joys of spring

To own a bit of ground,
to scratch it with a hoe,
to plant seeds and
watch the renewal of life -
this is the commonest delight
of the race, the most
satisfactory thing a man can do.

- Charles Dudley Warner

Satisfactory indeed! Also just a bit stressing, if you get hopelessly behind of schedule. (Ahem)

But you know, we have these adorabilities to behold, they makes us laugh numerous times a day:

We're still discussing names for this little beauty -she'll be named either Vår or Freja ...

Giving birth an evening in May

Our dear sheep Gaia decided to give birth tonight, just when we were preparing supper. I was alert, because she'd been scraping in the grass a little earlier, and looking out of the kitchen window I could see a change in her movements. Her gait was somewhat stiff and strained, indicating she was in labour. I could also see a change in the shape of her lower body; the sacrum had lifted in order to make room for giving birth.
We all hurried - quietly - outside, and joined the horses in the pasture right beside the sheep pasture.

Gaia was walking about, panting softly, and didn't lie down until the birth was close at hand.

He went straight up and sucked, within a couple of minutes after being born. Even though I was watching at a distance, there's no doubt in my mind he had an Apgar Score of 10/10

It was amazing to see, how tender and caring she was toward her first born, even while she was giving birth to the second lamb. 

The other sheep didn't approach while she was in labour, but made very short visits right after each birth. Just a friendly and curious welcome, and then they considerately  went away again.

I don't really have words to describe how wonderful and touching an experience it was. As all births are. In all the smiles I thought I could read a feeling, of this being a perfect moment - in a beautiful world.

...............................................

(You can see the pictures enlarged, by clicking one of them)

The No-Waste Scarf

When I was created – in the melting pot, you know, I think they used a outdated housewife mold from the 50ies or there about. Throwing things away, food, clothes - well anytning - is just something I cannot do. I guess it was also just the way of things when I grew up, 'no biggie' as they say nowadays; we didn't make a big deal out of it - just the ordinary life.

Lately I've realised it actually makes me quite modern. All that re-using, mending, composting, thrifting, homemade, 'stop the food waste' thinking that the western world is finally beginning to get the grip on, well, that's more or less everyday life here ...

No-Waste Scarf

 This scarf was made of something I actually was on the verge of throwing out. I found a bag with some wool I've dyed with madder root at some point, and then forgot about (or repressed). The thing is - the wool was short-stapled and not soft at all (like steele wool), and I wondered what I've been thinking about when I chose to dye it. Beats me. Not wanting to let the wool – and the water, soap, madder root, energy for heating it all up and time spent on it already go to waste, I decided to make something usefull from it. So I carded it with some angora and silk I had laying around, in order to make it softer and more skin-friendly, spun it chunky and softly on the drop spindle and knitted a very simple scarf-in-the-round. And I used every little bit of it up.

I'm sorry, but my stylist had the day off - and likewise the photographer, my hairbrush and mascara ... you get my point, right? - But my newly turned 8 year old was luckily available, and he did it all for free. Well, skipping the styling and make-up and went for the fun camera part - but for free! I know I've said it before - but there's just something very satisfying in using things up to the last thread - or making stuff from scratch, from materials that could have - but didn't - go to waste.

handle with love

I've come to believe that mending is an art form, really, it requires manual skills, knowledge about different materials and their interaction - as well as a bit of imagination. It's a good way to think about a sometimes tiresome task, isn't it, pretending it's an art form ... but a somewhat forgotten art form, though. Anyway, this cardigan of mine is so loved that it's almost worn to pieces, but not quite. I'm determined to really wear it to pieces, so elbow patches was the first step in that direction. I considered several ways of doing it, patches can say so much about a person without words, you know, and I really didn't want my patches to say something about me that I didn't like. Ahem. Finally I opted for the exceptional loving, totally homemade version. Remember these babes? Yummy fleece, I tell you! I've spun some of it - and that's what I used for the patches.

Another way of mending, like mending socks. Only it's a dress and embroidery yarn. It works well, I think, considering it's a very lightweight silk/cotton dress, and the mends are quite visible on the front of the dress. But I'll wear it proudly.

Lastly, this is (some of) my work in progress. Some spinning, both on wheel and spindle. The dark yarn is also from the before mentioned twins - together with some bunny fleece, making it tweedy, and oh so soft. The yarn on the spindle is a blend of a superlative longstapled wool from Gaia - more bunny fleece and some natural dyed wool (from Gaia's mother Karla, I think). It's both silky shiny and matte at the same time, and variated in colour since I just toss some fibres on the hand carders.
The granny square is a part of a project I made up for easy-bringing-along-to-the-beach-or-going-by-car-etc. So this square is 1 out of something like 280 squares for a blanket. That's a whole lot. Perhaps someone I know will get pregnant and then I could settle for a baby blanket instead. Allways look at the bright side!

This is what the sky looked like last night. The purple colours in the upper part of the picture looks like my natural dyed purple, I think. Or is it the other way around?

With Fairie Ears

For the last few weeks we have hardly been able to take our eyes from these curly, velvety little creatures. I'd been waiting eagerly for the birth, checking constantly for signs so I wouldn't miss it. I so love births, and hoped that I could have a small part in this wonder, even if it was only as a bystander. But apparently Gaia wanted to give birth to her first babes all by herself, and waited patiently for us to leave. So that very evening the whole family went to a concert she gave birth to these little lovelies. Her timing was infallible, the moment we returned she had just given birth to the second lamb. It's amazing to watch how the maternal instincts awakens, the swift change where she becomes a mother for real. The first mildly wondering look in her eyes, how she jumps a bit surprised when they seek and nuzzle for the first sweet milk. But then Mother Nature works her charm and she knows exactly what to do. And she does it so well.

Our ewes are named after goddesses - and so Gaias daughter is named Idun, the goddess of youth, immortality and beauty.
I'm looking forward to shearing them in a few months, I'm expecting their fleece to be extraordinary.
- And no, when it comes to my sheep, I'm not suffering from any false modesty. At all.

In the 11th hour

of the 1.11.11 I happend to see that the numbers on the visit counter was purely 1s
Remarkable! That must surely be a sign, right!

1 is a wondeful number - there's 1 Universe, 1 Earth, 1 spider in the web, 1 you and 1 me. That just about covers everything. But 1 is also for beginnings and starting afresh. So I'll start a little new something on the blog, a new series called 'For the Love of Wool'. Ta daa.

 In a month it's our 4 year anniversary living in our little country house. We had many reasons for wanting to leave the city for the country life, one of the most vital reasons was that we wanted animals (and lots of them) to be a part of our daily life. My dream was to have sheep, because I Love Wool!! I really do. It has a great impact on my imagination, it makes my fingers itch for creating, it makes me want to do so many things.

This scarf is a product of my dreams. I sheared one of my sheep, I washed the wool in rain water, and dyed it with roots from the soil - with the warmth from the sun. The wool was sitting in a jar in my garden for a month or so. Then I carded it and spun it on a drop spindle, and lastly knitted a scarf for one of my daughters.

 

It is all about process, the final result is a bi product. It's about connecting to nature in a loving, creative, caring and mindful way. And thereby connecting in the same way to yourself.