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...

I Buried a Lamb Today...

I thanked him and said a prayer over him as I carefully hand-sheared his beautiful, moorit fleece.

I guess I'm a real farmer now.

The Rest (???) of the Story....WAY too long ~ you might want to skip this!

So I made it to Jefferson. NOT without much angst on my part. I was towing a trailer with no lights on it. Actually, it has lights on it ~ I just hadn't plugged them in. I didn't think they worked, so why bother plugging them in? (or even checking to see if they DO work?)

I was so scared driving through/around Madison, WI., that I was praying not to get a ticket. I SO can not afford a ticket. Perhaps one would wonder why I didn't check the lights and plug them in, in that case. Because that would make too much sense!!!

Anyway, I got to Jefferson in one piece and without being stopped. In my opinion, this is absolute proof that there truly IS a God that, for some reason I can not fathom, obviously loves me very much! Poor Corrine and Marie were waiting for me at the Fairgrounds and helped me unload my sheep and all my STUFF.

I really bring a lot of stuff to Jefferson. Not sure that I actually NEED it all or even used it all ~ but I bring it none-the-less.

We got to our motel at some unholy hour of the night and slept like babies. At least Marie and I slept like babies. Apparently Corrine has recurring DREAMS about Marie snoring and she does not sleep particularly well...

I was amazed at how quickly three women could shower and use the bathroom in the morning. I believe we were up and out of there in one hour!

At the fairgrounds it was time to feed my poor, starving Shetlands. They actually had plenty of hay to last them through the night but they TOLD me they were starving! Here's the thing... when sheep are used to being pastured on grass and are suddenly confined to a tiny stall with nothing to do but eat (and 'talk' to passers-by) they eat a LOT of hay.

My little Chance and Prima Dona were especially friendly with all the visitors at Jefferson. In spite of the fact that they were clearly NOT what the Judge likes in Sheltnad ewes, I was very proud of my beautiful, HST ewe lambs.


The Judge was also not impressed with my yearling rams.
Hunter (shown my Corinne!) got 5th in a large class of yearling rams ~ that was our best placing for the day. That's unusual for my flock. Then again, this is the first year I didn't have some of the largest Shetlands there. Hunter is the smallest ram in the photo of the ram class. I am NOT implying that the only reason that the sheep that won is because they were the biggest! Quite the opposite. They were excellent quality, superbly put together Shetlands (with the possible exception of the two times that I heard the judge mention that he was placing a sheep second because it was a bit cow-hocked ~ to me that is a disqualifying fault and should not be placed ~ but that's just my opinion). I have nothing against larger Shetlands, in fact, like my rams to be on the big side. I just chose to go in a different direction with my breeding plans this past year and I am quite happy with the animals that I have. You won't hear me complaining about getting beat by the Ludlams or Hopkins or Catanzaros (or many others!) ~ they've got some awesome Shetlands!

but I still like mine the BEST!
;-)

Not only did we not win any classes. I did not SELL any sheep! This is not good.

I did, however, have the MOST wonderful time with old friends and new! It was so great to see Kim again.
Poor Dear was a nervous wreck about having to speak at the AGM but she did a VERY nice job and she looks fabulous!

I briefly saw Becky and Sharrie, as well as Penny and Donna but never really got a chance to visit with them. Mary Ellen looked wonderful and Kate gave a great talk, on behalf of MSSBA, at the AGM meeting. It was wonderful to have the chance to chat with Joe & Nyla Catanzaro and Larry and Angie Hopkins again! Chris and Allen Green are, as always, an inspiration. I'm sure that I'm forgetting to mention many of the people who contributed to this being a memorable weekend for me.

And then there's the man that Corinne (my adopted sister) refers to as "The little brother we never wanted":
That would be GARRETT. What a hoot! Garrett brought along a new friend (a NEW adopted sister named Briony).
She is an absolute doll and fit right into the "family" like she'd always been there.

One of my very favorite people, in the whole-wide-WORLD is Juliann! We had some fun moments and a wonderful dinner together Saturday night. Thanks, Jules ~ I love you!! Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me Saturday night so don't have a picture of this beautiful lady to share with you. But trust me ~ she's beautiful INSIDE and out...

I missed connecting with Terry D. That's a dissappointment. I did meat several people who came up to me and introduced themselves as readers of my blog. What an honor that was!

Although, I didn't buy any sheep, I did manage to fall in love with this beautiful ewe lamb from the Hopkins' "Little Creek Farm" in Indiana.

Her proud mom was not THE least bit interested in parting with her ~ which is a good thing since the LAST thing I need to be doing right now is buying sheep! ;-)

OMG! I'm rambling. I better get off the computer and go check on my sheep. The camera batteries are recharging so no new photos today. FALL is here and I'm ecstatic about that! I SO love the cooler weather.

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO MADE MY TRIP TO JEFFERSON SO WORTHWHILE!! I'm seriously considering having a "family reunion" sometime in October....

