I am Kitten Sitting a Bottle Fed Baby!

Sunday morning we picked up this little orphaned bottle fed kitten to kittensit for a few weeks while her regular foster family is on vacation. I think Jellybean is about 4 weeks old. Her foster family has been wrapping her in a blanket when they feed her and the blanket rubbed most of her hair off so she has that "Yoda" look to her - don't you just love that little mohawk thing she's got going?! And my what big eyes you have!

My two formerly bottle fed boys, Munchkin and Moose, are lavishing Jellybean with attention. 

And yesterday the shelter called and asked if I could take in three more orphaned kittens. I initially said no because I cannot imagine having to bottle feed four kittens every day! I did five in Moose and Munchies litter and that was a real challenge! I told them I would have to talk it over and get back to them. After I hung up I decided that if I cleaned the fibers out of the bathroom I could put the three new kittens in there rather than in a crate and figured if they were big enough to be running around outside this guy's house they were old enough to either eat dry kibble or lap KMR out of a bowl. So, I called the shelter back and told them I would take the kittens. I have to wait for the guy to catch them and call me and then I'll go pick them up and bring them home. I'm hoping he doesn't call today though because we have a board meeting tonight and my time is going to be really tight today as it is.

We're in Another Etsy Treasury!

My Butterfly Garden custom fiber blend batt is in an Etsy Treasury! Thank you to Beth of Whorling Tides for including my work in this gorgeous Treasury!

Another Productive Day at the Carder!

Yesterday I carded up several more Custom Fiber Blend batts to list in our Etsy store. I recently sorted through a ton of boxes and bags of fiber that I had stashed in our soaking tub in the master bath (I know it sounds crazy but the tub is freaking ginormous and the water heater runs out of hot water when the tub is only half full so what's the point?) Anyway, I sorted out fibers that will work well blended together and filled a huge plastic bin with bags of blending fibers. Yesterday I had a blast going through that bin and picking out all kinds of fibers that went well together. Following are three of the batts: The top one is Lilacs, the middle one is Hydrangeas and the bottom one is Bahama Bay

I also made this - Glacier Bay - a blend of custom dyed merino/silk, tussah silk, mohair and bamboo. This reminds me of the colors of a glacier with that eerie seafoam green glow under the white snow and ice.

And while we're on the subject of snow and ice - guess what we got (yet again) last night?!

Yep, more snow! They predicted that snow would start Tuesday night and go into Wednesday but all we got Tuesday night was a fireworks show complete with tons of lightning and thunder but not a drop of moisture. Then yesterday evening I looked out the office window and it was snowing like crazy so I grabbed my handy camera and snapped several shots. Can you see the thermometer on the deck railing? I think it says about 30 degrees F. And it is mid-May. Ahhh, Springtime in the Rockies - you gotta love it! Not really...

I have a ton of flowers I need to get planted but I obviously don't dare put them out just yet. I have Hollyhocks, Columbine, Lupine, Hosta, Iris and Pansies. I uncovered the rose bushes and I think they made it through the winter but there is no new growth on them yet. It appears that the raspberry bush didn't make it through the winter but the lilac bush I planted last Fall is showing new sprouts so I mulched that day before yesterday with an old llama fleece to keep the buds from getting frostbit. The catnip plant is coming up - I already cut that back to the ground last week and I'm hoping it doesn't get frostbit either, except I think it has a much better chance of coming back than most of the other plants since its pretty hardy. I am going to go buy several straw bales and put them together out in the front flower garden where I can't seem to get things to grow very well and I'll fill in the "straw container" with composted llama manure and try making a raised bed this year. I used to garden a lot at our old house in Colorado Springs. We turned most of the front yard into a terraced flower garden and we had people stopping all the time to take pictures of it. It was a real show stopper! The decomposed granite soils, the short growing season (i.e., two whole days of real summer) and the hungry deer make gardening extremely challenging here but I'm struggling each year to get at least one more decent tree, bush, plant or garden area growing.

Back to the Grindstone...I Mean Drum Carder!

This week I dove into my enormous stash of custom dyed fibers and created three new Custom Fiber Blend batts. The first one I made is a recreation of a similar set of batts I created a year ago using some of the same fibers and adding additional fibers.

First up is Butterfly Garden. Blue/greens, golds and rosy pinks carded up in stripes. Very soft custom dyed BFL wool along with uber soft custom dyed tussah silk, mohair top and kid mohair locks with a generous dollop of Angelina to add sparkle and bling to the mix.

Next I carded up some custom dyed merino top with some commercially dyed multi-color merino top and added some custom dyed mohair and tussah silk then added a generous helping of Firestar and Angelina in a variety of rich earthy colors to really spice things up. This first batt I carded up in stripes similar to Butterfly Garden. This one is Canyonlands (stripes).

And finally, because I love these colors sooo much and because I had plenty of fibers, I decided to do Canyonlands again using the same fibers only I used a layered technique of applying the fibers to the drum carder, resulting in a more blended version. This is Canyonlands (layered).

I think I need to make another set of Canyonlands for myself to spin up. I love these colors!

Happy Mother's Day!

Wishing all Moms a Happy Mother's Day!

Misty is in an Etsy Treasury!

