Friday, January 01, 2010

Happy New Year - 2010

Living on a farm is full of new beginnings, lots of endings, the continual change of the seasons, especially here in New England, and the very raw realities of life. I’ve been away for a few days visiting friends and relatives and it feels so good to be back home. I have come to expect the changes in our year, to anticipate the cycle of life and death, birth and renewal as the year goes by. I try not to take anything for granted and I do not think I do. I feel more grounded in my life right now, perhaps because I am getting older but perhaps because of the experience of living on our farm. The important things in life are health, shelter, food, warm rooms, and the love of my family and friends. I do not need a lot of fancy things and extra stuff that barely gets used. I'm not at the point where I am purging things out of my life but I do think carefully before I acquire new things. I do feel the need for continual creativity whether it be through yarn, knitting, sewing, painting, teaching and sharing, photography, and blogging. That’s what makes me tick and always has.

I thank you all for letting me share our farm life and my creations with you in this tiny corner of cyberspace. I thank you all for your encouragement and support. May you all have a healthy and satisfying 2010.

The New Year here at our farm begins with the cycle of life. We have new lambs!

Julia’s sheep Cora was the first to give birth two days before the New Year. How appropriate it was that she would lamb first and I can share the sweet lambs with all of you. This year, Cora’s third as a mother, she has produced a beautiful set of twin girls. We’ve named them Dora and Flora. Cora’s lambs are the only ones we name, with the exception of bottle lambs. It will be impossible to tell them apart, once more babies arrive. They aren't bottle lambs like their tame Mama Cora was.


So many of the other sheep look to be bursting with babies. It’s going to be lamb central here for the next month or two!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Kristin, for sharing your family, thoughts and lives with us. You are truly inspiring. Happy New Year - may it bring you much joy, happiness and creativity!
Connie from Kansas

Lynn said...

Lambies! Congratulations! I hope the rest of lambing goes smoothly, and that 2010 is full of joy and color for you and your family!

Mereknits said...

What a lovely way to start the New Year. Hope you and your family have a wonderful year.

Deborah said...

Congratulations to Cora. What sweet babies. Happy New Year!

Leslie said...

I always enjoy your blog, Kristin, and I wish you, The Farmer and Julia a year of health, happiness and success.

Karen L. said...

Interesting that you wrote about change being part of life as that is the same thing that Jon Katz and The Yarn Harlot wrote about in their New Year's blog entries also. I think it is ofter hard to change but that is what happens in our lives day after day. Guess we had better learn to bend like the Willow in order to survive with some grain of sanity. Thanks for all your posts and photos. Love seeing the "new life" and your Julia yarns are, as the saying goes, to die for! A Very Happy New Year and may the farm and your fiber business prosper. (Boy, do I ever wish I could knit like you ... even just a little.)

Virginia G said...

Happy New Year!

I love that picture of Julia and all the lovely colors she's wearing.

Congratulations on the lambs. Can't wait to see more pix.

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year! It looks like the babies are smiling in the picture, or am I crazy?

Willow said...

Hurray for all the new lambs! The new beginnings of years and seasons are always exciting. Here's to a wonderful and creative 2010!

marit said...

How fun for Julia that her Cora was the first to lamb! they are really cute-all the girls;-)

Wishing you a happy and healthy 2010.

Sara said...

Beautiful pictures! The lambs are adorable! I found a sense of peace reading your thoughts and seeing the pictures. Life on the farm is a pace that resonates with me.

grammynan said...

I just wanted to take a moment to say thanks for your lovely posts, pictures, your honesty, and creative
projects. I am looking forward to looking on in the year ahead.

Francie Kaufman said...

Just wanted to express my thanks for your wonderful blog. I agree with your sentiments about what is important in life, and I envy your beautiful farm life perspective. Well, it is probably not always beautiful, but certainly rewarding.

Happy New Year to you and your famiy!

Sare said...

Way to go Cora! Kristin I love reading about your new additions to the farm. Also, glad you share the heartbreak that sometimes occurs on a farm as that is the way it is. Stay warm the cold is coming.

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