Lenora Jenkins Designs

Introducing my boys

I have been spending more time this week farming, than designing. We are into our fourth week of calving, so hopefully things will settle down soon.

I have been spending a lot of time with my boys, let me introduce you.

This is George. I fell in love with him the moment I saw him. Those little white dots beneath his eyes, and the most gorgeous inky black wool. But George is a cautious fellow, and it is taking a bit to win him over. He is the last to come for his feed, and the first to startle.

 

 

This is Arthur. Arthur is the risk taker. The first to be bold enough to approach me. When they first arrived, it was like there was an agreement. They had talked long and hard in the trailer on the way home. WE WILL NOT BE TAMED. THEY WILL NOT GET CLOSE. But Arthur was the brave one, he came forward for the feed without waiting for me to leave.  Like George he is a Corriedale, but not as black. The tips of his wool do not give a true indication of his colour. His wool is a lovely smokey grey, the same colour you see on his forehead. I love Arthur, and just wish I could give him a big cuddle.

 

And this is Harold. Harold is definitely the boss. He is Corriedale with some English Leicester thrown in, so his wool has a slight stringy curl to it, and his hairstyle is quite 'Crusty the Clown..ish'. When he first arrived he was nothing but a Harold. Very stern, very controlled, very much the boss. I never thought I would be able to tame him, but boy has he dropped the cool act. He is so funny he makes me laugh. He lets me touch him while he eats, and he even Baaa's at me when I leave. I think he will soon be a Harry, not a Harold. I love him too. 

It has surprised me how quickly they have come to know and trust me. My family are laughing,  saying it does not have much to do with me, it is more about the pail of oats that I am feeding them. They may be a little bit right, but I think they do like me.

I love looking at the beautiful crimp in the wool.

They already have about 3 - 4 inches of wool, and will not be shorn until October. 

I keep mentioning that we could convert from dairy into sheep, but my conversation is falling on deaf ears. Looks like it is just Arthur, George and Harold for now.

Have a great weekend,

Lenora X

A momentous day.

I went on a road trip yesterday. The roadside started flat,

 

then changed to hills.

Some sights made me laugh,

others worry.

But the best part was arriving home.

Luckily it didn't matter that I went for two and came home with three.

When I tucked Mr 7 into bed last night he said "Mum, I love them already", and I said " I do too".

And they are just as lovely this morning.

Lenora X.

One, Two....Three!!!

Full on excitement here. Our first ever set of Triplets. 

Triplets are rare in the world of cows. At first we thought they were two identical heifers and one bull, but today we can see they are clearly three fraternal calves.  Mum is doing a great job, especially as it is her first calving.

And there is other exciting news.

'The Sheep Paddock' is officially taking shape. We have been super busy trimming hedges, levelling ground and removing rocks. There is still a bit of work to do, but at last it is starting to happen.

I have been busy spinning lots of different fleece, trying to establish what breed is going to be the best to run. I find some wools quite prickly, so much so that I can't wear them. I need to have sheep that will grow fleece that I know I can wear and enjoy.

This is what I have spun from a lovely Corriedale fleece that I purchased from here.

I love the smoky grey colour, I cant wait to see how it knits up.

Lenora X.

 

Walking on the other side.

Sorry, my blogging has been rather dismal of late. You see I have hanging out on the other side....caught up in all things woolly.

It all started with Pinterest. So many lovely photos, so many links to blogs and websites. I found myself on a continuous roundabout of woolly wonderment. 

I will not bore you with the chain of events, but one blog led to another, then another and my mind was a whirl wind of thoughts. My thoughts wandered back to my mothers spinning wheel, and I made an inquiring phone call. The next day I welcomed a new member to my family. Let me introduce "Warnie".

(I made the fatal mistake of proclaiming to the family that we needed a name for the spinning wheel. The man of the house instantly yelled "Warnie!....the greatest spinner of all time!" I was thinking something like..... Suzi. But the rest of the house thought that Warnie was the only possible name, so Warnie has stuck. Six against one is totally out numbered.)

The wheel arrived with a huge bag of fleeces......I am not even going to guess the age of them, and since then I have been in another world.

There is so much to learn, like a whole new language. Terms such as 'Mother of all', whorl, scotch tension, and that is just the wheel. Roving, batts, slivers, drum carders, dofflers, s twist, z twist, plying. And then there is the fleece....Merino, Corriedale, Romney, Blue Faced Leicester (? spelling) and so much more. 

Ideally I would love to do a beginners course, but so far I can only find them in the city. So for now I am learning with books and lots of on-line videos. 

I have managed to spin my first yarn,

I think it is absolutely lovely, but hopefully in a few weeks I will be laughing at how terrible it is.

And on top of all that.....wait for it............I am getting some sheep!!!!!

My DH is absolutely pulling his hair out, but I have managed to find a small parcel of land that is not being used and would be perfect. It will take a few weeks, but I can wait. 

So life is good in my neck of the woods, hope yours is too.

Lenora X.