Baaaa cNEW Stuff

While playing HIDE AND SHEEP this booklet was discovered. Just who are these Ovines? And why do they look so different? We may need to ask our HC? Does anyone know of this flock?

Baaa'News~~~3 Ovine Plan on the knitted Eggplant~~~Himhe and Callopie STILL planning on live chat~~~A bit more worried as no news from Noah {or Noel}~~~Bobble H. Ovine has a project and is working at the other house ~~~KOO starting after school project for 2012 Krewe of Ovine float~~~BFSS aka Dee Vine still an issue!


Sunday, June 26, 2011

Planned, Rehearsed, Put in Action
posted by Herzig

Following our meeting with our MTF it was time to approach our HC with our plea for help. Since she had visited with Ellis after our visit was completed, Himhe and I decided the next day would be better to put our plan in action. The plan was really quite simple. I would gather the 3 items and ask our HC to knit another Eggplant for Piper. But from the moment I got to the bottom of the chair where she was sitting helping her MPU with some phone calls, the first obstacle appeared. She was knitting on another project. Then again she is always working on some knitting project or another. As a matter of fact there are so many PIP's {Projects in Progress} around where our pasture is located we could build a mountain. Asking to begin yet another PIP may just tip the mountain and crush the flock. Still, it was for Piper.

She didn't notice me and I sat at her feet for a good 10 minutes so finally I steadied my nerves and climbed up on the table. I positioned myself on the table between my HC and her MPU, right in the middle of where they were working. FINALLY I was noticed. Looking a mite resigned at having to take time away from other things, she stopped knitting and crossed her arms. She said "Good Afternoon Herzig. I'm guessing there is something you want from me?" With the fiber on each side and the needle on a tube with points on both ends draped over my back, I cleared my throat with a 'baaahh'.
  
I began the plan I'd rehearsed. "The flock, really me, need a huge favor HC. Do you remember the Eggplant you knitted long ago? The one that Piper asked if he could take it to with him to the pasture because he was lonely and needed a friend?" I said.
"Yes" HC replied, "I do recall both the Eggplant and my conversation with Piper. I also recall that Piper lost the Eggplant. I was a bit sad about that really, as of all the vegetables I knitted the Eggplant was the best. It looked exactly like an Eggplant. The carrot looked like a knitted carrot and the banana looked like a knitted banana. But the Eggplant, yes it looked knitted but it looked EXACTLY like an Eggplant. Why do you ask?" I meant to sneak the request into our talk and slowly. But all my planning went over the pasture fence and I just blurted out "I WANT YOU TO MAKE ANOTHER EGGPLANT!!"
Right away I knew I'd made a mistake. HC quickly pointed to the PIP she was working on and said "I'm right in the middle, the 3rd of 5 ADLs {Adult Dining Linens} which a lovely woman sitting next to me at the Malice Domestic Banquet asked me if I would knit for her. She saw my Mom's when she put it over her neck as our meal arrived and was so excited, as she had already asked many knitters to make them for her. No one would help her and she has already paid me a very generous amount of money. I've knitted her 2 so I have 3 more to knit."
"Couldn't you just tuck an Eggplant in between knitting for the lady? Oh, Please. It's for Piper!"

After a few minutes of silence she reached over and picked up the fiber I had found and asked if I got it from one of her bins. When I said yes she began to smile and said "I believe you found the same purple yarn I used before.....oh, and you found the green too. And whats this? Hm, size 3 needles? But Piper, I don't think I could find the pattern I used to make the knitted Eggplant, it was a few years ago."

Victory was just over the pasture gate if I could just unlatch it and push it open. So I told her I had taken care of all that!!!! Proudly I puffed out my fleece and said "Himhe helped me to go on the computer and we found the place you must have found the pattern the first time. I've managed to 'save' it into your Patterns folder into one called Odds & Ends. That is how I know the size of needle you will need is #3. I even learned what DP means so I brought along the tube with pointed ends on both sides and that pack with lots of DP #3s".

