Did you know our first American Flag was made of wool?  If you know anything about spinning and weaving, you can appreciate the effort that went into making our first American Flag.  That's just part of the process.  To learn more about it and the woman who created it, this is an awesome site. 

http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/#faq 

You can take a virtual tour of Betsy Ross's home, learn facts you might not know about the flag and even learn how to cut a 5 point star with one snip!  Betsy Ross did!

Did you know she outlived 3 husbands and had 7 daughters, all while maintaining her own business?  Her pew at Christ's Church was right next to George Washington's.  Think about the grit it took back then just to survive. 

Independence Day!

Think about it.

Yellow and white with purple splashes!

I really like this one!  Only one bloom and it didn't last long.  I am glad I got the picture.

Feverfew and Peonies

It has been 2 years since I went to Vermont and met up with several total strangers!  Well, they weren't complete strangers.  I had known them from the internet for at least 5 years prior.  I felt like I knew each one of them.  We all gathered in Brattleboro, VT and then took a little trip to see Tasha Tudor's garden.  It is great fun to be able to say I've walked in her garden!  We had a great time.  Memories I will cherish always.

Here is my own flower garden, a work in progress, inspired by Tasha's garden book and then that lovely walk through it for real.

That is the south side of our house.

Some gorgeous irises.

The one below is unreal!  Purple and lavender!

This pair of swallows is nesting in the corner of my garden in a bird house I put up last year.  I have definitely noticed a reduction in the mosquito population.

Tending the house below.

Here's one of the babies looking out at me.  There are at least 2 in the bird house.

 Who couldn't love that face?

The parents, keeping a watchful eye.

This last one I took by sticking the camera lense inside the opening of the bird house.  It came out dark, so I tweaked it a bit.  You can make out one of the babies.

Ok, I'll admit it.  I was never a cheerleader.  I was the mascot.  I've always enjoyed playing dress up and if I am given the chance now, I still would.  When my daughter played basketball in high school, I wanted to secretly be the mascot for one game and not let her know, but this post isn't about that kind of cheerleading.

I am talking about the kind of cheerleader who in everyday life is an encouraging person.  I've decided that we all need at least one cheerleader in our lives and that we should endeavor to be cheerleaders every day.  Just think of the positive impact you might have on someone's life. 

I have some friends who respond rather luke-warmly (OK, coldly) about my plans and projects.  I'll admit it.  It hurts.  There are just some things a person gets excited about and wants to share and then the old eyes roll or the "why would you want to do that" comes out of their mouths......or the silent treatment.  They say nothing.  I always wonder what is going on in their heads, but I am just better off not knowing.  I feel that jealousy and envy are a big part of those responses.  These people are not very good cheerleaders and actually drag me down, way down. 

Then there's my cheerleader friend who responds with "YOU GO GIRL!"  She's always encouraging.  If there is ever any criticism, it's more like a cautious critique.  More like advice.  She always makes me feel like I can do anything. 

You choose.  Do you want to be a cheerleader or a bottom feeder, dragging everyone down with you?  The way you respond can make or break a person's whole day.

I hope you enjoyed the week of sheep pictures.  I took Sunday off and enjoyed friends and family.  We had a fish fry with the fish Chris and Juliana caught at the lake.  Very tasty!

I was going to wrap up sheep week with before and after pictures of the llama.  She had her first shearing ever on Thursday!  She looks like a totally different animal.  I have yet to get the after picture taken, however, so you will just have to wait.  For now I will leave you with my quote of the week. 

      The best way to find good in thyself is to begin to look for good in others.

Unknown

I swear sheep smile!

I was going through my pics the other day and realized I have a lot of sheep pictures.  It shouldn't surprise you.     Some friends once sent me a newspaper from their local area with sheep on the front.  The caption read, "How can you be grumpy looking at sheep?"  In that spirit, I plan to post a sheep a day for a smile.

Humans have a tendency to be negative.  Well, some humans anyway.  We all know that negative breeds negative.  I know people who can not respond positively to anything, literally.  It drags me down.  I wish I knew how to politely respond to those types.  Maybe just being blunt, like hitting them over the head with a clue-by-four! 

This isn't exactly a kindness quote, but here's my quote for the week, having had a large dose of the negative this past week. 

“Nobody really cares if you're miserable, so you might as well be happy.”

Cynthia Nelms

I think this picture speaks for itself.

If you like one or both or even if you don't like either, these are pretty cute!

Good for a smile!

This post goes along with my last post about rude people.  Everywhere I look these days there seems to be a lack of manners and etiquette.  Is it just me?

