Needle felted pumpkins. And charcoal soap

Last night, my oldest grand daughter and I went over to the studio. She had an art project she needed to work on. And I wanted to do some needle felting. Well, I was going to make wool dryer balls, but started making some pumpkins. I think they turned out so cute. I love them. I love these colors a lot.  I need to dye some wool so I can make more of them. Need to get ready for fall markets.

What else can I needle felt for fall?

This is the charcoal soap cut up. This is the first time I have done anything like this. Next time I make this soap, I'll use my taller long wooden molds. But I think it turned out pretty.

While we were in the studio, it rained. One time, I thought we were in a tornado. The wind just all of a sudden started howling and blowing the trees over. Then it poured rain. But this morning, all the beds I had planted with kale, collards and radish seeds, were all fine. Didn't get flooded at all. We sure did need this rain. But this week, in the low 90's.

Happy last day of August, y'all! And have a happy and safe Labor Day!

Mom and her new dog, Abbyelle (Abby)

Yesterday, my family worked on getting my mom's fence finished so we could go get her new dog, Abby. Her back yard was fenced on all 3 sides, but not connected to either the garage or house. She lives right behind the big park in town, and there is a creek between her and the park. So lots of people are there all day. And sometimes kids walk through her yard and through the back gate to get to the park. Not any more.

We put up 6' privacy fence. But the gate that needs to go to her back yard is really wide. So we just put up a fence to get it all enclosed so we could let the dog out free. We'll have to figure out a way to make a gate that won't be so wide for mom to be able to handle. Meanwhile, she can go through the garage for now. And Abby has the whole back yard to play and run in.

There have been some break-ins near mom and she was getting a little nervous being there alone. Abby is an American Staffordshire Terrier. Or a Pitt Bull. She's 1 1/2 years old. We found her at Mckamey Animal Shelter in Chattanooga. She's been there most of her life. She had a foster family where she stayed about 6 weeks. So everyone was very happy to see Abby go to her new forever home with mom. Someone actually paid the fee for her. They were all there yesterday, including the foster mom, to see her off.

We stopped at Tractor Supply and took her in with us to get her a big bag of dog food and some treats and some tennis balls. Which she loves. This little girl will be spoiled before too long. But very much loved and cared for. The foster lady said Abby slept on the bed with her. So mom is letting her sleep on her bed. They had a really good night last night, their first night together. Mom said Abby slept all night. She was worn out from her big day.

She will be a good companion and protector for mom.

Louise the big brown cow.

Louise in the stall. She takes up the whole 10x10 area. She's HUGE!

I put her over here on this side so she could start eating all the tall grass. Then I'll bring the sheep and alpacas over in a few days.

I was putting the chickens up for the night a little early, because I was getting ready to plant my kale, collards and radish seeds. I had tilled this morning. I wanted to get the chickens put up so they wouldn't go in the garden and start scratching up what I'd just done. BUT, Black Bart and 2 of the hens would NOT go inside the coop. Louise was still laying in that same spot and I guess Black Bart was just a little scared of the big ole furry monster. I don't think he'd been this close to her. And right next to his coop now! So he and the other 2 hens took off in the opposite direction. So I had 1 hen in the garden while I planted. I could tell they'd already been in where I'd tilled. I had to go get Louise up and away from the coop so I could get those bad chickens in. I did finally get them in. Where they will stay for a few weeks, til the seeds sprout and start growing.

It was HOT out there! I was thinking how the end of August heat is so different than the end of April heat. Like April is new and we welcome a little heat. But by the time the end of August rolls around, we are ready for some coolness again. I am anyway. A nice cold shower helps a lot!

We have to go to my mom's in the morning. She's getting a dog from McCamey Animal Shelter and they want her to get her yard completely fenced in. Because this dog is very strong and she kind of pulled mom while she had her on the leash. So they were concerned about mom. So we will be putting up 3 sections of fence in the morning, then going to meet Abby's foster family. Everyone at the shelter is so happy for Abby. She's been there the longest of any of the dogs. She will be a good dog for my mom.

Hope y'all have a great weekend.

So that was fun!

 I had to spend the day with Mrs, T. today. So I brought all my wool I had just washed, along with my carder, so I could work on that while I was there. It took me all day to hand pick and get just that one pink tote ready to card. I got 4 batts done later. I'll start making wool dryer balls with this wool.

