Archives for animals/wildlife

Announcing this year’s theme (drumroll please. . .)

March 12, 2010 | 13 Comments

Memphis, Cormo cross ewe lamb from 2007 (theme: U.S. towns & cities) Tough choice. First of all, thank you to everyone who took the time to offer a suggestion. While I always enjoy hearing from the world beyond the farm, your feedback is especially welcome at this season where the work here gets more intense and my occasions for interacting with the real world more limited as my focus is on the farm.Your thoughts, questions and input are welcome and I enjoy hearing from you. I've waffled a bit in choosing this year's theme. Some of you have chimed
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Ewe Tube

March 6, 2010 | 5 Comments

The t.v. in the bedroom is tuned to barn cam 1 most of the time now, which gives me this view of the flock. I looked up from my reading last night to spy on the girls, occasionally toggling over to camera 2. Would you believe, Crackerjack now sleeps across the barn threshold as if to say, "no one gets by me!" At one point I saw his head go straight up with his ears alert, pointing down toward the dell. Then I heard the coyotes yipping in the distance. He caught it first. Good llama. There were no picky
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Shearing Day 3 – Contest: Name the Lambs

March 3, 2010 | 119 Comments

The pregnant ewes are now all shorn. Whew! It's the group I fret over the most so I am hugely relieved that they're all now freshly coiffed and dressed in clean frocks. Without their ten pound fleeces, it's much easier to see if any ewes are over conditioned or under conditioned. The group looks just right. Carrera is the only one who looks as though she might possibly be eating pickles and ice cream on the sly. This afternoon as Andy finished shearing Galveston and while she was still seated on the board, Holly and I patted her tummy to
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Brown and White and Wooly all Over

March 2, 2010 | 10 Comments

I am so enjoying the different colored fleeces in the wool clip this year! Thought you'd like to see these photos of Latte's first shearing. Such a peanut, Gabriel scooped him right out of the holding pen and sat him down on the board. He and his sister Bailey have the finest wool of the four moorit yearlings. I am loving every second of comparing the shades of brown, the different textures and varying lengths of the wool staples. Since the fleeces are now snugly wrapped like "wool burritos", I haven't snatched any lock samples for close-up shots, but
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Men at Work

March 2, 2010 | 10 Comments

Day two of shearing and we're still not done. Finished the boys today and made good progress with the bred ewes. Will finish that group on Wednesday and then on to more ewes next Monday. Looks like shearing will span more than a week this year. A little bit like the winter Olympics, minus spandex tights . . . Decided to change things up a bit with a new skirting technique this year. I hate bagging fresh fleece in plastic. A steamy, freshly shorn fleece exudes sheepy moisture and needs a chance to breathe. And I hate the way a
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Early Arrival

February 22, 2010 | 12 Comments

My game plan was to immerse myself in working on my book this weekend. And while I got quite a lot of that accomplished, a call from a neighbor Saturday morning put a different spin on the weekend. My neighbor Barbara (another Barbara; funny, there are three shepherds living here in the Patten, all Barbaras) had a newborn lamb in her kitchen when I arrived with my lamb emergency kit. Her eldest ewe surprised her with an early delivery of a seemingly healthy set of triplets on Friday night. Oddly enough, by Saturday morning one had died and another, a white
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Wild & Windy

February 19, 2010 | 4 Comments

The wind was fierce last night. When I arrived for evening chores I discovered a barn window had blown in and shattered on the floor. Glass everywhere, but not in the sheep pen. The barn makes all kinds of god-awful sounds on a windy night. Gusts force their way through every little chink and crevice. The sheep were spooked – probably the combo of the glass shattering and the constant thumps and rattles shaking the barn. It was quiet a bit before dawn, but then the wind picked up right where it left off for morning chores. Here are some
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Peaceable Morning

February 17, 2010 | 7 Comments

It's been a week of cantankerous critters. On Monday Butch brandished his horns at me as I tugged the hay sled through the barn door. The Leicesters were sparring at dinner time. For the life of me I couldn't separate Deluth and Maia who were more intent on bashing the c*#! out of each other than eating. Several other ewes weighed in; others kept their distance. In the carriage barn, Cilantro took a cheap shot at Teaberry. Those two have been at each other off and on for days.Occasionally Parsley and Savory jump into the fray. It's hard to say
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“Nor’easter”

February 11, 2010 | 8 Comments

Yesterday's much hyped nor'easter didn't amount to much After a mere dusting of 3 inches, I had the barn lots plowed out by mid morning. Late afternoon's sun reduced the snow to scattered patches. You won't catch me complaining about the lack of snow this winter. A sifting once a week freshens up the yards and then I can feed the sheep outdoors. With so many sheep in full fleece, there's not much elbow room at the feeders these days. Lengthening days means plenty of light for end-of-day chores. Here are some happy campers at dinner. Speaking of
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Spread the Love

February 5, 2010 | 52 Comments

We're going to have a little fun with Valentine's Day this year. I can't play favorites, since I'm the shepherd. But you can send Valentine wishes to that special someone in the flock. Does your heart go pitter-patter for the debonaire Butch, or do you have a sweet spot for his gal-pal Gypsy? Are you sending love to Cocoa, our wiley-wooly flock matriarch, or do you adore her handsome grandson, Cinder (or perhaps Cinder's sister, Blaze?) Maybe your heart already belongs to our humble guard llama, Crackerjack (unless you're a secret admirer of his elegant but fickle counterpart, Caitlyn).
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