Is Fall Here?

Marc has been planting pieces of our front yard organ pipe cactus in other places as the branches broke. The main plant died this summer, but we have lots of lovely one new ones. They only blossom for one day and I was lucky enough to catch this one as it opened.

I have been playing around with weaving techniques. This is similar rot the southwestern one that I am turning into a ruana. In an escape to Barnes and Nobles on Saturday evening, I found a book by Jane Patrick on weaving ideas. It is written for heddle looms, but can easily be adapted to what I am already doing on my Cranbrook Loom. The book is probably the most interesting one on weaving that I have come across. I can already envision take offs on her ideas.

These are the yarns that I spun last week. I was not as productive, since I had to shear a few animals and finish sorting the ones that went to Michele in Oregon.

I had to do some dyeing this weekend. I had run out of the moss green kid mohair that I love to throw into rovings. I have plenty of the green in the not so nice mohair!

Mounds and my "$500" ram were lured into a pen last evening. I hate restricting their movement, since I think it is healthier for them to be able to run around, but the ram was chasing all of the does who are in heat. It is too hot for that and I could see him injuring one of them. At 3 1.2 months old, he is bigger than they are. He will get weaned this Saturday, when I move his mother, the other Rambouillet and the Merinos to the far out pasture. All of the goats will be sorted for breeding, since the adult bucks are in rut. I am so glad that they do not smell like dairy bucks.

I mentioned Michele above and thought I would share with you what happened when the sheep and goats were delivered to her Saturday night. Only three goats had made it off the truck, when Michele fell and broke a few bones. She is seeing the orthopedist today and is likely to end up in a cast. It was an accident and not the animals' fault, but I feel really bad about it. She has not even been able to go out and check them out. Fortunately, the animals will be on pasture, so it will not be as much of an ordeal to feed them.

Marc is now in a panic about what we would do, if something happened to me. I don't have the luxury of a pasture, so I have to feed twice a day. And, as stupid as the animals have been this summer, they have to be checked on a few times a day to be sure that they have not gotten into trouble. If you know Michele and would like to drop her a line, please email me at jmarckathy@aol.com and I will send you her email address.