Colorful Stitches

This coming Saturday - April 5th - I will be spending the day out in beautiful Lenox, Massachusetts at the world famous yarn store Colorful Stitches. It is such an honor to be asked to teach at this store. It is one of the most beautiful yarn shops I have ever been in so it will be great to spend a day there amongst all the beautiful, colorful yarn.

Mary and Bonnie are in the throws of organizing the classroom space. I'm teaching a very fun three hour class beginning at noon. You can find out about it on their website here. There are still some spaces available so if you are hemming and hawing about coming on over, jump on it today. I would love to share my techniques on embellishments and more with you. Their phone number is 413 637 8306.

I'm also presenting a lecture called "The Joy of Color" from 4 to 5:30 at Colorful Stitches. This is the one the kind folks came out in droves for in Minnesota and had a fun time viewing. In this lecture, I will teach you how to interpret color to suit yourself and give you much insight into how I combine colors. So, if you don't have 3 hours to spend, stop on by for the hour and a half lecture.

And speaking of Colorful Stitches.... Do you remember the afghan I started way back here last summer on vacation in Maine? I'm using these last few cold nights before gardening starts to actually sew all those granny squares together. It started out tedious but now I'm in the hang of it. I only have a few left to add for now. I'd actually like it to get bigger than it is right now. I can't say it qualifies as a large afghan - it's what I'd call a lap robe - 64 squares in all. I just love the weight of the fabric that crocheted grannies make. It is keeping me warm during the winter that won't end while I stitch away.

I sew my squares together. I know some people like to crochet them together but I like the way they lay flat when they are sewn. I also prefer handsewing and so find it a somewhat relaxing task.


The cats think the afghan is just to die for. Here's Charlie sitting on it last Friday when it was a little afghan. By today, it was big enough for two cats - Vera and Ginger to spend the afternoon on. I'm wondering if anyone besides the cats will ever get to sit under or on it?

The Ram is Half Your Lambs

Every three years or so, we look for a new ram to bring new blood into our flock of sheep. It really is true that the ram is half your flock since his genetics will predominate all of his progeny. Long ago, we gave up having a purebred flock of sheep. Although the Romney sheep we began with are beautiful animals and produce lovely long wool, our goal of selling market lambs meant we had to look into other sheep breeds for their genetic traits. Most of the time, we aren’t around when the lambs are born and our experiences with the vigor of cross-bred lambs helped us realize that a cross-breeding program was the way to go.

Over the years, we have picked up rams from other local breeders. We have tried Dorsets, purebred Romneys, Rambouillet, Finnsheep crosses, all kinds of breeds. Often we will use a colored ram so that we get some colored lambs. Our goal is to breed a lamb that will grow out to a market weight in two to three months. We also look for rams that aren’t too large – this could cause difficulty in lambing. We usually will purchase a ram who is a twin so that our sheep will have twins too – this helps the lambing percentage. We look at fleece quality as a minor factor but we still do have some lovely looking fleeces considering most of our flock has Romney blood in it.

We run four rams with our sheep so we have a variety of parentage and breeds. We keep some of our own better ram lambs for breeding the flock. We have been using some nice Romney crosses and a nice looking Shetland-Romney cross (his lambs are quite hardy as one might guess). A couple years ago, we purchased this cross-bred Texel-Dorper ram. Texel sheep were developed for market lambs in Holland. Dorpers were developed for market lambs in Africa. They are hair sheep which means they don’t need to be sheared. Since most of our lambs go to market, the hair quality of his fleece wasn’t important. Picking up a new ram and integrating one into the flock is always a risk. But this guy settled in just fine.

We did notice the first summer that he was limping a bit. This is caused by a nasty condition called “foot-rot.” Certain breeds of sheep are more susceptible to it. Romneys are resistant to foot-rot and so we never have had much of a problem with it. Once in a while when the ground is very wet, they will favor a foot but it never was much of a big deal.

This winter, lots of this big guy’s lambs were limping terribly. (Notice we don't name many of our sheep - it makes it easier when we have to get rid of them.) The Farmer treated the lambs’ feet with the common recommended treatments and most of it subsided. We started discussing the problem in earnest when it began to take up a lot of his time and some money for the treatment. (The treatment is by foot-bath – the sheep walk through a solution that will help the condition go away.)

