Never Not Busy

It's been, what... five months? What's happened at Tuppinz Farm lately, you ask?



Ada Oberhasli Goat came into milk, without having been bred or having had any kids. Apparently this can sometimes happen in strong milking lines, and is caused by high levels of prolactin. It's called "witch's milk" or "precocious udder." (Do they have special classes for precocious udders?)

I duly milked the girl for a week, but in the end I decided to let her dry off (the vet having confirmed that she had no infection). We'd given all the milking equipment away when we decided not to breed or sell goats, so it was too much of a pain to milk without the little stainless steel milk pail - Ada kept kicking the bowls over. I do have enough frozen milk to make one serving of paneer (as long as Jeff still has a few cheffing days left...)

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Sheep and goat shearing was - as usual - postponed several times as we tried to find an agreeable shearer. The Big Day will finally take place tomorrow. The sheep will no doubt be relieved to be rid of the floor-length carpets which now envelop them and make them appear like so many Cousin Its on parade in the pasture. The 2010 Sheep Corraling Rodeo was completed today in two hours, with just two people, and went very well... after four years, we've got the process down. Or maybe the sheep do?



There is nothing quite so freaky as Jacob sheep with camera flash in their eyes. This shot reminds me of Gene Simmons and the movie "Legend" at the same time... et tu?

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Having reluctantly come to the conclusion that Icelandic sheep and Angora goats, which both need to be shorn twice every year, are not a good idea for Tuppinz Farm (and its lack of available shearers), we are relieved to announce that our dear friends Lael and Larry Wilson will be adopting the majority of our sheep, and our five mohair goats.

Lael is a professional shepherdess (visited regularly by a shearer!) and will perhaps be breeding our wonderful stock, and she'll definitely be selling their fiber via her website. I was a customer of Lael's before I became a shepherdess, and I'm confident you will be pleased with any fiber you purchase from her!



We will keep four or five of our "pet" Jacobs (whom we think will allow us to shear them ourselves). They undoubtedly will provide enough wool to keep us in sweaters and socks for our cold Wisconsin winters, without intimidating me into hand-spinning paralysis via unprocessed fleece overwhelm (don't you dare tell me you haven't experienced it yourself after a buying frenzy at a fiber festival!)

Thank you, Lael! You're a life saver!!

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What once was our horrible, haunted and cursed, falling-down farmhouse...



... is now going to be my new round pen! Dressage donkeys, here we come!

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We have experienced The Great Guinea Keet Explosion of 2010 (which is still taking place...) Twenty-eight keets and their parents have gone to a new home with some lovely people. There are approximately 30 left... with more on the way. Yikes! Not the best year to confirm vegetarianism, was it?

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And finally, after four years of shepherdessing, I have moved my donkey tack permanently out of the sheep shearing area and to the other end of the Long Barn.



Tell me, please, why does a woman with just TWO riding donkeys need THIS MUCH EQUIPMENT?! Because nothing fits donkeys properly! I won't even show you my saddle collection... time to place some CraigsList ads. After many failed saddle experiments, I'm happy to report that donkeys seem to be very comfortable in Wintec dressage saddles, with wide gullets and cushy sheepskin pads. Anyone in the market for a wide Passier jumping saddle, or a Big Horn Flat Topline cordura saddle? A mule headstall and breast collar? Send me an email!

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I haven't been doing much knitting, but I'm happily taking online watercolor painting classes from Laure Ferlita, which are wonderful. I recommend them wholeheartedly!

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If anyone tells you how peaceful and quiet life would be on a hobby farm, remember this entry, and how infrequently I've blogged since moving here, and that you would be better off visiting a hobby farm than living on one!

Truly, it is enough to make one just want to lie down and take a long nap, like Miss Tikki here:

Always Busy On A Farm

There really is no "down time" on a farm, and this weekend was no exception.

Chef Jeff shoveled and spread over 500 bushels of manure, alone. The goat barn has a new starter supply of hay for Swedish-style deep bedding for the winter; the chicken coop and nest boxes are fresh and clean as well; and the donkey pucks are out of the paddock. All that organic fertilizer should be great for next year's alfalfa crop - it'll work itself in over the winter and spring.

The house has now been sided outside...





... and drywalled and painted inside:





We celebrated Chef Jeff's 40th birthday with dinner at his favorite restaurant due to a surprise visit from my mother. I also baked orange scones for him this weekend instead of a birthday cake - he isn't fond of sweets. Well, he enjoys sweets, he just doesn't eat them - the man has a will of iron with regard to his diet (which is why he looks 30 instead of 40; me, not so much!)