I found a lady to come tomorrow to meet Mrs. T and check things out there. She'll stay all day and then get to meet Mary, who will be there at 5, so she can tell her about night time stuff. So hopefully she can fill in or take a few days a week.  Had a call from Betty, who was really shaky and her daughter was coming to take her to the ER, Which she has not been to yet. Really frustrated with her. So she can't come to work tomorrow. Which I want her to be well before she comes back. Or get on some kind of wellness plan and take a few weeks to get it all worked out. She may not be able to come back at all. So this lady will be a fill in for her. Emily still has this awful migraine going on too. So enough of that already. Between me and Mary, we'll get through the week. And I love Mrs. T and love hanging out with her.

So got home and got all my ingredients together to make this charcoal facial soap. I was so excited to make it because I have never swirled before. Like had 2 different colors and all. I have watched a lot of videos and kind of had the procedure down. SO I was ready for it.

Got my lye and water mixed up and in the sink. Got all my oils measured and in the pot on the stove. Measured my EO's. I used rosemary and peppermint. Got the charcoal measured up. Then re read the instructions real good again, just for good measure. Got the lye and oils to 100. Got them stirred up together. Added the EO's. Then stick blended a bit. Got the soap separated into 2 containers. Added charcoal to one and French clay to the other.

Then the fun part: layering the 2 soaps! I wish I had just left it like this now. But there will be more later on.

It ended up like this. Too much black. I should have had the lighter color on top.

  '
And this is what it ended up looking like. Now I have to wait til when I get home tomorrow evening to check on it and unmold it and cut it up. I can hardly wait to see what the swirls look like. You know I will take pictures and show it off. It was really fun. And not at all as hard as I was thinking. Or complicated. Thank you, Youtube video soap people! I am so much a visual person so it helps to actually SEE something being done first.

And had to get my little soap drying rack over to the studio to put all these new soaps on to dry. The top is the pumpkin spice, then patchouli, then the chamomile, then the peppermint and then on the bottom is the coffee-oatmeal.

The re milled soap I made is still soft. So IF it ever gets hard enough to take out of the mold, it could take months to get hard enough to use.

More soaps being made

  This morning, I went over to the studio. I got 2 more soaps made. A coffee-oatmeal for taking odors off hands. Good for the kitchen. And a peppermint. I love this recipe. It only takes a few hours to harden and can be taken out of the mold and cut. I used an ounce of peppermint EO and dried crushed mint leaves. It's really pretty. The other soap recipe has to stay in the mold 2 days.

  I also got all the ingredients to make an activated charcoal-clay facial soap. I am so excited to try this soap. I get to do swirls! I've been watching videos on how to do this. So hopefully either Wed. when I get back from Mrs. T's or Thursday, I can make it.

  I am also hand picking all the wool I got washed the other day to get it ready for carding. I'll make wool dryer balls with it. I need to start getting some needle felting started too. So much to do and not so much time to do it all!

Change of plans

Well, today did not start the way I had planned. I got a call from Betty, one of the caretakers for Mrs. T. She's not feeling too good. She'd only been there a few hours and felt like she needed to go home, then go to her doctor. I normally stay home all day on Mondays. I was going to be in my studio all day making wool dryer balls and  doing some needle felting. But had to go sit with Mrs. T til 5. I like to bring my bag of yarns with me and work on knitting or crocheting while I'm there.

So had to find someone to come in for tonight and tomorrow. Betty stays Monday morning til Tuesday night. Then Emily comes in Tuesday night til Thursday morning, then Betty comes back til Friday morning, then I come for the day til 5. Then Mary comes in Friday at 5 and works til Monday morning.  This works great most of the time. Til someone gets sick. But when 2 of the caretakers are sick? UGH!

I had sent a text to Emily but she never got back to me til later. Mary came in at 5 for me. Emily has had a migraine since Sunday and was going to the doctor tomorrow and isn't even sure if she'll be there tomorrow night. So I need to find someone for her now. I have another lady who comes in on Sat. (Darlene) to give Mrs. T a bath and do her nails. (And she said she's going out of town this weekend, so won't be coming this Sat. SEE?) She's so sweet. So she said she could come in tomorrow night but has to leave at 7 AM because she has another job during the day. Can this get more complicated? Why yes, I think it can.

