Happy Sheep/Happy Shepherdess...

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

I did it!
I got the ditches fenced in. Now my sheep all have grass to graze.

I know it doesn't look like much in these photos but there really is plenty there and I'll be able to stop feeding hay ~ with about 8 bales left for the bred ewes! That was cutting it close. These darn, slow, cool Springs slow the grass growth down and I've got too many sheep ~ not a good combination!

This is the girls' ditch.


This is the view from the bottom of my driveway!
I won't have to mow much at all this year!

Most important of all ~ my sheep will be happy! THAT makes me a happy shepherd...

DREAM says...

"I'm happy but I think the boys would be a lot happier if you let them over on our side of the driveway!"

You could be right about that, Dreamer. I'm afraid the boys will just have to be happy with what they've got!

No Time to Chat....

I'm fencing.

Or at least my version of fencing.

I sectioned off a small piece of the backyard and the area between the house and the ewe pasture to give the girls some decent grazing while I'm working on fencing in the ditches and the front yard.

I've got all the posts in now and just have to run the wire...

I am going to get this done before I leave for California!!!!!

FLASH FLOOD says...

"I appreciate the fresh grass! Mom said I should also mention that I am beautiful and I am FOR SALE! She says I get to go to someplace with more pastures...."

"Dear Blogger..."

"Please SEND HELP!

Mom is a crazed woman. She's been tying me up and ripping my wool out rooing me, every chance she gets!

I tell you, it's traumatizing!!

I feel like a plucked goose!!

And these photos...

How would you like to have your picture taken while you were fifty pounds over weight , at the beauty parlor ~ all wrapped in tin foil and with your eyebrows encased in wax????

I'm telling you, it's humiliating! You don't see DREAM standing around, half naked, do you???

I may never live it down.

Love,
Zaria


P.S.
I still love you, Mom! And I'm gonna give you BEAUTIFUL babies!!"

I don't doubt that for a moment, my beautiful Zaria. Not one moment!

;-)

Have a great weekend, Everyone!!

On the Mend...

This cat cracks me up!

Lily has her own, very effective way of letting me know when she wants to come in the house! It just sleighs me when I walk into my kitchen and find her hanging from the screen...

As you know, I was a pretty sick puppy for the past week. I've finally turned the corner and appear to be 'on the mend' now. The remaining symptoms are pretty much just a bad cold ~ at least no more severe aches and pains! Of course, I need to get outside and start working now. We'll see about those aches and pains! ;-)

Speaking of fever and aches & pains: I must have been in a drug induced STUPOR when I booked my flight to California! That weekend is my only time off prior to lambing! My girls are due to start having their babies on May 5th!!!

Someone just shoot me...

ALICE says:

"Things sure are different around here when I'm not going to have any babies!"

I'm Going To CALIFORNIA...

To see my BEAUTIFUL BABY GIRL!!!!

My flight is booked (5/1 thru 5/3). I've got a car rented. Gonna go see my BBG...


;-)

Doing the Happy Dance in the Bluff Country!

SICK or Not...There's Work to be Done...

The sheep still need to eat. Above, Godiva and Zest don't even wait for me to take the hay out of the wheelbarrow.

My three, black, beauties: Bluff Country Destiny (left), Bluff Country Zodiak, and Bluff Country Bella Luna. I wonder what they look like under all that wool......?

I've been worried about the pressure my main group of girls are putting on the front pasture. They're keeping it eaten right down to the ground. I'm still feeding hay and the grass is just beginning to grow but I want to give that pasture a break. And I'm NOT about to shut my ewes into a barn to rest the pasture.

So, I did what any self respecting farmer would do. I fenced in the ditch. Don't go getting all impressed and think that I'm "Super Shepherd" or something like that! I used "step-in-posts". Skinny little fiberglass posts that you just push down into the ground. Very easy. No strength required. (thank God!) I found that if I loaded up with medications and downed a mug of hot tea with lemon (thank all of you tea pushers!) I'm NOT a tea drinker. Not by any stretch of the imagination! But I've been so sick and so many people recommended it that I thought I'd give it a try. I will admit: although it tastes like *@#!, it does soothe my throat and even seems to help open up my nasal passages temporarily. If I loaded up with medicine and tea, I could get in a good hour or two of work before I needed to come into the house and take a nap. I've got to say, I'm not sure how the tea (or all of the other fluids I've been drinking are supposed to help because they just come right back out of my NOSE!!!

