ABC River's Edge of Peaceful Pipersville

While My Back Was Turned

While my back was turned much has been happening. 

 We had our spring paper crafting extravaganza.  I did not make any of the usual-no cards, no calendars, but I did cover boxes.

The plan is to have a box filled with all the essentials knitters need, one to match each bag.  The top left was made for Ann to go with her owl themed Easter gifts which included a owl knitting bag and owl stitch markers.  Owls do seem to be all the rage!

The chicks are growing and turning into quite the escape artists.  Two more weeks and we can think about integrating them into the flock.  I like to wait a bit longer, but they do need more room and a chance to run outside. 

Unfortunately I have been battling another cold/sinus/bronchial issue.  Not sure if it is the same one from winter resurrecting itself, or something new and different.  But the good news is it has not been affecting my ribs.  But ceaseless coughing, especially while waiting on patrons at the library is not good.  One woman kept offering suggestions as I attempted to stop while checking her books out.  And it wears me out.

As does the extra hours at work.  Sadly for us, but happily for her, one of our co-workers managed to find a full-time job with benefits only a mile from her home.  Since then we have been filling in (me an extra day each week) until a new person is hired.  With any luck one of the people being interviewed will be just who we need and start soon, giving me back more time and less tired feet. 

 There will be no garden this year at the River's Edge.  Between the extra time at work, feeling generally lousy, and the odd weather we are experiencing, the garden went by the way.  Stay tuned for next year. 

And then there are the alpacas.

Expectorate!

Expectorate-the fine art of ejecting matter (phlegm, tobacco, grass) from the mouth.

As raisers of alpacas and chickens and keepers of bees, we get lots of interesting questions from people.  The questions range from:

How many times have you been stung? - 3 occasions

Do you eat the chickens? - Not so far

What do you do with the fiber? -  Right now a great deal of it is in the breezeway, waiting for me to make some phone calls.  Some has been spun into yarn.  Some will be made into rugs.  More will be made into yarn, both commercially at a mini mill and by me. 

But probably the most frequent question is-

Don't they (the alpacas) spit?

As a matter of fact, they do.  Mostly they just sort of pfuuh! with air, but also the alpaca spit (mostly) on each other because they want the choicest bit of food, someone is getting in their way, or there is a potential mate involved.

Sometimes they do indeed spit on we humans.  And, no, it is not pleasant.  The other day I took a bale of hay down to the alpaca feeder out in the yard.  This causes great excitement.  Now, it is not as though there is no hay in the feeder, nor grass growing from the earth for them to munch on, but the big, new bale is always an attention getter.  Since I do not have the height, nor strength to lift even the small bales we buy up and into the compartment, I remove the baling twine (very important or the girls start wearing them like necklaces) and throw chunks up and in.  Upon standing upright from one hay gathering, someone (most likely Maud) expectorated full on into my face.  EWW!!  I know she was really aiming at a girl on my left, but I was in the projectiles way.  This is the first time in 4 years that this has happened.  We have learned to read spit happens signs and can usually stop it or avoid it, but not this time.  Not to worry, all the hay made it into the feeder, and my skin is moisturized.

Could we be on to something?

Autumn Knitaway

Thankfully, we were able to fit in a brief knitaway in November. (Wow!  It seems a very long time ago.)  This was a very relaxing time spent with Aunt Marilyn and Linda.  Food was low key, simple and delicious.  Lots of knitting was worked on. 

Aunt Marilyn was finishing up a wee sweater.  If my memory serves me, a hat was in the works as well.

Linda also was knitting on a sweater.  I have to say Linda is a gifty knitter, she seems to knit for others, rarely for herself. 

I, however, am a selfish knitter, as my projects were socks for moi, sleeves for moi and more socks for moi.  Somehow we even managed to stay in our jammies for an entire day.  But all too soon we headed back to real life, filled with work and chores, and knitting.  With winter looming large here in the Midwest, it will be awhile until our next get together, but we will have thoughts of our time together to see us through.

Creating New Knitters

AAHHH!  There is nothing quite like drawing others into the web that is knitting.  Knitting, for me, is more than a means to an end.  Knitting has brought me peace and frustration.  Knitting has brought me hours of doing something when there was nothing else to be done-and knitting when I should have been doing something else.  Knitting has created friendships and relationships.  Knitting has created many a sweater, scarf, sock for me and many others. 

And now there are more of us.

Today I taught (retaught(re-ignited the passion)) in 19 people at the Skills for Simple Living Fair. Some of the people knew how to knit and were looking for a refresher.  Others had never knit before.  It was gratifying to have 2 men in the class.   I always say men are better knitters in my mind as knitting is mathematics and engineering. 

But first I set up our board to showcase our farm.

 
Quite a few people stopped by to chat, look over the display and fondle the fiber. 

Next I participated in the cheesemaking class.  My goal in attending was to find a recommended milk.  Now I have a brand, so will try being cheesy again.h

Nineteen people showed up for class.  First we watched a bit of a video I found at the library.  Five year old Ryan showed how to knit, and then I did too.  Thanks to Ellen for ably assisting as with that number of people it was hard to get to everyone as they needed something. 

