Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peek-a-boo
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren’t his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullaby, rockaby lullaby loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

- Ruth Hulbert Hamilton

Maisie is a large doe, half Togg, half Saanen, and is taking over as herd queen.

Queen Messopotamia is a Saanen who just adores stepping in the milk bucket two seconds before she is done being milked.

Mighty Fergus is a little buck destined to become a wether, and with a good career in show business ahead of him.  He will be pulling a cart in parades next year, and this year will be at the farm stand accepting pets and treats.

Magnificent Medb is a Toggenburg doeling, and quite affectionate.  She thinks that if the dogs are allowed in laps, well, she should be too, and follows her chosen human around all day.

Medb cooperated for the camera.

Nonetheless, we have begun the planting season.  In some cases, this is only the first batch of a staggered planting schedule.  For other items, we start them indoors weeks early to get as long a growing season as possible.  Tomatoes, leeks, peppers, some squashes, and various melons are all in their seed trays getting a head start.

We do sell blown eggs in addition to eggs we have done.

For more on the art of Pysanky, visit this site:

The mint patch is still doing well, and apple-mint mead will be on our itinerary again this year (yay). The real question on all our minds is, as always, raspberries. Last year we didn’t have enough raspberries to make both mead and jam, and were forced to make a tremendously difficult choice. Do we make mead, do we make jam, or do we hide in the kitchen and eat berries as fast as possible before anyone catches us? Decisions, decisions…

We’ve got a nice, sunny patch, just aching to be planted. Do we plant strawberries, or expand the raspberry bushes, possibly even adding some new types of raspberries?

2: Make sure you have enough space.  Each chicken needs at least 2 square feet of shelter space and 3 square feet of outside run.  The more space per chicken the better.  A shelter needs to be at least 3′ high.  A crowded chicken is an unhappy chicken.

3: Dedicate time to the birds.  You’ll need to check them every morning and every evening.  Automated feeders and waterers are not a substitute for these checks.  Eggs will need to be collected at least once a day.

4: Your birds need feed.  Feed costs money.  You’ll need around 1/2 lb of feed per adult bird per day.  A 50lb bag of feed costs $10 to $15.  Pecking in the yard is not an adequate substitute for feed.  Though chickens are omnivores and will eat almost anything, kitchen leftovers are best thought of as treats rather than feed.  White bread is bad for your birds, and should be fed in moderation or not at all.  Dried beans are poisonous to chickens.

5: How do your neighbors feel about chickens?  Even if you are within your legal rights to have chickens, you may still want to consider your neighbors.  Roosters don’t just crow in the morning, and chicken waste gets smelly.  Foraging chickens travel, and can destroy a garden in moments.  An aggressive rooster may attack other pets or children.  If your coop isn’t clean, it will attract flies and other pests.  And remember, chickens are birds.  They have wings, and can fly over fences.  Mine regularly roost on the garage roof.

6: Make sure your coop is secure.  Raccoons and coyotes are present, perhaps even more numerous, in cities and dogs will go after chickens.  A single dog can wipe out an entire flock in minutes thinking it’s nothing more than a splendid game.  In spite of the name, chicken wire is not secure fencing.  It is designed to keep chickens in, not predators out.  Chain link or welded wire fencing is the requirement for a secure coop.

7:  While the avian flu and chicken pox aren’t a concern for your birds, there are plenty of other dangers.  Always quarantine new birds before introducing them to your flock and make sure all new birds are NPIP tested.  Get your flock NPIP tested too.

8: Noise.  Chickens are not quiet.  No, not even if you only have hens.  Chickens make a particular noise when nesting and laying, known as egg song.  Some hens can drown out the roosters.  On rare occasions, hens will crow.  An alarmed chicken will let out a loud holler or squawk that will often set the others off.  A broody girl defending her nest makes a sound best described as a growl and translating to ‘get that hand any closer to me and I will eat it’.

9: Boredom.  A bored chicken is an unhappy chicken and unhappy chickens peck at each other and pull out feathers, if not outright killing other birds in the flock.  If you are limited in space, provide other means of entertainment for your birds.  A suet cage stuffed with veggies or some crickets released in the coop provides entertainment for them and for you.

