Another week's gone by, and it's still  too wet for haying. I'm really starting to wonder what on earth we'll feed the flock this winter. I wonder if we can extend grazing until Christmas. . .

Instead, my flock got to spend some quality time with their favorite shearer. We coifed the Border Leicesters on Tuesday. Yesterday was the goats' turn. Only our longwools get fall haircuts. They yield a nice 4-5 inch staple. Anything longer gives the giant carder at the spinnery indigestion. My Cormos, only shorn in spring, got fresh coats and pedicures, so they wouldn't feel left out.

For Gypsy and my shearer, Andy, this was a re-union. Andy brought her from his flock to mine last year, to keep Butch, my sweet old buck-wether, company.  He was pining for goat companionship after losing his brother, Sundance. Butch and Gypsy are in lurve; he was understandly upset when we pulled Gypsy from the pen.

When Andy and I finished with the goats, we spent some time primping the Big Boys. Teaberry has a date with the ladies starting a week from Monday, as soon as I get back from Rhinebeck. We wanted to be sure he is fit and all necessary equipment in good order.

 

Latte & Beckham staked out the apple tree yesterday. A wild and windy Wednesday knocked down bushels and the little guys helped me clean up. (Wish I hadn't cropped Beckham's ear out of this shot; his expression is too funny!)

And now some words on sharing.

Thank you everyone for your comments, that kept coming all week long on Teaberry's success at the Big E. Happiness is best when shared and I enjoyed sharing that moment with all of you.

Many of you took the time to share stories of personal milestones and accomplishments – and I was truly blown away by the range of experiences, totally different but all significant. Some of you shared stories of intensely difficult trials -  good reminders about keeping perspective, reality checks for the rest of us. Overcoming adversity is cause for reflection – and many cases celebration, too. I'm sending my strongest congratulations (where appropriate)  and thanks to all of you for sharing slices of your own experiences.

Today I promised to draw a name for our Teaberry Champion prize: a basket of Cormo Silk Alpaca yarn, over 1000 yards of it, enough to complete a project. Lori B. is our lucky winner!

Pardis Amirshahi, editor of Living Crafts magazine, has kindly added five copies from her fall issue in which she reviewed my book, Teach Yourself Visually Hand-Dyeing, as additional prizes. For those of you not familiar with this lovely magazine, its focus is on crafting as part of a holistic lifestyle and fostering creative play with children. Sarah L, Doreen, Stacy, Amrita and Shell will each receive a complimentary copy.

Technical Difficulties: I've received several emails and pm's on Ravelry that some of you had trouble posting comments and I apologize for the glitches. Typepad's comment feature has been quirky of late and I've brought it to their attention. Rest assured that I have personally read the 189 comments that were posted as of today, and I'm working to make sure all comments appear. Thank you for alerting me to the problem and again, my apologies for the technical snaffoo.

One more item of note:

I received a very special honor yesterday which took me by complete surprise when I opened the Knitter's Review online weekly email and saw what Clara Parkes had to say about her book, The Knitter's Book of Wool, (Potter Craft), which will be released this week. I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy from her at Rhinebeck. If you don't subscribe to her newsletter, well, you should! And you can see what she had to say about my flock here.

I'll have more to say about Clara's new book, once I have a copy in my hot little hands!