Photo Fun

Truly, I have been doing some fibery stuff lately and will post soon. In the meantime, enjoy these "artsy" photos taken on yet another marvelous ride, this time back at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill where I went riding with Marti, my husband, and daughter.

Dreamy Ride

I had this dream the other night that I was riding a smooth-gaited horse through acres of wildflowers with my daughter and two wonderful friends at side.... no, wait, it wasn't a dream! We had a fantastic, laid-back ride at Shaker Village the other day with the most picture-perfect blue sky, pleasant temperatures, and wildflowers at their peak (the photos don't do them justice). And the horses.... they all behaved exquisitely!

My friend Marti has a very, very special paint horse named MuMu (McHippus), and his training has been thoughtful and slow. Its been a huge step for Marti and Mu to be "out" with other horses on real trails, and they are doing beautifully.

I so admire Marti's patience, as well as the dedication that MB is showing to help them along, and can't wait until we do it again!

As always, we had a great picnic... well, everything couldn't be perfect- the wine bottle broke in the saddle bag, first time that's ever happened! Must have been a Shaker ghost around, voicing their disapproval.

Mirian with her patient steed, Gringo

Equines on the Equinox

MB and Marti and I headed out to Shaker Village on the first day of fall, though the weather was a far cry from"fall-ish" at 94 degrees! We've ridden the trails of Shaker Village before, but were especially drawn there this time because the United States Equestrian Team's Endurance Team has been training there and we hoped to watch a bit.We didn't get to see much training going on, as apparently this last week before the competition the team mostly just tries to maintain fitness, letting the horses rest up for their 100 mile ride against other mostly Arabian horses and riders from around the world! I'm excited that I'll be volunteering on Endurance Day (Sunday), and hope to have more to report. Yeah, there's going to be a lot of horse activity on this site for a while with the World Equestrian Games countdown at just one more day!They couldn't have picked a nicer place to train, as the trails of Shaker Village are just beautiful! As always, the best parts were being with my good friends and my favorite mount, Sunday.
We always enjoy telling lots of good secrets and stories...lunch and fellowship....
a few good canters...
meeting other horse lovers out on the trail...cooling off in the creek (though there wasn't much flowing water to be found since it's soooo dry)
and giving my sweet boy Sunday a kiss on his soft nose from time to time. It was a hard day to beat!

Fall.... Festivals and FIBER!

Hand-dyed and homegrown alpaca yarn

Yesterday I started a day of working in my fiber studio early, having anticipated some quiet time in which I hoped to get a lot of felting and dyeing done (and I did!). I've got a few days to catch my breath during the week now, with the kids well back into the school groove, but weekends will be nuts for a while.

Hand-dyed and hand-felted silk and alpaca shawl

This coming weekend is the Midway Fall Festival and I always like to have a lot of handmade inventory ready. I'll have alpacas there, along with yarn and fiber, felted hats, woolly soaps, cat toys, nuno felt scarves and shawls, socks, purses, sweaters, blankets, etc. Please introduce yourself if we haven't yet met! In addition, next weekend (the 25th and 26th), Seldom Scene Farm will be at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill for Alpaca Farm Days. We'll be set up with about 15 other Kentucky alpaca breeders to celebrate Alpaca Harvest Weekend and National Alpaca Farm Days at Shaker Village. This is a beautiful setting and always a lot of fun, and I'll have lots of products and alpacas there as well.
Hand-dyed and hand-felted alpaca and silk scarf

As you can see, my colorways have a decidedly fall theme. I love fall for many of the reasons that my friend Dianne does! Hopefully there'll be a bit of crispiness in the air this weekend to get everyone in the fall spirit!

Alpaca Farm Days

This week I've been getting ready for Alpaca Farm Days, including Kentucky Alpaca Farm Day at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill on Saturday from 10-5 and an Open House here at Seldom Scene Farm on Sunday from 12-4.

Saturday's activities at Shaker Village include animals and products for sale and display from about 20 alpaca farms, an Alpaca Fiber Arts Show, demonstrations and free seminars, and Alpaca Games. It's also Apple Harvest Weekend and the weather is supposed to be perfect, so come on out!

Sunday we are having an informal Open House, a great time to tour the farm and see our new crias. Last year, Maisy delivered her cria just as the first guest arrived, and guess what? She's about 4 days overdue right now and just may make a similar presentation this year!

We'll have light refreshments (cookies, apples, and cider) both days. I'm making several batches of the famous Wicked Good Ginger Snaps, a recipe given to me years ago from Carol Cassedy of Whitestone Organic Farm. (My Mom and I always called her Superwoman, as she homeschooled about 5 kids, gardened, quilted, baked, ran a mostly-sustainable farm, gave lectures, etc. and seemingly did it all really well!)

These cookies seem to taste extra good this time of year, and I used Woodford Gold Sorghum that I bought last weekend at the Midway Festival, making them even more tasty. I hope you like them as much as I do!

Wicked Good Ginger Snaps

1 1/2 cups shortening

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup sorghum (I've used molasses as well)

4 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons ground ginger

1 tablespoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons cloves

Additional sugar and cinnamon

Cream shortening: gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs and sorghum. Beat well.

Combine flour, soda, salt and spices in medium mixing bowl, mixing well. Add to creamed mixture, mixing well.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls, and roll in additional sugar and cinnamon. Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 9 minutes. Cool on cookie sheets for 1-2 minutes, remove to wire cooling racks using a spatula and cool completely. Yield: approximately 7 dozen.