Logo

This is the logo on the canvas bags that were given as BOB prizes at the UARC specialty.  The other side of the bag had the win, date & place.  I think they turned out very nice.

REAL Shepherds Pie

1 deepdish pie shell
1# roast lamb, cooked until tender and shredded
1 bag frozen stirfry veggies with asparagus
salt, pepper to taste
3 C prepared mashed potatoes
1 C shredded sharp cheddar

Place in pie dish in this order, bake at 350 for one hour.  I cooked the lamb roast in a crockpot, and included a small amount of the juices with the lamb meat.   This is absolutely delicious!

One of the "S" bridges on old US Rt 40 roadbed

This one is about 10 miles east of Cambridge(OH) just off Bridgewater Road.  It can actually still be driven across.  There is another on the west side of Cambridge, pictured HERE 

My birthday presents

Have I mentioned I LOVE red?   Now I have a RED microwave!  LOVE IT!

Plus, Chuck let me get 6 more BFL ewes from my friend, Kathy Davidson @ Potosi in Glenrock, PA. 
They are just beautiful!   Meet Elsie, Esme, Carrah, Cecelia, Isacara, and Islay.  2 yearlings, 4 two year old ewes. I drove over on Saturday evening, stayed in York, PA, and then went to Kathy's in the AM to study pedigrees and admire her flock.   We loaded my choices into the truck, and 6 hours later, the girls hopped of the truck and immediately began grazing.  Gotta love these BFLs - nothing fazes them.  See how well rested and content they look this morning? 

Rabbit with cabbage and apples

1 rabbit, cut into serving pieces
flour, oil
salt and pepper & your favorite seasonings (sage, oregano,sweet basil, thyme, rosemary)
2 c cabbage, shredded
2 c apples, your choice of type, peeled, cored and sliced
1 c apple cider

Season some flour to taste with your favorite seasonings. Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet.
Roll the rabbit in the flour and add to the hot oil.
Cook until browned on all sides. Remove and drain on paper towels.
In a slow cooker, layer in the cabbage, rabbit, apples, cabbage, etc.
Pour in the cider.
Cook on high for 5 – 6 hours or until the cabbage and rabbit is tender.

Congrats to Kim and Somerhill Belle!

Kim Witherow of This'n That Farm Angoras from Mayville, NY won Best Reserve In Show with her Red Satin Angora Sr. Doe at the Niagara Frontier Show A in Batavia, NY on Saturday, September 17. The Doe's name is Somerhill Belle.

CONGRATULATIONS TO KIM!   This would be Maximo and Virichic's earlier litter, born in March.  She is a full sibling to the litter I have for sale right now.  Here is a picture of the March litter.

This monster and its mate were terrorizing a poor local landowner, so I sent our fearless wildlife specialist out to remove the menace and save the day! 
(this snake is about 5 inches long)

A Wool Gathering

Some of the yarns I had for AWG last weekend. (thanks to friend Annette for the photo)  All but 3 skeins sold, and most of the white, too.  Sales were crazy Saturday - I had so much fun!  Almost all the dyed locks sold, too, and the last of my washed BFL fleece that I had intended to dye in shades of red and have made into roving.
The only bad thing was that the white roving I had planned to have for the show did not arrive from the processor as expected.  :^(    So when it shows up, I should have about 10-11# of beautiful white roving available.

See you this weekend?

Off to A Wool Gathering in the morning as a vendor.  Hope to see some of my friends there!  

Lamb Meatballs & greens on ciabatta

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 bunch Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, large stems removed
2 cloves garlic
Salt and ground black pepper
1# lamb meatballs (recipe here)
1/2 of a small head romaine, cut-up or torn
6 ciabatta rolls, split and toasted

In a food processor or blender combine oil, lemon juice, parsley, and garlic; cover and process until finely chopped. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Transfer parsley mixture to a large skillet; add meatballs and heat through, covered, over medium heat, stirring and spooning sauce over meatballs occasionally.
.Place one ciabatta roll, toasted side up, on each plate. Top with shredded romaine. Remove meatballs from skillet with a slotted spoon; place atop romaine. Drizzle warm parsley mixture over meatballs

Take a "Pie in the Eye" for conservation

Here are some pictures of the event at the fair last night.  We had a nice crowd, and over 150 plates of whipped topping were tossed at our poor, hapless (victims) volunteers. 

