Shearing Shots

Another spring shearing is in the books and this may have been our best shearing yet.  The fleeces are a little messier than I'd like, but they aren't terrible.  The weather, with the excessive rain and several high wind events, has been extra challenging this winter.  

Bill, our shearer for the past...many years...has stopped shearing.  Without his big shearing trailer with it's ramps and chutes to rely on, both Tring Farm and Final Frontier Farm had to set up in-barn working systems to handle their big flocks.  

I watched how both set ups worked out and decided to set up a similar system over here.  Tring Farm kindly loaned us all the gates and panels we needed and helped design the areas and angles and it worked a treat.  

The sheep were all penned in the aisleway stall which funneled into a small catch pen which funneled into the chute which fed into a tiny catch pen where the sheep were then turned around and backed out onto the shearing board.

The fleeces might have been messier than I'd like, but the shearing itself went great.  Taylor Schwartz came over from Mayslick, Kentucky, and did an outstanding job with our, um, challenging interesting flock.  I've got more pictures to post tomorrow.

Cheeto

Big Moose marched into the holding pen...and then decided maybe he really didn't want to be the next sheep in the barber chair.

All those beautiful baby curls :'-(.

Even prettier on the inside.

Mini Moose watching.  I have a video to upload of Big Moose being sheared, but the internet is so slow tonight that I barely got these pictures loaded.  You can hear Mini Moose calling to him.  First hair cuts are probably a bit scary.

"They are."

Remember Mini Moose's dark gray stripe running down his shoulders as a lamb?  It's still there!  I'll try to remember to take a picture tomorrow.

Tabitha

Count Chocula

Big J aka Jared

Good old Salt.  I think I've taken a shearing day picture of her at Final Frontier Farm every year for the last...many years.  Seemed kind of funny to be taking a picture of her on our farm.  Seemed kind of funny to not be shearing with Bill, too, but that worked out as well.  

A Strange Voice In The Barn

As I was starting to do evening chores the other night and the sheep were filtering in from the back field I heard a strange "ba-a-a-a-a".  Low and gravel-y. 

"Who was that?" I called out. 

"Ba-a-a-a-a."

Hmmmm...  "Who said that?" I asked again, hoping to see someone's lips move, but it was nearly dark. 

"Ba-a-a-a-a."

I know pretty much every "baaaa" in the flock.  Rarely does someone say something that I don't at least recognize as a familiar voice.  A deep voice does not necessarily mean a ram or wether; a high voice doesn't necessarily mean a ewe.  Liddy can growl with the best of them and Jared sings soprano ;-).

I called out one more time.  The sheep looking most intently at me was Big Moose.  He was standing just outside the door though and it was too dark to see his black face...and besides, I knew his voice.  Still...  I pulled out the lamb dinner call.

"Beh-bies?"

"Ba-a-a-a-a-a!"  "Baaaaaa!"

It was Big Moose.  His voice had changed!

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This is fixin’ to be a blog post and will make more sense in a few minutes. Just need to have this sound bite uploaded first 😉.

A post shared by Sara Dunham (@thecrazysheeplady) on Mar 5, 2020 at 7:43am PST

And Mini Moose's hasn't.  Just something silly to make you laugh :-).

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Running and jumping their way back to the barn.

A post shared by Sara Dunham (@thecrazysheeplady) on Mar 3, 2020 at 8:03am PST

Speaking of big voices, if you missed this video the other day, that's Biscuit with the Big Baaa hollering as the sheep run up.  And you definitely don't want to miss Maisie racing everyone in with her propeller spinning :-D.

Our 15 Minutes Of [Snow]

We enjoyed it while it lasted :-).

Mini Moose and Chocula

Big J aka Jared

The little darlin' ;-).  And I think that's Mini Moose.

Big Moose.  He's just so fun to photograph.  What expression.  

Chocula, Tessa and Tabitha.  Chocula was picking hay of Tessa's back.  I'll have to up his pay :-).

Liddle

Petunia and Tessa

And a new puzzle!

Two Birds...

