The Goats Even the Score

I seem to have caused a bit of a goat uproar.  First, Isobelle Golightly the Beautiful Goat pointed out that I had not recognized her species in my post yesterday about the sheep home invasion.  Then, Gerald the Majestic Goat  pointed out that I had made his lady all googly-eyed over the sheep and he fears rejection (hmmm...what would happen if Gerald and Isobelle got together?  Beautiful Majestic Kids?).  Gerald, have you even NOTICED the most beautiful goat in the world has her own blog?  Or are you too self-absorbed in your worries over being usurped by the sheep? 

Oh you goats of little faith.  Did you really think that you were being neglected?  EVERYBODY knows that goats are smarter than sheep.  If I hadn't featured the sheep first, well, they might have all gathered in the corner of the pasture and made a pact to impale themselves on the cattle panels.  Seriously.  They're not the brightest bulbs in the box.  Much as I love them, and their fleece, they do need a little bit of remedial education sometimes.  Whereas goats, clever and entertaining goats, they are wise and do not behave like sheep, wailing in the corner because they think they've been missed.  Right Gerald?

So being sheep, they've had to put themselves into every corner of my home, in case I might forget about them.  They're that insecure.  Goats, on the other hand, have made their presence more subtle and carefully crafted.  But believe me, they've had an invasion of their own.  Let's review...

Goat fibre!  Yes, lots of it!  Mostly angora goat fibre in this box, in a whole rainbow of pretty colours, all ready for felting or other fibre crafts.  Even spinning!  Hooray for goats!

Oh, I know!  Let's revisit this picture, from yesterday's sheep post.  See anything interesting, Gerald and Isobelle?!  Yes!  It's about goats too!  I've made it a little easier for you to see that, by using special editing tools.  There's even a picture of a goat!  Right on the front cover!

Let's have a little look inside the book!  Oooooh look, it's Isobelle's relatives!  How cute!  Nowhere near as beautiful as Isobelle though - these ones are a bit knobbly kneed.

There are also some rather majestic looking buck goats, although none as majestic as Gerald, of course.  This one is a Kiko goat.  It says in the text that the Kiko "performs very well in humid parts of the country" but my buck performs very well regardless of where he is.  Errr....moving right along...

There are a plethora of goat books in the house, on various shelves.  Some of them are about goat care and raising in general.

Others are more specifically geared towards medical problems.  There is a saying that "a sick sheep is a dead sheep" but that doesn't seem to apply to goats, so we have a good book about treating goat diseases.

OH!  Lest I forget, here on the bedroom bookshelf, we find non-medical interesting goat books, such as this one.  It's one of my favourites.  It's about a couple who travel all over the country looking at and learning about goats of different breeds.  They study different types of goat operations in order to decide what kind of operation they want to have.  I really love this book!

And just like the sheep invasion, the goats have also invaded in the form of magazines...including Dairy Goat Journal, which doesn't apply to Gerald or Isobelle, but I feel sure they will appreciate the overall goatiness.

Also I have a very special indoor goat given to me by Mom L, who is a frequent commenter on my blog.  She gave me this little goat about a year ago, and he has a special place on top of the mirror on my bureau in the bedroom.  It's sort of a majestic location, from which he can survey all that is his.

Sometimes he even gets a bit festive.

So, to all my goat readers, rest assured that your species is ever-so-present in my home and my life.  As Valentino says, "Chill out dudes and dudettes, I've got the whole goat scene under control here."

Sheep: The Home Invasion

Do you ever notice that when you develop an interest in something, it begins to pervade all aspects of your life?  If not, well, then you haven't developed a sufficiently strong interest in something!!

Today, I thought I'd do a little blogging about how sheep have invaded my home.  Yes, yes, I know, Miss Marshmallow, Sheep of the Century, invaded my home, in person (in sheep?), for a couple of months last year, but that was different.  I'm talking about the more subtle ways that sheep have found their way into my home.

