A few Finishes ... A few Starts ...

Here is my latest punch needle start ... As soon as this one is finished ... I have a couple more I want to get right on the frame ...

I find myself really enjoying punch needle.

And one more off the frame ... This will be made into a pocket.

Still undecided on the strap ... maybe some old denim or reproduction fabric.

It is showing dark here ... but it really isn't THIS dark.

And a finished finish ... from my Oxford punch ...

a complete photo is on my handmades page.

I really like drawing the small patterns for the punch needle ... However, I am not a very fast puncher ... I have to many other things (chores) that come first. Like staining the bedroom floor ... Guess I'd better get going on that...Have a great week.

Teri

Happy Memorial Day ......

Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving to keep this country free.

I just love jugs ... old or new ...

Take note of the writing on this one ...

Here is a close up of the writing ...

Bottom of jug ... still has the lot number on it from the auction.

I purchased this at an auction over 12 years ago in Vermont!  Who would have known that a few years later I would be living in Kentucky!

A busy weekend here ... Moving sheep ... cutting grass, and I'm hoping for a bit of yard sale hopping. Hope you all have a safe and happy holiday ...

Teri

Shearing Day at the Farm ......

Shearing day was last Saturday ... I am so happy that after four cancellations it is finally done. The very first sheep to be sheared was Daisy Mae ... the shearer finished shearing and was clipping her last hoof when I saw that her tongue was hanging out and gray! Then she just dropped to the ground ... To make a very long story short ... her breathing was VERY shallow and slow ... I kept putting water on her head and on her tongue and rubbing her chest ... and finally after ten minutes (which seemed like an hour) the color started to come back into her tongue. We put her up on her knees and within a few minutes she was okay ... and is fine now. Not sure if she just got over heated or had a panic attack.

This is Becky my Border Leicester being sheared  ... I own her but Debbie owns her fleece ... Thanks Debbie, here is your  sheep to socks ... The first step.

Kenny my Cheviot ram is so big about 275 lbs. it took two people to shear him ...

Here is one of the girls all sheared ... they all look the same now.

Here is the Cheviot fleece ... I love to spin it ... It really is just the whitest white when washed.

 A mound of some of the wool ...

Next few photos are the flowers that are blooming at the farm ...

Love the Johnny - Jump -Ups.

My yellow pansies ... with the sunlight shinning on them ... Love the yellow flowers ...

My hens and chicks are in bloom ...

Close up of what their buds look like ...

And can't forget the old fashion orange road side day lily ... Loved them the first time I saw them ... I think next to daffodils they are the best naturalizers.

Black eyed Susan vine in a pot on my gate ... love these ... such a sunny yellow.

And this hint of pink knock out rose bush (not one one my colors I like in a garden) but, two years ago it was marked down to a dollar a Kroger ... I just couldn't let it die in the pot.

Don't know what this one is ... it is some sort of a woodland plant, on the wood line ... really pretty though. has a Hosta type bloom to it.

 My self pollinating bittersweet vine ... It looks pretty good for losing all it's leaves with the spring freeze.

A few of my tomato plants ... I grow mostly Roma's ...

My garden is coming along nicely ... just the right size to handle for me ... and plenty for me and hubby.

And again I will leave you with another beautiful sunset at the farm.

Well, I just came in from putting the hoe to the garden ... now I'm off to trim limbs and do some skirting ... Hope you all have a great week. Thanks for stopping by the farm!

Teri

Just doing stuff ......

Not to much going on here at the farm ... Shearing was canceled again for the third time ... It poured all day Sunday ... So I'm hoping that this Saturday will be the day.

When it is raining out ... That is when me and hubby work inside the farmhouse ...

I did a little drawing of a few things I want to whip up ... (I really have to get some water color paints)

Working on a couple of fall things ... I think I like fall even more than Christmas ...

Anyway, the photo is a peak at a drawing I will be doing something with.

And hubby is measuring for the wood trim around the windows ... The room has been painted and the wood trim will be up this weekend ... and then on to the pine floor ... When done it will complete the one half of the second floor. This will be bedroom number three on this half. (this use to be my craft room) This is a small room ... or what I consider to be small ... When finished it will make a nice guest room ... A full size bed, large dresser and a nice old oak Library desk ... When finished I will show you photos ...

Here is one of my creations I finished last week ... I will show you when I get the finial touches to it ...

And just to show you ... I really do finish what I start ... This was my FIRST punch needle attempt ...

I'm pretty happy with it ... I have the black frame just sitting on top  ... not sure if black is the right color choice ??? ... But, I will say that I enjoyed punching ... and have made a few patterns to punch up on the rainy days ...

Well, that is about it ...home from a gruling day of work ... TGIF!!!!!! Have a great weekend.

Teri

Sometimes life ... Just gets In the Way of ... Well, Life ...

