Fibre, Fun and Fellowship

This blog has been percolating in my brain for over one week.  The Fibre Fun Day was planned for Tuesday August 19th.  There were a number of regrets; it is a busy time of year for holidaying.  At any rate I selfishly invited fibre friends and family for a day of fellowship in order to get me out of the barn and playing with fibre.  It worked!

There were six of us in total.  Our potluck lunch was quite enjoyable - as these things so often are!  Two of us were fibre folk, three were family and one was a neighbour.  The fellowship was just lovely.  After lunch we went for a walk and then we enjoyed the veranda again until it was time for departures.

It was not until the evening, well after everyone had left, that I carded up some of Dot's fleece and added some sari scraps to it.  I sat down and spun.  It was divine!  I was spinning my sheep's wool!

I put the fleece through the carder twice.  The second time I added the sari scraps.  I will add more the next time.  They are predominantly red but there are many colours mixed in.  Sari scraps are just that; the scraps of silk swept up off the floor in a sari making shop.

Things with Millie continue to progress.  As desired she marks the field, claiming it as her territory.  She patrols the perimeter, especially in the morning.  She is learning to slow down when she approaches and walks through the flock as they are not yet fully supportive of her being there.

Following our twice daily pasturing of the sheep for one to two hours at a time, Millie usually returns to the house area and sleeps under the veranda.  Sometimes she will stay with the sheep in the Front Field.  Once she ditched me after an hour, heading back to the veranda for a nap.  A few times she has refused to follow me into the field.  This afternoon I was armed with a Ziploc of leftover turkey meat which got her FULL attention.

This remains a time consuming task, absorbing about four hours of my day, minimum.  However, the sheep are well fed, we have had no more attacks or losses, and Millie is with the sheep.  It is time well spent right now.

The kids are here for the weekend and it has been very nice.  This is daughter's second visit and son's first.  They have met all of the animals.  Son was thoroughly spit upon by Henrietta - twice - for no other crime than feeding her corn husks.  We have enjoyed the fruits of the vegetable garden each night at dinner and cooked up eggs too.  Cranky the hen has recovered from her broody spell and is now laying again so we get five eggs most days.  There have been walks and talks and a few chores.