Saturday Sky

Beautiful breezy day over the Blue Ridge Mountains

Thinking Blogs

Last week both Plumpiemousie and Riverrim blog owners honored me with the Thinking Blogger Award, and I'm doubly honored because they are both insightful and interesting writers who have delighted and challenged me often!

It was difficult to make my own choices, because there are SO many great bloggers out there, and most of them make me stop and think. But here are my five, in no order of preference and with the wish I could honor many more:

Hillbilly, Please. Sharply witty, with references to everything thing from space to palentology. Never a dull moment over there with JAG. The comments on her blog are nearly as much fun and thoughtful as JAG's original posts.

Loose Leaf Notes. Colleen's blog is as beautiful as her spirit and her poetry (and her lovely face). She ponders a quiet, special world and makes me think, too.

Linquini on the Ceiling. I'd love to just go live with these people. Or just be a fly on the wall. Sisiggy is witty, perceptive, and always invigorating! And she deserves a reward because Zsa Zsa did DOWN, no matter what the judges said!

Woolybuns. You've got to love someone called Woolybuns. But Chris is more than a cuddly read. She spends a lot of time with her herd of German Angora rabbits and her perceptions about their health and management are invaluable to me as a breeder. And Chris is interested in SO many things: knitting, felting, spinning, dyeing, and you never know what will be in the works next.

Becca and Bella. Another lovely spirit who writes about life, religion, travels across the seas and more.

As I said, there are a lot more. Some of them have already been awarded, so I chose those that haven't been recognized. So go read. And if you are among the chosen, please include this in your nominating post: "The rules are if (and only if) you are nominated for this award, you must pass the Thinking Blogger Award to five others and describe why." You can find the code for the button here.

Around Greenberry House

Bunnies on the wall

Spring is finally making an effort and all day yesterday I saw beautiful blooms and smelled fresh grass mowed along the way. There's nothing better than wandering around Floyd, Patrick and Carroll Counties. No pictures from the drive, sorry, but I took some after I got home!

The bunny plaque I won at a Christmas party; my sister-in-law had taken it there hoping I'd get it. I never win anything, so I was astonished when the right number came up. Come to think of it, I won another plaque at a meeting the other night. I knew who had been president during the Depression. Maybe my luck is changing!


Green Meadows

Everything is suddenly green. Dandelions and violets are nestled in the growing grass and the dogs are romping around every morning in dew that soaks us all. The rabbits are getting some play-time outside, and I'm having to be careful about the sudden richness in greenery. Lots of dandelions, though, for treats!


Greenberry's Blueberry Bell

And more pictures are on my web page. There are a few missing and I need to get them out into the sunshine for a photo op.

Just did a review of a wonderful book, The Autobiography of God by Julius Lester. Amazing and thought-provoking writer.

Sheep Shearing Day 2007

Arriving at Thistle Cove Farm

Yesterday was a day of adventure, as fellow spinners Sally and Linda and I took off across Southwest Virginia for a day of fibery fun. Every year Sandra and David of Thistle Cove Farm host Sheep Shearing Day in April and I love to go when I can. It was great to have company on the trip, and we had a beautiful drive through the sunny morning.


Getting ready to shear!

We heard music on the hill as we were setting up, and singer Linda flew up to listen, like a moth to a flame! She was soon back, though, because the shearer arrived and a gorgeous fleece landed on the skirting table. Each fleece was more beautiful in the last, and it was hard to decide just which ones would go home in the car with us. Our choices were made soon, however, as finally "just the right fleece" came before each spinner.


After the Shearing

We were all pretty tired when the shearer left, and glad to accept Sandra's gracious invitation to lunch. The sheep that were bereft of their fleece scampered off through the fields, except for two who hung around the barn hoping for a treat.


Relaxing in a beautiful place

Our lunch appeared on the lovely front porch of the old homeplace, and new friends and old settled in to eat, talk and enjoy more music and the wonderful setting. The sun was warm and I got so sleepy, but all too soon we had to pack up our wooly treasures and head back toward our part of the mountains.


Another new discovery

On the way home we saw this fellow, out in a hilly, stony field with some horses and cattle. According to a fast web search he's a camel, although I wasn't sure because he was so wooly! He wouldn't come over to the fence, which was probably a good thing with three greedy spinners so close!


Pearl's Fleece

And of course I came home with wool! This gorgeous fleece came from Pearl, and I fell for the gorgeous luster and crimp. As I said, it was a hard decision; every fleece was gorgeous! Many thanks to Thistle Cove Farm for another fantastic Sheep Shearing Day!

On the way down and back we noticed sign after sign with prayers and thoughts for Virginia Tech. There were signs in front of churches, businesses, and even private homes. The outpouring of sympathy was touching, and made me think of the book I've been reading lately. "There was an end to weeping. Mourning, however, ebbed and surged but never ceased flowing." - The Autobiography of God by Julius Lester.

