Lehman's Country Life

Fiber Arts

As the temperatures dropped this week and a definite chill set in many of us found ourselves reaching for a nice, cozy sweater.  Soon it will be time to  buddled up in scarves and mittens, thick socks and hats as the snow begins to fly.  When these items are made with natural fiber it becomes a real treat to bundle up rather than a chore.  Natural fiber is luxurious as well as practical.  It is timely then the Ohio Arts and Crafts Guild Demo this week features natural fiber from a local farm that raises alpacas and angora goats .  If you are a knitter or just enjoy learning new things you’ll want to stop by and meet Angela Seymour of Longhedges Fiber Farm.  She will be at the Kidron store demonstrating the steps needed to take to take the raw wool from her animals to a finished product.  Learn about the animal and unique qualitites of different fiber as you are shown how the process unfolds. 

In our high tech world this down to earth activity of taking something from the farm to produce something with our hands has the ability to not only calm and soothe but to comfort as well.   Its no wonder fiber arts are so rewarding and popular! 

The events calendar on the top of this page list similar educational and entertaining demonstrations now until the end of the year.

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My morning routine is rather boring but that’s what routines are. They give comfort and a sense of “everything is ok” because they are predictable and routine. Get up and get the coffee started. If it’s cold outside, go downstairs and fire up the wood stove to get the house warm. Then upstairs to pack lunches for my wife and three children, read the paper and the Bible. About that time, my wife (a teacher) and son (a student) leave for their school and I wake up my two daughters. Then I go for my morning run with our dog, get the girls ready for school and myself ready for work, wait for the school bus at the end of the driveway, then head to work at Lehman’s.

This morning, the routine was going as planned through the get up, make coffee, pack lunches, read, and say good-bye to wife and son stages. But then the routine fell apart. The dog started barking. This is rather unusual (fortunately our dog doesn’t bark at every moving thing) so I went to the window to see what was going on. He was barking towards the woods at the back of our house so I looked that direction and through the darkness saw one of our Amish neighbor boys walking up through the yard toward our house. When he saw me at the window, he came toward the door.
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Theresa

Sue Steiner with mural

We’ve been busy lining up a whole assortment of educational and interesting arts and crafts demos by Ohio Arts and Crafts Guild members for folks visiting Kidron, Ohio. We are just now heading into the peak of fall foliage as the trees begin to hint at the beautiful display of colors we can expect in the next week or so. As you enjoy the scenery on the drive to the store you can stop in and visit with local artist Dennis Lipp as he paints rural landscapes and local farms as part of his demo.

Last Sat. Theresa of ‘Mind Our Beeswax’ brought along her beeswax and handpainted Christmas ornaments. In the photo you see some of the process Theresa uses to create beautiful, heirloom quality ornaments. We pictured some Lehman’s molds which can be used if you’d like to give this a try at home.
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We’ve gathered together a group of talented Ohio Arts and Crafts Guild members to do demonstrations in the Buggy Barn for the remainder of the year.  This past Saturday Kidron oil painter Dennis Lipp treated folks to some of his beautiful rural landscapes featuring local farm scenes.  Dennis has a knack for capturing the scenery in exquisite detail.  His next demo will feature fall foliage.  A bonus to the trip to Lehman’s are the lovely farms along the way as the leaves begin to turn!

For the next couple Saturdays, back by popular demand, Two Sister’s Wool will demonstrate wool rug hooking.  Hooked rugs made in this fashion date back to colonial times.  You will get a chance to try your hand at it as well as learn the rich history surrounding this old craft.  Two Sister’s Wool will have on display some lovely primitive style rugs and wall hangings.  The added attraction to this craft is not just the beauty but the practicality and durability of the finished product.  Repurposing and recycling were not buzz words but a necessity for many as they used the wool they had on hand.  See how the same techniques can be used today to create something beautiful!

I am back to add to the farm animal murals and am scheduled most Thursdays until the end of the year.   My most recent mural is of a young colt.  He is there to bring some youth and friskiness to the buggy barn scene which already features a life sized hitching post with stately Amish work horses and a wall of busy body chickens!  Stop in for a photograph at the hitching post next time you are out.  In addition to the mural painting I will bring with me more equine and farm animal art.   Work in progress pics are posted here to see the mural take shape.

You can see what is happening on the Lehman’s Events Calendar .  It is possible to subscribe to the calendar so you can be notified of upcoming events to help plan your trip to Amish country.

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Lehman’s asked that I might helped round up some artists and crafters to do demonstrations in the Buggy Barn at the Kidron store.  I am very happy to say I have a whole group of talented people eager to meet and chat with you as they produce their handicrafts.  We will be posting on the ‘Events’ Calendar on the menu at the top of this blog entry what types of demos will be taking place Sept.- Dec.  Our goal is to combine education and entertainment for the visitors to the store as well as honor the creativity and inspiration that comes from working with your hands.  I have found, even when I am the person doing the demonstration, I am inspired by the people I get to meet and talk to in the Buggy Barn who share with me the things that they make and create!  I’d love to hear what you create so feel free to share your ideas on what you’d like to see! 

