Down To The Wire and Sheep Drama.

So Christmas is just a week away.  I remember writing something in my last newsletter about not being a procrastinator, and here I am guilty of procrastination.  It's crazy how one second it's Thanksgiving, and two seconds later it's.. well.. today (December 18th!).  In past years, I would have the whole dining room table covered with gifts in progress by the first of December.  Usually I give some sort of pottery, maybe something that goes along with that pottery, and a little something extra to each person.  Kids normally get some kind of artsy/crafty materials to get their creative little minds running.  This year I am *so* behind.  I sold pretty much all of the pottery.  There is nothing ready on the dining room table.  What's left is pieces that are destined for the hammer.  So, two days ago, I started cranking out some new pots as gifts.  They're firing today, glazing tomorrow, and firing again tomorrow night.  That's what I call 'down to the wire'... the only way it could be more last minute is if I were firing the kiln next Saturday (eek!).

BUT, in my defense, I've been pretty much working non-stop since after harvest.  We got done early and that's when I realized I didn't have enough pots for Art on the Prairie (well, what I thought wasn't enough pots, anyway).  I marathoned-pottered for two weeks to get a full kiln load.  Then I sold more than 50% of it at Art on the Prairie, which means I didn't have enough pots for Market Day, my home shows, or the Sample Sundays... which resulted in more marathon pottering.  Between all those shows and my online sale, it's pretty much gone.  Please don't think I'm complaining... I wanted to sell it all!  I like the idea of selling all the inventory to make room for all the pots of the upcoming year.  I might do it every year, which means an online sale before Christmas every year.  I think customers can agree that the sale is a good thing, and I like selling pots in my jammies with an eggnog chai from my computer. :)

SO, I have a week to get ready for Christmas... and thrown into that week is possibly a day of helping Maggie skirt fleeces (more on that later!), trading in Clyde, and a shopping trip to Des Moines to deliver pots and get some gifty items that I can't get out here in the country.

*sigh* Trading in Clyde.  I know you read it and said 'What?!'.  Clyde is the little wether sheepie with the horns.  He was banded (fixed) when he was two days old.  He was born last spring so he's not even a year old yet, but he's lived his entire life in a pasture with other sheep.. with almost no human interaction.  No one has ever seen him try to ram anything with his horns, until he came here.  He became the only boy sheep in the herd, and he started to get ornery.  I think it's probably because of a few things.  He's getting more human interaction (chin scratching, grain treats), he's the only boy sheep, and he's getting older.  Between all those things, and possibly the stress of a new home, he's started using his thick noggin and horns.  He's rammed my leg, the wheel barrow, the water bucket, the fence gates, Brian's leg, and the worst thing yet - the llamas faces.  He got Starr pretty good when they were eating one day.. that's the first ramming I've noticed, and that scares me.  If he rams one of the llamas hard enough in the face/head, he could seriously injure them.  So, I talked with Jean and told her about what was going on, and she's very surprised that he would know how to use his horns at all, but she also understands why I can't have him here.  So Thursday, we're going to load him up and take him back for a more feminine model.  Clyde will get a coat and be turned out into the big pasture with all the other boys and live his days as a fiber sheep with minimal human interaction.  I'm pretty sad about him going, as I really think he's a wonderful little critter, but the threat of someone getting hurt freaks me out.  Yesterday, two groups of people with children came to visit the llamas, and I had to fence off the sheep just to make sure he didn't hurt anyone.  I don't want to have to do that, or watch my back when I'm around him, or carry a baseball bat to defend myself.  That's not the kind of fiber herd I'd imagined when I started picking animals.  So *sigh* he's going back.... :(  On the flip side, I'm getting another little girl sheep.  Jean just recently sold all but two of the yearlings, and she's going to trade me one of those for Clyde.  Hopefully the new little girl and Bonnie will get along fabulously.  We'll have to come up with a new name for her.  Any suggestions?  Bonnie and ______?  :)

Well... off the load the kiln.  Have a great Sunday!  For all of you in Iowa, 51 degrees today! Woohoo!