Catching Up

Shame, shame on me for being such a lazy blogger again.

Seems like things were really busy during the summer, with all the outside activities that come with it. Mowing the yard was pretty much a full-time job...there was only a short time where it got dry enough that you could skip a week or two.

So what have I been up to? Late in the summer my husband's folks gave us a big dishpan full of grapes from their vines that I made into jelly. I thought I'd never get all of them picked through so I could make the jelly, but finally I did.
Yum!

And remember in my previous post I talked about my newest addiction obsession hobby, digital scrapbooking? I've become so enamored with it, that quite a bit of my computer time has been spent learning software and doing layouts.

I'm also still working on going through our fleeces from this year's shearing. (See, I'm almost always behind.) I'm thinking this year I may have the wool spun into yarn at the mill instead of just roving. There's quite a bit of combed top still left to spin from last year's shearing.

This past Saturday was National Hug a Sheep Day. I'm embarrassed to say that I forgot it on Saturday (though our sheep get quite a few pets and scratches on a regular basis anyway). But I made up for it yesterday and hugged four or five of the ones that would let me. Maybe I'll try another one or two this evening. :)

Digital Scrapbooking

Wow, it's been ages since I posted! It's been really hot since about the first of July until this week. Things have made a nice cool down in the past few days.

We've been baling some prairie hay...some small square bales and some big round bales. I got in a little raking, but not a lot. One more field, and I think we're done baling for this year.

I've discovered another interesting hobby. And it's not even fiber related. Can you believe it? I've been going through a bunch of old pictures and slides and have been trying to get them converted to digital. In the process of this I discovered digital scrapbooking as a way to spice up some of the old pictures. The layouts can be printed as hard bound photo books, which I thought would be neat for some of the really old family history pictures. Here's a couple of layouts I did just for fun. Note they have fiber-related subjects, so it's possible to combine fiber and digital. :)That's Velvet, our Shetland ewe. She really changed color after her first shearing.

And that's what's on my rigid heddle loom right now. The idea is to use up lots of different handspuns, hopefully having enough to make a little afghan or blanket. The loom is a 16 inch, so the plan is to put three panels together to get it wide enough. I'll try to show it to you when it's finished.

(If you're interested, the software I used is My Memories Suite 2.0 from Poloroid, and some free papers from scrapgirls.com.)

Sheep Shearing

Sheep shearing day for 2010 came and went, and now there are bags of wool in the barn. The shearer got here pretty early in the morning and the sky was cloudy, so it made it really nice for shearing. There have been times when it was blazing hot by the time we got them sheared, making things really uncomfortable for the sheep, the shearer, and the shepherds. Here's what Velvet looked like last fall not long after we bought her. Of course, her wool grew quite a bit more over the winter.And here's what she looks like after shearing:Quite a change, huh? I just thought she was small before. The other day I mistook her for one of the lambs.

And here's Angus right after we brought him home. (He, too, grew a LOT more wool over the winter.)And now...This picture really doesn't do him justice. He's so slick and black and handsome! He almost looks shiny.

We fixed a skirting table in one of the sheds outside. I'm still learning...I had seen a picture somewhere of someone skirting using a similar set up. Before when I had skirted fleece, I spread a plastic table cloth out on the ground and put the fleece on it. This is SO much easier! And probably works a lot better, too, since some of the VM has a chance to fall through the grate and out of the fleece.Here's Velvet's fleece spread out on the table. The picture doesn't do her fleece justice, either. Somehow it's really hard to capture the color of her fleece on film. Or should I say "in pixels?"
I couldn't wait to wash a little section. Here's the result:

It has a really long staple, compared to what I'm used to, and is sooo soft. I'm planning on working on it again today, hopefully a bigger bunch at a time. I'm getting anxious to spin some up!

Did You Think I Flew the Coop?

I really didn't fly the coop, things have just been really busy, and blogging kind of got pushed to the bottom of the to-do list.

With the arrival of spring came yard work and mowing, and we put out a garden again this year. It was kind of late getting planted...several weekends were spend working cattle, and then there were several rains that prevented us from getting the ground worked up. Most things were planted and set out on May 22, and started coming up in about four days. I'll have to try to get some pictures soon.

Also, the sheep were sheared on May 21, so the girls are sporting stylish new do's. It was just in time, too, before the weather turned hot.

And can you believe it? I actually listed a new yarn today! The poor shop had been really neglected, too, having one lone item for sale for what seemed like ages.

Here's the new listing:I called it "Prairie Sunset." This is some of our own wool from our Rambouillet ewes, Belle, Scarlett, Rachel, and our Rambouillet-cross ewe, Lily. I spun it first and then painted it.