I will be kicking the demonstrations off by bringing in some of my farm animal art.  I will also be beginning a new horse mural on Sept. 6th that I will work on thru out the fall/winter season.  This coincides nicely with the Wayne County Fair that will begin on the same day!  You can read a story about my inspiration for the new mural here:

This month we will also have oil painter and Kidron resident Dennis Lipp painting rural landscapes and Amish farms from the rolling hills of our scenic community!   Dennis has some beautiful barn and farm landscapes in exquisite detail that you will not want to miss!  Two Sister’s Wool were a great hit at Lehman’s Local Artisan Festival in July and they will be back sharing the history and techniques of wool rug hooking which dates back to colonial days.  They will bring with them some samples of lovely primitive style rugs that they have made using recycled wool.  These rugs become heirlooms and are as practical and sturdy as they are beautiful!  We are pleased and excited to have them share their knowledge and skills with you. 

I will be writing regularly on this blog with more details of our full season of demonstrations by local artists and crafters from the Ohio Arts and Crafts Guild.  You can look forward to seeing pottery, fiber art,  beeswax Christmas ornaments, vintage fabric handicrafts, whimsical folk art, decorative painting,  wildlife art, gourd painting, woodcarving to name a few!  Subscribe to this blog or the events calendar to be notified of upcoming demonstrations and video clips. 

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It took 36 hours. That’s an eternity for a child. Or for a hatchling. And that’s the reason the new member of our family got her special name. Our new duckling is called “Milagro”-the Spanish word for “miracle”-because she had a lot of trouble making her entrance into the world. She didn’t give up, even though we almost gave up on her.

Milagro’s story begins, as all births do, with her mother. The mallard sat on a nest of nine eggs for two weeks. She only came off her bed of straw for brief moments to eat and drink. And the whole time she was away she called out loudly, “Leave me alone you ducks, chickens and humans! Can’t you see I’m in a hurry?” And looking back toward the nest she would cry out, “Don’t worry babies. I’m coming right back.”

But then one day she left the nest without any conversation. Two hours later she was still quietly foraging for food. It appeared to the children, who were eager for any excuse to claim the eggs, that the momma duck had abandoned them.
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Without a doubt, the summer heat can be hard on humans. But remember, livestock and animals can become sick in the summer heat just like we can.
It can be a time consuming chore to care for your livestock and animals in the heat. For those who have livestock in different locations, a great part of the day can be spent making sure they are ok. Here are a few quick reminders for anyone who keeps animals outside (this goes for dogs, too!):

WATER!

There is not anything more vital than a fresh water source for livestock and animals in the summer’s heat. Fresh, cool running streams are ideal for cattle, horses and many other livestock. Water containers should be kept clean and full of cool fresh water for animals without access to streams or creeks. Dumping and washing them out can be a hard chore but it can easily make the difference between life and death for your animals. Animals that depend on water bottles such as rabbits and chickens need to have their water filled and refreshed at least twice daily.

SHELTER and SHADE!

Animals and livestock need a place to get out of the sun’s intensity. This can be provided by sheds, barns or even a large grove of leafy trees. Rabbits need a shade hutch or cover to escape the sun.

AIR MOVEMENT!
The movement of the hot summer air can be blessing to your animals. Those kept up in barns or closed in houses need fans to move the air about. Failure to provide this can easily result in suffocation and heat exhaustion.

Take care of your animals in the hot summerʼs heat. Take care of your and your family.

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Someone recently asked ; although I can’t remember who as forgetting names is one of the quirks of aging ; should they buy a beautiful doe eyed Jersey whose only obvious flaw is she had a leaky teat ?

They also wanted to know why teats leak and is it harmful to the cow?

The answer to the first question is a resounding NO! Never buy a cow , goat or any livestock which has anything that is apparently wrong unless you just want to feed one for a pet and not breed and milk her.
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Enjoy the beauty of the Kidron area landscape thru the eyes of local artist Dennis Lipp. On July 12th, during Lehman’s Local Artisan Festival, Dennis can be found in the cafe and book area painting a scene from this area. So grab some lunch, coffee or ice cream and have a seat to enjoy seeing the creative process at work! Dennis, along with 13 other local artists will be participating in live demonstrations and offering their artwork for sale. Make a day of it and enjoy! Stop by www.kidronarts.com to read artists profiles and see a preview of artwork and demonstrations.

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On July 12 th you will get a chance to meet the folks from Longhedges Fiber Studio. Angela Seymour-Boss will be across from the customer service desk at the store in Kidron displaying and selling her fiber and fiber art during Lehman’s Local Artisan Festival. Angela, along with her husband Warren, own and operate a retail fiber shop as well as an alpaca and fiber animal farm. In the photo above you can see a sampling of some of her hand dyed and spun angora yarn. She offers knitting and spinning classes as well as a wide assortment of fiber from cleaned raw fiber from a wide variety of animals, to rovings, to yarn to finished products that make beautiful gifts. You can read about Angela and the other artists at www.kidronarts.com To learn more about Longhedges Fiber Studio go to www.longhedges.com

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