sheep dreams

In the air

2012-02-28T15:18:00.000-05:00

No matter that the calendar still says February. Spring is most definitely in the air here in central Kentucky. It's not just a renegade daffodil here and there that's blooming. There are a host of them up and glowing in the sunshine. I just keep picking them and bringing them inside to enjoy because the worrier in me is afraid that one morning we'll wake up to all the accumulated winter weather we've missed this year. Today the sun is shining, the birds are singing and, I swear, the grass is starting to grow. The best sign of all ? I heard the peepers last night for the first time !

The bees are getting a treat today... leftover honey frames from last fall.

This stuff is the bane of my existence. It's all over the garden beds.

It was a rough weekend around here. Some varmint got into the chicken house and killed two big chickens and partially ate them. Saturday night, I set a Hava-heart trap inside the chicken house and left the chickens loose in the barn, thinking they might have a better chance of escaping the murderer. One of the banty hens made the mistake of settling into a hay feeder used for the lambing pens and got picked off. I'm really mad now, but am at a loss as to how to catch the thing. I'm thinking it might be a mink or weasel because it seems to be much smarter than the average stray possum we've had to trap. As if that wasn't enough, my little Luna has been feeling poorly. She's had an elevated temperature for several days now. This morning, I'm finally seeing some improvement from the antibiotics and Banamine. In the meantime, I've allowed her to do something I'm certain I'll regret later. For a few days the only thing she was really enthusiastic about eating was Aslan's dry dog food and I let her clean up what he left in his bowl. Aslan and Luna seem to have a special friendship. If I don't fasten the gate to keep her out of the pen where he is fed, he will step aside and let her have the whole bowl. He doesn't let any of the other sheep get away with that.

Here's another sign that spring is in the air. Poor Junior ! Remember that song from ' Urban Cowboy ' that goes ... " lookin' for love in all the wrong places " ? ( Yes, I do know how much I'm dating myself here, but it is what it is. ) That's what I think of every time I see him showing off for the chickens. Obviously, they are not impressed.

Hey, girls ..... look .. look ... look at me !


Hey ! Where's everybody going ?

A flurry

2012-02-24T16:45:00.000-05:00

Not of snow, that's for sure. The temperature yesterday reached 69 degrees ! Today it's in the mid-forties and falling to mid-twenties tonight. Such a weird winter we've had this year, but I know from reading some of my favorite blogs, that even in New England there's been very little to resemble the winters they normally have.

It's a flurry of finished objects that's been happening around here. One of my goals for this year is to finish at least some of my many, many, many ( and many more ) projects that are currently taking up space on my collection of knitting needles. In fact, the reason I have so many knitting needles is that it's just easier to buy another needle sometimes, rather than put all those projects on stitch holders ( or, I suppose, actually finishing something before starting yet another .... but, what fun would that be ? )

( Think those tulips have given it their all ? )

First, it's a Bandana Cowl from the Purl Bee. I used a skein of handspun that needed to be made into something fairly small and useful. Don't you love the Purl Bee ? Their projects are nearly always something I want to cast on right away ( could be part of the reason for knitting needle shortage around here ). This skein of yarn came from my own hand-dyed wool/alpaca blend roving. It's really soft and comfy around my neck and I think it will become a favorite. Right now, I'm kinda over wearing scarves. There's always the wrapping and draping and looping thing to figure out with a scarf. Cowls are simple. You just slip it on and you're good to go !

Next is a sweet little bolero/vest that will probably go into the Christmas 2012 stash. ( I can hardly believe that ! What's the world coming to, if I have already knit something for Christmas ? ) I think this needs to go on a smaller body than mine and there are several candidates in my family. The pattern is from Plymouth Yarn. The yarn I used came from my collection of Briar Rose yarn. I. Love. Briar. Rose. I want to be able to dye yarn like Chris Roosien when I grow up ! I've never seen a Briar Rose yarn I didn't want to bring home with me. And, here's some really good news .... Briar Rose will be at the Kentucky Sheep and Wool Festival, May 19 and 20, at Masterson Station Park, in Lexington, Kentucky. A lot of folks around here have not had the pleasure of seeing Briar Rose in person and I predict there will be a small riot at Chris' booth !

Last one for today ..... a very simple, garter stitch vest from the book ' Seamless ( or Nearly Seamless ) Knits ' . Once again, I used my own handspun, natural colored wool/alpaca blend yarn. This was an easy, easy knit and the kind of thing I'm going to like wearing a lot. I'm a plain and simple person when it comes to clothing, so this is perfect for me.

Believe it or not, I have two more finished items that I'll share in a few days. I know ..... it's shocking !

