Christmas Eve on the farm

These are the last 48 of 192 crescent rolls that have come from our kitchen this week. That is not counting the rolls I've made for my baker friend who asked if I'd like to try selling some at her space in a local store. (Those were an additional 144.) It's a good thing they are easy to make. The kids were afraid we wouldn't have any, but I put some aside for Christmas dinner. The cake in the foreground is part of our traditional Christmas trifle.
I love this picture of our eldest and youngest resting after a very busy day. Matt worked all day--extra hard so the store would be all set and stocked for the day after Christmas. Ian played hard all day--tromping around the field with
Dad and playing with the rest of the kids.
I'm making our traditional Christmas morning cinnamon rolls with Matt's "help" (harassment!) That's Nathanial coming through the doorway.
The cinnamon rolls are from a recipe in MISERLY MOMS and taste just like TJCinnamons rolls that I used to love getting at the mall when we lived in Maryland. They are so addictive we only have them on Christmas and Easter. I did break down and double the batch this year.
Katelyn enjoying a Boxcar Children Mystery that she opened for her Christmas Eve gift. The sweatshirt was a surprise from Rachael and Dad who found it in a thrift store this a.m. while out doing errands.


Jonathan eager to tackle the presents...actually he's had a very busy day. I was interrupted while wrapping presents so I shut the door to our bedroom and went downstairs. Later I noticed that Jonathan hadn't been heard from in a while. I asked Nathanial to check on him...he was in our room playing with one of his new toys! I finished wrapping later this afternoon and was doing dishes this evening. Jonathan disappeared again. Katelyn went to find him...he had opened the biggest box in the pile and was examining a new globe. He finally got to open one gift without getting into trouble just before bedtime...a book which will hopefully keep him occupied until he falls asleep!

Speaking of sleep...I have a feeling it'll be a very early morning so I'll close for now. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

It's beginning to look like Christmas...

This morning we woke up to a beautiful coating of white. Ian was watching the snowflakes fall from the sky and told me the birds must be having a party. I wasn't sure what he meant and then I realized he saw the snowflakes as confetti.

I love seeing ordinary things through the eyes of our little guys.

Wayne got up early with Jonathan and took these pictures. We spent yesterday afternoon hanging the wreaths and ribbons--just in time for a real winter scene. This is a view of the house without the front porch and with our new door and sidelights.

Wayne has been working on painting the dining room--the last of the flowered wallpaper that came with the house is now covered. He did one wall at a time as his back allowed. Shortly after getting up with Jonathan and after taking pictures of the outside, Jonathan decided he needed more sleep. Wayne got to finish the last wall of the dining room without any help. (Though later in the afternoon one of the window sills did end up having a bit of yellow added... thanks to Jonathan!) (I'll try to get a picture of the newly painted dining room next time.)

I didn't do much with our alpaca fleece this week. I did spin some of the Babydoll wool and the merino top which I bought at Rhinebeck. I got another order for some gray yarn so yesterday I carded Mystifier's fleece and started spinning today. Hopefully, by the end of the evening I'll have another skein done and ready to wash/dry. I want to get it to the customer asap since she's making a scarf for her husband for Christmas. Maybe next year I'll have enough spun so I can make Christmas gifts with our yarn!

Ian loves to sing Christmas carols. His favorite is "pa rum pa pa pum" (The Little Drummer Boy). Tonight at the dinner table he insisted that we should pray "pa rum pa pa pum" before eating. He was quite put out that we did a non-singing prayer. He also goes around the house humming the music to Away in the Manger. When he gets to the words he knows, he belts out "The Little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay!!!" (then returns to humming the rest of the song).

Until next time...

Counting our blessings...

Alpacas checking out the camera...

Jonathan and Ian...

Ian and Katelyn...

Marc walking along the field edge...

Our Thanksgiving was a wonderfully, quiet, relaxing day. Wayne's boss gave us a 24 lb. turkey which wouldn't fit in the fridge so I roasted it on Wednesday. Most of the other preparations I made the day before, too, which left Thursday as a day to enjoy being together with the family and our friend William who came to spend a few days with us while his family was in NYC. (Will had to work so he couldn't go to the City.) It was great having a day to rest and reflect on all that we have been blessed with. I'm including some pictures of our blessings.

