Farming in the shade

Did you know? Annual per capita flour consumption in the United States is 141 pounds. Wheat flour is an ingredient in many brands of licorice.

Watch out for stray yarn balls when you're vacuuming under the sock knitter's chair...

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned." --Isaiah 9:2

Did you know? Michigan soybeans have an economic impact of over $1 billion. Nearly 7,000 jobs in Michigan result from the soybean industry. Nearly two million acres of soybeans are planted annually in Michigan.

Did you know? Wool is elastic. The crimp along the length of the wool fiber allows it to be stretched up to 50% of its length without breaking or to be crushed and resume its original shape. When released it "remembers" its original length and returns to it. That's why wool carpets remain springy, and wool clothing is resistant to creasing and recovers from wrinkling after hanging. This elasticity is also why 150 yards of wool yarn are used in an official baseball, and why wool felt covers piano hammers. Wool's elasticity also allows it to be bent 20,000 times without breaking (compared to 1,800 for silk or 70 for rayon), making wool garments very durable.

One of my favorite craft advocates (who is herself the owner of a small "handmade" business) wrote a quick piece late last night that has provided me with a little pep talk this morning as I struggle with shipping labels and packing tape. You can read her blog post here . And if you are still looking for a good gift for a crafty person in your life, I highly recommend her Craftsanity Magazines and her peg looms . Now, back to the grindstone...

Yesterday we moved the Suffolk sheep into the barn for the winter. They were very eager to go. Suffolks have been bred to eat corn over the years. Deep down in their souls, they really don't understand what's so great about grass pasture. So when things get sparse in the late fall, they really get unhappy. They are now entering their last trimester of pregnancy, and it is good to have them inside where we can watch them a bit more closely. Our timing couldn't have been better, as we woke up to 2" of snow this morning. The Polypay sheep are still out on pasture. Snow does not hurt the sheep (they are dressed for it, with their wool coats), but it covers over their food. Unlike Suffolks, Polypays understand what is so great about grass. We will see if this is a temporary thing--the snow. We'll haul hay out for them (as we've actually been doing already to supplement the pasture) and see if the snow melts off. In other news, we've been busy with our outdoor Ch

Did you know? A bushel of wheat contains approximately one million individual kernels, and yields approximately 42 pounds of white flour or 73 one-pound loaves of bread. The average one-pound loaf of bread has 16 slices. 73 loaves of bread would have 1,168 slices and those slices would make 584 sandwiches.