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Fleeces!

So the past couple of days haven’t been the best weather-wise… grey, drizzily, raw and just generally pretty miserable.  I think this qualifies as one of those 2 steps forward, 1 step back moments.  While I’ve had to abandon the idea of playing outside, I’ve been a busy bee in the barn.  I’ve been working on batching fleeces to go to the mill and I’m so-o-o-o excited!!  Our CSA members are going to have some be-e-ea-u-tiful fiber to play with!  The fleeces are even better than I’d originally thought now that I’m seeing them for a second time and really getting my hands into them! 

In preparation for the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, I’m on the prowl for a few fleeces with “the right stuff”…the ones I’ll take to the Fleece Show.  I try to take a couple every year.  We don’t show our sheep (prefer to keep them on the home turf…because of the quarentine thing I’ve talked about in previous post) so showing fleeces at least gets the fiber out into the fiber public’s eye.  Because many of our fleeces are destined to go into roving and yarn for the CSA, I’ll be bringing the show fleeces back home with me. Keeping fingers (& toes!) crossed and I’ll post the results when I get back.

Island Holiday

I’ve been to an island!  OK — not the warm, tropical kind.  North Haven is just an hour and a bit out by ferry, and Becky & Bill live there year round. Of course its population grows by leaps and bounds in the summer but at this time of year it’s fairly quiet.  Becky met me and as we drove from the ferry to the house, I drooled over the wide expanses of open land. North Haven used to be an agricultural island and sheep were kept in great numbers. At one time, North Haven lamb was prized in the markets in Boston. Today, there are only a handful of people keeping sheep and there’s a feral flock of mouflon that’s sighted from time to time. Sadly, most of the pasture land is privately owned by people who aren’t full time residents and it’s just mowed annually to keep it from closing in…aka keeping the views open. It’d be beneficial in so many ways to put that land into production…just dreaming. 

I’d heard from Becky that the day before I arrived, three sets of twins had been born to her Coopworth ewes so I was very excited to see them and their Moms. She and Bill started their flock with Coopworths from us and then a year later they bought our Border Leicester ewe, Imogene, too.

The view from Cider Hill Farm on North Haven Island.

The view from Cider Hill Farm on North Haven Island.

 I think the girls may have remembered me just a little…at least they weren’t too concerned with me hanging around in the lambing shed and handling their babies.  Imogene let me scratch her forehead and rub her back a bit…she always liked that.  And the lambs — very sweet. The three sets of twins were made up of one natural colored & one white.  I’m not sure whether that’s significant but it’s certainly interesting and very cute.  Becky offered that it is in honor of our new administration. 

When we weren’t playing with the sheep, we picked away at fleeces.  All were beautiful and really very clean considering they’d not been covered for a good part of the year. She was a little worried about their condition but I’d be very happy to have any of the ones I saw!  Last year she had some yarn made from her fleeces and sold it at a shop on the island. It disappeared…knitters know exceptionally nice yarn when they see it!!  It sounds like this year there may be some roving available, too.

This ancient apple tree couldn't be identified by the experts during a recent census.  It produces apples that weight about a pound each!  Becky & Bill have been asked to name it.

This ancient apple tree couldn't be identified by the experts during a recent census. It produces apples that weigh about a pound each! Becky & Bill have been asked to name it.

Becky's white Coopworth wether, Oatie, and his replacement ewe friends.

Becky's white Coopworth wether, Oatie, and his replacement ewe friends.

Its always takes a few minutes for everyone to adjust on their first day out!

Its always takes a few minutes for everyone to adjust on their first day out!

Marion's lambs sticking by her while she picks at every little green thing she can find.

Marion's lambs sticking by her while she picks at every little green thing she can find.

This little one has found a warm spot to wait while mom snacks on hay.

This little one has found a warm spot to wait while mom snacks on hay.

Back to reality and my own fleeces to sort through for the CSA. We have just a few roving shares left but there are still a number of yarn shares available. 

Happy Valentine’s Day!

We were going to go out but it was one of those days. The reservations never got made so we’re going to have a pizza fest — 3 kinds — and a big salad. Today we took advantage of decent weather to get work done outside. Jim spent a bunch of time cleaning up in front of the barn doors. It’s an ongoing project to keep that spot as clear as possible. Any time the temps are above freezing and there’s even a little sun working on the snow and ice, we have another shot at making the build-up go away. A couple of years ago, we had a big snow followed by a big rain followed by a big freeze and we had to get the sheep into the barn for shearing. There wasn’t any way to defrost that huge ledge of ice in front of the doors so we shortened them a bit. Yes! we actually cut the bottoms off. 

I dug through some more fleeces and checked the stash of white ones I’ve been collecting.  We’ve had so few white sheep for so many years that it’s been difficult to get any white yarn made. It really doesn’t make sense, economically, to send off just a couple of fleeces.  It looks like there may be enough to send off now.  While looking through them, I found myself not wanting to part with them…I don’t know why I have such a problem with this. Maybe it’s because in my heart, I love fleeces just the way they are and I wonder whether that has to do with having learned to spin in the grease (before it’s been washed) — thanks to Betty O., my wonderful (and patient) teacher.  To some (maybe most) handspinners, this way is unappealing — you do get your hands “dirty” (if you think lanolin & suint is dirt) but surely seeing  the fleece as it grew on the animal, the smell of fresh fleece, the liquid feel of lanolin as the fiber glides through your fingers — there’s a connection to the animal that makes it worth having to wash your hands. 

Going to pick up another load of hay tomorrow. We’re getting about 12-14 days out of each load.

CSA Fair

here I am at the CSA fair

here I am at the CSA fair

This was a really cool statewide event that was organized with the help of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. There were venues spotted around all over the state and when I saw that there was going to be one very close by, I leaped at the chance to get involved. I packed up a bunch of roving & yarns and our CSA brochure and off I went for the afternoon. It was fun! There were bunches of people shopping for CSA’s and a number of CSA’s that were a little different — one producer of farmed fish, one offering prepared foods (made w/organic, local ingredients), one offering a CSA where the buyer does a majority of the veggie washing/cleaning in order to keep costs down and then there was me. I can honestly say that nobody came running over to me gushing “Oh, Gosh! I’ve been looking all over the place for a fiber CSA!”  But most everyone who stopped by my table thought the Fiber CSA was a cool idea and took info for a knitting/spinning friend or their knitting group or themselves.  So I’d have to say it was a few hours well spent.

Sorting Fleeces

There are still some fleeces that haven’t been sent off from fall shearing and they need to go! It’s been too cold to stay in the barn for any length of time and the fleeces are impossible to unroll so I’ve brought some into the studio to warm up. We did a very good job of skirting them at shearing so there isn’t too much to do — just a quick look through — before packing them up. I always get hung up on what exactly to do with them…to blend or not to, to make yarn or just roving. The problem is that I love it all!!  We have some CSA members!