SpiderWomanKnits

6 and 5

have a merry weekend

Whether you're knee deep in a blizzard, finishing your last minute or doing all of your shopping (like us), trimming a tree, traveling, working, dreaming, caroling, wherever you are I wish you a merry weekend! ooxx Spidey

one week

one week to go! are you ready?

FO: Thumb Sucky Mitts for Simonne

 

 

 

 

Every thumb sucker needs a pair of thumb sucky mitts, don't you think? Raveled here. More pictures here. Simonne really like to model, but I bet you can't tell from these pictures can you?

living on the edge

Oh, that was close...

Maybe the title of this post is a bit dramatic but for a knitter this was a nail bitter I assure you. There's nothing like last minute gift knitting when you're unsure if you have what it takes and I mean that literally and figuratively ;) This was a close call but it ended well. Pictures will have to wait though...

This Morning

All is calm

 

Until

It's been a while since I've talked about the chickens. Greg wanted to share the journey on the farm blog, but I think blogging really isn't his shtick.  Well, we started out with 62 chickens (61 chicks and our one hen). I am proud to say that after four months we still have 61 of those. We lost one of the chicks a few months ago to a hawk. Now, it's not easy to count 61 chickens, let me tell you. Every now and then I'll take a picture of the whole group and count them that way or I do a head count at night when they roost since they sort of go into a trance.

We've found that for where we live, unless we are willing to take a huge loss of our stock (which we're not), we must keep a covered run. We keep enlarging their area to range as well and the ultimate goal is to have another coop, perhaps a tractor, to move them around our large field come spring. For the winter, they are snug as a bug in the old spring house. 

We're feeding them organically which is mighty expensive. Thank goodness the sales from my Etsy shop have been keeping the grain hopper filled. Who knew that my passion for vintage could help support our small farm here? I certainly didn't when I started the shop almost a year ago. Greg and I also have forged a wonderful relationship with two local restaurants that use only organic and local ingredients. Each day we bring them a huge empty bucket or two and they fill it up with delicious, nutritious and organic scraps for us to supplement the hens diet. It works out great for all of us. They save on their dumpster cost and keep things out of the landfill, we might fill the grain hopper a bit less each week and the hens, well the hens are eating like queens!

My day begins by letting the hens out (that is after I feed Jorn and Simonne, nurse Vaughn, get lunch ready for Jorn, make sure Greg is sufficiently caffeinated and try to get some food in myself too.) Then it's off to the coop! Opening the door to a coop filled with 61 chickens is probably the best way to start a day! Watching 61 hens pile out of a tiny little door after a night in the coop is beyond hilarious. The only thing funnier is watching them trying to 'organize' themselves to get in at night. Scattering grain in the run really helps with crowd control and gets even the most timid hens out of their warm nest. That lets me enter an empty coop to remove the grain hopper and water and basically go about my chores without getting hit in the head with a hen (like I did yesterday) or upsetting too many of the ladies while I hustle around and stir things up.

Then....it's off to Indy, Hayden and Finn who are generally watching this whole process right from the gate :)

'tis a gift to be simple

It feels good to be inspired. Especially by something so simple when life demands things to be so busy. 

Baby its COLD Outside

Baby it's cold outside

But going out to check the mail has never been so much fun

I told Jenna that Finn has been causing disharmony in our family. We all argue now about whose turn it is to go walking with him. Today, I won :)

He's Here!

Finn has arrived! Jenna came by yesterday during her lunch break to drop him off. I've had to do something very similar before with a dog I had when I was younger. It's hard. I know it. Jenna wrote about her experience yesterday on her blog. She says it perfectly (as usual).

Let me say that Finn is settling in well. At first I wasn't quite so sure how it would be for the Alpacas. Jenna said to me that it's like 'having a member of the Clash room with two NPR commentators' and this couldn't be more true. But, they are getting on fabulously!

That's Hayden and Finn in both pictures. Hayden is particularly interested in Finn. They are all buddy buddy and kissy kissy, swapping secrets already.

This is Indy and Finn. Indy is a little more skeptical about his new yard-mate but he's that way about everything so it's no biggie. 

I had a freak out moment last night when I couldn't find Finn and sent Greg out to look for him in the dark cold. At first he couldn't find him either but then he walked into the shelter and found Finn wedged in between Hayden and Indy all snuggled up in what we like to call the 'Hot Middle'. That is prime real estate when you have three kids in mama and papas bed!

And Jorn and Simonne? Well they are SO happy to have Finn here. Jorn took him for a nice long walk around the field yesterday evening. He now has plans to walk him every evening and 'tuck him in'. He wants that to be his new evening chore. The only unfortunate thing is that he thinks he can swap out setting the table for walking Finn. I haven't broken the bad news to him yet ;)

Oh, and since this is a knitting blog I guess I should share my latest project with you all. But you'll have to go on over to One More Moore to check it out! Be sure to wish her a 'Happy New Baby'! 

Now, I'm going to go back to figuring out how to get back into my house without letting a goat and two alpacas in!

PS. There's much more Finn, Indy and Hayden over on Flickr :)

Make that 73

We have a very special guest arriving today. I'll give you a hint. He has four hooves and belongs to this amazing woman. We can't wait to meet him in person. I'll let you know as soon as he gets here :)

Alpacas in the Snow

Oh gosh, I just really can't get enough of these guys. I am not sure I have loved furry things so much! I spent the majority of my life riding, training and caring for horses but these Alpacas warm my heart in the most  unique way. If only I could ride them ;)

 

I got these close ups not with a fancy lens but because Alpacas are incredibly curious creatures. They are so interesting. They will come right up to you and want to see exactly what it is you are doing but whatever you do don't try to scratch them behind their ears or snuggle their necks because they are very head shy. I know that with patience and persistence we may be able to get them accustomed to haltering but right now it's not on their list of favorite things. Still there's nothing like cleaning a water bucket and seeing one of their cute fuzzy faces coming over your shoulder to check out what's going on.

What is on their list of favorite things is snow! Lucky for them we had our first snowfall in Vermont the day after they arrived. Alpacas are very, very hardy creatures from the Peruvian Highlands so Vermont is a great place for them. Greg froze outside yesterday working on their shelter but we've been told they will stay out in even the most extreme weather. And, so will Simonne, so they have a lot of company!

Seriously though, even their furry little butts are cute!