WARNING PHOTO HEAVY POST

Here is a few of the lambs ... I just love to watch them in the cool of the evening ...

More lamb fun ...

Gypsy ... She is my half bottle baby ... she is Cheviot/Shetland ... Can't wait to see what her fleece will be like.

  I keep the sheep in this pasture, it is about 3+ acres .... That way I can care for them a bit easier.

After the sheep lamb I move them all to the large pasture

And then mow it down ... It always looks good when it is just mowed . I'm big on rotating my flock ... It is just healthier for them.

This small sheep barn has proven to be one of the best barns we have ever built for the sheep. It is just starting to look good ... with the old grayed wood.

This was my blackberry bush a few weeks ago ...

And this is what it looked like last weekend ... I will be making blackberry jam and cobbler before you know it ...

Barn kitties ... this one is Spook ...

This one is Click ... Male cat ... (notice what he is doing). Hubby built the bench for my birthday a few years ago ... the two end  holes actually have bird houses in the back ...

Garden area is finished and planted ... Rails on the fence came out great ...

This is a close up of what we used for the center post of the fence ... Hubby had made the feeder for me when we lived at the Amish farm ...  It was made from old rusty tin roof and reclaimed oak ... The post is just an old cedar post from a fence row we replaced ...

My watering system for the garden ... An old livestock waterier sitting under the roof of the wood barn ...

See it works great ... no need to waste water when it is free ...

The grape vine leaves are coming back ... but I'm pretty sure there will be no more grapes ...

This is one of the biggest old farm roses I have ever seen  ... Since we bought the house 4 years ago it has tripled in size ... It looks pretty when it drops all its petals ... like snow on the ground ...

The ducks have found their way to the pond ...

Pond is pretty low ... still need more rain ...

And I have also cleaned up the landscape a bit ... now gotta get some fresh mulch on ...

really hard to get a photo of this place ... it is just to big ...

This is my favorite view of the front ... I love the colors and how all the plantings

weave in and out from each other as well as the colors of the Barberry and Gold mops ... And the Tulip tree in the background ... It just makes my eyes happy ...

This year, so far has been a rough go ... Not just the sheep, but other things as well. Don't worry I am not one to pour my heart out ... to tell you my worries ... stressers ... lack of motivation ...  or problems ... and so on. To me it is JUST life ... get over it and get on with it ... that's what I say ...
I have had several ... several e mails wondering ??? yes, everything is fine ... ( thanks for that) again not one to "tell all". Saving that for my book ...

 I am just a bit tired and with a list a mile long of things that need to be done ... I don't have time for blogging this time of year ... I guess I would have,  if I worked from home ... if I didn't have livestock or a garden or grass or a home I am refurbishing ... okay, you see where I am headed. Right? And I know that goes for most of you.

What have I been up to these past weeks ... well, Echo still has not had her lambs... (she must have been the fastest runner) for a total of 13 lambs so far. Almost every year I have one ewe that will be at least one month behind the rest.

This year has proven to be less than stellar ... I had several lambs (5) die and two ewes ... I now know what WMD is now and how to spot and treat it. Just a ton of new things have happened with my lambing this year. I really did think about getting out. But, I can't ... I just love those cute little lambs bouncing around the ever so green pasture ... bumping heads, jumping and running as fast as those little legs will allow them! I do however think that in the near future I will go to just having ewes for fiber.

I have sold out of just about all my fleece, except Echo ( Shetland) and I think she will be on my spinning wheel and whats left over will go for some Santa beards.



The sheep were scheduled to be sheared at the end of April ... but of course the rain came ... So with that being said it was changed to May 13 this Sunday ... and then the heat came ... The girls were really having a hard time with all the heat. And once they are sheared and hooves trimmed ... And wormed they will be good until fall.

I have been working on a few things on the rainy days ... and I hope to share them with you as well. I will have another tutorial just in time for your fall decorating ... And of course it will be easy and inexpensive to make ...

I also hope to do a fall giveaway... but for now, don't expect to much coming from this blog ...

I will leave you with this photo of another beautiful sunset ... from my porch ... you can see a bit of fog rolling in ... So ... you will see me when  ... I have a minute and have something exciting to share ...

Teri

Blog temporarily closed ... Taking a Break ... Be back Soon ...

If you need to contact me, e mail me @ rtmac@duo-county.com

Teri

It takes a Gaggle of Geese ... To raise a Few Goslings ...

Happy Saturday to you all, Well with just two ewes to go it is almost over ...

All the lambs are doing well, and running and jumping about the pasture ...

This is the goose that I showed you quite a few weeks back ... As you can see she hatched two of them.

And you can see here ... she apparently was a surrogate ...

And yes, that is her back sitting on the rest of the eggs ... Now that is what I call dedication!

Have a great weekend.

Teri