First, there's the fibre (or fiber, if you're an American speller).  I have fibre everywhere.

It's in my basement craft area.  It's in my home office, because I keep a spinning wheel there.  It's in my living room, because I have a half knitted sock there.  It's in my bedroom, because I have a knitting project on my bedside table, and there are even some buttons sent by a friend to celebrate my love of spinning wool.

There is fibre in my kitchen, because on my kitchen table there is a basket with wool in it.  Not to mention my knitting work-in-progress bag, which has sheep on it...see?

It's everywhere!  And I love it!  I can't get enough of wool.

Then, there are the books and magazines.  There are sheep magazines or catalogues with sheep related paraphernalia in my bedroom, beside my bed, for moments of reading.

There are sheep books in the living room, where they sit on the coffee table.  There are sheep magazines in the bathroom, because...well...you know.  Sometimes you need a little reading time.  There are sheep books and magazines in the basement too, because the TV is down there, and if I want to spend some time with Kelly, usually he's watching something I couldn't care less about, so instead, I snuggle on the couch reading about sheep. 

Oh, then there are the sheep themselves, or representations of them.  There are sheep in my basement, at my felting table.  I made them!  There are sheep above my desk, watching me type even as I write this. 

There are sheep at my desk, frolicking about as I write my to-do lists or notes to myself.

There is a sheep on the mantel in the living room, in picture form, along with 2 Christmas decoration sheep that I haven't got the heart to put away yet. 

There is a sheep scissor holder and a sheep measuring tape in my crafting area. 

They're everywhere!  And I love them!!

And yes, there are even sheep on my pajamas.

And cohabitating with my bedside bunny and zebra.  Where else do you find sheep living with rabbits and zebras?

It's a conspiracy I tell you!  But I'm perfectly happy to let it happen.  Long live the sheep invasion!

In other, less interesting news, here are my books for this semester.  Yes, the price tags are horrific.

I'm taking Property (my last first year class, now that I'm in my third year, because when you're part time, that's what happens), Land Use Control, and Gaming Law.  What?  Gaming Law???  Yes, it's a 2 credit course and I needed 2 credits to make up my 9 credit semester (the maximum I can take).  And hey, it includes a field trip to a casino to talk to the security staff about managing the legal aspects of running a casino.  It can't be all that bad!

The other exciting news, which relates back to sheep I suppose, is that my Christmas lamp arrived!  My parents generously sent me the money to buy a proper lamp for Christmas, since I really needed one that would illuminate a great many things for me.  Spinning, knitting, crocheting, reading law books....yes, I needed a good quality floor lamp.  I was lucky enough to find the Ott-Lamps on half price at JoAnn Fabrics (online).  I ordered a table lamp and a floor lamp since the sale prices were so good.  They arrived and unfortunately the table lamp was broken, so I had to return it.  However, the floor lamp is superb.  I am thrilled.  I have never had such a wonderful lamp.  The light is a nice clear blue-light, more like daylight than the yellowish light produced by most incandescent bulbs.  I can really see detail and colours clearly with it, and I'm absolutely delighted.  Get it?  DeLIGHTed.  Hahahahaha....

OK, that's enough for today.  Have a great weekend everybody!

A little spinning

I've been doing a little spinning while I've been out of school.  Classes begin January 18, so my time is running out for having much free time.  Oh, who am I kidding?  I never have much free time even when I'm NOT in school!

Still, here's some the spinning I've been doing lately.  This was some mill ends dyed in a colourway called "Neptune."  There was definitely some mohair in there, or possibly a longwool breed of sheep, but the lustre of the fibre really made me sure it was mohair.

 I wound it into a centre-pull ball and sent it to my friend Kelly in Kentucky.  She sent me a beautiful book about chickens!  Here's how it looked when I sent it to her, complete with a few handmade stitch markers that you can't see in the photo.  Oops.
 

I just posted this yarn to my Etsy shop.  It's a chunky mix of kid mohair and Rambouillet lamb's wool from Split Rock Ranch.  I even spun a few coils or beehives into it, just for added texture.  It turned out really well!