For more pictures of the Cove and Sheep Shearing Days, go here.

Thoughts

Magnets on the shop door

Soft, soft yarn. Purring cats. Romping dogs. Good friends with their knitting laughing on the couch. Lazy clouds drifting across a blue, blue sky. Sunshine on the grass. Dandelions popping up through the green everywhere. Hungry rabbits rustling crisp hay. Bird song. Family. Soft music on a quiet evening. A crescent moon in a velvet sky. Gentleness. A loving spaniel's chin against an ankle. Daffodils in an antique vase. Spring rain.


Comfort.

Tragedies

Every day I listen to the news as I head down the mountain for a peaceful walk with my friend. Most days I say a prayer, sometimes many, because there is always pain and suffering for someone in the world. But then I put thoughts of the tragedies aside, for selfish reasons and because there just doesn't seem to be room to hold it all. Today it is much harder to put the tragedy aside. And I realize that it never should be easy.

The Victims And, perhaps, one more.

Snow. Yeah.

Sigh.


DE-pressing

Saturday Sky

Shadows and Silver on a Saturday Morning

'Tis a good day for curling up on the little wicker settee with crocheting and perhaps a good book. Maybe a friend will come by with her knitting and we can have a chat!

I love Jacob!

Natural Colored Jacob Hand Spun Yarn

Jacob wool, that is. Sorry, I don't have a new beau hanging around. But I just finished spinning up a beautiful Jacob fleece from Perfect Spot Farm, and I enjoyed every minute of the processing, spinning and plying. Instead of sending this fleece away to have it washed and made into roving, I washed it myself and just spun it on the Reeves wheel after fluffing the dried locks up a little. The varigation worked out well in the plying; there are some white patches, some dark lengths and lots of the brown and white "barber pole" effect. I have another fleece I was going to send away to have made into roving but this worked out so well I may just go ahead and spin it! My next fleece, though, will be some of a light brown Corriedale that I bought a couple of years ago from Rising Meadow Farm. I'm thinking to ply it with some fawn angora blended with camel fiber. Currently on the wheel is some bright purple commerical merino.

Busy week so far. On the farm on Tuesday I sheared two beautiful rabbits and cleaned a few cages and trays. In the spring a young doe's thoughts turn to motherhood, if not romance. So while I was cleaning I popped Greenberry's Lucy in with Wollybuns Hop Sing. They're both lovely pure Germans and they seemed to be interested in parenthood. So in about a month I should have a lovely litter of pure Germans. I also sheared beautiful Bell, and bred her to my cheerful little Greenberry's Cricket. With the attractive personalities of the parents, this litter should be delightful!

Yesterday was wet, cool and foggy. I got up early and took Lily down the mountain for our walk, but the rains came and we had to turn back. The wet weather didn't discourage favorite cousin and I from the trip we had planned. RJ wanted to go out to Burk's Garden in Tazewell County, so we headed out yesterday morning. On the way I stopped in at deBeez House of Yarn in Hillsville (have to get a yarn shop in there somewhere) and had a nice visit with the owner, Deb Worrell. She has some very nice commercial yarns and I'll be going back when the stash dwindles a little for purse yarns. Good prices and a nice lady. I invited her to our knitting group, which we hope to have gathering here at the shop on Thursdays at 5:30 PM. The first meeting is scheduled for May 3.

Our trip to Tazewell was lovely, if a bit damp. I didn't get any pictures because of the fog but if you're ever in the Tazewell area it's a beautiful place. I always enjoy the trip up and back. We wandered around Burk's Garden, which is a wonderful and secluded area of lovely farms on top of a mountain. RJ says the theory is that the place was once a large cavern on top of a mountain that collapsed.

This morning it is beautiful, sunny, breezy and a bit warmer. I've been watching light fluffy clouds float past; I would swear that a couple of them were dragons in disguise!

Chilly Sunday

Jacob Wool Hand Spun Yarn

I got up early on this cold Easter morning and traveled across beautiful Floyd County to an old church building nestled under a high hill. Good people gathered together under a dawning sky, singing old hymns of hope and listening to the beautiful story all had heard before.

Then home to tend the animals in cold that is more annoying because of the promise of spring that was in the air just a few days ago. Daffodils are shriveled in the gardens, the velvet red of the quince turned papery brown. Even the pansies looked sad after the first day of cold, and I brought them inside for safety. The rabbits seem fine, although I don't enjoy the chores now nearly as much!

I finished spinning and plying the second bag of dyed Avillion FarmJacob wool that I bought from Elaina at SAFF. She called these two bags an experiment in dyeing, but I was quite pleased with the resulting yarn!


