Change over is complete
Mood:  incredulous
Topic: Blog Move
Tripod has completely ignored my e-mails about how to get the blog back (people using Bloglines can read it, but other's can't), so I'm giving you the correct address to the new blog

And if that link isn't working, here is the link written out for you.

http://baycolonyfarm.typepad.com/bcf2/

We've Moving
Due to problems beyond my control, I'm moving the blog over to here.

I hope to see you there and don't forget to subscribe to the new blog with Bloglines. :)

Contest
Mood:  bright
Topic: Contest
I forgot to add; e-mail me at Baycolonyfarm @ aol dot com with your answers. :)

Fiber artists unite! And a new contest!
Mood:  party time!
Now Playing: T'Pau "Heart and Soul"
Topic: Fiber Friends

How about some pictures first?

Marcy, the blogless, intent on a conversation and enjoying a Lazy Girl Margarita

Cheryl spinning the beautiful purple fiber from Nicks Meadow.

It was a small gathering (and some people didn't want to appear on the blog), but we had a great time. We were able to chat about lots of things, and it turns out that Cheryl and I share several things in common, which made us both laugh upon discovery. I really enjoyed our conversation about Bloglines and how good some of the blogs are that are out there.

We had some wonderful food (and I'm really hoping that Cheryl posts her recipe on her blog!) and talked spinning for much of the day. Marcy supplied the drink makings and Deanna contributed a delicious fruit salad, which I plan to finish up for my breakfast this morning. ;-)

Marcy got me started on the Flower Basket Shawl, which I've had to rip back 4 times now since yesterday afternoon, but hey, I'll figure out lace sooner or later.

We all took turns spinning on Abigail. Marcy was shocked that I hadn't taken the time to spin on her yet, but I spent a lot of time spinning on her yesterday. She spins nicely, and I think we've figured out a small fluke in her spinning that will be easy to fix. But for a very old wheel, she spins well.

After everyone left, I'd found that my husband had started our woodstove downstairs. I went down to find Smitty warming herself on the back of my chair.

I think she looks rather indignant about being disturbed in her reclining pose, but hey, that's my prerogative. :)

And now, for the contest; The winner will get a skein of the Alluring yarn, which is an 85% German Angora/15% wool blend yarn.

What are these?

This contest will run until Wednesday and from all the correct answers, I'll pick a winner at random and announce their name on Thursday on the blog!

Ready, set, go!

Comfort a Friend
Mood:  lucky
Now Playing: Bruce Hornsby and the Range "Every Little Kiss"
Topic: Thoughtful
Right now, I know two wonderful people who are at the beginning process of getting divorced. Their spouses left them for someone else. I'm not here to make a commentary on that, as it's none of my business. But, I have thought about how I want these two people to know that I'm thinking of them.

So I came up with an idea yesterday. Why not knit shawls for these two beautiful women? Something that lets them know that they are loved and that I'm are thinking of them.

So many of us know someone going through a divorce. We don't know how to comfort them. Sometimes people in divorce even loose friends, but the good friends stick around.

So what I'm proposing is that if you know someone going through a divorce, knit them a shawl. I'm calling this "Comfort A Friend". It doesn't have to be "Birch" that you knit, but even a simple triangular or rectangular shawl that they can wrap around their shoulders and feel the warmth of your friendship and caring. And if you have a male friend going through a divorce, you can knit them mittens, a scarf or an afghan.

Everyone that signs up for this will be added to the side of my blog as being part of the Comfort A Friend Knit along. Let me know what you plan to knit, and when you'll be starting. Keep me updated. I'll post your blog link in my most recent entry when you send in an update so people can know where you are on your project. You can e-mail me at Baycolonyfarm at aol dot com .

It's that simple. Comfort a Friend and let them know you care.

And Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'm not Irish, but my husband and kids are, so we'll be doing a little celebrating tonight, but no corned beef! :-P

I have two really good little boys
Mood:  energetic
Now Playing: Paul McCartney and Wings "Band on the Run"
Topic: Rabbits

Since last Spring, my youngest son Nate has been a big helper when taking care of the rabbits. At the age of 4, he is in charge of filling the water bottles at the bunny condo. At least three of the cages are rather high, and he has trouble getting the filled bottles back into the bottle holders, but he doesn't give up. Cal has only started taking an interest in the rabbits, and wanting to help feed. He has to help with the bottles in the barn first, and then I allow him to fill a couple of feed dishes. Both boys get 25 cents per bottle. Nate did enough bottles in three weeks last September that he made over $13.00!