Yesterday I was sitting in my shop in little old Manhattan, MT.  The population is about 2000, give or take.  For the second day in a row I had a young girl walk in looking to see if we were hiring.  The first girl was put together well and very well-mannered.  That was refreshing.  The second girl walked in with some sort of bottled drink in her hand, skimpy top with spaghetti-string straps and her midriff showing and a huge hole in one knee of her pants!  What was she thinking?  Did she actually think I would hire her looking like that even if I happened to be hiring? 

I do remember a class in school where we went over all of this.  I am wondering if this stuff is taught anymore?!

Another thing that has bothered me for some time now is the lack of etiquette regarding wedding and baby showers.  Again, is it just me?  I was raised that the mother of the bride DOES NOT give the bride-to-be a shower.  Same goes for baby showers and while were at it, what about a shower for the second child?  No one ever gave me a shower for my second child and Lord knows I could have used one with my first being a boy and second being a girl.  It was just not proper etiquette to give a formal shower for a second birth.  Has etiquette changed in that respect, because if it has, I need to know!?

I have one personal rule that I have stuck by since my teens.  I don't give wedding gifts for "shack jobs".  If two people are already living together, I feel they certainly must have all they need to make a home.  I am not sure if Emily Post, the Queen of etiquette has anything to say on that topic, but I would like to refer you to her.   Here you can get all sorts of advice you never knew you needed!  Her Etiquette Daily looks interesting too!

Rude people have been a topic of conversation here of late.  I am not sure why people find it in themselves to be rude.  It takes much less effort to be kind and polite.  I found this quote and thought it fitting.  Think about it the next time you encounter a rude person.

Rudeness is the weak man's immitation of strength.

Eric Hoffer

I do believe I've blogged about this before, but I am going to blog again! 

My husband has been very diligent about staying with the sheep wagon project.  My dad was here for over 2 weeks last month and we got A LOT done on the wagon, but there's still much to do.  The interior is almost complete and then I get to decorate.  The painting of the exterior still needs done, but that will come soon.  The exciting part is the name we uncovered on the side of the wagon.  It was made by the Winona Wagon Co. in Winona, MN.  The kind people at their local museum sent me some history and we've discovered the youngest the wagon can be is from 1926.  That's when the company closed. 

There are so many other things that need to be done before we can accept guests here. 

An outhouse (I've purchased a composting toilet on craigslist for 1/2 the money).  Chris is headed to pick up an outhouse today.  Actually 3 of them.  I bought them at a garage sale.    I figured we can incorporate them into the plan somehow or sell off what we don't use.  There's got to be a need for outhouses out there, don't you think?    (Actually one I plan to use as a garden shed!

A cook shack.  I've got it in my head what I want, it's just getting that built.......

A shower.  I really want to do a solar shower.  I need to do a little more research on that!

A website.  I am working on that, but it's been frustrating.

 Guests.  Wanna sleep in an antique sheepherder's wagon?

As I was sitting and poking wool this morning with a felting needle, the thought occurred to me that I hadn't blogged much about farm life lately. 

Things are really growing around here, especially the weeds.  I am waging a personal battle with them this year!  The thistles are just about to get the best of me. 

I've got most of my garden planted but ran into some snags with the corn and beans.  Hurry up and wait (for someone else) and then your original plan doesn't work out so you go to plan B anyway.  Some days (weeks) are like that.

My meat birds (Cornish cross) arrived on Monday, June 1.  I got 100 of them.  So begins the process of raising them up for the freezer.  It will take all summer since I like to grow them slow.  At 11 days old they are already acting like vultures!  I need to cut their commercial grower back and add in some ground grains.  That will slow them down a bit.

I had a hen hatch out 4 baby chicks last week.  I just love to have a hen and her chicks roaming around the yard.  They are so fun to watch.

My lambs are growing by literally and figuratively by leaps and bounds.  My plan for a new ram has worked well for growth.  Some of my lambs are already the size of their mothers.  We plan to band this weekend if the weather is nice.  That is the process of putting bands on their tails and male parts.  It needs to be done soon since they are getting so big.  I am pleased with their growth.

We have been (I say we, but it's mostly Chris) working hard on the sheepherder's wagon to get it ready for rent.  We still have a lot of other stuff to do to get the Farm Stay off the ground, but we are hoping to be able to rent it out this summer yet.  It is coming along nicely and I can't wait to show you the pictures of it.

Well, off to get my corn planted!  It's now or never.  I may not see a crop at this rate!