We had freezing fog on Tuesday morning, which resulted in a serious hoar frost. Oh boy, what a winter wonderland! I'm about done with winter wonderlands... Foggy and frozen. Looks like a bottle brush, but it's all hoar frost! Peaches... Continue Reading →
So, this one gave us a bit of a panic attack yesterday evening! When I came out for the evening feeding, she was lying down and getting up, and lying down and getting up, sitting down like a dog, kicking... Continue Reading →
Yes, we had a dusting once before, but this is the first real decent snow for the lambs. They didn't quite know what to think, but then they went heels-up! We got about 5 inches on New Year's Day with some drifts approaching a foot.
Zoey-the-Feline-Acrobat Takes a Long Drink
Well, it has happened. However, it's worth it, if it helped contain the #EastTroublesomeFire and #CameronPeakFire. It'll probably be melted by tomorrow anyways!
So, in Florida we would just mow the duff out of the pasture at the end of the season. Apparently, those that live on the prairie are pyromaniacs. Here in Kansas, we just purposefully light it all on fire!
They're quite jurassic in size and have set some wee baby gourds already. How did they accomplish this you ask? With the help of bumblebees.
Oh, the joy of summer pasture! I am practically on vacation! As of this last weekend, the ewes and lambs have been put out on summer pasture and locked out of the barn. They have two big shade trees and a shelter for when it rains.
We have left three ram lambs intact this year. So, round about mid-July we will have to pull them from their dams and run them in their own mob until they come up to weight. They need to basically reach close to market weight (140 lbs.) before they go in with the mature rams.
The shearing is done, the ewes and lambs have been turned out onto spring and summer pasture, and I don't have to feed hay anymore! Yay! If you are interested in fleece, let me know!
Well, Orange is getting over his aversion to sheep and the sheep have become intensely curious about Orange. He is a lot more comfortable in his barn now. Recently Orange has been playing more and more with the ewes and... Continue Reading →
2020 is the year of the black ewe-lambs! We've been waiting and wanting black lambs, always wondering if the next lamb would be that elusive black lamb!
Well, Spring has finally arrived. I'm glad it's a wee bit early! The crocus are up and the first lambs have arrived!
Poor Racoon! He almost can't stand it and flirts endlessly across the alley with the ewes. There are two open (not pregnant) ewes and they apparently smell intoxicating!
The sheep wish you a non-monochromatic year of adventure, change, and new grass! We are missing Mother Nature's color and vigor as we now head into the depth of winter. Throw some wool on and stay warm!
This is your introduction to our newest feline, Orange. Someone dumped him off at our house. He is very obviously someone's very annoying house cat.
The ewes were bred starting the 18th of October. So, we will start watching for lambs to drop around March 12. I'm so excited! However, I may have gotten carried away, or rather the ram got carried away, because we have the propensity for 7-21 lambs.
One by one, the ladies line up to flirt with the men across the driveway. This year the grass is so tall you can't even barely pick out the rams amongst it.
We will be breeding in November! Until then, keep it rated PG!
My husband sheared a couple of hoggets by himself, but he ended up doing adaptive shearing with me where he would tip and shear belly wool and get legs started, and then stand them up, and I would finish shearing the rest of the sheep from a sitting position while he held them. It was definitely a team sport.
The barn was finished a couple of weeks ago and we have been busy moving in and getting the stalls situated. It's definitely not going to be the Taj Mahal, but it is functional and the animals are glad for the shelter. Especially tonight, as we are going to have negative temperatures with a - 20°F windchill.
I just want to say, there are just some things you can't do yourself. This crew has worked hard all week on the barn, and it's almost done. We wouldn't have been able to erect this structure by ourselves in under 60 days!
(This is not just a picture of a potty. This is a picture of the future site of my new barn!) The sheep get a barn for Christmas! And the horse, too. It's a pretty good present for me as well! I'm starting to get excited.
Bruce did not treat us well. I'm from Montana and I haven't even seen a blizzard like that before! We got about 8 inches with some 3 foot snowdrifts. The animals definitely suffered from the wind the most.
The sheep have experienced their first, second, and third snowfalls. They don't seem to mind being coated with "powdered sugar". I keep telling them it's not a big deal. I think I'm coaching myself, not them.
I have seen my first yellow leaves of fall... (I think depression is setting in!) As the weather cools, I am gnawing my nails worrying over the coming winter, thinking about how few cold-weather clothes I even own, and agonizing over how much more hay I need to bring in. I am feeling this strange sense of impending doom. I know, really melodramatic, right? Well, I haven't had fall or winter for nigh on 13 or 14 years. Give me a break!
