"SPRING" has Sprung .and the "SUN is SHINING"...

I KNEW that Savannah was in early labor yesterday! You didn't really think that I'd go to work when one of my girls was going to lamb, did you? NO! Not me...

Not the lady who knows her sheep so well that she knows when they're going to have their babies 24 hours before they even go into 'active' labor!!! Nope, I took the day off (UNpaid) so that I could be there when Savannah delivered what I knew would be twins.

Meet "Bluff Country SPRING"

and "Bluff Country SUNSHINE"

Both Girls!!
;-)

It's probably too soon to tell, for sure, but I'm thinking that SPRING will be a Fawn & white/Smirslet, Hst (only one sock and a white tip on her tail = incomplete expression of the HST group of markings). SUNSHINE looks like she'll be Mioget/krunet. She has a definite golden hue to her fleece that is especially noticeable on her face!

Both Savannah and the girl's sire are modified. Savannah is Fawn (or would she be a "Rose Mioget" since she definitely has the golden highlights on her face & legs???), as is Kimberwood Hunter ~ the twins' sire. So it is no surprise that these babies are also modified. I expect a LOT of modified lambs this year!

DREAM says....

..."Don't tell Mom that I told you but Savannah had those babies in the middle of the night ~ while Mom was SLEEPING!!!"

Day 145 Getting VERY Close....

I am SO glad that I wait until late November to put my breeding groups together! I love that the temps are warming up and the grass is starting to green as time for lambing approaches. My girls are getting very close to lambing..

I'm thinking that we may just have a 'surprise' delivery tonight. I'll let you guess who it might be but one of my ladies is hanging out in the barn, this morning, rather than coming out to graze & eat hay with her friends. FTR ~ this picture was taken yesterday.

It is apparent, on several of the ewes, that their bodies are preparing for delivery. The babies have dropped and the ewes have a very sunken appearance.

Of course, Alice looks sunken MOST of her pregnancy! ;-)

I love how snuggly my girls are late in their pregnancies' Here, Zaria (pink nose) & Dream (top) via for my attention.

Zaria wins and gets some 'alone time' with me...

She LOVES getting her belly rubbed!

Oh S@!*T!

We have "mucus".

And I have to go to work.

BELLA says...

"Don't worry Mom, I'll keep an eye on the girls for you!"

Getting Closer.....

We're getting down to the final few days. All the girls are getting rounder by the day.

Sheltering Pines Diva is actually looking a bit FAT. Which is NOT good as she is the one who had problems delivering a large ram lamb last year. There's really nothing that I can do at this point. I'm making sure that she gets plenty of exercise. I'm pretty sure that she'll twin again.

There's been a discussion, on the Shetland List, about colors and I'm posting this picture to show my description of "Fawn" (Diva ~ Fawn/HST) versus "Moorit" (Zest ~ Moorit/iset). Fawn is a modified color (not Ag greying).

"Bluff Country Dusty Rose" (Rosie) is also Fawn. I think she'll have a single again this year. Rosie will be for sale after her baby is weaned this year. I HAVE to cut back and I'm thinking my solid fawn/moorits may be the place to do it. I'm very hopeful that Rosie will give me a spotted baby this year.

Another Fawn beauty that I MIGHT be willing to sell this year is my lovely "Sheltering Pines Savannah". Savanna has given me some beautiful, HST lambs and also throws incredibly dense, soft, crimpy fleeces. Which is amazing because she is my most primitive ewe! I will keep Savannah's daughter, Bluff Country Zaria (Shaela/HsT) and would love to get one more HST ewe lamb from Savannah before I let her move on to another home. I am expecting twins from Savannah (bred to Hunter) this year...

"Bluff Country Zaria" is Savannah's daughter (sired by Zorro). She has THE most scrumptious fleece in my flock. Not only is a beautiful stealy/grey-blue color (Shaela), it is long, dense, soft and evenly crimpy! I'd be happy if ALL my babies had fleece just like Zaria's. Zaria looks like she'll be giving me twins, by Crescent Moon...

Also carrying lambs sire by Crescent Moon is my beloved "Highland Hollow Alice". The only sheep that I have left out of my original, foundation flock.

Alice, is the one that I always worry about. She is my only Ag (greying) sheep. Alice was born looking moorit but with the tell tale 'sugar lips' that indicated that she would fade to a lovely, light musket. Her fleece is SO soft...I'm thinking that Alice will have twins this year. (or would that be hoping ????) She's produced triplets three out of the past four years! If you look closely, you can see how sunken she already is. Her udder will get a lot bigger and firmer before the blessed event, so we have some time yet.

DREAM says....

"TRIPLETS???? You mean three??? I had all I could do to take care of TWO! Poor Alice..."

Ladies in Waiting...

It's much quieter in the ewe pasture and barn today. Yesterday, I moved the four, unbred, ewe lambs/yearlings and the Angora goats into the middle pasture and barn. That makes for SO much more room for the soon to explode pregnant ewes and less competition for food for the two bred ewe lambs (Sera and Dilemma).

Dream wants to reassure Corrine that she's still svelte, just very pregnant! ;-)
I'm pretty sure she's just got two in there but she looks great!


