Archives for sheep

Cilantro’s Awesome Fleece

February 28, 2010 | 20 Comments

Cilantro is a handful. If you're a regular here, I'm not telling you anything you haven't heard before. Although he was wethered at an early age, he is just as combative as any ram. The bad boy of the big boys, we give him plenty of room. One of the things I like about shearing day is working closely with each animal. In the confines of the holding pen, there's no room for a ram to draw a bead on you. I enjoyed wrapping my arms around Cilantro's wooly head to extract him from the pen, and he didn't give
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White Out

February 23, 2010 | 11 Comments

Holly took the hoggets for a stroll in the snow today – moving them to the big barn for their very big date with the shearer on Friday. Since fleeces need to be absolutely dry for shearing, we moved them as early as possible this morning to get them tucked into the most protected building before the storm really got cranking. Which it is right now. I can barely make out the barn from my window. It's suppose to storm all night and we could get as much as a foot here in the hills before it's over.
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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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“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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Out and About

February 1, 2010 | 6 Comments

Today feels downright tropical, with morning temps in the mid twenties. The sheep are out in the yard, basking like lizards in the sun. Kona, Coral and Violet are doing much better and clearly are getting restless – tired of being cooped up in the milk room. Last night they were baaahing loudly, missing their friends, complaining about the lack of wi-fi. I think they're ready to return to the barn ;^) Holly has the reigns for today as I need to be out and about. I stopped for a moment to admire a neighbors' horse standing roadside and thought
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Preggers

January 29, 2010 | 9 Comments

At this time of year, the milk room is our warming spot. It's heated, there's a table and a place to sit, hot and cold running water, a telephone, a microwave oven, a fridge. There's even a blender, in case anyone wants a milkshake. But the best part – it's large enough to build a couple of good sized sheep pens in the center and the concrete floor has a drain, so it's also easy to clean. Handily located, just off the main aisle of the birthing barn, this room has been a godsend on many occasions. LIke today for
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More colors and a lucky winner

January 26, 2010 | 10 Comments

I love surprising friends and making people happy. So all week I've looked forward to drawing a name today – one lucky winner who will receive a Sheep Shares 2010 membership for a Farm Yarn Sampler. Since announcing this contest last week, Sheep Shares has grown and grown in numbers – to the point where I've had to press pause. I've put a hold on adding new members for the moment, until we catch up on paperwork (and make sure we still have enough yarn to go around). It doesn't mean you can't get in. After the dust settles and
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Coyote Tracking

January 24, 2010 | 4 Comments

I spied a coyote zipping through the hayfield this morning just as I was getting into my car. Had I looked two seconds later, wouldn't have seen him at all, and everything happened way too quickly for me to grab my camera. Anxious about being out in the open, he scooted across the road near the ravine, heading toward the paddock where the bred ewes spend their days. After feeding the flock, I back-tracked to see if I could tell what he'd been up to. From the looks of all the fresh critter tracks in the snow, he was after
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Crackerjack

January 23, 2010 | 12 Comments

I'm not sure how we've managed to score another perfectly fine Saturday, but I'll take it. While last weekend's post featured a moment with Caitlyn, my diva llama, this morning I had a moment to appreciate what a truly amazing friend Crackerjack is and how fortunate I am to have him in my herd. A few weeks back we placed him with the bred ewes in the birthing barn since we're nearing the time of year when his guardian role is needed to protect our newest and most vulnerable flock members, the lambs. I couldn't ask for a more patient,
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