Just a Matter of Time

I'm sure you've all been waiting for me to get some kind of animal to care for.  Yes, I need something to nurture.  So here are my ducks.  I can't name them all yet, because I don't know what sex they are, but the white pair is male and female Muscovys, and they are Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett.  Then I have a Khaki Campbell, a Black Swiss, and an Ancona.  I think I got the breeds right.  They are so funny and entertaining.  I want them for eating my slugs.  Have you seen the price of slug bait?  Holy Cow, it's ridiculous.

I was watching a movie with a friend the other night and we heard people just outside my window.  It was the neighbors, herding the ducks back home.  I guess they had decided to pay a visit.  They know where their enclosure is, so I was easily able to herd them back in and close them in for the night.   During the day, I let them out, and they pretty much stay in my garden.  They are also intrigued with the chickens on the other side of the fence.

Summer didn't arrive until July 4th, and since then it has been hot and humid.  My flowers are finally growing.  At the feed store the other day, they were giving away vege starts, so I got 4 more tomatoe plants, orange and yellow.  I like to make different colored sauces, so this will be fun.

My yard is looking beautiful.  It helps to have a lawn service, but I still have lots of weeding to do, and my garden in the back.

For those of you who missed this on facebook, here is my new swimming hole.  Ya gotta do what ya gotta do to cool down.  That is a 35 gallon watering trough.

I have been giving great thought to establishing an alpaca rescue operation.  I have heard that alpacas are selling at the Auction barn for $2 to make dog food.  I would be very selective about which alpacas I would take on.  In most cases, they go to auction because people do not know how to handle them.  I will determine if they can be trained, and then work with them.  When they are ready, I will re-home them.  However, the person or persons who takes them will have to go through a training class with me.

This is still in the groundbreaking stage, but I'm getting very enthusiastic about it.

Fourth of July, 2012

Summer finally arrived on the Fourth of July.  Above is the bouquet I had for the table outside for our 4th feast of roasted hot dogs, potatoe salad and smores.  Doesn't get much more American than that.

The red and white striped rose in the middle is named "Fourth of July"

One of the 1000 plus chickens got loose and showed up in my garden that morning.  Isn't she cute?  I never had chickens before.  They are so funny.  I now appreciate the title of the movie CHICKEN RUN.

The afternoon before, I had received a phone call from Melissa, shown above.  She was panicing over a cria delivery, so I walked her through it.  My friend Sheree, who was visiting from Tacoma, and I went over on the fourth to visit the new baby and her predecessors.  Here is Madrone, weighing in at 22 pounds.

She is a beauty.   Her fiber is stunning, and she has the longest legs!!!

This is Pippi Longstockings cria, Thunderbolt.  Unfortunately, he does not have her wonderfully friendly nature.  She still comes up to give me kisses when I visit.

Then we visited the baby goats who happily attacked us.  Rosie untied Sheree's shoes.

This one tried to take my blouse off!!!

I took Sheree and her son, Kyle to the local Mexican restaurant, Mexico Tipico.  This is Kyle's real expression when he saw his fajitas delivered.

My Expresso Burrito, which I can usually only eat half of.

And here is Sheree enjoying her Tortilla soup.

I've had alot of visitors this summer.  Next weekend it is my two neices, then a couple of girlfriends whom I worked with mmmmmmmmm, many years ago.  Let's just leave it at thatl.

Yarn Production

I hate to complain about our weather, when everyone in the east half of this country seems to be suffering from record heat, but it is wet and humid here, and I'm getting tired of this.  I wish I could send the rain to Colorado to put an end to those awful fires.  And the coolness to you in the East.

I have all of my windows and doors open to try to get some air, and I have spent my day carding wool to spin.

I borrowed my friend's drum carder, since mine are toast.

Here it is, with a supply of fiber to comb.

Here is the container full of fiber that I dyed a couple of months ago. 

I'm having fun blending colors and am looking forward to seeing the yarn I make out of these "roulags".

And here is the latest yarn I am spinning.  What a little workhorse my spinner is.  My yarns are selling well, so I need to pick up my production.

This skein is the last one I finished, made from whatever was left on my bobbins.

What is Your Purpose?

I know many of you will remember the vintage quilt I acquired and have been researching for the past three years.  I traced the origin of it to my very own church!!!  Today, during the service, I will be presenting the quilt to the Nooksack Christian Fellowship.  The woman for whom this friendship quilt was made was from Montana.  She and her family of 10 traveled to Nooksack to attend a Tent Revival at the Campground in Nooksack.  They fell in love with the area and bought a farm nearby.  In 1931, Etta Aldrich realized she could no longer run the farm by herself after her husband had died and her children were all raised.  She made the decision to move to Port Angeles to live with one of her daughters.  This quilt was made by the members of her church and presented to her as a farewell gift.

I am so glad to have a home for it, and have found it a true honor to have visited the past and learned so much about the history of my area and those who settled it.

And now Nooksack is 100 years old and I am the chairperson of the Nooksack Centennial Celebration.  My, what a circle of life.  How did this all happen?  Certainly not by coincidence.

