Hello again from Maybelle Farm.  Well, I survived the Vermont Sheep Festival!!!!!!  Jonathan and I arrived up at the Tunbridge Fairground mid-afternoon on Friday Sept. 30 to set up the tent and unload the van.  Number one, there should be a warning on all tent shelters: DANGER: Do not put this shelter up with your spouse !!!!!!!!!!  It was raining and we both had our own ideas as to how to put the frame up.  One leg was stuck and required a screw driver for some repairs......half-way thru Jonathan said "If you say one thing more, I'm leaving"!!!!!!!  It finally went together with the cow print Moo cover was on.  The sides that Jonathan bought were not for this type of a shelter.  Thank God for Duct-tape!!  Cheryl arrived when we were almost through setting up the ten.  Then Jonathan helped Cheryl get her tent up.  Jonathan headed for home and Cheryl and I put up everything we could and then went to the camper.  There were 6 ladies and one 13 yr. old in the camper for the weekend.  It was an evening of lots of conversation and laughs.  Everyone to bed, but not much sleeping as we could hear the rain pouring down.  I was so worried that my stuff would be blown all over the fairground, but come Saturday morning, Oct. 1, it was still there. 

On Saturday it rained the whole day, with a lot of heavy rain!   To say it rained really doesn't describe it!  By late afternoon everyone in the outside booths were hopping up and down trying to stay warm.  I have to say despite the weather, it was a lot of fun to see so many friends and people I have seen before or sold to.  Agathe, Olivia,and Emma from our hometown arrived in the very heavy rain.   I appreciate it so much that they came up and helped me get my 11 skirted fleeces to Zeilinger's, which had come to the Festival from Michigan, to have it processed into crew socks.  Next to arrive was my buddy Donna and we got to laugh, grouch and have fun together.  We went to the animal barn and only found two pens of Shetland sheep and were disappointed.  Next Alison arrived and she had found the sheep barn towards the back of the fairgrounds.  I went with her and thank goodness, Jonathan had left me there without the van!  Oooooooohhhhh!  I found several adorable little Shetland ewe lambs that would have fit very nicely into the van.  Lets see, if I cut some holes in the plastic crates.....could I sneak them home???????? Ha, ha, ha!

Jocelyn stopped by next and we discussed all her lovely moorit lambs from our old ram Luther!  Carlene, who had bought one of rams about five years ago - Toby,  stopped at my booth.  It was not busy on Saturday but I did sell quite a bit of the Shetland roving.  It was fun to be able to show off my "Vinca Vest" and that helped to sell the wool.  On Sunday Rayleen was up to the festival having lots of fun.  I got to talk with Chet Parsons (the UVM Sheep Guy) for a few minutes and its always great to see him.  Saturday evening Cheryl and I went to So. Royalton and had a very nice dinner and got warm.  Back to the camper for more talking and laughing.  Saturday night everyone slept because we were all sooooo tired.

Sunday afternoon I went to the town hall and taught a needle felting class: "How to make a Vermont Gnome".  I had four ladies in my class and they did a fantastic job making their gnomes. I'm going to attach their pictures to this blog.  I love teaching needle felting and seeing people enjoy finishing a project.    When I finished my class it was about 3:30.   Jonathan had arrived to help pack up and head back to Wardsboro.  I put my crates with supplies in the van and we drove back to the place where the tent was set up.  Time to pack up everything, take down the tent and head for home.  Time for more heavy rain just when we are folding up the tent.  Needless to say, we were both soaking wet, cold and hungry.  We stopped in White River Junction and had the Chinese Buffet then headed for home.  When we got to the house, I told Jonathan to just leave everything in the car.  I came inside to a very happy Lettie (my Japanese Akita), put on my flannel pajamas and crawled into bed!!!!!!!   Whew, that was quite a week-end!

The Maybelle Farm Fiber Camp Mural won 3rd prize and I have a picture of Cheryl with the mural.  I have taken the mural back to the Wardsboro Library and it will hang there until the raffle drawing at the Gilfeather Turnip Festival on Saturday Oct. 22nd. I'm so proud of Cheryl and her students to have won both at the Deerfield Valley Fair and the Vermont Sheep festival.

