Oh Joy!

Autumn Joy, that is. I love it and look forward to this time every year when it starts to take on that wonderful rusty-red color that signals fall is coming soon. Fall is my very favorite season and, with the exception of my husband's ragweed allergy, I love everything about it. The light, the cooler temperatures, the plants that are blooming, the shorter days and longer nights, the food and the change of clothing are just some of the things I look forward to all summer. In some ways, I am like the animals I raise. They seem rejuvinated now. The lambs and yearlings are not spending quite so much time snoozing in the shade during the day and, when I go out to feed them in the evenings, they act almost giddy------jumping and running, doing that boing-boing thing they do when they are having fun.

Earlier today, I was trying to catch up on reading some of my favorite blogs, I read a post on Anne Hanson's Knitspot, where she used the phase her "old bathrobe sweater". That phrase refers perfectly to one of the sweaters I have on the needles at the moment. (And it's one I intend to finish knitting this week! There, I said it and hope that will keep me motivated, or shamed, into actually doing it.) I found the pattern in a 2005 Debbie Bliss book called "Home-27 Handknits for Living". Most of the patterns are what I would call homegoods: afghans, pillows, washcloths and such, but there are a few cozy sweaters, mittens, scarves and socks that are the kinds of things I love to wear. Truthfully, I could happily knit everything in the book and there aren't many books out there I can say that about (though on Amazon it has gotten decidedly mixed reviews). I'm using Malabrigo Worsted yarn in the #173 Stonechat colorway and it is a joy to knit with. It's next to the skin soft and the color is perfect for this time of year. It even reminds me of my Autumn Joy sedums. (I'm knitting both sleeves at the same time, so I really don't have much more to do.)

I've been feeling like a bit of a dead-head lately (and not the Grateful kind, either). I've had too many things going on that have taken me away from the farm, too many days in a row. I'm not organized enough to be gone most of the day and come home to accomplish much of anything else. Are you able to do that? In talking with my women friends who are farmers like me, I have found a commonality in that we all really like staying on the farm all day and find it hard to leave. We seem to crave more "alone" time than most women and the more we stay at home, the more we want to stay at home on the farm. Maybe it's just that I never feel as though I have enough time to do what I need to do and still have time to do what I want to do. The idea of ever being bored at home is totally beyond my comprehension.