So I called Mary back and she said she'd get there at 7 Wed. morning and then I'll come as soon as I can get everything done here. I'll stay til 5 or so. And that's all I know so far. I am hoping Emily is better so she can work Wed. night at least. And then hopefully Betty will be better so she can work Thursday. And this is crazy!

Then Mary wanted the next 3 Friday nights off. Darlene said she could work for Mary but not THIS Friday. UGH again! How did I end up with this job??? I don't know! And then, the MOST complicated part of the whole thing, when it's crazy like this, is paying everyone. UGH! I hate math! I have everyone's NORMAL pay week already written down, so all I have to do is look at my check register. But now, I have to figure all their hours. And they all make a different amount, which is crazy. Oh, this is not fun at all. It's a good thing I am taking a few weeks off from markets.

So this will help me writing all this down so I can see it. I have also written down everything so far, on paper, as far as who worked when and for how long. Otherwise, I would be a basket case for sure.

 I got a lot of knitting done today. Mrs. T. reads some articles from the paper out loud. She reads the same story, over and over. When it comes to having to turn the page to continue reading one story, she forgets and starts all over again. It gets to where I can read along with her. I'll tell her she just read that part and she says no, she just started. So I start saying everything she's saying as she's reading. It's kind of fun. Keeps my brain working. And the day went by pretty fast. Had a call from Linda this afternoon. I met her from Mary Jane's Farm forum and we talk about once a month. I really like talking with her. She can't post comments here for some reason, but she lets me know she reads my blog. Thank you Linda! And hope you feel better soon.

I got home and got the husband to get his gun and come out to the chicken yard with me. I wanted to hook the nester up to the mower and drag it out of the stall and he could shoot that darn snake when it came out. But we never saw it. And only got 1 egg. It was up under the dog crate in the driveway. I keep seeing the chickens come out of my flower jungle. They may be laying in there. We WILL get that darn snake! One day. And I melted his brand new nylon strap. It got wrapped up on the back wheel and on a pipe. Melted the end off. I told him I hoped he wouldn't get mad at me and call me stupid or something. He said "no, you're just a woman." Ouch. I thought that was pretty darn funny! I'll get him! But I love him anyway.

So I just finished up the mowing. Looked like rain. But it never did. A long day tomorrow too. So going to bed now. Have a good Tuesday y'all!

Making progress, a little at a time.

Yesterday, I got up wanting to do something. Didn't really have a plan. I just grabbed a bag of wool out of the cat room. Took it to the studio and started washing it. It was Annabelle's wool. Some was really good but most was 2nds. Which is fine, because I need to make lots more dryer balls. So did this most of the day. It rained off and on all day too, so had to bring the drying racks inside. I had both of them filled with clean pretty wool.

This is Annabelle. She's probably 95% Finn. Her mother, Lucinda, was full Finn and so beautiful. I miss that ewe. Had the prettiest black wool. Annabelle was a single lamb. And she has only had one ewe lamb, Buttercup. Buttercup was sheared this year and has some really nice wool.

The finished wool, drying. I also had another full one like this when I was done. I started carding it today. I'll be doing that for a long time. And this was just 1 paper grocery bag full. I still have big garbage bags full of sheep and alpaca to wash.

This is the soap I made a few weeks ago. On the left is ginger-coconut. With fresh grated ginger and ginger EO, with coconut on top. In the middle is the lemongrass made with lard. I love this lard soap. I used a yellow vegetable dyt for some color. Smells so good. On the left is the lavender-oatmeal I found in an on-line magazine, I think. I need to make some more because I only got 8 bars.

Also yesterday, in between washing wool, I made 4 batches of soap. In the blanket is my pumpkin spice soap. I had gotten a small pumpkin from one of the farmers at the market last week. Cut it up, put it in the food processor and added cinnamon, fresh grated nutmeg and some pure maple syrup and pureed it. This recipe has castor oil in it too. Then I sprinkled cinnamon and fresh nutmeg on top. Also used cinnamon and clove EO. The uncovered soap is Patchouli. I love this one. And also made a chamomile soap. I used Roman chamomile and Bergamot EO plus paprika for color.  Got these all cut today and are drying on the racks.

I also re milled some soap I had made last fall that just didn't smell. Grated 3 pounds and added Spiced Mahogany FO. Tried to make some swirls too. But I don't know if it's going to get hard. It was still soft today.

