It's a lamb's life....

I got the mowing done today....now I'm too tired to post! I hope you don't mind lots of pictures today ~ oh, to be a lamb in the Bluff Country...

This is Zanex's ram lamb: "Bluff Country Rhinestone Cowboy"




Grand Finale playing 'tether ball'




LAMBS


AT


PLAY


Alice & her triplets...

Lot's of things...

First of all, some of my babies coming in for cuddling:
It was raining when I got out of work today, but the sun came out shortly after I got home. I opened up fresh pasture for the girls and lambs. I just came back in from 'rescuing' "Premonition" (Phoebe's REAL daughter). She'd managed to get through the fence to the other side of the pasture. She obviously learned her lesson about electric fences in the process because as much as she wanted back by her mom, she was NOT about to go back through that fence! I opened the gate and Premo happily rushed to mom for a bit of comfort.







Thanks to Bill Stearman of Willow Garden Shetlands, for his opinion regarding the color of Alice's son, "Hero". I'm posting a couple of photos of Hero's brother, "Paradox" (Doc) because I'm not sure on his color either. Both of these boys were born solid color (aside from a splash of white on the head, which is typical of Zorro lambs). No sign of sugar lips. No lighter wool in the ears, armpits or scrotum.
This is what I discovered when I parted my Buddy's wool while he was laying with his head on my lap this afternoon...Doc's fleece looks lighter at the roots than the ends! It is especially noticeable on his shoulders and chest. I also noticed the bottom half of his scrotum appears lighter, as does the underside of his tail (which was NOT lighter before). I'm wondering if this is typical of mioget or fawn fading? Alice is registered as Fawn, but I've always considered her Musket. I'll never understand all the Shetland colors. And if I DO....someone will change them!
Now THIS I understand! Kokomo's getting big!! He is a moorit & white, HST ram lamb. He is filling in wonderfully and I'm VERY pleased with how he's shaping up. Excellent chest and shoulders on this guy as well as nice topline and legs. He's going to make somebody an excellent flock sire. And my little "Dream" is growing like a weed too.


Tomorrow, I'm going to get some photos of Premonition (I was shocked at how BEAUTIFUL she is!) and the other lambs ~ who have NOT been getting their fair share of attention... ;-)

What a wonderful weekend...

It was a gloriously beautiful weekend in the Bluff Country. Sunshine and blue skies and temperatures in the 60's. About as close to perfect as it gets. We had company Saturday. Penny Picha and her husband and daughter drove down to see the lambs and select the ewe lambs that they will be taking home, later this summer. Penny chose "Wish" and "Lacey" for her little girls and put a deposit down for one of Alice's ram lambs if they're still available after the people in front of her make their choices. Penny's daughter, Nastia, is in love with the HST lambs and she and would have happily taken any of them home with her. She also totally fell in love with Rock Star. Here's a shot of the two of them....


I'd say Rocky rather liked Nastia too... ;-)

I have a question for those of you who are familiar with Shetland colors: I have two moorit ram lambs, this year, who look different than my moorits usually do. Instead of the even brown tone, all over their faces, these guys are lighter around the eyes and nose. They are NOT Ag (greying). They are definitely solid colored but lighter than my moorits usually are. Could this be Fawn? Or Mioget? How does one KNOW???? I have had modified lambs born here, in the past, so I know that we do have several sheep that carry the "modifier" gene. Anyone care to venture a guess? I'd appreciate any feedback! Here's one of the guys (Alice's son, "Hero").

THANK YOU BROOK & LOIS!!

I got an e-mail, this morning, from Lois, telling me that Brook noticed my dilemma yesterday and offered a solution! I purchased & downloaded the software that they recommended and I GOT MY PICTURES BACK!!! Thank you SO much.

This is Zest with Wish and my little Bella

Three ewe lambs on the stump

Yuglets (dark patches of color over the eye area)

"Bluff Country Paradox" (Doc) Alice X Zorro
I named him Paradox because he is one of the best ram lambs I've ever had but will more than likely be overlooked because he doesn't have the 'flash' of the HST lambs. He does, however, carry HST spotting genetics. Several of Alice's sons have gone on to sire HST lambs (including Skittles).

Have a great weekend!

Disaster averted...

