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Hello Friends~We’ve arrived in the month of gratitude and I’m most grateful for the perfect autumn weather we’ve been having here in Western Washington. For anyone not super familiar with Pacific Northwest weather patterns, October is typically cool and rainy. All rain, all the time. This year, we’ve had enough rain to keep the pastures growing. With no wind storms (yet, fingers crossed), the brightly colored autumn leaves are still hanging on forever. It is absolutely beautiful. I’ve been dreaming about Thanksgiving dinner. We usually roast a huge turkey so that there are leftovers to freeze and a good size carcass to use for homemade broth. Scott’s family always makes turkey noodles, which is just homemade noodles (I cheat and use frozen Reames) cooked in chicken broth with the juice and drippings from the turkey. It’s such great comfort food and delicious. I was so excited to pick up bags of winter white and soft gray Romney yarn, sport weight, from Lydia over at Abundant Earth Mill. Everything’s up on the website, so don’t hesitate to pop over if you’ve been thinking about wool or yarn projects for the upcoming winter season. I knit up a sample of the new yarn. It’s got all the bouncy stretch of Romney plus some subtle variations in weight that make a really interesting, very slightly textured knit fabric. I’m in love. With our travels last month and the concurrent downpours, the sheep were too wet to shear at the appointed time. I’m eternally grateful to our shearer for agreeing to postpone. The rescheduled shearing date is Tuesday, November 14. If you’re interested in joining us, send me an email (TheShepherd@windyindigo.com) and get you the details. As for me, I’m looking forward to our first attempts at tapping our big leaf maple trees for the first time to try to make some maple syrup. It’s a big experiment. But to be honest, aren’t these weird little adventures we take the best part of life? Next up…We’re on the alert for possibly oopsy-babies around the second week of December from the ram escape in July. Otherwise, it’s all hands on deck to prepare for lambing in January! Lamb shares will also be available soon. Be sure to add yourself to the waitlist if you’d like to be notified. Details On the needles…What to make as a sample with that sport weight Romney? Love and magic.
Looking for something interesting to listen to? Art Juice is one of my favorites. Louise Fletcher and Alice Sheridan are painters. Each woman has her own story about coming to art as a profession. What I love: Being a career artist has some interesting challenges that I relate to deeply since moving out of industry and academia. They talk about issues including time management, inconsistent income, and complicated feelings that sometimes arise when we share our work.
I only started listening to podcasts during the COVID lock-downs. I’ve never been good at listening to words and doing analytic work at the same time, but with shepherding so much of my work is done with my hands. Podcasts keep my mind busy and let my curiosity run. If you have a favorite, let me know. I’d love to check it out, and I’d be happy to feature it here as well. |