I was lobbying for a new ram. I hated to see the lambs limping. At first The Farmer wasn’t listening to me but after a few days, he decided that yes, this guy should go away so we don’t have to live with the foot-rot problem for the next twenty years.

This cute little half and half lamb was born a few days ago. The Texel-Dorper ram is definitely the father to it – notice how the wool is straight and has no crimp. He sure is cute though, isn’t he? This ram has fathered quite a few “Holstein” looking lambs. We’ll keep some of the ewes but most have already gone to the auction.

This summer, we are buying a Border Leicester ram. We’ll see how he and his lambs do. Raising sheep is always interesting because even after several decades, there is still more to learn.

From the UK

A fun little tidbit to brighten up your day. David Kennard, author and sheep farmer, used his sheep and border collies to spell out the word spring! We're still under snow here in western Massachusetts but it gives us hope.

Via the Daily Mail. Read more about it here.

Deadlines Make You Work, Don't They?

This is a painting done by my neighbor, the artist Alicia Hunsicker. I thought it a perfect image to add here considering eggs are on the minds of many of us this weekend with the Easter holiday. Alicia is having an art opening at UMass on April 4th. She has been working on her current series of oil paintings intensely for the past few months. Every once in a while, I stop into the studio to see how it is going and in what direction the paintings are going. I particularly like this small painting because of the egg and nest motif which resonates with me since I raise chickens. Alicia takes her artwork very seriously and spiritually. I’m not quite sure I ever quite understand what she is talking about when she explains it all. Everything she paints has a symbolism which is cool. And she is incredibly talented on top of it all.

Alicia has been painting for years and her work is so fine and detailed. She can work on a particular 4 inch section of canvas for days. It’s been fun to watch her develop this new body of work because she has had to speed up her painting and really crank it out. It is no less beautiful than the other past work, just different. She has a lovely sense of color. If you are in the vicinity of UMASS/Amherst, stop by to check it out at the Hampden Gallery. You can read about it on her blog here.

Me, I’m a total deadline person. If I don’t have one, most stuff just doesn’t get done and materialize. I think this habit began when I was a young girl – working on a school project until the last minute. Then when I was in 4-H, I made so many projects for the County Fair or some kind of special contest.

Today, I am no different, unfortunately. I am totally deadline driven. This past week, there was a photo shoot at our house and I had to have a couple projects done for it. I was down to the wire, once again. I just love a deadline – it gets my juices going and I can always feel the creativity rising to the surface. Most times, I am never sure where my work will go but it’s always a fun experience riding the deadline wave. But then this week, I also had to clean the house on top of it all which is really totally impossible during mudseason. Thank goodness the people who were shooting knew me and didn’t care if the floors weren’t waxed (that's an understatement). We just moved the stuff around to make the photos work. Here’s a cute photo of Julia having her make-up and hair done by the woman who was doing this at the shoot. Julia was eating this up.

Photos shoots are a lot of smoke and mirrors. (At least everyone I have ever been on.) You can look at one of the photos of our house in a magazine (like on this page on my website) and it looks like total perfection. But if you were to look behind the camera, on the other side, you would of course see all the kid, yarn and book clutter piled up. Then it all gets moved back after the photo happens. I’m assuming most shoots go like this although I probably have more stuff than most. This photo shoot had the extra added danger of the sheep being thrown in. All in all, it went off without incident and the sheep looked fabulous. Luckily, Mother Nature gave us a brand new lamb that morning. Baby lambs are incredibly photogenic, aren't they?


Happy Easter and Spring to All!

More Cats at Work

I always wanted a calico cat. Every time I looked for a cat, I was secretly looking for a calico cat. Our cats have always come from friends or acquaintances looking to place kittens (except for Boo-Boo-Boo who is a post in himself). My quest for a calico went unanswered for years. We adopted different cats but never a calico. That is until Lily Pons came into our lives.

When we moved to our farmhouse, we had room for more kitties and so I kept looking for a calico. Not very hard, mind you, but always keeping my eye out. One day, The Farmer came home to tell me about a litter of kittens he had seen up the road. He was smitten with the kittens. We weren't in the market for any more kitties but we went up to look at the litter anyway. The momma cat was a lovely calico and she had two calico kittens in her litter. They were spoken for though. That was okay. But then we got a phone call a few months later that the woman's daughter couldn't get up from the south to pick up her kitten. Would we like the now almost full-grown kitten named Lily Pons? Oh yes, please. We will be right up.

