Spring? Erm....not yet.

I know that many places are experiencing "spring" amidst all the crazy stuff in the world at the moment.  Not here.  Yes, we've had a bit of melting, but overall, spring is still a bit of a distant dream for me.  There are some icicles on the roof edge, which does indicate some melting.

The front door view is still pretty dismal. 

Here's my path to the chicken coop.  It's so compacted now that my feet don't break through the snow anymore, but it's over my knees in height.  That yard waste bucket off to the right is 2 feet tall and the snow is just above its top.

The raised beds have a LONG way to go before planting.

The closer chicken feed bin is 4 feet tall and the rear one is 3 feet tall.  That shows you how much snow we still have. I'm really glad I had that modification made to the coop gate to give me the winter "upper door" that I am now using because the lower part is blocked solid.

The chickens are coming outside from time to time to enjoy the sunshine on a sunny day, and the egg count is going up.  Here are Maple, Amelia Henheart, and Marble (L to R) catching some rays.

Most of the birds are just staying inside the coop still, like beautiful Smidgen here.

The path to the hay shed...still pretty deep, except the area I shovelled for the hay delivery a couple of weeks ago.

This path is pretty compacted as well.

These two have been complete rascals lately. 

With all the freeze/thaw cycles and compacted snow, they figured out that they could climb OVER the fence in one area last week by pushing it down with their feet.  Spot the rascal who thinks she is hiding.

 BUSTED!  A bucket of grain was needed to bring them back into the fenced area.

Yours truly did a bit of fancy fence weaving with baling twine to keep the fence held up so they would stop climbing it and crushing it to the ground.

It'll be a really long time before I'm back out on the hammock.

And the driveway?  It's a skating rink.

Just pure ice.  I don't recommend walking on it.

So no, overall, I'd say spring hasn't sprung here.  But I remain hopeful that it's on the way.

Fabulous Fleecy Fun

This past weekend, Marc and I had a wonderful trip to Prince Edward Island.  My in-laws treated us to a night at a lovely little cottage in a place called Point Prim.  It was a wonderful night away - quiet and comfortable - and I think we might go back to the same place next year.  Of course, since I am a fibre fanatic, I was thrilled to notice that we were going to be quite close to the Belfast Mini Mills location in PEI, and then I saw that on the same road, there was a new fibre destination called "Fleece and Harmony" (clever name!) that of course warranted a visit.

We left New Brunswick on Saturday morning and wanted to pack as much fun as we could into our one night holiday.  I'll do another blog soon about the places we visited on our way back on Sunday. Saturday afternoon was fibre day though, so we'll start with that!

We set off to the Belfast area to visit the two fibre destinations I'd identified as worth a visit.  I was really excited to see what new treats awaited me at Fleece and Harmony, and I was not disappointed. The owners are sisters who gave up life in the big city to start a sheep farming and fibre milling operation on the island, and now they have a wonderful shop that sells an array of their own yarns, as well as a well-curated selection of yarns from other Canadian sources.  I had a great time chatting about all things wool, and of course couldn't resist some new yarns for my stash.  For example, I had to have a couple of skeins of this stunning tonal spruce green wool - I love the depth to the colour and the bounce in this yarn is pure energy.  It was hard to choose from all their beautiful  colourways.

I grabbed a couple of skeins of their "fiddlehead" variegated wool, and another skein that made me think of our holiday - sea and sky and fields and sand.  The shop had some lovely knitted socks made from the fiddlehead colourway.  Maybe that's what these skeins will become!

Several unexpected bonuses arose from our visit to Fleece and Harmony (do check out the lovely sheep pictured on their website)! First, they have the most unusual cat named Smokey.  This cat (I apologize, I didn't take a picture of him) is one of the longest cats I have ever seen.  He also has a rather unusual face that is very endearing.  He's a Persian cat, but he has a different look.  Anyway, the best thing about Smokey is that when you pick him up, he puts his front paws around the back of your neck and shoulder area and starts massaging with his paws. Yes, his little claws are a bit prickly, but seriously, this cat gives you little kisses while he is massaging you, licking your neck and ear while he's at it.  It's the most adorable habit I have ever seen in a cat.  I seriously wanted to kidnap him! A picture next time, I promise.

Second, we were able to visit with the sheep!  They have a beautiful flock that is mostly white, but there are a few other colours in the mix including a deep chocolate brown and a silvery grey.  The sheep are well fed and happy on their pasture.  Look at all those cute little sheep bums!

