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This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here. Saturday, February 16, 2008 Field trip Today my knitting buddy, Kristen, and I went to a sheep shearing, at Rising Meadow Farm in Liberty, North Carolina. Unlike many commercial operations, the sheep were shorn with traditional blade shears, a job requiring patience and considerable muscle. The two angora goats had already been shorn before we arrived (Kristen went home with all the fleece from one of them), but there were at least thirty more sheep waiting. All I could think of, watching the skilled shearer, was "Hoo, boy, she's going to have a sore back by the time she's through with this!" This fellow has had his turn, and blazes almost snow white in the morning sun. After shearing, the fleece goes to the "skirting" table, where soiled portions of the fleece are pulled off and discarded. This fleece is from a deep chocolate Moorit sheep (Moorit refers to the coloration, not the breed). There were kids everywhere, large and small, and I was pleased to see that most of them were perfectly comfortable with the sheep and other farm animals. This little one looks like she is choking the rooster, but she was actually stroking his feathers. One thing I liked was that each fleece was labeled with the name of the sheep or goat it came from. Kristen and I shared Patty's beautiful 7-pound fleece, I bought six balls of roving from Nutmeg, a Moorit Corriedale, and Kristen's mohair came from Schuster, the goat. On the way to the farm, we stopped for coffee, and parked next to this truck. At first, there was one pretty retriever head poking over the tailgate, then another one. As we watched, one--no, two--no, three! puppies popped up to pose for admiration and picture-taking. If you look closely, there is one more little head sticking out next to the dog with the pink harness, the cutest little pug face almost lost in the furry retriever crowd. Here I am! Aren't I adorable? Kristen said he was probably a beagle/pug mix, a "puggle." They were all amazingly well-behaved. The two older dogs could easily have jumped out of the truck, but showed no inclination to do so.So that was our morning, and then we went to the coffee shop, knitted and spun for a whle, and divvied up our joint fleece. It's a beautiful crimpy blend of off-white, tan and near charcoal, the most distinctive fleece of all the ones there, and we each have three and a half pounds of it, enough to keep us busy and out of trouble for a long time. posted by Liz @ 9:13 PM | The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email toliz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3 KNITTING BLOGS Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits FINISHED PROJECTS -------FINISHED IN 2006------- Peruvian Cap Tutti-Frutti Socks Shelley's Socks Carol's Socks -------FINISHED IN 2007------- Chain Link Socks Baby Surprise Jacket Valerie & Friend Baby Bonnet Rainbow Baby Socks Girls Pixie Hood Mitred Square Heart Red & White Socks Coffee Cup Pot Holder Nubbins Dishcloth Garterlac Dishcloth Suede Booties Kate's Socks Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap Half Thumbless Mittens Red Mittens for Akkol -------FINISHED IN 2008------- SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE -- Blogs and websites -- Causubon's Book Club Orlov Food Storage Made Easy From the Wilderness In the Wake Listening to Katrina Survival Topics The Modern Homestead The Oil Drum Notes from a Hillside Farm -- Mailing Lists -- 12vdc Power Living on the Land Rainwater Refrigeration Alternatives Old Ways of Living POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES The political sites have moved BOOKS I'M READING How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising ARCHIVES February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 Feedjit Live Blog Stats
Today my knitting buddy, Kristen, and I went to a sheep shearing, at Rising Meadow Farm in Liberty, North Carolina. Unlike many commercial operations, the sheep were shorn with traditional blade shears, a job requiring patience and considerable muscle. The two angora goats had already been shorn before we arrived (Kristen went home with all the fleece from one of them), but there were at least thirty more sheep waiting. All I could think of, watching the skilled shearer, was "Hoo, boy, she's going to have a sore back by the time she's through with this!" This fellow has had his turn, and blazes almost snow white in the morning sun. After shearing, the fleece goes to the "skirting" table, where soiled portions of the fleece are pulled off and discarded. This fleece is from a deep chocolate Moorit sheep (Moorit refers to the coloration, not the breed). There were kids everywhere, large and small, and I was pleased to see that most of them were perfectly comfortable with the sheep and other farm animals. This little one looks like she is choking the rooster, but she was actually stroking his feathers. One thing I liked was that each fleece was labeled with the name of the sheep or goat it came from. Kristen and I shared Patty's beautiful 7-pound fleece, I bought six balls of roving from Nutmeg, a Moorit Corriedale, and Kristen's mohair came from Schuster, the goat. On the way to the farm, we stopped for coffee, and parked next to this truck. At first, there was one pretty retriever head poking over the tailgate, then another one. As we watched, one--no, two--no, three! puppies popped up to pose for admiration and picture-taking. If you look closely, there is one more little head sticking out next to the dog with the pink harness, the cutest little pug face almost lost in the furry retriever crowd. Here I am! Aren't I adorable? Kristen said he was probably a beagle/pug mix, a "puggle." They were all amazingly well-behaved. The two older dogs could easily have jumped out of the truck, but showed no inclination to do so.So that was our morning, and then we went to the coffee shop, knitted and spun for a whle, and divvied up our joint fleece. It's a beautiful crimpy blend of off-white, tan and near charcoal, the most distinctive fleece of all the ones there, and we each have three and a half pounds of it, enough to keep us busy and out of trouble for a long time.
The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section
RSS Feed
PERSONAL
WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT'
"If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart.
THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME
Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3
KNITTING BLOGS
Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits
FINISHED PROJECTS
SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE
POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES
BOOKS I'M READING
How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising
ARCHIVES
February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002
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