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!

This Week In Farming

Busy, busy week at Tuppinz Farm. Here are some of the highlights...



The sheep and goats were finally shorn! They are so relieved to be nekkid, as the days are starting to get very warm. That's "Fontina" (whom we call "Caribou" for obvious reasons) in the foreground. Need fleece? We have LOTS!

This year's Largest Fleece award goes again to our Jacob ewe Montana. Jeff tells me the Shetland fleeces are again very nice and soft. I'm looking forward to keeping the two badger-faced Icelandics' fleeces for my own use - they are identical in coloring so it will be nice to combine them and have enough matching wool for a big project.

I would have preferred that shearing not take place on the same day the farrier and vet were scheduled to attend to the donkeys, but on a farm, you have to roll with the punches. Farriers, farm vets, and sheep shearers are not as easy to coordinate as the business projects I was used to in my "former life". There simply is no option to have a "Type A" personality on a farm.

Poor Michelle had to have her shearing appointment on a day when she couldn't even be home! I hear her wether's fleece is really nice...



Potatoes are up and growing nicely. We're using this method.



My crazy junk garden is also doing well.



I tried to make raised beds using only materials I could scrounge up around here. I decorated with rusty bits of metal that were found on the property.



I'm growing lettuces, hot peppers, tomatoes, scallions, cucumbers, basil, cilantrol, parsley, three pumpkins, and sunflowers. We had lots and lots of rain this past week and the plants loved it.



We moved about 100 iris plants from the area that became the veggie garden, and popped them in the beds in front of the house. Several of them flowered despite this insult. We have planted echinacea I started from seed, as well as rudbeckia, in one bed, and roses in the other; next year it should be very pretty - all purple and yellow.



Little goats are growing like weeds, too. Here are sisters Elfine and Daisy May, almost all grown up (but still very tiny!)



The purchased Golden Laced Wyandotte chicks have their wing feathers now. Soon they will no longer need a heat lamp. They enjoy the thinnings from the veggie garden - feeding them teaches the chicks to eat greens (which they won't learn without parents to raise them) and it gets some good vitamins into them.



We had a lovely Wyandotte hen go broody. Unfortunately, before we realized she was nesting, we gathered the eggs she was laying each day for the refrigerator. We then noticed that she - and she alone - was hanging around with our single Golden Laced Wyandotte rooster... the two chickens we most hoped would reproduce. Hobby Farm Mistake #1027 - when the chickens you want to breed actually do, let the eggs turn into chicks!



So as not to waste her broodiness, we collected two days' worth of eggs which will hopefully become mixed-breed chicks, and stuck them under her. She accepted them readily. Hobby Farm Mistake #1028 - when you have a hen that is broody and you want to hatch out chicks, consider the fact that she is nesting in front of hay bales you will need to access in the next month - not the best choice of locations for anyone involved.



Last Saturday, we went to the farmers market in Eau Claire, at Phoenix Park. It was raining and quite cold, but we had a great time. On our walk back, I saw this Labyrinth in the park - what a neat thing!



On the way home, we stopped at a couple of places to fish for a little bit. Did I mention it was rainy and cold? The only trophy was an ugly thing I caught called a river chub, which went gently right back into the water. We gave up on a fish dinner and went to Tep's Drive-In in Augusta, for their amazing garlic fries. Got to love a place with carhops - especially in an Amish village.



I ended up the week with a meeting of my MaryJane's Farmgirls group yesterday. We met at Dee Dee's Diner in Northfield and had a great time chatting and knitting and sharing pictures.


Dianne, Kayley, Dawn, Michelle

We meet on the second Saturday of each month to just hang out and do whatever... we talk about animals, crafts, gardening, and end up laughing. One doesn't have to be a "real" farmgirl to join; as MaryJane Butters says, "'Farmgirl' is a condition of the heart." We're just a bunch of gals out to learn new things and meet new friends.



The weather has turned glorious. First hay cutting this week. Crickets, junebugs, and moths abound (one notices this when one takes up fly fishing...) Baby squirrels exploring their world. The glow of light as the sun begins to cross the horizon is more amazing each and every evening. What a wonderful time of year.

Ysolda at YDK Tonight!

The beautiful and talented knitting designer Ysolda Teague will be at Yellow Dog Knitting in Eau Claire, WI, tonight! Hope to see you there - Knit Night at The Dog is already fun, but tonight will be extra special.

Ysolda is on a US book tour for Whimsical Little Knits, which will be available at YDK tonight. It is the neatest little book - I just love it. Ysolda will have her samples along, and Dixie and Cindi have whipped some up in their fantastic Garnstudio Drops yarns for us to fondle.



Ysolda's being hosted by our good friends at Kellane Farm, which means she gets to play with cute baby lambs during her visit. I'm jealous! Must get over there soon.

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!

Finally Fiber

I finally have some fiber updates to share!

The lost silver Glitter has been found behind a bookcase! I can start on my blue DROPS shawl.



I've got a good amount of bulky handspun piling up from the fleece of our Jacob ewe Gruyere.



My progress thus far on the February Lady Sweater. I'm enjoying knitting this easy lace pattern.

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In Farm News

We took advantage of yesterday's warmer weather to do vaccinations, hoof trimming, and deworming on the 24 goats. I was dragging my heels, but we can't procrastinate caring for our babies.

The left side has been trimmed, right side has not:



We clip hooves with a Felco trimmer - it is similar to their pruners. Great tool and worth the price.