My unbred ewes were thrilled to be turned out onto fresh grass! It's not long yet. In fact, it really is just beginning to grow. We need rain! But is a lot better than what they were on.

I only fenced in half of the ditch. I AM sick, you know! I also divided the front pasture into two to keep the girls completely off one side so it has a chance to get reestablished.

The bred ewes and the rams both have big enough areas and low enough numbers that their pastures/paddocks are fine. The grass is coming in nicely, which allows them to get used to it a little at a time (no worry about bloat from a sudden change in diet). Everyone's got plenty of rumen buffer available so I feel pretty good about my flock.

It rained, lightly, last night.
Everything looks GREEN this morning!
Now I'm gonna go take a nap...

SHEEP Therapy...

Since I was too sick to do much yesterday (I feel even worse today), I decided to spend the morning sitting with my sheep.
Can you see how 'loose and inviting' Zaria's fleece is? It was just begging me to pull it out!
I was much too weak (from my illness) to resist...
The wool fairly flowed out of Zaria's neck into my bucket.
Rooing left a nice, fluffy layer to protect Zaria from the sun and keep her warm during these cold Spring nights.
She has a perfect fleece for rooing. It virtually slides out, lock by lock. I was like a woman obsessed!
I actually roo'ed almost a pound of fleece off of Zaria's neck and shoulder in maybe an hour (?). It was fun!
"Yeah, RIGHT!!"

And just look at this beautiful fiber! It is so soft and lustrous. A handspinner's delight!!
I'll be adding it to my DREAM FIBERS blog for sale for $1.00/ounce....

Take a bow, Lucca...


Thank you all for your well wishes! Since I'm still sick, (truly worse than before!) I think I'll go sit with the sheep some more. Zaria's still got a LOT of wool on her...

One.SICK. Shepherdess...

Death warmed over.
That's how I feel.
Like Death warmed over.

I think I coughed up a lung this morning.
My throat feels like I swallowed one of the thistles that I've been chopping out in the ditch.
You know how tight and shiny a pregnant ewe's udder gets just before lambing? That's how my ears feel.
I think my eyeballs are melting.

I feel exactly like S**T.

I'm gonna go sit with my sheep...

GOOD Friday...

This post is a couple of days late. That's because I was too tired and SORE to post anything on Friday night and yesterday!

My Princess (Pam) brought her three, handsome Princes (Josh, Matt & Nick ~ my Grandsons) out to spend a day visiting and helping Grandma. I must admit, I was a bit concerned about how hardy my boys would be ~ they were all complaining about how COLD it is in my house! (I do keep my thermostat at 50 all winter and have actually shut it off now) Each of the boys was wrapped in one of my shawls (over their jackets or sweatshirts) as we ate lunch.

But I've got to tell you, those boys can WORK!!! They jumped right into picking up walnuts out of the backyard. I've got TONS of walnuts! They are a health risk when I'm walking around the yard!!

Pam and Nick carried water buckets while Matt helped me feed the sheep.
The sheep were terrified at the sight of a 'stranger' bringing them food...

NOT!!

Somehow, they managed to overcome their fear and gobbled up the hay that Matt put out for them.

Matt & I raked up two big piles of hay in the bred ewes paddock and burned them.

I bought a beautiful wind chime a couple of weeks ago and finally got that hung up on the new barn.
The sound is SO beautiful!!
I put together my 'mini' Greenhouse!
That's a 50 pound bag of barn lime, on the bottom shelf, to keep it from blowing away in the wind.

All in all, a GOOD day's work! And I had SUCH a wonderful time with my daughter and my Grandsons. We got SO much work done. I still can't believe that Josh got all the walnuts picked up out of the yard. That is the worst job!! Bella says: "Thank you, Josh!!"
DREAM says...

"Thank you PAM, Josh, Matt and Nick for all the hard work you did! It was a BIG help for Mom and she even had time to sit and snuggle with me and the girls for a while!"

This post took me way too long to put together. I'd better get my butt in gear or I'll be late for work! Happy Easter Everyone!!!