Hey Howdy Hay!

Got me some nice local grass hay yesterday!

2nd cutting. Just over a ton.

And I’m so pleased to be able to put it in the sheep shed this year.

We finally got the roof done, and separated the sheep half from the hay/people stuff half.

Here is a view of the hay/people half from the sheep side-

And vice versa-

Here’s Edgar, having just approved the new placement of the mineral feeder-

And Felix and Griff enjoying our unusually lush late-July pasture.

Guess all this rain is good for something!

I’m still working on getting a bunch of fiber ready for my annual Langley crafting retreat this week.

I’ve got three batts of Chone all worked up (on the right), some shetland/dyed mohair blend (center), and some misc leftovers that might come along too (left).
Hope to still do some more carding tonight.

So hard to decide what to take!

New Developments

New roof on the old half of the sheep shed! (near side in the photo, for hay storage)

Not quite ready to pack in hay for next winter yet, but we’re getting there.

The sheep are impressed with the progress so far. They’ve been supervising very closely-

In other news, we’ve got nothing in the way of cherries this year (boo), but little quinces (yea!)

and a few pears

I just love how the little pears grow upside down on the tree. They look so cute and perky.

And…..

(drumroll)

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Introducing Mr. Bulky Spinner!

Isn’t he handsome?

Here’s a closer look at the flyer-

Cool, eh?

It’s bobbin-led, of course, so it is really different from spinning on my other wheels, but I’m starting to get the hang of it.

Gonna make me some nice think squishy yarns.

Scenes from a sunny (!) weekend-

Finally got the tomatoes in.

This year we’re going almost exclusively with cherry tomato varieties (with the exception of one Cougar Red plant) as these are the only ones that ripen up reliably during our short summers.

We’re trying out a new thing this year-  red plastic mulch. Hoping it will keep weeds down, and the yield up. Everywhere around here seems to be sold out of the red plastic tomato greenhouses (a perforated plastic bag that slips over the tomato cages), but we’ve got some of those on order too.

Also did some tractor-ing. High on the project list this summer is re-furbishing the north end of the sheep shed and turning it into hay storage.

Tractors are might good for cleaning out sheds, and digging post holes!

Love the tractor.

(yes it’s only supposed to be that tall) 

It was pretty hot here by PNW-in-June standards- about 80, I think.

Here is Sadie cooling her jets in the sheeps’ water-

And here she is after exploring the pond (no action shot on that one… she knew not to try it while I was watching)

The poor goldfish are probably terribly traumatized.

And finally, once the lawn is mowed and I’ve washed all the pond out of Sadie’s hair, I find some time to sit and work on the sweater.

I love happy endings.