Friday, January 18, 2008

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!"

10 comments:

  1. The angoras certainly LOOK dressed for the weather!

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  2. Anonymous6:35 PM

    You know, Dream is looking more and more like a dog these days. But don't tell her I said that. I think she'd be insulted. :)

    Diane/Bloomington,Indiana

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  3. Yes, the Angoras are getting pretty woolly. But I still worry about them. ;-)

    I have to admit, Diane, that in many ways Dream has a personality more like a dog than like a sheep! She love to be cuddled and snuggled and have her ears scratched and tummy rubbed. And she definitely gets jealous if someone else is getting more attention than her! I'm not so sure that she'd be insulted ~ it may just be that she really does think she's a dog!

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  4. I'm glad to see you posting again! I felt like I was going to pass out from the meds they gave me to clear an infection this past week! Plus, our wind chills were so bad that my "Frost-free Faucet" froze up solid within minutes as I was watering the sheep! I had to get a blowtorch out to free it up so I could close the handle...now it's frozen shut!

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  5. I love your beautiful Bluff Country pictures. Such beautiful scenery compared to the flat farmland around here. Nice! Continue to get well...

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  6. Anonymous10:57 PM

    I think Kathy's post should be forwarded, printed, and framed, as a testament to Midwestern Winters and the non-suburbanites who work through them! The native Californians here who I read it to were in total awe. ("She got out a blow torch!?"..."What's a Wind Chill?")
    I must admit, I feel pretty guilty for all my shivering and sulking today, out on the famously breathtaking Pebble Beach Golf Course, because I was "freezing". Sorry all! /: )
    Love Kt

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  7. Ah, but what you don't know, KT (who just happens to be my Beautiful Baby Girl!), is that Kathy lives in Flagstaff, ARIZONA! She's been amazing us with tales of the horrific cold winter that she's enduring. Who would have thunk ~ in Arizona??? I do agree, she is a testament to the dedication Shetland shepherds feel towards their flocks...

    Glad to hear that my BBG is forcing herself to brave the cold and get out there and enjoy the sights in California...

    ;-)

    Love,

    Mom

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  8. Hey, guys...it's just that 7,000 ft. altitude that gets in the way! LOL!
    I just feel like I'm 5 and my mom dressed me in a snowsuit with three sets of clothing under it when I have all my 4 layers on to brave the wind. Just have to make sure I don't fall over as I'd have to lay there like a slug 'casue I wouldn't be able to get up! ROFLMAO!!!

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  9. Anonymous7:57 AM

    Hi Nancy!

    Glad you are feeling better and getting lots of rest! You still managed to take some great photos! Missed you at the retreat and I learned lots of stuff but now need to write it down! I nearly have one fingerless glove finished and maybe 1/3 of a toddler sock. I also felted a chair pad which the cats LOVE. Talk to you later--getting company this weekend, but are you going to be spinning at Joyce's next Sunday afternoon? I don't know my 6 guests' schedule yet but hope I won't miss the spinning.

    Terry

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  10. I'm counting on you to teach me how to make the fingerless mitts, Terry! I've made the kind that is basically a tube, but haven't been able to figure out the 'gusset' to do the kind with a thumb and haven't even attempted the kind with half-fingers!
    I hope to see you at Joyce's on Sunday ~ I'll be there!

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