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