There's lots more things to talk about, but I guess that's all for today. Maybe this will get me back into the swing of things. :)

Another Lamb Report

I'm finally getting around to the next lamb report. That makes nine ewes, so lambing is over for this year. First, on the 21st, Rose had twin ram lambs. Here's Rose:
And here are the lambs:
Next, on the 28th I think it was, Hannah had twin lambs, one ewe and one ram. Here's Hannah having a little snack:And here are the lambs:It's kind of hard to see the one in the back, but he's kind of black and white spotted, but also with a spot or two of the dark curly fleece like the ewe in front. Her fleece is really curly all over with kind of white undertones.

We finally got all the ewes with lambs back together out in the lot, so that has made doing the chores a lot easier than when we had to feed and water several of them separately.

The older lambs, well, all of them really, are growing fast. I don't think I've ever seen any animal grow as quickly as lambs.

Catching Up with the Lamb Reports

Whew, it's been awhile since I've posted! Things have really been hopping around here. Eight of the nine ewes have lambed so far. Here's what's happened since last time:

March 18: Angus was probably really excited when he saw Sydney's ewe lamb:The black fleece toward the front is kind of short and crimpy, and the gray-tan fleece along her back is longer and more wavy.

March 21: I found Rachel (a Rambouillet) with her first lamb, a little white ewe, whose fleece is already kind of long and wavy.
Still March 21: The sheep did something they've never done before in all the years we've been raising sheep. I went to check on them about 1:30 that afternoon, and nobody was doing anything. When we went out to do the evening chores, awhile after 5:00, I looked in the little shed out in the lot and found two ewes with three new lambs! They had both apparently lambed at almost exactly the same time. Now this was a pickle. One ewe had twins, and one had a single lamb, and neither I nor they were sure who belonged to whom. Abby is an older ewe and not in the best of shape, and Violet is a younger ewe. It looked like maybe Abby hadn't been able to get up yet, and that Violet had licked everybody off. I helped Abby to her feet and she promptly went outside to find something to eat. She soon came back, though, to see about her lamb/lambs.

Two of the lambs were black and white spotted (one ram and one ewe), and looked like they were probably the twins, and the other lamb (a ram) was tan and white. The lambs were trying to nurse first one ewe and then the other, and Abby and Violet would go from one lamb to the other. I was afraid one of the lambs wasn't getting any attention, while one was getting attention from both ewes. I got a little colostrum on my fingers from Abby and got in the lamb's mouth several times to at least give her a taste. I thought about separating them, but was afraid I wouldn't get them with the right ewe, so we decided to leave them all together and let them work it out. I really think probably Abby had the twins, and Violet had the single tan and white lamb. That night when I went back to check on them, the lamb I had given the colostrum to was nursing from Violet, and the next morning, she was nursing from Abby. Now several days later, they're still all together, and seem to be doing okay. Maybe they've got it figured out or maybe they're just helping each other.

March 22: Rose had twin ram lambs in the barn, but I don't have pictures of them ready. We're still waiting for Hannah to lamb, so hopefully I can post pictures of all of them next time.

Again, whew, things have sure been busy!

The Next New Arrival

When we put Scarlett in the barn the other night before she lambed, we also got in Rachel and Lily because this year is their first time lambing and we wanted to have them already inside in case they needed any help. A little before 10:30 Tuesday night I went out to check on the sheep, studied them for awhile and thought Rachel looked like she was breathing faster than normal. No other signs, just breathing a little fast. I decided I'd come back in for awhile and then go check on them again later. So, about 10 after 11 I went back out to the barn and found Rachel just standing around, but Lily was hard at it in front of the hay rack.

She didn't seem to be making much progress, but sometimes it takes awhile, especially since this was her first lamb. She made several attempts, and I could see his front feet and nose occasionally (which was a good sign, at least, since he wasn't coming backwards). After awhile I began to worry that if she had too much difficulty, even if she was able to do it herself, she might be so exhausted and traumatized that she wouldn't have the energy to take care of him as she should. So I finally decided to help. I went back to the house and washed my hands. (Also took off my ring. Remember what Billy Crystal said about his watch in "City Slickers"?) Then it was back out to the barn.

Lily was still working, but still not making much progress. She'd get up and walk around a little, but seemingly to no avail. So finally as she worked, I got hold of his front feet, tried to make a little more room for him and pulled out and down. I could tell he was pretty tight. We kept at it for a little bit, and finally got his head where I could see it. In the midst of all this Lily scared me by getting up a couple of times and moving around. I just crawled after her, and then pulled some more. I could tell then that one of his legs seemed to be farther back than the other one, and decided he was probably stuck at his shoulder. After a minor adjustment, out he came!

Lily jumped up and started licking him. He shook his head around, and it wasn't long before he was trying to get up.

It was about 10 after 12 when I came back in, so, needless to say, I didn't take any pictures of him that night. But the next morning I did!

