While we are not (yet) willing to venture into the land of larger livestock, we are benefiting from neighbors who are!  We currently have two sweet cows grazing in our front pasture: Gladis and Erin, both due to calf in mid June.  We have been oh so carefully crossing the thick electric wire with a tray full of grain hoping to gain their trust.  So far it seems to be working as they usually finish up and then hound us for more, chasing us to the finish line.

And my most direct neighbors are becoming fully stocked with fleeces these days.  Their herd is growing and we never miss a shearing.  It is really so fun to watch the whole process!  I FINALLY got around to washing this one she gave me from last fall.  You may remember a little midwifery I got to practice…  Well this is the babe I helped to welcome earth side.  I love this fleece and look forward to running it through a friends drum carder.  It is full of deep browns and silvery whites and even some patches of black.  It will make an interesting batch of yarn without a doubt.  Lee built me a few sizable screens to dry them on and I set them on the cinder blocks originally intended for the maple syrup arch, then morphed into cold frame and now a good sturdy drying rack.  They have certainly gotten there moneys worth at this point.

I really do look froward to the day where we can have a family cow, or a few sheep to keep me knitting and now is not the time.  Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free???  (Or at least a really, really good price.)