Julia, The Farmer and I hopped in the truck and went to meet Lily Pons. She had long hair and came with quite a name. Marilyn, Lily Pons' former owner had named her after a famous opera singer because the kitten was so vocal. We took her home and she lived up to her name - always letting us know when something is amiss.

Lily Pons is one feisty, independent cat. She is our least present cat - disappearing for weeks at a time. Her heritage is that of country farm cats. Everytime I think she isn't going to return, she does, thank goodness. She is also the mother of most of our other cats. When she does come back, she sleeps hard and long and then ventures off again. We love her independent spirit and spunk.


She had her first litter of kittens 3 years ago. Here is Ginger, her delicate and sweet tortoiseshell cat. Ginger is small and petite and has just recently turned into a people loving sweetheart. At night, she and Charlie fight for the spot next to me to watch the yarn move through my needles. Here she laying on top of a handknit hat - you can see it peeking out on the right side. It kills me how all the cats will find the softest piece of knitwear available on a flat surface and use it as a pillow.


Our long haired red tabby Cookie is Ginger's brother. Julia named him. His name is quite hilarious considering he is one tough cat. I always think of him as a great big football player with a sweet name. Here he is uncharacteristically sleeping one afternoon with Sebastian.


This is Otto, Lily Pons' kitten from her last litter of five red cats. He has grown to be quite a beautiful strong muscular cat. He stalks the outdoors and is quite the hunter. And he has remained a sweet thing loving to be held and cuddled.

I'll end this cat post with the sweetest little photo of Ginger and Vera sleeping amongst my work this week. Boy, it's dangerous to get up from your seat around here. It is quickly assumed by some feline.

Cats at Work - Part One

Cats kill me. I never was a cat person. We had a cat named Tabby when I was growing up but I was never particularly fond of her. But when I met The Farmer, he told me about all the cats he had growing up on the farm. Cats had a place of honor at their farm. Mostly they lived in the barn and kept the rodent population down. But there was one cat I never met, but I heard about many times. Her name was Stubby and she was their Momma Cat who ruled the roost. (Her name came from her short tail.) As she got older and kept surviving (which for a barn cat is a mean feat), she eventually moved into the house. She had a place of honor at the dinner table. I can just imagine dinners.... Betty and her three boys sitting on stools at their dinner table and Stubby occupying the empty stool. It's quite a sweet picture in my mind. And I vividly remember the phone call from Betty one afternoon when we were living in Colorado in our basement apartment. She didn't call us much. Mark got off the phone quickly. I knew something bad had happened by the look on his face. Stubby had died. She was up in years and she was gone.

Since we have been married, we have had our fair share of felines - Sophie, Mr. Madeline, Quinnie to name a few. I have grown to love cats and how they live their lives. I also get a real kick out of the positions I find them in during the day as I work my way around the house. Right now we have eight cats. It sounds rather out of control but truth be told, it doesn't seem that way to me. Most of the year, they are outside working hard, fending off the squirrel and chipmunk population and enjoying life to the hilt.

That is all but Vera. Vera is our Queen Cat. She rules the roost. Vera came from Holyoke - she has city roots. I got her and her brother Quinnie from a vet - they had been dropped off in the middle of the night. Vera had one litter of kittens when Julia was two. She did a good job with them and we still have two of her off-spring. Her main occupation now is to make sure I keep the food bowl full. If it isn't, she tells me by knocking down whatever is on her counter to crash all over the floor. This frequently includes my farm fresh eggs. Needless to say, I keep the food bowl full. Here Vera is in typical pose in a patch of sun. All winter, she barely ventures outside. If we have company for dinner, Vera is never far away. She is always surveying the guests and making sure everything goes okay.

This is Vera's son Charlie. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be my man Charlie. He loves me to death, greets me every morning and sits next to me on the couch watching me knit at night. And he is a darn handsome cat.