I was able to get the six alpaca earwarmer kits to the shop this week. I made one using each alpaca's fleece and then blended Mystifier's and Indian's fleece to make a neat two-toned yarn. While delivering the kits we ran into Diane who was also making some deliveries of some of her knit products. She has used some of our alpaca to make items for the shop. We enjoyed talking with the owners and seeing what else local artisans had delivered for the Christmas shopping season. There are some incredibly talented people around here!

We left that shop and went across the street to visit another little shop we hadn't been in. There we had the fun of running into our dear friend Carole who owns and operates Covenant Baked Goods. She rents a small section of the store and sells her baked items in this little shop. We tried to catch up on all the latest news and she put in an order for all the eggs Marc's chickens can provide.

Next we went to a little diner and had a cup of coffee and muffin when other friends walked in. Deb was delivering potato salad which she makes for the diner. Her daughter got married last year and moved to Florida so we got to catch up with Deb and Danielle while having our coffee. Wayne and I both commented on how neat it was to visit the little shops/diner and be able to visit with people...such a nice change from the "Wally-world chaos". I hope that we'll see a revival of the little village shops and the sense of community they bring.

Since I met my "quota" of spinning for the shop, I decided to treat myself to some spinning time with some of the purchases I made at Rhinebeck. I also wanted to try spinning some of that Babydoll fleece I got from Mary a couple of weeks ago. I really like the Babydoll though it does have lots of second cuts...which basically means you get little "noils" (aka"pills") in your yarn. This is okay as long as you don't mind some added texture. I'm thinking of making some mittens from the yarn so the added bumps won't be a problem. I've done a bit of spinning with some cranberry colored mohair top. Spinning from "top" (where all the fibers are running parallel) is a bit of a challenge for this beginning spinner, but I'm hoping with practice my yarn will be a bit more consistent.

Wayne walking the dogs... Rachael & the boys playing with the dogs...

Introducing....

And he-e-e-ere's.....MIDNIGHT!

The farm has a new addition...Midnight, a 5 year old black lab, arrived last Saturday and has been settling into life on the farm. His previous owners lived in the city of Binghamton so he's adjusting to all the empty space surrounding the house. (They had to move and couldn't take him with them.) Midnight loves to play ball, chase sticks, and roll on the ground with 2 little boys. He's escaped more than once but since he loves to ride, he happily ran and jumped in the backseat of the car when I followed him and opened the back door.

Brittany is adjusting to having a very active male dog around...she can frequently be seen giving him disgusted looks. (Yes, she is a VERY expressive dog...the only one I've ever seen who literally pouts when she's offended.)

We've brought in all the gourds and are hopeful that they'll dry properly so we can attempt some gourd crafts. I'm really hoping the bushel gourds cure well--they'll make some neat bowls/baskets. This is just a sampling of some of the gourds we harvested.

I've finally finished working on the pattern for the earwarmer I've been working on to put into a kit. Here's a picture of Rachael modeling it. (This picture is on the package) I plan on getting at least one kit into the shop this week.

Yesterday I picked up 2 big bags of babydoll sheep wool to try spinning. In my reading, it was described as a good blender for alpaca. A fellow spinner that my teacher told me about gave me one fleece from her sheep (Babydoll/Romney Cross) and one from her neighbor (100% Babydoll). I must say, spinners are such a generous lot--they are so willing to help you find what you're looking for and if they have it, they are more than willing to share. She encouraged me to come back sometime soon with my wheel so we could sit, spin, and get to know each other. She also offered to give me a couple of rams for lawn trimming and future fleece harvests, but that's jumping way too far ahead of what we're up to having on the farm at this point.

Ian says, "See you later! Come back soon!"

October days...

Pictures! Matt and I have been trying to figure this system out and we think we've finally got it!

These were taken on Saturday...a beautiful, sunny, WARM day. Ian's favorite activity these days is playing hide and seek with chickens in the corn patch. He cornered one in the compost bin and she pecked him--He was NOT impressed, but it didn't keep him from continuing the game.