Morning

2012-02-16T13:41:00.001-05:00

This time of year, the routine is the same every morning and yet there is always something new.

So many personalities ...... the possibilities are endless.

Boss of the barn

2012-02-11T13:08:00.000-05:00

Carson, our rescue cat, is really starting to come into his own around here. We love him and I think the feeling is mutual. He's such a lovely boy and his personality is so sweet and affectionate. Sadie, wild girl that she is, still pretends she is pushing him around, but they both know it's just a game now. Slowly, slowly he decided to come out of the room in the barn where the cats sleep at night. I let him pick his own pace for acclimation. After all, it's a big barn and there were lots of other critters around that I'm sure he'd never seen before. For a week I left the door from the workroom standing open and each day he ventured a little further out. He was quite timid in the beginning and kind of crept around investigating all the nooks and crannies. The day he discovered the barn loft was the turning point. He loves going up there. In fact, he turns into " Zippy Kitty " and " Boss of the Barn " when he's in the loft. He and Sadie chase each other around and up and over the stacked up hay bales and he loves going up into the rafters. He's even gotten brave enough to take a run at the peacock a few times. I'm pretty sure he now knows he doesn't want to go there anymore.

Carson reminds me so much of my Buster cat. Buster was not a rescue, but was given to me at a time in my life when I needed to feel unconditional love .... and he certainly gave me that for many, many years. I'm so glad I just happened to be looking at the adoptable pets on the Friends of the Animals of Jessamine County website and saw Carson's picture ( the boy formerly known as Peaches, no less ! ) . I believe Carson is glad, too. He's part of our farm family now.

I'm impressed

2012-02-06T23:53:00.001-05:00

Oh, if only I'd known about the possibilities while Phoebe was alive ! I can't stop watching this ... and laughing !

My husband's cousin, Vicky, sent this along to him and he shared it with me. I love this!

What's the world coming to?

2012-02-02T12:43:00.000-05:00

I've given up on winter this year. My daffodils are blooming and the forsythia is coming on strong. It's too weird. I don't seem to be able to conjure up any snow, so I'm just going to enjoy the mild weather ( and hope that winter doesn't show up at the end of March, when lambing begins ).

I have lots of little rituals and my own methods of doing things around here that can appear to be awfully random to the casual observer ( and my husband ). For instance, the way I feed hay. Mornings and evenings I pull the hay cart out into the field and put down flakes of hay for the sheep, llamas and alpacas. There is some waste from feeding on the ground, but it is preferable to having the sheep pull hay out of the feeders and down on their neighbor's head. It certainly would be easier to feed from big roll bales, but there is no way to keep the fleeces clean and having clean fleeces is very important to me. I like to put hay out in a different location every day, to have fresh ground under the hay. When the weather is not unpleasant, I go as far out into the field as I can stand to push the cart and then, when the weather is nasty, I have cleaner spots up close to the gates, where I can quickly unload the hay. Since we have had very little unpleasant weather, I'm now going way, way, way out. Pretty soon I'll be in the "back forty" ! Sometimes the hay is so far away from the gate that the sheep have trouble seeing it and I have to lead them half way there before they spy it.

Last fall, I was worried that we might not have enough hay to get us through the winter. We ended up buying extra and are now going to have plenty to get us through. Of course, if the weather continues to be strangely warm like this, I can stop feeding hay and will have to start mowing the grass !!

Waiting

2012-01-25T12:31:00.001-05:00

( Almost dinner time )

( Poor Buddy - it's exhausting to be in charge of all these pregnant girls )

We are in a little lull at the farm right now. There's not much happening but the ordinary, day-to-day barn chores; feeding hay in the mornings, feeding hay and grain in the evenings, cleaning out the automatic waterers, keeping clean bedding down for the teenagers (nearly one year old ewe lambs), feeding the dogs and cats, feeding the chickens and collecting the few eggs they are giving us at this time of year. Those are all mundane tasks, but they add a certain rhythm to my day. I still have the washing, ironing, cooking and cleaning stuff to do, but the animal related chores are the framework everything else fits into. I sometimes wonder how it would be to not have those animal chores on my schedule. At this point in my life, I simply can't even imagine. I know the day is coming, sooner rather than later, when I won't physically be able to do the heavy work that shepherding requires. I hope when the time does come, I am able to focus my energies on something as personally rewarding as what I do now.