See the little brownish black spot on the tip of his ear? By yesterday, it had dried some more and didn't look as dark, but you can still see it. Angus is excited about it. (Don't tell him, but Lily had brown on her ears when she was a lamb.)

First Lambs of the Season!

On Saturday morning when I went outside, Belle was standing in the lot with a white ram lamb! She probably had him sometime up in the night, because he was already dried off and out running around with her. When we bought Belle, she was really wild, but she's calmed down a LOT since then. She stomped her foot at me when she thought I was too close to the lamb, but I finally got close enough to pick him up and carry him to the shed so they could have a private little place of their own for awhile. I held him where she could see and smell him, and she followed me right into the shed.
She did lots of talking to him after we got in there.Angus has a separate little space of his own in the same shed. He did things the old-fashioned way...waited in the waiting room.
He still hasn't passed out any cigars. Maybe he just hasn't had a chance to get out and buy any. :)
Then Saturday evening when we were doing the chores, I noticed that Scarlett looked like she was thinking about lambing. So after doing some shuffling, we got her over into a little pen in the barn. When I came back to check on her awhile later, she had a little white ewe lamb!
The other girls should be lambing before long too, so hopefully more lamb pictures soon! :)

Do You Get This Excited...

...when it's time for supper?

Jade and Velvet do. :)

Meanwhile, over in the other pen, we're still waiting for lambs. The girls are looking closer every day, so maybe there'll be some lamb pictures soon!

Waiting for Lambs

I've been studying the girls every day to see if there's any sign that there might be some lambs any time soon.I was actually a little worried for awhile as to whether there would even be lambs this year. The ewes didn't seem to show any signs of being bred, and remember the rocky start they had with their suitor?

We put the ram in with them around the 10th of October, and according to this sheep gestation calendar, we can start watching for lambs the 4th of March. They don't really look that close to lambing to me, but like I said, they weren't too thrilled with Angus when they first met.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I'm excited to see what the Rambouillet/Shetland and Suffolk/Shetland cross lambs will look like!

Sheep Manners

Me: "Levi! You know it's not polite to talk with your mouth full!"

Farm Math...

Several sheep-who-like-to-stand-out-in-the-cold-rain

+

One shepherd-girl (using the term 'girl' loosely here)
holding-a-bucket-of-feed

=


Brrrr!

You folks with sheep know what I'm talking about, huh? This time there was a soaking wet sheep crowding in from both sides. Boy, talk about something that will wake you up! :)

Friends Come in All Shapes and Sizes

When we bought Velvet, the little Shetland ewe that was born in March of this year, we decided we'd let her wait until she was older before putting her in with the ram. We already had a spring Rambouillet lamb named Jade we were going to keep back, too. So when the ram went in with the ewes, Jade and Velvet became roommates. For now they have a little pen in front of the barn and can go in the barn for shelter.They're pretty close in age, but look at the difference in size! They seem to be getting along pretty well together, and are even pretty good about sharing their food.When it's time to take the ram out, Jade and Velvet will probably go in with the rest of the ewes. They seem to be pretty content right where they are, though, and maybe even getting a little spoiled. :)

More Sheep Sorting

Remember back in October we put the rams in with the ewes? And we thought we'd try the two spring ram lambs with the Suffolks?

We left them in about a week and from what we could tell, they didn't seem to be too interested. I don't know if they're just a little too young yet, or if it has something to do with the fact that they were raised on the bottle. Anyway, Eli and Levi seemed to be more concerned with grazing the pasture and eating grain than chasing the girls. So after a week, we changed the panels around again, and put all the ewes in with the Shetland ram. (I doubt that he minded too much.) Here he is with his ewes:

I'm still debating about giving him a nickname. My plan was to give the Shetlands each a Scottish or Gaelic name in honor of their Scottish heritage. The first (and only) one I could think of for the ram was Angus, which fit because of his black fleece and all the Angus cattle running around here. If I do call him Angus, though, he of course would still be known "professionally" as Fairlight Omen, on any breeding papers, etc. Most of the Gaelic/Scottish girl names I found were ones I couldn't pronounce, so my plan for all Scottish names for the Shetlands has kind of gone by the wayside. I think for the little ewe, we've decided on Velvet. It kind of seems to fit her somehow. (She, too, will still have her registered name of Three Ring Mai Tai on paper.)

So for now, anyway, Eli and Levi, otherwise known as "The Boys," are busy running around in the pasture and eating. The girls will just have to wait. :)

New Critters on the Ranch

I recently added Google Friend Connect to my blog and soon discovered a bunch of terrific and interesting sites. I kept finding other folks interested in fiber, sheep, etc., and came across several blogs about Shetland sheep. They looked SO cute and small! The Suffolk and Rambouillet sheep we have are pretty big sheep, so that really made the difference obvious, too. Anyway, it's getting time to put a ram in with our ewes for spring lambs. We were needing a new ram this year since some of the ewes are related to the one we had.

