Cider Mill House now has an ARTISAN SHOP! In addition to my original artwork and reprints, guests can now see and buy the beautiful glasswork of Denise O'brien, unique jewelry made from semiprecious stones by Sherry Evasic and luxurious hand spun wool and woolen wear from Andrea Minicozzi, of Rare Wear! We also have wildcrafted catnip and catnip mice, greeting cards and other goodies. Each artist will do custom work and design as well. Each of these creative people work from their own studios ...the wool is hand spun from sheep that Andrea raises.
The walnut tree leaves are turning yellow and the nights are getting cooler. The goats are starting to grow their winter coats. All too soon we will be chipping ice and shoveling snow....BUT before that happens we will get to see the best show nature has to offer here. All the beautiful fall colors!
It is my favorite time of the year. Also we get most of our B&B guests this time of year as well. Our vegetable and fruit gardens are at their peak and we are hatching out some baby Guinea Hens and chickens as well.
Tipi's for sale! We have had to scale back our operations at Willow Run Farms, LLC.
So we will be selling all three of our Tipis. We are not closing down the campground operations all together, just making things a little more manageable for us here.
Pygora fleeces for sale! Yes..I let another summer go by without spinning my own mohair/cashmere from our goats. I have 6 lovely fleeces, white, grey, or brown, for sale. They have not been cleaned or dehaired, so I would let them go for a good price.
Last, but not least...notice the Newsletter subscription button on this post???? Yep, we have started a Newsletter as well. So if you want to hear from us on a regular basis, just sign up and we will take it from there.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
WOW IT'S HOT
96 degrees here today!!!!!!! After a cool summer we are getting an August blast.
Fortunately we sheared the goats yesterday. So they are probably a little more comfortable. They started growing early winter coats and matting up badly, so it was time to give 'em a haircut.
A couple of weeks ago we hosted a very interesting workshop here. The WV state Dept. of Environmental Protection sent an instructor to show all interested in how to take samples and analyze stream water quality.
We have a wonderful little stream that crosses our property and we have been concerned about the quality and future of the stream...given all the new developments that have gone in here.
This is my neighbor, Andrea, handing over a water sample to our instructor! We tested these samples for a number of indicators including Ph and conductivity - then collected a sample of the pond critters. Lots of cool little fish, crayfish, caddis flys, dragonflies, etc, were in our sample. We counted and recorded them and YAY!! It turns out that our little stream is actually pretty healthy! We will need to address some erosion issues and plant some trees in the near future. But for now our stream is happy and so are we.
Water quality is a big issue for everyone these days. So we are committed to looking after our stream as a tributary to other waterways, eventually ending up in the Chesapeake Bay.
We will be finishing our survey in mid-September and then be monitoring the water on a regular basis for the DEP after that.
Next big event coming along up here of course is our huge local bluegrass and barbeque festival, Pickn' in the Panhandle. The Charlie Daniels Band will be there and it should be a super event Sept. 12 & 13.
Fortunately we sheared the goats yesterday. So they are probably a little more comfortable. They started growing early winter coats and matting up badly, so it was time to give 'em a haircut.
A couple of weeks ago we hosted a very interesting workshop here. The WV state Dept. of Environmental Protection sent an instructor to show all interested in how to take samples and analyze stream water quality.
We have a wonderful little stream that crosses our property and we have been concerned about the quality and future of the stream...given all the new developments that have gone in here.
This is my neighbor, Andrea, handing over a water sample to our instructor! We tested these samples for a number of indicators including Ph and conductivity - then collected a sample of the pond critters. Lots of cool little fish, crayfish, caddis flys, dragonflies, etc, were in our sample. We counted and recorded them and YAY!! It turns out that our little stream is actually pretty healthy! We will need to address some erosion issues and plant some trees in the near future. But for now our stream is happy and so are we.
Water quality is a big issue for everyone these days. So we are committed to looking after our stream as a tributary to other waterways, eventually ending up in the Chesapeake Bay.
We will be finishing our survey in mid-September and then be monitoring the water on a regular basis for the DEP after that.
Next big event coming along up here of course is our huge local bluegrass and barbeque festival, Pickn' in the Panhandle. The Charlie Daniels Band will be there and it should be a super event Sept. 12 & 13.
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