I have been thinking a lot about shearing and lambing. Usually, that happens earlier than it will this year. I purposely decided to start lambing a little later, so the weather would be warmer and the grass starting to come on. ( Little did I know that winter wasn't going to make much of an appearance this year. ) I'm hoping that shearing day will be pleasant because I would really like to have a "Shearing Day" event here at the farm. Something very casual. Maybe a come-on-down if you feel like it sort of event. Maybe even a potluck meal for anyone interested in participating. I'll know more as we get closer to the time and will issue the invitation here, if I manage to get my act together.

( the ears crack me up - they're like antenna........always scanning )

In the meantime, these pictures are what you'd see a lot of, if you were to stop by. Nearly all of us just lying around, waiting for our next mealtime !!

Carson

2012-01-20T16:18:00.001-05:00

Carson has come to Tanglewood Farm and we love him already. He's a sweet boy and we are hoping that eventually Miss Sadie will make friends with him. So far, she seems determined to make sure he knows she is the boss around here. Carson appears to be around 7 months old now, judging from his teeth ( exam courtesy of my resident veterinarian ) . He's already about twice as big as Sadie, so it will be interesting to see how long she can keep up that charade !

Carson came to us courtesy of the Friends of the Animals of Jessamine County. Recently, my friend, Teresa, adopted a precious little dog named Tilly from the Friends. I had seen Tilly's picture on the Friends' facebook page and it looked like a match to me, so being the good friend that I am, I sent her the picture and the rest is history. Not one to leave well enough alone, I found myself looking at their Available for Adoption page late one evening and there was Carson ( formally known as Peaches - which is way too girly a name for such a big boy ! ) looking out at me as if to say, "Take me, I'm yours". How could I resist ?

Of course, the name Carson came about because we are 'Downton Abbey' fanatics here at Tanglewood Farm. Sunday night is now our favorite night of the week because it means the latest episode will be on Masterpiece Theatre ! I suspect that there just might be a 'Downton Abbey' themed lamb crop arriving here at the farm around the end of March !

Friends does such a wonderful job. They have members who work tirelessly to rescue as many cats and dogs as they possibly can and they furnish foster care until they find loving, forever homes. If you have room in your heart and home for another pet, please take a look at the Friends' website and schedule a home visit for pet who will be so grateful.

Stella

2012-01-18T14:19:00.001-05:00

Just for the record, we are no longer confused. We are having Kentucky weather, which means it can be almost any temperature at any time of year. Yesterday we had spring ( complete with thunderstorms and tornadoes ) and last night and today we're having winter. Nothing new.

So, I've neglected this little feature lately and need to catch up on introducing you all to another one of my teenagers. You know, those silly little girl sheep that are ( mostly ) sweet and can sometimes be so flighty ! This is Stella. It took a while for me to give Stella her name. Sometimes I know the name as soon as they're born ( as with Luna ) , other times, I have to get to know them before I know what suits. Stella was a triplet, born to a first time mama, and as with nearly all of the ewe lambs I kept, her father was Henry. She's got that beautiful, lustrous, soft fleece I've been working toward for several years now. Just look at those lovely, crimpy locks ! I love that she has virtually no britch - that luster and crimp runs all the way down to her knees. ( It's fairly common for some sheep to have coarser fiber on the lower part of their back legs and that is referred to as britch. For me, it's not a reason to get rid of a sheep who has an otherwise wonderful fleece, but having nice fiber all the way down is certainly a trait to encourage in a breeding program. ) Stella is a little shyer than some of the other girls .... only wants to be petted on when she decides. She's a girl who knows her own mind ! Although, if I go into the pen and just sit down and wait for the girls to gather 'round, she'll step up ( if she can shoulder her way through Luna and Birdie ) for a scratch behind the ears.

I didn't breed any of my ewe lambs this year, so none of the little girls will become mothers until next spring. Often, the shyer girls will get to be much friendlier during lambing season, especially if they end up needing my help when their lambs are born. It's always interesting to see how their personalities and temperaments develop. Sometimes the ones you least expect will become a sweetheart when they grow up. Amazing how much they are often like children !

**So, here's a news flash ( at least for me ). My " local " Kroger grocery has a Starbucks that has WiFi ! So, while my less than stellar service by Windstream, who supposedly supplies me with Internet at home, continues with no resolution, I only have to drive 12 miles to find a reliable connection !

We are confused

2012-01-11T09:49:00.000-05:00

Where, oh where, is winter? Last week, while dragging our Christmas tree to the grandchildren's bonfire pit, I passed a blooming dandelion. How can that be ? It gets worse ..... today, while walking to the garden to harvest a head of Chinese cabbage, there was a daffodil blooming in the border by the garden fence. It's just all too weird. I suppose I can admit that these nice, dry days in the mid 50's make it pleasant to work outside and it has encouraged me to start a regular walking routine ( one of my 2012 goals - figure out a way to exercise here on the farm, rather than drive somewhere to get on a treadmill ). But, still, this just seems wrong. Besides, this is the south and if we don't get some really cold weather, come summer the bugs ( mosquitoes especially ) will make war on us !