Would all my hunting and collecting result in the thing I wanted most for my best~est friend Piper. A knitted Eggplant? I could barely breath.............and then my HC nodded her head. She said, "You are a very good friend Herzig. The kind of friend everyone would love to have and so few of us ever find. If you have done all the hard work and found all the items I need, how could I say No. Yes I will knit an Eggplant for you. Maybe...I could stand outside the pasture when you give it to Piper. And just watch to see if he likes it?"
"HC, HOW COULD HE NOT LIKE IT, he will love it because he will know its not just another knitted Eggplant. It will be knitted by his HC and you knit his lost Eggplant."

HC made no promises on when the knitted Eggplant would be finished but she knows how important this PIP is and I'm sure I'll be able to report soon.

The happiest ovine in the pasture
Herzig

Saturday, June 25, 2011

OK, I've Been Silent Long Enough!
posted by Dee Vine CALLED BFSS BY THE FLOCK

I've noticed all the other posts the posting names are small. But ONCE AGAIN, its up to me to point out, my name should be seen and LARGE. Certainly, few would fail to recognize My Divine self, I am after all, Dee Vine. {I explained all that in the most important introduction on Meet the Ovines.}

I've taken note that Noah, The Grey One, is campaigning for the position of Easter Creature 2012 and has asked Mr Sparkles to be his CM. I find this a bit annoying since although I have been ridiculed since my arrival, they choose an Ovine with the same fleece I wear.  Because I 'am' THE FIRST SPECTACULAR OVINE IN THE FLOCK WITH LUXURIOUS COLORFUL FLEECE. Mr Sparkles arrived long after I made my debut. I live in the same flock as the candidate but he choose a CM on the other side of the country! But none of this treatment of moi, surprises me at all. 

 Its all about jealousy~and who can really blame the flock. To achieve anything close to my sense of style, brilliant conversational skills, and magnetic personality must be daunting, if not impossible. Which no doubt has led to the flock behaving rudely and just leaving me out of their games.

Two incidences of which I have photographic proof! Now some may not have realized my difficulty with the current banner photo. {Should you read this at a later date all banner photos are archived on our 'Photo Banner Page'}. To assist you gaining a complete understanding of my issue about this photo, I explain the TRUTH, under the photo.


When we posed for our formal 'Duncan Lake' photo in 2009 I SUGGESTED we all face West, it is my best side after all. But since the rest had already decided to look East~~well, I ended up being the only Ovine facing in the CORRECT direction. I'm posed nicely at the left top end of the dock. From clockwise  facing the WRONG direction? At the 1100 position, Esme the Ewe and at 0100 Noah, The Grey One {I hope he listens to his Campaign photographer better than he did ME}, 0300 Ellis the Ram, 0400 Callopie, 0500 Sullivan, 0800 Herzig and at 0900 Piper. Now I realized most would believe I was the one at fault. So I correct your reasoning now! I am the ONLY Ovine who understood the important of the photo being snapped from MY BEST SIDE.

During that same trip it was decided that we ALL should pick berries. Why? There was endless MLGV where ever one stepped. I AGAIN explained this fact to the flock who ignored my flawless insight. And YET AGAIN, they picked berries. I on the other hand took the logical course of taking a bit of leisure time on the swing. Don't you just know they posted this picture explaining I didn't wish to associate with them in their berry nonsense. They posted MY photo on some twit nit sight calling me a Diva!!!

Well, I've had quite enough of their behavior. So I am going to begin my own campaign in the flock. I'm toying with running for MOST DELICIOUS DIVA or OVINE OF DE~VINE or even DIFFERENT IS FAR SUPERIOR TO BEING AVERAGE. {I haven't really decided which 'crown' might suit me best and must be careful to choose which is best~~~~as obviously I will be the winner}. 

Divinely Yours,
Dee Vine

Friday, June 24, 2011

MAYBE, I FIRST SHOULD CHECK WITH OUR MTF?
Posted by Herzig


I was all fired up and ready to tackle our HC. Needles, fiber and pattern I started out of the pasture to find her. Nothing could stop me now! Then, on the way out Himhe stopped me and ask where I was heading. After telling him I had all I needed and of course again thanking him for helping me find the pattern, he asked a question. "I know what a good friend you are and we all have learned a lot about VDD which Piper developed. I am wondering if we need to check with our MTF?"  Confused I asked "Why? Piper is getting better each day so what would be need to ask our MTF about anyway?"