Charlie has a brother Sebastian. Sebastian is our least friendly cat but we still call him our own. During the nice time of the year, he goes away for three weeks at a time. (Yes, he is neutered, he just likes adventure.) Here he is on the left early one morning with his brother Charlie, deciding whether to take off for the day or stay inside where it is warm.

More cat tales tomorrow.

New Life

After a slow bit in the sheep barn, last year's yearling ewe lambs are beginning to lamb. The first time mothers are a bit dicey. Some are natural mothers and some want nothing to do with their babies. The past couple days, the teenage mothers have been stars.

Yesterday, this little black lamb was born. It is a little spitfire and the mom is doing a great job.

Two days ago, a different yearling had this cute little thing.


And here is super-mom Cora (Julia's bottle lamb from last year) with her January lamb Mora. Mora is growing like crazy and is looking strong and huge.


The bigger lambs congregate together constantly. Here some of them are having a party over along the fence line. I can't help but compare them to teenagers, hanging out with their friends far from the watchful eyes of their moms.

Late Winter Walk

Winter is beginning to lose its grip on the land around here. The snow is beginning to melt and the streams are rushing along full of the most beautiful clear water.


Here's a little visual diary of nature along our road today.

The snow is melting in this swampy area but before it all goes away it has formed some lovely white pillowing mounds.


My favorite beech trees are still hanging onto their leaves. Here they are making a lovely pattern on the snow in the woods.


There's still barely a bit of color outside except for the sumac plumes. They are clinging to their redness and look faded but colorful against the clear blue sky.


My dogs Phoebe and Ness are my constant companions on my walks. They would love to walk for miles. At least we are getting out a bit now. The biting cold has subsided and I'm starting to crave being outside again. We are all lookng forward to the things that come along with spring and summer.

Another Winter Harvest

Tuesday was auction day. We take the lambs that are the proper weight to the nearby livestock auction where buyers are waiting to purchase lambs for Easter dinner. The livestock auction happens every Tuesday all year round. Lambs, sheep, goats, cows, calves, hay, rabbits, pigs, and a variety of animal skins are sold. Anyone can attend and buy or sell. Because of the recent new regulations (called NAIS) it’s a bit harder to sell. Every animal must be tagged with government registered eartags which will help trace an animal back to a specific farm. This is a rather contentious issue with farmers and you can learn more about it here.

Auction day is harvest day for us, to put it bluntly. It’s when we find out how much the animals we have been growing are worth in a monetary form. We don’t talk about it much – it just happens and we hope for the best return we can get. For me, I don’t expend much energy. I just move the gate to let The Farmer in and out with lambs. He gets the workout. Today, I brought the two dogs down to the barn to help round up the flock. The dogs haven’t seen the sheep since December when we moved them from pasture back to their barn. (You can read about that here.) As we approached the barn, both Nessie and Phoebe began to tremble. They knew what they were going to have to do and they couldn’t wait.


The two dogs flew out of the truck. A few quick short commands and the sheep were moving into the barn. In a couple minutes, all the sheep were contained and the harvest was to begin.

The Farmer is quite adept at catching sheep. He looks through the flock, sizes them up, calculates a weight in his head and literally dives. It is like a dance of sorts – if an odd dance. Lamb by lamb, he loads the trailer. I add my two cents every few minutes. “That’s a girl.” “Looks too small.” “Are you sure you want to get rid of that one.” The trailer was loaded and he took them to the auction yard.


Today we took two trailer loads of lambs – about sixty lambs in all. (Don't worry all you sheep and lamb fans - there are still at least another sixty lambs left for me to photograph.) Julia and I met up with The Farmer to watch the bidding. We like to watch our lambs being sold and see how much money we are going to get for them. We like to see if the buyers are appreciating the care we put into the animals. It’s all a bit hard to tell – the only way is to see if you get top dollar. It’s an odd world.


The first time I went to this auction was as a buyer. I think I was 22 years old – Oh boy, that was a bit ago. I was a kid from the suburbs enamored with all things farming. The Farmer and I went in search of a lamb to grow out for my parent’s freezer. We arrived and sat down on the very seats we sat on today. The auction hall has the feeling of a basketball court. High steep seats going up one side with all the action happening down below.