  
People were so kind.  They helped one another as they were able.   There were several people who had learned to knit picking style, so that was a challenge, as I am a thrower.  It is hard to change habits, and throwing yarn is one of mine.  And if it isn't broken, why fix it?  I believe some people left inspired to try more.  Some left wanting to learn more.  Some people left frustrated but OK.  And some, I think, were just happy to leave.  But everyone tried to knit, with smiles on their faces and minds open to learn.

Thank you all for making my first knitting class teaching experience grand.

And thanks to Ann, Ellen and Linda for all the knitting needles that made the kits for the newly minted knitters possible!

Giant Scrapbook Page

Truth be told I am not much of a scrapbooker.  Even more truthful-I am not a scrapbooker at all.  While I do love to paper craft, I have never actually created a scrapbook page, other than the sample ones made at any number of Stampin' Up! events I have attended over the years.  Those pages never made it into an actual scrapbook, nor have they even gotten photographs attached to them.  But I needed to make something to take to the Sustain Jefferson Skills Fair to represent the farm.. The decision was easily made to use the hinged boards Bob made for me some years ago.  And I tried to think of it as a giant scrapbook layout.

 
Once again there was a plan-blue sky, green pasture, red barn.  Have to have a red barn.  The sizzix machine was pulled out and little letters were cut out to spell out-River's Edge of Peaceful Pipersville, Alpacas, Bees, Chickens  AND MORE.  Even I, in my lack of sleep induced stupor (there hasn't been more than 5 hours of sleep any night this week for some totally unknown reason), have to admit this doesn't look much like a sky or a pasture, but it does look like a red barn.  Bob even cut out a tiny alpaca head to peek out the barn door. 

 And best of all I put it together tonight, so have one less item on my to do list for tomorrow.

Another Buzzy Day

Monday seemed the perfect day for harvesting-from the garden and from the bees. 

 
 

 
Next the golden nectar will be extracted. 

 

As Far as the Eye Can See 2

A while back I posted photos of the embryonic garden.  Currently the garden is in an adolescent state, and growing rapidly. With the heat we have been experiencing the last several weeks the weeds have eclipsed the vegetables at some parts, but I keep weeding.  The aim is for 2 hours each day.  Thankfully there is a stack of audio books on CD cued up on the counter and 2 CD's get listened to each morning before the steam starts to rise.

Veggies are being picked and eaten:

   

 
 
But we are ready for August 8-National Put a Zucchini on your Neighbor's Porch day.

Row by Row the Garden Grows.

 
The tallest thing in the garden is the Broom Corn, seen in the background.  Broom Corn is not actually corn, but rather sorghum.  I planted the few seeds we had left and created one row to divide things up.

 

The Brassicas are lush and leafy, but the cauliflower is not heading up, while broccoli is abundant.  

 

Sweet corn 1 looks likely to eat soon.

 
Tomatoes are fruiting, but with the weather (I sound like a broken record (or is that CD(or digitial device))) there may not be many actual ripened, whole fruit.

 
And between the weeds there is more sweet corn.

The plans are in the works for next year-garlic to be planted this fall, fix up the soaker hoses, make sure there is plastic mulch to surpress the weeds, and more veggies!

Any special suggestions from anyone?

In the Heat of the Night

Monday night Bob was out in the heat of the night taking photos.

  

                             

The clouds roll by while the honeybees fan their hive. 

 
In this humidity the bees surround the exterior of the hive and beat their wings to try to cool the temperatures and lower the humidity.

A female's work is never done!

What's the Buzz?

The time had come to add a brood box to the beehives.  Doing this allows the cluster to expand and not swarm (a very bad thing when one has just spent $60+ on the bees).  The queen will move up and lay eggs, causing her ladies in waiting to prepare new chambers to raise the baby bees and store food.  In another few weeks it will be time to add a Queen excluder and a hive box, where the worker bees store the honey we steal remove from them. 

So, today seemed like a good day (quick before it rained again) to get the job done.

 

One additional box was added to the East Hive.  But not before I got stung.  Again.  On the Left ankle.  Again.

 
Good news is I did not wait to treat this issue.  I hustled to the house, got out a blunt knife to scrape the stinger out and treat with Liquid Benadryl.  With any luck this sting will not swell and burst as the last one did. 

But, work does not stop for rookie mistakes.  Back I went to add the brood box to the West Hive.

 Note the workers at the entrance.

 Job complete.

Here's to a good honey season.  And no more stings.

 

This and That

Anyone notice the badge in the right column? 

 
 River's Edge was asked to sponsor part of the Midwest Folk and Fiber Art Fair.  We are sponsors for 3 alpaca fleece competitions.  If you scroll to the bottom of their page and click on Fleece Competition in the Participate section, you will find our farm name over and over and over.  We aren't entering a fleece, just didn't get ambitious enough to do so, but wish all the competitors well.  And maybe I will even get to the Fair.  Have always heard good things about this event, just never made it.  

Monday I scattered Predator Flies about the property.

 
Never in the wildest reaches of my mind did I ever think I would be paying money for flies.  Last year the flies around the place and specifically around the alpaca were fierce.  We asked about these predator flies and were told they did work, so we are getting 5 shipments of these teeny, tiny flies that take over the cocoons of the bad flies on the manure.  Well, we hope that's what they do. 

Bob took the lateest photos of the barn-now that all the framework is done.

  

 
Today the chicks arrived via the U.S. Postal Service.  The call came in about 6:15 am to come and fetch them, which we did.