Kleinen Wiese German Shepherds

Posted By Sandy Wilson on August 27, 2010

This Spring I took some of my wool to be processed into roving for hand spinning.   Until I got my wool back, I played with some beautiful merino wool that I had bought at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival.  I think I am getting much better with my spinning and my wool looks more uniform now.  It looks so pretty spun up single ply and even better when double plied.  I can’t wait to actually knit something with it now.

Below is the dyed merino wool roving that I had bought at the festival –  maybe I can make a scarf with it.  It is just so beautiful to look at!   The colors are rich and a beautiful blend of cranberry, red, blue and gray.   The roving had just the right combination of colors to make a beautiful yarn.

Merino wool roving that I got in Maryland & my new spinning stool!

Below is the same roving spun on my spinning wheel!  This wool is so soft and much shorter staple length than I was used to spinning.  It was quite nice to spin, but I needed to alter my spinning technique a bit for this fine wool.  Once I got used to handling the wool, I loved it and it really came out nice.  Merino is such a beautiful wool.

Finished Wool Plied!

Wool on bobbin before plying.

Now that I have spun up all the roving into yarn, it’s time to actually make something with it.  That I have to think about, but a scarf might be a possibility.  I absolutely love to spin, so of course since I got my own wool back from the show, I could hardly wait to see how well it would spin up.  I am working on some white wool right now and I will post some pictures soon.  I also got some dark colored wool made into roving as well, so I can’t wait to get my hands on that – should be beautiful.

Stayed tuned for pictures of finished border leicester yarn!

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Posted By Sandy Wilson on May 7, 2010

Delta von der Kleinen Wiese (Arla von der Kleinen Wiese X Hawk v. Eichenluft, SchHIII)

Delta is really growing up and proving to be a really nice puppy – I can see so many good qualities that she has from her mother and father!  I definitely see she is one smart cookie!  She learns so quickly and is so willing to do anything I ask of her.  She is a very “up” dog and always a happy puppy.  She loves clicker training and offers me so many behaviors trying to figure out what I want.  I really enjoy training her.

Delta always seems to have a ball in her mouth – she just loves to play!

Today I was trying to teach her to put her front feet on a book to begin to teach her to pivot (see K 9 Solution Training Inc. for little video) by just moving her back legs and keeping her front stationary.  I love this method as it is all positive and no compulsion is used whatsoever.  There is no guiding with a leash either.  I love to train particular moves and positions all off leash with my dogs from when they are very young and to guide them into a behavior first before demanding perfection at a young age.  I think clicker training is just the best thing for this and if you have a smart dog, boy do they learn quickly with this method.

Just yesterday we worked on this and Delta was offering me a down on the book, a sit and so I had to tell her to “Steh” once on the book so she wouldn’t sit or try any other behavior.  When these dogs get used to the clicker, they just want to hear the clicker and get their treat, so they are just thinking, “Hey, what can I do for you!”    So since she was just so happy to do anything while on the book, I thought I better make sure I just work on her standing on it first and she got it in no time.  She just enjoyed it so much.  Everything she leans she does with great enthusiasm and of course she gets lots of treats which is great for treat motivated dogs.  Actually Delta is very “Ball” motivated, but sometimes I find I get too much hectic behavior, as she is so excited about the ball and so I find the treats work better.  Getting to know what works for your dog best is something you have to experiment with, but when shaping a behavior, using food and the clicker are just the perfect combination!

Today we did it again and she knew exactly what to do, so we did a little bit of pivoting and I just helped her a bit by guiding her rear around with my leg and boy did she pick up on it quick.  We moved around at little increments at a time and she caught on quickly.  I can see her really using her back legs now – we did this for a little while and then lots of praise and out to play some fetching.  She gets so excited just when she sees the clicker and she just wants to do something – anything!   I really get a kick out of her as she is just so much fun to train and watch learn.  It’s like seeing the little light bulb in her head go off – bing, bing, bing!

Tomorrow we’ll do more of this and then we’ll move in reverse direction so she doesn’t get used to going just one way.  I am actually really having fun using the clicker and seeing how quickly she picks up what I want her to do.

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Tags: D-Litter, Delta, German Shepherd

Posted By Sandy Wilson on May 2, 2010

The Sheep & Wool Festival this year was just wonderful – there was so much to see and do that it was exhausting, but I must admit – FUN!  It was very hot, probably in the high 80′s, sunny with blue skies, puffy white clouds and a nice breeze — just a perfect day!  You definitely needed a hat, sun protection, and sunglasses, as it was a bright day!  There were hundreds of people there from all over looking at fiber, equipment, sheep, and participating in workshops, seminars and sheep competitions – constant activity throughout the entire day!

We spent hours going through the different booths looking at all different types of fiber and also wool that had the most wonderful color combinations I have ever seen!  There were fibers from rabbits (angora), goats (mohair), sheep (wool), yak fiber, silk fiber, hemp fiber, cotton fiber and fiber from alpacas and llamas too!  It was just endless and the fibers were just so beautiful and unique in their own way.  I was amazed at all the different things you can use to make roving with to spin.  I personally have only ever spun wool from my own sheep and some festival roving, but now I would love to try some of the other fibers that are available.

I saw lots of fiber that were blends of  the finest wool (from merino sheep) blended with silk that was just just eye stopping – I had to stop and stare at it and then feel it – it was simply marvelous – so soft and lofty; I could just imagine spinning it and having it run through my fingers.  I will definitely have to try some of the more exotic fibers when I am more advanced in my spinning abilities.  Seriously, there was just so much to choose from, I had a tough time making up my mind.   Since I am basically a novice spinner and still learning so much, I decided to go with some wool that I would be comfortable with spinning, so I choose merino wool that was dyed.  I love the rich colors and feel of the fiber and can’t wait to start spinning it.  The other more expensive and elaborate fibers will have to wait until I am a bit more advanced and skilled in my spinning technique.