10: Don’t wear red polka-dot pants when checking your chickens.  Just trust me on this one.

11: You don’t need a rooster to get eggs

12: Chickens dust bathe.  If you don’t have loose soil for them, give them a sandbox in their coop.  They can and will tear up your lawn and garden dust bathing, and have more fun doing so than you would have at a spa.

13: Research your breed.  Don’t just pick for colors you like (though by all means, consider that as well).  Choose for temperament, productivity, size, type and size of egg, and whether you want your birds to provide meat or just eggs.

14: If you are starting with chicks, have a brooder area.  Young chicks need supplemental heat and higher protein feed.  Don’t just toss chicks in with adult birds, the adult birds will likely kill them.  You might be able to trick a broody into adopting chicks, but some won’t cooperate.  Best to get them to medium size or so and do a slow introduction.

15: Wash your hands before and after handling your chickens.  You don’t want to get them sick and you don’t want them to get you sick.

http://www.nanowrimo.org/

Exercise your creativity!

Chapter 1: Gift giving

1. Don’t give yarn as a gift if you expect the recipient to knit something for you in return. That is not a gift, that is a request.
2. A gift that is a pattern book with the expectation that I will make something from said book IS NOT A GIFT! It is a commission. I do not do commissions.
3. If you are a mother-in-law, do not buy me a book on felted bags and then say, “I thought you could make me the one on page 12.” Also, do not say, “There’s a wonderful yarn store in x town. I’d love to take you.” It’ll make me think you want to show me the store and I will be really disappointed when I realize you want me to pick out the yarn for your felted bag.

Chapter 2: On Show and Tell

1. When shown a knitter’s FO, oohs and aahs should be used liberally. Any comments such as “I don’t like that mitten” or “You should have done ______ differently” should be kept to oneself. Period.
2. When you see a FO of wondrous beauty, or a knitter working on something, please don’t gasp and say, “I could never do that!” Do you think knitters were born churning out such objects? Stop hinting and get yourself some needles and we’ll see how quickly you can pick it up.
3. Time: Do you, dear non-knitter, know how silly you sound saying, “I just don’t have the time to do that,” while you’re sitting there, watching me knit, on break at work or in an office waiting for an appointment, rehashing to me yesterday’s reality show highlights? If you don’t want to knit/crochet, that’s perfectly alright, all the more wool for me, but do not say you don’t have the time. You just lack time management skills, and perhaps a bit of creative industriousness. 3a: And don’t use that Time excuse to 1. not say what you really mean; I don’t want to… thats ok toots, we don’t want you to either, so shut up. 2. Act as if what we do isn’t as important as what you do, so we have far more leisure time to ‘play’ at knitting, since you’re a closet (TVaholic, boozer, eater, nosepicker)… we really don’t care what you do with your time just leave our time alone. 3. Put us down because you are really jealous as hell and wish you had something to do so you didn’t look so stupid sitting there griping about your busy (aka boring) life
4. When approaching a stranger about a knitted garment and finding out they made themselves don’t say “I could make that” in a derogatory tone. It doesn’t matter who made it the level of skill is still the same.

