What Greyhounds Do on a Snow Day

Ok, so this is not a greyhound nor was this taken on the snow day, but I needed to put it somewhere in my blog!  Little Bear and I sitting on the porch.

Zenon my Roman nosed boy.

Night

Tucker

Cougar

Riley

Sabre...ok, I am now seeing that I need to wash this dog bed.

Sabre's nose...he is such a ham!

Sabre yet again...for my most obnoxious dog, he really is quite photogenic :)

Yay for a Snow Day in April!

Yesterday the news was all aflutter with a winter storm watch for western New York.  Being a native to this area, this type of weather was not outside the realm of possibility, even considering the fact that we are a week and a half away from May.  I refused to allow the thought of a snow day to even cross my mind, because as we all know, if you think it, it will not happen.  When I woke up this morning, it was still dark, and although it was cold, the morning lacked that feeling of a silent, muted, snow covered morning.  When the dogs came in from their morning rituals, they had snow on them, so I turned on the porch light and saw that there was maybe an inch of snow on the ground, definitely not enough to warrant a day off.  So, I continued my morning ritual, drinking my cup of coffee and preparing mentally for the start of a new week teaching mathematics to adolescents with spring fever and the approaching prom on their minds.  As I was finishing my cup of coffee, the phone rang.  A robotic, automaton voice stated that the school would be closed today.  I jumped for joy!  So, today I will spend the day sitting and spinning and reading.  This was a very pleasant and joyous surprise and something I will not take for granted.  So now, without further ado, here are some photos from the morning, and some photos of my new spinning wheel!     

Macho in the snow...although he can go inside, he seems to like being outside in the snow.  Go figure!

Macho with his icicle wool!

The view from my side porch of the April snow storm.

Riley checking out the new wheel, an Ashford Traditional!

Sabre approves of the new wheel.

Movie Review: Man on Wire

Last week I had the privilege of viewing the documentary "Man on Wire".  The documentary followed the life of Philippe Petit, a French tightrope walker, and his obsession with walking on a tightrope between the twin towers.  When I first heard a description of this film, I will admit that I was not sure how interesting 90 minutes of a guy tightrope walking would be.  However, after hearing a review of the film on NPR, I figured it would be worth giving it a shot.  What a wonderful film I almost missed out on!  The film not only shows him walking between the towers, which is a mesmerizing site in and of itself, it follows his years of planning a caper to trespass into the towers with a team of people and a huge tightrope all while having to escape detection by security guards and cops.  Philippe is a charismatic character who, along with a team that is as varied as it is unique, takes the viewer on a journey of fantasy, suspense, humor, and amazement as he strives to accomplish his dream.  You will not be disappointed in this film!

What a week!

This past week was our spring break from school.  What better time to do some intensive work on the farm!  The break began with what seemed a herculean task...cleaning out the shed and the basement.  I needed to clear out the shed to prepare a place for the sheep and the llama and I needed to clean out the basement so I would have a place to put what came out of the shed.  Oh, did I not mention the llama before this?  That is a story for another post, but suffice it to say I was getting a llama to help guard my sheep.  Anyhow, after what felt like hours and hours of hauling stuff from the shed, to the basement, and from the basement to the dump, I finally had everything prepared for the new family members.  On Tuesday April 10th, Mimi, Nan, and I drove in Nan's minivan down to Bliss, NY to pick up a llama named Macho from Terry and Gloria.  Terry and Gloria are a very sweet couple who, due to unforeseen health issues, were unable to keep their llamas.  Macho is a gelded male who they felt would make an excellent guard llama.  After visiting and getting the necessary details about Macho's care, we loaded him up in the minivan and were on our way.  Below are a couple of photos taken from our journey!

Macho riding in the van...I never knew a llama
was so good at riding in the van!

  Macho eating right away!

Then the following day, Wednesday April 11, Nan and I drove back down to Freedom, NY to pick up the three lambs!  This has truly been an amazing journey and I am looking forward to what is to come.  Below are some more photos of the sheep.  Enjoy!

Jack meeting Macho for the first time!

Macho, in all his glory, guarding Jack.  Macho is an excellent guard llama!

Jack is sooooooo heavy!  He was about 50 pounds when this photo was taken.

Weeble and her mama.

Here are some long overdue photos of one of my visits to Sandy's farm, Longmeadow Farm.

Preparing Dozer for a medical exam from the vet.

Here is Buddy, Sandy's wether, as she prepares to shear him.

He has gorgeous wool which Sandy has dyed and now has for sale!

Buddy's fleece :)