It's been quite hot here this month. The alpacas do not like this heat and humidity at all. I try to go out every day and spray them with the hose. They LOVE it! But apparently Misha was a little impatient and got in the water trough to cool off. I have a small kiddie pool in this yard, but it's a tadpole nursery right now. Plus my honey bees use it to drink from too. So I hate to move it. Might have to get another one just for the alpacas.

Today, I went to the studio and made calendula lip balm. I had ordered 30 lip balm tubes a few weeks ago. And I had gotten some flowers from my garden and dried them. Then infused them in olive oil for several weeks. Also had some bees wax from my garden hive that I had to take out. It was burr comb. And really clean. So got 25 tubes of calendula lip balm. Plus made 11 small jars of calendula salve. That's a pretty good seller at markets.

So I feel like I was pretty productive this weekend. It feels good to know I actually made some progress in the studio. I'll be making wool dryer balls this week. Plus some needle felting too. And probably more soap too.

I also have had a run-in with a snake in my chicken nesters this weekend. D*** snake! Caught it in the act too. Eating my eggs. That's just not going to happen here! I got a shovel and take it with me when I check. I saw it yesterday with an egg in it's mouth. I got as close as I could make myself get to it and tried my darnedest to kill it. It got away.It's staying behind the wire nester, under all that hay. It was in the far right nest box when I saw it with the eggs. So I took a green feeder box and shoved it in the nest box to keep hens out. And while the snake was in that one, eating eggs, a hen was in the nest box at the other end. So I guess the hens don't mind snakes?

So I have been going out every hour or so to check on the eggs. I saw the snake a few times today, too. It was going to the nest box on the other side. I saw it's head sticking out. It went back behind the nester when it saw me. I saw it later, but it didn't come all the way out. It got all the eggs. There's a dog crate that's been on the side of the driveway for awhile now. A hen lays an eggs every day in it. Well, today, there were 3 eggs! I guess maybe the hens were not liking the snake after all. Smart girls! My husband went out this afternoon with his rifle. He waited about a half hour and never saw it. Darn snake. We will get it. One way or another, we will get it. I still hate snakes. Especially snakes that eat my eggs.

So what's been going on at your house lately? Care to share?

Ok, it's official...

I AM A SLACKER!

There's just no other word for it. Well, maybe LAZY! I cannot get motivated to do a thing around here. It's because I have so much time. Not a good thing for me to have. I need help! I need a kick in the a** bad.


Ok, that's enough of that. Here's something growing behind the wood shed. It's really pretty. Some kind of morning glory I think.

And did y'all see my new metal antique lawn furniture? I just love them. The 2 round tables came with the house when we bought it. They need painted too. But they go perfect with the chair and glider. One day I'll sit in them and watch the garden grow stuff.

And here's Louise, outstanding in her field. She's doing great here so far. It's still funny when the sheep see her, how they freak out! But the alpacas are crazy when she even moves. They make this horrible loud high pitched noise like one of those big birds that fans their tail feathers. LOUD! And then they run. They are terrified of this poor big cow. Who does nothing but ambles around the pasture. Wondering what all the fuss is about. Maybe she thinks she should run and hide too? It's so funny. But she already had more solid poop than when she first came. It was nasty. It's lots better now, as far as cow poop goes.

So maybe I might do something tomorrow. I know I have to make zucchini bread for my friend to take to market Saturday. And pick okra again. Geeze, this is bad y'all.

I should know by now...

 to be careful what I post on this here computer.

  A few days ago, I posted pictures of Louise, the new cow. Of course, a few people stated that she was awfully thin and I should be grain feeding her to get her conditioned for winter. Well, good grief, for one thing, she's a huge Jersey. They are thin! And she came from a pretty small pasture with no grass. She just got hay and grain when milked. Then we think she had a miscarriage not too long ago. And is a little depressed. She didn't eat for awhile after that. So we thought this would do her good to be here, eating all this grass and helping me out.

  Then I posted the pics of Bubba eating grapes. Oh my, you'd think I was trying to kill my dog, the way some people reacted! Grapes are SO poisonous to dogs! Do not give dogs grapes! It could kill them! And, also onions and garlic too? I have given my dogs raw garlic in their raw dog food for years now. They are still alive.