On Monday I got up, took Lettie for a walk, went out to the barn and did chores and visited with all my sheep.  I then had to unload the van and took all the crates into the fiber studio and spent the morning putting things away.  I took the mural back to the Library, fixed lunch and went back to the farm to work.  It was Open Farm Day for Shetland Sheep visitors to VT,  but we didn't have any visitors.  That is alright, because I got a lot of work done.

Now its time to head back to the barn for night chores, get everyone settled in, come home, fix dinner, crawl back into some warm flannel pajamas and watch "Dancing with the Stars"!!!!!!  WHEEEEEE!!!

Goodnight from Maybelle MaMa

Hello again from Maybelle Farm.  Its Wednesday Sept. 28th, 2011 and I am playing at the computer when I should be working on getting things ready to pack the car tomorrow afternoon for the Vermont Sheep & Wool Festival.  I went to Brookline today to pick up my t-shirts and tote bags that were made by Darlene Ballentine who owns SpecialTee Designs.  WOW!!  The shirts and bags are wonderful and I'm thrilled.  Now if my credit card machine and shelving units arrive tomorrow....  The YIPPEE I'm ready to go!

Last week poor little Chet, who was  wethered and had to have his horns removed, needed 1 c.c. of Penicillin each day for 5 days and silvercote sprayed on his head.  I called our friend Bill and asked if he and Olivia could come help me as Darcy and Todd were both not able to help.  Bill held Chet while I gave him his shot and sprayed his head. Everything seems to be doing o.k. and its nice to have extra hands.  Emma and Olivia got  to feed Clementine and Chloe and put out hay and water.  I am so thrilled to have extra help and they will be getting two ewe lambs in the spring.  Today I moved the 4 ram lambs to a new pasture.  I just shake the grain bucket and they follow me up the road and into the pasture.  I took down two rolls of portable from the back yard and moved it to the front yard.  This means everyone is very happy and has good eating.

Monday Jonathan and I went to Dartmouth Medical Center for Jonathan to have a liver biopsy.  We got there about 8:50 a.m. and got home at 5 p.m.  It was a very long day but everything went well.  I even got my "Vinca Vest" that I have been knitting, completely finished.  I am going to put a picture on this blog so everyone can see it.  I am so happy to have it to wear at the festival and show how beautiful the roving spins up.  Now if the weather will just not be too rainy, snowy, etc for this weekend!  Jonathan and I plan to leave Friday morning between 10-12noon.  Cheryl will come up mid-afternoon and we will get our booths set up.  I'm a little concerned that the crowd will be smaller because of all the road damage but we will see.

Well, I guess that's all the news from Maybelle Farm so I will sign off and go do some more needle felting.  I just finished a black llama and want to finish an alpaca.  Jonathan has made a wooden base for a Canadian Goose  I needlefelted and will hook it down with leather straps.  I couldn't make it stand up on its own. 

Good-night from Maybelle MaMa

Hello again from Maybelle Farm. 

It's Monday Sept. 19th, 2011 and it had been a very busy day on the farm. I went and did chores and got everyone switched around in the barn so I could bring the 6 little ram lambs to the barn.  It was the "W" day!  The Vet was coming at 2 p.m. to wether or (castrate) two little ram lambs!!!!!!!!!  Holy Hen Poop.......!  it's not a nice thing to watch and I am certain a terrible thing to have done.  I make my son-in-law hold the poor little rams and he is just about green from the process.  We have a wonderful Vet Deb who sedated the little boys before the procedure.  Poor little love Chet had to also have his horn removed because they had been broken from the other little ram boys butting him.  They cut the horns close to the head and cauderize the hole.  Next they spray sivercote to prevent infection because removing the horn leaves is a hole in their head down into their sinus!!!!!!!!!  He also has to have a shot of penicillin for 5 days to keep from getting infection.  Good heavens, what the poor little boys have to go through!! It's either that or the meat factory which I couldn't do, so now I get to keep both Chet and Cecil as my little wethers.  All 8 of the lambs including the two little girls got their 2nd CD & T shot.  The Vet also checked poor old Luther (my moorit ram).  He is 10 yrs. old and has been sick from an infected horn and pink eye.  As you can tell there is never a dull moment on the farm and just when you think things are under control......WHEEEEE something else happens!

