emmne | Reading

A Wool Gathering was fantastic. The weather was hot. I ran out of a number of things. I've since restocked. The new stuff is amazing.
https://www.ursulas-alcove.com/s/search?q=alpaca

I'm almost packed and running last minute errands. Don't forget the lights, your bedding, food, clothes, and water! There is more. Gotta go to the store to buy food and water. The rain has stopped for now. The ground hog dug under the rain barrel and knocked it over. B@$+ard If I do well this weekend, a trapper is getting a call.

Monday was Drew Ross Manko's funeral. He was born in 1995. He was the shepherd behind Ross Farm and rare breed sheep. What a mess.Too young to die. His partner and his mother are trying to sort out bills. I didn't get to go to the funeral. I still feel bad but I only have 5 days between shows to repack all the things! Yellow is hanging on the line. It's going to have to wait to be processed until I get home. Squash are hanging on the vine to be harvested. I have outside sanding and painting to do. I am just plain out of time.

Three big boxes of merchandise arrived yesterday. Chrono and I logged them in. Then I took pictures and fought with the software to get the listings up. Tagging yarn takes the longest. I also wound more linen and hemp plus cut labels and worked on filling out displays. I need another day. That's always the way it is. I'm off to Shenandoah Valley Fiber Fest. It might be the last year.. Bethany is stepping down. No one wants her job. That's about it. Back to packing for me.

Tomorrow Chrono unloads the van from her show. I start to pack for my show. I have to wind and label yarn. A lot of yarn. Some won't be ready until the following week. I have to let it go at this point. Whatever is dry will get wound. There is a lot so we'll see if that all happens.

I need to start a packing list. I'm heading to A Wool Gathering at Young's Dairy in Yellow Springs, OH. I need to make enough to pay the rest of the property tax and/or fix the skylight. The windows need to be fixed too. The car bumper is also a casualty. The car is metric and designed for parking curbs in Europe, not here. The parking curb at the bank almost took the whole bumper off. This time it might need a body shop. Let me know when I can start crying.

The long term budget is looking even worse. I have so much to do both to get ready for yarn shows and to stock up food for winter. I am so angry at data centers for jacking up my electric and my water. Can you say "monkey wrench in the budget?" I knew you could. I bet you are feeling pinched too.

I was nice. I could have taken it out on the telemarketer. The phone shows a number that says US Postal Service. I answered it because you never know. I have a PO Box and our post mistress knows me. They do have my number. "Hi, this is Tyler calling from West Penn Power." That's funny, because you are calling from the US Postal Service. (but in reality from South Asia- Tyler, my dumpah) Click.

There is no rain. None at all. Our area used to average 3 to 4" a month. Here's data based on the airport, not here. This is from August 10th to the present. We have a 30 % chance of a sprinkle on Sunday. I planted my fall cabbage in pots to control the water better.

August 13th 0.79"
August 17th 0.64"
Sept 4th 0.38"

In my copious spare time, I need to transplant the spinach too.

Tomatoes are basically done. I still have 8 butternut squash in the garden to water. There are a few honeynuts too and one Lakota. There are carrots and beets in the back in the shade. I don't even know if the strawberry plants will survive. Everything is crunchy. Leaves are falling from the lilac and the mulberry. I should hit 200 lbs of food by first frost. I'm somewhere around 155 # right now. There are quince to process and apples. There are a bunch of tomatoes to roast and make soup. I still have 10 potato plants growing strong. I think I'd be surprised if it goes over 225 lbs. The carrots are not much to write home about. Chrono reminds me that share cropping is a full time job all by itself.

Last year's drought at Young'a Dairy