Now in a more serious note, my week in Hawaii provided me with some extensive relaxation and introspection.  It was a good time for me to review my life and see if I could come up with a plan for my next chapter.  A week later, I came to the realization that I have been so distraught and desperate because I had no purpose in my day to day life.  I have always had important rolls in my work and personal life, and now I find myself unfulfilled.

Yes, I have many friends, and I am involved in many activities within my community, but somehow this does not give me direction.

Many of you are familiar with Empty Nest Syndrome.  I never had to deal with it, since as soon as my boys left home, we acquired alpacas, and all of my energy was immersed in them.  Those years with the alpacas were my Glory Days.  I built a successful business, I practiced animal husbandry, and took great pride in the accomplishments I achieved here on the farm.

Now, with the loss of my husband, and the sale of my alpacas, I am overwhelmed.

I have had a hard year and a half, running away from my fears, acting impulsively, looking for something to fill this gaping hole in my life.  As Oprah would say, my "Ah Ha Moment" has given me clarity and a goal.

As usual, I talk to everyone I can about my concerns, and of course I pray.  God has not let me down and direction is coming my way.  I have been contacted by a local organic farmer regarding a really special program that I may be able to get involved in.  I also have some volunteer work lined up.  I can't disclose at this time what the particulars are, but I will be sharing them with you as they come to be.

KoOlina, Place of Joy

 I was in Hawaii for the wedding of my niece, and what more appropriate place than one named KoOlina, the Place of Joy.  My brother officiated, and he delivered such a moving message, he had even the men in tears.  He's an amazing man, and I'm so happy to have him for my brother.

 He showed a few of us this picture before the ceremony, but here is the story.  When my two nieces were 6 & 4, they dressed up as brides and went downstairs to tell their Mom and Dad this story.  "We love you Mama, and we love you, Papa, and we love our home so much.  When we grow up, we are going to get married and have lots of children and live here with you."

This is the site of the wedding.  Actually, it rained shortly after the ceremony, so food and dancing was moved to a grass shelter by the beach.  A more fairytale setting could not be found.

Here I am with my son Michael on the left.  He's the only one there wearing a tie, but it was appropriate since it had tiny hula girls all over it.  I must have packed for this trip 10 times.  I bought three dresses, too them all back, and wore this one I already had.  I took half the stuff out of my suitcase before I left, and glad I did.

Earlier in the day I went to one of the activities the resort puts on.  This was Bingo and Sundaes.  I had the worst card, but did enjoy about 1/4 of my Sundae.  It was HUGE.

The next day, I learned to make a lei out of leaves from the Ti plant.  As we got started, I realized it was the same as spinning!!!  You just do it with your fingers.

Then, a couple of nights later I learned to braid this headband out of leaves from the Coconut tree.  A big, burly Samoan man who is a dancer with the Fie Fie performance helped me.  I was all thumbs.  I will write more about Fie Fie tomorrow.

PYROMANIA

My husband was always proud of the fires I built, how hot and fast they burned.  When you have so much yard wast and cleanup, this is important.

So, yesterday I decided it was a perfect day to take care of that massive mound that has accumulated for the past three years.

Here is the view North to the Canadian mountains.

As you can see, the grass is all green, and the ground beneath the fire is actually mud.

I lost my muckboots in the muck on several occasions.

Unfortunately, that mud was not enough to contain the fire.  There is alot of dry grass hiding under the new, taller grass, and it soon caught fire.  It was spreading like crazy and heading for a HUGE pile of apple tree prunings.  Oh, my, if this continues, I'm going to have to call 911.  I just can't do that!

So, I ran to the next field where one of the guys from Growing Washington was plowing and asked him for help.  He could not speak more than three words of English, but he saved my life.  I was so scared, and working so fast and furious, I thought I was going to have a heart attack.

We finally got everything under control.  I went to the house, poured cold water all over my head, and cried louder and longer than I have since my husband died.  I'm 62 years old!  What am I doing?  This has got to stop.

Once I regained my control, I recruited the fellow who cares for the chickens and rabbits to help me douse what was left of the fire with water and sand.  I would never have been able to sleep if I had any doubt about the fire taking off again in the night.

In the barn, we have 95 baby bunnies.

They are so cute.  I don't pay them too much attention, because they will be slaughtered and eaten.  No sense getting attached.

It's going to be another warm, sunny day, but I am going to take it easy.  I might even go to the Market to say hi to all my friends there.

Sunny Sunday

After church on Sunday, I decided to go into Bellingham to see what was happening at the Dirty Dan Days in Fairhaven.  That included a stop in at Mrs. Hudson's Yarn and Tea.  Here are my yarns on display, and as soon as you walk in the door, they get your attention.  I like that alot.

This is my friend who does face painting at the market and local events.  She is so good, and fast, so the kids can sit still long enough to get what they want.  Isn't this little girl adorable?

I was laid up most of last week with strained ribs and sore abdominal muscles, so I got alot of spinning done.  Above are three of the skeins I finished.  So much work goes into each skein.

And, I'm so happy to have flowers back in the bathtub again!

Well, anywhere in the house.  Flowers make me smile!!!

It's a miserable windy and rainy day today, planned to keep me resting so these ribs will heal.  I'm trying so hard to take it easy, but it is soooooooooooooo hard.