I Don't Know What To Post...

LUCY
Lucy's Daddy (Bruce Springstein)

I'm trying to stay upbeat and positive. That, in and of its self is hard enough as the days get shorter. I'm trying to get into a routine. This time of year, I don't have to work outdoors all day long anymore. For the first time in months, my house is clean!! That's kind of nice. ;-)

SADIE & BELLAMICA
I did my exercises for the first time in AGES this morning! Now, THAT was good for me! I'm going to try to get back into the habit of exercising for little while, each morning. Getting into a little better shape would be VERY nice...

"Mom IS getting pretty fat!"
Sadie's getting Old. I hope I have her around for many more years. I can't imagine not having my "Silly Sadie".

I did plan ahead though. That's why I bought Bellamica when I did. So that I would have bonded with her and still have a 'best friend' when it is Sadie's time to cross the Rainbow bridge. We don't want to think about that now....


Speaking of Best Friends:
DREAM says...
..."My Goodness! Those dogs have lovely markings!"

They certainly co, Dreamer, they certainly do!
;-)

STUPID Shepherd.....

Stupid Shepherd did not plan on the market going pfhpfbt

Stupid Shepherd thought that since a bale of hay a day had always fed her flock in the past, it would continue to do so, in SPITE of the fact that Stupid Shepherd has TWICE as many sheep as she used to...

Stupid Shepherd has plenty of hay for 12 to 15 sheep...

Unfortunately, Sutpid Shepherd has 30 sheep!

Stupid Shepherd has to sell sheep.

LOTS of sheep!

Boy sheep....

And Girl sheep...

Spotted sheep...

And solid sheep.

Stupid Shepherd is desperate

MAKE AN OFFER

DREAM says...

"Mom knows she's not really a "Stupid Shepherd" but realizes that she made some mistakes and now has to deal with them. Somebody is going to get some REAL GOOD BUYS if they're looking for a starter flock of Shetland Sheep!"

That's right, Dreamer. People can see more info on some of our friends for sale on my BREEDING STOCK FOR SALE BLOG. All prices are negotiable. Mom's gotta buy more hay....

What is With BLOGGER????

Good GRIEF! It took me about 15 minutes to get 'logged onto' blogger so that I could post to my blog. First, it kept rejecting my email address. (which is, of course the same email address that it's always been) Then it wouldn't accept my password. I've been unable to leave comments on other blogs for several days for the same reasons. THEN...I have to deal with those G @ # $ - D* @ # ! "visual verification" puzzles. How the Hell can ANYone read those stupid things? Some of them are such a jumble of misshaped blobs that I don't even try ~ I just click through and hope the next one is easier. I think I went through at the VERY LEAST 25 to 30 before I actually was allowed into my own blog this morning.

Now I'm all worn out and forgot what I was going to write about....

DREAM says...
"It was probably about ME..."

Probably, Dreamer. Probably. Maybe I'll go sit with my girls...

OVERDOSED...

I worked too damned hard!

I overdosed on work.

I am a woman ~ Not a machine!

I slept a lot today...

I may never participate in physical labor again.

DREAM says...

"Mom fed us HAY today!"

Today's Challenge....

Not exactly beautiful scenery but this is the ditch that I fenced in with step in posts and electric wire last Spring. The girls did a wonderful job of keeping it grazed down and I can't imagine they would have had enough to eat without it!

This is the ditch, on the other side of the driveway.
The one that I did not fence.

Fenced.

Not fenced.

My pastures are all getting overgrazed so this weekend I'm moving the fence from the grazed ditch to the ungrazed ditch. Of course, before I can put the sheep in there, I have to chop down all those giant, burr bearing, weeds and cart them off to a burn pile so that they don't end up ruining the lovely fleeces of my flock. Anyone want to come help chop and carry?????

DREAM says...

"I'll help!!"

Not a Little Fuzz Ball Anymore.....

Madonna's baby is growing up! Before I go too far, I need to tell you: when I put Madonna and the chicks in with the other adult chickens, a couple of weeks ago, I lost one of the babies. It drown in the sheep's water tub. Needless to say, I felt terrible when i found it. It was the first one born ~ the one that looked like a chipmunk. In all honesty, my favorite. I put Madonna and her remaining chick back into the pen that I built for them and continue to care for them there until I feel it is safe to let the little one out into the big world...

The remaining chick is thriving! She loves having her (?) mom, all to herself. She's got a fuzzy head and tail, just like her mom.

And she's a RED-HEAD!!

DREAM says...

..."AWWWWwwwww! How cute is THAT????"

Walking in the Bluff Country....

*As always, click on image to bigify*

Bella & Sadie took me for a walk this morning. They decided that I we needed the exercise and that the sunshine and fresh air would be good for me us.

Silly girls

This is the view from a a hill across the road and a couple of fields from my place. If you bigify the photo, you can see my place, almost in the center of the photo.
The soybeans are starting to turn and it's such a beautiful time of year in my peaceful valley.
An intersection of gravel roads near my home.
Sadie and I thought this old mailbox was pretty interesting.

It is so peaceful in my valley that I can sit out on my front steps in the morning and listen to the sound of the water running in this creek, across the road from my place.
This is the field between my house and the creek.
It was a lovely walk. The dogs had a good idea.
But there's no place like home and my own back yard...

It Was Thorn.

Poor little guy. I think it was bloat. Although I've never had a sheep even get sick with bloat before. I do keep rumen buffer available at all times for the sheep to a take as they need it. But there was foam around his mouth and his side was definitely distended. I can't afford to have a necropsy done. Which makes me question my suitability as a shepherdess.

Thorn never really did thrive, once I took him away from his mom. He kind of stayed off by himself and didn't hang out with the rest of the ram lambs. He was always the smallest and VERY sweet. He would follow me around the pasture and come running and calling whenever I came out into back yard. He seemed to prefer my company to that of the other ram lambs.

Thorn's future did not look bright. But that doesn't make his loss any easier to deal with. If anything, it makes me feel, even more, like I failed him. I actually found the quiet time while I hand sheared his beautiful fleece a chance to make peace with my little buddy. I'm glad that he won't have to grow up to get pushed around by bigger rams or face the uncertainty of the sale barn. It still hurts.

Thank you all for the kind words. Of course, you're right. Spending time with the rest of my flock is immensely helpful. I was quite taken by surprise by how much Thorn's passing ripped into me! I stayed relatively calm and 'in control' when I brought him out of the pasture and trimmed his soft locks. But that night and the next day...they were rough. I am well aware of my precarious relationship with depression and found myself, at times, making conscious decisions to "not go there". I'm feeling a bit better today. I took some nice pictures of some of the other boys yesterday. They are growing up to be such fine animals. I have decided that I will wait 'till the first of November and then most of them will have to leave.

I did, however, decide that I'm going to winter over Outlaw.
He's just TOO awesome to consider sending to the sale barn. I'm still hoping his horns will be OK. If they're not ~ I'll wether him.

Look at this face!

Another 'fuzzy face' ram that I am very happy with is Bling.
Can you tell I'm a sucker for woolly cheeks and polls?


Gotta go to work now...