I am working frantically trying to get ready for the Vermont Sheep Festival on Oct. 1st and 2nd.  Its at the Tunbridge Fairground and I will be gone Friday Sept. 30th,Oct. 1st and 2nd.  Its a lot of work but also a lot of FUN.  Cheryl Flett of Cheryl Avenue with be in the booth next to me as we are sharing a 10' X 20' space.  We are renting a camper on the fairground so you can imagine how much laughing will be going on with 6 people in that camper.  I have Olivia (a very nice 11 yr old) come to help me on Saturdays to get ready for the festival.  She has got price tags put on all my critters, hats, etc..  I'm working wet felting wool objects and also trying to get my vest finished.

Today is a beautiful, crisp sunny day and I have been so busy.  It just feels like fall is just around the corner and there is so much to do.  Jonathan helped me Friday night pick all the red and green tomatoes because of a possible frost.  Now I have to make green tomato relish.  Well I have to close for now and go try to get some more things done.

So Long from Maybelle MaMa

Hello again from Maybelle Farm.  I can't believe its been so long since I wrote for our blog.  I just checked and it was July 27th when we last added to the blog.  It is now Monday Sept. 5th, 2011 and its pouring rain this afternoon.  Maybelle Farm came through Hurricane Irene without too much damage.  Our road washed out some and the small brook went over my spring, but we are up on a hill so were safe from serious damage.  I'm so glad that we live up here!   Before Irene arrived, we shut our 39 sheep in the barn and screwed the backdoor closed because we were worried about heavy rain and wind.  The sheep just stayed inside munching away, oblivious to the terrible weather.  At the bottom of our hill is Rt. 100.  This was washed out both above severely to the north and south of our hill. My nephew Norman, who lives on Route 100 right at the bottom of our hill,  and his family lost their shed, garage and home due to the flooding Whetstone Brook.  My niece Jackie, who is our Town Clerk, also lost her home along with five other houses in our town.  The river came up so high that my niece Debbie went to my brother Burdette's house to rescue them.  My brother Burdette just turned 82 yrs. old and they were in their basement trying to pump out water and didn't know how high the river was.  All the towns around here were hit very hard and the roads are washed out in so many places.  The schools have postponed the opening and Darcy has to go back tomorrow if she can get there.  It is so scary to hear the rocks rolling in the brooks and to see the water come up so fast.  We are all so very lucky to be safe.

The summer has been so very busy and now here is fall.  Where did the time all go?  We had a good garden and still have summer squash, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, spinach, carrots, beets and which is wonderful.  When the power was out during the days after the hurricane all of us on the "hill" decided to get together to help each other out until we could be reconnected with the world.  The local excavating companies and my brother Everett and nephew Mark have been working long, long days trying to clean up the mess from the flood.  The National Guard arrived on Wednesday to start helping with the repairs and helicopters have been delivering supplies.  We have been getting together every night at my niece Debbie's house for supper. Everyone brought stuff to eat because we were without power from Sunday to Thursday night.  We all used up stuff from our freezers as some of us had generators but others just had to cook up lots of stuff.  There was anywhere from 15-25 people each night and then Saturday night we had a birthday supper/party for Burdette.  It is very comforting to be with family through this and everyone is looking out for each other.

We do have some exciting news from Maybelle Farm! Cheryl Flett,  who taught the Fiber Fun Camps this summer, had the students make a wool mural as a part of their weekly projects.  She entered it at the Deerfield Valley Fair in Wilmington and it won FIRST prize and also "Best in Show" so we have two blue ribbons!!  We have donated the mural to the Wardsboro Public Library.  It will be raffled off at the Gilfeather Turnip Festival and the money from the raffle of this mural will go to the Library.