Tonight we had "dinner in a pumpkin":





This would make a great Thanksgiving dinner for those who don't wish to roast a whole turkey.



The original recipe can be found here (warning: turn down your sound).

I altered it a bit by using dark brown sugar, 1 tsp. of thyme, turkey instead of beef, 3 celery stalks with leaves, Native American hand-harvested and parched wild rice, and white pepper. I used fat from heritage Berkshire hog bacon for browning. The "stuffing" went into a sugar pumpkin that I grew this year. It was delicious!

Next time we make it, we're going to nix the canned soup (albeit organic) and canned mushrooms, and go with dried wild mushrooms. We'll rehydrate them and use the stock from them to deglaze the frying pan, and then add in cream. We will use maple syrup for the sweetener, Worcestershire sauce for the salty, fermented taste, and real chestnuts instead of water chestnuts. Maybe some cranberries as well.

The recipe I made tonight was double what would fit in the pumpkin. Luckily, I have another to use. :)

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In fiber news, the four Icelandic sheep and five Angora goats are shorn! Need wool or mohair? Get in touch!

We used Bob Rajek from Rajek Family sheep services for shearing, and were pleased with his care of the animals and the fleeces. He was very easy to work with. He is located in Stanley, WI, and also buys and sells sheep (for those interested) - 715-429-0879.

As far as my knitting, I've finished the large, blue and silver Drops shawl, as well as the Colinette Jitterbug Multnomah. I don't think I'll use that yarn again; it is still bleeding color after 10 rinses! I'm not too crazy about having been exposed to excess dye chemicals while knitting.

If you are thinking of knitting a Multnomah, be prepared to do some fudging - it's not the clearest pattern I've ever read, and you sort of have to see the big picture and intention and do your own thing to make it work out. For instance, fit in new lace pattern repeats on the borders when you are able to after making increases - the number of "repeats" in the pattern seems to be off, and I've seen a whole bunch of projects which don't have a steady Feather And Fan border all the way around the edges because of that.

I finished one gray mitten of Garnstudio Karisma Superwash, and started its mate; they'll be lined with lime green Garnstudio Alpaca. I also have a two-color Garnstudio Fabel Baktus on the needles. Pics coming soon... Who knows? Maybe the next Baktus I make will be the lacy version - I definitely have no intention of stopping knitting Bakti!

Next project is going to have to be a durable farm cardigan for myself; I'm thinking garter stitch, neck down, raglan, with a zipper. Also should do a hat for Chef Jeff - most likely the Doubleknitski.

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So what am I most thankful for this week on the farm? Sleep!

Have a wonderful holiday, US friends!

Who's this fuzzy face?







We are officially a four-donkey family! Meet Rocky Mountain Songbirds Ty-Dyed Champ:



Currently, Tikki won't let him near Jazz and Eli... or her hay pile. But things are actually working out well and in a day or two they will all be fast friends.



Champ is a nine-year-old gelding who comes to us from the nice folks at Dixdlor Ranch here in Wisconsin. He was born here and the photo on that web page is in fact Champ himself!



Eli's wondering if we'll still love him. Silly boy!

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Spring is almost here at Tuppinz Farm. The sun sometimes feels warm, the grass is starting to green up, and we're having lovely evenings before the nighttime temps drop back down to freezing.



This guinea bird is doing his evening predator scan and calling the others back to the roost.

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My seedlings are doing well in their indoor greenhouse. Tonight we are getting a truckload of soil for our new veggie garden bed. This weekend, we'll get the cold frame set up and the beds made. We'll plant around May 15th.

I have some wonderful seed potatoes from Seeds Of Change and I'm going to try this super easy method of planting them.

Hope things are green in your part of the world!

A Good Week Of Surprises

It was a week of surprising weather (warm days followed by snow showers and high winds), and surprises in my mailbox.

Beautiful handmade potholders arrived from Professor Nannette, and Miss Kary sent an original painting of an owl (a favorite animal of mine) by Brenda Webster-Drouin. Thanks, guys!



I'd placed an order with The Loopy Ewe, a favorite shop for sock knitting needs. This is what I'd ordered:



And THIS is what I received!



Turns out I am now an official Loopy Groupie. The gifts they sent were more than what I'd ordered to begin with; what you don't see is the chocolate which I promptly ate. Thank you, Sheri!

I became a convert after I received my first order with TLY and I realized what all the high praise was about. They have excellent customer service, and usually include a handwritten thank-you and little treats with my orders... which are becoming more frequent, I have to admit; I love the "instant gratification" of their fast shipping!

