Sheep move to Haven Croft

We moved the sheep up to their new pasture at Haven Croft yesterday. It's about twice as big as their old "home" pen. Thanks to Tina Marie, who loaned us her trailer, Lena and I were able to move the whole flock in two easy loads. The angoras have been living at Haven about a week and they were so happy to see the sheep that the smashed down the fence between the two pens and visited. We fixed that droopy section of fence and got everybody back in their own pens.

Pequena the llama was given the choice of whose pen she wanted to be in and she opted to stay with the angoras. They are brattier, but I do think they are more vulnerable to predators, so I might have made that decision for her anyway.
We do see quite a few loose dogs and hear the coyotes sing, so I like having protection for the lower-on-the-food-chain critters. We plan on moving the dairy goats and cow and the last two dogs tomorrow. I've sold the rabbits, but they haven't been picked up yet, so I guess I need to find a place for them, too. Then all the animals will be moved and we just have the studios and the rest of the household items. We keep moving and feeling like we're about half done...
It got down to 16 degrees last night, but it was dry and still, so everybody did fine. The sheep had trouble finding new places to bed down, but they eventually settled. The bright moonlight helped everyone stay comfortable. At one point when I checked on the sheep, a bright shooting star zipped across the ridge behind the house. It was breath-taking.
This morning, I checked on them about daylight and they were all still bedded down in the pasture. Half and hour later, I looked out and there were no sheep to be seen. I yanked open the back door, getting ready to run out in my wooly slippers and flannel night gown. Cute little white sheep faces peered up at me from the cedar grove at the back of their pen. They had discovered that they have access to a bit of the woods.

My office

How can you not love this view?
This is what I see when I look to my right as I am seated at my computer and trying to work on all these huge winter projects.
Back to work.

The order of things

It's been interesting to observe the order we've been moving things. Some of it is because we're moving to town, and so even if we are eventually going to donate the items to the second hand store, or the library book sale, they still have to come to town with us. However, I still find it interesting that the majority of what we have moved so far is books, book shelves and livestock supplies. And that I'm starting to feel moved in at this point!

This is the kitchen, from the living room at Haven house. I love the open great room. That way I am not isolated when cooking. I started hanging pictures the last few days. We haven't moved much furniture yet, but pictures seemed more important. I was laughing at myself when I shared that with Lena. She responded that of course pictures were important, they cut down on the echo. I must have raised that girl right - to find practical reasons for absurd actions!

Shawn has been busy filling orders, teaching classes and trying to restock his broom shop, so he hasn't had time to help with moving. That also has an effect on what has been moved, thus far. Lena and I will be sharing a studio now in what might have been called the family room. My triloom, her fibers and dyestuffs, all the remaining fleeces and my rigid heddle are all set up in there. All we're missing is the Newcomb and my diamond shelf - and about half a dozen tubs of yarn. Shawn's hoping to get a few of his friends to help him move his workshop this coming week. That's about one truckload of tools and tables and three truck loads of wood.

The one room that is coming together fairly easily is the office. While we need several more book cases in here and we are hoping to get a futon from a friend when they clear out their storage shed, it looks like this is going to be a relaxing, good working room. It has a south facing window and a wonderful view of the sheep pasture. I can see getting back to doing some serious writing in this room.

So that's the current state of moving from Meadowcreek to Haven Croft. Tomorrow, Tina Marie has offered to loan us her horse trailer. With Arjuna's help, we finished fencing the angora run and most of the horse's paddock. I worked a little on the sheep fence this morning. I think maybe, we can get most, if not all, the animals moved in the next two days and finish fencing/shelter after they are here.

I'll let you know how things are progressing.

Are you moved yet?

Are you moved yet?
I keep hearing this question. It's chatty, positive and friendly. The answer is "no". And yes, everybody has offered to help. I just can't figure out how to fit that help into the schedule!

I actually did write up a schedule of loads/packing/fence building and animal moving. And we are pretty much on schedule, with the final clean up in Meadowcreek finishing over the New Year holiday.
The animals are a primary consideration, with comfortable sleeping space for humans coming a close second. As soon as we move the first flock of animals to Haven Croft we have to divide the human forces, because someone will need to be spending the night with the animals at the new place and also with the ones at the old place.

I am wrapping moving around my work schedule. Last week I put in more than 64 hours at work. Then I go home and load the truck with Lena's help. We finish chores, milk and fall into bed. Then in the morning, I fret because the truck isn't full, putter around trying to find more stuff to fill it and head in to work - now running late. After work, I stop by Haven Croft and unload the truck.