"Well," Himhe began, "we don't know exactly how or why Piper developed VDD but we do know when. It started when he lost his Eggplant. So it might be a good idea to ask Ellis the Original, since he was the person who identified Piper's VDD, if giving him another knitted Eggplant is safe. Piper's may misplace it again. Or some creature may steal it. Since he lost his first knitted Eggplant he might be so afraid of losing another it might be bad for his VDD?"

Now this was a turn of events I hadn't even considered. All my work finding and collecting what was needed for a new knitted Eggplant was wasted? It was like waking up and going into the pasture for a fresh MLGV breakfast and finding a farmer had plowed our pasture. Nothing to see but dirt. Himhe quickly told me not to be sad as Ellis the Original would probably say it was a great idea and think Piper having a new knitted Eggplant was just fine. Still, when would we be able to visit our MTF? And if we asked to go with our HC the next time she had an appointment, she might want to know why. Then she might say she wouldn't make one anyway, even before we checked with our MTF.  Himhe told me not to worry, he would work it out.....and the next morning he had. He asked Esme to get our HC to take Himhe and I along for an adventure, because our HC had an appointment that very day. So putting our 3 things into a bag then in the car, safely tucked away, we left with our HC that afternoon.

Seeing us with our bag, MTR Ellis invited us into his office telling our HC he wanted to show us around before their appointment. {Such insight is why he is our MTF} 

We pulled the 3 items out of the bag so he could examine them. Then he asked "Is this Eggplant like the one Piper lost?" We explained that it was the same materials and pattern, although I thought the real knitted Eggplant looked much better than the one in the picture. Ellis looked confused for a bit. Then he said "Are you going to knit this eggplant?"
I think that was the first time I ever heard Himhe laugh, although I had to listen quite closely. Guess it wasn't really a laugh more like a chuckle. So I told Ellis of course not, that I was going to get an HC to knit the Eggplant. Still looking confused his next question was "I don't understand why you need to talk to me~~I CAN'T KNIT".  OK, this time it was definitely a laugh I heard from Himhe. After I glared at Himhe, I said "the ONLY reason we came to speak with you was because HIMHE!!! thought we should ask if it would be safe for Piper to have another knitted Eggplant."

"Well, now I understand what is going on here. Because Piper developed VDD and I know about VDD and Piper......you want to be sure making this knitted Eggplant won't be harmful for Piper." Nodding, I waited for his answer.


It was then I knew it had been a good thing to ask Ellis our MTF. He leaned over and patted my back and told me that I was a wonderful friend and certainly, a knitted Eggplant would be a fine thing for Piper to have again. Especially one that a good friend like me had worked so hard to get for him. I told him of my plan of getting my HC to agree to knit the Eggplant and with a wink of his eye he said "I'll hint a bit about it to her myself during our appointment. She often has some knitting in her bag. We have spoken of knitting before and maybe it will plant an idea, then all you have to do work your plan. I only have one request Herzig." "What?" I said. Ellis replied, "I would like to see the knitted Eggplant when it is finished. Maybe you and Piper will visit with the knitted Eggplant."

And I would make sure that would happen.

Back to the plan,
Herzig

Wednesday, June 22, 2011


ECCH WORKING ON CAMPAIGN PLATFORM
Dictated by Sullivan/ECCHM and Posted by Ovi/ECCHAM

ECCH staff has decided to draft a Campaign Platform which we knows is a bit out of order from what is normally done. Done? Well, a platform we have learned, is a statement of positions on issues, which a political party makes promises to achieve.  Hm. Sort of like a check off list of things they want and they will make happen. The Campaign is all about exactly what they say they will do to achieve the promises in their Platform. The Election is to vote the candidate of a party to a specific job where they do what the platform wanted and promised. The term of office an elected candidate spends seems to be nothing at all to do with the platform.

This brought up quite a debate at ECCH, why would a platform for Easter Creature 2012 be needed at all....We didn't do the 'party' step. We went directly to having a candidate and we knew our Noah and anyone who had met the Rude Rabbit would know all they needed to know. But Piper has started to speak lately, thanks to Herzig, and in the middle of the debate he started talking.

