Aquafire

 I knit my handspun alpaca into an Aquafire so I could wear it to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. I wanted something I could wear around my neck, but I didn't have enough for a cowl (and it's too hot to wear a cowl anyways), and the Aquafire fit the bill perfectly!

Lately

 Devin went to a dance at the middle school. It sounded fun...with black lights and a candy buffet. I wanted to go too!

 He's getting very tall!

 Last weekend, David and I attended our friends' wedding. It was a chilly night, but a beautiful wedding.

 The cake was sooo pretty, and it was delicious!!

 David was nice enough to snap a few pics of me.

 And he even posed for a picture together. He hates having his picture taken.

 Pictures of them taking pictures. Ha!

 Our local library had a book sale yesterday. I managed to find some things for the kids, and also got a few things for myself too!  Only $11.50 for everything.  There were HUNDREDS of books there, so I'm so happy I managed to find Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and The Omnivore's Dilemma.  Those are great additions to my "library".

 2 new rabbit kits born. Luckly we were able to save them, as they were born on the wire and were very cold when we found them.  Now they're thriving!

 It's that time again...grazing season!  I've been moving the electronetting around so the animals can graze around the yard.

And I broke out the incubator after a few years of it being in storage.  These eggs are a combination of breeds.  The really dark ones are Black Copper Marans eggs, along with some Birchen Marans, and a Cuckoo Marans. Then there are a few Araucana eggs, along with Americana and mutt/Easter Egger eggs.   They should hatch around May 14th!

Ida's Kid

Ida kidded today, with a perfectly perfect little doe kid.  She was born around 3pm.  Ida loves her, and is being the perfect mom, as usual.

I took this video just hours after she was born, and she was already trying to hop around.  Goat kids are born with springs in their feet!

Grazing Time

The sheep are finally able to get out and graze around the yard now that the grass is growing well.  I put a halter on Darla so I can lead her out.  The sheep normally just follow me (and my grain bucket) to their new fenced area, but Darla is the leader and sometimes she decides she'd rather find her own grazing spot.  After several times of her leading the sheep in the wrong direction, I've started putting a halter on her so I can keep her with me.  Works like a charm!

The lambs found the wagon (hooked to the garden tractor) to be a great play thing!  They had a blast playing in it. They had a fun time with their lamby shenanigans, enjoying the nice evening.

Violet Jelly

Every year for 5 years I've picked violet blossoms so I could make violet jelly. Every year I put them in a jar in the fridge, and every year I procrastinated so badly that the flowers would wilt and have to be tossed.

Not this year!  The kids and I picked blossoms on Sunday and made jelly on Sunday. Yay!  I followed this recipe for jelly.  We used about 2.5 cups of blossoms, and poured 2.5 cups of boiling water over them.  They sat for a while (probably 10 minutes?) until the water was dark blue.

Kylee took the pictures for this post.

Then we added the lemon juice and watched the liquid turn to a lovely purple color.

Then we added the liquid to the pot, and the packet of pectin.  Then we stirred until it boiled, and let it boil for 1 minute.

Lovely pose, Devin.

Once it boiled for 1 minute, we added the sugar, returned it to a boil and let it boil for 1 minute.

 Then we ladled it into prepared jars, and processed in a waterbath canner for 10 minutes.

It's very pretty!!  And it has a really nice delicate grape flavor.

Ready to Knit

 This morning Devin and Kylee helped me wind the alpaca yarn I spun around my makeshift niddy noddy (the back of a chair).  I calculated approximately 120 yards of yarn.  Then I soaked it in water to set the twist, and hung it to dry.

I was so excited after it dried. It is so soft and fluffy!  I love the colors, and can't wait to knit it up into something special.  Thank goodness for Ravelry. I was able to find this Aquafire pattern, and I think it'll be perfect for the yarn.  I'm hoping to have it knitted up before this weekend, because I want to wear it to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival.

Lately

 Buford and Kiki spent some time snuggling on the couch.

 The Easter Bunny came!  (am I late posting, or what)

 I had a birthday and the kids made me a nice banner and card.

 David and I built a set of steps for our deck.

Buford found a yummy treat.  He found a dried out tail that fell off a lamb.  He had fun playing with it until mean old mom took it away.

 Devin's peach tree is blooming and so pretty!

 The cover crop in the garden is growing like crazy.  I planted it over the asparagus bed last fall, then realized I can't see if asparagus are coming up or not!   So I've been pulling it out and feeding it to the animals.  They love it!

 Some bird has tried to make a nest in the chicken coop roof.

 And a Carolina Wren made a nest in the sheep shelter. She has 6 or 7 eggs in there!

The sheep mowed the front yard this weekend.  They did a pretty good job.