Shawn is busy trying to finish filling orders and restocking his broom shop for the upcoming Ozark Holidays craft show at the Ozark Folk Center. He's having trouble with the local hardware store not getting him the right parts and his workshop is still a hard hour's drive from town. We really need to take the time to put walls on the carport at Haven so he can move his workshop down to town.

Today, Arjuna is down for a visit and to help. As soon as he and Lena get chores done in Meadowcreek and get Lena's car loaded (probably with more books!) they are going to come into Mountain View and I'll take a long lunch to work on finishing the angora goat pen and shed. Even though it's a cold and dreary day, I'll try to take some pictures.

We're looking at being moved enough to invite everyone for a potluck gather on Dec. 19. I'll keep you updated on how it's all going.

Thanks to everyone for your best wishes and positive thoughts. Now - I've got to get back to work!

Candle shop

We're working on Holiday Season planning here at the Ozark Folk Center. We'll be open Thurdsay-Saturday through Dec. 19. One shop that's always in the spirit is the Candle Shop. Owned by Jeff and Traci Glover, they specialize in hand-dipped bees wax tapers. They take special orders and ship anywhere. They are in the process of building a web site, but for now, if you want to get in touch with them, give me a holler.

Postable momments

So often as I work through my day and my various lives, I think "This would make a great blog post."

Sometimes it's simple things, like the little Scrappy dog conning the new puppy out of his chewy toy and hiding it in a chair that is too high for him to reach.

Other times it is an indepth commentary on pricing craft items and energy flow or the importance of place to the development of any complete theme, that I work out in my head as I'm weaving.

But so many of those are lost, because I don't take the time to sit down at the computer.

Chronicling life has always been an interest of mine. A friend pointed out that it is hard though to both live a life that is interesting enough to be worth recording, while also having the time to write it down!

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We are in the process of getting ready for Off The Beaten Path Studio Tour. The tour is tomorrow through Sunday. In spite of the rain, and in large part thanks to the efforts of Sage Holland, beadmaker, whose picture is here, I think we are fairly ready. Sage has put a lot of effort into getting the studio and the area around it looking good. Sage and Tom will have their beads on display, Rosemary will have her chain maille, Lena will have her dyed rovings and yarns and Shawn will be working on some trilooms.

I'll be warping my Newcomb and weaving on the tri and rigid heddle. Hopefully you all can make it down to visit. Drive careful and we'll see you soon.

Another day gone

There was something I was going to do yesterday. I didn't get it done. Yesterday is gone, I can't make it up. Now today is almost over.
That's been my life lately. Deadlines snowball, I think of projects in terms of the ones that aren't complete. I watch unfinished projects fall into the oblivion of too late to be useful.
I'm at a wonderful retreat/seminar and not relaxing because I keep checking my email and finding complaints about deadlines missed, projects behind schedule or people needing information that is on my desk.
How sick is that?
And how can I even complain when I'm going to type up this latest project and then go soak in the hot tub.
I have no solutions.
Life and its complexities....

Fast Fruit

Lena and I went up to Foxbriar today to work in the garden. Lena picked three watermelons from her wild watermelon plants. They are still blooming like mad and threatening to take over the strawberry patch, again.
There is a muscadine grape outside the garden. Currently it grows up a tree, but we want to move it to the kitchen gazebo this fall. It is loaded with fruit this year. Today, there were 3 purple grapes on the vines. Muscadines grow singly, not in bunches. I picked them. They were still pucker-up tart.
I hope the rest are ripe and still there next weekend when I get back up to the garden.
That's been a problem all summer. The cherry trees were full of fruit this spring. It was almost ripe one weekend, and gone the next. Last year we picked cherries for weeks.
The blueberries were the same story, though we knew they were a bit scarce this year. The bushes had fruit, but not a lot. Last year we frozen 15 lbs of berries, sold several gallons and ate them to our heart's content. This year, we ate a pint - and then they were all gone.
We picked black berries two weekends, before there were none to be found. Last summer my arms were scarred well into August from the brambles.
I've been waiting all summer for the fabulous white peaches at the Ozark Folk Center. Every couple days, I'd go by and give them a gentle squeeze to see if they were ripe. They were rock hard when they started rotting at the stem end and falling off the trees. The potter's said they got a few good ones, but I didn't even get one.
The turkey brown figs all ripened quickly and are done. Now we're waiting on the big juicy Texas reds.
The weather this summer has been cool, with regular rains. It has been great for the humans, we feel very blessed, but we've had to be fast to catch the fruit.