Apples Has Arrived and the Year is Quickly Coming to a Close.

Apples, the Welsh pony arrived on the farm about a week and half ago.  She is settling in well and I have to admit I am falling in love with her.  She is very sweet-natured and loves carrots and apples and scratches. She looks much more like a small horse than a pony but it is hard to get a feel for her true size without a person in the photo.  I have not yet ridden her since she arrived as I still don't have quite the right tack.  I need crucial things like reins for my bridle and a girth for my saddle.  I ordered a riding helmet for myself for Christmas.

She has quite a fuzzy winter coat on and she and Bodhi are getting used to each other.  She did kick at him when we was sniffing around her back end, but she was not mean and nasty about it.  It was definitely a warning however.  I have also seen him give her the "if you come any closer I will spit at you" body language.  But they seem to be getting along just fine. 

  I am concerned about Bodhi.  He will be 19 in April, but he has lost so much weight the last few months that I'm not sure he will last the winter.  He has had a good long life here and is pretty much at the maximum life expectancy for an alpaca.  We'll keep him around as long as he can move around and eat.  I have a coat I will put on him when it gets really cold.  He's always been a favorite of mine.

 Grover and I spend a lot of time walking in the woods.  Rowdy used to go with us and in fact was the catalyst for my getting out and walking in the woods on a regular basis years ago.  But he will be 13 in April and his arthritis is keeping him from enjoying walks, which I find incredibly sad.  Sometimes, though, like this morning, he surprises me and insists on going along.  I love to see him out in the woods sniffing and being a farm dog.  It brings joy to my heart.

Yesterday Grover and I went across Wayne National Forest to the beaver pond.  Along the way, he got the opportunity to practice agility again.

Sometimes I think it would be SO fun to set up an agility trail through the woods with jumps and logs to run across and climb and a tunnel to go through.  Maybe someday I will actually do it.  

The beavers have been incredibly busy this fall.  I think their family must have grown because  there are so many trees that have been felled or are in the process of being cut down. Yesterday we were on the back side of the pond where there are no large trees because almost all of what you will see in the following photos used to be neglected hayfield.  There was also an old house and some buildings until the government came in and removed all traces of them about 8 years ago.  I will try to get out soon on a nice day and take some photos from the road where it is easy to see where the beavers are gnawing through large trees.

 Where Grover is standing is the very back side of the marsh area created by the beavers.  In fact, the water to the extreme left is covering what used to be my walking path.  While I was taking these photos, I was being scolded by an agitated Kingfisher who was obviously unhappy Grover and I were there.  Back in November, I also saw a family of about 8 wood ducks on the pond .  I have never seen that type of duck in our area before and was delighted to see them.  They may have seen the pond as a nice resting place on their migration south.  They were quite lovely.

 Looking to the right from the above photo you can see across the marshy area to the slightly deeper part of the pond.  The beaver lodge is on the far side of this, somewhat centered in the photo.  From the road (which you can see going uphill at a slight angle) we can actually walk right to the beaver lodge.  No one has interfered with it in some time and it has been made larger and there is a nice big "pantry" of limbs in the water close by for easy winter access.  This area in my opinion has been enhanced by the presence of the beaver family and I only hope they are left in peace.  

Here are some small trees near the old house foundation that have been cut and taken for winter food storage.

This closeup is of a young tree probably about 3" in diameter.  You can easily see the teeth marks in the wood.  



I had pretty much finished up any gift knitting until yesterday when I decided I needed to make one more hat.  And then I have another hat promised for New Year's weekend.  Hats are quick.

Both my looms have had projects removed from them.  I finished weaving my Krokbragh sampler, which I love.
But look at all those ends I need to weave in.  This is 17" X 42".  It looks nice in front of the fireplace in our office, so it may end up there after I weave in ends.  Or it may become a bench pad or a pillow.  






And I took 2 scarves off my loom in the home studio.  I am in the process of twisting the fringes on the ends of both of them and then they will be done.  But here is how they looked on the loom.  The pattern is the same on both, but the second one is my favorite because the colors contrast enough for the detail to show well.  

 When I post next, it will be 2018.  There are a lot of changes coming for 2018.  The biggest of course being the arrival of our first grandchild, but our older son will be graduating from college as well as becoming a father, and Sam and I may see some changes in our own lives as well.  I'm looking forward to a great year.