Can You Believe It?!



We woke up this morning to snow! Yes, it melted off, but it is raining tonight and the wind is howling again, so snow again in the morning would not be a big surprise.

Oh, I did get shearing scheduled. It will be Saturday, May 15th at 8:30 a.m. if you would like to come help. It always comes in handy to have extra people to help catch the sheep, hold them for hoof trimming and worming, and deal with the fleeces. We try to bribe the shearers to slow down and at least let us have time to sweep off the shearing floor and get the finished fleece out of the way before they tromple it, not to mention be careful with the sheep and not cut them so much, but these guys always think it's a race or something, and I dread shearing time. The two things that have a chance of helping to get the best results are to pay them extra to go slower, and to have plenty of help. It's getting to the point that we are lucky to be able to find anyone at all who will shear. And no, they are not at all interested in shearing angora goats or llamas, so I get to do that myself. That's ok, as I can take my time and do a decent job, and the goats stand on the milk stand and the llama cushes, so it's not nearly as hard on the back as shearing sheep. And yes, I have tried shearing sheep myself. It is well worth it to pay someone else instead. But I wish they would do a decent job, and recognize that (1) these are my babies and seeing them cut a lot is not good, and (2) the fleeces are being used for hand spinning and throwing them in the dirt, going over the same area and making second cuts, etc. ruins a good fleece.

We Got Adopted



This turned up at our house on Sunday morning. The kids took her around and asked the neighbors, but nobody claimed her. She must have been dropped off. At first she was pretty scared, but now she has made herself right at home. She's a trouble-maker too. Well, I guess she is just acting like a normal kitten. Click here to see what happens when the kids forget to put away their shoes. (I'm not going to put pictures with dirty socks in them out here in plain sight, but other than that it's a funny picture and worth a look). Today she has really been getting brave. She has been chasing the dogs all over the place. Taz gives her his best exasperated look, but Nosie tolerates it pretty patiently. Look how well Susie (as the kids are calling the kitten) and Nosie match! (and please excuse the junk that the kids left on the couch).



Cats are very fun to photograph, and I am understanding how cat pictures sneak into knitting blogs so frequently. This is the first time we have gotten away with having a cat in the house! Mark is allergic. But Susie is insistent and so far she is getting her way. She is quite a spoiled little baby already.