Snow in October?

Woke up yesterday to a dusting and a slippery deck, and many others had several inches just a few miles away from the coast. Tonight into tomorrow, a major storm is predicted and most of Maine will be looking at a significant snow. In October?  Even for those of us who like the winter season, there's just something a little wrong with snow before Halloween. Not many times that I can ever remember this happening - maybe once when I was young in upstate New York. Vague memories of trick or treating in light snow.

So not ready for snow around here, and so today will be spent trying to prepare a few things for upcoming cold and snow - loading up on hay, getting hoses put away and digging out the shovels (before the rake had had a chance to even rake up leaves!). I have not gotten the garlic in yet, either, which is way late; so, today I am going to make sure that all 100 heads get into the ground and covered up with some deep mulching.

Hercules - the beautiful ram from Romney Ridge

And, I am thinking hard about this little ram. He is available and his owner, Kelly from Romney Ridge Farm in Woolwich, Maine is willing to part with him in exchange for a ewe of mine. I love the fact that he has the piebald gene - reminds me of my Jacobs, but still mini southdown - and think he would be a wonderful addition to the Salty Ewe. Something to think about as I sit and knit, watching the snow fall tomorrow.

Holly's Hat

Holly's Hat

Tomorrow will be the big delivery to the Daytrip Society. Also received a small Christmas order today. Holly loved her hat...
The sheep are happy, the shepherdess is happy. Big Doin's at The Salty Ewe.
And, we have snow in the forecast. Hat weather.

round and round

pumpkinish

The knitting is good. Thanks to my amazingly talented and giving friend Lori, I have a new shipment of beautiful hand spun yarn from my great little sheep to knit up. A big box arrived this week with a rich assortment of hues - from some oranges (onion skins) and muted chartreuse (carrot tops) to the gorgeous natural tones of oatmeals and browns. The feel of the wool is just beautiful, and I am deeply thankful for Loris' help in a pinch.  Note to salty self: find a spinner.
Am working to complete the first delivery of Salty Ewe Knit Lids to Jessica at The Daytrip Society in Kennebunkport (daytripsociety.com), and I'm incredibly excited about making another big step. Working on pairs and sets of three in terms of color combinations, hopefully to encourage people buying two at a time! It also seems to work for me in terms of balance and maximizing the yarn...

lilac pair

The weather is just beginning to feel like Fall here and so the sheep have been able to still enjoy pasture and extensive roaming, even jumping across the brook after a week of rain to get to the more lush grass on the other side. I discovered a hole in the fence yesterday afternoon on a walk with Henry, and it was obvious that one of them had poked her head through the fence and just happened to work apart the seam that I had secured where one roll of fencing ended and another started. It's been almost nine years since that fencing was strung originally, and it is looking like it's time for a restringing and tightening up of it all. A massive job. Knitting feels way more my speed right about now.

I finally finished a special hat that I started months ago. It's for my friend Holly. The colors were thoughtfully chosen and it's a deeper hat to fit her creative and beautiful head more warmly through the long winter months here. She's been more inspirational to me than she knows, and reflecting on how she's pursued her own passion with art was a big part of knitting this lid for her.  I'll try to talk her into modeling it for me, surrounded by her own work so that I can post that here.
Feeling thankful for creative and enterprising friends.
And Happy Birthday to my Mom - who may be wearing her Salty Ewe Knit lid today since it's colder there than here!

Knitting.

There's something therapeutic about picking up the sticks and manipulating the wool around them to create these little lids. Part of the puzzle involves choosing colors and combinations, picking fat stripes or thin, and trying to count right as I gradually cast off. Simple. Tangible products, creative energy and meditative process. The knitting is good.

some from Lori and some from Kristin

The pattern I use is very basic - a rolled rim hat that I can now knit solely on round needles. I'd started with the round and moved onto the straight needles toward the top, but I found that it was easier for me to keep my stitches even and uniform if I stayed on the same needles that I started on. So, the hats are knit in a continuous, circular pattern with reducing stitches for the final eight rows; a classic lid. The hats fit most everyone's heads, and I've made a few 'custom' hats for friends who have either longer heads or preferred a shorter, beanie-like cap. 

The batch that I am working on now for the Daytrip Society will hopefully appeal to people and sell quickly. It's exciting to be knitting with a purpose. Although, I find that once I start moving those sticks around and sliding the yarn over and under and around, everything slips away and my thoughts turn to nothingness. The soft clicking of the wooden needles followed by a whisper of wool. Around and around. Form organically appearing with each passing row. Salty Ewe Knit Lids.

Animals or People

My money's on the animals
Hands down.
Prefer those with four legs over two
Wings over arms
Stingers more than stinging words and actions.
Any day of the week.

Fall.

It's an incredible day for early October in Maine. We're being treated to some summer like weather, with bright blue skies and temperatures in the 70s. It's unheard of for us, but we'll take it. Several nights ago, it dipped down into the low 30s and everyone started grumbling (the humans, not the critters). Tonight, the windows will be wide open and stay that way for the next few days. Beautiful. Not the best for growing thick wooly coats, but there's a long winter ahead for that.

jelly?

My grapes did really well this year, and it was exciting to harvest them this morning. The red ones did a lot better than the greens, and the whole lot of them were plagued by some sort of beetle or worm for the latter part of August. While the leaves look pretty ratty, the grapes look luscious. My first time out with grapes, even though I planted the vines about three years ago. I think I am going to plant more and build a proper trellis for them to grow on. The beds are all overgrown and need a good weeding before the hard frost comes. The garlic is ready to go in the ground - am thrilled to have a nice variety of hard-neck to plant this year. The word was that Fedco sold out of garlic at the Common Ground Fair, so I'm happy to have procured a pound of Red Russian and a half pound of Philips. I will also be putting in some of my own from this year, some of which is another variety.

dreamy fall day

The leaf peepers are out en force this weekend, and the traffic is heavy due to the holiday and peak of the season for foliage. It's a weekend to put gardens to bed, trim back brown stalks and shriveled vines, prepare the beds for the winter and pull out the socks. Drop the storms soon and prepare for the cold months to come.