March On!

Have we had a few days of really, really cold temperatures lately? Brrr and yes, but the sun is high and strong and the very near future promises much warmer weather. Yeeha! So, we’ll march on through the month readying ourselves for what’s to come…..sowing seeds, turning over soil, boiling sap into maple syrup goodness.I’m not going to squander a minute of March. Before long we’ll be doing that “sun up til sun down” thing we do every year. I’m using these last days of winter (yes, soon to be spring) to finish all the wool spinning and dyeing, all the knitting and felting, all the rummaging through boxes of family papers, all the reading (thank you Rick H. for the package of books you sent!!) I can muster before it’s too late. This past weekend both Liberty Tool Company and Liberty Graphics opened their doors for another season. This is great for all those who travel to Maine looking for something special to bring home…like a smoothing plane, or a mortising chisel, or a really nice locally printed tee-shirt. For us locals, we wait all winter for the village to show signs of life again. After a winter of staying close to home, gathering at Liberty Graphics for a cup of coffee and a good chat is a sure sign of revitalization.
Even our chickens seem to have a pep in their step, grooming the landscape for spring morsels. Deep snow and cold temperatures keep them close to the coop until the bare ground starts appearing. Then the door is flung open and out they come, busy the rest of the day rototilling through the gardens and the woods.
Enjoy your days, peek out into the gardens, tip your face to the sun….spring’s a comin!

Fleece Flower and Puck’s Fleece

Persicari polymorpha

One of the most striking plants in bloom at the nursery right now is Fleece flower or Persicaria polymorpha, syn.(Polygonum polymorpha). Native to the highlands of China and Japan, this knotweed is unlike any of the others. It is not a garden thug, does not spread viciously, and does not seed out in an invasive way. Instead, it forms a large clump 4-6′ high and often as wide. It is covered with white astilbe-like flowers throughout the summer. Given the space in full sun to part shade, you will have a very large perennial that certainly draws a lot of attention in the garden.
The other fleece we are admiring right now is Puck’s fleece. Puck is one of our rams who has been servicing another flock over the last year. His fleece is the last one to be picked over and readied for washing later in the summer. Puck is a Blue Face Leicester with a bit of Cormo breeding as well. His fleece is very soft and lustrous, and I am looking forward to spinning it. A good rainy day project was to spread his fleece out in the greenhouse to remove any manure and chaff. Emily helped with this task and was quite good at picking out even the smallest bit of vegetable matter. Thanks Emily! At the moment, we are sourcing a new ram for breeding this fall. It’s time to bring some new genetics to the flock and Puck will be moving on to meet some new ladies and earn his keep on a new farm. Of course, we will be continuing with the Blue Face Leicester breed. We appreciate the quality of the fleece this breed offers, it is long, lustrous, and soft, with good crimp. All favorable qualities for spinning and felting. They are also a quiet breed to work with, our ewes are quite friendly and docile. We will let readers know when the new ram appears on the scene!