I have put a couple of the little ram lambs up for sale so I will add a couple of pictures to this blog.  I'm going to put a picture of Norman's house with the river going around it and then some of the sheep too.

That's all from Maybelle Farm for this time.

Kathleen

Hello again from Maybelle Farm! 

I can't believe its Wednesday July 27th, 2011 and I haven't written in the blog since July 3rd!  The time certainly does fly by and so much has happened.  It was such fun at the 4th of July with my friends of the "Fab Fiber Five".  There was a very large crowd at the parade and everyone seemed to enjoy all the fiber happenings.  Darcy, Todd, Rowan, Declan and their dog Kara got home Sunday evening July 3rd so then everything was back to normal at the farm.  We had a nice picnic at my sister Bev's house 4th of July evening.

The next event was the Fiber Fun Camp with Cheryl.  It started on Monday July 11th with 4 girls in the morning class and 3 girls in the afternoon class.  They worked all week learning new things to do with fiber and created a project to enter in the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival.  It will be fun to see what they make and hopefully win a ribbon or prize.  The August class is probably going to be a bigger group and I will actually be able to enjoy some of the classes.  We also have an adult fiber class set up for the week of Aug. 15th.  Cheryl will teach Mon./Wed./Thur. 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. for the adult classes.  I can't wait for these classes and also to make refreshments for them.

I drove to Gardner, MA. on July 13th and picked up my little Catherine and brought her to Toby Hill.  She is up for the summer and I finally have enough caregivers to do 24 hr. care and not be working soooooo many hours.  I think she is enjoying meeting new people and making raspberry jam,etc...  Art Wright that made a beautiful ramp up to the kitchen door for Catherine, stopped over last Sunday and on his way to the house saw a mother bear with triplets!!!!! WOW!  They must know there are blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, apples, peaches and what a place for a picnic.  I prefer a "Teddy Bear Picnic"... not the real thing!

Mr. Steiner brought 92 bales of beautiful hay so the barn smells wonderful.  He called this morning and will bring another 90 bales next week.  It certainly feels good to have hay going into the barn and not have to worry about where I will get hay for next year.  The sheep are doing well and today we put Tinka and her lambs Clementine and Chet in with Arly, Aphrodite,and Juliette and the 6 lambs Casper, Custer, Chloe, Cecil, Cedric and Cornelius. Yippee!!! No fighting!  Tinka was so busy eating lovely new grass that she couldn't be bothered to fight.  Chet was in little piggy heaven with all the "GIRLS".  He rode Arly's head and then each and every little ram lamb.  There was a conga line going of 5 little rams riding each other.....its just too funny to watch, so Darcy made a video of some of their antics.

Darcy, Rowan,and Declan and I went to Storyland in Glen,N.H. for a short three day trip.  We stayed at the Christmas Farm Inn in Jackson, NH.  It was a wonderful place to stay, very reasonable  and the food was incredible.  We had nice weather and rode on quite a few rides.  The  Geyser raft ride was fun but we certainly got soaking wet.  Declan was even brave enough to ride on the Bamboo Chute (log ride) but really didn't enjoy it!   The picture shows Darcy and Rowan shrieking and laughing and Declan looking scared to death! It was nice to get away for two days but now I need to get back to work.  I'm at Catherine's until 1:30 p.m. then Olivia from our Fiber Camp is coming to work with me packaging roving for the Vermont Sheep and Wool festival.

Life is good at Maybelle Farm.  Goodnight from Maybelle MaMa

Hello from Maybelle Farm.  It's Sunday July 3rd,2011 and it has been a very busy day.  I got up, took my Akita Lettie for a walk, did chores and checked on all 39 sheep, took care of Darcy's chicken and came home.  Forgot to eat breakfast and went to the Town Hall to help my niece Jackie make pies for the Wardsboro 4th of July Event.  We made blueberry, cherry, strawberry-rhubarb, raspberry, peach and apple.  They plan on about 150 pies to sell and its a lot of work. But lots of fun too talking and laughing with other ladies.

