solstice to solstice :: white

Sheeps & Peeps3 Comments
white

The sun rose on fields
snow blown and misted
ghostly swirls and dervishes.
No fog this–––
for fog simply lies.
No–––this was living
as it arched and twisted,
fingering out to the road
and reaching for me
like the shade of a beloved friend.
There was white inside,
trying to seep out of pores,
I felt it strain
trying to mesh and meld
with this sentient wraith
fingers touching
joining
and suddenly
I am the morning mist
dancing in the crystal air.

‘Reaching for White’ by Lisa Shields

response to week 10 of the solstice to solstice project
with urban.prairie.forest
please check out all the wonderful contributions in the flickr pool

Fiber Artist Spotlight – Knox Farm Fiber

Sheeps & Peeps5 Comments

No don’t get excited… no lambs until April here on the farm.  We thought we would start a series of posts sharing some of the wonderful fiber art that our customers produce from our fleeces.

And of course, it all starts with the sheep; in this case, with little Miss 1133 (above right); out of Athena and Poseidon.  Following a summer of loving care and a whole lot of growing, she was sheared in the fall.  The locks of her fleece were 5 inches long and it weighed a whopping 3 lbs 5 ozs after skirting.  A very nice size for a lambs’ fleece.  We sold it on Etsy to Knox Farm Fiber.  (This is the second fleece purchased from us.  We love our repeat customers!)

And here is the lovely yarn that Judith produced from little Miss 1133’s fleece – washing, dyeing, picking, carding and spinning.  Judith describes herself as a yarn-maker, and indeed she makes beautiful yarn.  You can read more about Knox Farm Fiber here.   And more about her handspun bulky yarn here.


 

It is such a joy to see the beautiful things that our wonderful fiber artist customers craft from our wool!  We thought you might enjoy it too.

Kitchen Window Entertainment

Sheeps & Peeps5 Comments

Facing a sink full of last night’s dishes is a whole lot easier and much more entertaining, when in the company of these little friends.  The flurry of activity, their song, their acrobatics at the sink window’s platform feeder never fail to provide amusement.  Although they might make the whole process take just a little bit longer than really necessary, dishes are done with a smile on your face.

solstice to solstice :: savor

Sheeps & Peeps3 Comments

savor
a call this week to ‘find beauty, savor’
a call to stop… to pause
to savor the beauty in the tiny… the minute… mother nature’s miniatures
to savor the beauty in a winter walk
to savor the beauty in a sunny winter’s day

response to week nine of the solstice to solstice project
at urban.prairie.forest
please visit the many, lovely contributions at the flickr pool

The Hoggets

Sheeps & Peeps7 Comments

The hoggets – the not lambs anymore, not yet yearlings – are really growing out nicely.  They are a very pretty group of young ladies.

We were lucky this year and had no breeding accidents involving the lambs, so they are all spending their days in a carefree manner, doing nothing more than growing strong bodies and beautiful wool.

Some of them are catching up with Bella (last year’s 4-H market lamb) which is very pleasing.  Bella (below left) is a Hampshire – Suffolk cross, a meat breed, bred to grow faster.  We are really pleased that many of our wool breeds are pretty close to her in size.  She is very beefy but her wool is only about 1 1/2 inches long while the other breeds’ wool have grown 3 inches or more.

And these faces… oh my… they are so lovely… we could watch them all day long.