One of the sheep was clearly on vacation on shearing day, or was hiding really well in the long grass when the shearer was there, because it still has a lot of fleece in comparison to the others. (turns out this sheep is actually just a champion at growing fleece!  Wow!)

Such beautiful natural colours in those fleeces!

Third, they also sell fresh eggs!  I had to go back on our way home to buy a dozen, and they are very good eggs.  I've already enjoyed several of them.  Fleece and Harmony also sells lamb meat, if you eat lamb, which I don't, because I don't eat animals that I also have as pets, but a lot of people like it, so now you know.  Anyway, when I went back to get the eggs, by happy accident, they had some freshly-dyed yarn that was not quite the right colour for a custom order they were making.  Naturally, it was in my favourite colour family, so even though it wasn't quite dry yet, having just come out of its rinse, I had to grab a few skeins to take with me.  Score!

I highly recommend a visit to Fleece and Harmony if you're in PEI for a visit - well worth it!  They also sell products from their website if you can't make it to the island!

Next, we drove a few minutes down the road to Belfast Mini Mills.  Their primary business is the manufacture and sales of small-scale mill equipment.  No, I am not going to start a mill.  They do have a shop there with some lovely yarns and fibres, as well as a delightful collection of farm critters, including goats, silkie chickens, guinea fowl, donkeys, sheep and more!  This goat was one of my favourites.

They also have a pair of enormous Flemish Giant rabbits - just look at them next to Marc's feet. They're huge!

I had hoped to see the daughter of my Cotswold cross ewe, Twilight.  Unfortunately, the owners were away so the employee tending the shop didn't know which one was Twilight's girl.  Maybe next time.  Here's Twilight though - I am sure her daughter is just as lovely.

I was delighted with the felt sheets they had for sale that have a thin but vibrant coloured layer applied to the white background felt.  The sheets are 18 inches long - a great size for some needle-felted landscape work.  I have some ideas already!  I also bought some matching coloured wrapped yarn that is just beautiful.

Going outside my usual colour range, I couldn't help but pick up a couple of skeins of this scrumptious mohair blend.  Will I knit it, crochet it, or weave it?  Not sure yet...

I also picked up a couple of skeins of a silk blend made with silk that is produced without harming the silkworms.  It's a soft and supple yarn - I am looking forward to using it in a special project.

All in all we had a fabulous vacation, even though it was only one night away.  I'll write another blog soon about where we stayed and show some pictures from our time by the water.

Friday's Hunt, v 3.21

Here I am doing Friday's Hunt on a Saturday.  I have a good excuse this time.  I have been away all week and only returned late yesterday from Ottawa, Ontario.  I had about a 9-hour drive yesterday, most of which was made in the pouring rain - that kind of rain that is so heavy that your car's windshield wipers simply can't keep up, even when they're on the crazy fast setting.  There were numerous accidents along the way, mostly from hydroplaning.  When I stopped for gas, I was warned at both gas stations that there had been reports of hydroplaning accidents in the direction I was headed.  It was an unpleasant drive, and when one must be extra-vigilant about one's speed and also other vehicles, it is particularly draining.

Added to that, I am really quite ill.  I have been harbouring some kind of respiratory-virus-of-doom all week, which has resulted in incessant coughing, sneezing, and the usual unpleasant cotton-wool-filled-head syndrome that goes with such symptoms.  In addition, I have been gradually losing my voice, until today, when it entirely gave up and now all I can do is whisper, or croak in a really harsh way.  Nevertheless, I have a boatload of work to get done, so I worked most of today.

All this is to say, I'm not quite up to my usual standards.  But at least I'm here!

The prompts from Eden Hills for this week are:  Starts with U, Week's Favourite, and Kids

Starts with U
U is for unexpected.  When I got to my Ottawa hotel room, I noticed a pretty artwork on the wall.  It was about 12 inches square.

I thought it looked similar to the artwork on my living room wall, which is about 2.5 or 3 feet square. The colours in this shot aren't very good - I had to take it in the evening light with my phone - but you get the idea.

Sure enough, upon close inspection, I saw that the artist is the same.  It was nice to have an unexpected connection to home in my hotel room while I was away.

Week's Favourite
Due to being on the road this week, and working some crazy hours, I really didn't take many photos. I did visit two on-farm fromageries (cheese-making facilities) in Quebec on my drive home.  They make small batches of artisanal cheese that are extremely good, and I sure wish I had a fromagerie close to where I live!  In one of the very brief periods of respite from the rain, I took this picture of the sheep at Fromagerie Le Mouton Blanc.  It was lovely to see the sheep grazing outside, and today I tasted some of the cheese made with their rich milk.  Absolutely heavenly!