I also received the new "Whimsical Little Knits" book by Ysolda in Scotland, as well as two skeins of Fearless Fibers yarn. One of these is destined to become these (Ravelry link). I have been waiting on pins and needles for that KnitSpot pattern to be published and am jazzed to cast on for these beautiful socks.



All in all, a very good week indeed.

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Around The Farm

Frieda The Just gave us 1.4 ounces of beautiful cashmere at the end of March. Not bad for a mostly-Boer goat with a strong resemblance to George Washington.



I planted peas and broccoli rabe outside; started Tigerella and Silvery Fir Tree tomatoes, and serrano and jalapeno peppers, inside.

Other than that, it's business as usual here on the farm. Lots of playful activity inside when the puppy playpen is too muddy from changeable spring weather:



It looks like Champ, our new riding donkey, will not be arriving this weekend as planned. Hopefully he'll be home in the next couple of weeks.



Have a beautiful weekend!

Lots Of Fiber

I was in the fiber doldrums for some time. Just couldn't get motivated. There were a couple of our raw Icelandic fleeces (from Asta and Birta) sitting in the entryway, which taunted me daily. I finally decided that, after two years, it was time to unpack the picker and carder that had been sitting in boxes while several house nightmares were endured.





Not having a decent fiber washing area has proven to be problematic, but I made do with many buckets in the kitchen over a period of days (Jeff was not allowed to make fragrant Indian food during my scouring!) The laundry room here doesn't have a heat source, and though there is a tub on the first floor, it was never installed properly and doesn't drain, so Jeff kindly carried all the dirty water outside for me.

I was really fearful to try the picker and carder but I needn't have been - they both worked wonderfully and I was soon blessed with my first home-grown, home-scoured, home-picked and home-carded Icelandic lamb roving!



Because I wanted to spin a fine but soft yarn, it was time to re-acquaint myself with an old friend who has the necessary double drive talents:



We hadn't been on speaking terms for several years due to a previous failure to communicate.



It turned out that this wasn't due to my unfamiliarity with my friend, but rather an inherent problem in my friend's physical makeup.



Once this was corrected (requiring minor surgery on my part and a trip to Montana and back for an amputated piece of my friend), my buddy wanted to "make nice" - but I wasn't having any of it, due to the insults my friend had given me the last time we got together.



I am now willing to forgive and forget, and so is my friend, and we have been getting on famously in this new relationship.

As any fiberartist can tell you, once the floodgates have opened, creativity comes on like a tidal wave. Not only have I been spinning the Icelandic lamb, but also this lovely fiber (click for big to see the sparkly stuff!):



... as well as some home-grown Jacob wool (from Gruyere):



I even made significant progress on my "Dixie shawl":



Like all lace, it looks like a damp mop and will until it is blocked. But believe me, it's really pretty:



My good relationship with the Dundas wheel gave me the confidence to have a chat with the Ashford Table Loom as well, and it has been released from its undignified penance in the long barn.


Disclaimer: Seriously ugly wallpaper courtesy of previous homeowners.

I am not a big fan of anything other than rigid heddle (i.e., simple! Easy!) weaving, but it seems a shame not to give this gal a warm (comparatively-speaking), indoor home. We will try to get along better now, and hopefully she will not confuse me with mathematical equations this time around. I guess it's not really her fault... she has always been a peach to use.

It's freezing in here (perhaps not to looms but to us humans), and some woven wool blankets would come in handy, so I had better be polite to her.

Max is just meditating, and staying clear of all the fiber activity.

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Other Happenings

Two photos from our farm are in the current issue of Hobby Farms magazine - yay!



There was a quote in this issue that I loved: "Hobby farming is like hobby coal mining." Truer words have never been spoken... it's still work! (But definitely worth it to have delicious organic eggs!!!)

And to reward myself for a consistent yoga practice, I asked this Etsy artisan to embroider some clips to keep my hair out of my face during downward dog - she put pink lotuses on them to match my Prana yoga outfit:



In upcoming excitement... what do you think of this handsome fellow, hmmm?




Hope your day is full of health and creativity!

January 13, 9:45 a.m.

Click for big. That's F, and it is not wind chill.

Chef Jeff put extra bales of straw in the goats' barn yesterday, and the chickens are locked in their coop with the geese and ducks for extra warmth. There are also heat lamps in both areas. But I'm seriously wondering if the donkeys need coats...

Evening Chores