Late August

Hard to believe it's the last week of August. The garden is producing copious amounts of cucumbers, zucchini, lettuce, acorn squash and several varieties of tomatoes. The eggplant plants look great but have not produced many eggplant at all (though the ones I did get were dee-lish), and the yellow squash is not too productive either. We have had so little rain this summer that regular watering has been necessary, and the locals at the farmers market say that the heat is what has stunted the eggplant and summer squash. Makes me feel better to know that no one's had luck with some of the crops that have done poorly for me this summer...in spite of the primo baa-doo. The beautiful pansies that I bought two years ago at Snug Harbor Farm (a favorite!) have come back, as promised, and they have been blooming all summer. Shocking to me, as I thought pansies were really a cooler weather flower.  I put them in a stone planter that I made many years ago, and they sit on my front porch where I get to see them many times, every day. The white clematis turned out its one, token blossom, but I enjoyed it for almost two weeks; it is almost 6" in diameter and each petal is perfectly formed. Not too sure why it only has one bloom per season, but that one flower is spectacular and worth the wait. The sheep have been keeping the field nicely mowed after Bill bush-hogged it, and I have enjoyed watching them jump over the creek, one by one, and go up to the back field to graze. They are a beautiful sight up on the hill, under the stance of trees. It's almost time to pull Bill and the wether out from the ewes, and I'm rigging up a new system this week to hopefully help me control the breeding more than I have been able to in past years. Always something to do here at the Salty Ewe. But, today I am taking it easy, waiting for the rain, and probably making yet more loaves of zucchini bread.

Tansy, Carrot Tops and Jewelweed

Had another great day of playing with wool and dyeing yesterday with Lori. Her studio is a fiber haven, or maybe even heaven, and it was really fun to spend some time looking at all of her fibers in various stages of completion. From an incredible hank of her chow chow Jeric's fur to baskets full of llama, sheep and goat fibers, her work space is a tactile playroom. There are wheels and the new picker, many photographs and books, great music and fun ephemera everywhere...a beautiful picture window that looks out onto their lovely backyard. The dye pots were scattered all over the house, with carrot tops upstairs in the kitchen, tansy and jewelweed downstairs in different rooms (it's a plug thing!). I'd picked a bunch of the jewelweed early yesterday morning before driving to Worcester, and the other two dye baths were Lori's contributions. I tried some plain white wool into all three baths and then also took some of the light cochineal wool to try, too. Seeing them all spread out to dry this morning, a beautiful graduated palette  of yellows, greens and oranges is a sight that makes me happy; the friendship and experience of sharing a common interest with an old friend makes it even better. Excited to have it all spun up and start to knit some hats with it all! In the image, from top to bottom, are tansy, carrot tops and jewelweed; the white is first and then the light cochineal. The white fleece was placed alongside to give a comparison. It was a fun day...

Apples and Sheep

It's that time of the year again. The sheep are getting drunk. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with one of the ewes the other day, but now I know she was either tipsy or hungover. Those apples! I learned the hard way many years ago with the Jacobs - that too many apples will get a sheep drunk and also cause nasty scours. I will never forget how hard I laughed to see the spotted sheep burping and stumbling about, nor will I forget the horrendous mess a flock of sheep with the runs will make. It was awful, and since then I have limited the number of apples that they have. But, with so many old growth apple trees around, the smell of them lures the sheep through and under fences. They drop onto Obed Lane from a beautiful tree on Clara's land, and sometimes the kids will pick up windfalls and toss them into the pasture. My two trees look pretty good after last year's pruning, and they are starting to drop some smaller apples already. Clover got her head stuck in the fence last night trying to reach some of the apples that had fallen, and after a bit of struggling I got her free. Going to keep some wire cutters in the barn for future emergencies. And maybe move those fences next spring so the temptation will be a little further away.

BaaDoooo

A neighbor appeared at my door the other day with a beautiful bowl full of peaches - a hand thrown bowl and fruit from their own trees - hoping to trade me some sheep poo. I promptly bit into one, slipped on my shoes and walked down to the barn to help him load up some black gold. I finished the peach before I got down the hill. David and Diane live down the road and own a beautiful pottery shop in town, and they pedal their bikes to and from, past my house, several times each day weather permitting.  I have known them for nearly twenty years now, having taught their son Paul when he was in seventh grade and then moving into the neighborhood shortly thereafter. We loaded up some containers he'd brought and chatted about how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful place - really so sheltered from reality in many ways, but a simple and quiet and good life. They throw pots and sell them (The Good Earth in Kennebunkport) and have a beautiful family, including a cute new granddaughter who's come to see the lambs. My day job is allowing me to live a charmed life and slowly pursue my passions and potential second career.  We both agreed that we were indeed fortunate. And then I told David that I had definitely gotten the sweeter end of the deal; the peaches are some of the best I have ever eaten. He took home some goodies from my garden, too... a little lettuce, some orange and red cherry tomatoes, a cuke. The gardens are flourishing this year thanks to amazing sun and the primo black gold. And, his compost is a little richer now with the new load of baa dooooo.

Passion

When I think about following one's passion, it dawned on me that sometimes it takes a while to figure out exactly what that means. "Follow your Passion"... I have a magnet on my fridge that reminds me of this each time I look at it, but it's taken me a while to figure it out. Raising the sheep for almost ten years now, it's pretty clear to me that this is a passion; I never would have known that, though, unless I had tried it and stuck with it for a while. The evolution of the Salty Ewe Farm has taken some time, and my new interest in dyeing is exciting because it already feels like another passion. The way I look at colors in nature is different now. The way I look at nature is different. Weeds have become potential rainbows and inspiration is everywhere. No coincidence that my passion plant bloomed this morning for the first time all summer.

It's Official

I finalized the colors on my new business card yesterday with Heather Dutton at HangTight Studios. She was recommended to me by a neighbor for help with a benefit concert poster several months ago, and another friend encouraged me to ask her to help me develop a logo and business card. We met yesterday for the first time when I went her her studio and worked on the final touches - changing a few things around and deciding on colors. Her talent is awe-inspiring; the visual stimulation in her space was overwhelming in a positive way, and I found myself rewinding to the Mohawk design room again as I studied her collections of designs on the wall. Seeing people who follow their passions and create lives that are rich in so many ways makes me feel like I can do it, too. I love the design she came up with for The Salty Ewe Farm and am really thankful to have had her help with this project.  Those cute babydolls now have an image that suits them perfectly, and the farmette feels official.  Many thanks to Heather for such a great design. I could not have asked for more!

Girl's Best Friend

Beate, the amazing frisbee dog. At almost eleven, she is starting to show some signs of aging. When the frisbee comes out, though, you'd think she was two again. Runs like the wind to jump and twist to try to catch the flying disk - usually successfully if my tosses are good enough.  Each morning, on our walks down Obed Lane and across the field, then down Bufflehead as far as the season allows, her rhythm is as natural as mine. On those morning walks, and as time passes and neighbors change, the frisbee remains constant. We spooked a group of wild turkeys the other morning - think that there were ten or more. Several flew straight up above our heads to the treetops, and a few more flew low to the ground across the field towards the woods. One, lone turkey was left in the field while the others called to him from above and afield. I stood for a few minutes and listened and watched. Then, realizing that Beate and I were keeping them from congregating again, we walked on and left them to their flocking, me with an empty coffee mug and Beate with a soggy frisbee dangling from her mouth. She has lived up to her name for sure so far. My model senior citizen canine companion. B.