I wondered what kind of fiber you'd come up with by crossing a Shetland ram with the Rambouillet ewes. They have really soft, fine, crimpy fiber, but it doesn't have a very long staple length. I understand that the Shetlands' fiber is soft, too, and long. That sounded to me like it might be a good combination. Also, I love the beautiful natural colors found in the Shetlands.

My search led me to Fairlight Farm and Tammy's registered Shetlands. She had a ram for sale that I thought would fit the bill. He was being boarded at another farm, and Tammy agreed to meet us over there to see the ram. With the help of her excellent directions and our GPS, we found the place without any trouble. We met the Jacksons of Three Ring Ranch, who happened to have a few registered Shetland ewes for sale also.

Here's what we brought home:

The ram, whose registered name is Fairlight Omen...

And this little ewe, whose registered name is Three Ring Mai Tai...

Check out these gorgeous fleeces:


The ewe was just born this spring, so although some people go ahead and breed them the first year, we'll probably let her wait until next season, so hopefully it will be a little easier on her. I have another young ewe lamb I'm keeping back till then, so they'll each have some company.

The ewe seems really friendly already. She likes being petted and doesn't seem to mind my fascination with her wool. The ram is still a little wary, but that's probably normal for rams.

So as soon as the paperwork all goes through, I guess we have the beginnings of our own flock of registered Shetlands. Their registered names will stay the same, of course, but I'm hoping the previous owners don't mind if I give them each a nickname. Haven't settled on anything yet, but am still thinking.

Hopefully over the weekend we can get everybody situated and let the ram get on the job. I'm thinking he's hoping so, too. :)

P.S. Be sure and check out the Fiber Arts Friday Blog Carnival at Alpaca Farm Girl!

Yes, Sir, Yes, Sir...

Three bags full!

The weather has finally cooled off enough that I could get up the courage to sort through our fleeces. We had our sheep sheared later than normal this year and it was getting really hot by then. Too hot to want to play outside in the wool. So this afternoon I went through and skirted three fleeces to send off for processing. These are from our Rambouillet sheep. Their wool is really soft with a nice crimp. I'll probably have these processed into combed top. The sheep weren't coated (well, some of them were, but we had trouble keeping the coats on and finally just gave up), and I've been told that combing will remove the vegetable matter. This is the first time we'll have had any of our Rambouillet processed into combed top, so I'm anxious to see how it comes out.

Now to find a big enough shipping box...

Equal Time...

...lest the sheep get jealous of my previous cattle post. :)

Fiber, Fiber Everywhere...

Well, I did it again. My posts have been few and far between. It seems like I've been really busy, but you can't tell it from looking around the house! To get you caught up, we did get the sheep sheared the end of May. It was a really hot day. I didn't get any pictures taken...we were trying to keep up with the shearer. As soon as he'd get one done, we'd grab up the fleece and put it in a sack. I've gotten one of them skirted, but there are several more to go. I'm thinking I may send in a little to be processed this time and see how it turns out even though they weren't coated. I talked to the lady at Zeilinger's mill and she thought if they did the Rambouillet into combed top instead of roving, that would get the VM out. It's more expensive that way, so like I said, I may just do a small amount and see how it comes out. Our neighbors have a few sheep, and they brought theirs over to have them sheared with ours. One of the ones they brought was what appeared to be a brown sheep. Then when he started to shear him, this beautiful coal black fleece fell back from the shears. The neighbors weren't interested in the wool and were just going to throw it away, so I latched onto it. I'll probably send in some of it to Zeilinger's, too. The shearer and my husband together got the coats on three of the Rambouillets. It didn't seem too hard, but then I wasn't the one doing it. One of them had hers off by the next morning, but the other two have kept theirs on so far. They don't act like they're uncomfortable or any hotter than the ones without coats.

The shop has been kind of neglected as of late. I got my sock yarn club shipments mailed yesterday, which took a little while to get ready.

I started a major closet clean out and reorganization last weekend. The contents of the closet were scattered practically over the whole house. How can a person get so many things in such a small space? I put in some plastic shelves to hold some of my fiber stash...yarn and fiber to be spun. Hopefully this will get the extra bedroom a little straighter.

I was also trying to make a storage space for this newest fiber tool.

It's a Strauch Petite drum carder. I'm just learning about drum carding, but am hoping to do some color blending and fiber blending--both for my handspun yarn and maybe to put some carded batts in the shop.

Before I get off for today, here's a picture you might enjoy. Here I am with one of the lambs. I think maybe she's doing her Whoopi Goldberg impersonation...