And then there were 2 more cats...

I wasn`t able to get Pumpkin & Mittens together for a picture till the other day,they are still investigating their new home here, we hope for just awhile.They are the brother & sister I took when they were getting in the way of cars going to a store.The owner said I could have them,I just happenned to have a cat carrier in my car,I had had it in for awhile hoping to see a sign for free kittens as mom had lost her cat she got from the shelter,whom was 14 years.They have been her life since my father died.
I sat with mom this evenning & she did not seem good at all,but slept peacefully while I was there.I took my spinning wheel & worked with fiber while she slept.She did awake to tell me she was glad I was there.It`s hard to see her go downhill so fast.She is Irish,a Haggerty,& a fighter by nature.I don`t know what God has planned.I did see a falling star driving home,so I just said a prayer.

Savannah was gone when I came home.My dh said it was a fighting match again,& told our son he has to be out in 2 weeks & find a job.We need our peace back.I`m relying first on God,then going within my spirit to find my peace.I love my blogger friends & wish the best for all in the coming year.Leaving you with the animals,whom always give me pause to smile.

A Day Alone,well,not really when you count the various 4 legged critters

This is bike week in Gettysburg,Pa.Thurs.night the Charlie Daniels Band played at Granite Hill campground,& they had other things going on the weekend.The dh went & saw the band,said they were great,played for 1 1/2 hours.Today he left to go see what else was going on.Me-I get some time alone.I do not enjoy events with crowds.I`d just as soon sit with my pets & watch the birds or engage in some dirty dancing around the house.
Really what I did was bake some blueberry zucchini bread{recipe is in another post,go look at my labels},ate part of a loaf,and they are funny shaped loaves as I used parchment paper to line my loaf pans with.
I also made ham salad,deviled eggs,& finished up with getting the mohair out & flicking open the locks getting the hay & things out & seperating the good from the bad.The bad is hair I can`t get all the thistle seeds out of,so I still keep it as it`s cleaned other than that,& I`ll use it for stuffing dolls.

The goats fleece is still nice,except for Blackie`s.His was never really nice to begin with,he has dry skin.

The past 2 days I`ve been to the barn,I`ve been stung by yellow jackets.I was stung 3 times.I thought I had gotten rid of the nest,at least where I believed the nest to be,& ended up stepping on it again.I just removed a hornets nest last month from inside the barn.

The Mannings spinning seminar

I went alone yesterday to the Mannings,it is about a 40 min. drive 1 way,& I didn`t stay very long because of the heat.There is always a nice breeze flowing down through there by the creek though.The Roclans showed up with their sheep.I missed the shearing of the one,there were 2 more to do,but I didn`t hang out.She had beautiful hand dyed roving,but I talked myself out of buying any as an incentive to get busy on my own fiber.I did,however,want a whole bag of the raw dark brown wool she had,but when I left & walked back around,someone had gotten it.It was nice too.
The only animals there were sheep & angora goats.I snapped pictures of these little tiny cuties.This mohair shown here is dyed in this basket along with some natural.

I was amazed at this plant fiber & watched the people work at it awhile.This wheel on the left is called a wood wheel,I think I understood her to say.It looked like fun beating the heck outa that plant fiber.The girl is spinning flax.I wonder if that would hurt your fingers after awhile?As usual,I was too shy to ask.
I have a wheel like this antique looking one,& I took it apart to put the correct belt on instead of cotton string-which I should`ve just let it alone,so I told these people I was taking alot of pictures of their wheels because of that.They said I should`ve brought it along,they`d have looked at it.I thought about it before I left here to take it along,but I didn`t.They told me I could get more bobbins made for it if I took the mother off & sent the works,not the whole wheel,just the mother part.I had thought it was a flax wheel,but they were spinning wool on theirs.
I was surprised at how many men were spinning there this time,I`d say it was almost an equal ratio of men to women.
Oh well,there is always next year.I`d like to get my fiber washed & done,maybe I could sell some there next year.Didn`t I just write that back in 2008? Oh well,it is a goal I suppose...

Angora Goats

It will soon be time to shear the goats,they get sheared in the spring & fall.Blackie`s fleece isn`t that great anymore,it never really was as he gets skin flakes through it that`s hard to get out.It does dye beautifully though.

Ringo,the badger colored goat,has the best fleece,so soft.He is the hardest for me to handle.They all listen pretty well though, sometimes I allow them to roam around without being tied & they`ll always come to me for grain.Jimi & his twin brother,Hendrix,are like big poodles,they are the most friendly.It seems Hendrix has a bit of pine tar on his nose,they`ve been eating up the neighbors Christmas trees.

Their fiber is called mohair.Angora fiber comes from the angora rabbit.
My goats are 5 years old this year.I have not sold any of their fiber,though I have washed & given some away to artists.I like to handwash it all myself.It`s alot of work,& I have alot of fleece yet to be washed!

Mom,it`s hot outside

Vet Call

Since being moved over to the livestock panel pen,my boys have been rowdy & playing more & rubbing their horns more,on the apple trees that weren`t producing, & getting locked up with each other ,& 3 times now getting stuck with their horns through the fence.They were do for their shots, so yesterday the vet paid a call.Hendrix had an abscess between his horns that had broken open some.I was treating it with cleaning it & it looked pretty good,however we are giving him pennicillin shots just because of how it openned may spread the infection.He models his new silver sprayed head for us to keep the biting flies from bothering it.
I couldn`t use Blackie`s fleece from this spring`s shearing as his skin is so dry the fleece had dry skin scales throughout,even though I gave him supplements.The vet suggested I bathe him twice a week in special shampoo that I have to go pick up.I hope I can keep at it so by fall his fleece will be worthwhile.She suggested I do not brush him,it may aggravate it & cause a skin infection.

Phylleri Ball`s steam valley Farm Tour 2010

Sat.I loaded up my 76 year old mother & we took a 3 hour trip one way to Trout Run,Pa.to go on Phylleri`s tour.We got lost several times,but I had no panic attacts with mom with me.No,I didn`t come home with any goats this time,but they sure were adorable,especially the nubian goats.I could`ve filled my car up with them & brought them home with the assurance to my dh that we were now in the goat milk busines,goat soap,goat cheese,but I figured I`d better not push my luck.But,here are the babies,how dear they were,especially when she let them loose,they ran with their long ears flapping about.
I took pics of her sheep,chickens,dogs,& oddly colored angora goats-the 1 she is holding is a brown one,but will post them later,I`m headed for bed.