Anyway, I had Nate outside with me, feeding and watering the bunnies. Again, he was working on filling the four bottles at the bunny condo. I can usually fill three bottles to his one, but hey, every little bit helps. So, I walk over to the bunny condo to start feeding the boys, and Nate is standing on the deck, with a sad look on his face. When I asked what was wrong, he started to cry and tell me that Twist had bitten his finger! Even after having his finger bitten, he filled Twist's bottle, and washed off his finger, even though it was bleeding slightly. I think it hurt more than than the shock of being bitten. Now, Twist is a gentle rabbit. But I suspect that Nate's finger looked a bit like a carrot and Twist was hungry. I held Nate and told him that Twist is a good boy and wouldn't hurt him on purpose. And then I was able to convince him to not only pet Twist, but to also fill Twist's food dish with pellets. Nate did both things well, and without complaint. I even had him smiling while he was filling the food dish. I'm one to believe that if you fall off a horse, you get right back up on it and tell it who is in charge!

The Accused:

And the Victim:

All better now (yes, he is holding up his middle finger, but I swear, he has no idea what it means, or that it even means anything). ;-)

And away we go!
Mood:  bright
Now Playing: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles "I Second that Emotion"
Topic: Fiber

Remember this?

It's the shawl I knit last fall from the IAGARB yarn from our co-op. I have another 5 pounds coming to me shortly. So it's time to get dyeing! I'll be using the microwave in the garage for this venture instead of the roaster. If anyone has custom dye orders, please let me know. I'm always willing to dye things to order. :)

Anyway, IAGARB is sponsoring a pattern promotion for the IAGARB yarn. Our goal is to get people to realize that angora yarn is a wonderful fiber to work with, and that no rabbits are harmed or killed in the shearing process for their wool. So, if you have an original pattern, please check out the promotion. And anyone that contributes a pattern to IAGARB and buys their yarn from me, will get a small gift from me (you'll still be entered in the IAGARB contest; but you'll get a small gift from me too).

Now, for the knitting content:
I'm also going to start working on a knitted shawl. I have some Marine Blue Jaggerspun wool/silk blend, and the Fiber Trends Flower Basket Lace Shawl. I'm feeling a real need to get back to fiber work, which is something I was feeling burnt out on all winter long. I know, winter is the best time to be working with wool, but what can I say? I'm hoping that working on one project instead of having multiple WIPs will keep me content like it has Cassie.

Wah-lah!
Mood:  blue
Now Playing: Lindsey Buckingham "Trouble"
Topic: Fiber

No, I'm not feeling blue, but have lots of blue surrounding me.

Here are three of the plyed skeins.

I was having some trouble plying the first singles off of the second bobbin as I apparently spun them a bit thinner than the rest of the singles spun on Sunday (a good reason to finish your spinning on the same day!). This resulted in two breaks while plying, thus, the smaller skeins. But, once I got down to the Sunday singles, it has been smooth sailing.

I'm really pleased at how the yarn has come out. I still have 2 half full bobbins left to ply, and I'll finish those up today. I'll also wash these three skeins today too so that I can see the bloom from the angora. :)

Oh, and yes, I use scrap acrylic yarn to tie my skeins with instead of using the same yarn. Why waste perfectly good yarn on ties when you have scrap stuff lying around?

What do you know!
Mood:  chatty
Now Playing: Modern English "I Melt With You"
Topic: Fiber

Yes, I've been spinning! Yesterday afternoon, I brought out my Joy and spun almost 2 full bobbins of the Winter's Night Sky roving (German Angora/Corriedale blend). It took me almost 5 hours to spin that much, but I'm spinning it really fine, so that I can use it later for a shawl. This is what it looks like on the bobbin:

When I finish working today, I'll spin up the rest of this bobbin, and ply the two together. I can't wait to see what it looks like finished. This is something I've been planning since last October when this lovely roving came back from processing.

Yesterday wound up being a busy day. In the morning, my husband and I finally planted 2 sweet cherry trees and two peach trees. I actually bought them last year and I never got them in the ground. They survived the winter in their pots, and we took advantage of the warmer weather to get them planted in the back of our yard. Cherry trees don't need much pruning, but egads! pruning peach trees makes me feel like you're killing them. With peaches, you have to prune them back to just a few larger branches, and then cut those back severly. Even my husband wondered if they would make it back to fruit bearing. :)

I'll leave you with some pictures I took while out working today. One of the cool things about my main job is that I get to travel around, and I see neat things to photograph.

An old family cemetary over in Deerfield, MA

Sugaring season in Deerfield, by the Connecticut River

Some bunnies don't like their coats....
Mood:  incredulous
Now Playing: Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch "Good Vibrations"
Topic: Rabbit Care and Grooming

As you can see.

Gwertz chewed most of it off between last night and today, when I went out to feed and water the rabbits. He was wearing like a superman cape. :) Oh well, the temps are warm until Wednesday and by then, he'll have a week's worth of growth on him.

And then some kitties like Smitty think that old bunny coats smell really good!