Kids
This is probably the hardest prompt I've had from Eden Hills.  Quite a few years ago, I had a big flock of sheep and goats and I would have had cute kid pictures, but not any more.  I have no human kids, and I don't spend time around human kids either, since I am not very fond of them.  Thus, I don't take pictures of them!  We'll just have to make do with this old picture from April 10, 2010.  This is me with two of the kids from my former Iowa farm.

I sure do miss having a farm with enough land to have goat kids.  On the other hand, the difficult thing about having goat kids is that you either have to keep them all, or find good homes for them, and that was a very difficult thing to do.  I felt increasingly uncomfortable with breeding my animals when I had them, and I think if I still had breeding animals, I probably wouldn't keep breeding them. I just can't handle taking them to the auction to be sold for meat, and unless I know the home that they are going to really well, I'm not happy with selling them.  It's a predicament that I don't want to face again.

Tree Ornaments

It was great to spend time with my parents, decorating their Christmas tree.  Our family tree has many ornaments on it, a large majority of which are handmade.  Some also come from trips that have been taken to various places, with the ornament having been purchased as a memory of that trip.  It is wonderful to get the ornaments out each year and remember their stories.  I thought I would share some of the ornaments (especially sheep themed ones!) for a post to share with the All Seasons meme hosted by Jesh in California.  Lots of pictures here, so sit back with a cup of tea and enjoy!

Here's a little cross-stitched ornament I made many years ago as part of a set of 4 farm-themed stockings.  There's a sheep, a chicken, a bird feeder, and a pig.  They're cute little ornaments that fit our mostly-handmade theme.  You can see a handmade straw ornament from Europe in this picture to the lower left.

Here's a little alpaca ornament that I love - so fluffy!  I crocheted the star on the right, and my mom needle-felted the owl on the left.  We do love fibre arts!

Here's another little woolly sheep with a scarf to keep her warm.

This sheep is one of a set of 3 ceramic ornaments - a sheep, a cow and a pig.  They are quite heavy so this one needs to go on a sturdy branch.  To the right, you'll see a wee nativity scene that is a very old wooden ornament, and in the background there's a wooden bird that I bought on a visit to Prague.

Here's a pear that I knitted for the tree (yes, there's a partridge, keep scrolling!) and next to it is a little felted hen sitting in a golden walnut shell nest.  My mom made a set of those cute hen ornaments!

Here's the partridge - but he's crocheted, not knitted.

This lovely woolly sheep is a Nova Scotian artist's ornament - such a neat design.  Behind it is a felt snowman couple that was made for me when I was a little child by my next door neighbor's grandmother.  She made several lovely ornaments for me then.  I think that was about 40 years ago.  There's also a star made from wood shavings under the sheep.

This is a silk hand-painted parrot ornament - very tropical!

Here's another sweet little hen on her walnut shell nest!  My mom does a great job on her needle-felted ornaments.

I don't recall where this ornament came from but it is so cute!  It's a little mouse and she's sitting inside a thimble, which you can't see in this picture.   Very detailed work, but so effective!

This is one of my mother's favourites - it's a little wooden tree with cut-out gingerbread men hanging on it.  We haven't seen any like this again - quite unusual.

 Yet another woolly felted sheep!

This little dog on a cushion is an ornament I made in my teens.  I made ornaments to sell one year, and this was one of the designs.  They sold really well!  We still have a couple of these on the tree.

Here's a traditional Christmas pudding that I crocheted.

Here's a sweet little felt mouse in a stocking, handmade and embroidered by my mom.  It's one of my favourite ornaments, too!

This owl was also made by my childhood friend's grandmother.  A simple but cute design!

My parents have a Welsh Terrier, Bella.  She's their third Welshie, and here's an ornament depicting a Welsh Terrier made out of felt.  You can also see a couple of ceramic mouse ornaments from an artist I like who has ornaments made of some of her paintings.

This pair of mice are also hand-made from felt by my mother, and she gave them very snazzy outfits for the holidays!

This mouse is another cute ornament, although I don't remember where it came from.  He's wearing a sweet little chef's hat and carrying a candy cane.

I hope you've enjoyed this little tree "tour" around some of my favourite ornaments, and maybe even have some ideas of some ornaments to make for yourself!