Chapter 3: Making request

1. Never ever assume that it will be cheaper to have someone knit you a hat, scarf, sweater, mittens. hand knits are NEVER cheaper….maybe for you but definitely not for the person knitting said “deal.”
2. When a knitter has deemed you knitworthy and is working on a project for you… under no circumstances should you ever say how easy it would be to finish if the knitter would just get to working on it. This will force the knitter to play the hand of “if it’s so easy… here, do it yourself” and your name will be stricken from the knitworthy list because it was on the list tenuously to begin with and that was the last straw.
3. If you ever request a knitted item from a knitter, do not tell the knitter that you do not like the finished object or, heaven forbid, return it as well. Knitters are not stores. We do not make consumer goods you may return, we make you gifts. These gifts come from the heart and are made with love. When you return these gifts by saying you hated them and if we could please do better next time, we feel hurt. Especially when it was you that requested this gift. It’s like us offering you our hearts and you stomping on them and throwing them into our faces and then expecting us to give you our hearts again. A knitter can only take so much heartbreak before permanently kicking you off the to knit for list.
4. No nagging! Assuming that you are knitworthy, do not ever ask the knitter “how long will it be? “I need this by ______ date” or “can’t you finish it sooner?”
5. It being common knowledge that someone is the only knitter you know and quite an unselfish one at that (when it comes to kiddies and the exclusively knitworthy) – DO NOT grab said person mid conversation and point out someone’s ‘knitted’ garment with that “nudge nudge wink wink” look on your face or smile pathetically and say “hi” in that awful patronising tone – At the very least you will get an eyebrow raise (the unimpressed kind) or else – especially if you are a repeat offender – you WILL get a slap!!
6. If you ask me to make you something (and you are willing to pay for it) don’t complain that the price I set is too damn expensive. For my family and friends, if they ask me to make them something, I usually only charge them for the yarn I use. So if you choose that gorgeous merino silk that is handyed, don’t be surprised at the $30 hat I knit you. How much are they charging at banana republic? Well, take your a$$ there an’ buy one. I’ll make myself that awesome hat from the idea you just gave me
7. There is no “quick altering” for already knit items, so don’t ask.
8. When seeing a knitter’s finished project, do not exclaim, “can you make me one?”. Especially not if it’s a lace cardigan that took said knitter 6 months. The answer will be, “No”.
9. Please don’t request that I find you a perfect pattern, proceed to “describe it” so vaguely, that I can’t tell if you want a poncho, a pullover, a cardigan or what, “with a different pattern on each side”… um, what? Oh, and then please don’t be grumpy every Sunday when you see me, accusing me of forgetting you, and not doing this one simple little thing. (it would help if you at least sketched out what you want? at least i could narrow down what the item is?)

Chapter 4: Dirty fingers, stay away!

1. If your hands are dirty (eg. from eating/snacking), resist the urge to grab pretty lace-y angora (or any type of handknit). Handknits are often not easily washable, unlike the clothes from the Gap that you may currently wearing.

Chapter 5: Thanks!

1. When deemed knitworthy and bestowed a handknit gift, a simple email saying “thank you so much” is perfectly fine, especially if the alternative is nothing. Don’t put off the thank you because you somehow feel it needs to be in epic form and sent via Oscar-worthy video clip, turtledove, handmade card, or whatever.