I also recently posted this Split Rock Ranch fibre that I spun up.  It's a blend too, and it's called "Parakeets" for obvious reasons.  I loved working with the soft fibre in this beautiful batt.  There's even some silk in it!

Here's a look at what I'm spinning now.  It's a 40% bamboo, 60% merino blend from www.zenstring.com.  I like the pastel shades for a change, and it's deliciously easy to spin.  I'll probably 3-ply this one when it's finished.

Here's some 100% mohair (also from Split Rock Ranch) that I spun up for a friend of mine in Argentina.  She made me some slippers for Christmas that she knitted herself.  I ordered a pair for Kelly and she added a pair for me!  What a treat!  This yarn is on its way to her now!

Finally, this is a felted bowl that I made my mother for Christmas.  I used some of the roving that I had dyed myself at Yarn School in the fall.  Then I spun it into a 3 ply yarn, and crocheted the bowl.  I felted it in my front-loading washer, which took 3 times and still wasn't felted as firmly as I would have liked.  I think I need to look for a second-hand top loader washer just for felting purposes.  Anyway, I was pleased with the overall form and the colours as well.  It reminded me of a walk in the woods.  I also liked the way the spiral crochet really showed the progression of colours.  Hopefully, even with school starting up, I'll still find a little time for myself and my wheel.

Building Project, Interrupted by an Injury

Kelly is only working four days a week now.  He doesn't work on Wednesday any more, so I decided to take today off work to help finish up a couple of projects.  When school starts again, I won't be able to take time off like that, so I figured I should do it while I can!  We decided to continue with our inside-the-big-barn coop project.  We have lost some chickens and had others with frozen feet and toes.  I really get upset about that, so it was time to build a better indoor coop.  We decided to build an 8x8 coop for nighttime use only, inside our Wick Building.

In one corner of the building, we have a 4 x 8 foot brooder for chicks, so we decided to build the larger coop next to that.  Here you can see the overall view of it.  It's built from chipboard mostly, framed with 2x4 lumber.

The main thing we had to do, once the walls were up, was install some insulation.  We used skirtings from our fleeces last year (llama and sheep) that we had kept in bags in the basement, not sure what to do with them!  Suddenly, they were very handy!  We stuffed them down the back wall as the boards went up, along with some foamboard insulation that we had found at a garage sale for $2.  That fully insulated the back wall (which is chipboard framed up against the side of the metal barn wall).

The roof went on, and that was suddenly an excellent new site for storage of things, such as fencing supplies, the summer grass catcher for the mower, spare animal crates, and other such infrequently needed items.  It also gave us more floor space in the barn!  Hooray!

We had a huge bag of R30 fiberglass insulation that we had obtained from someone who was moving and didn't need it.  This proved to be the right opportunity for using it.  Unfortunately, we determined that some mice had made it their home in the barn for a time, but they had vacated.  Despite a few holes, it was still perfectly usable for the ceiling of the new coop.  Kelly decided that it should go up and be covered in black garbage bags.  I had my doubts, which I expressed, but being a woman who likes to be proven right, I let him try....

and try....

 ...and try some more...

...and then he realized it wasn't working, because the staples were pulling through the plastic which is exactly what I said would happen.  Ah, the stubborn streak of the male always arises when construction is underway!!  We then rolled up the bags to make "straps" of a sort, and pushed in the insulation to sort of "hang" it there.

Then, we used some Ondura roofing that we had left over from another project to sandwich the insulation against the ceiling.  We then tucked more skirted fleece in along the sides.

It's nearly done now, except for some roosts and the door.  Kelly went to pick up some hay, so I've come in to write a blog while I recuperate from the injury about to be revealed.  We shall continue with construction later.

