Thank you

Thanks to everyone who sent kind thoughts about the bunnies.

Life goes on. Although I love raising animals and working this farm, although I might shed the occasional tear, I try not get emotionally attached to my livestock, be it bunnies, chickens, sheep, cow... Animals die. Period. Some of natural causes, some at my hand because their final destination is my dinner plate. I am a farmer. I learned a long while back to take the good with the bad. I don't cry when a fox or coyote thieves and kills my chickens or ducks (I am down to one duck and she's lonely; her mate got snatched in the spring.). I did cry when my milk cow died a year and a half ago. She was wonderful and very productive animal, and her offspring fed my whole family for better part of nine months. Now I not only have to spend money to buy milk and butter and cream, but also meat. I don't know if those animals that produce for the supermarkets are treated humanely. I would venture to say not nearly as humanely or as well as they would be if they lived on my farm.

Does anyone actually think about where their food comes from anymore? Or just complain about the rising costs? Why is it so expensive to eat healthy?

Fleece Artist Curly Locks

Forgive me the crappy photo, but I had major issues trying to photograph this Fleece Artist scarf/shawl thing. The colours are much richer in actuality.

On the bunny front, this morning marked their unexpected demise. The mama bunny isn't such a good mama it appears. I found the babies scattered around the nesting box, under the hay, cold as stone. Needless to say, she will soon find herself evicted from this farm.

Knitting in the Heat

Today, I have the pleasure of sharing with you something extraordinary. If you are a knitter, that is. Or if you find that you can never pass up a learning opportunity. If you haven't yet, go visit Mambocat's Knitting Asylum. In Fiberology 101: The Origin of Yarn, where she discusses the mating rituals of yarn, be advised that the associated photos should come with a "Rated R" warning.

Now some of my own Yarn P0Rn. Sock yarn that is. Latest acquisitions. Hopefully the colours from these batches will swirl around the sock like they did on my hubby's socks, which I find charming to no end.

I grafted the toes on these suckers this afternoon and he's already wearing them. Plus I started on a pair for my son, since there is more than enough left over.

GUESS what??? More baby bunnies! Three alive and well, one didn't make it. They arrived yesterday morning. I found them while doing the morning barn chores before we headed out to the cottage and the lake. That one rabbit sure keeps a low profile and she was early once again. Didn't have nest made or anything. So hubby and I hustled to move her to a bigger cage with a nesting box. One baby is a good size, the other two quite small. They're all wiggly, a good sign.

Rain, Rain, Go Away, Don't Come back 'Til I Say

That's my daughter's version of that song. I think I like it.

Spider webs. I don't know why there are so many considering all this & @%#$*! rain we've been getting. You'd think they'd all keep getting washed away. This year is proof you can't trust the Farmers' Almanac. Dry summer, my arse. The two holly bushes I bought and planted in the spring have actually drowned. I am SO not impressed. Seeing how I actually planted what I purchased in the same season, never mind year. Because I do have a couple currant bushes I bought last year (or was that two years ago?) and they're still in their original pots. Alive, though, and that's better than the hollies. Maybe if I didn't try to change and procrastinated with their planting, they'd still be alive. Hmm.

I am still knitting, but not so much today. Yesterday, I finished a pair of sock for hubby of yarn I acquired on ebay. And I still have a bunch left over enough for at least another pair. Picture of those when I got my batteries recharged. Slow knitting day today, just working a bit on that fuchia cardigan. My left-hand index finger is in a lot of pain. I am starting to suspect arthritis (sp?) because it hurts after a difficult sewing day too. Hubby thinks this bout was brought on by yesterday's marathon knitting. Besides his socks, I knit a scarf/shawl type thing of Fleece Artist curly locks mohair on, get this: size 15mm needles. They were a royal pain in the arse! Anyone want a pair of 15mm needles??? Never again. See, I knit the whole thing up as a triangle on 10mm needles first, didn't like it, tinked the whole thing, and started from scratch on the 15's in a rectangle. I think I cast on 22 stitches or so and knit until I ran out of yarn. It's a decent size, and I'm not redoing it again. Normally I wouldn't even have bought such impractical yarn, but my brain got befuddled by the beeeautiful colours. Very rich. Wait til I get that camera working again!