  That's another thing to not mention. That I actually give my dogs RAW meat! People just about go ballistic. RAW meat? You feed your dogs RAW meat? How could you? They're DOGS! They need vegetables and fruits and grains and wheat germ and and and... Good grief people. Dogs eat raw meat all the time. And have for years. SHoot, they've even gone out back and brought a deer leg or two home to munch on.  My dogs are pretty healthy. I also give them raw bones. But please don't tell anyone.

  And Heaven forbid I should ask advice on anything farm animal related. Or honey bees either. I can ask 50 people the same question and get 50 totally different responses.

  I will learn some day to not say anything about sheep and worms. Or sheep and castrating. Or anything sheep. Just post happy sheep, munching on grass in the beautiful  lush green pastures. Happy animals are what people want to see, right?

  And while I am saying all this, I'll say that people who kiss chickens and let them sleep with them are CRAZY! My chickens are not pets! I don't even really like chickens. I like eggs. That's about it on the chicken liking. Well, I like eating chicken too. But chickens are nasty. They stink. They carry all kinds of nasty things around on them. And have you ever butchered one? Yuck! They are gross! That's all.

  And I hate bottle feeding lambs and goat kids too. I like it fine for the first few days, then that's all. I've had enough. That's why I am not going to breed my sheep this year.

  Oh goodness, this internet. It's gotten a little out of hand, don't ya think? It's made people think they can say or do anything now. So I will have to be careful what I post. But I do like to stir things up, just a little. It's kind of fun to see what happens! Some people are funny.

Rainy Monday...

 It's just a wet day today. We sure do need it. I sure wish I had found some kale seeds though. I'll just have to wait awhile now to get anything planted. A late fall garden, I guess.

  Went out to check on the animals. Saw the sheep and alpacas, but no cow. I thought maybe she was over in the little barn across the field. Some of the sheep were under the shelter on the garden shed. And some were under the eave of the studio. So walked over and peeked inside the barn stall. There was Louise, laying down. She just about took up that whole stall! She's pretty big. It's probably 20x20 and she was in the middle.

  The 3 lambs look so much better today. Cara has just a little bit of puffiness under her jaw. The other 2 don;t have any. I'll not use any more worm meds and see what happens. But to me, they look good. And have more energy.

  Hubby got back last night from going to Indiana to get the grands. They had spent about 2 weeks with cousins in Wisconsin. They met husband in Indiana and they spent the night with his son and kids. On the way back home, they stopped off in Knob Lick, Kentucky, to pick up my antique lawn furniture from Miss Wilma. It's raining or I'd get a picture. It's a metal chair and a glider. Painted yellow and white. I'll put them out in the garden, in front of the garden shed. So I can sit and rest after working in the garden.

  It's just a nice day to stay inside and do nothing. But I need to go take my oldest grand, Chloe, to her school to see why she hasn't gotten her report card yet. I think she said she owed some lunch money. Then I want to go to get some activated charcoal so I can make a facial soap. Can't wait to make some. Also want to make some pumpkin spice. I got a little pumpkin from the farmer's market Sat. to use.

  I was making some chicken salad the other day. The dogs are right there in the kitchen every time I am. Waiting for something to fall or land in their mouths. I was cutting grapes and gave one to Bubba to see what he'd do. He ate it. So gave him some more. He likes to catch food too. He's good at it. Stella didn't like the grapes. I was cutting up some cantaloupe yesterday and he ate some of that too. Silly dog!

Happy Monday, y'all!!

I hope this works.

 I asked my friend Sarah a few days ago if she had a dry cow that I could borrow awhile. I had read that cows and horses don't carry the same worms as sheep and goats and were good together. Sarah has 3 Jersey cows she's been milking. But Louise must have had a miscarriage a month or so ago. So she needs to dry up. So her husband just brought her out here to stay awhile. I forgot how BIG cows are! And how stinkin' messy they are too. Yuck!

The sheep and alpacas are NOT too happy about these plans. Not at all. No siree. Not happy.

                                     They all had a little private meeting way over in the little yard.

But Louise didn't care at all. She was munching away on their mineral block. They also had a few things to say about that!

Still trying to decide on a plan of action. Haven't come up with anything good yet. I did put a board across the smaller gate, so the cow can't get in this yard, but the sheep can go in and out, to the field. When they think she's not looking. They'll get used to her, I suppose. Some day.

Meanwhile, Louise is going to eat. She sure has plenty to keep her busy. She didn't have anything like this where she was.  I hope she doesn't get sick.