Chapter 6: Respect (and don’t joke with) The Knitter

1. Knitworthy people should refrain from asking, “What are you going to knit me next?” Maybe once, fine. But repeatedly, even as a supposed joke, will slowly bump down their knitworthy status. Double demotion for asking The Knitter before they start a project from themselves after just finishing something for the requester
2. Do NOT grab the WIP to have a feel/squish without asking first!
3. Do NOT borrow tools without asking.
4. Do NOT assume the knitter is “doing it wrong” and GRAB their knitting to “show them how it’s done”.
5. Do NOT go through a Knitter’s bag
6. Do NOT take away my book/magazine/pattern
7. Do NOT play with the yarn I am knitting while I am knitting
8. Don’t call a knitter a “granny” in a slighly derogotary tone when you see one knitting. Its insulting two ways: the implication that being an older woman is bad and the implication that knitting means we are old women. I’m young, I’ve got no kids, and I’m quite proud that I am skilled enough to create with my hands.
9. Looking at my knitting and saying “Wow, you made that? I don’t have to bother making things, I have enough money to buy what I want. I value my time more than you do” is really rude. Just because you don’t choose to make things with your hands does not make you better than those of us that do. Good luck staying warm if all the stores suddenly closed.
10. when approaching a knitter staring very hard at what they’re knitting, do not assume the knitter wants you to talk. Politely approach said knitter and whisper: “Are you counting?”
11. If you run into a knitter you haven’t seen for a while, and the knitter has the same project as the last time you saw them, DO NOT, in a shocked tone, say “Wow, you’re not done with that YET?!?”
12. And when seeing someone ripping out their first pair of socks AGAIN ask, “How many times are you going to rip those socks out?”
13. If a knitter makes you something that you did not ask for – as a gift just because s/he wanted to make it, accept it graciously (with lots of enthusiasm) and let it go. Please do not offer payment.
14. It is perfectly acceptable to ask to squish or pet something a knitter is wearing, as long as the knitter has made it. But please remember to ASK before you do so.
15. A knitter is always happy to answer the question “Whatcha makin’ now?” or “What’s that yarn for?”, if asked with enthusiasm.
16. When someone tells you his/her hobby is knitting, don’t say “But can you knit?” Not that it’s very offensive, it just doesn’t sound very bright. (No, I can’t knit even though it’s my hobby?)
17. Never ask: “If you want socks, why don’t you just go buy them for $10 a pack??” OR “You can buy a sweater at Kohl’s for $15” OR “Why would you knit ____ when you can go to _____ and buy it for $__?”’ Ugh. Because if I wanted mass produced socks, I would go buy them. But they don’t give me the satisfaction that I get making socks myself. Nor do they feel as nice on my feet. Nor do I get to choose the luscious colors or fibers. There is a time and a place for Wal-mart socks. But they aren’t going to give me the satisfaction of working with my hands and producing something beautiful and one-of-a-kind for myself. Plus, I love me just enough to spend the time on me. So Pffffbbbbbtttt. If I wanted a cheap sweater, I most certainly WOULD go and buy a cheap sweater. But since I want to choose the fiber, fit, pattern, colors, etc, AND because I enjoy making something so unique with my own two hands, two sticks, and some string, I will.
18. Never assume that a knitter’s project is for a baby – pu-lease – even adults wear knitted items.
19. Never assume that a knitter’s project must be for someone else.
20. And never, ever, ask a stranger (knitter or not) if she is pregnant unless it is so freakin’ obvious that you don’t have to ask.
21. Anything along the lines of, “I let my girlfriend wear the hat you made me. She hates it” should be grounds not just for banning from the knitworthy list but for possible bodily injury.
22. DO NOT assume that if I crochet, I can also knit and vice versa. At least not at the same proficiency.
23. DO NOT take ANY credit for a hadcrafted item if you did not actually handcraft said item. Oh, you bought the yarn? Picked the pattern? Gave me the idea? How nice, but you did not spend the tens/hundreds of hours creating each stitch. NO CREDIT FOR YOU!
24. If you’ve been gifted with a handcrafted item… perhaps, let’s say (purely for the sake of argument), a baby sweater… for your wee little love, kindly do not return the handcrafted item to the crafter & ask him/her to take it all apart & use the yarn to make something newer & bigger for your not-so-wee-any-longer little love. While the crafter may appreciate your concept of recycling & your desire that the crafted item not go to waste, I’m pretty sure the crafter will not be receptive to all the work involved with deconstructing something that took lots of time, love, effort, stitches, etc. to construct in the first place, nor will the crafter be pleased to be thought of as a “crafting factory” no matter how much you might consider it complimentary that he/she is “in demand.”
25. Don’t ask your wife to pretty-please knit you a 100% wool sweater to fit your 50” chest, from wool yarn that was chosen by you specifically for its woolly warmth… and then ask your wife to “hurry up” in finishing the 100% wool sweater because you are “cold” and you really really REALLY want to wear your warm 100% wool sweater…and then NOT WEAR THE 100% WOOL SWEATER BECAUSE IT’S TOO WARM.
