Eat Pray Love

Boudreaux loves to eat.



More than anything.



But he spent most of yesterday praying. That Caspar Belly (aka Spooky Tooth) would stop loving him and just leave him alone. She got a wild hair and harassed him all day. This is not the first time. Apparently she's always had a thing for Boudreaux.

Poor Boudreaux.



Doesn't he have the glazed look of a guy stuck at a cocktail party with the nosy neighbor who loves to get up in everyone's business (that would be Heidi)?



And Momma Emily is left all on her own. Very sad. You can see Caspar Belly looking over at her so she's at least thinking about what she's doing.



But she chooses love.

Boudreaux, you are so big and handsome I can always find you in a crowd.



And I put on lipstick and everything for you. Kiss me you fool.

Peabody can't bear to watch.

This lasted through the evening, but when the rain blew in and everyone moved inside, Boudreaux apparently made an escape. I found him all alone in the inside stall and Caspar Belly had reunited with her momma in the run in.

He loves it when his prayers are answered and he can eat in peace ;-).

Oh The Indignity Of It All

Ewen McTeagle and Boudreaux the Biter are the last two strong holdouts (still) against Hank. Ewen to the point that he really doesn't even really like (still) to go out to the front field with everyone and I frequently find him hanging out at the barn by himself.

Boudreaux? Well, not much gets between him and his eating, but if you are standing near Boudreaux and Hank comes near, watch out. Boudreaux uses the bear attack escape theory - he doesn't have to be able to outrun Hank. He just has to be able to outrun (over the top of) you.

We were trimming hooves yesterday and it was Ewen's turn. Any time you have either of those fraidy cat sheep in hand, Hank wants to come over and sniff them. Not sure if he's trying to convince them he's their friend or just nosy. Regardless, Ewen was not happy to have his arch enemy's nose up his behind.

Then, to make matters worse, Comby jumped on his back.







And started making muffins.

To make matters even worse, we had a (cell phone) camera ;-).

Poor Ewen. We call him a "pony" and the cats apparently call him a sofa.

Sunday Stills - Self Pics

Your pic, the only difference between this one and last years is this year someone else can take your pic but with your camera. So, smile and lets meet the blogger behind the blog. I’ll have to use a tripod or one of my Joby Gorilla Pods since I’m on the road… :-)

Me and ole' Crazy Esther.



Since my friend Reg had just recently taken my picture, I decided to head to the archives - my big pet peeve and something I never do as I use Ed's challenges as true 'get out there and learn something new' challenges. However, if I could bend my rule and thus avoid having my picture taken... ;-).

For more Sunday Stills...

The Snow Dog

Hank loves the snow. A dog after my own heart ;-). He gets all excited, runs around, jumps, slides, bounces, eats snowballs...and sleeps right out in it.



I just wouldn't bother him when he's taking a nap.



He'll give you "the look".



Yeah, that's right, pal.

Winter Fashion Review

Renny now has a "turn out rug". Her wool "stable blanket" is perfect for indoor wear, but not very wind resistant, so Stella and I retired yet another horse blanket last night.



The yarn surcingle is practical but also sentimental. That yarn was a piece of the original Punkin yarn spun by my friend Rebecca almost 10 years ago. If there was ever another sheep who proved sheep aren't "always looking for an excuse to die", it would have been Punkin. He's still holding us all together.

By the way, doesn't Renny have the cutest mouth?



We've kept Renny very separate from the rest of the flock since she's been here. I doubted she'd ever be able to go out with them anyway. I'm pretty sure she'll never have use of her left back leg and that's a bit of a rough, clicky crowd out there. Besides, just hearing or seeing Iris and Weaslie in the barn aisleway scares her to death. I knew there'd be no way she'd ever accept that Hank was not a threat.

She hasn't shown any sign of any communicable diseases and this morning I let the main flock again have access to the back of the barn - an adjoining paddock. She was very excited to see everyone up close, especially with her bodyguard at her side.



Keebler was the first to approach - probably because he wanted to see who was Getting So Much Attention around here. Renny boldly (as if there was any other way) left Ewenice and walked right up. And look who else is there!



Ewenice told me you were different than other dogs. That you were okay. My name is Renny.

Hi Renny. I'm Hank.

I was speechless.



And then, just like that, it was time for breakfast :-).

White Skies

It was 68 degrees yesterday.



Our first snow of the year started around 4:00 this morning.



If you look closely you'll see one of the horses, tucked in the front shed.



You don't have to look closely to find the "barn" cats.

For the rest of the winter.

Red Skies At Morning

Shepherds take warning.



Yikes!



Sure enough, bad weather by mid morning. Rain, sleet, nasty cold. The sheep didn't go out to pasture until mid afternoon. If it's too yucky for them to go out and eat...enough said.



We had Renny sheared the other day. She was so loaded with cockleburs you had to wear gloves to catch her and her belly was covered in nasty mud that we worried might cause a secondary skin infection. Not what she needed.

We worried about shearing so late in the year, but her wool matted with burs wasn't much insulation as it was and much of it was falling off anyway. Luckily the nice couple who came over to shear her were able to leave some of the wool on her back and sides about an inch long.