We harvested carrots and they are stored in the basement. The Indian corn has been on display for the neighbors and anyone else who passes by to purchase...so far they've sold about $10 worth.

Wayne found a trampoline at a yard sale, which the
kids are thoroughly enjoying. Jonathan and Ian are ready to go "jump" before they get out of their pajamas in the a.m.

As you can see by the picture our alpacas are filling in nicely with fleece. Tonight we gave them their menengial worm shots...by ourselves. I must agree with Matt--giving them their injections is MUCH easier than trimming toenails!! We dread having to repeat that experience...I think they do too!

Marc's newest chickens are laying eggs! Wayne has been teasing him that they better start producing or they'll end up on the dinner table. Maybe Marc spread the word and they decided to get busy.

Marc is dog-sitting for a neighbor's 2 Rotties. They are big babies and he adores them. They all seem to enjoy exercise time around the pond...Marc walks and enjoys the view while they chase off Canadian geese and tear around the property.

I've spun a bit of Mystifier tonight--I plan on using that to knit a sample of the headband that we are putting together in a kit. We'll provide the pattern, the yarn, and a picture of the finished product in a little package. Hopefully, they'll be a good seller. I don't think any of my yarn has sold at the shop yet, but with the warm weather we've been having, many people aren't thinking about needing warm, knit/crochet items. At least it's given me some time to do some spinning and working out the "bugs" in our pattern. Last week I spun an alpaca/angora blend--it is SO soft. I've also washed a lot of fleece. I'm finding the carding is the most time consuming step in the process. Hopefully at the beginning of the year I'll be able to purchase a drum carder which will allow me to do more in less time.

We've visited two goat farms in the past week. Marc is definitely taken with the Nigerian Dwarf breed. Matt is leaning towards the Alpine breed. Mom has been doing a lot of reading and encouraging (okay...nagging!) the boys that they need to be doing the reading if this is THEIR project. We'll see if this does develop into a new farm enterprise. Marc found out how much he needs to purchase a pregnant doe and is about 1/4 of the way there. He figures that he'll earn some for dog-sitting and from selling eggs...it'll be a long-g-g process, but I know if it's something he really wants to do, he'll make it happen. The doe will be bred in November and deliver in April so he has some time to earn the $--who knows, maybe Matt will decide the Nigerian dwarf breed is the way to go and will chip in on the purchase.

'Til next time....
Linda

Busy with the harvest

First of all, I apologize for not having any photos up...I took some last weekend, but haven't learned how to download them onto the blog yet...hopefully, by the next blog we'll have some colorful pics to share.

I finished canning salsa and we pulled up the tomatoes. They got hit with a blight so we didn't harvest as many as we had hoped, but I got about 2 gallons of salsa put up for the winter...or until Marc eats it up. He's a salsa fanatic and has a bowl of it with tortilla chips every afternoon.

Katelyn and Jonathan have enjoyed harvesting carrots and eating them as they play in the backyard. Some carrots got mixed in with my flowers so they pick flowers for Mom while they pull up carrots.

Matthew harvested all the Indian corn. He has a beautiful collection of purples, reds, yellows, whites, and some that have a bluish tint. He set up a stand at the end of the driveway. A man stopped today and offered to buy all the corn at half the price Matt has them marked ($1 per ear or 4 for $3). Wayne told him that he'd have to ask Matt (who wasn't home). The guy said he wanted them to sell on e-bay. He gets $ 0.75/ear and $2./cornstalk. He told Wayne that if the weather continued to hold, he was sure Matt would be able to sell all he had displayed.

Our gourd crop is looking great. We have such a neat collection of different colors and shapes. We have several that are going to make great bowls once we dry/cure them. Hopefully, we'll be successful in our first attempts at gourd crafting.

Matthew, Marc, and I went and visited Aleatory Alpaca Farm (they have a website if you do a search by their farm name--it's on the AlpacaNation weblink) this afternoon...not to see their alpacas, but their Nygerian Dwarf Goats! The boys are seriously thinking of adding goats to the farm and they wanted to check out this breed. They are cute little things...about the size of our dog Brittany. These goats were very friendly--like Brittany!!! One tried climbing up into my lap once I started petting her. Sharon spent a great deal of time explaining how she raises her goats and then we got talking about alpacas (no big surprise!) and then chickens.