At one point we decided the little goatie girls needed grain.  I went in to converse with the little goatie girls and realized a hoof trimming was in order.  I asked Kelly to bring grain and the hoof trimmers, since I was already in the pen with said goatie girls.  I was seated on the ground, holding Opal, who is a darling little goat and not at all difficult.  I had my back to Kelly.  He brought the grain and dumped it over the fence.  He forgot the trimmers entirely.  So, Opal gleefully leapt out of my arms to get at the grain, which was supposed to be a post-trimming treat, and put her horn nearly all the way through the side of my nose in the process.

There was a great deal of blood and a great deal of wailing and commotion and a very sheepish (goatish?) Kelly who realized he had done entirely the wrong thing and had forgotten the entire reason for the grain and meanwhile I was running for the house with blood dripping off the tip of my nose and a hand covered in blood at the same time from holding it to my nose.  Dreadful.

Anyway, after clean up, I realized that it wasn't broken, but it was a very deep cut in the side of my nose below the bridge, that went almost through to the other side.  I am here to tell you that it didn't feel at all good, but I shall survive.  It is now properly bandaged and antibiotic-ointmented, although it does throb rather a lot.  it's a nice straight cut though, so hopefully it will heal well. 

And yes, for anyone who is concerned, I have had my tetanus shot as part of my immigration process about 7.5 years ago and they said it was good enough to last for 10 years.  Whew!

Sheep of the Century

Well, my name is Marshmallow, but of course most of you know me already. 

I have been featured quite frequently on this blog in the past, but you know, I don't have my own blog.  I said to Mom (well, she's not my biological mom, but you know, she's better than a biological mom really), "Why is it that all these goats have their own blogs and I don't have a blog?" and she said that we already have a blog but it's for the whole farm and not just me.  And I said I wanted my own blog and she said that was a bit much and I didn't want to be all pushy like those goats.  She said it's important for all the animals here to have their blog time.  I said we should all have blogs then, and she said that would be a full time job.  What is that supposed to mean?  Like she has something else to do? 

So anyway, we talked about it for a while and she said I can do today's post.  I'm not good at typing because I'm very busy being the ideal sheep and I don't have time for things like typing lessons, so she's being the typist and I'm just telling her what to type.  I like that sort of leadership role.  It's my destiny you know.

There has been all this business lately about the Goat of the Year.  Did you see all that?  If not, you can click here to see it.  You'll have to scroll down to see the whole mess of it, but there was a poll for these goats who all know each other and nobody nominated them in the first place for that award.  I admit they are nice goats, but they all got back-stabby and nasty and were being snide about each other.  And there were certain discrepancies with the voting that seem to have been glossed over.  It was a testament to the fickle nature of goats.  Sheep are much more steady.  You know where you are with sheep.  Goats are flighty and obstreperous.  They probably don't even know what that means, so I made it linked to its definition, in case they get around to reading this blog post.  We have goats here on the farm too.  But this post is not goat-centric, so enough about them.

I would just like to say that around here, there is no need for a Sheep of the Year poll, because clearly I am it.
I will always be it.  I suppose one day, when I pass into the everlasting pasture that Mother Earth has set aside for me, then I might let somebody else be Sheep of the Year, but until then, really, there is no need.  First of all, I am the only sheep who has lived in the people house for over 2 months. 

None of the other sheep have really lived in the people house at all.  One was in there once for a couple of hours but that's it.  So I have special privileges entitling me to a higher status. For example, I am the official yarn tester.

I remind you here that I even had morning snuggle privileges.  Of course, I don't do that now because I live outside.  That's a lamb activity, and I'm a sheep now.

Second of all, I am remarkably cute.  There is no denying this.  It's just the way it is.  I was cute from Day 1.

Third of all, I follow Mom like a puppy.  I stay right on her heels most of the time.  Occasionally, there might be an interesting bit of grass for me to investigate, or a really prime dandelion specimen, but otherwise, I am right there.  Dependable.  Reliable.  I even helped her with making some crocheted booties.