26. If I make something for your little one, and tell you “all I ask for in return is a picture of baby/kid wearing it.” Take a darn picture and give it to me! It’s really not THAT much to ask in return. Is it?
27. If I am counting stitches and you interupt me, I am likely to start counting out loud (loudly) This is your que to stop talking. It is NOT your que to start to yell out random numbers at me!! (thanks kids!)
28. If you ask me to teach you a stitch/ technique (I work in a yarn store) do not then tell me “that’s not how I do it.” or “that’s not how I was taught it.” Why are you even asking me to show you then?!! My response has been, “Then just do it the way you were shown. You’ll get the best results with what you are comfortable with” And yes I have gotten at least one, “But I don’t remember how to do it!” (head banging against a brick wall then ensues.)
29. If I am knitting on the train/bus and there are empty seats that aren’t right next to mine, please sit elsewhere, NOT right on top of me (forcing me to move my knitting bag and scrunch in on myself to avoid bumping you.~~stabbing you in the eye with my needles~~ )
30. If you see someone that you do not know knitting (let’s say in a class or on the bus or in public somewhere) do not ask what they can knit you. Yes, I am capable of knitting you a tie / computer case / whatever random thing you think I can’t knit and it is possible but I don’t know you, and I won’t knit you any of these things. The situation is just awkward.
31. In the case that you are married to one or date one or for share money or something – do not bother said knitter about buying yarn and accessories. There is a reason I need different sizes of needles – yes, there really is – and if I buy the yarn, I can use it in the future. It’s not like chicken or something where if I don’t eat it all in a week it’s going to magically disappear. I promise – the yarn will NOT go to waste.
32. If you are a husband, do not offer your wife’s knitting services to others. Do not say to your mother, “Mom, my wife can knit that for you if you ask.” She does NOT want to knit that for your mom. or your grandmother. or your sister.
33. If you are a sister-in-law, do not say, ”I’d like for you to knit a sweater for my daughter.” I’ve never knit a sweater before and if I wanted to knit a sweater, I’d knit one for myself first.
34. If you are the often mean grandmother-in-law, do not say, ”I’ll pay you to knit me a scarf. I’ll pay for the yarn.” What about paying me for the time?! And do not say, “I wish the first scarf you knit for me when I became your new granny was brown not blue because I don’t own enough blue things to match it.” And don’t look at the scarf I made a mutual friend with envy. It makes me feel bad that you obviously don’t appreciate the hard work that went into choosing that specific color and pattern for you.
35. If you are a friend who guilted me into giving you a scarf off my neck, then WEAR IT! Let me see you wearing it. It makes me feel bad that you never wear it. Why make me give it to you if you won’t wear it?!
36. If you are a friend of a knitter and you are getting married soon, and your knitter puts something lacy away when you come over (which was going to be a wedding present, actually), do not say “oh my god you’re not kitting me a wedding dress, are you”. Unless of course you wish to spend eternity on the “DNK” list.
37. If a knitter is staring intently at your socks/sweater/hat/bag because it was obviously knitted, feel free to ask them what’s wrong. When they say “oh, sorry, I’m a knitter and that’s an interesting stitch pattern on your item there”, please do not look at them as if they sprouted five extra heads and then back away slowly. If you weren’t freaked out by them staring in the first place, why the hell is the fact that they enjoy knitting so weird?
38. If you have a friend who knits, it does not give you the right to then demand every item of knitwear that happens to pop into your head whenever you please. Your knitter friend does not care that you saw a hat on an episode of Bones that was ”so cute”, and will not be buying/renting/borrowing the DVDs to look through every episode, figure out which hat you meant, write a pattern just for you, and then make you said hat, just for the privilege of your company.
39. If your girlfriend spends $30 on baby alpaca to make you the most awesome winter hat evar, this does not give you license to offer her services to your acquaintances from class, and certainly not at no charge. Do not throw a temper tantrum when she refuses to knit for six people she has never even met, and do not express shock when she suggests that she might be willing to do so if said people planned to pay her a fair price for her work. “I am not a sweatshop,” she will say, and she will be right. (In fact this inspires me to a long-winded feminist rant about the way men feel entitled to women’s time and work, as if it is theirs to dispense among their friends and acquaintances with impunity–“Thanks so much for helping me with this, I’ll have my wife bake you a pie”–but I will spare you for now.)
40. The words “Why would anyone ever want to knit socks?” should never pass your lips. Only people who have not experienced the utter awesomeness that is a properly-fitting pair of hand-knit socks would ever think to utter such a sentence. If you say it, you guarantee that you will never know that joy.
41. Do not EVER tell me not to knit because YOU don’t think it’s appropriate, I answer to a higher authority… the Saint VERUCA! or Goddess (your choice)