Sharon wants Marc to raise her some chicks next spring because she doesn't have much success with chicks but does fine once they are full grown. Then she got telling the boys how they should look into raising guinea fowl and pheasants. Before we left she had given them several ideas on farming ventures.

If the boys decide to get Nygerian Dwarfs from her, they'll let her know and she'll plan her spring kidding season by the total number of people interested in purchasing. (The does will be bred in November and deliver in May)

Tuesday we're going to visit a nearby Alpine goat farm where the owner makes goat cheeses.
If nothing else, we're learning a LOT about goats.

Rachael cleaned out a lot of the perennials that were past their prime. The gardens look much better, but very empty. I harvested some of my herbs to dry for a herbal wreath for our porch. I made one several years ago and it made the porch smell so nice. Right now the mudroom is a bit overpowering with all the herbs drying from the overhead beams.

This week I've spun a bit of Mystifier (rose/gray) with angora blended in. I'm really looking forward to seeing how that yarn turns out. Between working at the office and appointments this week, I didn't get as much spinning done as I would have liked. Maybe this week...but...

Monday Marc is having his big toe operated on...an ingrown toenail got infected and the doctor is going to cut part of it out now that he's been on antibiotics for 10 days. Tuesday Brittany gets her physical...she has several growths on her belly that need to be checked out. Wednesday Nathanial goes to the eye doctor and Marc goes for an allergy injection. Thursday Wayne goes to the chiropractor. Friday doesn't have any doctor's appointments...yet! I have a hand spindle that you spin horizontally that I need to learn how to use. At least then I could be spinning in all these doctors' waiting rooms.

Until next time...

It must be fall...

The calendar may say that Autumn doesn't begin for a few more days, but for us, the first sign of Fall is lighting the woodstove. It's official...the woodstove is furnishing some welcome heat for this chilly day. We attended a picnic this afternoon, which required a trip into the attic to retrieve sweaters and jackets. The boys (4 y.o. and 2 y.o.) kept us running so we didn't get too chilled...just tired!

As I type this, Wayne and the boys are moving fence lines...again...The farmer has finally cut and baled our back field and we are working at getting more permanent grazing pastures put in for the alpaca. We intend to have one large pasture with several smaller grazing pastures within.

We have the water line in and working. It is pure joy to have a water source right next to the barn. Hauling buckets does get tiring. We still need to get the electricity hooked up in the barn...especially with the darkness coming earlier these days.

This week I spun 2 skeins of yarn--1 from Indian Paintbrush (brown/white) and 1 from Mystifier (rose gray). Both skeins were delivered to the shop in Sidney. I hope to get a skein from Flashdancer (brown) and Mr. Wonderful (black) done this week and into the shop. I'm also trying to design the headband/warmer kit to put in the shop within the next couple of weeks.

School started officially at Riverside Homeschool this past week. We started a week later than the public school in order to complete one task that I committed to completing before the new school year began...cleaning out my craft room! It took two days, but the craft room is now 2 big boxes and 4 garbage bags less cluttered! I was even able to find places for all my unwashed or unspun fleece. The kids have been great at getting back into the school routine. The biggest challenge is dealing with the 2 littlest guys in the midst of "reading time". I've made up some preschool activities for them to do ONLY during school time. Hopefully, they won't lose interest in those any time soon.

Matt(20 y.o.) and Marc (14 y.o.) are talking over the possibilities of raising Nygerian Dwarf Goats. Matt wants to get in on this farming "thing" but doesn't have a lot of time. He's thinking he might be able to partner with "Farmer" Marc (since he's the resident chicken farmer and has experience with animals) to do the daily chores. Matt will help out more on the business aspect. He's thinking over the possibilities of breeding and maybe soap made from goats' milk. We'll see if it develops into reality. Wayne told them he doesn't mind as long as he nor I end up doing the work. We really don't need more activities added to our day!

Thanks for checking in on the farm. My next goal is to get pictures up on the site. A computer wizard, I am NOT, so I rely on Matthew to help me out.