Farming in the shade

Weather update: We're planning on shearing this morning, provided our shearer gets here safely! The weather has dealt us ice rather than mud, so if you're coming out, drive carefully! ----- If you're local to us (Western Michigan) and need something to do to entertain the family on the day after Christmas, consider coming out to the farm anytime between 9 a.m. and noon. We'll be shearing some of our sheep (the Suffolk, for those who want details) and will have our on-farm shop open. A friend will demonstrate spinning for us so that you can see how wool is made into yarn. Wear old clothes and dress warmly. This "field trip" is best for elementary school age children and above, but you know your children better than we do. Some of the very little ones are sensitive to the natural, earthy smell of a barn and/or the noise and busyness of shearing. If you need an address to plug into mapquest, please use the "email me" link in the upper right hand of the...

Today is the first day of winter. Winter here is not terribly cold, as our temperatures are moderated by the great lake to the west of us. This same great lake allows us to enjoy a steady supply of snow for most of the winter. The photo above was taken today, and is a typical view of our landscape during the winter months. I prefer it to mud, which is our other option. However, the grey does get to me after a while. So I'm always happy to hear that it's the first day of winter--today is the day with the least amount of daylight in our whole year. It only gets better from here...

Equinophobia is the fear of horses; alektorophobia is the fear of chickens. There is no official term for the fear of cows or pigs.

Now that our Christmas market is done, we can settle down and look forward to Christmas. Advent is the time of year when we think about how Jesus came into the world. He came so that we could have a relationship with God now, and live with him forever. The greatest "gift" at Christmas is Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. A new friend recently carved a lamb for us out of cedar wood, using a chainsaw. We are delighted with our little lamb! I've placed him under our tree to remind us of the greatest gift. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. -- Isaiah 53:7 (The Bible)

One bale of cotton can produce 1,217 men's t-shirts or 313,600 one-hundred dollar ($100) bills. One acre (43,560 square feet) of soybeans can produce 82,368 crayons. (Did you know that some crayons are made from soybeans?)

And this old list I used with the kids when they were smaller came to mind. Maybe it'll help you if you're having a snow day, too. I know many of the items are summer activities, but hey--it's a list to get the creative juices flowing... 1) ride bikes 2) roller blade 3) basketball 4) play board games 5) make a tent out of blankets 6) squirt with hoses 7) run through the sprinkler 8) jump rope 9) read books 10) blow bubbles 11) make homemade play dough 12) play with play dough 13) press flowers 14) do crafts with pressed flowers 15) write a letter to a relative, friend or pen pal 16) clean bedroom 17) vacuum livingroom 18) clean bathroom 19) make a craft 20) draw 21) color 22) paint 23) pull weeds 24) watch a movie 25) write stories 26) use binoculars 27) use magnifying glass 28) use microscope 29) bird watching 30) write a play 31) act out a play 32) invent circus acts 33) perform a circus 34) play card games 35) make art on the front walkway with sidewalk chalk 36) play ca...

This is almost going to be a Wordless Wednesday post. The socks are selling well, on-line and off (Ellyn, your special order is knit up. Still needs finishing...) and so some dyeing is in order. Watch for the trend... Any guesses yet? I love this photo--of a father and son working together. Knowledge passing from one to the other... Does this make you feel Christmasy? Okay. The trend is one color dyeing, leaving some of the yarn undyed. This trend was inspired by Ellyn's special order. All is well here, except for the weather. We've battened the hatches and all, but the "winter storm" they've been talking about for days has begun. Stay tuned...

This has been a wonderful year for grazing. Lush pastures and an extended warm fall (well, except for a frigid October) have allowed the sheep to continue the outdoor life they love. We've only been supplementing their diet with hay very recently. But our fall weather turned suddenly ugly yesterday morning when we woke to over 6" of snow. The prediction is for more snow next week. It was time to bring the girls in. While The Farmer and I spent our day at the Kerstmarkt, the kids and my father brought the sheep in. No photos. Sorry about that...