Wow - This is two days in a row that my work has been included in an Etsy Treasury! Two Treasuries running at the same time - I believe that is a first for Split Rock Ranch. A big thank you to Mandy of beadsme for including Misty in this gorgeous Treasury called "Misty Moments".

A Day at the Beach Art Yarn in an Etsy Treasury!

My "A Day at the Beach" handspun art yarn made it into a Treasury! I love this Treasury - the colors are so cool and serene. Thank you to Wendy of Sand & Sea Designs jewelry for including my work! Wendy makes some gorgeous jewelry. I bought a stunning lampwork and crystal bracelet from her awhile back and it is one of my favorites. Come to think of it, the colors on it are very similar to this Treasury. I'll have to see if I can find a photo of it to post.

If you're an Etsy member, please visit the Treasury, click and comment. Thanks!

I just found the photo of the bracelet I bought from Wendy.

This bracelet is named "Tide Pools". Isn't it gorgeous?!

You can find Sand & Sea Designs website here. Check out the Weekly Specials page for some gorgeous jewelry at discounted prices!

No Kittens = Time to Play with Fiber!

With the kittens gone this week I got busy carding up all kinds of fiber blend batts on Tuesday. I recently sorted through my enormous stash of fibers and put them into boxes and bags by colors and it was really easy to sort through and pick out what I wanted to blend this time.

I'm just going to post pics of the batts and a link to the Custom Fiber Blend batt section in my Etsy store so you can go there for more information if you're interested in them.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Thelma and Louise - ADOPTED!

Tuesday morning I took Thelma and Louise to the vet's to be spayed. Yes, Louise IS a female. She looks totally different "down there" than Thelma but she is a girl. The people who were adopting her almost changed their minds because they thought they were getting a male kitten and male cats are generally more affectionate than females, but they decided to get her!

I met my friend Deanna in Woodland Park and she bought me lunch at my favorite Mexican restaurant. She then followed me to Divide to the animal shelter and picked up her new baby girl, Thelma. She picked Thelma up and Thelma crawled up to her shoulder and proceeded to growl at all the other cats in the room. Deanna put her in the crate and Thelma immediately curled up, sighed and watched out the window serenely. I made up a certificate for Thelma - "Certified Diva", graduate of Level I training is Miss Precious' Diva Academy. Its signed by Precious, DMT (Diva Master Teacher). Deanna got a hoot out of it and I had a blast coming up with it!

Thelma is settling into her new home and has already put the dogs in their place. I'm anxious to hear how the night went. Hopefully she was tired enough to sleep through the night without raising a ruckus.

They hadn't picked up Louise yet when we were there at the shelter yesterday so I hope that their adoption is going as well as Thelma's and that they are as pleased with their new baby as Thelma's new Momma is.

This foster period was the longest we've ever had - 10 weeks to the day. It was also the hardest to part with them but knowing they went to excellent loving homes made it much easier. And, kitten season will be here soon so we'll probably be playing with new fosters soon enough.

Munchkin and Moose are distraught that their girls are gone. They spent the entire day and half the night calling for them. Sigh...I know boys, its hard saying goodbye!

Wordless Wednesday

Springtime in the Rockies!

Welcome to Springtime in the Rockies! Don't like the weather? Wait five minutes...it'll change! Here's what we woke up to this morning. Six inches of the heavy white stuff! We're under a Winter Storm Warning until 9 AM tomorrow. We could get up to 15 inches of this stuff!

But inside, we have a roaring fire keeping us toasty warm.

And in the breakfast room - which is more of a "mud room" just inside the back door - the geraniums are in full bloom. Ah yes, Springtime in the Rockies!

I posted 15 pictures on my Facebook page. Go here to check them out.

Happy Earth Day!

Wishing you all a happy Earth Day today!

While I don't believe that "Climate Change" is what they say it is, I do believe that we need to be more environmentally responsible. I believe that we need to take better care of Mother Earth.  I recycle, we don't use chemicals and pesticides on the gardens here at the ranch (we use the best natural fertilizer - composted manure!) and I try to upcycle and reuse whenever I can. I have also started to switch over to heavy metal free dyes. I would love to hear what everyone does to help take care of our planet.

Wordless Wednesday - The Life of Cats

Hmmm...Now what?!

Last night I went into the kitchen to fix dinner. This is what I found on the stove. I did a dye pot yesterday so the oven was still warm. Leave it to Precious to scope out the warmest sleeping spots in the house. I ran and got the camera and she was right where she was when I discovered her. She opened her eyes and looked at me like "What?! Can't you see I'm sleeping here?!" I debated on going out to eat but decided to move Her Highness so I could fix the Tilapia filets I had already thawed out for dinner.

Thelma has a new Momma!

Thelma, one of our foster kittens, has a new Momma! One of our llama friends fell in love with her and decided to adopt her. Deanna put a deposit down on Thelma and will pick her up the day after Thelma is spayed, which should be within the next two weeks. We are just waiting on Louis to get better litter box trained and his stools firmed up so he will be more adoptable. We're SO happy that Thelma is going to go to a really good loving furever home and we'll be able to keep up to date on how she's doing. Her new name is Tinker or Tinky - short for Tinkerbelle. She has gotten very lovable and follows us everywhere and comes running now when either one of us comes out of the bedroom or our offices. Thank you Deanna for adopting this beautiful little girl! I'm sure she is going to give you lots of love and tons of smiles!