"The reason we should write a platform of all the things we believe is so we can remind ourselves of the reasons the position of Easter Creature shouldn't belong to any one creature. It is a very very important job. Its a job all about joy, spring, kindness and being nice. It is a job about a religious belief that helps children understand their faith. And it makes me think that there must be similar wonderful ways for children growing up in all faiths and maybe those who celebrate Easter could learn about those other children and their faiths. And our Noah's encounter last spring with that Rude Rabbit showed that the Rabbit has begun to care more about himself than being nice. We don't want children learning about Easter from the Rabbit."

I looked around the headquarters and saw that all the Ovines were listening very carefully to Piper. Piper had stopped talking but I knew that there was so much more he could share so I asked him to please go on.

"If you want me to Sullivan" Piper said. "The Platform will be to remind us that the position of Easter Creature shouldn't belong to Ovines either. It will tell us before we become rude and inconsiderate Easter Ovines, just why Noah decided to ask to be Easter Creature." Piper looked down for a moment and then said, "I believe there should be several issues we address in the Platform. 1. That Easter Creature is for any creature. 2. That kindness is important. But I think we also should teach what Ellis the Ram and Esme the Ewe teach each of us. To be OPEN AND ACCEPTING of everyone and every belief. 3. That life in the pasture or a rabbit hole or a nest in the tree is all about being careful how we live. Pastures aren't made of plastic and can't be purchased in a store, so why should Easter baskets. Easter should be all about being Green. After all, Green is the color in the Pasture. Green is one of the colors that tell us its Spring. Green is the color of growing. That is all I have to say, Thank You Sullivan for allowing me to speak."

One by one each of us agreed that those 3 ideas were the perfect beginning for the PLATFORM. As baa'ing broke out it was soon decided that 1.Easter doesn't belong to only 1 Creature and 2. Open and Accepting, would be easy to explain in our PLATFORM. But the real fun would be in 3. Green. Somewhere I just knew Noah was saying, TAKE THAT RUDE RABBIT!


ECCH~CM SULLIVAN

Friday, June 17, 2011

3. NEEDLES, The Easiest of the Three
POSTED BY HERZIG

Finding 'things' belonging to my HC can be a daunting challenge. She's not a hoarder and she has worked very hard to conquer her 'pack rat' habits. But she is and will never be cured of her ADHD. The flock has learned to live with a HC with Severe Combined ADHD, which can alternate between frustrating and funny. Well, that would be 'funny' and 'frustrating' for us and 'Uber Frustrating' for her. What we truly find outrageously funny is when we hear other HCs speak about how focused and insightful she is about something. And she is, externally. Internally she is a huge whirlwind, Or as she describes it.....inside her brain is a big room which contains thousands of ping pong balls and filled with static electricity causing the balls to fly around non-stop day and night. So while she is amazingly creative and obsessively engaged in organizing items and schedules, sheoften gets sidelined before completing a task. When she is knee deep in a task any distraction can overwhelm her causing great stress. And should her 'flow be broken' it will cause complete failure UNLESS. 

UNLESS, we have come to learn, means 'time'. Our HC requires 'processing' time. For example, our HC loves nothing more than sitting and frolicking with the flock and can spend hours with us, which we love. But if we plan to sit and frolic at 1500 on Tuesday and on Monday Ellis says to her, "Hey lets just all frolic right now." She falls off the pasture fence. Ellis has learned and is very adept at saying instead....."HC? I know we planned on sitting and frolicking Tuesday at 1500 but perhaps and only if you want, we could say~~frolic in about an hour? If you decide it is OK just let us know." As Esme is very astute also and takes great care to teach us all, we generally have gotten much better at 'processing' time also. So ADHD is a system about which we are very knowledgeable.

Oh yea, finding things belonging to our HC. One of the little quirks of ADHD can be clutter. Add to the our HC also suffers from OCD-Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Which means even with clutter she is always working at organizing the clutter just so. This is great if the organization has reached a good place but not so much if she hasn't 'gotten back to that' due to her high distractability issues. Clear as a fence post, right?

How does this relate to the 3rd and final item I must find. Fortunately the needles she uses for knitting are generally collected and organized in one spot, if a needle isn't engaged in a project. Ah, maybe I'd best correct the collected and organized statement. The needles are 'collected' although not precisely 'organized'. But the system works for our HC.

We know just where to find the place the needles are stored, in a rolling cart in the second drawer. And as we all go to school, I am a dap hoof at numbers. The pattern said SIZE 3 DP NEEDLES. Although still baffled by the meaning of DP the '3' should help me find what I needed.

