Happy New Year! For the first time in
years the better half was home off the road for New Years. We spent
a quiet New Years eve at the farm with our son. We stayed up til the
ball dropped though called it a day soon afterward. New Years day
was spent with my parents and enjoying the blessings of our family
and farm.
Have to say we consider everyday of the
year to be a blessing on the farm and we are grateful to be able to
do what we love and love what we do.
I want to express my grateful thanks to
all who have purchased our products over the years and continue to
bless us with support for our farm and flock. For those who don't
already know, I'm refocusing the fiber side of the farm, it is slowly
becoming Bless Ewe Fiber and Yarn. The better half
seems to think since that the majority of the hours in my day are
spent with the sheep and their wool I should figure out how to make
money doing it.
However juggling real life on the farm
with creative needs and the time to get things up and running has been
a bit of a struggle. There never is enough hours in the day to do
all that is needed done around the farm let alone learn new skills.
Since I have not yet learned to spin I went in search of another set
of hands to help. Through an online group of fiber artists and yarn
spinners, I found a creative and talented fiber artist who agreed to
use her charmed hands to spin our wool into fine yarn. Though I have
never met her in person, she has became a part of our family. We call
her our spinning goddess. She has not only educated me, inspired me,
encouraged me, she has enriched my life with her friendship and
support. She is the giver of the greatest gift for the sheep and I.
She has brought our fiber full circle to yarn.
She understands my desire to keep our
fiber and products as natural as possible. She works fiber by hand,
uses natural dyes, spins on a variety of wheels creating a variety of
yarns and realizes that our wool is a unique
multipurpose material. She also is an animal lover, knows the breeds
of our sheep and remembers their names. She was raised on a farm in
her younger years so she knows the work involved to produce wool. If
you are looking for hand spun yarn, someone to spin your fiber into
yarn, beautiful knitted items or spindles for your spinning please
contact Adele.
She has an Etsy store http://www.looliemom.etsy.com
You can find her on Facebook
Tell her Jama sent you :-)
This past year my dear friend and sheep
mentor unexpectedly passed away at an early age of 58. Twelve years ago, when I first moved to the
farm, he brought me 2 ewe lambs and told me they were mine to keep
though I had to learn to raise them on my own. He offered no help
and told me I would learn valuable farm and life lessons in doing
this myself without his help. So I raised them, I mean I really
raised them. I researched and read all I could on necessary
nutritional, breeding, genetics and husbandry issues. I spent hours
each day and night with them, fed them, cleaned their stalls, sheared
them, worried about, cared for and called the vet when things didn't
seem right. I gained confidence in my shepherding skills and became
passionate about sheep. I am so blessed to have known him and for
the gift of sheep in my life. Rest in peace Rick, we miss you.
Gratitude is the memory of the heart.
~Jean Baptiste Massieu