Above are my German Shepherds, Arla and Delta, checking out the new purchases!   Of course anything I get, they have to have their nose in it.  They really love to smell the wool – I guess they just have sheep on the brain so to speak!   Pictured above is a mix of burgandy and various colored Merino Wool roving and my new wooden oak spinning stool.  I love the wool and the stool I have been waiting to get for several years – I love it.  The stool is the perfect height for sitting and spinning at my wheel and the seat actually rotates so you can sit at any angle to your wheel – I absolutely LOVE it!  It is beautifully handcrafted out of solid American Oak and has a gentle curve to fit your bottom just right!  LOL!  Sorry to say, that was all I bought, but that was plenty – but the real fun was looking at all the creative ideas and fiber art that was on display at the festival.

Along with all the knitted socks and shawls, scarves, sweaters, blankets, and assorted other goodies made from fiber were the most amazing felted rugs!  They were so unique in texture, color and design!  They were breathtaking for sure!  I still am in amazement at all the things that you can make with fiber – creativity has no limits!

Alpaca Blanket – Oh, so nice!

Another thing I wanted to do at the festival was try some different spinning wheels as each different wheel offers different possibilities!  Below were some wheels that I thought were especially stunning – boy, someday I want to get one of those – I can always dream.

I am not sure if you can see the beautiful craftsmanship of these wheels, but they were beauties!   I am adding these to my wish list!

We’ll my head was spinning – fiber, wheels, food (by the way, the food was good!), and now the fiber animals themselves – I love to check out the barns with all the livestock.  There were a few breeds I took pictures of that many people don’t typically see, so here they are:

Scottish Blackface

Jacob

Blueface Leicester

Above are some breeds of sheep that have an array of different types of fibers.  Each type of fiber is chosen for different types of projects according to their fiber quality and characteristics.  I happen to like the Blueface Leicester myself, as I do own one, and the fiber is so fine and the crimp is almost like a merino sheep.  It spins like butter and it is soooooooooooo soft!  One of my favorites when it comes to beautiful fleeces!

I didn’t plan on making this blog article so long, but there was so much to see and so much I can’t even write about because there was just too much to see and talk about, so I just covered the highlights.

I do want to add two more pictures though just to show you other animals besides sheep that were at the festival.  If you haven’t seen them before, they are in the camel family and are quite a sight to see – and the fiber – well it comes in all different shades and colors and just another great fiber to add to your spinning pleasure!

Llama

Alpaca

That’s all for now!  Hope you enjoyed a quick look at the festival through my camera lens!

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Posted By Sandy Wilson on May 2, 2010

There are always plenty of things for the kids to do here on the farm and I love watching the looks on their faces when they investigate and find things to show me.  Our little pond provides many hours of entertainment for our children.  There are always birds to watch feeding their babies, ducks that continually come back to our pond for a swim, and then the frogs!  Oh boy do we have some frogs in our pond.  Each time Spring rolls around at night we hear the chirping of the frogs and we know the tad poles are coming!  The pond just comes alive with all kinds of wild life and it is so fascinating to just sit back and watch all that goes on.

Whopper of a Frog!

Today we found one old big bull frog that loves to hang out at the pond and he decided to pose for a few pictures.  I know we have caught this frog quite a few times, but we always return him to the pond to catch another day.  Above is my son Kevin, who loves to catch frogs around the pond and today he found our buddy the big bull frog.   This critter was fun to take photos as the kids posed him.

Big Bull Frog and Little Toadie!

Above is the big bull frog posing with the little toadie.  Little Spud, as we call him, lives in the garden and we find him every year as well.  The two look like quite a pair!  These two look like “Mutt” & “Jeff”!  LOL!

BFF (Best Frogs Forever)

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Posted By Sandy Wilson on April 24, 2010

Delta by the pond!

Spring is finally here and the grass is really coming up.  The pond is also coming alive with Red Wing Black birds feeding their young, frogs and tadpoles are everywhere and all the Spring flowers are coming alive.   Spring is always exciting, as it means the start of a new season for lambs, working the dogs, and getting the pastures back into shape.  Then there are the dogs – they are having such a good time in and around the water when the water is warm enough to play in.  It’s really nice to have a pond right in the back yard that the dogs can enjoy!

Aiko, Arla, Greta and Hera will all walk right into the pond for a nice drink of water, while Delta is still running around the pond like a freight train.  She loves to run around the pond and check out the frogs when she sees movement in the water and today I saw her drinking from the water and actually getting her two front paws in the water – yeah!  I hope she will take a little dip in the water, but for now it’s just the drinking hole for her.

Delta loves to drink from the pond, loves being wet when in rains outside and even loves to be sprayed with water from my flower watering can, so I think it’s just a matter of time before she is going to take the plunge!  This year will be Delta’s first Summer and with the heat coming, maybe she’ll feel like taking a little swim like the other dogs!

Arla will go through just about anything to get her ball!

Arla loves the pond the most and she loves to go in it for any reason!  But going to retrieve her ball is her absolute favorite!  This dog has even put her head under the water to get her sinking ball!  Quite comical to watch, but she won’t let any lily pad left unturned when she is looking for her ball in the pond!

After Arla had retrieved her ball about a dozen times and Delta ran around the pond to meet Arla at the shore, they finally took a little break together – just mom and daughter!

Arla & Delta relaxing in the shade.

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