Then when I was looking through the drawer I noticed although all the needles had pointed ends to move fiber around, some were pointed on both ends. While others were pointed at one end with a sort of lid on the other. AND some had points at both ends but flexible ropes in between 2 pieces with pointed ends. Pointed? The 'P' might mean pointed. AH HA, another flash of insight. Maybe the needles with 'points' at each end.....meaning 2 ends.....and if 1 point meant SINGLE perhaps the 'D' might stand for DOUBLE. 1=SINGLE AND 2=DOUBLE. Well, might as well give it a try. So I selected different sorts of needles in cases with the number '3'.

I selected one with a flexible rope between the pointed pieces as that seems to be the sort of needle our HC usually knits with and a packet full of needles which had a 3 on it. The rope needles were in a packet so I knew they also were 3's but decided it might be easier to transport all to the pasture to join the fiber, if I removed the rope needles from the packet.  Now I would need to  developed my approach with my HC.

Part 1 of the Plan was completed. 1. YARN 2. PATTERN 3. NEEDLES

Next, getting our HC to cooperate,
HERZIG

Thursday, June 16, 2011

NEXT-HOW TO KNIT THE EGGPLANT
POSTED BY HERZIG

I could have spent days, weeks, months FOREVER looking through all the books and papers belonging to my HC but who knows if she still had the pattern anymore. I had no idea when the knitted Eggplant was completed. Best to try and find it on the Internet. If it wasn't there my mission was sure to fail. But luck was on my side and with Himhe's assistance, as I'm not all that computer literate, SUCCESS!


Typing in 'Eggplant Pattern Knitting' there it was.


So I found what looked like the logical site to have the pattern for the knitted Eggplant. Again my luck held as I selected the one at the top of the list of suggested matches. As I crossed all 4 of my hooves, which made it a bit tricky to click the cursor I can tell you!!!! I managed to click. I closed my eyes and counted to 10. And when I opened my eyes............

There was the very thing I'd been looking for....at the back of the bowl on the picture in front of me on the computer~~~A KNITTED EGGPLANT! So it was a matter of scrolling down until I found what I wanted~~~~
A KNITTED EGGPLANT PATTERN.


Himhe showed me how to save the pattern into a file in Documents. And amazingly we found a file called 'patterns' in that library. Opening it up we saw several files all clearly marked, but nothing saying 'eggplant' or 'vegetables'. But there was a file called 'odds and ends' and that is where I saved the knitted Eggplant pattern. So when I tackle our HC to make a new knitted Eggplant for my best-est friend Piper, I would tell my HC just where to find part 2 of my hunt. 1. Yarn 2. Pattern, all that is left for this part of my hunt was what needles my HC would need to knit with. But what needle. And then just before I finished with the computer search I caught sight of just what I needed........

NUMBER 3 NEEDLES
 'DP'? I'd figure that out when I found out where all the needles were stored.

The Hunt Continues,
Herzig

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Technical Problems Creating Campaign Material !
posted from ECCH Staff

The ECCH crew has been working 'ears to tail' creating banners, signs and working on the party Platform. The Platform draft we are very pleased with, and will post about it and put it on our Campaign 2012 page~very soon.

The other tasks were going well but we were suddenly being plagued with technical issues due to our Campaign Materials Software. Callopie, our Office Manager, had done research and found a company offering a great deal. So we ordered it and got to work. All went off without a hitch, we thought. But when we later opened them up to finalize and print-things weren't as we had 'saved' them. We investigated the entire ECCH staff but no one had been on the computer so no ovine action seemed to be responsible for the problems. The first problem we noticed was a line which appeared on a sign we were planning. The two small photos here show what we saw when we opened the saved file.
BEFORE

AFTER
Also, don't misunderstand, we like purple very much. Purple is one of our favorite colors. But we didn't put the little purple line there! Plus the color purple from the 'before' was different from the color purple in the 'after'. Noah, The Grey One, is normally our 'figure it out via research' ovine. But he was in the Dennison Pasture with his Campaign Manager Mr Sparkles working on campaign strategies. Himhe and Ovi spent a few days at the computer trying everything they could to find the answers but finally had to admit, they had no answers.

