The Latest Creation.

This is a Kim Hargrave's pattern from her Heartfelt...The Dark House Collection. It was fun to work on and most all of it was knitted on an airplane. The scarf that is paired with it was a faux fur yarn and knitted up very quickly.

It's Fall....

...which brings a lot of change on a farm. One of my favorite times is on a Saturday morning. The air is crisp and the sun is shining. It's the perfect time to put on the furry lined Crocs and head to the barn with my bright red cup filled to the brim with steaming coffee. The girls love it, too, as they follow along with me. They know the routine and they seem to run along in anticipation. We head to the chicken run, open the door, and watch the hens and rooster hurry out to hunt for grubs, ticks, and other goodies that don't come in a sack of feed. And, since the weather is cool now, they get an extra treat. I keep a bag of "Fancy Scratch" just for this occasion. Chicken Scratch is cracked corn and chickens absolutely love it! They can't have scratch in the hot weather because the corn raises their body temperature and can be fatal. So, today is the perfect day to indulge them! I sip my coffee and watch them scurry around scratching at the ground while they gobble up the scratch.

Of course, what would a Saturday be without a game of Jolly Ball? This is Bear's favorite game. She found the Jolly Ball in the pasture when we first moved to the farm. A Jolly Ball is a big, rubber ball with a handle on it. It's really a horse toy but Bear B just adores fetching it.

So, while the chickens scratch the ground, and I sip my coffee, Bear and Sadie play Jolly Ball and everyone is happy. It's Fall!!!!

Chicken Little and Life on the Farm

Last Summer, Steve's Uncle David gave us a Hen and her 3 Rooster Chicks. Begin a Banty Hen, we named her "Chicken Little" and we adopted her into the flock. Time went by and we eventually parted ways with her little brood and she continued to want to "set" on her eggs. A true mama. Well, this Spring, we decided to grant her her wishes and allow her to stay put on the eggs to see what would happen. Lo and behold!! She hatched out a couple of babies. Fascinating and curious stuff! While in the hen house, one of the chicks disappeared and we moved Chicken Little and her baby to a brooder in the barn so they could have some peace and quiet.

Chicken Little and her little yellow peep were living large. It was so much fun to see the chick peak out from under Mama's skirt and to ride on her back in total security and comfort.

Now, a baby chick will grow pretty quickly and we decided that it was time to introduce some new little pullets into the brooder figuring they would all get along just fine. Not so much! Chicken Little would have nothing to do with the new babies. In fact, she was a mean surrogate pecking at the 5 other little peeps so they would stay away.

Here is where the Life On The Farm kicks in. Steve tells me it's time to separate Mama from the babies. Oh Boy....I'm thinking, it's okay, I'll put her in the hen house and all will be fine. About 4 hours later, I went out to check on the new arrivals only to find Chicken Little sitting on top of the brooder with her baby peep sitting as close as possible on top of the waterer crying for Mama!

Life on a farm is reality and I have learned so much about the circle of life in just a year. My heart strings tug at the thought of Chicken Little and Little Peep's angst. But, I know that if we do right by them, they will soon reunited in the Hen House and all will be fine.

The Chicken Coup - Today was Cleaning Day! Kind of a nasty job but the chickens are so messy that it's a necessary evil. They ran around squawking the whole time because we were cleaning the coup when they wanted to lay their eggs. We're still getting plenty of eggs this winter - at least 12 to 13 per day!

The Alpacas

Meet the boys....Cowboy, Zephyr, and Trey arrived on the farm in June 2009. They are registered, male Huacaya Alpacas. Alpacas are camalids (or members of the camel family.) The have pads and toenails instead of hooves and they are ruminants which means they chew their cud. Why have Alpacas on the farm? Their fleece makes marvelous yarn and they are "easy-keepers." In the Spring, I will shear them and send their fleece off to be processed into natural fiber yarn for knitting. The last 6 months have been a unique learning experience around what they eat, how they play, how to handle them on a lead and halter, etc. They really are sweet boys and although they resemble Llamas, they are their own special creature. The most common question that we hear is, "Do they spit on you?" Yes, they will spit when they are threatened, but I have never seen these 3 guys do that. They have been a lot of fun and I will post more pictures in the Spring when it's time to shear.