My two co-workers

Van Slack, our technician, and Joe Lehman, our Wildlife Specialist.
This is our display at the county fair - we have a nice garden shed, a pond and waterfall, and some pretty stone retaining walls.   Tomorrow night, some teachers, a county commissioner, the city mayor, and possibly county sheriff will be targets for whip cream pies.  The money raised goes to support our conservation day camp.  The event is called  "Take a Pie in the Eye for Conservation"

Safari's kits

There are still six - its a cool morning and they kept trying to snuggle back down in bed.

Somerhill Fleur de Lis

Twin daughter of Somerhill Lockerbie AI and Somerhill China AI.  HERE is her baby picture. 

Fall is here - apples and cider arrive at the market

Grilled Lamb Chops with Garlic, Rosemary, and Thyme

6 lamb  chops, about 1 inch thick
sea salt to taste to season cooked lamb chops

Marinade:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 T chopped fresh rosemary
1 T chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp. garlic puree or minced fresh garlic
2 T olive oil
fresh ground black pepper to taste

 Combine marinade ingredients. Place lamb chops inside small ziploc bag, pour marinade in, and marinate 1-4 hours.
Preheat gas or charcoal barbecue grill to high heat. (You can only hold your hand there for 1-2 seconds at that heat.) Grill lamb chops about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Cooking time will depend on the thickness of the lamb chops and how hot your grill is. Season with sea salt to taste and serve hot.

For Melissa - copper Satin Angora buck

Malabar State Park and more yarn

Last night I took off from work a little early and drove north to Malabar Farm State Park (near Mohican).  My friend Anne had asked me to do a presentation for her spinning guild on raising sheep.  I talked for almost 45 minutes, and several people stood around afterwards asking questions and admiring the yarn and wool I'd brought.  (they gave up eating cookies and cake to talk to me - hehe)  I really enjoyed it - but driving home 2.5 hours in the rain and very dark country made me sleepy.  I made it home safely just before 11PM. 
Her guild meets monthly, and also has some events on the weekend throughout the year.  Next time they do that, I need to go back up and spend more time looking at the displays and learning more about the farm and its original owner, Louis Bromfield. 

Today

Today I will finish washing all the wool from this year's wool clip.  I should have it dry and ready to ship to Stonehedge for white roving on Tuesday morning.   I also have some more skeins to dye, although I am running low on some of my favorite dye colors.  Maybe 2011 is the year I finally use up all the old Cushing dyes I have collected over the past 20 years!  

Yesterday, the temperature topped out at 100 degrees!   Today, we have 82 predicted, with thunderstorms approaching.  Tomorrow, the high should be 65.   The rest of the week is to be in the upper 60s and 70s.

New Yarns

Getting ready for A Wool Gathering

Safari's kits

By popular demand (ouch, Vici, you are hurting my arm)
Here are the new kits.  Black, chocolate agouti, red, and one is lighter, like a fawn or dilute. 
We'll see. 

Guess what I'm doing?

"I can't decide whether to build my nest or eat the dandelion greens mom gave me....."

As it turns out, she decided on the nestbuilding, and Safari had 6 new babies yesterday.
Looks like a black, and some reds. Some of the reds have a chocolate cast to them, so maybe I'll get some of my favorites - the wideband chocolate agoutis with lots of rufus. Safari is a chocolate agouti, and the sire is Max, who is red. These are Max's last kits for me, as he bred Safari on his way out the door, headed for California!

Fall Rabbit stew

1  rabbit, cut into 6 pieces

 6 Carrots, peeled and chunked
1 Butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
 3 Onions, cut into quarters
 7 Potatoes, cut into chunks
Salt to season
2 T Cornstarch

Take a large pan and fill three cups water (or chicken broth), bring to the boil, then carefully add the  rabbit.
Bring to boil again and simmer for 5 minutes skimming off anything that floats to the top.  Add carrots, onions, potatoes, and simmer for 1.5 hours.  Add squash and simmer 30 minutes longer.
Remove from heat.  Remove rabbit pieces, allow to cool slightly, & remove bones.  Meanwhile, make a paste with the cornstarch and used to thicken the stew.  Return rabbit to stew, heat through, and serve.

Hawk, again

This time, she was at the bottom of the driveway, perched on a fencepost beside our mailbox.  I was able to drive up fairly close before it took off and flew across the yard, within feet of the house, and back into the ravine behind the house.  I heard it calling while I was in the barn doing my morning chores.  We think she is an immature Redtail - I say she because she is pretty large.