Next I went with my friend Alison to the Red Barn to set up for our "The Fab Fiber Five" fiber demonstration area.  I will be with my very good friends: Alison Schantz,  who is going to teach spinning on her beautiful Ashford wheel, Margaret Silvia from Margie's Muse will be teaching table weaving, Jenna Konesko will be teaching the drop spindle, and my buddy Cheryl Flett who will be teaching Wet felting.  I will be teaching needlefelting and the five of us will be selling our own products that we make.  We finished setting up about 3:30 p.m. and it really looks lovely, if I do say so myself!

It has been such a hectic week.  Darcy's family left on Saturday to go to the Thousand Islands for a week.  I had to work all week at Toby Hill taking care of my sweet little Catherine that is 97 yrs. old.  She arrived on Thursday June 23rd and went back to Cambridge, MA on Thursday June 30th.  Saturday night June 25th, it rained so hard that the basement flooded at Catherine's and water was up around the house.  I cancelled having Grace come into work and I stayed.  That meant a 36 hr. shift...........whewwwww!!!  Thank goodness, my son and grandson did chores so the sheep and chickens were taken care of.

I worked at the Tasha Tudor Museum on Wed. and Friday.  Friday was the Gallery Walk and my friend Patty Blomgren came in to do a weaving demo on the very large Barn Loom that was Tasha's.  That meant I was at the Museum from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and then back to the Museum yesterday 10-3 p.m.  It was very busy at the Museum on Friday and lots of fun.  The time goes by so quickly when you are very busy.  We are planning a big event for the week-end of Aug. 26-28 to celebrate Tasha's birthday.   Stay tuned for the announcements about it.

We are having a family picnic tomorrow at my sister Bev's house so I'm baking beans today.   We have ground round, hot dogs, chips, rolls, etc... to take to her house. It will be lots of fun after a day at the fair.  The Wardsboro Street Fair usually has a very large crowd and hopefully we will sell lots of wool!  It certainly would help to buy the hay for this coming winter.  I got a note from my very good friend Donna and her husband had to have two stents put in.  Please everyone send lots of prayers and good thoughts to them in New Hampshire.  I bought two little ewes and my handsome stud muffin ram "Thistle" from Donna.  I am also getting Flopsy,Aster and Aster's little ewe lamb whenever Jonathan and I can find the time to go pick them up.

Happy 4th of July from Maybelle MaMa.

Good evening from Maybelle Farm. 
It's Sunday night June 12, 2011 and all is well here at the farm.  Its been a very busy week, as all of them are.  Some just happen to be more busy than others and this one was jam packed with things that had to be done.  Let me think where to start.  First I have the schedule of caregivers completed for my little Catherine at Toby Hill.  She will be arriving on Thursday June 23rd and I am so excited to see her again.  I haven't seen her since last October and I could jump up and down.  My son David is going with me to pick up a hospital bed and take it to Toby Hill later this week.

The two shetland ewes Arly and Aphrodite and their little boys are now in with Juliette and all is well.  We still don't dare put big old Tinka and her two lambs in with the other Moms/lambs but it will have to be soon.  The grass is so tall and the sheep cannot begin to keep up with it.  The two rams/wethers that are in two seperate pastures are soooooo fat and happy. They really look great and its wonderful to have so much grass.  I just have to get sheep switched into other pastures and shut down some of the ones they have grazed.

I took my friend Nancy with me and we did volunteer gardening at Tasha's garden on Monday June 6th.  We had a picnic lunch and headed for home about 2:30 p.m. It was a wonderful day and we really got a lot done.  I was at the Museum on Wed. June 8th, and Amy brought Leigh to work at the Museum.  Leigh will catalogue all the items in the Museum and be our new curator.  The Museum will now be open Wed., Thurs., Fri. and Sat.  10 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Jenna's husband Kevin is working with Amy to up-date the website/blog for the Museum.