Oh, fourth of all, I am the only sheep on the farm that gets to run around outside the pasture fence.  This is because I am dependable and reliable.  I don't go places that I shouldn't and I stay close to Mom in case she needs me.  In addition, I freely fertilize the entire acreage for Mom's benefit, so she can grow more plants that might be good for me to eat.  Of course, when Mom goes into the people house, she puts me back in the pasture, because we don't want the other sheep to stage a riot. 

Fifth of all, I talk.  The other sheep bleat and carry on with no particular thought in mind.  I'm different.  I call to Mom specifically when I see her come outside the people house, because I know that the only reason she has come outside is to see where I am and to ensure that I am alright.  Isn't that sweet of her?  Sometimes, she pretends that she hasn't come outside just to see me, and she carries on with other chores, but I can see her looking at me in her peripheral vision.  (that's another term the goats won't understand).  I specifically outline my grain and hay and water needs on a daily basis, because with Mom saying she's so busy and all, I wouldn't want her to forget my requirements.  She met my requirements so well when I lived in the people house.

So all of this, combined with my many other talents and abilities, make me the perfect sheep, even though I'm not full grown.  It was evident from my birth that I was quite perfect.  My biological mother seemed to overlook this fact, but really I know she was just intimidated by my perfection and she needed Mom to take me and raise me.  So, there is no Sheep of the Year poll on Whispering Acres Farm.  And, don't be fooled by the fact that other lambs are going to be due starting in February.  That's quite irrelevant.  I am it.  Enough said.

The New Year Dawns

Today was a gorgeous sunrise.  I watched the glow fill the sky and the sun, behind some clouds, looked like a big shiny puddle in the sky - sort of liquid and molten.

I have a sun catcher given to me by a friend, hanging in my window.  To me, it is a representation of Mother Earth embracing the sky.  I had to take a picture as the sun was rising beside that sun catcher.  To me it seemed to embody the hope and promise of a new year.

It is going to be a tough year.  I have a very heavy course schedule for the entire year, including the summer, and it begins on January 17.  I will face it, I will conquer it, and I will be very happy to have it finished.  This should be my last full year working as a patent agent, because next year, part-way through, I hope to pass the bar exam and become a patent attorney.  But that's next year, so I have to focus on this one first.

It is going to be an exciting year.  We have 14 ewes that are (we think) bred and 4 goats as well.  There will be a lot of new lives here between February 16 and May 20 (or so).  I can't wait to welcome them, and if I have to skip class to help with lamb births, I will be ready and willing!  Here are four of last year's ewe lambs having their morning grain.

We might show sheep for the first time this year at the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival, if we can work with them enough to get them arena-ready.  I'm also excited about a visit from a dear friend of mine from home - she's coming for my birthday!  In addition, my parents will visit again sometime in late spring.  I'm excited to spend time with those I love.

It is going to be a year of change.  My wonderful assistant at work was promoted into a new position and I am thrilled for her because she deserves to be recognized for all that she does.  However, that means that I'm presently involved in the search for a new assistant, and I spent several hours on the phone yesterday (and even a bit today) doing interviews with selected candidates.  Even though there is much potential, it will be a big change for me to work with someone new after almost 8 years, and I hope it will go smoothly.  I admit that I do have my doubts.

It is going to be a year of building.  We are still working on building our new (to us) barn that we bought on Craig's List.  We have decided to hire someone to do the roof and siding.  Once that is complete, we will build some framing inside it and build new pens, a little room for us to sleep in if we need to do so while lambing or kidding is occurring, and also some hay storage.  We are building a new chicken coop and new sheep shelter.  We have a huge fence project to be done this spring.  I do hope it all gets done!

Hopefully, it will be a year of new firsts.  And here is a new bird on the suet feeder today, to start the list!  It's a red-bellied woodpecker.  We have seen them before in the woods, but not on our feeders. As you can see, the blue jay was also visiting.  A handsome and well behaved line-up at the feeder today!

Best wishes to all my blog readers for the new year - I hope it will hold much happiness and promise for all of you.