rather random rambling

 Just about every day after morning chores, I comb cashmere.

Sometimes one goat, sometimes two.

Occasionally, three.

It depends on how much each goat has shed since the last combing.

The goats generally don't drop all the cashmere at once, and my thought is that several light combings will pick up more fiber - and cleaner fiber - than waiting till clumps are hanging off the goats and then trying to get all of it that's left in one huge session.

Of course it's even more labor-intensive to do it this way. But I've got a herd of animals that produce lovely fiber in tiny quantities. I don't want to lose more than can be helped.

~~~

Either my internet service or laptop has been failing to function properly; possibly both. I haven't been able to watch even tiny videoclips from peoples' blogs. YouTube and Livecams have been nearly impossible. And it's bad timing, because those baby owls grow by the hour!

Here's a screenshot from the 6th:

See the babies?

(Left-click pictures to embiggen.)

Here they are today:

Fortunately, people have been posting screenshots on twitter, as I mentioned in an earlier post. I also try the livecam link a couple of times each day, just in case. Last night it worked, briefly. Maybe my tech issues are healing themselves. Fingers crossed!

~~~

Yesterday afternoon my errands took me through several weather events. We had snow when I drove to the Post Office and library. When I came out of the library, the sun has returned. By the time I got to the grocery store, there was a harsh wind. When I came out of the store, it was hailing and Piper said, "Thank you, no," when I asked later if she wanted to walk in the woods. Today has been sunny but so cold that yesterday's hail is still on the ground.

I blame myself: early yesterday morning I dismantled one of the bucket de-icers to clean and repair it, and decided not to put it back out.

Thus guaranteeing the return of freezing weather.

Sorry, New England.

~~~

Speaking of going to the library...something I love:

InterLibrary Loan.

Central and Western Massachusetts has a wonderful regional library system. Which is nice for everyone, but especially for the thousands of people who live in villages and small towns where the Library was probably built in the 1800s and is very limited in size.

Isn't it a special luxury to have access to books without having to buy them? I love a brand-new book as much as anyone does, but I've reached a point where I don't have the urge to own them all. And probably 95% of my "reading" is audiobooks, which I download online from the same library system and listen to when I'm cooking or knitting or trying to get to sleep. When I first tried audiobooks, years ago, it actually took me a little while to learn how to listen - after all, I'd not been regularly "read to" since childhood. But now, hardly a day goes by that I don't listen to a chapter or two. Or ten.

How about you?

Do you use your local library?

Are you a book collector?

Do you enjoy audiobooks?

~~~~~

five anxious minutes

After much calling back and forth with the papa owl this evening,

the mama owl suddenly stood up, stretched her wings,

and took off.

I hoped very hard that the papa owl was nearby,

perched just out of camera range, perhaps in the nest tree.

Because it's hard not to see vulnerability here:

Within five minutes...

swoop!

Mama was back.

Checking the babies, settling down to keep them warm.

And beginning another night of
watching, watching, watching

with those enormous eyes.

Whew!

Now I can knit.

~~~~~

owlcam 2016

I've been meaning to mention: the livestream that helped me remain sane in February/March 2015 is open again...

because the Great Horned Owls have returned to the nest!

Bonus: this year there are two camera angles to enjoy. The second view opens in a pop-up window so you can watch either - or both if you have the internet speed for streaming two at once. I don't...it took several minutes of trying to get this snap to show you:

If livestreaming is not possible at all on your connection, do not feel that you must therefore be owl-less...not at all! You can see many, many excellent screenshots and bits of interesting information posted on twitter every day, both by the camera operators and by people who are watching the cameras from all over the world. The twitter account to follow is ‏@SavannahOwls

These amazing owls have two eggs again...will we see them hatch?  :) 

~~~~~

notgoat cams

It occurred to me...
since there has been interest in stills from my goatcams, some of my readers may enjoy exploring livecams available online?

In the early 1990s, I sometimes watched a livecam of Dublin while working (endlessly, it seemed, but happily) on my Master's Thesis. I had not yet been to Ireland for on-the-ground research, and it was a little bit magical to have that realtime connection. Of course, when I actually spent 15 days in Ireland in 1995, I chose to spend about five minutes in Dublin, and nearly every waking moment out in the countryside; afoot or on horseback or in a boat. It was splendid. Extremely low-budget, with a backpack full of a change of clothes and about 40 pounds of camera, film, tripod, and research material. I later estimated that I walked over a hundred miles. As I say...

it was splendid. 

And now, gosh, 20(!) years later, I sometimes watch webcams of wildlife and places I would love to visit (afoot or on horseback or in a boat - really, some preferences never change, however unrealistic). Here are a couple of websites you might be interested in visiting. The images below are just screenshots, but the links will take you to the (much better quality) real thing.

I found the Shetland livecams during my first experience (online, that is) of Up Helly Aa, which will be happening - and livestreamed again - in just just a few days, on Tuesday, 27 January! So exciting!

Year-round, the Shetland cams offer several views of Lerwick,

and audio from the local radio station.

My favorite puffincam is sadly not up this year,

but any view of the ocean is very welcome here

at landlocked Cloud Harvest Cashmere.

Shetland cams

And speaking of birds...

the Cornell Ornithology Lab has several livecams, in various locations. This linked list conveniently indicates which are live at the moment: 

Cornell Lab list of cams

This morning I watched a fantastic new camera in Savannah, Georgia.

(If you left-click on an image, I think it will embiggen. Worth trying!)

When I started watching this Great Horned Owl nest,

it was early morning and soft light...

and as time went on*

the sun began to light the branches, and then the mama owl's face.

  *it can be mesmerizing to watch these cameras. Just sayin'...

this is why I almost always have my goatcams open

in one corner of my laptop.

How else would I have discovered that

Azalea is also doing some bird-watching?

Or learned that Acer and Betula have taken on

the responsibility of supervising the snowplow,

on the road far below:

Because after all,

we humans are not the only ones

who like to keep a close eye on things,

from the comfort of our own nests!

~~~

Do you have any favorite livestreaming cameras?

Please share your recommendations

in the comments!

~~~~~