and general duties. It was then that I noticed my littlest goat hobbling down the hill on three legs. He left rear leg dangling and crooked off to the side. I felt all of the bones, flexed his joints, and felt for swelling. Sure enough, the lower leg was swollen.

A few hours later we were off to see our favorite doctor -Tammy Doughty who X-rayed Tomday's leg. She found his knee cap was out of place and higher then it should be as well as a small fracture. We figured he must have caught his leg and wrenched it as he tried to free himself.

Tonight he is settled in to the barn in a huge stall with his mother. He'll have to stay in for 4 weeks or at least be in the barn as it has to stay dry. Never a dull moment here.:)

Look at my mama hen defending her chicks from the marauding "sheepdragon". I thought for sure that this little hen had fallen victim to the fox. Instead, she had made herself a nest behind the feed bin, and proudly strutted out of the shed with her little clutch. She is quite proud and a great little mama.

The days are getting shorter now and my life is shifting once again. In the summer I work outside early before the heat of the day. In the fall and winter I wait until mid-morning for the sun to warm the earth and dry the ground from overnight frost.



I am still plugging away at fencing the ridge. A few hours here and a few hours there. I keep telling myself there is a reason why I am not wealthy enough to pay someone else to do it. But then I also remind myself that I am healthy enough to carry rolls of fencing and buckets of nails up the hill. And there is no place I would rather be than up on that hill in the afternoon, surrounded my my peaceful sheep munching all around me. It sooths my soul.

A Give Away!

While skeining and labeling yarn last night, I noticed that a few random colors I had placed in a basket were the colors of the rainbow. How lovely! How fun they would be to receive in a package in the mail! Imagine opening up a box to find these beautiful colors each one bright and sunny and all looking so perfect together.

Soooo ...I decided that I would enter the names of everyone who buys a calendar before December 15th into a drawing for the yarn! I'll give away two packages of these six skeins of yarn, a pair of bamboo needles, and an extra calendar to the winners.

Winners will be chosen on Dec 15th. Good Luck!

Cool, Crisp ...Ahhhhhh.

Yea for the sun this week. So far adjusting to the time change has been easy and in my favor, I am waking up too soon ( though my body tells me it is 5 a.m. ...the clock says 4 a.m.) but I am enjoying watching the sun creep up over the ridge. The sun has changed course now and in turn, I need to reconfigure my dyeing and drying techniques.

The deck on our house, where I do all of my drying, faces south and in the summer and early fall some afternoons it is unbearable to sit out there. It makes for excellent drying though. Now the sun is lower in the sky and the few hours I do get are far from enough to wisk the moisture from my freshly dyed skeins. Time to adapt and overcome ...as my husband says.

I've been dyeing a few new colors this week. A deep dark blue and a brilliant violet. Both will be added to my website today. They are the same generous 245 yard/4oz skeins ...they are just beautiful pared together. I am also changing the way the monthly yarn share works. Even though I thought it would be fun for members to open up a package, not knowing what was inside, I have had a number of requests from folks to see the colors before they buy, and I can understand that. So, I will put a picture of the monthly share on the very bottom of the page, that way you have a choice in case you do want to keep it a surprise.:)

I am enjoying the cool crisp weather, but I have a few not-so-happy critters waiting at the gate to go up on the hill. My land is posted, but I don't dare let them out. "Big Tall Sheep" may look a bit like a deer ...well maybe not head on.:)Funny how the leaves are released early from the maples and those oaks hang on with all their might against the winds and rains. Some outlast the fall and winter, then finally new buds must push the elderly leaves to their death. I have so much energy at the end of the day, even when I have been up since the crack of dawn. I sat in the doorway of the barn this afternoon and breathed in the fresh, crisp air with Junior. His 5 minute ear massage turned into about a 20 minute ear massage. Unfortunately I forgot my camera in the house, or you would be looking at some great pictures of Mike and Angus playing king of the mountain.

While taking pictures of some new scarves today, I had a little help from L.T. Funny how much help you can get when you just don't need it.:)