Shearing Day

Shearing Day is coming up again. We'll sure be glad when we no longer need to do this, but as long as we have some Icelandic sheep, it has to be done. (Our Cascade sheep don't need to be shorn, so a flock of exclusive Cascade sheep is our goal.)

We have a gen-yoo-wine Australian shearer come to our farm to shear the girls, and it's quite an experience. He's a really nice guy and does a great job. But, like the rest of us, he needs to make a living, so it's not cheap. I won't worry about him once we've got a flock of no-shear sheep; nearly all the breeds of sheep out there do need to be shorn and he will always have an income.

Until then, we'll enjoy the Shearing Day experience, as well as the fun of providing fleeces to local spinners.

A Farmer's Ode to Insulated Overalls

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depths and breadth and height
Of thine coverage, keeping my jammies out of sight.
For the insulation and elastic braces
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most wintry need, darkest night or snowy sunlight.
I love thee freely, moving in comfort through my days
I love thee purely, pockets placed just right.
I love thee with a passion put to use
As I unzip the legs to remove my heavy boots.
I love thee with a love I'll never lose
With every day, and continued wear
Rips, tears, you never let me down, and if I choose
I shall love thee better, even after a new pair.

With apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

Low maintenance farming: how to do what needs to be done without spending all day on it.

One Year in 120 Seconds

Okay, this short video is too cool not to share. Beautiful. And it's Norway, land of (some of) my ancestors. The photographer even shows the techniques he used to create this video.

And on that note, I'm heading out to the garden to do a little weeding in hopes of planting cool season crops before the month is over. Before the week is over, if I can find my seed collection from last year! Living in the "banana belt" of the Pacific Northwest has its advantages; and year-round gardening is one of them. I'm ashamed that I didn't plant a winter garden, but console myself that it would not have survived the 2 ice storms we had. Now it's time to take some chances!

It's a New Year! Whew!

I am entering this year even more hopeful than the last. We still have our home, we still have an outside income, we still have our health, and we are learning even more ways to be frugal despite having grown up in the most thrifty of families.

Our wonderful Cascade Farmstead sheep, designed to be economical, are doing fine. Breeding season seems to be over; our littlest ewe lamb was bred this week, and the countdown begins for lambing season. Woo Hoo! I'm collecting names for lambs, which is always fun.

I finished another pair of thick wool socks; this pair customized for a woman who wears a size 8 shoe. Lovely pearl gray with soft plum and aqua; photo coming. I'm working on a handsome color combination to fit a man's foot, having just turned the heel and am on the home stretch toward the toe. This pair of socks can still be customized for foot length at this time, and a photo of this sock-in-progress is on my website. I'm working on another color combination that I'm really excited about; you will have to check back to see this one!

And the stockings were shipped to a soldier with care...

I donated the socks shown below to one of our fine soldiers. AnySoldier.com is a wonderful organization that makes it easy to support our men and women serving our country. If you utilize this organization, be sure to read the FAQ thoroughly before doing anything. With the large number of deployments coming up, it's important to get on board and do what we can.

Christmas was simple and lean this year, and we took this opportunity to shake things up a bit to make it memorable. Instead of spending money we don't have on turkey and all the trimmings, we ate salmon caught last summer from the banks of local rivers, cooked in a new-to-us way, blackberry cobbler from our own berries picked in August, etc. It was wonderful!