Where'd everyone go???


I did a late night barn check, last night, because when I got home from work (11 pm) I swear I heard the sound of a ewe straining. I grabbed a lantern and my "head-light" and went out to the barn, in the pouring rain. Everyone was quite happy to see me! I had pockets full of cookies (I give them to the moms during and after delivery). No one was showing Any sign of labor. Which is as it should be ~ no one's due until late next week. It seems Meredith ~ my beautiful little Angora doe sounds very much like a ewe in labor when she's calling to me. Next time I'll know..... (yeah ~ Right!)

Meredith ~ NOT pregnant!

Even though she may not LOOK pregnant ~ Little "Dilemma" is! I'll be quite happy with a healthy single from her...

Flash Flood is most definitely pregnant! (She's also a little on the 'plump' side).

As is my beautiful, Shaela ewe "Zaria".

DREAM says...

..."Mom's gotta run ~ she's got a date!! "

It's not really a date, Dreamer ~ I'm just getting together with a good friend...

One Week To Go....

Oh, good grief...Here comes Mom with the camera again!


Alice says, "I'm just going to ignore her and maybe she'll go away."


Dream says, "Me too"!


McDreamy, McSteamy and Meredith say: "We're out of here!"


Serendipity says:


"Hi Mom! Got any cookies?"


Sera doesn't mind getting HER picture taken...



Could she possibly be more adorable? I'm betting this little doll has twins!


I know, Sera's got a tail like a dust mop! But everything else about her is SO nice!! And she's bred to Hunter, who has a perfect tail....


'THAT wasn't a very nice thing to say Mom! We love Sera, fuzzy tail and all!"


I do too girls. I love each and every one of you! Now I better get ready for work...

The Hurrieder I go.........The Behinder I Get!!

I'll NEVER get caught up!

Shearing day dawned sunny and warm! It turned out a very good thing that we got delayed by a week. I fed the sheep early as the shearer wasn't coming until mid-afternoon and I didn't want to make them go hungry all day...

I had everyone either tied up or in pens when the shearer arrived. He was wonderful. No nicks and he let me walk each sheep back out to the pasture and give it cookies after it was done. Then I had to put the fleece on a skirting screen and sweep the area he was shearing in, before he could do the next animal, which I brought to him. It took us almost 4 hours to do 18 sheep and 3 Angora goats! I SO appreciate that Phil is willing to work slowly and let me "recover" between animals! ;-)

Terry and her granddaughter, Auna, came in time to help skirt fleeces and watch the last few sheep and the goats (which my shearer HATES to shear!) get sheared. I don't know how he could hate anything about Angora goats ~ they truly are the most adorable creatures I have ever encountered!!! (PLEASE don't tell Dream I said that!)

I didn't take a lot of pictures. I was too busy. Then I was too SORE!

A few surprises, which I'll post pictures of this weekend ~ I have 3 DAYS OFF! Alice's daughter, Destiny, is going to be SHAELA! I can clearly see the "pewter" color starting to show on her neck. Sara ("Little Red Oak Serendipity") is going to have twins! She is the cutest, little moorit & white, HST (bred to Kimberwood Hunter, fawn/HST) and she is just as round as she is tall! She is finally getting friendly too! She looks great. Has good weight on her but I think she'll be one of the first to go ~ she's huge!

Alice looks like she always looks, a couple of weeks before lambing. Pregnant. She's got lots of room to carry her babies and doesn't start looking humongous until the last week or so. I'll definitely get pictures this weekend.

Lots more news but I've got to get off the computer. I'm (finally!) taking my taxes in to get them prepared tomorrow morning! I just went ahead and made an appointment because I realized that if I didn't make an appointment, I'd never get everything together! That's my job tonight. Tuesday morning I have a doctor appointment. I'm Hoping that life will settle down ~ even just a little bit! ~ on Wednesday and Thursday. I worked this weekend (days) and go back to 1 pm to 10 pm tomorrow. I'm so tired!

I apologize for not responding to the comments or to any of the many wonderful lambing posts on the Shetlands' List! My back was so sore, after shearing, that I couldn't sit at the computer. Now, I just don't have time...

See ya Wednesday!

DREAM says....



...."you can't see me because I'm bare-NEKKED!! Boy, does that feel GOOD!"

BEFORE.....

ALICE and ZODIAK (Dream's mom)
At this time, my blog is running a day or so behind 'real' time. As I write this, tomorrow (Friday, 4/4) is shearing day. I did have everything set up for shearing LAST Friday ~ including two people (who took a half-day off work!) to come help. Unfortunately, my shearer's girlfriend had made plans and he couldn't risk angering her so he postponed. Friday morning!!! Let's just say that I was not particularly happy with my shearer.

Sheltering Pines SAVANNAH
However, this week was cold and damp and it may have been better for the sheep and goats that we waited. So, tomorrow is the big day. I thought I'd share a few pictures of my fluffy friends Before.

MC DREAMY
says "You're going to need this wheelbarrow to put all of my MOHAIR in!

The rams still have snow in their pasture!



OOPS! Gotta run....I just got an e-mail from my oldest daughter and she's trying to call me. (I only have one phone line and dial-up Internet.) More tomorrow!