One good thing about the warm weather is that it's allowing the bees to come out for cleansing flights and feed on some frames of honey that I've been putting out for them. Hopefully, this mild winter will leave me with a strong and healthy hive when spring really does come.

**The above was written yesterday and today is a different story. Rain, rain, rain today and lots of it. And I'm told that winter is coming tonight. So, I'll try not to complain too much for getting what I asked for !

Greenhouse

2012-01-09T18:25:00.000-05:00

I don't believe I've shared any pictures of our most recent building project. We waited several years for this one to get underway because we wanted the builder who built the additions to our house to be the one doing it. Of course, we were assured that it would be finished well before the wedding. ( Can it be possible that it was only 3 months ago ? Seems like much longer. ) Anyway, they finished about 4 days before the wedding and the painters finished the day before the wedding. Fairly typical for most projects around here!

( one of the best things - looking straight through to see the ewes grazing )

I love it so much. I'm not growing much in there right now, but all my pots from the terrace are in there ( I've got geraniums blooming right now ), and a few herbs. In a few short months, I'll be able to start seeds for planting in the garden come spring. Though we haven't had much really cold weather, yet, I love going in there when it's cold outside and sitting in my wicker chair to soak up some of the warm, moist air and smell that green smell of things growing.


( I think our next project should be a shed to put that big hunk of boat in )

Be prepared ....

2012-01-04T23:32:00.000-05:00


Don't talk with your mouth full !

Yes, be prepared for a little rant and some bad pictures. I am so aggravated with Windstream, if I had any option at all, they would lose my business right this moment. For several weeks now, my Internet connection has been so poor that uploading pictures has been a real exercise in frustration. It has taken me at least 15 attempts to get any picture loaded without stripes of color running across them. My usual inclination is to assume that I am doing something wrong. After consulting with my computer genius stepson over the weekend, I have discovered that, once again, Windstream does not quite deliver on what they promise. I finally called to request help from them and was told that there is a "latency" in the lines in my part of the county and they are working on it. The nice lady at Windstream said she had the same problem at one time and it took three months for them to get the lines repaired ! Ack !! This might be one of the few times I wish I lived close enough to town for there to be a Starbucks with free wifi down the road. Unfortunately, the closest Starbucks is at least 25 miles away, maybe more. This post was written nearly a week ago and I've been trying to upload pictures since then. I give up .... this is the best I can do right now. I'm sorry for the way they look, but it's this or nothing ! I'm just hoping my " latency " ( whatever that is ) is repaired soon. Rant over ... for the time being.

The holiday celebrations are finally over. I try to not schedule any family get-togethers too close to the actual day because I want my sons to be able to stay at home with their children and establish their own traditions. So, our family gathering time was last Thursday. I like to think that instead of procrastinating, I was just prolonging the celebration. ( That's my story and I'm sticking to it ! )

Other random goings on around here -

All the sheep and alpacas are getting hay at feeding time now. It's so funny to me that all I have to do is show up with hay once, and from that day forward, the sheep are gathered in that spot waiting for what they know is coming .... and woe be unto me, if I don't show up at the appointed time.

We've broken a record for rainfall in central Kentucky this year. Unbelievably, the grass is still somewhat green, which is why I was able to put off feeding hay for so long. Until yesterday, that has meant that we have mud, mud and more mud, so I'm happy for the change in the weather that made the ground freeze. In fact, I'd be even happier if it would stay frozen until spring. These periods of unseasonably warm weather had me wondering if we were even going to have winter this year.


Decorations on the head courtesy of her breakfast partner, Birdie.

The chickens are even getting out to scratch around sunny days. I usually keep them inside when the weather is unpleasant, but like children ( and some adults ), they tend to get cranky after a while, so it's good to give everyone a little more space to stretch their wings ( so to speak ).

We are still getting some food from our garden ! The chinese cabbage, kale and brussell sprouts are still edible . Why have I never planted a fall garden before?

I'm hoping to spend a little time in the studio this week. My yarn came back from Fleury Sheep and Wool, right before Christmas , and I'm anxious to start playing with it. It turned out really, really nice. It's a blend of our alpaca and sheep fleeces in a light worsted weight. I've started a shawl, so may have something to show before too long.