So we asked our Callopie for the information on the software and where she had procured the product. After a bit of time on the computer she had all the information we needed. The software we purchased came from Campaign Design Software Co. owned by UBuyWeNoSupport Inc. They had a live chat line we could go to, which we had no doubt would explain and give solutions for our problems. At least that is what we hoped. Before we started our live chat and knowing our HC has often used such resources for many items she has purchased, it was decided we get some pointers on the best approach with this method.

That is when we first heard the word~~~the name~~~MUQBAR. Based on our HC's reaction...the flock realized.....we might be in big trouble.

Sullivan and staff at ECCH

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

First, Find Everything!
posted by Herzig
 My clue was our HC, as one who knits, probably had made the knitted Eggplant. Now our HC is always working at something and always has many needles on which grow things made from fiber. And I didn't want to answer any questions from her about what I was looking for, so I would need to be weary as I searched. Plus based on the few facts I'd gathered I was taking a big chance I would find what I was seeking. I would need to search for 2separate things fiber and sticks, but the most important would be the fiber.  
 
Certainly as items of fiber come in things called skeins and the knitted Eggplant wasn't all that big and IF the only thing our HC made with the 2 colors of fiber was the knitted Eggplant~CERTAINLY THERE SHOULD BE PLENTY OF THE SAME COLORED FIBER LEFTOVER. So I began to poke about all the places our HC keeps her fiber. So one by one I checked the piles of fiber and to my great delight, SUCCESS! 
The first place I looked was the Green fiber. The green was used to make the leaves on top of the knitted Eggplant. I didn't know if I should be thrilled at how quickly I located the green fiber or maybe it was more likely to be worried that all else would be difficult to locate. I chose to be thrilled and collected the green fiber and put it in my secret place in the pasture. Now, I had to find the purple fiber.

This find had me HLBing but I refrained from bleating out about my good fortune, no point in alerting anyone after all! And it was EXACTLY the yarn the knitted Eggplant was made of, at Ieast I just knew it had to be.

 I took the purple and put it with the green. Search 1 completed-I found the fiber. The next search would be a bit different from the search for the fiber. Fiber was easily seen all about where our HC lives. But what about the sticks that the fiber is attached too to do knitting. How would I know if a special stick in a specific size was required? Ah, now that I thought about it, it seems our HC always has a paper or a book of some sort as she is knitting...........as much as I wanted to keep my plan secret I was going to need to speak to someone who might know about the knitting things.....HIMHE!!! Himhe had something made by our HC which was knitted. His special cap, the one that is always on his head because he is of the Jewish faith. Himhe would be my next step then. And Himhe is very trustworthy and kind and knowledgeable.

In the morning perhaps. It had gotten dark and I was extremely weary. Finding the fiber and sneaking it away to the secret place in the pasture was a lot of work.

Time for sleep,
Herzig


Friday, June 10, 2011

A NEW PLAN!

And the colors which will be perfect are Purple and Green. I came home from my search up at the pasture of my HC's parents, in the country. I had looked everywhere I could think of, no knitted Eggplant. That night before we fell asleep I told Piper of all the places I had looked and to keep the faith as I would find the knitted Eggplant. Piper sighed but what he said gave me encouragement. He told me that he wanted to thank me for taking all the time and facing all the danger of looking in holes, under places and even climbing up into a bird bath and a tree. Thanks was all I needed to not give up. And he was talking more and more, and not in Eggplant. Each day more and more of my best-est friend Piper was coming back.

After a night's rest, as we were all breakfasting on MLGV, my mind was thinking away. I knew I was missing something, but what? Start back at the beginning! Our HC reads to us each night from mystery stories, our favorites are written by our GFBFHD and CBFED, I have learned that our hero's~~~VICKY HILL AND PENNY BRANNIGAN often tell themselves~~~Start back at the beginning and think of everything. Think carefully to see if there is anything you missed. Or something you had seen or known but hadn't thought about. Or think about what you do know but from a different perspective {I got that word from Noah long ago}. 

So while we all were munching away I did just that, I thought about the knitted Eggplant which could be viewed as the start of the story. I STOPPED MUNCHING AND REALIZED, a knitted Eggplant. Quickly I bounced over to Piper and asked him where he got his knitted Eggplant and he told me he found it. Where did you find it was my next question. Piper explained that one day when he had no one to play with he had been looking about in our HC's room. And he had found the knitted Eggplant sitting in a basket full of yarn and knitting needles. It looked lonely and as he was lonely he carried it out of the basket and went to find our HC.