Back then, the characters weren’t very different than those that were there today. There were buyers for slaugherhouses. There were ethnic buyers purchasing for specific holidays (like Greek Easter, Ramadan). There were retired farmers wishing they were still farming. There were all kinds of farm people shooting the breeze. I love this place. The odor is unmistakable – billy goat mixed with cow and sheep manure, bad coffee and chili – all wafting out at you like a blowtorch as you open the door and enter. It’s a total way of life that I fear may disappear. I feel priviledged to have experienced it.

Back then in 1981, I was there to buy a lamb for my parents that The Farmer would grow out for their freezer. Being a girl from the burbs, this experience was like nothing I had ever seen before. I was astounded by the odor. I was intrigued by the people I was seeing – people unlike any I had ever seen growing up in New Jersey. We watched for a while and I got the routine. A lamb would enter a small holding area and be weighed. The auctioneer announced the weight and the lamb was let into the viewing area. Bidding would start immediately.

The Farmer and I watched for a while and then I finally got up my courage. A nice looking lamb entered the viewing area and the auctioneer started his spiel. “Beautiful lamb, looks good… Do I hear……” I entered the bidding, the girl from the burbs. The auctioneer looked at me, accepted the bid and asked for another bid. Noone came back at him. I had stopped everyone in their tracks. That’s it. Sold to the girl sitting in the third row. And I might say for extremely cheap. (Those ethnic guys back in the 80’s couldn’t find it in their heart of hearts to bid against a cute, young girl.)

I had bought a lamb at a livestock auction. The Farmer and I watched for a little longer and then we went to retrieve my mother’s lamb. We assumed it would be a ram lamb. I mean, who would sell a perfectly good ewe lamb when it could produce babies.

I had a little green 1979 Honda Civic hatchback then (it was the early 80’s – the USA was in a different oil crisis). We went out back to retrieve the lamb. It was a good looking lamb and lo and behold – he was a she.

We drove her back to the farm to join the rest of the flock in the back of my Honda. We called my mom and told her she had bought a lamb. Then we told her he was a she. For a while, we talked about growing out the lamb we named Clover for her freezer. Slowly, that reality disappeared. Clover became one of our little flock of sheep. She grew and grew and we became attached. She had a certain bossiness and liveliness that none of our other five sheep had. I could see it happening….. there was no way this sheep was going in my mom’s freezer.

And so Clover grew and flourished for many years. She, Clover, that crazy cross-bred, auction purchased ewe lamb lived to a ripe old age of 13. She produced many sets of twin lambs and even lambed out of season (this means a ewe will become pregnant twice in a year instead of only once). We’ve still got her progeny producing lambs for us.

It’s not quite the same now with 150 sheep as it was back then with a handful. Raising sheep is still interesting and fulfilling and a way of life. But I do miss those days of knowing the personality of each and every ewe and ram. The larger flock number does make it easier to get through auction day without tears. I feel like I am in participating in an age-old tradition of livestock trade that began who knows when. There are different channels now for distribution but it’s still quite the same.


The Farmer ran into a friend at the grocery store tonight. He’s known this man for over 30 years. He told him about selling the lambs at the auction and they shot the breeze for awhile - discussed the prices… the weather…. This guy is a local lawyer who raises bees, and makes beer and wine as a hobby. They have similar environmental interests. Charlie said something to The Farmer that really made his day. He said, “Yeah, Mark, you got that much for the lambs. But what you are really doing is keeping the land open and healthy. And that’s important.”

And that kind of made The Farmer’s day.

Late Winter Harvest

Down the road from our farmhouse there's been lots of activity for the past couple weeks. Normally our road is very quiet with only the neighbors passing through. Late winter is the perfect time to harvest timber. The ground is still frozen so there is rather little damage done to the forest soils. We have been watching with interest as the piles of wood grow each day and then shrink back to nothing, only to grow again the next day.

This particular piece of land is owned by a neighboring municipality. A couple years ago, we noticed large blue shots of spray paint on different trees. This was the work of a Certified Forester who worked with the property owner to develop a plan to harvest the trees that were ready to be turned into wood planks for building. The licensed forester works with the State of Massachusetts to make sure the environment and all its inhabitants are protected. The forestry plan goes out to bid to different lumber suppliers. The highest bidder gets the job and the harvest. A permit must be applied for and posted while the job is going on. Independent loggers are hired to harvest the wood.

