a funny, as in odd week.  i don't know why.  just out of focus, off balance.  just some.  ok, but just ok.

017
the grown goats would like more attention.  they would like it if i sat with them.  scratching.  talking.  they wished for that.

008FIX
the young ones are busy learning.  this is Inky and his brother Darth Vader (just what i call them, not a name they will remain with). 

016
Sunny Ray, nibbling his sister,  Cinderella's chin.  practicing saying things to her that will, he's thinking, be useful in the future.  Goats are very verbal.  the exchanges between buck goats and does are almost startling unless you have heard them before.  the bucks have an extremely wide array of verbal exchanges that all the goats,  even the mature does understand.  it's, ummmm, really amazing to say the least.  so all that has begun.  and, as i watch and listen, i am also knowing that it is to no avail.  as soon as the daughter comes back again, they will all begin the process of being neutered,  the bucks…small rings clamped around their testicles which over a period of days, wither and drop off.  hmmmm.  so all this busyness is really for naught.  and i watch Cinderella and Magic, in their doe~ness receiving all this attention (well, the brothers to brother, too) but i think about Cinderella and Magic.  in another one to two months they Could be bred.  in goat world, life does not hesitate.  particularly with Nigerian Dwarves.  in their world of origin, they are prey to lion, cheetah, hyeena. 

and i began the first, really, boro work. 

001FIX
this is one of the original hose dresses.  jumper.  it has been with me since my kids were little. so 30 some years.  it has worn so thin here…like a hanky, and once i began stitching, it became like gauze.

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i cut slits so i could weave other cloth in.  and did.

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it ended up feeling….bizzy.   the other side is as worn, but i am working that differently.  which do i like the most?  which is most efficient to sustain the integrity of the fabric? 

thinking a lot about the conversation of Deb G over in the Boro 2 workshop.  as in,  What if this were All i had and i needed to maintain it.

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Thinking.

019
and during all this, the sunflowers have begun to bloom.  they are a mix of wild sunflower and the Zulu Prince that i used to plant.  this year, there are many.  strong.  really strong.  and i have been thinking about trees.  shade trees.  all the trees i have planted and that have grown and then died for yearly reasons.  some, insects.  some that harsh winter.  but to grow a shade tree is not nothing here.  and again, i am thinking about sustain  ability.  i watched Valerianna's video…her forest and i longed for just one tree this week.  just one.

 

 

 

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44 responses to “neither here nor there”

  1. elizabeth fortes Avatar
    elizabeth fortes

    Dear Grace: these are wonderful vistas into your world. Lovely! …. the pictures of the goats and how they’re developing…. i’m also loving the boro on the jumper. What and ingenious way to weave those pieces in and then …Kantha! Big smiles on my face at seeing this post…..much love, e.

    Like

  2. Michelle in NYC Avatar

    I haven’t the heart for serious husbandry, and would’ve bee a lousy goatherd. But that’s just culture. I’d have grown the heart had there been the necessity, or maybe I’d have been one of the crazy ones who just wandered away into the desert.
    Your dress is so completely real. Nothing you could do would ever take that away from it. It’s cloth living for the moment, longevity cloth, a cloth museum. an authentic boro project from one who really gets it.

    Like

  3. Hoola Tallulah Avatar

    Oh goodness, are you really going to clamp their testicles? 😦 I don’t want to jump on my animal rights activist pedestal (because generally I am not one of those), but really? There are other ways…

    Like

  4. Hoola Tallulah Avatar

    I blogged about my goat getting the chop http://hoolatallulah.blogspot.co.uk/2008/01/time-for-chop.html no clamps, he was right as rain once the scar had healed… 🙂

    Like

  5. saskia Avatar

    how lovely the dress and shirt look together!
    those truly soft tones, some having developed through wear&tear, the others from dyeing and to keep on wearing both in years to come…..
    and your kantha, as always I love it!
    if this were all you had, hmmm tough one, I suppose it could be like that; I myself hardly buy clothes (or other new stuff), it started out of necessity (lack of money) and is now my/our way of life: recycle/re-use etc., but I have to admit I love receiving new bags of second-hands and rummaging thru them and making a ‘new’ wardrobe for myself and the other family members….

