Clove was so proud of getting to the summit of the mountain, but grandmother was not pleased.
Well, it's over. I'm done. Today was my last day. I'm no longer employed by anyone but myself. I feel like I just hurled myself off a cliff! It was a long time coming and it was a hard decision,... Continue Reading →
So, last Wednesday the Husband told me, "You're dyeing on Saturday." I'm like, wait, "What?" He had registered me for a virtual dyeing class with Shepherd's Cross, which was where he learned to shear. I didn't know much about what... Continue Reading →
Oh my, I never thought we'd shear that last sheep, but we've finally finished! This is the most sheep we've ever sheared in a season. We've got a pretty good system down now: we team shear, trim hooves, vaccinate, and... Continue Reading →
April 20: Our last frost date was about two days before this... Don't worry, it all melted by 2pm that afternoon!
I've decided I want to learn to needle felt. I was aiming to make a penguin for my first project. However, before I could begin, I needed to dye my wool to get all the colors needed. I already had... Continue Reading →
I can't wait for the #PolarVortex to be fully gone! We've had either negative wind chills or negative temps every night since the 5th and we've been solidly under 25°F this entire time. Serious #DeepFreeze! However, we've had perfectly wonderful... 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.
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.
We've been getting lots of rain, which is a good thing because I'm a grass farmer; sheep gotta eat. Makes for long days when you're a chicken though. The front deck is the new hangout and I don't have the heart to chase them off like I normally do.
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!
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!
Am I the only one who travels with fleece-in-the-grease? Actually, probably! When I knew I was going to be at Walter Reed for prosthetic and gait training for 4-8 weeks I knew I was going to be homesick. So, I packed Ixora's entire fleece, my combs, and a diz!
Maybe you could always find Waldo super quick. Okay, but can you find Duchess the Cat?
My surgeon's nurse was fascinated by the knowledge that I had a flock of sheep. She let on that she liked to knit and shyly let on that she wanted some yarn. So, I was on a mission.
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.