So life on the farm is constantly changing. Still thinking about some pigs too. I have that electric netting fence I think I'll use to move the pigs around, following the sheep and cows. When they are over in the other pasture. This one isn't mine. Just borrowing it. So don't want to put pigs out there. But I also heard pigs will take care of the worm load as well. So between Miss Louise and a few pigs, these sheep should be ok. And Mel is coming tomorrow to get Charlotte and Claire, the 2 lambs I wanted to sell. This will leave me with 12 Finn sheep and 2 alpacas. But I have a big ole cow now.

Worms and bees...

I went to the farmer's market this morning. I had a soap sale this week at both markets, trying to make room for all my new soaps. I am going to take a short break from both markets, so I can make more soaps and salves and also lip balms. And wash wool for more dryer balls and needle felted animals. I need to build up my fall and Christmas inventory. Now to just get motivated. I am such a procrastinator though. I'll wait til the very last few days and then get busy. If I have so much time, I think I have SO MUCH TIME and will get to it later. Then later comes, and I have to work, work, work! But I think I do better like this. I just need to change my way of thinking.

And I am very discouraged and upset about my lambs. Poor little Cara barely made it up with the rest of the flock this morning when I went out to check on them. Poor baby. So I gave her another B complex shot and went ahead and wormed all 3 of the bottle lambs with more Dectomax. And gave them all sheep nutri drench.

Today, after market, I went to Tractor Supple to get some Safegaurd, which I read kills tape worms. That's what I saw in Cassidy's fecal the other day. There were 4 wormers that specifically worked on tape worms and that's all they had. I also got a 40# bag of Diotemacious Earth to sprinkle around where they take their siestas. I'll do that every day. Also put some in their feed trough. I so hate this.

I talked to my friend Sarah, who has 3 milk cows. I asked her if she had any that were dry now. I had read that cows and horses don't get the same parasites as sheep and goats and work well together. I think cows like the taller grass , where sheep like the lower grass. So she has 1 dry cow that is really not feasible for her to be feeding like for a whole year, so she's going to see if they can get her out here. That will be a good thing to help with all the horrible worms we are plagued with. I hope, anyway. Has anyone else had luck doing this? I'd love to hear about it. I just feel like I'm such a horrible shepherd right now. I wish I had a dry lot and a load of hay. I will be getting some hay and will try to keep them in for awhile. See if that helps.

I am so happy that I still have 2 hives of happy busy honey bees in the middle of August!!! My 1st hive last year lasted about 2 months, and was invaded by wax moths. Bees all left. So I have no idea what I am supposed to be doing right now for them. I have a friend coming Monday to get the last 2 lambs I wanted to sell. He has bees and said he'd check them while he's here. See if I can harvest a few frames of honey maybe? We shall see. I hope I can take at least 2 from each hive. But they are the busiest girls. They are coming and going all day. They are drinking water from the sheep's trough. I have bits of wood in there so they don't drown. But there is always some that do. I hate that. I also have a small kiddie pool in the side yard that is a tadpole nursery. The bees drink from there as well. I have a big piece of wood in that pool so they can drink from that. I love these bees.

I read somewhere that an older man, who'd had a few hives for a few years now in Missouri I think, was attacked by his bees while he was mowing. He died. They said he had a heart attack, that's what killed him. But he was covered in bees. So sad. It makes me think I better be careful and more aware of my bees when I mow around their hives. Anything could happen, I guess. You never know about wild creatures.

I don't know if you can zoom in on this pic or not, but these bees coming in are just loaded with bright orange, almost red, pollen. All on their little tiny legs. So cool!

But I am so happy both my hives are doing so well. Now to just get them through winter.

So I have THE WHOLE WEEKEND to myself!!!! Husband went to Indiana to get grand kids. What shall I do? It just feels good to have TOTAL quiet right now. No TV! Seems like he's constantly got that darn TV on.  There is so much to do. But there's always tomorrow, right?

My poor babies.

This has not been a very good week. I'm so glad I made 3 batches of soap on Sunday, or I would not have made any at all.

 I noticed Carabella's puffy jaws Sunday evening. I wormed her right away. All the others looked fine, so didn't do anything else.

