Very fine Romney fleece.

I am SO glad I didn't start on my fiber journey with this fleece.  I would have cried and given up right away. I feel like I know enough now to know what to do with this. It's a white Romney fleece I had bought awhile back. I washed it and put it in this bag and forgot about it. Some things are just meant to be.

I finished the Shetland fleece I'd been working on for about a week. So took some of this fiber out and put some on the drum carder. It just kept sticking on the licker in wheel like crazy. And  had lots of nebs and things on the bigger wheel. When I took it off the wheel, it was so fine, I only had to do one swipe with the tool that separates it to get it off. With the Shetland, it took all the strength I had to get it off.

So, I got the hand carders out. I have not had a very good relationship with these things. I had tried them a few years ago when I first got them. And I hated them. I really didn't know how to use them then. At my spinning class, I tried some again and figured out how.

So I put some of the fiber on one of the carders and then used my little dog brush to comb it in. This way, I only had to card once.

                                                    Just look at this fibery goodness!

I did a basket full and started a bobbin on the wheel. I love spinning from what ever these little puffy clouds of fiber are called.

It's really spinning up pretty. It's going to take a LONG time to hand card that whole bag of fleece. I hope it will be worth it.

     It's looking good so far. I just love working with sheep fiber. But I think I will be investing in a set of fiber combs soon. And a blending board. And a loom maybe? Oh, there is so much to dream about!

Animals in the cold.

     So, all the animals made it through this bitter cold night. I think I was a little worried about the chickens. I have not put up the plastic around their coop at all. I have been adding more and more straw to the bottom though. I did have to move one lone hen over to some other hens. She may not have made it all by herself. So this morning, I went out there and they were all outside, scratching around. And laid 2 eggs to boot! They were just fine.

     And all the old cats were fine as well. I have 6 cats that are between 8 and about 12. Maybe even 13. Last year, I let them go in the little house when I had hay over there. But now it's my studio and ain't no cats going in there! They have the room next to the kitchen that we call the cat room. They are fed in there. And there are lots of nice boxes with pillows and blankets and things. They are quite toasty in there.

    Of course, the 2 dogs are inside. because they are inside dogs. When Bubba was a puppy, 6 years ago, he was an outside dog. But it was so hot that summer, he got sick. I took him to the vet and they kept him a whole week. He had pneumonia. Really bad. Poor dog. And so now, he hates the hot weather. So he stays inside. And so Stella, his best friend, stays inside with him. Because, she has to be right by Bubba's side at all times. And, when they do go outside, they bark. At anything. They bark a lot. And when they  bark, they look back at the house to see if we're looking. Because they want to be inside. And we let them in.

    Then there are the sheep. They are such sheep. They are fine in this weather. Unless it's windy. Which it was last night. So they wanted back over in the smaller pasture with the stalls. And since the wind was blowing from the North, the stalls are facing South, so they had protection from that wind. And they were happy. And they have the most amazing warm wool coats on. So I do not worry about them. They are out back tonight, laying under the trees and stars.

    And the alpaca boys are with the sheep, so they are happy too. They love their sheep so much. They make the saddest noises when the sheep leave them behind. Which isn't much. But they are always the last ones through the gates.

   The bees now, I am not too sure. I did wrap them up yesterday. This morning, I went to check on them. I did see a lot of dead bees in the entrance. I opened the entrance reducer and there were more laying on the bottom board. I know that's probably normal this time of year. But until I can see them getting out again, I will worry about them. I hope they'll be ok.

    So that's the wrap-up on the critters. Now tonight, it's still freezing, but only 17. If they all made it through 9 degrees, this will be a piece-a-cake, right?

All tucked in...

 for the night. I had to do something to help my poor cold bees. It was so windy today. The wind was blowing so hard from the North, so I put that board there. Then later, I got this old heavy quilt and tucked them in for this freezing 10 degree night. I hope it helps. It's going to be 17 tomorrow night and 16 Friday night.

I was over in the studio spinning til almost 8 tonight and the ground was already frozen when I walked back home.

I went out after covering the bees to pick kale for dinner. It was frozen.

The sheep and alpacas will be just fine with their nice wool coats on. I put them back over here for the night, so they can get out of the wind in the stalls. They seemed happy to be there.

I am ready for spring. How about y'all?

P.S. I just left a comment and went past the robot thing and just clicked publish. Went through.  I have tried everything I can to get rid of that, but it's still there. So, if you would like to comment, just ignore the robot and hit publish. Just that easy!