    Like

  6. ali Avatar

    Having spent mot of the past year and a half in the concrete land of few tress in sight and no birds anywhere, I understand your longing for “just one tree”. When I’m in the desert, I love the cacti, but long for trees and green after a while, whereas many of my extended family live in the desert and when they visit me, they love the trees and green, but at some point they start feeling closed-in, claustrophobic and can’t wait to get back to their long desert vistas and open skies.
    your hose dress, at over 30 years, is a story cloth in itself–I watch and listen eagerly

    Like

  7. ali Avatar

    Having spent mot of the past year and a half in the concrete land of few tress in sight and no birds anywhere, I understand your longing for “just one tree”. When I’m in the desert, I love the cacti, but long for trees and green after a while, whereas many of my extended family live in the desert and when they visit me, they love the trees and green, but at some point they start feeling closed-in, claustrophobic and can’t wait to get back to their long desert vistas and open skies.
    your hose dress, at over 30 years, is a story cloth in itself–I love your cloth weaving, and I watch and listen eagerly for more

    Like

  8. ali Avatar

    Having spent mot of the past year and a half in the concrete land of few tress in sight and no birds anywhere, I understand your longing for “just one tree”. When I’m in the desert, I love the cacti, but long for trees and green after a while, whereas many of my extended family live in the desert and when they visit me, they love the trees and green, but at some point they start feeling closed-in, claustrophobic and can’t wait to get back to their long desert vistas and open skies.
    your hose dress, at over 30 years, is a story cloth in itself–I love your cloth weaving, and I watch and listen eagerly for more

    Like

  9. jude Avatar

    i love how that make things into little mountains.
    you mending is honest. that’s nice.

    Like

  10. Valerianna Avatar

    Its amazing how just a bit of new cloth on the jumper revives it totally… I wonder if more will happen on it? And, funny, in my reply to your comment on my blog, I said that I get 10ft sunflower envy at points during the summer, but when everyone is melting and I am comparitively cool in the shaded forest, I remember the gift of tall trees. Here you are posting about sunflowers…. ha!

    Like

  11. Linda Avatar

    it’s been a funny week for me too. i wonder if there is some astrological thing going on. i have had time but feel restless.
    i love the dress as i said over at cb2 keeping on..
    goats are funny creatures. where would they be in the wild?
    will look it up.

    Like

  12. Nancy Avatar

    I love these colors…the earth, sky, flora…reflected in the cloths you wear. They look so nice together, can’t wait to see them on you! I liked the fact that the sides are different. Maybe that is because I fight the urge for symmetrical. Anyway, I love the color the mending has brought to the jumper blue. I agree with Michelle with her ‘longevity cloth’ term. This is one of and for the ages.
    I’m also of the odd week.

    Like

  13. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    e……the weaving is JUDE. and as i worked on the non woven side this afternoon i constantly glanced over at
    the woven. it’s really truly like a kind of magic. what
    is so frail can be cut and woven into and becomes so strong. i am still surprised when it happens.
    thank you for the much love…can use it………..

    Like

  14. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    Michelle…i am looking at that. , the heart for serious husbandry. it’s not about Pets. or Fun. it’s about
    being in relationship with animals who make food. i do “this” for/with them, they give me food.
    this dress is really interesting.

    Like

  15. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    oh, Hoola………..yes. we are really going to clamp
    their testicles. the other ways are surgical and neither my daughter or certainly not me are up to that at this
    time. who knows, maybe in the future? but
    the neutering MUST occur. only very few bucks can remain.
    keeping in mind too, out of 5 kids born so far, 3 are
    bucks. unless they are exceptional breeding potential, they will become unwanted over time. they are smelly and
    have bucky habits and unless you really really LOVE goats,
    you would not be able to see their beauty.
    the other option at the moment is to take them to the vet
    to have it done surgically and that is unpleasant too, for
    them. i’m not really up for that. it’s totally traumatic.
    but the banding is uncomfortable for a day and then they don’t pay any attention.
    have you or do you have goats? tell me, if so. i am
    trying to accomodate these realities. it’s not easy.