That night, about 8, Mary, the weekend caretaker at Mrs. T's, called. Mrs. T had fallen and she didn't know if she should go to the ER or what. I really wasn't feeling too awful good, so I called my daughter to go see how bad it was before I drove all the way there. I ended up going. She had torn the skin off her right shin, about 4". Really didn't see any sense in taking her in that late and having to sit and wait when I could just take care of it myself. Thanks to my hubby! So washed it real good. Put Neosporin  all over it and wrapped it up real good.

Monday, my sister and niece came back from Colorado and were at Mom's for awhile, before they headed back down to S. Ga. So before going to Mom's, I stopped at Mrs. T's to change the bandages on her leg. Mary had said she was up and down all night and took the wrapping off a couple times. I wrapped it all back up and wrote on it with black marker "DO NOT TOUCH THIS!". I told her I was going to come back before going home and if she had messed with it, I was going to take her to the hospital and they were keeping her til it was better!

 I was starting to get all stuffed up, runny nose, a little congestion. Went to the dollar store and got some allergy meds. Took 2, like the directions said. Man, a few hours later, I could hardly hold my eyes open. But got to mom's and we went to lunch at the Japanese place where they fix the food in front of us. So fun!

So on the way home, I stopped to check on Mrs. T. She was sitting there in her chair all nice and sweet. Hadn't even tried to bother her leg. So went on home. Took care of the animals. Checked the sheep. Cara still puffy. I gave her Ivermec, LA200 and B Complex.

Tuesday, I was in bed ALL DAY! My head hurt. I was coughing every time I moved.. Low grade temp. Geeze Louise! The whole time though, as I lay in bed awake, I'm thinking of all the things I needed to be doing. SO many things! Then off I'd go again. And Emily, the mid-week caretaker, came in early and changed the bandages for me. I was so glad because I could not have gone and done it.

Wed. SO much better. Got up, cleaned the kitchen and bathroom, mowed the whole front of the farm. Mowed down a bunch in the garden. Cleaned the burr comb out of the Garden hive and added another frame, because it only had 9 frames. Checked the Outback hive. Lots of activity there too. Then got ready for farmer's market. Had to go check Mrs. T's leg. All good so far!

Had a bad market afternoon. And I had a lady ask me last week to save her 3 dozen eggs for her this week. I have worried myself sick about those eggs. I might get 1 egg one day, 4 the next day. Then we'd have to eat some. I finally, after even deciding to go to market, had 2 dozen. Then the silly woman never even showed up! I will not do that again. But I did sell them. No problem selling eggs there anymore. People stand in line wanting eggs. I need to get more chickens!

So today. I wanted to take some fecals in to the vet to see what I was dealing with. HA! You know that saying "a watched pot never boils:? Well, when ya want as sheep to shit, THEY WILL NOT! I literally waited 2 flippin' hours for Cara to poop and do you think she ever did? NO! Never. Any other time, they are pooping like crazy. I just have to look at them and they poop. Stupid sheep. So I got samples from Cassidy, who had worm activity going on. Then Campbelle. Then FINALLY, Cameron! And she had some worms too. But NEVER did get anything from Cara. Even tried going in to get some, I was that desperate.

So took them to the vet. Went to Tractor Supply to get some sheep minerals. Ended up getting 2 mineral blocks for sheep. They LOVE them, by the way. Ate lunch with my mom. Went to Mrs. T's to change her bandages. Got a call from the vet. Yep, they do have worms, he said. Ok, I know that. What kind of worm. Well, he didn't know. They just had a lot of worms. I have to pay $15 per fecal for him to tell me my sheep have worms! What? THAT'S why I do not go to vets.

I also wanted to talk to the AG. extension guy to see what he could come up with to help me out. We decided I was not leaving them long enough on each pasture. They need to be leaving one pasture alone for at least 60 days. And the grass needs to be at least over 4" tall. I've been rotating them about every 15 days, then mowing where they just were a few days later, about 3". They don't really like tall grass. Anyway, I need to be doing things differently now if I want these worms to die.

Also wanted to get some kale and collard seeds. No where can I find seeds. So maybe no fall garden for me?

Went to the bee store. Talked to a 20 year old girl that works there. Very smart girl. Learned a lot from her today.

Then home to cook dinner for the man. And move the sheep back to the big pasture til October. I also had gotten a bottle of  Dectomax. Wormed Cassidy, Cameron, Campbelle and Carabella. I will worm the others if they need it. And I'll get some hay for mornings. I'll keep them in til the grass is dried. That's another thing I kind og knew already, but never thought about.

