Lambs No Longer Little

Zinnia

Daylily

Daffodil

Rose

Petunia

Hawthorn

He acts like a herd sire already.

Pistache

Such a cute guy.

Bloomin' Blackberries

The thornless blackberries are really producing this year.

A few are turning black already!

After last year's lack of fruit, I couldn't be happier with the promise of a good crop.  We did have a severe drought but I think the low production had more to do with not managing the blackberry canes well. 

After doing some research, I implemented a new plan.  The berries can produce to maximum potential when the shoots out of the ground are in their second year.  So last year I pulled all the canes in this row to this side of the fence.  Keeping them pruned to under 3 feet, I let them grow but they did not produce berries.  I didn't let anything grow on the other side of the fence.

This year, they filled out and then started producing berries ~ lots of them!  All the new canes coming out of the ground are being pulled to the other side of the fence to be next years canes. 

And so the cycle goes ~ every year 1st year canes are on one side not producing and 2nd years canes are on the other side producing blackberries like crazy.  After these canes finish producing they will be cut to the ground making way for the new canes.

I guess it's true we have to grow

before we can bloom.

Skirting a Fleece

I've completed one fleece and spun it into yarn

but this fleece, Ziggy's, is the one that I have been longing to dig my fingers into.

She has very crimpy soft wool

and it's so long for a Jacob Sheep

nearly 6 inches!

It takes quite a bit of work to get it ready to spin though.

First you must skirt it.

That means you remove any unwanted grass & hay.

It's also important to remove small pieces of cut fleece.  These are called second cuts and are produced if the shearer goes over the same area twice while he is removing the fleece from the body of the sheep.  There weren't a lot of second cuts in Ziggy's fleece but there were a few.

Some areas take a while to go through

and some are thrown straight in the trash.

You just take a handful and sort through it removing anything unwanted.

And you end up with small sections of wool that look like this.

Just look at that crimp!

All Ziggy's fleece is now ready to spin.

I'm going to card it together forming shades of gray for a special crochet project that I have been wanting to create.

Celebrating with Cowboy Cupcakes

What a week!  Life has been busy around the Little Red Farmhouse!

Yesterday our boys delivered the last of their steers the butcher.  They bought and raised 10 black angus and have now sold all the beef.  They were happy to bring their 12 months of hard work to a close.

Then we had a special family celebration

not only for Mother's Day

but also Graduation.

Both sides of our family at one long table outside

Our oldest son's 12 year homeschooling education is now complete.  We had non-traditional graduation starting with the fact there was no cap and gown.  When we talked about graduation plans, I was surprised that Jake wanted it that way but he reminded me that none of his schooling has been conventional. 

It ended up being perfect ~

a family barbeque with a western theme

in keeping with the plans he has for his future.

The graduation boy with his great grandmother

The kids rode horses and fed the sheep animal crackers.

And then we ended it all with Cowboy Cupcakes.

Two sweet teenage sisters, Daisy Cakes, made the cutest desserts ever!

Horses Cupcakes &
Black Angus Cattle Cupcakes
with hay bales

Cactus cupcakes in real clay pots

 and even

pasture poo cupcakes

complete with flies!

Some cowboy hat cupcakes for the cowboy himself

rounded up the dessert.

It was a sweet ending for

12 months

& 12 years.

And we even had time to squeeze in a family photo on the front porch.