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T18:05:00.000-05:00

Luna asked me to wish everyone who comes here to read about Her, a Happy, Happy New Year ! ( She also asked why I wasn't bringing Her dinner now, instead of messing with the camera. ) As far as Luna is concerned, it's all about Luna ......... all the time !

From everyone here at Sheep Dreams, we wish all of you a year of good health and peace of mind. And plenty of time for fiber fun ! We'll see you next year.

Many blessings to all of you

2011-12-24T12:36:00.000-05:00

All of us here at Tanglewood Farm wish you a Merry Christmas, with many blessings in the New Year to come. Thank you for visiting here and your friendship. I'm so grateful for all of you.

Gone, so soon

2011-12-21T17:01:00.000-05:00

We've had a sad few days around here. Sweet Phoebe died suddenly, early this week. I've been conflicted about whether to share that news here, especially in this season of celebration. I finally decided that silence was, in some way, being dishonest. She was such a joy and I'm finding it difficult to believe that she is already gone. Every time I have gone to feed, her empty cage has been a shock. This morning, I disassembled it and put away all of her food and toys. Life and death are so much a part of living on a farm with animals, but sometimes it just feels worse than others.

Meanwhile, I have no time to sit around and dwell on it, which may be just as well. I'm so far behind in my baking, cookie and candy making and present wrapping that I cannot stop long enough to wallow in bad feelings. So, I'm making a strong effort to remember how much fun she was and I how much I enjoyed her while she was in my life.

The peace-keeper

2011-12-13T15:48:00.001-05:00

Maude ( the CVM ) apparently got up on the wrong side of her hay bale this morning. She was a grouchy girl and started picking on Olive as soon as they went out into the big field. That head-butting stuff is disturbing to watch ( and hear ), but they rarely carry on with it for any length of time. Usually, the instigator gets bored with it and wanders off. That big white sheep is Buddy and he's the peace-maker, lamb baby-sitter and company keeper in the flock. Buddy is a wether ( remember this post ? ), so he's allowed to be in with the girls now that breeding season is over. I love that he was trying to peacefully discourage this little dust-up. I watched for quite a while this morning, just to be sure I wasn't imagining it. He kept stepping between the two and protecting little Olive from Maude. How sweet is that ? He didn't give up until Maude quit harassing Olive.

Maude is a Romeldale/California Variegated Mutant. Romeldales originated in the early 1900's, from breeding Romney rams to Rambouillet ewes, for the purpose of getting finer, heavier fleeces and market lambs of good size. CVMs came about in the 1960's when a breeder in California noticed the unique markings of a ewe in his flock and continued to breed for that. So, while it is somewhat confusing, all CVMs are Romeldales, but only Romeldales with the distinctive badger face markings are classified CVMs. CVMs are on the American Livestock Conservancy's endangered list and are listed as critical. Because I no longer have a purebred CVM ram, I will not have any CVM lambs next spring, though those distinctive markings often show up in crossbred lambs. You can see a little of that in Olive's markings. In all the years I have been raising sheep, I've never had any with the personality traits that my CVMs display. I don't know what it is. Maybe I just bring out the weirdness in them ! They are the only ones in the flock who climb, eat tree bark and generally stay completely to themselves. I'd be interested in knowing if anyone else has CVMs that do those things.

Don't you just love that face?

Anyway ....... peace has been restored, thanks to Buddy. He's such a good boy and truly the buddy-sheep around here !

Who are you .......

2011-12-08T11:46:00.001-05:00

and what have you done with The Bun? You'd never know it was the same girl, as in this picture. Phoebe is, oh so patiently, allowing me to learn how to harvest her fiber. When I had bunnies before, I always combed or plucked their fiber, which required working on the bunny for several sessions. When Phoebe came home with me this past summer, I decided to harvest it all at once, by clipping her. Poor thing looks a little moth eaten. ( Yikes, moth is a four-letter word for people like me ! )

( I think I'm feeling a little lighter ! )

Even though she's living in the barn now, she is still affectionate and ( mostly ) calm when being handled. This morning, she allowed me to hold her chin up to clip underneath and turn her over to clip her belly. Afterwards, we sat in the sun, with her sitting in my lap or stretching up to put her head on my shoulder ( aawww - how sweet is that ? ) . I put her in the big dog crate for a little exercise and she discovered clover growing through the bottom - hence the green stain around her mouth ! I didn't even see that until I downloaded the picture from the camera.

I'll have a few of my felted bowl sets and some really cute, tiny little mitten, sweater and hat ornaments.