She seemed much happier instantly and it will hopefully start growing back soon. In the meantime I took an old wool horse "cooler", doubled it up and made her a blanket to wear on nasty days like today when she can't/shouldn't go outside.



Classic Ewenice. This is why you never want to get between her and her food. It's a blur!

Renny's hanging in there. I've had lots of good, much appreciated help and I'm getting better at doctoring on her wounds every day. This has all not been anything I really wanted to add to my resume, but she's such a brave, trusting, sweet little girl that it will (hopefully) all be worth it. Keep the prayers coming.

Who's Really In Charge Out There

Those bratty boys treat her like dirt.



But they'd be lost without her.



Miss Aria will be 29 this winter.



And she's still got it.



I didn't realize at the time that I was taking bird pictures as well.



Did you catch the second bird in three of these shots?

Like A Book

We built a temporary quarantine chute for Ewenice and Renny to use to travel in and out from the barn to the little lamb lot during the day while the main flock is out in the front field.

Miss Ewenice is never at a loss for words.

I'm going in the barn to take a nap.



What? You're not ready to go in?



Seriously?



She doesn't want to go inside yet.



Sigh.



I just really wanted to go in and take a nap.

Ewenice is doing a great job taking care of Renny. They are really quite cute together.

Sunday Stills - High Tech, Low Tech

This will be a true challenge so pay attention to the parameters. The picture must contain one old school item next to a new high tech item, for instance a dial phone next to a cell phone. So lets see how ya’ll think and good luck… :-).

Speaking of good luck! I read the new challenge last Sunday and couldn't believe my good fortune. My electric Hansen miniSpinner was on it's way, set to arrive Tuesday.



I hated having to wait until Sunday to post pictures. It was killing me. What would I have to fill a half a week's blog space while I waiting (mostly) patiently for Sunday? Enter Renny.

The poor Hansen miniSpinner. Trumped by an inspirational sheep story.

Renny looked good this morning. She's up and about eating hay and pushed Ewenice out of her way to get outside when we opened the door. She's curious about us, but leery. I don't blame her though with all she's been through. I do think she knows we are trying to help her, but at this point she "ain't gonna eat none of your stinkin cookies". We'll see how long that lasts ;-).



Renny, small and mighty. Hansen mS, small and mighty as well and almost as cute. I can carry it and a whole lot of other stuff with one hand. The antique Great Wheel in the background requires two people to move. If you look closely you can see some spun yarn on both machines.



In addition, the miniSpinner is equipped with a WooLee Winder. That's the plastic gear driven mechanism that moves the ring on the black arm back and forth to wind the spun yarn around the bobbin evenly.

Like a true slog I can sit on the couch and spin with the mS. The Great Wheel, also known as a Walking Wheel, requires...walking. Both are fine, hard working tools.

For more Sunday Stills...

Renny

There was an email in my inbox this morning from Saint Tim. A list of possible names he thought might be good for the little ewe. One in particular got my attention. Renny - a Gaelic name meaning small and mighty. Yep. Reason #4857302 we call him Saint Tim.



The sun came out this afternoon and I decided to see if Renny would like to go outside for a bit. I sat with her in the lamb pen - she was very nervous about Hank - and she soon settled down and started grazing.



Hank watched her closely (and slept outside her door last night - Saint Hank?).



Sheep are flock animals and prefer to have a buddy. Miss Ewenice has gotten so wobbly herself that I decided they'd be a perfect match.



And they were.

If There Was Ever A Sheep That Deserved A Hug

It's been a rough day for me. Nowhere near as rough as this poor sheep has endured though. Nowhere near as rough as for the vet that spent almost two hours working on her this afternoon and the kind animal control and rescue folks from another county that have been fighting for her for the last several days.

I'm not going to post any details. They are so horrible you don't want to see, hear or read about it. I will take care of her wounds, but won't take any pictures of them. Even if she miraculously pulls through I won't ever want to go back and look at them. I'm sure of that.

In the meantime, she is here. I don't know what breed she is, how old she is, what her name is. I do know that she's the bravest, toughest, strongest willed sheep I've ever known and as soon as I heard her story I wanted to try to help.

So send up your prayers. She needs them. I could probably use a few myself.

Added this morning: Mostly we need prayers. This is not going to be an easy road. For either of us. Louanne, Keebler's buddy from the vet clinic, is coming out tonight to help me doctor on her. That's a huge help.

In the meantime, I would ask anyone who feels the need to go look it up - and I strongly advise not to - it will break your heart - to not leave comments anywhere, here or there, that would allow anyone to figure out who and where she (the sheep) is.

The humane society folks from her county could, as always, use some help. If anyone would like to send them a donation, please contact me privately.

Thank you so very much for all your kind words and support. It matters.

"Oh, The Bad News Keeps On Coming!" *

Why oh why didn't I start my Christmas gifts earlier...



* This is one of our favorite Simpson's quotes. I can't find it anywhere to link (!). You can find anything on google. Have we lost our minds?

Oh, the bad news keeps on coming!