I asked Piper what he went to ask the HC. "If I could play with the Eggplant and keep it with me in the pasture" he said. "Why ask our HC?" I said. And there it was, the answer to the puzzle.

No, the answer wasn't finding the lost knitted Eggplant. But there was an even better answer!!!! Because Piper answered my why question by saying "Well since the knitted Eggplant was in a basket in her room and because as anyone in the flock knows~~~our HC knits. The only reason why the knitted Eggplant was in the basket in her room was she must have KNITTED THE EGGPLANT!"

At that point I started HLBing all around the pasture bleating "THAT'S IT THAT'S IT".  "What's it?" said all the ovines around us. I loudly bleated, "THE ANSWER!!!!"

I was Vicky Hill and Penny Brannigan all rolled into one, except of course that I am a boy and they are girls. NOW, I knew what had to be done so I began my quest.

HERZIG 

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

SHE JUST APPEARED!
posted by Esme the Ewe

There we were, bedtime and all was settling down in the pasture, when our HC came and told us we needed to come upstairs. Upstairs to her pasture. Telling the flock to go to sleep and leaving Willie in charge, as the oldest Ovine, we followed her up the stairs. Ellis asked what she wanted us to go to her pasture for at this time of night, "You'll See" was the only answer she gave. Once in her pasture she point to the other side of her sleeping place so I followed Ellis as we moved about the foot of her bed to the other side. Again Ellis ask what was there to see. "Up and Over on the blue dresser on top of the Indian Blanket" she said pointing toward it.

Finally without us asking she reached down and us lifted up onto her bed. We both walked toward the dresser.......and then we saw. The fleece balls and the collecting area for future fleece balls.


I said "you mean the glass under the pile of fleece waiting to be wound?" No came the answer. "You and Ellis are looking at the wrong end of the pile, the other end." Both Ellis and I looked very carefully and at just as he started to say "All I see is more"~~~it moved??? Every so slightly but both Ellis and I stood quite still and watched it and yes, there it was again. It seemed to be gently swaying from side to side.

At that point Ellis said "OK, lets go see what is behind the fleece pile." Our HC said "no just wait a moment, we don't want to scare it away". Then a sound, a tiny little bleat! The sort of sound young lambs make when standing beside their mothers when they are a bit timid. And again the bleat. At that point, a little head popped up and looked out over the fleece pile!!!

Ellis and I just stood quietly for a moment, then I said to the little lamb "Welcome home little one, you will be safe now". With a bit of bleating the little lamb came around the fleece pile and stood. Ellis said to me, "she is still scared of us I think. I'll go down and find a place for her tonight in the pasture. Perhaps Callopie and Sullivan would be the best to care for her tonight."

Ellis left the bed and went downstairs and the little lamb with the littlest of steps began to come to me. "Hello you pretty little lamb. I'm Esme the Ewe and you will be safe here. By what name shall we call you?"

And she bleated very softly........Grace.

Always with open pasture gates,
Esme the Ewe

Monday, June 6, 2011

My Buddy, Piper
posted by Herzig


Piper aka Eggplant is once again getting better. He doesn't speak to me in Eggplant any more...but he really doesn't talk much at all. I mean he never was a chatterbox but now he speaks even less. He is my best-est friend and will always be we were adopted together from Patternworks in New Hampshire. But he still seems very sad.

I know if I had just been a better friend and not been so busy and I hadn't stopped treating Piper as a friend should, than maybe this would have never happened. Maybe if I'd been a better friend he would never have found the knitted Eggplant. If I hadn't been so busy maybe he wouldn't have begun to think he would be happier being an Eggplant. If he hadn't lost his Eggplant or if I had been a better friend when he did lose his Eggplant, maybe he wouldn't have suffered from VDD. He certainly would miss his knitted Eggplant if it were lost, but with a friend to feel sad along with him, the VDD might never have appeared.