So tomorrow is my all day with Mrs. T/ I think I will run her over to the walk-in to make sure her leg is doing ok. Just to be safe. I was going to go to Indiana to pick up my 2 oldest grand daughters who have been in Wis. with cousins, but right now, I think I need to stay close by Mrs. T. Plus I might get a whole weekend to myself?! Plus Sat. morning is farmer's market too. I need to make some money! I'm having a soap sale to make room for all the new soap!




So while I'm waiting for sheep to S***, I took lots of pictures of them. This is poor little Carabella. She's so stinkin' fluffy, it's really hard to tell she's so puffy. But she really is, poor baby. One of my bottle babes.

                         And Cameron, another bottle baby. She started yesterday with the puffiness.

                                         Sheep rear ends. I was keeping an eye on them!

I love this shot. I got a lot like this. The blue sky, the green trees, the very tall hay, then the sheep. I felt like I was down in a hole, which I guess I was.

                                                                  My little fluffy Cara.

                                                       This is Amarillo, the quads mother.

                                                   Just a bunch of sheep and alpaca pics.

               Another puffy Cara pic. I really hate this. I have got to get this under control soon.

All the sheep and alpacas, except Cara, who was over to the right, drinking water. I moved them all back over to the bigger pasture later.

Sorry this is so long. I feel like I have neglected this blog and no one is going to even come here anymore. Sometimes, I am either just too busy, or I just don't have anything to say. Then, when I do, I keep on and on... Hope y'all have a great weekend!

(Looks like I already wrote about some of this. Sorry. I can blame this on the foggy head? And the guy that was coming didn't. But IS coming this next Monday.)

And thank you to my very favorite blog reader and friend Betty Ann, for checking in on me! Makes me feel so much better!

Yucky. Again.

It feels and looks like fall outside this morning. I see leaves falling to the ground in the back yard. Pretty. But, there is a wild cherry tree that's next door, but part of it hangs over our fence. Those leaves are falling in my yard. Wondering about the sheep eating them.  I know they'll kill certain animals at certain times of the year.

I've been working on building up my soap supply. Make 3 more yesterday. So 10 so far.

And I feel horrible. Again. But this time, I think it's allergies. I ran out of my day time pills and haven't gotten more. Benedryl knocks me out, so only take it at night. Although I have a low grade fever. I can hardly breath. And my sister and niece will be at my mom's sometime today. So will have to go see them.

And Mrs. T fell last night. Knocked the hide off her right shin. I had to go see if we should take to the ER or not. Really nothing they could do that I couldn't. Plus her skin is so thin right there, they couldn't sew it up.  And it being so late too. My daughter Abby came over to help. There was blood. But I can now thank my hubby that I was able to do what I did. We gathered all the things we'd need to clean it up and get it all bandaged up. I pulled the skin back on and wrapped her up. But she was up and down all night. Pulled the wrapping off. That woman! Called doctor and the nurse called. Told her what I did. She's going to talk to the doctor to see if I need to bring her in or not.

And have a guy coming sometime today to get Charlotte and Claire, the 2 cross ewe lambs I want to sell. And don't know when he'll be here.

All I wanna do is go to bed!

Dogwood Bridge. Family reunion fun, 2014

This is at Dogwood Bridge, in Ozone, Tn. We always come here the weekend of the family reunion. It's so fun.  And so beautiful here.

                                                         Alivia, jumping off the rocks.

 

                             And Abby jumping off the rocks too. Lots of rock jumping going on.

When we first got there, a huge long snake was spotted. It went down stream, but just in case it came back, one of the cousins got his gun.

                                                            Some bridge graffiti.

                                                Abby, after jumping in the water again.

                                                                 More bridge graffiti.

                                               I really liked this shot, with the towels hanging on the bridge.

This random dude came walking down the road, looked over the bridge to see how deep it was, walked across to the other side, ran and jumped off the bridge. Really cool. I think he lived right up the road and did this every day. A real show-off!

                                                     The stream. So pretty.

                         And this is what a bunch of teen- agers do when they all get to the house.

We had a great time at the Sherrill Family Reunion, 2014. Saw lots of family we only get to see once a year.

I am feeling so much better. And am waiting for my friend to call so we can head out to Huntsville to see Joel Salatin today. I think we may be a little later.