Here's what the loggers bring with them. They also bring a chain saw and a machine similar to a bobcat with a chain which they pull the logs out with. These guys are amazingly strong, wiry, and quick. They must love what they do - being outside all day. I supposed it must be a way of life that is getting rare but it still happens here in western Massachusetts.


First the loggers build little roads through the woods doing as little as possible to disturb the woods. Here's one they built on this piece of land. Notice the portable bridge that is spanning the little river so the vehicles can cross the stream. The minute the ground becomes too soft, they have to stop harvesting. Although the wood road looks rather raw right now, by the end of the summer it will fill in and be green again with new forest growth beginning to sprout.


Here's the beginning of a pile of wood that will be picked up soon. This will go to the sawmill and be cut up into planks of lumber, be kiln-dried and then used for construction.


Some people hate to see a forest being cut. We don't mind it because by thinning large trees ready for harvest, the smaller trees can grow and then in a few decades be cut for more timber. It's a way of keeping the forest healthy and actively growing and a way for a private landowner to pay the taxes. And it beats having a bunch of houses plopped down, as far as The Farmer and I are concerned. The logging roads that are built make great places to take a walk and enjoy the forest.

Knitting for Baby - Re-Issued in Paperback

Knitting for Baby, the book I co-authored with Melanie Falick, is out in paperback! I’ve got them in stock now if you want to order one, hop on over to my books page for signed copy or buy here from that big place.

Knitting for Baby was the first book I authored after I left my job at the yarn company. Melanie and I had become friends through her book Knitting in America (now called America Knits in paperback). We met when she proposed the idea of including a profile of me in her first book. When she began working on Kids Knitting, she asked me to do the illustrations for her and to design a few projects. Kids Knitting was first published in 1998 and in that summer, we both had our children. Julia was born in July and Melanie's Ben in August.

When I was starting to think about leaving my full-time job to begin a freelance career, Melanie kindly proposed the idea to me of collaborating on a baby book. We proposed it to a publisher and all of a sudden, I was busy designing all the projects in the book. It was the perfect way for me to stay involved in the yarn world and begin a new part of my career.


Because we were both knitters and both mothers, we thought we knew what most mothers would want as handknit gifts for their babies. The concept behind the book is that a new knitter could begin at the first chapter of the book and start knitting for their upcoming baby. As they worked their way through the book, their skills would increase and they would move beyond garter stitch. The first few very simple patterns in the book were written in normal language. As the book progressed, “knitting language” was introduced.

From the beginning, we wanted the book to have a cohesive, pretty and soft look – similar to the cuddliness a woman feels when she has her first child. Here is the color palette I developed.

From this palette, we chose the yarns to match and coordinate with these shades. This was a real challenge. We had to source yarns we deemed appropriate for little babies. Oftentimes, we would find the perfect yarn for the project but the colors weren’t what we were looking for. I found this to be one of the most frustrating stages of the book. (This is before my yarn Julia was developed.)

Here are the swatches I worked up for the little garter stitch striped pullover that was on the cover of the hard cover Knitting for Baby. Hard to believe I could find them! The yarn (now discontinued) was called Waterspun – a lovely merino from Australia which was barely twisted. It was perfect for baby projects. I started swatching with the colors that were in our chosen palette and kept at it. The other pre-requisite was that the sweater color would not be only for boys or girls – this further limited the choices. In the end, we chose the swatch at the lower left in a tan, grey and aqua.


The sweater that is on the new cover we called the Harvard Square Cardigan. I love this sweater. It was an easy combination of garter stripes and moss stitch panels. If it is finished neatly, it is reversible. That little child was so incredibly cute in it. It really looks nice on the new paperback cover with the chartreuse layout. By the way, all of the photos were taken by the extremely talented Ross Whitaker in his studio in NYC.


I’m so glad Knitting for Baby has been reprinted again. It’s nice to see a project I work on have a long shelf-life. Not all of them do. My only regret with this project was the size of my illustrations. I did over 60 hand-painted how-to illustrations for the book and because of space limitations, they were reproduced so small. But they looked lovely none the less. The art direction on the book was beautiful including the cute little chapter openers.

If you are looking for a book to learn from and have baby projects in mind, make sure you check out Knitting for Baby.

