The Month of LOVE

Who doesn't love warm feet?

Nobody makes much of Valentine's Day anymore.  That's so sad!!  Valentine's Day MAKES February in this Shepherd's mind.  February around here is cold, snowy, and everyone around us faces boredom and the flu.  Why not have fun with hearts, delicious treats, and a bright color scheme for the month?

Here is what we love at the farm...warm feet!  How 'bout red yarn for a warm look to warm feet?  You can find red yarn in our online store.  Some of it is bulky weight, perfect for red mittens or a red hat.  Hang up some hearts, dream up a sweet treat, and knit a loving color scheme.  Don't let the month of LOVE pass you by this year!

Weather Watching on the Farm

Do you see them?  The things that make shepherd's happy?

Here on the farm, it's hard keep track of the weather all the time.  Stopping to look at a device or turn on a device is not always convenient.  There are ways to gauge how to manage the day with livestock, without looking at a device, since barns and devices are not real compatible at times.

Take a look out this window, where you will see something that makes a shepherd happy!   See those tiny icicles forming up at the top, to the right?  They may be tiny, but they bring joy!!  What they mean to a farmer is that the day is mild.  The bite is gone.  Relief!  Relief for all!!

When the sun shines in January here, you'd hardly notice.  It's cold.  Some days are well below zero (F), and nights frequently are.  If the day is mild enough that the distant, weak sun can melt a little something and make it drip, yippee!  It's a good day!  Get the dogs out to play!  Let the horses out to run!  Let the sheep out to leap!!

Other things we look at are the cows.  We look at the cows a lot.  They are better weather indicators than any device!  How they are standing, how they are moving, or not, can give you all the direction you need to manage livestock and your own dressing needs for the trips outside.  If the cows are all  pointing a certain way, watch out...cold nasty wind!  If they are not getting up, bad day!  Dress accordingly!  If they are up, all scattered, or moving around, good day!  It's mild and the stress is off for now.

Birds are another good thing to watch...wild birds that is.  If they are hopping around, legs showing, then you know it's mild.  If they are not feeding much, you know it's nice out.  If they are sitting down on their legs and feet immediately upon alighting on something, you know it's bitterly cold.  If you look out at their favorite feeding times and no one is in sight, it must be a terrible day!  Sometimes though, they are hiding from a perceived threat, but if the weather is bad, they won't come to feed.  When the weather tames, any housebound person will have much joy when they return to the feeders, for that's when you see all kinds of beautiful birds! 

The weather is always changing.  Taking warm wooly mittens off to unzip a coat and take out a device is unpleasant, to say the least!  Smart shepherds though, don't need to do that.  Just look out the windows.  The birds and animals will tell you about the day.

Boundries

As a child growing up, there were very clear boundries of who knit, who crocheted.  North of the river that dissects that city, were knitters.  South of the river, crocheters.  Period.  Growing up, that's how I thought life was everywhere.  Wealthy people knit for leisure, poor people crocheted sofa blankets as visuals of warmth.

Nothing could be further from the truth!

The very idea that only certain classes of people could do just one or the other is crazy.  Nor is it historical.  Knitting and crocheting do not know social/economic/political boundries, only people do.  People are forever trying to put boundries on the needle arts, extending not just with who should be knitting or crocheting...and who shouldn't be, but who should pick up sewing thread and needle, or spinning as well.  This shepherdess thinks that is pure craziness.

The real truth...and the real history of the world is NOT that!  Men sew, and can be experts at it, and LOVE it.  Same is true with yarn.  Men work with yarn and love it and can be experts in it.  So to with who has money, who doesn't.  Poor people have been very good at either, or both, and in fact have been experts at it, even if they lived on the wrong side of the river.  And wealthy people can reveal amazing deficits and ineptitudes.  Spinners are all people...men, women, children, single, married, rich, poor, or whatever else you can think of.  People all over the world spin...every day.

So what is the truth about knitting, crocheting, and other needle arts or spinning?  That people around the world have defied constant attempts to categorize.  They learned and did what they needed to know, wanted to know and wanted to create.  They've done what works for them, what is easy for them and their circumstances, with their resources.  This truth is evident in many ways...such as shepherds 'crocheting' or men tailoring, or poor laundresses' knitting and crocheting with amazing perfection and skill...for 'fun', or queens spinning and crocheting.

I don't think my education growing up acknowledged the real world and it's plain truths.  I was 'educated', but not really.

What is Shepherd's Knitting?

Did you know that once upon a time, as shepherds were out tending their flocks in northern latitudes, they worked on projects to pass the time?  You would think they were knitting, as so many people think of knitting and sheep going together like peanut butter and jelly.  It is surprising to learn that knitting is not what some of them were doing...rather, they were crocheting! 

While wool and textiles go back ages, crochet has a fascinatingly short history that is not super clear.  It pops up in unusual places, such as in say...Scotland...with shepherds watching over their flocks.  With a simple stick that contained a carved hook on the end (there is debate about the tool they used), garments were made to help them stay warm.  They used techniques that most resemble today's crochet...not exactly the same, but close.  It was called 'shepherd's knitting'.

As snow and cold whip the trees outside here on the farm, page after page is turned in fascination.  The sheep are asleep, but the shepherdess is not!  How can one sleep with such interesting world history at one's fingertips?!?

Some of the sheep opened a gate in the barn the other day and were having a little party back and forth in the aisle.  As I gathered them up and put them back, I couldn't help but get excited about their fleeces.  Soft, long, warm...they will be easy to shear!  Soon we will be able to start...maybe in just a few weeks!  Can't wait!  In the meantime, when a spare quiet moment comes along, back to page turning!

Many, many skeins have come off the wheel lately, including Misty, some of Beatrice, Daisy, and some Oxford I picked up from someone.  That yarn will not come with a sheep's name, as ten sheep contributed to the batch, of which Wheely Wooly Farm does not own.  The yarn is thick, cushy, and outstanding for socks, mittens, or super warm hats!  It won't be ready for awhile yet, but watch for it, it will be coming soon!

New Beginnings...Daisy as a Lamb

Sweet, sweet Daisy!!

The new year is a time celebrated as a period of renewal, of a fresh start, of starting again.  What a great time to look back at lamb pictures!!  We thought you'd enjoy this.  Here is little Daisy, as a lamb just about three or four days old.  She was born in February, in the midst of a lambing burst here on our farm, but she was not one of ours.  Born into a large flock of someone we knew, a call came asking if we'd like her.  The shepherdess was in an exhausted slumber under the favorite temporary recovery spot...the sofa, under the down sleeping bag rated for below zero...trying to recover from a blitz here.  How fast can one say yes?!?  We knew she was special before we had even seen her.

We hadn't had much snow by that time.  And since she was a sole lamb, she needed friends, so we put her in with the baby goats.  My!  How they loved to play!  They got along beautifully!  In the afternoons, we'd take them outside if it was warm and calm.  They'd all tear around, loving the good footing of the grass.  Pine trees were very interesting.  They smelled nice, were nice and green like they knew something should be, but they didn't feel good!  One little poke and back went the ears, trying to figure out why that hurt!

Today, Daisy is a well loved ewe in the flock.  She has a distinctive baa, so you can pick her out without even seeing who's baaing.  She follows you around and loves attention.  We adore her, and all the beautiful lambs she's provided us with!  Rosebud and Peony's yarns are currently available, two of her lambs.  On the wheel right now is Daisy's fleece, all fluffy and so appealing, it's hard to resist!

As the new year unfolds, it's so much fun to go back and remember the moments when our beautiful sheep were babies!  We hope you enjoyed seeing Daisy as a lamb!  Happy New Year everyone!