Farming in the shade

Today was a bitter day. The wind just blew right through us, turning our bones to ice. Because it was the coldest day of the year, today was the day to move the sheep inside. The pastures really haven't grown any for the last month, due to the decreasing daylight and temperatures. The sheep have been suffering from the "grass-is-greener" virus, causing the bolder ones to run the gauntlet of the high tensile electric fence. It only hurts for a second when you squeeze through the wires, and that wool is wonderfully insulating against the shock. As more and more ventured outside the fence, it became apparent that it was time to move them inside. So, about supper time we all headed out back to herd them inside. The nice thing about sheep is that once you get a few going where you want them, the rest tend to follow. (By the way, there are no photos today because I was busy working. And besides, the weather made us not want to dilly-dally about looking for Kodak moments.) Of co...

All day Friday and Saturday we spent at the outdoor Christmas Market in a nearby town. This was the view from my little wooden booth. The quality of the vendors is much better this year than last. Several of them sell their handcrafted items at historical reenactments. Last year there were a couple of booths that were just assorted "resale" operations. I prefer a nice mix of handcrafted items and specialty items. This year's vendors include: goats' milk soap, handcrafted wooden bowls and spoons, fur items, items made from alpaca fiber, homemade pet treats, homemade baked goods, homemade chocolates, dutch themed novelty items, herbs and trees, and a food booth with quality homecooked foods. There are more, I'm sure, but I didn't have much time to wander. The Farmer spent as much time outside with his spinning wheel, demonstrating. It was very cold, so he had to come in and warm up in the booth often. He spent a long time talking with a local reporter, and was ...

"Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." --Psalm 46: 10

"You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it. "You drench its furrows and level its ridges; you soften it with showers and bless its crops. "You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance. "The grasslands of the desert overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness. "The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing." --Psalm 65:9-13

Dyeing yarn: Dried lavender, ready to be put into sachets: Hand-tying a wool-filled mattress topper. King. Wow--what a day. In addition to the above activities, we made greeting cards, designed labels, printed and laminated hangtags, put jewelry and other "bling" on professional-looking cards, ran to town for supplies, designed beaded ornaments, wove rugs and runners and stuck price stickers on many, many items. One week from now is opening day of our show. I am very proud of my hard-working, creative kids. And hubby. I am also ready for bed!

Whew! Gearing up for the upcoming outdoor market is consuming most of our days. Bits of paper, ribbon, wool, and stuff of unknown origin are scattered around the house. There are still paths to walk through the living room, but these are disappearing fast. Don't anyone tell the organizer ladies... A sheep ornament: And a woolly greeting card: And the big OH NO of this week is that one of my looms is in the process of being rewarped (warping = putting yards and yards of string or warp on the loom in preparation for weaving tons of rugs), and one loom is completely stringless. In weavers' lingo, this is called a "naked loom" and is not something to be tolerated for very long. This leaves me with one functioning rug loom and a lighter duty table runner sized loom to weave on. Warping is a big project--one that takes several hours and a brain that's firing on all 6 cylinders. Neither of which I seem to have. And The Farmer, my able warping assistant, has been busy w...

Thank you to all who have served and sacrificed. We remember, and are grateful for the freedom we have!

"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:16 NIV

In a couple of weeks we will be selling our wares at the Kerstmarkt here in Western Michigan. This open air market (brrr!) is the closest thing to a Farmer's Market that we are allowed to attend as vendors, because we sell non-food items. We've been busy spinning yarn, dyeing socks, crocheting bags and hats, and weaving rugs. My mother has been making some quilted Christmas table runners. Here's one of them: If you're local, come on out and visit us at Kerstmarkt. It's always nice to see some friendly faces. And who knows!? You might just find that perfect Christmas gift for a special someone.

A few posts back, "deep end of the loom" (love that name!) asked me to tell a bit more about the haying process. If you want my version, read on. If you'd like to read the official wikipedia version, click here . Haying happens in three steps: cutting, raking and baling. This process takes several days, as the hay must be dry when baled. Moist hay molds and heats up and has even been known to spontaneously combust, burning down the barn. Gotta have dry hay. This first photo is of our haybine. The haybine not only cuts the hay, it also crimps each piece of long grass in several places, to allow for faster drying. We usually cut hay in the early afternoon, when the dew is gone. When we're done, long row of cut grass lie waiting. The hay is allowed to dry for two to three days, depending on wind and sun conditions. Obviously, the more wind and sun the days hold, the quicker the hay will dry. When we feel like the hay is nearly dry, we go out with the rake. There are diff...

We have made arrangements for our 3 Holstein steers to go to "freezer camp" in a couple of weeks. For the first time in many, many years we don't have a waiting list for our beef. In fact, we don't even have it all sold. So if you're local to us, here's your chance to buy a side (a.k.a. half) of beef. It's a bit of an investment, but you can eat out of your freezer instead of relying on Meijers. (Shall I mention here that we've not ever had any reason to recall any of our beef?) They are always on pasture, which changes the meat into something more healthy than what you buy at the supermarket. Because we like the marbling that comes from grain fed beef, we supplement their grass diet with some of our own corn. This is not "organic" beef, but it is clean beef. No hormones, no junk food, no processed animal by-products. Just grass, corn and a mineral supplement (kinda like a multi-vitamin). So if you're interested in eating local, please co...

Psalm 116:7 "Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you."