    Like

  16. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    S…i have always loved worn things. always. so it was
    never by need or decision. just how i was. for instance,
    i have always loved mismatched plates. everyone has a different plate. my kids grew up that way. the grandkids when they come, 23 and 22, still expect me to set the
    table with “their” plate. the grandson has a “chinese
    restrauant” plate with dragons, the granddaughter a plate
    from my grandmother. so…like that.
    i love old. i love worn. i love patina, fray. in Japanese culture, Wabi Sabi. i have NO IDEA where this came from. it just occured.
    i too love cruising the thrift shop. an adventure.
    but it is really got me…this What If and i love it so
    much because i know now i can make Beauty, can make
    a very satisfying aesthetic

    Like

  17. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    there are some trees that are here. but all the trees
    that would be Shade trees have not made it.
    i wish for them mostly for the goats. where my daughter
    used to live, before she went to california and now back,
    there were trees. nice. the goats lounged. here, it’s
    dry dust. i am trying to understand about my “feelings”
    about this. the goats are not seeming sad.

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  18. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    hmmmm.

    Like

  19. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    it’s that thing about everything having a front and a back.
    the bigger the front, the bigger the back.

    Like

  20. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    i wish i could call my old friend Honey Dove. she would
    RATTLE OFF a literal ton of astrological reasons.
    these are Nigerian Dwarves. they are a breed not really long in this country. they were first imported here by zoos to feed lions and cheetahs.

    Like

  21. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    yeah, i think it must be planets. it’s ongoing here.

    Like

  22. Linda Avatar

    i looked them up and saw that. what a weird thing.
    they are so cute and look like they have lots of personality.
    wonder if the zoo keepers fell in love with them too..
    honey dove is a good name

    Like

  23. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    she is a good woman and a committed astrologer.
    fortunately, someone noticed that these small goats
    give an enormous amount of very high quality milk.
    easily the best breed of goat for dairy purposes.
    i would not keep goats just as pets. or, really for
    any reason other than a sincere desire to create a
    quality dairy herd.

    Like

  24. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    ok…i’ll spend some time again reading and thinking,
    and report back. just a quick thought tho is that
    bucks are either sold or a lot of times given away as
    4H projects for children, companion animals to other livestock or companion animals for breeding bucks as
    you mention. if it is a situation of a single PET, then
    the decision is easier. if you have a herd, even a small
    herd, with say 3 does kidding and if each doe has two kids
    and half of them are bucks…that can result in Vet costs.
    the banding…well…i need to think more.
    but i DO appreciate your input.

    Like

  25. Vicky Avatar

    hummmm…for me i don’t see much difference between my grandchildren and your goats….very verbal, climbing on everything….well, mine do like to swing, do your goats do that??

    Like

  26. Hoola Tallulah Avatar

    Aha, I guess if you have lots of bucks it becomes very tricky to have surgical removal for all of them (cost wise certainly). I had two pet bucks, one was clamped before we became his keeper, so I didn’t witness it, but his previous owner told me the full tale. The other we had surgically castrated, he was up and galavanting around after a few hours, once the anaesthetic wore off, at the time I didn’t choose one or the other, I just called the vet expecting clamps, but he did an op (on site, on my patio table!).
    You have to make a decision that suits your needs and budget, please don’t feel like I am judging you harshly, I quite understand, it just makes my eyes water. Michelle in NYC is right, animal husbandry is so hard.
    Your goats are beautiful, it makes me wistful, I would love to keep goats again one day…
    and your dress… I am in awe!

    Like

  27. sandra Avatar

    your dress and shirt look so nice together. Do you have enough time to stitch with all those goats? It think they’ll keep you pretty busy…

    Like

  28. dee Avatar

    your goat tales are riveting, even if full of a kind of longing.
    the woven side is beautiful! and I assume strong?!@ it will be interesting to see it with its other side.
    sometimes I think the scavenging impulse in me is ‘just’ (?!) a sign that I am living in the wrong age… as pioneers, for instance, domestic ingenuity would be prized, and more the norm.

