New uses for old stuff

... which I love !

I made this handy pouring add-on for a standard size mason jar.

This is how.

Then you just use the ring of the mason jar to sandwich the new piece and you get great pouring action from your mason jars ~ salad dressing comes to mind but whatever you fancy, 

I'm on a bit of a mason jar kick at the moment, here's a good tip on using a blender with your mason jars,

And finally,

Very Berry

 Did I tell you I live in a sea of berries ? SOOOO lucky

  There are berries in the garden. - Raspberries..

..

 We've had a bumper crop of raspberries this year, here are a few of them resting comfortably in  a beautiful cedar bailer made by our friend Ivan, a super talented traditional wood carver and weaver.

 And then there are the blueberries, just a few and just about ready to pick. 

We put these bushes in 2 years ago.

When we go for our walks in the forest I must admit I pass on the salmonberries....

 taste is kinda so so.

And the huckleberries ? too much trouble to pick.

BUT.... these are the prize, Rubus Ursinus, a small early variety of blackberry. 

They are the most flavourful of the local berries I think, 

and the smell ? 

one dimension the internet lacks, but take my word for it, their aroma is amazing 

and conjures up summer for me.

I've been thinking about berries so much lately so I got this book from our local library.

 It was very useful in identifying some of the local berries and I learned that there are many different berries that grow here. Once again, SO LUCKY !

Do The Math

+

=

That's all !

The Wonder Of Wool

It was shearing day a couple of weeks ago. We were lucky enough to have a fabulous weekend

 shearing sheep with Johanna around and about the Powell River area.

Here she is shearing  our ram, Womble.

And a couple more shots.

 

I just love watching the fresh fleece come off like this.

 I never get tired of it.

(and it  smells good too !)

The next step in the process is skirting the fleece, 

I lay it out on the "skirting table" we have set up, and pick out all the yukky bits.

Our friend April brought Anise's fleece over, (of the Nanoose Bay relatives)

 I thought I'd start with that, and it had already been skirted so that's all good.

Ready to wash !

Here I am putting it into our trusty fleece washing machine.

An action shot. 

Believe it or not it WILL all go in.

There, it's in !

I let that simmer for a few hours, tip it out, rinse it twice and 

voila !

This is the second fleece I washed.

 This one is Tansy's.

Now I'm hoping for some sunshine to dry it.

A Lovely Hike

Guess where we were today ?

here's a clue

For those of you who have never seen this little fish on a tree, here's another clue

Beautiful Stillwater Bluffs, under threat from logging. You can read more about that here

Can you imagine destroying this magical place ?

There are trees like this one.

And vistas like this.

All kinds of different plants, too numerous to mention.

This, I think, is Kinnikinnick, you can read about it here

And here is Fleur, welcoming you to Stillwater Bluffs and asking that you sign the petition to stop the destruction.

Because she loves it there too.

Finally A Lamb Post

It's taken me ages to get some lamb pictures up, sorry about that. 

Anyhow here are the 2012 lambs, all doing great and running and jumping around the field.

We decided for our naming theme this year we would use 20th century authors !

So here they are in no particular order,

The black ones, (who are not twins),

Humbug's ewe lamb, her name is Beatrix (Potter) and Marmite's little boy Zane (Grey)

 

Next up is Dandelion's ram lamb.

His name is J.D. (Salinger)

He's a real mummy's boy and they hang out together a lot.

And then we have Cashew's twins. They were born a few days after the other three and and still quite small.

They are called Dylan (Thomas) and Enid (Blyton).

Cashew is our Babydoll Romney cross so they are mostly Babydoll but not pure bred.

They are enjoying the sunshine, (while we had it !)

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1qwu9noKEA&context=C314541dADOEgsToPDskL_o-owoTSRlsR9g8ODaCx9

 And a link to more lambs on my youtube channel. You need the volume up for this one.

I must confess to have not read anything by Zane Grey but all the other authors were favourites of mine growing up. What kid doesn't enjoy Beatrix Potter's tales of bunnies and animals, Enid Blyton's adventure stories ? My Dad gave me Catcher In The Rye to read and it made a lasting impression and I had a small bit part in Under Milk Wood at the Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds. My only brush with the smell of grease paint and stage fright !!

So that's it for now.

Will post more pics and movies soon.

Destashing

I've been having a sort out, and between you and me there's an embarassing amount of fleece stashed away in brown paper grain bags here and there.

So I'm making a concerted effort to rehome some of it ! 

I've even put up a couple of signs.

It's all washed up and $10 for 500g.

This is a nice soft dove grey Babydoll fleece that used to belong to Anise.

This is Tansy's fleece. She is a Babydoll Southdown with a bit of Romney thrown in.

This is Kirby's fleece. He is our Babydoll Romney wether.

 This is some more of Kirby. It's very nice to spin.

Just a small smattering of some of the fleeces. There are lots more. Come and have a look !  I also have dyed fleece in lots of colours.

Lastly I thought I'd show you a picture of the great set up I have to wash up the fleeces. It's an industrial skillet we bought at the hospital surplus equipment sale last year. It does a fabulous job. When it's done it tips forward and drains out through the basket.

A Sneak Peek

...... at the first lamb of 2012.
She arrived at 3am this morning.

She is gorgeous and Humbug is the proud Mamma.

More to come soon hopefully !!