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!!!

Burn, Baby BURN....

Not much excitement here in the Bluff Country. Which, now that I think about it, is just the way I LIKE it!! I've been burning the ditches so that I can use them for grazing this year. There will be NO wasted land at my place! This is my weekend to work so I've been trying to get as much done, in the mornings before getting ready for work, as I can. My Blisters have blisters!

I hope to finish burning the ditches and start putting up fences (I just use the step in posts ~ it's the only thing I can manage on my own!) today. I want to get my pastures subdivided so I can rotationally graze and give some of the more over grazed areas a rest.

I'm also working on an album with pictures of Kat Nap ~ Dream's beautiful, horned daughter. I should have that done and posted this weekend.

IF I have time today, I want to check into refinancing my home. I'm paying 6.8% interest and think I could reduce my house payment quite a bit if I refinance now...

Oh yeah.... I've got to start cleaning the barns too. AND burning the dried out, wasted hay, blowing around the pastures and paddocks. Plus, I bought a little, portable "greenhouse" that I want to put together and put my little starter pots of Impatience and Pumpkins that are sitting all over my kitchen counters in. (Was that a sentence?)? And, I bought a very pretty WIND CHIME that I'm going to hang out on the new barn! I'll take pictures of that!

Have a nice weekend everyone!!

DREAM says...
"Mom is SO excited about the grass finally starting to turn green. This is me when I was just a couple of weeks old. How cute am I?????

Happy Easter!"

WHAT was I Thinking???

This picture was taken one year ago, today.
April 8, 2008.

I loved those Angora goats.

But they were too much work for this already-spread-to-thin Shepherdess. Thank you Michelle, Becky and Melanie for pointing out the obvious to me.

I don't need any more animals! I can't afford any more animals. Just the thought of trimming those toes (or teeth!!) or tying them down to shear, or giving monthly shots to is enough to give me nightmares. So, I'll not be getting any Alpacas. I think I'll buy Triomphe's fleece though....(he's the white one, from Colorado).

Thank you for the reality check.

ALICE & DREAM
(photo taken 1 year ago)
say...

"Yes, THANK YOU ladies! For reminding Mom how much she loves the life she has right now ~ with US!!"

"Boy! We dodged a bullet THAT time!"

It was a Nice Morning in the Bluff Country...

I sat with the sheep for a while.

I picked up poop in the backyard and fed & watered all the animals.

Now, it's time to get ready for work.

I'm still thinking about getting a couple of Alpaca geldings...

DREAM says...

Tomorrow, Mom will share some pictures that she took of my beautiful daughter, Kat Nap! Don't worry about Mom ~ I'm giving her lots of hugs..."

What kind of a farmer cries over a chicken?

Modonna's gone. I knew something was wrong when I went into the barn. All the other chickens came but not Madonna. She's the one who always comes right up for me to pick her up. She's the only one who eats from my hand. Madonna can't fly. I have to take care of her. I failed. I found her. Dead. Something had killed her. I am so sorry, Madonna.

I guess I'm not a real farmer. I can't stop crying.
I went out and sat with the sheep. They all came up to "offer their condolences". Seriously. They each walked up and let me pet them for a moment and then walked off. Except Dream. She stood by me and put her muzzle against my cheek. She let me wrap my arms around her neck and cry into her fleece. She stood by me until it was time for me to come into the house.

What will I ever do when I lose my Dreamer....?

I have to get ready for work now.

We Were Supposed to Get a Blizzard...

But it missed us.

If we don't get some sunsine and GREEN soon, I may not be responsible for what I do...

Why, I got so stir crazy on Saturday that I went to an ALPACA show! (it was Karen B's fault)

Oh my! These are really sweet, beautiful creatures...

Their fleece is inredible! Super soft. Fine. Crimpy. It would be lovely blended with Shetland....

They have the most huggable necks!

This guy lives in Colorado. But he REALLY wants to come live in the Bluff Country.....

DREAM says...

"Those are the strangest sheep I have EVER seen! Pray for sunshine and green grass..."

For Eileen....The Eighth Annual ALICE WATCH...

OK. I admit it. This year probably doesn't really count. But ever since I got my Shetland sheep (in 2001), we've had an "Annual Alice Watch" ~ mainly because I was always worried sick about her at lambing time.

This year probably doesn't count because this year, for the first time since she was a yearling, Alice is not bred.

Alice has given me twins or triplets every year since I got her from John and Jane Eager of "Highland Hollow" Shetlands, in Wisconsin, in 2001. I decided to give my beautiful friend a year off after she had triplets two out of three years in a row!

So this year Alice will not have babies. However, she will have GRANDBABIES! I have bred Alice's beautiful, Emsket daughter, "Bluff Coutnry Destiny". Destiny is sired by a black & white, HST ram (Windswept Bravo) and is bred to a mioget & white, HST ram (Kimberwood Hunter) so I am praying for an HST granddaughter that I would keep forever!

So, even though I won't be fretting and worrying over Alice's impending delivery this year, you're more than welcome to join us for the "Alice ~ GRANDMA Watch"!!

;-)

DREAM says...

"Hey! You can watch ME not have babies too! Mom's got a three day weekend so she'll be doing lots of rooing ~ stay tuned for lots of photos...."