Thursday afternoon I was supposed to have a dress rehersal for my Tap Dance Recital at the Townshend Town Hall.   BUT the weather forcast was predicting severe thunderstorms so I did what I have never done before! I CANCELLED the dress-rehersal!  Well my dance recital was Friday evening June 10th and the children were fantastic and everyone had such a great time.  My little grandaughter Rowan had come home from school Thursday with a vomiting bug that was going around and I did not expect her to dance.  WOW, she came and did a great job.  I had two grandaughters and two grandsons tap dancing for me this year and who could ask for anything more!

I got a call Friday evening from Jocelyn Linnikin.  She had borrowed our old ram Luther last winter and she has three little ram lambs and two little ewes.  She said they are all different shades of chocolate........oh my goodness!  She has one more ewe to go and her lambing season will be over. Luther did well this year.  He was the father of Tinka's twins (chocolate colored Chloe) and (Gulmoget little Cecil).  Now he is the father of 5 little lambs at Jocelyn's farm.  He is Mr. Fertile Turtle!

Battenkill Fiber Mill called on Friday to say that my moorit yarn is ready so I'm hoping that tomorrow Jonathan, my sister Bev and I can go pick it up and then go shopping. We will see what tomorrow brings, weather ,etc.  Well that is about all the news for this week.
Goodnight from Maybelle MaMa

Hello again from Maybelle Farm.
Jonathan and I went to the Massachusetts Sheep and Wool festival this past Sunday and it was a really nice event.  The vendors said that it wasn't as busy this year and that people definitely are much more careful about spending their money.  I was very happy to get to see Faye, Jocelyn, and Margaret.   I also got to talk with Mary Jean from the Battenkill Fiber Mill and tell her again how pleased I am  with my roving and yarn.  Also on Monday Cheryl and Alison came to the farm.  We planned a lot more classes for the farm this summer, visited with the lambs and went to check out my brother-in-law's barn/craft building for a possible fiber co-op!  It's in the planning stage and seems to have a lot of potential.  It would really be great for Wardsboro to have an Art/Coop business for our little town.  Mr. and Mrs. Steiner, who I buy hay from,  came to visit the farm and see all the lambs.  They are such nice people and I'm so pleased to have such a nice hay source, just a few miles away in Stratton.

I fixed supper and we went to my sister Bev's house for supper Monday night.  Monday nights are my nights to visit with Bev and we watch  "Dancing with the Stars" or whatever is the latest show.  She has so much company all the time and with the weather being so hot, everyone is down enjoying her swimming pool.  Jonathan has been using a shop-vac in the barn and taking down the enormous cob-webs.  The barn is looking mighty spiffy and we have quite a bit of work to do as the Strolling of the Heifers farm tour is this next weekend.  Last year we only had two families because it was heavy rain and a tornado warning.  The weather for this weekend looks to be very nice. I have to either be in the Tasha Tudor booth on the common in Brattleboro or at the Museum on Saturday.

On Monday I went to Toby Hill to meet with Taf and Cary to get everything set up for my little Catherine to come up the end of June.  Catherine is the sweetest little lady that is 97 yrs old.  I have taken care of her for 5 years every summer and we just play away the days.  We make jams, jelly, pies,etc... and go out on a little toot here and there.  I just think the world of her and her family and count the days until they come back.  Every October their beautiful Toby Hill home is closed for the winter and every spring, there is a planting party.  They have 5 raised beds that Catherine calls her "Coffins" and they have a beautiful garden.

Well I have to close for now and go to bed.  The little lambs are growing like weeds and we will be putting another video on shortly of their playtime in the pasture.  Life is good at Maybelle Farm. 
Goodnight from Maybelle MaMa.

