Socks, Pears, and Cria Watch
My day job has this very odd work schedule with rotating days off. Once per month, I have a stretch where I work seven days straight. Given I have a fairly physical, outdoor job, I can be exhausted by the end of that seven-day stretch. Yesterday was day seven of seven. Temperatures were in the high 90's. I'm tired.
I have been promising sock pictures. Here is a picture of my sock progress.
Yes, I am actually knitting a sock. The yarn is cheap Walmart cotton. There is no sense learning this many new skills at once using handspun alpaca. I've not knit that much yet, so knitting is still new. I've never knit in the round or with double-pointed needles before, so this is new. I've never knit a sock, mitten or hat before, so that's new. I am now as far as the heel of my knit sock – further than I ever got in my attempts to crochet a sock. Once I'm past the heel, there will be ribbing – another new knitting trick. I'm learning, and believe it or not, I'm enjoying the sock.
The figs are past and the pears are now in full swing.
Today's project – in addition to cleaning up the pastures from a week of neglect and recovering from seven days of lifting landscape blocks – is processing pears. Plans call for 1) washing at least three buckets of pears and putting them out to ripen, 2) slicing enough pears to fill the fruit dryer with dried pears, 3) starting a pot of blackberry-pear waffle syrup and 4) pick at least three more buckets of pears.
We're still on cria watch and hoping the girls hold off for a couple weeks. It's just too hot for new cria right now. Of course, it's also too hot to be pregnant and any of you who have been pregnant during hot weather can probably sympathize with just how Jubilee and Ipo Nani are feeling. They're not comfortable. We're seeing all the normal signs of late pregnancy, but no signs of labor.
I have been promising sock pictures. Here is a picture of my sock progress.
Yes, I am actually knitting a sock. The yarn is cheap Walmart cotton. There is no sense learning this many new skills at once using handspun alpaca. I've not knit that much yet, so knitting is still new. I've never knit in the round or with double-pointed needles before, so this is new. I've never knit a sock, mitten or hat before, so that's new. I am now as far as the heel of my knit sock – further than I ever got in my attempts to crochet a sock. Once I'm past the heel, there will be ribbing – another new knitting trick. I'm learning, and believe it or not, I'm enjoying the sock.
The figs are past and the pears are now in full swing.
Today's project – in addition to cleaning up the pastures from a week of neglect and recovering from seven days of lifting landscape blocks – is processing pears. Plans call for 1) washing at least three buckets of pears and putting them out to ripen, 2) slicing enough pears to fill the fruit dryer with dried pears, 3) starting a pot of blackberry-pear waffle syrup and 4) pick at least three more buckets of pears.
We're still on cria watch and hoping the girls hold off for a couple weeks. It's just too hot for new cria right now. Of course, it's also too hot to be pregnant and any of you who have been pregnant during hot weather can probably sympathize with just how Jubilee and Ipo Nani are feeling. They're not comfortable. We're seeing all the normal signs of late pregnancy, but no signs of labor.
posted by Upper Alpacas | 1:45 PM
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