I wasn't there when he needed me and so I've decided to go and look for his Eggplant. Piper tells me the last thing he remembers is going on an Adventure and when he came back he couldn't find Eggplant. But he doesn't remember exactly where they went on the Adventure. Ellis the Ram and Esme the Ewe have been so busy with a new Ovine that wandered in and with the rest of the flock all working on the Easter Creature 2012 Campaign, I have no one to ask just where the Adventure happened. So last week I went with my HC, up to the house she worries so about and works so hard on, and hunted all around for the knitted Eggplant.

AND I LOOKED EVERYWHERE!!!


While my HC got things ready to mow the lawn I decided to start at the far right corner of the yard. There was a beautiful tree with fragrant Lilacs. Now what better place for an Eggplant to hide than among lilac colored flowers. So up I climbed into the tree and hunted on each branch and each crook where branches separated. But no knitted Eggplant.


Then, over in the opposite end of the yard I noticed some tiny red colors peeking out all around this tree. So over I went and up I climbed. But quickly I realized that this tree had very large thorns on all its branches. And they were quite painful when they poked through my fleece to my body. But once I was up in this tree I decided I might as well look thoroughly, to avoid having to check this tree again. I found out later this is a Quince bush. Quinces are some sort of fruit and I hope they taste good as it would appear its very risky to get the Quinces out of their place of growth, Again, No knitted Eggplant.



Between this thorny bush and the porch with screens, making it lovely to sit and watch birds, I noticed a bird bath. Fortunately it had no water nor bird 'deposits' in it although for my friend Piper such things wouldn't stop me from looking. So up I climbed to the bowl on top of the pedestal upon which it rested and looked. No knitted Eggplant.


With all that climbing I needed a bit of a rest so I walked along the lawn by the porch and around the corner to a beautiful herb bed but saw nothing purple at all. When I got past the herb bed I came to the back of the house where a wooden porch had been built. Under it was a deep cave. So I edged my way under the trough holding Portulaca and once under could see light at the other side. Thank goodness the light allowed me to look all around under the wooden porch without having to crawl into the darkness. Just to make sure nothing was hiding I did call out, just in case. No knitted Eggplant.


 It occurred to me that on the other side of the bird bath had been a tree which seemed to be about to bloom. And a hint of purple could be seen poking about on the buds. So I walked back along the porch and looked up. Indeed it seemed purple colors might be about to appear. Later my HC explained it was called a Butterfly Bush and would soon have purple flowers all over it. It is called a Butterfly Bush because the flowers call out to Butterflies and when the time was right it was possible to sit and enjoy Butterflies and Blooms. The leaves didn't hide anything so after I looked over the bush I decided to check under the bush. No knitted Eggplant.


Next I remembered there had been 2 places back on the side of the yard where the Lilacs were, so over I went. There it was a huge dense patch of green leaves growing skyward. I recognized it from a picture. It was the leaves of a root which was called Horseradish. A favorite of the PPU of our HC, from who she learned the joys of the root. It was daunting but in I went. I explored under all the Horseradish plant leaves and it took quite a while. No knitted Eggplant.


 I heard my HC call out at that time that it would soon be time to put away all the lawn care items and begin to prepare to return home. She told me to look in the last few spots while she took care of the equipment. Fortunately a place I still wanted to look was right next to the Horseradish patch so over I went. I looked up into the Sage plant and easily could see there was no place to hide. But the bottom of the plant was covered in grass and weeds so I gave a quick look there. No knitted Eggplant.

I had searched very hard and it was very hot but until my HC called that we were leaving there still were spots to check. I walked back toward the Quince Bush looking in the pine hedges and searching in the lawn. It was then I discovered a hole. Covered with lawn growing over it. It was a bit scary but maybe, just maybe....I put my head down and burrowed through the grass. Luckily it wasn't an animal hole but rather was a drain of some sort in cement in the shape of the bottom half of a circle and where the cement went under the ground I could see a white tube. This must be where water from the pool and washing machine would empty. So I knew even if something had rolled into it it would have been floated out when the HC was washing clothing or cleaned the pool with the filter. No knitted Eggplant.
I felt very badly that I would soon be returning to the pasture with no good news to report to my friend Piper. Maybe this wasn't where the Adventure happened. I would ask Ellis and Esme when they had time. The only thing I knew is nothing was lost in the pasture.
On the way home I began to wonder if there might be another way to find a knitted Eggplant?
I won't give up,
Herzig