    Like

  29. dee Avatar

    hi grace – just read your note about not being about to comment over at my blog… I wonder what’s up?!! and I just posted a comment here that showed up (I don’t THINK it was being moderated) and now it isn’t here. that happened the last time I commented as well, and I just assumed I spaced somehow and didn’t press all the correct buttons.
    so this is a test.

    Like

  30. dee Avatar

    oops, NOW my other comment is there!

    Like

  31. dee Avatar

    feel free to delete this and two comments above – so much noise.

    Like

  32. grace Forrest Avatar

    no!, SMILE, it’s like you’re really talkin to me….

    Like

  33. Ayn Hanna Avatar

    really like what you’re doing with the house-dress….both sides of it. sunflowers are my all time favorite and although we have some trees here in CO i can relate to the intensity of sun and dryness of your NM landscape sans a shade tree, our drought and lightening have brought us this terrible wildfire. NM and CO, we could all use some rain!

    Like

  34. Drucilla Pettibone Avatar

    my understanding is that the banding is no big deal to them as long as it’s done when they are young. it’s such a common thing for shepherds to band the babies and i’ve been around it somewhat.. .. my wethers still had their bands on when i brought them home. of course that doesn’t make it right, but i think it’s usually the best option.
    and the heart for husbandry, of husbandry, this is something i think about ALL the time and have for years. i don’t have the heart for it in many ways, but then i think perhaps that’s ok, a tender heart is actually not a bad thing when it comes to critters. i think often about raising fiber animals rather than just having some around that don’t/can’t breed. it could be good for me to breed them, they could give me more fiber, but it also comes with more heartbreak, work and less time for creative work. and i can take in retired/rescued rabbits instead, although that comes with its own set of problems. such a hard and personal and yes cultural sort of knot.

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  35. Drucilla Pettibone Avatar

    i’m so curious to know more about this grace! the reasons to keep goats or livestock as pets or as something else… what does it mean to you to create a quality dairy herd? i’d love to hear more about your thoughts and feelings on this. because i think to myself, this why, a lot.

    Like

  36. Doris Avatar

    Today I was sitting under lime-trees (? basswood?), blossoms are open now and the smell in the air is incredible. I was thinking about Grace and wished I could send her the shadow and the smell of the trees.
    I like your dress 🙂

    Like

  37. grace Forrest Avatar

    knot. what a perfect word.
    knot.
    yes. it is a knot. and we decide and then live within
    the consequences.
    and all the while, continuing the questioning.
    Why
    am i doing this.
    this is a very good question.

    Like

  38. grace Forrest Avatar

    Dru…it is Very Important to me now.
    a quality dairy herd.
    i think about this every day. am closer and closer.
    soon.

    Like

  39. grace Forrest Avatar

    they would, for sure.

    Like

  40. grace Forrest Avatar

    what i’ve noticed is that i have time for anything/everything that i REALLY want to do.

    Like

  41. grace Forrest Avatar

    the norm…yes, or no, it’s not the norm, but it is so
    incredibly pleasurable and satisfying to me.
    i don’t care. i just do it.
    i washed the woven mend at the laundromat and it
    did NOT hold up well. so i am thinking. i might have
    to re mend and then just keep this jumper for special
    occasions. if i reinforce it more, it will not be what
    it is.
    i think it’s a company jumper.

    Like

  42. grace Forrest Avatar

    i figured out how to deal with your comments.
    here, sometimes, be sure to look at the little blue
    words at the bottom about more comments below or
    something…????

    Like

  43. grace Forrest Avatar

    Ayn…yes. we share drought. it is Something to
    learn about. about IT but also about one’s place
    IN it.

    Like

  44. grace Forrest Avatar

    OHHHHHH, Doris…basswood trees….i grew up around
    basswood trees. there is NOTHING like their fragrance.
    It’s the goats that would love your basswood shadow.
    Just the thought tho gives comfort……….
    xoxo

    Like

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