Sunday Driver...

*As always, click on any picture to enlarge it*


I know. It's Thursday. But I took these pictures last Sunday. It's been WAY too cold to go outside and take pictures of the sheep or goats, so this will just have to suffice for now. ;-)


Since it was too cold to play outside, I decided to drive into town and have brunch with my daughter. I so enjoy the drive from my beautiful valley into town, that I decided to share it with you. I hope you enjoy the ride!


There are even cows in my valley!


I'd love to see pictures of where YOU live! If you have a blog, why not show me the route you drive every day???





I hope this wasn't too boring for you. I had a wonderful trip! Want to know how I got all the photos?


"DON'T try this at home!"
;-)

More Snow...

The cold and snow just won't let up! Above is "Sheltering Pines Diva". Isn't she beautiful? Diva's one of those rare sheep who's fleece seems to actually improve every year. As a lamb, she was quite primitive. Each year her fleece gets softer and has more crimp. Her lambs have gorgeous fleece!


In this picture, you can see Diva (left) with "Zodiak" (Dream's mom ~ black/iset) and Bluff Country Zaria. Zaria is a shaela and white, HST ewe. Her fleece is YUMMY!


This is a close up of Zaria's soft, crimpy, steely, blue-grey fleece. It is absolutely exquisite! Of course, the outer tips are sunbleached so don't show the true color. I'll have to get some pictures of the inner fleece, before shearing...


Bella loves getting out in the snow and "playing" with the sheep. Although, she keeps a safe distance from the ewes ~ Diva likes to CHASE her!!

The boys, on the other hand, seem to be inviting Bella over to play...


So, of course, she complies!



Bella and Moon seem to have struck up a friendship! Then again, Moon is the most obnoxiously playful of the three boys. He's always chasing the others around and leaping and jumping. He's quite the character.



Although Moon does like to chase the other boys around and I frequently hear horns clacking as they butt heads, I think it's all in fun. The boys really do seem to be good buddies.



This is a peaceful time in the Bluff Country.


Life is GOOD

DREAM says...


...."Yes, it is!"

BELLA in the Snow...

My beautiful Bellamica loves the snow! Here she is, showing off the beautiful bell that Katie got for her collar for Christmas, and barking at me!


She was absolutely WILD outside, running and playing in the snow. She'd attack me and then run in a big circle and come back and attack me again.





I wish I could have captured the picture but the delay on my digital camera wouldn't let me but even Moon got in on the shenanigans! He was running and jumping in his paddock, right along with Bella. It was hysterical.


Alas, I was unable to capture Moon's airs above ground. You'll have to take my word for it, it was quite the sight...


BELLA says....


..."That Moon sure is a nut! He was running and jumping like crazy. I think he liked my bell...."

Duty Calls....

*As always, click on any photo to enlarge it*


While I was sleeping (I slept about 20 hours a day for the past three days!) we got some more snow. And now, the temperatures are plummeting. They weren't all that warm to begin with but the forecast now calls for below Zero temps for the next week. That, of course, makes me worry about the animals. So I set out this morning to put fresh straw down in the barns so that everyone would have a warm bed to retire to. (Knowing just how nice that is, from personal experience!)


The sheep really don't seem to mind the cold at all. I think they were hoping the sled full of straw was hay....They'll have to wait until this afternoon for that!

Guess who's taken over the ram barn???


The goats were shut in the back 1/3 of the barn but have removed the cattle panel that I put up to keep them there and now have free run of the half of the barn that the rams can't get into.


They love to look out the windows! Funny....sheep don't remove cattle panels like that!

The goats are really the ones that I am most concerned about with the bitter cold temps. I've heard that they are "fragile". Since this is my first winter with Angora Goats, I want to be sure and provide them with adequate shelter. They sure are adorable!

Here, McSteamy offers to help me distribute the fresh bedding...


Meredith is getting more beautiful by the day! How I love these goofy goats!!!

DREAM says...


..."You better go take a nap, Mom. I think you're getting delirious!"

Don't Worry....

Mom's still sick but she's resting well and taking good care of us.

SSSSHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhh.......

"Mom's sick"

It's gonna be a bright, bright, Bright, Sun-shiny Day...

*As always, click on any image to enlarge it*

I woke up to a beautiful, bright, sunny day in the Bluff Country so Bella and I decided to spend some time with the Girls...

Bella, of course, knew that we'd get much nicer pictures if the girls were all gathered together. So, she set about gathering them.

It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it!



The Girls were very cooperative and headed over by the new barn...



Diva, Serendipity and Dilemma




Daisy even led Gemini and Sera on an adventure...


DREAM says...


..."What a wonderful day! We got LOTS of Cookies!!!"

Just another day in Paradise...

Not much excitement going on in the Bluff Country. Which is just fine with me. ;-) I took a few pictures yesterday. I do so enjoy having a day off work!


This is "Bluff Country Godiva". She's the 2007 daughter of Bluff Country Flash Flood and Bluff Country Apocalypse. Godiva is sold but still lives here. I LIKE THAT! I didn't really want to sell her but couldn't justify keeping another solid colored ewe, so this way I get to "have my cake and eat it too"! Godiva will probably stay here for at least another year. That's just fine with me. She is a sweet, gentle, little ewe lamb and a delight to have around. This fall "we" (Godiva's owner and I ) will select which ram to breed her too.

Speaking of rams...

These are the three boys that still reside in the Bluff Country. I sold all of my mature rams to bring new blood into my HST breeding program. "Kimberwood Hunter" (fawn & white, HST, on the left) was bred to six of my ewes for 2008 lambs and "Sheltering Pines Crescent Moon" (moorit/smirslet, in the center of the photo) was bred to five. There should be some very nice, VERY colorful lambs in the Bluff Country come April....

The third ram lamb in the photo (black/bleset) is lucky to be alive! He is "Bluff Country American Idol". Idol was the last of the 2007 lambs to be born. He's almost a month younger that all of my other boys. He is out of Bluff Country Dusty Rose (Rosie) and sired by Bluff Country Apocalypse. As much as I was always VERY pleased with Idol's conformation (he is most excellent!), I do not have the need for another black, spot carrying ram. Even if he does look just like "Skittles"! I offered Idol for sale in 2007 but no one purchased him. I didn't want to keep an 'extra' ram over the winter and he WAS a major pain in the butt, during breeding season ~ having escaped (twice!) from the bachelor ram paddock, into the maiden ewe lambs' group, which I did NOT want bred ~ so I decided that he would be butchered.

The day that I went to load this guy up for the trip to "Mike, the meat man", was a very good day for Idol. When I took my gloves off, to put the halter on him, so that I could lead him to my Jeep, I realized what incredibly SOFT fleece he has! I never was happy with the idea of butchering such a nice quality ram and when I felt that fleece, there was no way that I could follow through with my plans. So, Idol went back in with the other boys after breeding season. Oblivious to the fact that he almost died. I hope to find him a good breeding home this year. If he's still here, this fall, I'll show him at the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival's Shetland Sheep show and figure he'll have a great chance of winning the yearling ram class. THAT should sell him!
;-)

The goats continue to thrive in my backyard.
They never cease to make me smile with their adorable antics and personalities...

Bella is not sure if she likes them or needs to control them!


Speaking of Bella...she's growing up to be quite the beauty!

She has totally and completely stolen my heart. Which is a good thing because she's going through that obnoxious, "teenager stage" and is often more of a pain than a help. I sure do love her though!

DREAM says...
...."Just another day in Paradise... (don't worry, I know that Mom loves me BEST!)"