Hazy, hot and humid!

We have jumped into summer this week with both feet. We are on day three of temps in the high 80's to 90's with the dewpoint well into the mid 60's. Yuk! By now you know I am a fan of cool to cold temps. It probably is because farming in this kind of weather is much more taxing than in the winter when it is cold. These pictures were taken on the dog walk today and you can see the haze in the air. A cold front is coming through later on this afternoon and strong storms with rain to cool it all down again.

More indigo gals!

I was in Jamaica again, yes, Jamaica, VT last weekend, teaching another group of gals how to dye with indigo. We all met at www.margiesmuse.com/ and set up on the front lawn. It was a gorgeous morning, quite crisp with lots of sun. Around noontime a woman came across the street to say there was a downpour about 15 minutes to the south in Townsend and we may want to move under cover. She was right and there was about that much time to reset on the porch, eat lunch and commence with more dipping. Beautiful blues were created as well as some greens that one student had yarns she dyed with marigold and other flowers and then dipped in indigo. The rain could not wash out the creative juices!

Indigo gals

Last Saturday I traveled to CT to teach the Yankee Fiber Friends guild how to dye with indigo. There were 12 participants, a fantastic pot luck lunch, torrential rains, thunder and lightning, lots of laughter and some fabulous blues! Indigo blues, that is. Thank you one and all!

Historical garment dyeing

One of my dye customers, Barb, sent these pictures showing how she uses natural dyes to create garments for her husband Marvin. He is involved in historical trekking which involves hunting, camping and hiking in pre-revolutionary era clothing and accouterments (flintlock guns, moccasins, etc). Every piece of clothing has to be correct for the period, such as a black walnut dyed linen hunting shirt. They cook and eat the game they hunt, cooking in the style for that period. Here Marvin is cooking squirrel for dinner. Marvin and Barb live in Western Montana and from their land they can hike into state and federal land where they feel like they are back in the late 1700's. The second picture is Marvin showing off his breech cloth which Barb dyed in plum with indigo dyed stripes. The dog in the lower left is their Australian Shepherd who insisted on being in the photo!

Grooving

Pasture season has begun for grazing and haying. The first few days of June we took the flock to one field during the day and brought them back in the evening to their winter barn. Sunday when they came back to the barn, we'd no sooner gotten there when Tybee lay down to chew his cud, then Ashley and Wetherby and before 5 minutes had passed they were all down chewing away. It was so serene and peaceful and then I knew our sheep have very little stress to just lie down so quickly with me present. Comfortable! And Jasper, the second picture....out like a light!

Wetherby loves you!

To Laurel, just want to say hi...so glad you are enjoying the fleece of my labors...my shepherds talk to me everyday about this and that...they wipe the hay from my neck, adjust my coat, change it when it gets tight, scratch my chin and backbone as needed. Life is good! I just keep hearing "Wetherby, if you grow good fleece you can continue to live the life you have grown accustomed to." Sending love to you, xx Wetherby.

To see Laurel's entry about Wetherby click www.say-this-about-that.blogspot.com