Oh Good Grief! I almost forgot to mention that my beautiful Deja Vu raised the most money at the Silent Auction for MSSBA. It was SO hard putting her into that stall, all by herself. Fortunately, she quickly made friends with the beautiful katmoget ewe lamb in the stall next to her. Best of all, the kind lady who bought Deja Vu also bought the little katmoget ewe lamb as well as the handsome black/krunet ram that was donated so Deja Vu already has new friends in her new home...

We're Home.....!

My wonderful Shetlands and I got home at around 5:30 last night. I was SO exhausted (due to my sisters incessant cackling!) that I only unloaded the sheep and the duffel bag with my clothes in it, before heading for bed! Note to Corrine & Marie ~ I didn't even unpack the COOLER!!!. I was in bed by six pm and slept until 7 o'clock this morning. Which is when my dogs woke me up!

Getting to Jefferson proved to be a bit more of a challenge than I had anticipated. I took the day off work, on Thursday, so I could get everything packed up in advance and planned on leaving by noon on Friday. A local shepherdess who helped me put an ear tag in Prima Dona's ear had advised me that I could bathe my sheep, without disturbing their lock structure by dipping them in a tank of water with "Purple Oil" in it. She said it would lift out all of the dirt and not strip the natural oils from the fleece and not disturb the lock structure. Of course, she didn't mention how MUCH "Purple Oil" to use nor did the bottle that she gave me have any instructions on it. So I decided to give it a try. On Thursday.

How do you spell S. T. U. P. I. D.???
At least they were clean! HERE'S THE THING...IF you are going to bathe your sheep before a show ~ you should do so at LEAST a week before said show. I would estimate that the three ewe lambs that I bathed lost about 50% of the volume (fluff) of their pre-bath fleece. They were nice and soft though...

Needless to say, the unplanned spa treatments set my planned preparations for departing on Friday a bit behind. I knew, when I went to bed on Thursday night, that I wouldn't be leaving at noon, as planned, and was shooting for 3:00 instead. That would still get me to Jefferson before dark. A workable plan...

Unfortunately, Friday morning didn't exactly go as planned either.

I was very proud of myself in that I did hook up my trailer (even remembering to hook up the safety chains) all by myself. I loaded up the ewe lambs first, then went to lead the rams in from their pasture. As I entered the pasture that the trailer, with the ewe lambs in it, was in, I noticed sheep grazing. It occurred to me that there weren't supposed to be any sheep IN that pasture. Sure enough, the ewe lambs had escaped the confines of the trailer. Somebody hadn't latched the back doors to the trailer after depositing those girls...

OK. Load up the boys. Recatch the girls. Which is easy with everyone except Deja Vu and Masquerade ~ they have to be chased back to the barn and cornered. It's 4:30 now but I'm thinking that if I leave by 5 that won't be too bad...

SO. Every one's loaded. I double checked the hitch and safety chains. All systems go. I started the Jeep and decided to make a circle around the pasture so I had a straight shot at the gate. When I got about half-way around the pasture, the Jeep stopped moving forward. I gave it more gas but it appeared that we were stuck. I was a bit befuddled (imagine THAT!) because the ground is dry and hard so it didn't make sense that my tires would be spinning. I got out to investigate. At first glance, I was mortified to see the back end of the Jeep at about ground level. My first thought was that I had TWO FLAT TIRES!! That's it. I'm not going anywhere. I may as well unload the sheep now. Upon closer inspection ~ which included a glance BEHIND the trailer, I noticed a furrow plowed half-way around the pasture. Right behind the Jeep and trailer. HERE'S THE THING... one should always lock the JACK that is mounted on the hitch to one's trailer in the UP position before attempting to pull said trailer.

How DO you spell S.T.U.P.I.D. ?????
No one around to help so I go get a shovel and dig the jack out of the ground. The Jeep returns to a more normal (level) position. I put the shovel away. Check on the sheep. And try again. We make the circle around the pasture, across the yard and down my driveway. (note to self: the brakes had all they could manage to stop the trailer at the bottom of the drive ~ allow PLENTY of stopping distance!)
As I turn onto the road in front of my place, I happen to glance in the rear view mirror and see the door to the back of the trailer ~ where the ewe lambs are ~ swing open/or closed ~ I'm not really sure which! Pull over. All ewe lambs accounted for. Lock door. DOUBLE lock the door! Rams are secure. Double check hitch and tires.

It is 6:30 at night and I am on my way to Jefferson. A three and a half hour drive. Without lights on my trailer...

DREAM says...

..."I'm sure glad you're home safe, Mom!"

Me too, Dreamer, me too. I'll fill you in about the fun time at Jefferson, tomorrow...

Who Will Be the Lucky Winner....?

I can't believe that I'm GIVING this beautiful ewe lamb away! I sure hope that she raises LOTS of money for the Midwest Shetland Sheep Breeders Association and goes to a wonderful home where they will love her and take VERY good care of her.

Halter lessons are progressing nicely. Yesterday, Deja Vu (and a bunch of other ewe lambs) practiced standing tied. That is one of their favorite lessons...
;-)
It is a great opportunity to get 'rear shots' of the lambs though.

Even after she's released, Deja Vu hangs around the still tied girls (that's "Chance", one of the lambs that I'm keeping & will be showing at Jefferson). Perhaps hoping for more cookies????


I am SO not ready for this weekend....