14 March 2008

Spring Has Sprung At The Farm

Springtime is upon us.
The birds celebrate her return with festive song,
and murmuring streams are softly caressed by the breezes.
Thunderstorms, those heralds of Spring, roar, casting their dark mantle over heaven,
Then they die away to silence, and the birds take up their charming songs once more.


~ Antonio Vivaldi, poetry from The Four Seasons: Spring

Springtime may be upon old Antonio, but a season of mud is upon me. A rivulet of melted snow and ice runs down my driveway and along the road to the creek at the bottom of the hill. I can't help kicking the slush away from its sides, like a child obsessed with floating sticks down a stream or jumping in a puddle, to make it run faster in the hope that the yard will dry out sooner.

It might not be lovely outdoors - though the breeze is fresh and green blades of grass show here and there - but indoors, things are blooming. How springtime-fresh are these pretty quilt fabrics? Can't wait to start some Shabby Chic, cottage-y patchwork. These are Cherry Baby from Lakehouse (left) and Serenity from 3 Sisters (right).



And I'm a mama today! Meet Eggbert, the Tuppinz Farm Animal Of The Day:



Finally my eBay eggubator has proven its worth! The other two eggs should hatch within the next 24 hours. The one that has hatched has an Ameraucana hen for a mother, and the father is probably a Golden-Laced Wyandotte. If this chick is a hen (whom we will then call Eggbertina), we will know for sure who the father was when she starts laying, as (I believe) egg color is inherited from the father's side.




Chef Jeff has been cooking lamb - Indian, as usual. This recipe was great - red chilies, cilantro, and Jeff's fresh homemade garam masala. The potatoes are from a Tibetan recipe which includes turmeric, ginger, garlic, and green chilies - fabulous flavor, and very easy to make. Very warming (especially with all the chilies Jeff puts in!)

If I could only get Jeff to make momos (Tibetan dumplings) from that cookbook, I'd be all set...


Food by Chef Jeff,
handwoven napkin by Stasia.




Speaking of Tibetan, Frieda's lovely cashmere is spinning up just great on my Tabachek Tibetan spindle. It's a pleasure to use and wonderful for spinning short fibers.





And guess what finally showed up?



Last year's spring clip - the hoggett fleeces of our flock - from the processor. We have homegrown!!



The Shetland is soooo soft, but I really love the variations in the Jacobs' roving (above) and the resulting handspun yarns (below):



That strange looking thing on the lower left is a hat I've started for Jeff. He wanted one made specifically from Gruyere, his favorite Jacob ewe.

And no, I still haven't sewn the sleeves into his sweater, but I did at least cut the steeks! Judging by the river running through the yard, I don't think he'll have much use for it anymore this year. (Good, I can quilt instead!)




If anyone has gone through the process of building a house from scratch, would you please give me any tips you may have to offer? Any and all advice is very welcome. Our 1880s farmhouse has been determined to be hopeless in terms of renovation, so we must begin again and are looking here. Remind me someday to tell you about Hobby Farm Mistake #1...

Have a happy St. Patrick's Day and don't drink too much green beer!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

oooh those fabrics are fabulously SPRINGY! Congrats on the birth of Egbert(ina). Hope you have many happy hours RELAXING while spinning those gorgeous rovings!

Karen B said...

Love the Jacob roving. Who's your processor?

Stasia said...

Hi Karen, we used Wooly Knob in Indiana. They did a very good job with fiber that was full of burdock (this farm's pastures had been sadly neglected for 15 years - thank goodness we have goats!) It did take a while longer than they had quoted us. Next year we will be shearing and processing ourselves - I purchased a Pat Green carder and picker this year! :)

Denise in Kent, WA said...

What lovely fabrics! They will definitely cheer a dreary day. It must be wonderful being able to spin wool from your very own flock. I'm glad WK was able to do a good job with it, even if it did take longer than expected.

I can't wait to see all the chicks hatch. If only I had just a *wee bit* more land, I would love to have a small chicken coop. Dreamy sigh...

jessie said...

I wish spring would spring here! We might end up with some turkey eggs in an incubator, as our hen Rose doesn't seem too devoted to the nest.

Love your fleeces. Yumm! Who did your processing?

BTW, Boris looks so good!

Kary said...

beautiful fabrics! beautiful fibers! Diesel & I can come to move in at any time! WhEEEEE!

cyndy said...

Congratulations on the chick!

The Cashmere on the Tabachek looks beautiful, and the Shetland, wow-that looks yummy too!

Things look very productive around here! Sorry to hear there is not hope for the farm house ;-(

Deborah said...

Love all that you are doing! We have Americaunas and Barred Rocks and when cross breed, we get a mixed egg color, sort of an olive green/brown.

Julie said...

I just happened across your blog and love it. We also have a small farm in Texas raising American Saddlebred horses, Minature Chevoit lambs, Pembroke Welsh Corgis and hope to have chickens sooner or later!

Anonymous said...

Love Jacob fleece! Love the variation in the wool / yarn. That's a neat Tabachek spindle. Haven't seen one before.