The hoof in back has not been trimmed; the foot in front is almost finished:



Chef Jeff measures Dexter with a weight tape to calculate the amount of topical dewormer to apply. Dexter came to us as a buck but is now a very happy wether:



Since we rotate our goats' pastures, we worm only twice a year, to ensure prevention of secondary health problems like anemia. We used an herbal dewormer and found it didn't work well at all; recent scientific studies have corroborated our anecdotal discovery.

We now use Dectomax, which is not yet FDA-approved for goat use, but which our vet has prescribed to us for off-label use on goats and sheep at 1cc per 22 lbs. topically. It is safe, effective, and very easy to administer. It does not remain on our sheep fleeces, which is extremely important to me.

We could not do without our milking stand when taking care of the goats. Here is our massive two-year-old Boer/dairy doe, Frieda (the herd queen), weighing in at 180 pounds...



... and here is our Nigerian Dwarf doeling, Sitka, at 78 pounds:



Little Elfine, born this spring, is our smallest goat; she is just 45 pounds, and too short for the stand!

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Weather Update

I am seriously not liking this weather today.



My new jacket is awesome - I don't get cold outside at all. The trouble is staying warm inside this drafty old firetrap!

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Health Care - Skip At Will

I heard a great story on NPR a couple of days ago about knitting helping depression. For the life of me, I can't find a link, though I've searched for way too long now. Keep your eyes peeled for it - I think it was on Talk Of The Nation, in their book discussion...?

NPR is doing a series comparing health care in America to that in other countries. It should be interesting.

Lael (and others), I'm grateful for your comments. If my friends didn't feel comfortable having opinions that differed from mine, I would never learn anything new. (And Lael, I totally owe you an e-mail - I haven't forgotten!)

I do feel that privatized health insurance buying pools, which would make coverage affordable to the self-employed and un- or under-insured, are a great idea. I'm all for coverage for everyone - just not overseen by the government (which will do everything possible to cut costs, and will likely make a mess of things), and not at a 50% or higher income tax rate.

Such pools would also encourage those who can work to work in order to afford such benefits, rather than encourage freeloading.

I certainly don't want to be financially responsible for people who smoke, or don't exercise, or otherwise don't take care of themselves. If everyone buys their own insurance, I believe it will cost us each less than if the government "buys it for us" with our tax dollars. We can still achieve similar economies of scale in purchasing, while maintaining a competitive market where our doctors' treatments are not dictated by governmental limitations on their services.

One significant reason people may live longer in some other countries is because (thus far) they have not had the sedentary lifestyle we Americans have "enjoyed". Nor the fast food. Nor suburbs, which require the use of cars instead of feet in order to go shopping or to work. I lost a significant amount of weight when I lived abroad, only to gain it back upon returning to an American way of life.

I want name-brand drugs, not non-equivalent (see last post's link - it is factual) generics. I want to spend an hour with my doctor if necessary, not 15 minutes; and I want to choose my doctor. If I need surgery, I do not want to wait a year to have it. If I need mental health care, or treatment for a syndrome which has not yet been defined as a "disease," I don't want it deemed as unnecessary by a bureaucrat. To provide care to those who don't have it should not limit the care of those who can afford it. Socialized medicine has bankrupted the health care systems of some countries who have initiated it,; now everyone's equal... in the lack of high quality (and not just minimal) health care.

Because of Jeff's job in the health care industry, I have access to actual, concrete facts and statistics on these topics. From my personal experience with friends and family who are experiencing many problems with socialized medicine, I gain first-hand insight. I'm not forming my opinions based on information from the politicized media in the US, or based on my emotions. How I feel about what everyone should receive is very different from what I believe to be practical and in the country's best interest.

A question I have asked myself is, if other countries' socialized health care systems are so wonderful, why do many Canadians and Europeans choose to come to the United States, at their own out-of-pocket expense, for procedures?

Just because something is available doesn't mean it should be "free to all." How would we feel if the government decided that, because there is nice handspinning rare sheep wool available, they will make us sell it to them, at a deep discount with a loss of profit to wool growers, in order to provide free clothing to the masses... and by the way, they will increase our income taxes to 50% to cover the administration of the program? Would we continue to breed sheep?

Do I believe the government will fund the research and development of new medicines (a very expensive undertaking, which takes decades, the results of which maybe 10% or less of new medications will end up being feasible)? No way, José.

People don't understand that when a company - any successful company - makes a profit, it is most often reinvested into company growth (= more jobs!) and research and development (= scientific advances! Potential cures for cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's!) Profits don't automatically get deposited in an executive's bank account... if they did, the company would fail in no time.

Many folks also don't understand that "evil corporate executives" and "evil corporations" donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to charities and the arts. "Evil drug companies" provide FREE medications to those in the U.S. who can't afford them, as well as entire third-world countries! The government won't foot the bill for that!

I suggest that if people want socialized medicine, they consider moving to a country that offers it. Personally, I want to continue to live in a country which offers the freedom to succeed or fail, to buy or do without, due to one's own merits and abilities. With rights come responsibilities. And we can make modifications to the current system without going to an extreme.

I actually wish I lived back in the days when doctors made house calls and were paid in ham and eggs or good old-fashioned cash, and when we didn't have the "benefit" of being kept alive after losing our physical or mental faculties just because it is possible to do so.

Complicated issues, for sure!

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Hope you are staying cozy and comfortable today! Be well.