Hello again from Maybelle Farm.  Its Monday May 23rd,2011 and another cloudy, rainy day!  Oh well, we have more grass than the sheep can eat and everything is so green and beautiful.  This is much better than not enough for the sheep to eat!  Yesterday all the mothers and lambs were out, but Tinka and Juliette cannot get along so they have to be in separate pastures.  Arly and Aphrodite with their little boys are fine together and all the lambs were totally exhausted by the time I put them back in the barn.  The flies are really starting to bother and poor Tinka with her tail docked TOO short, gets lots of bites so I have to make sure to put some organic bug spray on her Butt!  There is just nothing so cute as the little lambs boinging around the pasture, and the mothers have calmed down enough to graze while the little lambs are totally crazy.  Life is good on the farm.  Yesterday was a work day at the farm.  Darcy and Todd piled up the pruned branches from the two pear trees and burned them.  My niece Debbie rototilled Darcy's garden and Darcy cleaned out the stinky chicken house.  Darcy and Todd planted a new peach tree so there are now three peach trees and two pear trees.  Darcy and Todd cleaned up all the old hay around all the rose bushes in the back yard! WHEW, that's quite a day's work.

David and Jonathan went to Greene, N.Y. to pick up a John Deere tractor that David is going to put a new diesel engine in.  It has a snow blower, a plow and mower so it will really help here at the farm.  They stopped in Oneonta, NY and ate at Brooks Barbeque and drove around Cobleskill and I think they really had a nice day.  They left here at 4:45 a.m. and got home about 4:30 p.m. and were both tired.  My niece Debbie, that rototilled Darcy's garden, also went up to my brother Everett's to do his garden and got stuck.  She called here and David took our Kioti up and pulled her out.  We could certainly have a pretty good Mud-bog here.  Rowan and I planted some sweet peas in my raised bed last week where I have a trellis and they have finally peeked through the ground.

I was at the Tasha Tudor Museum on both Wednesday and Friday.  Amy helped me move things around and the gift shop really looks nice.  I had 8 visitors that had made appointments on Friday and I will be there this coming Wed./Fri./and Sat.  I think it could be quite busy seeing how its Memorial Day weekend.  I hope to go to the Massachusetts Sheep Festival on Sunday but it depends on the weather.  If its really rainy, I probably will not go.  I am going to add some pictures of the Jamaica Fiber Day that I was a vendor at this last Saturday May 21st.  It was such a nice day with the town hall full of vendors.  Kami from the Bromley Inn had two of her beautiful Alpacas in a pen out front of the hall.  Its always nice just to get to be with other fiber people and we all end up buying more than we sell, because we just can't walk past fiber and not "EWE" and "AHH" over things, and then buy them!

It was very worthwhile to be there and I have put out a call to my fiber instructors to set up more classes here at the farm.  We will be doing Beginner Spinning, Drop Spindle Spinning, Dyeing Wool, Fleece (from raw wool to roving), Wet felting, Needlefelting, Weaving and much more.  Please check out our classes because we will continue to add classes as they are scheduled.  I also sold some of my lovely roving that I picked up from the Battenkill Fiber Mill.  I am so happy with it and I have three times in the last two days been able to spin on my new Lady Bug spinning wheel, I'm spinning my special "VINCA" and will make myself a vest!  WOW, that will be a first in a very long time, to actually make something for myself.

Well, I think that covers everything got the moment and I need to go get a few things done before Jonathan and I go shopping.  Tractor Supply is my favorite store so we will go there this afternoon.  So-long from Maybelle MaMa.

Hello again from Maybelle Farm.  It's Tuesday evening May 17th, 2011 and all is well at Maybelle Farm (for the moment at least!)  I have been treating one of my little ram lambs for a sore foot.  Little Chet started limping last Wed. evening.   Thursday I called the Vet because he had a little growth/sore between his right front hooves..  Deb (the Vet) said to soak it in epsom salts/water and give 1 c.c. of penicillin for 5 days.  Well on Sunday evening Darcy was helping me and we had soaked his hoof then I got a flashlight to check.  I told Darcy it really looked like it had come to a head and if it was a person, I would use a knife blade to lance it and then put in a wick in it.  I went to get a gauze pad and some bacitracin ointment.  When I got back to him, the spot had broken open and drained a large amount of yellowish discharge...........UGH...............!!  I cleaned it really well and then put bacitracin on it.  I talked with Elizabeth on Monday morning and Deb called back check in.  She said it was really good it had drained and to clean it with betadine and give the 5th dose of penicillin.  Deb is coming on Thursday to give all the little lambs their CDT shots so she can check him again then.  Tonight I let Tinka and her lambs Clementine and Chet out to run around in the barn.  Little Chet seems fine and hopped, danced and raced around the barn so hopefully, we are over the hump!