Chapter 7: Respect (and use) the knitwear

1. Giftee should never disrespect anything that the knitter has given them. As in tossing on the floor, throwing in the laundry (unless superwash), forgetting that it was you that gave it to them, giving it away to someone else that admires it, sending it off to thrift shop because you really didn’t like the (color, fit, texture, it’s wool) whatever.
2. If a knitter takes the time to hand-knit you something, please don’t just pack it away because it’s “too nice” or you “don’t want to ruin it.” We knit it for you to enjoy and use, and not using whatever we’ve made for you makes us feel like it wasn’t loved.
3. If you decide to help out by doing laundry, look at what you’re throwing in the washer/dryer. If you’re in doubt about whether something will be safe in there, then ask, for Bob’s sake! Nothing like seeing hours and hours of loving work reduced to a felted lump. sniff
4. If you are 6 years old, don’t throw the mittens your Mom made onto the roof of your school, even if “all the other guys were doing it”. Especially if there are workmen up there tarring the roof.

Chapter 8: Proposal of knitting for sale

1. Please resist the urge to tell the knitter that they could make “so much money” selling their finished objects for the amount you would be willing to pay for that object, usually less than $25. First of all, we’ll think you’re just silly that you think $25 is “so much money”; secondly, we very likely spent more than that on just the yarn; and thirdly, you are displaying your ignorance of how much time and work I’ve put in. Suggesting that your handknit socks are worth any monetary amount under $500 is grounds for removal from the knitworthy list.

Chapter 9: Respect the Designer

1. When your knitter gives you a wonderful gift, it is wonderful that you wear it. It is also wonderful that you brag on your knitter. And I can’t tell you how impressed your knitter is that you finally realize knitting takes money and time, and your knitter will not be loaned out, nor pressed into servitude producing gifts for you to hand out. However… when your friends ogle your wonderful handknit and think that they’d like to “make one just like that”–do not volunteer your knitter to photocopy her pattern and hand it round! In most cases this is clear copyright violation and is tantamount to stealing money right out of the designer’s pocket. It doesn’t matter that your knitter “already has the pattern just sitting around”. It doesn’t matter that your knitter has a home copier. It doesn’t even matter that no one will know. It is wrong, and your knitter will not do it and then you will have to explain to all your friends that they won’t be getting a freebie pattern after all. ps– if you ask nicely, I’m sure your knitter will be happy to tell you where she purchased her pattern, and then your friends can go buy their own copy.

Chapter 10: Respect the Yarn Store

1. If you go into a yarn store, browse all you want. ENJOY all the yummy yarns you want, but please do NOT tell me you can get it cheaper at a craft store or on the net. ALSO, please don’t come in, ask me to help you find something, then ask for a piece of paper and pen so you can write the yarn info down because you “buy all my yarns on E-bay.”

Chapter 11: Template for Those Who Don’t Want You to Knit for Them

1. “My beloved (wife/husband/girlfriend/partner/mum/sister) I am so impressed by your new found enthusiasm for (knitting/crochet/spinning/buying yarn and going ‘oooh’) and I deeply respect and cherish this. When you said last night that you wanted to make me a (hat/scarf/sweater/pair of socks/really nice pair of fingerless gloves you saw on Knitty) and you had already picked out some (Malabrigo/Wollmeise/Sundara/exotic sounding fibre that makes you go all obsessive and slightly scary) for it, I was filled with great love for you. However, I have a (yarn allergy/dislike of knitted items/dislike of items that can’t be machine washed and dried/phobia of handcraft dating back to a nasty incident in my youth involving a darning needle) and I fear that whatever you make for me, I will find it too hard to enjoy the end product. I recognise that your willingness to include me on your list of people to knit for makes me the luckiest person alive, and I am filled with love right now, but I would not want you to spend all that (time/effort/money/stash) making something for me that I am too (ignorant/careless/weird) to appreciate. Instead, why not (buy yourself some yarn/sit down and put your feet up while I make dinner/enjoy these chocolates I bought you) and knit something for yourself so I can admire you in it?”

Chapter 12: On Receiving Knitting Instruction/ Advice

1. Do not automatically assume that, just because someone knits, he/ she will be delighted to teach you.

Should the knitter agree to teach you, do not then turn around and mock the knitter and/or the craft in front of other non-knitting people (“lame-o little old lady stuff” is a particularly noxious description). Definitely not cool.