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Christmas Day... and here we are, well into our fifteenth year here on the farm and it is hard to believe how quickly the years have passed. That is, right up until we start cataloging the aches and pains that nag after both of us! On balance, we really had a very good year, with both of us in reasonably good health. Elizabeth's spinning and weaving workshops have kept her busy through-out the year and the wooly critters gave us the best year in breeding stock sales as well. Not too bad for a couple of old geezers... particularly since we got out of the hay making business last year! Eureka!
In April, Claire and Barrie Brozenske once again came to our aid with strong backs and willing hearts to help us rebuild a major section of the lower pasture fencing. Beau Leech gave us a helping hand by bringing his post driver rig to make short work of driving the wood posts.   Above shown , before and after... thanks guys, for a job well done! Also in the Spring, our grandson Adam got his driving learning permit... and all of the anxiety that wrought upon mom, dad and grandparents! He is now a full fledged teenage driver, passing his test in December. Somebody please pass the antacid tablets...
Here are s
Also in May, Elizabeth had her first international spinning student, Tracey Camacho. Tracey's spinning weekend was a birthday gift from her husband, who with her, operate an Africam Safari park a couple of hours south of Mexico City. With exotic fibers on the hoof, so to speak, Tracey wanted to learn how to spin and make items spun from the various critter's fibers, like baby camel down, for their gift shop... pretty neat! A writer from the Mid-Atlantic Farm Chronicle called and asked to come by to talk about our little boutique sheep operation (they call sheep, small ruminants!). But they did an excellent job explaining what we were all about here on the farm in a feature piece in the June 16, 2008 issue. Complete with several photographs of yours truly and Elizabeth... pretty nice. We received a complementary copy of a devotional book based upon the "Good Shepherd's care for His sheep, taken from Psalm 23," just published by Phyllis Benigas, who visited the farm about four years ago with her husband. We gave her and her husband permission to take some pictures for her book. She enclosed a note with the book: "...hopefully you'll recognize some of your beautiful sheep that grace its pages." Many the photographs used in this lovely little book are from our flock. The book is entitled: Intimate Moments with the Shepherd. Thanks, Phyllis.
Early in January, Ron came across a female golden retriever in our lower pasture who became know by us as 'Lost Lady.' She was a lovely dog with a new red collar but no tag, and she had been worn down by being clearly lost and on the road... thus she became number eight! We posted "lost dog" flyers around the area with no avail. Six weeks of Ron's ministration had her well on the mend and putting on weight and she blended right into the "wolf pack," joining them in the daily walks and, like the rest of the pack who all dine together, she had her own dining spot. She was at home! Then after six weeks we had a phone call. It was her owner and she had been missing for twelve weeks when they saw one of our flyers: a happy ending for her owners, but a sad one for us.
Another, a grandmother from Knoxville, Tennessee, called asking to bring her three grandchildren from Lexington (where she had been pressed into baby sitting service) to visit the farm... the youngest, Wiley, was quite excited to see a "real cowboy." The hat makes the man, right Ron! In the Fall, Elizabeth stayed busy by participating in a spinning retreat at Hawk's Nest State Park in Ansted, West Virginia. She had the opportunity to finally met Lynn Cossell, originally from Lexington, Massachusetts, who now raises Merino sheep in Pearisburg, Virginia. Elizabeth even deftly talked the local constable out of a speeding ticket! Alex and Andrea visited several times during the year... both are staying busy with their careers. Andrea had a bout with a nasty bug called C.Diff. Between the bug and the medical insurance companies, well, you can imagine. She seems to have overcome both. The O'Neill's, Bob, Theresa and their daughter Shannon from Tallahassee, Florida, also stopped by in July, during a run to the annual MoPar meet in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Next year Bob says he will be bringing two cars! Ron's cousin's son, astronaut Colonel Terry Virts, Jr. is assigned as pilot on the crew of Space Shuttle STS-130, targeted for launch in December 2009. We wish him god speed and success. Elizabeth's nephew, CAPT Allen Avery, is back at his base in Germany after a full tour in Iraq, now enjoying his wife Denise and his new baby girl, Sarah. After some trouble with his left eye vision, Ron opted for cataract surgery earlier this month... his conclusion: I can see! I can see! Can't beat that. We are still astonished by this place and the adventure we've had... here's a morning sunrise just a week or so ago:
Can't beat this either!!! Come see us if you can... |
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Send mail to
saville@savillehillfarm.com with questions or comments about
this web site.
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Then
in February, things got a little dicey... no, not a blizzard, no ice
storm either, just a gale that almost blew us off the the top of our
little hilltop! And just in time for the arrival of Kevin
Ford, our sheep shearer. As he drove up to the house, we were
clearing away a sixty foot tree that knocked out our power lines and
blocked our road! It turned out, we had been in the midst of
an area-wide wind storm. Thank good
In
April, Elizabeth switched role from teacher to student by
participating in an intensive weaving colors work
For
Miss "D," who just had her tenth birthday in April, and with the dog
days of summer just around the bend, it was time, for the first
time, to get her shear
Erlene
Irwin, an old neighbor who recently moved to Englewood, Colorado,
came east for a family reunion in North Carolina and spent a few days
visit
Frequently
we have folks call out of the blue asking to visit after
reading about the farm on our website... one couple, Tim and Nicole, were
cele