On a completely different subject: I'll be at Seldom Scene Farm's "Art on the Farm" event this coming weekend. Lindy has lined up an impressive list of artists ( with the exception of me ), who will set up in her beautiful, enclosed barn ( the space will be heated ) and, besides some wonderful local and handmade items for your Christmas shopping, we'll treat you to tasty refreshments. It looks like the weather is going to be clear and sunny and it will be a great day to drive away from the mall and crowds, and out to the peace and quiet of the countryside. Hope you will join us. You can get directions and find out more about the event here .

Because they've been such good girls ...

2011-12-05T16:30:00.000-05:00

( they wanted to wear their Christmas halters )

All last week, Luna and Birdie kept hinting about going see Santa. (They had heard that Uncle Graham had gotten to go before. ) They were afraid that if they didn't get there to deliver the message in person, Santa might not realize their presents needed to be delivered to a barn, not to a house. Frankly, I wasn't so sure how the whole thing might come off. The possibilities for chaos seemed almost unlimited. Saturday morning it was dry, sunny and warm-ish and, on the spur of the moment, I said, "What the heck? Let's do it". Santa was at the closest Southern States farm store and when I called ahead, to be sure it was okay, they said come on over. After ~~begging~~ asking Mike to go along as photographer, we discovered that I'd grabbed the camera that needed the battery charged, so documentation was done by iPhone. ( I need to make notes to myself, in case I ever do this again. )

( Is it my imagination or does Santa look a little wary ? )

Luna and Birdie could have used a little more grooming ( like a bath, maybe ! ) and I'm pretty sure Santa had to change his white gloves after we left, but a good time was had by all. The folks at Southern States were tickled to have sheep in the store ( go figure ? ). Luna and Birdie played it like they go to Southern States every Saturday morning. They walked right in, let everyone pet them and stood ( sort of ) willingly by Santa for pictures. The only thing Luna and Birdie complained about was that the floor was pretty slippery and required some tricky moves on their part to stay upright and moving forward. We should receive the official Santa shot from Southern States soon, but in the meantime, we have Apple to thank for these shots. Funny thing about my personal photographer ..... I think he enjoyed it as much as anyone else, once he realized it wasn't going to turn into disaster !

( They thought these automatic door openers were something we really needed in the barn ! )

Phoebe meets Sadie

2011-12-02T13:36:00.000-05:00

There was a ( very ) small meet and greet in front of the barn on Saturday afternoon. The Bun was introduced to Sadie, our itty-bitty barn cat. Phoebe was in an exercise pen taking the air, when Sadie decided to check her out. Sadie is a bit of a wild child. She's three years old now ( still so tiny ) and she only tolerates your affections when she wants to. She's a fierce warrior when it comes to protecting the barn from critters who don't belong there, so we're happy to have her, even if she's not a lap kitty. The Bun was interested in getting to know Sadie, but I think Sadie was put off by the sheer size of her. It's funny to look back at the pictures I took when I first brought Phoebe home. She's definitely a big girl now.

Phoebe has "graduated" to living in the barn now. About a month ago, she developed a bad habit of flinging litter out of her litter box and it was landing all around the kitchen of the studio. Not good. She still has visitation privileges and comes in for grooming and play time. I felt bad about putting her out, but honestly, I think she is just as happy in the barn where there is always something going on. I do think starting her out inside the studio was a good thing, because she's still very friendly and loves to be held. She's due for shearing soon and I'm close to having enough angora to actually spin up some yarn. Not sure what I'll make with it. When I raised angoras before, I began by using some of their fiber to knit a hat for my first grandchild (who is now 21 years old ! How did that happen ? ). It was a sweet little hat with the fair isle patterning done in the angora. Maybe this time I should knit a big girl version with The Bun's fiber.

They all grow up so fast !

Anyone else, but me, having difficulties with blogger uploading photos today? There were better pictures, but blogger kept putting stripes through them ! I give .............

Refocus day

2011-11-28T12:17:00.001-05:00

While positioning myself to back my little Subaru into the garage on Saturday, I happened to catch this trio enjoying the last sunny day we will have for a while. Rarely do I see Holly hanging out this closely with the llamas. It's not that they dislike each other. It's more that they move in different social circles. Of course, as soon as Strawberry saw me stop the car and get out with the camera, she stood up and that was the end of that.

Whew ..... is it over already ? Thanksgiving is only a memory because, though my camera sat on the kitchen counter the whole time, I never picked it up. Between getting that huge meal on the table (which, even with two ovens, requires some real juggling ) , visiting with the grands and trying to participate in all the different conversations going on in various rooms, the whole day is a bit of a blur. I'm always a little stunned that a meal I spend nearly a week preparing can be decimated in about 30 minutes ! Last night was turkey hash for dinner and I made and froze the turkey stock this morning, so I'm ready to refocus. Believe it or not, I am sick of having so much food around. Right now, I would love a week at an upscale spa where someone else prepared lovely little portions of healthy, low calorie meals and served them to me ( and also did all the cleaning up! ). Oh well, a woman can dream, can't she?