It has rained since Saturday and the grass is growing so fast, I don't know if the sheep can keep up with all the pastures!  I think it is supposed to rain right through Sunday, so I will really be glad to see some sunshine someday in the near future.  I'm not going to complain because the lambs are here and life is good on the farm.  Darcy, Rowan and Declan helped me clean out the extra-large dog crate and move the 6 new little biddies into their new digs!!!!  Tulip, Rose, and Daffodil along with Egg, Toast and Jam (these are the 6 new chicks) really like having lots more room to flap around in!

Yesterday my sister Bev went with Jonathan and me to Greenwich, N.Y. to pick up my roving and yarn from the Battenkill Fiber Mill.  I was very excited and a little nervous because it was a new place for me to use and you just never know how it will come out.  OH MY GOODNESS!!  I have the most beautiful pin drafted roving and delicious gray yarn donated by my sheep Spartacus.  I cannot begin to tell you how pleased I am with the work that they do at this mill.  I am going to attach some pictures of the roving and yarn.  I got it just in time for the Jamaica Fiber Day this coming Saturday.  I will be vending at the Town Hall with several other vendors and its such fun to be with other fiber nuts!  We are there in Jamaica,VT from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. so please stop in to check out all the beautiful fiber.

I also went last Friday to Putney Co-op and met Jane Woodhouse to pick up my new "Ladybug" spinning wheel.  It is beautiful and spins like a dream.  I also picked up the FIber of the Month from Jane.  She blended Border-Leicester lambs wool with mohair and its just sooo nice.  It would make you drool to spin it!  I invited Alison Schantz to come over to play on Sunday and she spun with my wheel. We went to the barn for a little lamb fix.  The little lambs are getting very friendly and have to come over to suck on your fingers and get attention.  There is just nothing so cute as those little lamb faces and the rodeo that goes on in the pasture!

Saturday afternoon I decided it was time for a little playing on the farm.  First I let Tinka and her lambs out and "Yippee"... around and around the pasture Clementine and Chet flew!  Chet cannot keep up with his sister and Tinka was like "O.K. you kids just run around like a couple of fools, I am going to gorge myself on grass!"  They played for about 20 minutes but the black flies were driving them crazy.  I put Tinka and her babies inside and brought out Arly and her two little boys Casper and Custer. Arly was very nervous trying to keep up with two white crazy little lambs and I only left her out for about 10 minutes........too many black flies!  Juliette and her two clowns, Cecil and Chloe, were next and totally wild!  I left them out for about 45 minutes while I took Kara (Darcy's dog) for a walk.  Juliette and her two went back inside and it was Aphrodite's turn to bring her tiny little boys out! Well Cedric came with his mother but poor little Cornelius couldn't figure out how to get out of the stall, finally got out of the stall, out of the barn and then proceeded to cry in the pasture.  Aphrodite was a nervous wreck, running after first one then the other!  She is still pretty fragile and has a poochy butt so I didn't want the black flies to bite her to much!  They went back into their stall and I closed the barn door.  It was such fun to see all the lambs play.  On Thursday after the Vet visit, Aphrodite, Juliette and Arly can bring their babies out to play together if its not too rainy.  Tinka was a total jerk and tried to butt Juliette all over the place and hurt Chloe when we tried to put them together last week.  So Tinka and her two kids will go into one pasture that is next to the lamb pasture.  Putting Tinka (the Coopworth) in with the Shetland ewes is like putting Arnold Schwarzenegger in with Danny Devito!!!!!!

Well I guess I have covered just about everything for the last week so I will close now and go to bed.  Goodnight from Maybelle MaMa