Inquiring Minds Want to Know....

Today's blog post is a little different....thanks to you!

For the most part, writing a blog when you live on a farm

is quite easy.

The subject matter always gives you a story.

But....

just once in a while

(like at the end of a very long, dark, cold, bleak winter)

you need a little inspiration to refresh your mojo.

And so I threw out the question...

"What do you want to know?"

And so....here goes....

Wendywoo:  "How are the goat boys doing after their surgeries?"

Things are much calmer in the goat yard these days.  Without the influence of testosterone,

the males are content to live a rather peaceful existence.  They did lose their muscle mass

and no longer look like gym rats!  Best of all, though, they don't smell as bad as they used to,

and are no longer prone to peeing on their beards to attract the ladies!

Shelly: "Yes!! I know you have the farrier out to trim hooves, but I don't remember you ever having abscess problems with your equine family. Have you? 

Only once did I have an abscess problem.  A different farrier had trimmed Moonbeam a little too short, and he developed an abscess.  Luckily, only once.   Dr. Becky opened the abscess, I soaked it and packed it twice daily; and eventually it healed up just fine.
(That was the time that Moonbeam pinned me between his butt and the stall wall...breaking my rib...so we both suffered an "owwie"!)
Knock on wood, I never have hoof problems with the Littles or the donkeys.

Patsy from Illinois:  "I love the "Littles" and wonder how you came to get them."

Ollie came to us rather suddenly... a rescue of sorts.
Dr. Becky had had a client that raised miniature horses.
One of her mares that had just delivered a little fellow, became ill and died.
Grieving over the loss of the mare, the owner feared she could not emotionally handle
an orphaned newborn.

So...at three weeks of age, Ollie came to live with us.
It was touch and go for a few days...as he would not take milk replacer...
but feisty little Ollie survived.

A couple of months later, I bought Red (Ollie's half brother) as a companion for Ollie.
Amazingly, that was five years ago!

Junebug:  "Did you grow up a city slicker or a country bumpkin?"

Lynne:  "Did you grow up on a farm...raised with animals, gardens?"

Actually, I grew up in suburbia in a home with a magical violet-filled backyard that stretched out 

from our house for what seemed like forever.  (Looking back, now, I realize that the yard

was no bigger than most, but to a little person it seemed as big as the world!)  I was

an earthy child who played in the dirt, brought night crawlers home in my pockets,

and spent hours and hours lost in an imaginary world that existed in my big back yard.

My childhood pets included dogs, a rabbit, a guinea pig, countless fish, and a

Baltimore Oriole named Hungry that we nursed back to health.

(Hungry returned each year to visit...and would eat out of our hands!)
My parents fostered my deep love of animals...
and though I would have loved to have had my own horse...
this was as close as I got.
(A photographer used to come around the neighborhood with this little pony.)

I will say, I spent my childhood longing for a piglet.

As for gardens...we had flower beds and tomato plants.

But, I suppose my gardening inspiration came from my grandparents.

Nana and Papa were country folk who eventually built a home in suburbia.

Their entire back yard was plowed into one huge garden in which they grew their food.

Nana canned and froze produce that they would live off of for the rest of the year.

This always intrigued me.

Almost every visit to Nana and Papa's included a garden tour, to see what was growing.

Baby plants were often dug up and sent home with me.

It seems I was hooked at a very young age!

Lynne:  "When did you begin to knit and sew?  Who were your mentors, inspirations?"

Jill:  "I want to know if you have any projects going in the sewing room."

I grew up in the shadows of very crafty, inspiring, do-it-yourself women.  

My mother and both grandmothers did beautiful needlework, crocheting, and sewing.

My dresses were handmade and hand-smocked...

and my sweaters, hats and mittens were almost always hand-knit...

thanks to a very talented Mom (Thanks, Mom!!!)
I am happy to say that my Mom still knits for me.

I learned at a very young age to "spool" knit, crochet, and embroider.

By middle school, I was sewing and embroidering for fun.

In my young adult years, I created little fabric bunnies,
who wore turtleneck sweaters and wool overalls,
and sold them in a local gift shop.
Through the years I have made clothes, toys, costumes, curtains, and quilts.

Knitting is something that I have recently taught myself by watching videos on YouTube!

Sadly, Jill, I have not spent any time this winter in the sewing room.
This seems to be the year for improving my knitting.
There are stashes of fabric and patterns waiting...ready to be transformed.
I just might have overdosed on sewing last year...so a break is a good thing.

As for the evolution of the farm...
well, that's a story unto it's self!
To be continued..... Part Two comes tomorrow.
(Unless something exciting happens in the mean time!)