I am so disappointed. I spent HOURS out with the ewes and lambs, this afternoon and evening, taking LOTS of pictures for on here. Just came in ~ VERY cold ~ and uploaded the pictures to my computer. 61 of them. Then deleted them. Off the computer AND off the camera card. Of course, I'm sure that THE most precious photograph ever taken of a Shetland sheep or lamb was among those photos. I'll try again tomorrow...(the sacrifices I make!) ;-)

In the meantime: I just discovered that my friend Bill Stearman, in Canada, has also started a blog. Bill has an awesome flock of Shetland sheep and his partner, Gene, is an incredibly talented artist and outstanding photographer, so I think you'll get your daily fix of sheepy pictures by visiting "Word...from Willow Garden" Tell them "Hi" for me!

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words....

NO RAIN!

We had a day without rain! I got off work early and got the mowing done, fenced the side pasture for the ewes and lambs and had time to sit with my babies! What a wonderful day. Of course now, I'm exhausted and sunburned, but wouldn't trade it for anything ;-)
It was wonderful to sit out and pet the lambs today. Many of them are already becoming very friendly. It won't be long and they'll all be obnoxious. I let the biggest bunch of ewes and lambs into the side pasture today and let Zaria, Zanex & Zodiak and their six lambs into the big pasture. I'll put everyone back where they were tonight. I want to give Zaria & Zodiak another day or two with their lambs before putting them in with the big mob. My GOODNESS, 19 lambs makes for a lot of sheep!

Here's my little "Dream" ~ now 3 days old. She's the only one that I know for absolutely, positively that I am going to keep. I'm considering a couple of others (BELLA!!) but am really committed to cutting back. In fact, I decided today that I WILL sell: Skittles (black/krunet ram ~ sire of Apocalypse *Paco*), Phoebe (white ewe ~ show winner with awesome fleece, Zanex (black/iset ewe ~ dam to an HST ram lamb) and KitKat (yes, Kim, you get first dibbs). More about that later....it makes me sad and I don't want to think about it right now....

MAY 1ST

It's the first of the month so I'm showing the May page for my 2007 "REAL sheep wear SHETLAND wool" 2007 Calendar. It features my beautiful Alice. It's kind of nice to take a breather from LAMBS! ;-)

I just came in from checking on all my girls and their babies. I can't believe we've got 20 lambs! They're every where! Running and jumping and chasing and bouncing and baaaing....sheer chaos! NOW I remember what I love about the last few weeks before lambing....the QUIET.

I have to admit: I look out the window or walk out into the pasture and am SO proud. What a beautiful bunch of babies. And everyone's healthy. I am SO blessed. There's absolutely no denying, my eye is always drawn to the HST marked lambs. Those white Heads, Socks and Tails really stand out in the crowd. To see them flashing about the pasture as the lamb races commence or the little white tails flicking back and forth when a lamb nurses always makes me smile.

Of course, the little darlin's will be growing webbed feet if it doesn't stop raining soon! Back to the babies tomorrow...

THE FINAL FOUR...

As I mentioned last night, Zodiak thrilled me with twin, HST ewe lambs, both black and white. I couldn't have been happier. As you can see, the twin on the right has white, up onto her body. I'll register her as "flecket".
She's close enough to HST to make me smile! Her sister doesn't have full stockings on all four legs, so I'll refer to her as HsT. I love them both and will be keeping one...

I'm calling this little doll: "Bluff Country Make A Wish" (Wish). Although I will leave the option open for her future owners to chose a different name, if they so WISH ;-)

And this is MY baby: "Bluff Country Dream". Dream is a yuglet, Hst. I will be keeping her to add to my breeding program. I'm thinking that by breeding her to an HST ram, we can get four white socks on her offspring. Can you believe I'm already thinking about my BABIES' babies?????

NOT TO BE OUT DONE....
Zaria greeted me, in the rain, at four o'clock this morning with twin, HST ram lambs!!! I almost couldn't believe my eyes! Although everyone was soaked, both boys were cleaned up and had obviously nursed. I put everyone into a warm, dry jug and dipped the boys' navels in iodine, then headed for work...