So, now it's on toward Christmas. I'm working on a few small knitting projects, some gifts, some things to sell at "Art on the Farm", which will be held at my friend Lindy's Seldom Scene Farm on December 10. I'll post all the details soon. It will be a fun event and well worth the drive out to her beautiful farm. ( I have a serious case of barn envy ! )

The Big Show

2011-11-17T12:37:00.001-05:00

Tuesday was the day thecrazysheeplady and I drove in the rain to Louisville for our annual pilgrimage to the North American International Livestock Exposition. NAILE is the BIG SHOW and pretty much culminates the show season for folks who do that sort of thing. Many years ago, when I thought raising purebred Romney sheep was my life-calling, I was into it. Now, I love just going to watch and can't even imagine how I summoned up all the energy it took ! I often bump into people I met back then and the first thing they ask is if I am still raising sheep. As I get older, I try to imagine what that day will be like, when I no longer have my sheep. So far, I can't even imagine it. Anyway, I'm taking the Scarlett O'Hara approach, "I'll think about that tomorrow".

It's fun to walk around and see all the different breeds of sheep, just waiting for their moment in the show ring. Actually, the show ring is the last thing on a sheep's mind. As long as the food shows up when it's supposed to, they mostly resign themselves to lounging in their straw filled pens, probably dreaming of green pastures and their own familiar barn back home. So many of them were standing with their heads resting on the top rail of their pens, as if to say, "Is it over yet?" Tomorrow is the end of the show and you could tell that some of them were ready to get in the trailer and head home.

Sara has a great little video of this goofy little Tunis ram looking for a fight. What on earth was he thinking? Testosterone was definitely in charge. The big guy treated the little one like he was a gnat buzzing around, when he could have stepped over the side of the pen and finished him off !

We also wandered around the commercial area, checking out sheep equipment and looking for sheepy stuff. We found a really good vendor with some of the best sheep merchandise ever. It looks like her website is a work in progress, but you might check back later or catch her at a show near you.

( Love the bed-head look ! )

Maybelline

2011-11-10T13:51:00.002-05:00

Isn't she pretty? This is Maybelline and she is one of my little girls produced by Henry. Belle, her mom is one of my favorite ewes. Belle is not the friendliest ewe in the flock, but she's no ding-bat either. She's friendly when she wants to be, but otherwise doesn't have much to say. She is a wonderful mother to her lambs and is calm and easy to work around, all good traits in a ewe. Belle has a beautiful silver fleece and she's passed on the character of her fleece to Maybelline. Combined with genetics from Henry, this little girl has got a fleece to love. Maybelline is a triplet and I kept both of her siblings, so that should tell you that Belle and Henry made a good match. ( I sure wish Henry was still around, so I could play matchmaker again. )

We are most likely in the last days of having color on the trees. The weather is supposed to be much colder the next few days and in the 20's at night. It will really start to look like winter, once all the leaves are down. I'm thinking about and planning for Thanksgiving this week. I'm hoping to get a jump on some of the manic grocery shopping that takes place the week of Thanksgiving and be finished early next week. I don't know about where you live, but around here, grocery shopping seems to be an olympic sport! Unless you've been training hard, you don't want to go to Kroger's during Thanksgiving week!

The Mister

2011-11-05T19:18:00.001-04:00

That's what I'm calling him. He's our rent-a-ram and he came with no name. I've got to have something to call him, so ..... "The Mister" is it. If he were here to stay, I'd work a little harder at naming him, but he'll be leaving in a few months ( or less, if he gets the job done quickly! ). The Mister is a Wensleydale ram lamb ( born this past spring ) and he's got the most gorgeous fleece. If you look closely, you can see that he has no britch and his fleece is beautifully consistent, front to back with plenty of luster. I can't wait to see what kind of lambs he gives me.

The Mister has not been handled at all, so it's been a little challenging to settle him in here. He's been penned where he could see other sheep and that has kept him fairly content, but this morning the last of our hay was delivered and he did not like the noise from the hay elevator. He was starting to get anxious and was trying to jump over the sides of his pen, so we gave him a girl to keep him company.

As you can tell by her expression, she is not that pleased or impressed. This is Gabby (sister to the famous Graham ). She's 3/4 Bluefaced Leicester and 1/4 Romney and has a beautiful fleece herself. I'm hoping these two make some beautiful babies !