Ribbon Yarn and a Slip-Stitch Purse

Yesterday I had some delightful company. Jane from Fiber on the Mountain and Linda of Goin' Up Cripple Creek came for a visit. We had a lot of fun taking pictures for the Chicken Soup project, sitting and knitting and gabbing away. A witness commented that we belonged in the Chicken Soup magazine; we were doing a good imitation of a flock of cackling hens!

Must go now; I just discovered Google Desktop and I really need to add some more gadgets!

Swapped!

Great Swap Goodies!

I just wish y'all could feel this amazing yarn! It's a deep, deep brown. rambouillet from Lowder Colours Farm in Oklahoma. Kate Lowder, a wonder Fiber Femme, drew my name and I have a lovely skein to look forward to working with. She included a picture of the wether that grew the wool and a description, calling him a Reverse Badger Rambouillet that she raised from a Gray Badger Rambouillet ewe named Mandy and a Gray Badger Ram named Roper. I just learned a bit about Rambouillet colors!

This swap was sponsored by Fiber Femmes, and we had a nice response to it. We'll be doing another one soon!

The weather has turned cold again, and I was thawing out water bottles this morning. It's supposed to be even colder over the next couple of days. The good thing is that this can't last long, right? Lily wouldn't get out of bed to go for our walk this morning; I had to tramp out alone to go meet Kym and Bentley. Smart girl, Lily, as we realized when the wind took our breath! But it was almost worth the chill to see the dawning over the mountains. A thousand soft greens are creeping across the hills and the rising sun casts brilliance and shadows over the new little leaves.

Back home I've been spinning (surprise) and running around to meetings and such. And working on web pages and the shop. Things have been busy! Easter is a big family holiday around here, so people are coming back home from far away and stopping in while visiting the folks at home. Mom had a nice Easter dinner for us today; I slipped away from the shop and we had a great meal! Now I'm sleepy!

I've been reading the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay lately, so I was pleased to find a biography of the poet in one of the boxes that my aunt sent at the beginning of the winter. I knew very little about the poet and her life, so Savage Beauty, The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay, thirty years in the writing, makes me want to take a new look at the poems. Although I feel that there are some faults in Nancy Milford's biography, seeing the poetry against the background of a life, often troubled but always adventurous, added a new dimension to my understanding.

What struck me most about Vincent Millay's life is that genius so often comes out of such a life. Talented people often seem to be driven toward a need for experience, and the depth of their work reveals an understanding of experience that so many of us lack. We need these people to speak for us, out of their pain, to say what we cannot find words to reveal.

For my review of Savage Beauty, check out my book review blog.

April Fools!

'cause I reckon y'all thought I was dead all this time. Nope, just busy getting the shop all ready to open up today. And, of course, the weather is miserable. Wet, foggy and typical for a mountain spring!


Greenberry House, Meadows of Dan, Virginia

The pansies look cheerful on the porch, anyway, even though I'm not tempted to sit outside and spin today. Earlier today I couldn't even see the big white church across the road. Now the fog has lifted a little and is just drifting along the edge of the woods behind the church, stretching lazy tendrils out across the suddenly green grass.


Cozy place to sit on a chilly spring day.

It's hard to get any work done, with such a nice spot to curl up with a good book or my crocheting. But I must blog, and put some books on the internet, and maybe some postcards. I spent the morning updating the business web site, sadly neglected this winter! I have a lot more to do, but I did get some links up to showcase the wonderful yarn and fiber producers that have their yarn here.


Come by for a visit, and be sure to fondle the yarn!

I've had a lovely couple of weeks with folks coming by with their wares and just staying awhile for a chat. Jane came up from North Carolina again last week and we had a wonderful time talking, spinning, knitting and crocheting. Jane is making beautiful socks from her wonderful yarns.

A neighbor, Sandra from Atlantic Breeze Alpacas, brought wine, bread and cheese one evening, and we toasted each other with the beautiful wine glasses gifted me in the previous post. We spent more time talking than setting up her beautiful booth, but now her gorgeous yarns are displayed in tidy baskets and look wonderful. She also brought pictures of the alpacas!


Books, and books, and prints, and postcards, and....

There are more books than ever, in spite of the fact that I sort of squished down the collectibles section into the book room. Lots of the stuff is in storage, again. Someday the building down at the house will be built. I keep saying that, don't I?

Other projects, which I don't have a picture for, have been spinning Jacob wool on the Reeves and crocheting a couple of slip-stitch purses. And we've been doing other stuff; my friend and I took last Saturday off and went for a six mile walk on the New River Trail. We had a wonderful time; Kym took Bentley and Lily came along with me. Bentley wouldn't stand still for a picture but Lily posed nicely with me. Unfortunately!


Incentive to lose more weight!

Edited to add: While Jane was here we did some photographs for the Chicken Soup camera project. Mom was nice enough to come up to take the pictures, and stayed to visit for a few minutes:


Laid-back Bunny

This is how easy-going a German cross can be; Bluebell has always had plenty of confidence!