Lopi and Cats

Lopi. From Iceland. Really. Brought it back all by myself. Not by the postwoman. How cool is that? I loved Iceland. Wish I had spent more time there. The hot springs: wow! And Hot! Image, eh? Anyway, this stuff knits up pretty fast, pattern is not terribly complicated, and I love the colours. That's the back all done and a good start on both fronts. Yes. I will be wearing it this fall and winter and whenever. It's not gonne get to be 18 years old unfinished. Truly!

Apparently Thomas felt he didn't have enough room and HAD to stick his fat feet on James.

James on the other hand looked like he was going to bite his feet off for such an offence.

I could have sworn he winked at me!

There was Knittin' goin' On

I've been knitting. And then I've been finishing stuff I knitted and then I've been thinking about knitting other stuff. On the left are socks for my son, Colin, who will be turning eight in a few short weeks. Crazy stripes with navy for cuffs, heels and toes in 6 ply. They're nice and bright. He should like them considering that I caught him wearing Briggs and Little Tuffy socks earlier this week! And Wiktoria's socks are actually done now, toes grafted and everything. I think that's going to be a Christmas present. They look a little big, but my brother told me she's growing like a weed and just recently started crawling (and getting into everything!). Good for her!

I managed to seam one side of this skirt-wanna-be, to realize a definite problem. Apparently I can't measure, or count, or most likely both. One piece ended up about 2.5cm too long. I am trying to unpick one row (slow going, holy @#^%#!) to even things up. When that's done, I'll cast off and carry on like I didn't screw things up in the first place. A lot of that going on around here.

Good news: I found a home for the 18-year old sweater. I gave it to the woman I bought my sheep from. Not exactly forced her to take it to do with what she will, but close.

And for your amusement, sheep sheering outtake:

The (Mighty) Lahave River

"Dog-Breath" neverendingly fascinated by baby bunnies

Isn't it CUTE?? No name. But definitely showing angora. YA-HOOO!

FOs...

Trigger mitts, designed on the needles, knit from wool of a sheep that now resides on my farm. They fit me perfectly. I hope they fit the recipient as well!

Thomas (apparently I was disturbing his sleep during the photo op!) with a finally finished mohair-blend sweater that's over 18 years old. Kid you not. I bought the yarn when I was still in school (high school that is!), living at home. Granted, it was my last year at home but still. It was my first ever colour-work and first sweater and first mohair yarn, blah, blah, blah... And I don't even like it, and it's huge and makes me look even huger. It sat in a box waiting to be sewn together over 17 years. I didn't have a clue about finishing knit stuff back then, because let me tell you, it took many hours and MAJOR perseverance to undo those seams that I did stitch. And I was too ashamed to take pictures of the horror. Now the shoulders are grafted (can you believe it??!) and all other seams are done by the book and I can even get the darned thing over my head. Yes, I had MAJOR issues with the neck band being too tight. Don't ask any other questions. I should have taken the thing apart and reused the yarn for socks or something.















I leave you with pictures of Oscar, the Vampire Cat (who loves his picture taken!).

NB No photoshopping involved!

Fickle, That's Me

I'm catching up on blog reading tonight, and this is what I have to put up with:

I think she wants her belly scratched. You think? Can she possibly be any more subtle??
Annie is a pouter. Tough.

And while my dial-up takes its' time uploading pages, I am trying not to waste time. Actually, this is evidence of polygamy. I think. Is it still polygamy if the others are stashed who-knows-where and you are in the company of only one? Even if stash spies lurk everywhere, taking notes of your indiscretions? The spies are actually Jaeger Matchmaker Chunky that I scored on eBay (very cushy), destined for hats + presents. That nice cotton top I started? Where did that go exactly?? I dunno. Maybe I do, I don't want to think about it. So I'm knitting socks for Wiktoria with that pink Italian wool I bought in Kitchener. Wishing now I had bought more than just that one ball. It's LOVELY. I am cursed, not being able to stick to one project at a time.

I'm on a Diet

Doesn't it show???

(I figured cheap, no-name cookies don't count.) As if.

I'm exercising too (and I'd show you, but it's too difficult taking a picture of me sitting down doing nothing!!).