Artist Colony

About a month ago, maybe even a few weeks more than that even, I received a phone call with an unusal request.  You see, when you have animals on a farm, you have to expect a lot of unusal requests, things like field trips from schools, a whole new world of "friends" who want to bring their children and all of their neighborhood friends over, and more.  I simply explain that we aren't a petting farm, and most are understanding.  And while I have come to expect these strange request, this one was different.

"We want to paint your sheep."  the polite voice on the other end of the line stated.

"You want to what?" I replied, clearly bewildered.

She went on to explain, very patiently, that she works with a group of artists from Traverse City, and their group meets around the area to paint different settings in an outdoor setting or Plein Air.  This particular Thursday they had in mind, they wanted to use our sheep as their muse.  I extended the invite and looked forward to the day.  

My Grandfather is a painter, and I always remember heading for his art studio as a kid, whenever I visited Grandma and Grandpa's place.  In the door, through the kitchen down some stairs and his easel stood tall on the right side of the room.  Sometimes it was a brand new start, and I could imagine what the colors would make of themselves; other times it was like a flash moment in time, watching the painting take shape and form towards completion, one step closer with each new visit to their home.  The painting thing didn't work out for me, but his creativity will always be instilled in me.  

And so the day came, and Windy Knob became an Artist Colony.  Check that one of the list.

A variety of mediums were used from charcoal to acrylics and even some water colors.  I absolutely loved walking around and seeing people enjoy the farm in such a unique way; but the best part for me was to see how other's see the farm.  It is a beautiful place here at Windy Knob, and I appreciate it, most certainly I do; but there are times where I look around and all I see are hooves that need to be trimmed, mouths to feed and pastures cut and sheep to shear.  For once I got to look around and see what others see, the beauty that is around me, but from someone else's perspective.  It was truly a neat experience.  From my photo's you can see the easels set up around the farm, and artist enjoying themselves in the evening sun.  The sheep, well, they still eat and slept, and the chickens walked around perhaps only slightly perplexed why people were staring at them so intently; but a day was definitly had, and I for one enjoyed it. 

 

Almost there...

I'd be lying if I didn't admit to counting down the days of school that remain before summer break.  The answer is five in case you were wondering.  It's a strange feeling, much like one anyone would get before a vacation approaches.  The excitement, the anticipation, time coming to a stand still and then finally the last day arrives and summer begins.  By the following Monday I usually start getting antsy and bored again.  That's where this whole disease called farmicosis came from in the first place.

But I love it of course and truly appreciate having the animals around.  Gunnar has been particularly good for me so far.  Gunnar is my 17.1 hands tall, 1700 pound Clydesdale that I have who has now turned four.  Big difference from last summer, he actually follows commands now.  Whoda thunk it?

The latest job on the farm has been milking of all things.  You can milk sheep? Well, yeah you can.  You can milk anything with nipples I hear.   Now Corriedales are a dual purpose sheep, and of those two purposes, dairy is NOT one of them.  However, in the following days of weening the lambs off of the ewes, the udders continue to develop milk.  It can become quite full and I decided to try my hand at collecting the milk.  Turns out Sheep's milk has the highest protein and fat content (better than goat milkl) and is considered to be quite the ingredient in high end cheeses and soaps.  Cheese making is too involved for me, so I am now turning to soap (anyone share a receipe?)  In the meantime, I'll continue to store the milk, in addition to getting funny looks from the ewes.

The lambs are still the heart of the show here at the farm.   Always willing to pose for you, here is a group of the Moorits from this year, the famed triplets (Dune, Maple and Glen) and Sutton, the first born of the year.