Beauty in small things

Finding beauty in things that others would throw away is something I try to do when I think of it. This little pile of Julia Yarn bits has been sitting on my desk in my studio all winter long giving me a color hit when the days outside have been snowy, cloudy, and gray. I haven't been able to throw it away. One day I'll use it for stuffing a toy or something.


It's amazing what my camera picks up. The yarns fade in and out and create their own little impressionistic masterpiece.


Each one a little different.


One prettier than the next.


Hope you have a color filled weekend somehow. We're in for a bit of rain, sleet and snow.

Country Wisdom and Resourcefulness

Several years ago, I bought a Persian runner at a little antique market. The woman I purchased it from gave me advice on cleaning the runner. She said to take it outside after a snowstorm and lay it in the snow with the pile side down. Leave it out there for a couple of days and then bring it back in. I secretly doubted her advice but put it into my memory bank. Back then, I couldn’t have thought about dragging rugs outdoors in the midst of winter – I was too busy caring for an infant and it was all I could do to take a shower.

I have picked up several small area rugs at flea markets over the years and every winter, I now have it together enough to heed her rug care advice. I must say I was skeptical at first but now I do believe. For some strange reason, lots of dirt will drop out of the rug without any shaking leaving the pile on the rug puffier and cleanish looking. When I lift the rug, there's always a brown rectangle left in the snow that disappears with the next snowstorm or when the snow melts. Silly thing to write about on a blog but this little chore always makes me so happy to see something clean around here with barely a lift of the finger.


This past weekend, I hauled out some of the rugs and let nature work its magic. I did get a kick out of the dogs though. They just took the opportunity to plop themselves down onto the rugs on top of the snow and enjoyed a little snooze. Boy, are they resourceful. Truth be told, the cats were out there too - that picture didn't turn out as good.

And if you haven't seen this bit of winter wonder yet, pop on over to Siri's blog Knitting Iris. She has some beautiful photos of hoar frost. I can't remember seeing anything so beautiful in a while. The wonders of nature and the blogiverse.

Our cats have been enjoying their own little kitty-igloo this winter. I left a garden cart filled with greens by the back door and it has been covered with snow for a couple months. They have turned it into their own little cat haven. So cute. There's always some little feline face popping out the little igloo door when I open the door to the house. They rest there escaping the snow until they can pop on in to the house and get warm again.


Addendum 3/7/08: My friend Bob sent me this link to Mother Earth News which explains why the snowy rug cleaning thing works. That explains it - thank goodness.

Certain Signs of Spring

Digging out from another snowstorm on Friday into Saturday. Lovely snow but it is all piling up and getting downright deep. We haven't seen any deer in the orchard for the past couple weeks. The Farmer thinks the snowpack is too deep for them to move around much.

Although spring is elusive at the moment, I know it is on the way. The days are getting longer and the sun feels warmer late in the morning. The other trustworthy clue that spring will eventually get here on this hill is that my chickens are laying again. I am getting 3 to 6 eggs a day. It is really so much fun to crack open an egg still warm from the coop and cook or bake with it.

Last year I ordered a breed of chickens called Cuckoo Marans, aka "chocolate eggers". I could only purchase them “straight run” which means there is a mix of hen and rooster chicks. Of the 12 that grew out, I only ended up with 5 hens. A bit disappointing since I really only need one or two roosters to wake us up in the morning.

Cuckoo Marans were developed in Maran, France and they are rather large birds. That's my group on the roost above. The roosters look very similar to Barred Rocks but with longer tail feathers. The hens are a bit darker grey with just a bit of mottling in their feathers. I have been anticipating the eggs from these hens – wondering how dark they would be and if they would live up to all the fanfare.

Here is the egg selection from my hens production last week.


The blue eggs are from the Aracaunas. These birds are really nice – gentle and extremely prolific. The white and off-white eggs are from the Polish “top hat” chickens and white Silkie Bantams shown in the photo below. The typical brown eggs are from my Buff Orpingtons. And those beautiful dark brown eggs are from the Cuckoo Maran hens. It is such a pretty selection.

I couldn't resist placing some balls of Julia amongst the lovely natural colored eggs. Now I have just got to find some time to make a swatch from this inspiration.