Hail! Hail! The gang's all here!

So, let's go back to October ... the friend of mine who had my sheep sells them back to me and offers to put them in with his ram as soon as they have been sheared. Ok ... sounds great! They are supposed to go in with the ram the 1st of November ... don't make it till the 7th ... OK, no problem ... no lambs then till after the 7th of April. I can do that. Fast forward to today ... the day my last ewe has her lambs and I can announce that my 2008 lambing is at an end. Yep! Divine intervention you say? Naw .... seems he had left a ram lamb in with all of the ewes on the assumption that he was too young to do anything of any consequence. And we all know what happens we "ass-u-me" something. So here they are ... my newest pack of wild woolies:

This is Jasper with his mother Gabrielle (Gabby).

She thinks he is pretty cool ... and he is very bored being the only baby and so drove everyone crazy wanting them to keep him amused until ...

Lilly and James arrived. They are a week old here and their mom, Mattie, already lets them run with their friends. Lilly was very small when she arrived but is doing great now. James thinks that he should be in charge of everyone. Then just when I thought it might be going to slow down ...

Buelah decided to have twins also. However one of them was lost to us.This little beauty is Rory. One of the things that makes Rory so special is that he is white. All of my sheep are coloured and have been for generations so he is a bit of a throwback.

Agnes, not to be outdone, had twins also. This is Sean and Seamus. They are very tiny but very active and driving their mother crazy by refusing to anything she wants them to do. Today was their first day out in the pasture and they started out a bit surprised by how big the world was outside their pen but they are busy exploring all of it now.

And this morning Isabelle decided she was tired of doing all of the waddling ... and so she had Curly. The name may not stick ... we shall have to see.

So, I am all finished. As are "the Girls". And I shall be even happier in a few days when I know that they are all going to be ok. Life is full of surprises ...

By the lilly pond

The flash of goldfish - lost

In the falling rain.

No Rest For the Wicked

The last month has been full of stress and tragedy ... and a little quirkiness ... and some creativity. I am glad, quite frankly, that it has passed. My birthday is this month and usually I milk it for all it's worth ... like every other 4 year old that you know. This year though ... there is no joy in my life to celebrate. It will be a day like any other. Compounded by the fact that my work has asked me to attend 2 days of corporate meetings that just happen to span my birthday ... so I will spend it in a hotel room knitting ... which I think will be fine ... a bit of peace and quiet and time to reflect on the next 50 years.

As for the quirkiness ... Rupert wandered off a few weeks ago only to be replaced by my newest erstwhile suitor ... Quintus ... the quail.

He sits outside the dining room window and calls and calls all day. He is very devoted although somewhat confused I dare say. The kestrel has been gone for several weeks but I hope he will be back soon. And I hear Rupert in the evenings but he has given up his vigil by the barn completely.

On the creativity front I finished a pair of socks using some yarn from Ceyeberfiber's MamaE in the Brenda's Fire colourway:

In a twisted rib ... I think they turned out nice and several other people have requested a pair so I suppose I had better get started for next Christmas.

Then there was the other side of the creativity front. I started dyeing again and am having huge fun with that.

I found a colourway that I really love and could not think of what to call it. I had meant for it to resemble the sweet cherries that they grow in Japan but every time I look at it I think of salsa and fresh tomatoes. My husband suggested I call it "Socko de Mayo" ... and so I will ... and here it is:

The second colourway I have been calling "Miami" as it is a very pretty shade of coral. We shall see, though, if that name sticks. I will be dyeing more next week ... and will post that as soon as I can. In the meantime ... I am off to work ....

Cold rain -

From the pond in my head the

Sound of Basho's frog.