( Kinda looks like a wide load - not her best angle, but look at that fleece ! )

Tomorrow we plan to put the marking harness on The Mister and introduce him to the rest of the ewe flock. Crayon number one will be orange and, if you don't know what that means, stay tuned and I'll explain it all next week.

Happy weekending !

Watching and waiting ......

2011-11-02T18:02:00.001-04:00

You know, most of the time I love where and how I live, but sometimes, well sometimes, not so much. The last week has been not so much. Last Wednesday ( not today ) morning we had a ferocious storm .... lots of thunder and lightning, followed by much rain. The problem came with the lightning, which struck our phone line and blew my dsl filter right off the wall and into many little burned pieces. So, no phone and no Internet. This is a major inconvenience because all the calls for my husband's veterinary practice come in on our home line, not to mention the fact that most of my interaction with the outside world comes through my computer these days. After many calls to the phone company, and their many promises for having it fixed by certain time ( which came and went ), we resorted to having all calls forwarded to his cell phone. Now, mind you, we do not have cell phone coverage here at the farm, so we could only get phone calls if we were not at home. But, I couldn't leave home because I was supposed to be here waiting for the repairman from the phone company, who was supposed to arrive immediately, if not sooner. Now, I know these things do happen to people who live within the boundaries of civilization, but it seems that living "out here" means that we have to cry louder and longer to get the service that was promised to us when we signed up with Windtream and when we send in our check each month. Finally, finally a very nice repairman arrived Friday afternoon and, after much going back and forth, he found that lightning had broken a wire inside the box on the pole at the road and again about 2 feet outside that box. Weird, but I was grateful that it was not something inside the house, because then they charge you big time if they have to come inside to repair anything. So, why am I still being gripey about it? Because at this moment, we once again have no phone service, since sometime Monday morning ! Six days out of eight with no service. When I called yesterday to remind them that they had promised to have it repaired by Monday evening, I was told the repairmen were especially busy and they would get here when they got here. Sigh ....... and it's not as if we have any alternative. So, we wait. Anyway, that accounts for my silence for the last week and I'm hopeful that I still have one or two readers left out there in the world!

So, what are else are we watching and waiting for around here? I'm watching the trees turn and the leaves fall ( along with the pecans from those huge pecan trees around our house - those are the big trees that are still green ).

These girls? They're waiting for the "man of the year" or I should say "ram of the year" . Of course, they don't know it yet, but they don't have long to wait. He'll be arriving at Tanglewood Farm tomorrow!

Poppy

2011-10-24T14:44:00.001-04:00

Today I'm starting an idea I ~~stole~~ got from Juniper Moon Farm to introduce you to a different member of the flock each week or so. Actually, I didn't steal it .... I do have their permission - thanks, Caroline. I thought I'd start with the youngest members of the flock. These are the ones I call the little girls. They're the ewe lambs that I've decided to keep and they will eventually join the brood ewes, when they are mature enough to be bred.

So, without further ado, may I present Poppy !

Though you might not suspect it at first glance, Poppy is one of Birdie's sisters. There is yet another sister, whom you will meet soon. The mother of the triplets is a purebred Bluefaced Leicester and their father was Henry ( 1/2 Wensleydale - 1/2 Cotswold ), and the combination of those three breeds accounts for that gorgeous fleece. I'm totally in love with the fleeces that Henry passed on to his progeny and, especially now that he's gone, I wish I had given him more ewes to breed last fall. I have kept nearly all of Henry's ewe lambs and think they are going provide me with some wonderful handspinning fleeces. Under that beautiful frosted color patterning, Poppy has a silky, lustrous fleece that will be a dream to spin.

See what I mean ? Luna likes to be center stage !

Poppy has been slow to make up to me. There is a huge difference between the lambs raised strictly on their mother's milk and those that I supplement or raise entirely on a bottle. Luna and Birdie come running to me still, even though it has been a long, long time since their last bottle. In fact, they sometimes make it difficult for me to pet on, or take pictures of, the other lambs because they have to be practically in my lap whenever I'm around them. When I bring the little girls into the barn in the evening for some grain, I've been sitting down in the pen and just letting them all have a chance to be close to me without there being any " torture " involved ( that would be their definition of de-worming medication, foot trimming, eartagging ). Poppy has been very cautious, but oh so slowly, I'm winning her over. So far, I'm only allowed a chin scratch or two, but I can see that she is starting to overcome her shyness and think of me as her friend.

These pictures were taken this morning, and as you can see, we have sunshine and green grass going on here. That green grass is especially good news, because it delays my having to feed hay twice a day. Just one of those things that makes a shepherd happy !