Meet "Bluff Country Crescendo" a black & white, yuglet, Hst (only two white socks and a white tip to his tail) and



"Bluff Country Grand Finale" ~ moorit & white (Flecket?) HST. These boys, especially Finale, seemed to have inherited their dam's incredible fleece. Both of these ram lambs, as well as Zodiak's girls are sired by Bluff Country Apocalypse (Paco) ~ my moorit & white, HST ram. Needless to say, we're quite happy with Paco.... ;-)
"Bluff Country Grand Finale"

TWIN HST EWE LAMBS!!!

I'm going to bed. Cold & wet and up too late is not good when I'm sick to start with but I couldn't be more excited about Zodiak's beautfiul daughters! Pictures tomorrow (after work...)

Zodiak's in labor...

I got home from work to find my poor, dear Zodiak pawing at the floor in the nursery. She is in the early stages of labor. Zodiak is the ewe in the second picture on yesterday's post. I'm hoping she lambs fairly quickly because we don't have any lights in that barn and I have to get up at 4:30 in the morning for work... GO ZODIAK! ;-)

Ladies in Waiting (or "It Ain't Over 'Till The Fat Lady Sings!"

This is "Bluff Country Zaria" (photo taken 4/25)
and this is "Bluff Country Zodiak" 4/25 (sorry for the horrible angle, but you get the point!)
These are the last two girls to lamb in the Bluff Country, this year. Both are Zorro daughters, both are bred to Paco. They sure look, to me, like they're getting close...
Meanwhile: the lambs are growing. We have really got an exceptional bunch of babies this year! Once everyone has delivered I will try to sit down and do some 'critical evaluations', but from first impressions, I'm very pleased with this year's lamb crop.
I'll share my thoughts, regarding each lamb, as I perform the evaluations. Stay tuned...you're gonna LOVE watching these babies grow! ;-)

More babies...

I left work early today. I seem to be coming down with a cold...scratchy throat, cough, my eyes burn.... I got home just in time to see Zanex cleaning off a freshly born black/krunet (white cap on his head) ram lamb. The little guy was on his feet in minutes and I sat with them while Zanex delivered his twin sister ~
a lovely, moorit ewe lamb with a splash of white on her head. Very typical markings for my HST breeding stock. Although these lambs may not LOOK all that flashy, they carry the genetic potential to throw HST marked offspring. Plus, they're still beautiful ;-) I stuck around long enough to dip the babies cords in iodine and give Zanex some de-wormer, then headed into the house for a NAP...

I HAVE A NAME!

This beautiful ram-lamb, son of Zest & Bravo has finally got a name. For some reason, his white cap has always reminded me of the Pope's cap (I hope that doesn't offend anyone ~ it's just what I thought of!) and the fact that he has THREE white legs, instead of four.... Meet: "BLUFF COUNTRY TRINITY". Do you like it? I do, but I have to admit, it feels strange calling him by a name! Trinity and his sister Bella are growing like weeds and I am SO pleased with what nice lambs they are.



In the meantime, KitKat's twin ram-lambs are really winning me over. I call the dark chocolate one "Hershey" and the light chocolate one "Nestle"...it could be Hershey Kiss and Nestle Crunch....what do you think???

Premonition...

It's like she knew. When I got home from work, yesterday, I discovered that Phoebe (the white ewe who stole Savannah's daughter) had lambed. Phoebe had a black ewe lamb with white on her head that looks like a twin to Whisper! I didn't even realize that there was a new baby at first. It wasn't until I saw Whisper AND the new baby BOTH by Phoebe that I realized there was a new lamb. I actually had to pick up both girls and look at their bellies (umbilical cords) to tell which one was the new one! It's as if Phoebe knew that her lamb was going to be black with a splash of white on her head and wanted a twin sister for her little girl...I'm calling the new baby "Bluff Country Premonition". Phoebe is being a wonderful mom to both of "her" babies. I gave 'Premo' (pronounced Pree-mo), the colostrum I'd collected from the other new moms and hope that she'll get enough immunity from it to tide her over till she develops her own. I'm going to give her a CDT shot tonight, just to be on the safe side.

Phoebe with her "twin daughters"
In the meantime....Diva and her flashy son, Rock Star were turned out of the jug and onto the pasture for the first time. Rocky's doing great and Diva is a fiercely protective mom. Here's a shot of Kokomo coming up to get acquainted with the Rock Star...


...and Diva "protecting" her son from the fearsome creature that Kokomo obviously is!


...three more girls to go....