(Photos can be difficult to get.) I have been working on a pair of socks named “As Time Goes By” and the name is so appropriate for today’s post. I flew to Wash DC for the Celebration of Life event for my sister-in-law who is at the end of her Alzheimer’s journey. She was so active and her entire life was lived to bless others. Maybe her genes knew time would not be as long for her, as she had what seemed like boundless energy. If she saw a need, she was there with a helping hand, from offering child care to a mother who was trying to get more education, to mission service while working a full-time job, where she was able to share her love of baking. She loved people and you never saw her without a smile that said “you’re special to me”. And somehow she always had time for you. At family gatherings when they would come to visit, she always made a stop at Costco and brought more than enough food for everyone. (even though it was a potluck and she was only bringing drinks). Hospitality was her game.
On the plane I worked on my “As Time Goes By Socks” by Susan Burzynski. This was a Ravalry free pattern, cuff down, that I am making with Knitpicks “Felici” yarn in Sprinkles colorway. I did not get finished but am ready to do the toes. I am home now, so it’s anyone’s guess when they will actually get done. Hopefully, this week. But even that will depend on if emergencies arise.
Meanwhile nothing exciting happened at the farm. Animals were cared for and no one new emerged. Maybe this week, we will see a new face or two.
Give your loved ones an extra hug. Life only seems long to the young.
Today was the big stem cell day. It took 2 hours to drive into Seattle as there were several accidents, no doubt caused by the rain. It really was surprisingly simple. The doctor pokes tiny little holes in the “love handle” areas of the waist with a #30 needle and then suctions some fat out. Now for me, I didn’t have a problem because I have a bit extra there. For DH, it was a major problem because he really has no extra fat. However, they finally did get enough. They take out what would amount to a stick of butter. Then they process it to remove the stem cells from the fat. This takes about 30-45 minutes. We rested while that was accomplished. Because I have a bad knee, they inserted the cells into the knee joint and I should have full mobility without pain within 3-6 months.
Yesterday, I managed to quilt most of these colorful mountains. I used a circle design that came with my machine , but changed it to become more oval
Lambs photos will follow. But first a photo of a good workout. As you can see there is much hay, straw, and poop to remove from one of these pens. So today, this was most of my workout. The mother in the back with lambs was the other part. She wasn’t interested in coming in for two of bonding. She is the 4th new mother in 3 days.
I did find time to gather in a 4 gallon pail of Swiss Chard. It seems nothing discourages this vegetable, which is good, since it is actually good for the body. It is now cooked and in the freezer.
Then last night Zelda decided she couldn’t hold out another day and had twin ewe lambs. These are Shetlands and 1/2 the size of the Cormos, weighing in about 4#.
This afternoon, Zoe, another Shetland, got it right. These are the St Patrick day lambs. At least as of right now. Sometimes a sheep will not give any indications that she is going to give birth and other times, she looks like it for a week or two ahead of time. Zelda didn’t indicate. We’ve been watching Zoe for 2 weeks. The orange color on the coat indicates it was a difficult labor and will wear off soon.
This afternoon we went tractor hunting. We had already looked at the John Deere, so today was Kubota day. There are many choices and though we were looking at the lower end, these creators cost plenty. So how do we find a used one that we won’t have to spend a lot on repairs? I don’t yet know, but will try to learn. Farming is expensive and labor intensive! Even though I don’t want to pay any more than I absolutely have to for my food, I also realize how inexpensive it really is to go to the grocery store and purchase it. I am thankful to those who spend their time and energy in this way.
See this handsome fellow? The head and horns are incredible! Sheep are very visual and after shearing do not recognize each other. So there is much noise because babies can’t find their mothers, and the ewes don’t know each other. The two males had to re-establish their pecking order, which meant they were brutal to each other. We have to put the males in a very small pen for a day or two so they don’t have room to back up and get a run at each other and kill the opponent. The two boys were in a 4 x 6′ area with chain link on three sides and 2 x 12″ lumber on the other. They bent the chain link and were trying to go through the wood. They were acquainted with each other enough this morning that we were able to put them back in their big one acre pen with hot wire. If you ever see two of these fellows establishing who is primary, you will have a very good understanding of the word “ram”.
Here is Beau in the car with all the bags of wool. He is making sure the car is not moving without him in it.
I left the gate lock open so Beau could follow me up to the barn, and apparently when he pushed it open, the gate came tumbling down. When I started back to the house, this is what I saw. This is only one of the reasons, it is difficult to accomplish what is on my list. It is a vicious cycle trying to keep everything from wearing out before one is done using it. In our case, fence posts have been here long enough that some of the posts are rotting.