I posted five pictures to Instagram and tried to just embed the post here, but I don't think all the pictures were going to come through so I've copied and pasted it over here mostly to let you know Rebecca Boone is still fighting and maybe showing a little improvement and also a little Liddy to make you smile ;-).

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First an update on Rebecca Boone- she’s still fighting and maybe a little better this morning. Thank you for all the prayers and concern. I love how we take care of each other. It matters. ️
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If I’d read forward on the Fiberuary list I would have held off on my pictures from the other day because I actually nailed several challenges that day . So I’m not just sharing the same pictures for days, I’m going to combine a few challenges with this post, which also gives me a little more room to keep my focus on sheep care. .

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Days 4, 5, 6 and 7 - Close Up, WIP, Outside, Technique. .

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The close up of my work in progress that I was knitting outside looks complicated, but it’s not!  Only one color per row and the patterning comes from a simple slipped stitches technique . .

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I included a picture of Liddy because... Liddy . The two Moose thugs pillaging my knitting bag while I was rescuing the short dog who was on the wrong side of the gate. And the muddy hoof print at the top of the super close up . Oh, and that’s Woody, the king of close ups .
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#fiberuary #fiberuarychallenge #agatecovehat #farmyarn #lambcamplegacy #lambcamplegacyyarn #knittersofinstagram #barnyardknits

Drizzly Day(s)

This group was the last to run in during the latest shower.  I always think it's interesting to see who pairs up with who.  The Jacobs always stay together and I love that old Clover Belly is welcomed into their "clique".  Rocky and Jared, Woody and the Mooses are mixed in this time.  The Adventure Sheep ain't scared of no rain...or much rain ;-).

Two new puzzles for everyone who's not as adventurous :-).

Top Nine 2019

It's the time of the year to join the "Top Nine"...whatever you call it...thingy...where you "click the button" (my brain is mush) and it searches through your year of Instagram photos and assembles a collage of your nine most popular photos.  Mine is pretty cute this year :-).  

Two from Wovember, one of silly Mini Moose and the rest from Lamb Camp at Final Frontier and Tring Farms.  I kind of thought Frankie would show up somewhere, but as we all know, it's hard to compete with babies ;-D.

The card is painted and printed and hopefully going in the mail this afternoon.  Whew!  It was a real struggle this year and I'm not really sure why.  Now that's it's done and I'm almost 48 hours away from it, I'm pretty happy with it.  It's cute and sweet and I think everyone will enjoy it.

Here's a funny story...Saint Tim's superpower is making me laugh when there seems to be nothing to laugh at.  After several super late nights struggling (unsuccessfully) to paint the card, I got up (still too tired) the other morning to find Eli's tree ("the stairway to heaven") had fallen down after the latest 3" deluge of rain.

The tree was very old.  There were only a couple branches left on it and they were barely, but bravely hanging on.  Eli used it to climb up to the porch roof (his "office").  I framed pictures of the back of the farm through it's lacy leaves.  Momma birds raised babies in the hollow trunk.  It was a good old friend.  

I stood there staring at it...turned and walked back inside...stood in the kitchen...didn't pour myself a cup of coffee...finally went to tell Tim...and then the tears spilled.  Tim's not as sentimentally attached to trees as I am, but it was Eli's tree and it was special because of that.  

He listened to the tree story, the unhappiness with the card painting, the "I wish I'd stopped after last year like I'd said I was going to"...and "clicked the button" in his brain and said, "You should just download the Loony Tunes font and plaster "That's All Folks!" across the front...and all I could see was Maisie pasted in where Porky Pig usually is, saying "Th-th-th-that's all folks!" :-D

That's (probably) not all folks, but it was just what I needed.  

Keep laughing!

Snow Warriors

This was just a split second standing still shot, but I have to laugh at how those two silly boys look like they are the bravest of warriors standing tall as a huge attacker charges their way.

Really, Levi was just bouncing around in front of them trying to get them to play tag or chase or whatever sheep play when they don't have a space ship to defend.

This is a new puzzle!  I hope you have as much working it as Mini Moose had creating it :-D.

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Snow Day! 😀

A post shared by Sara Dunham (@thecrazysheeplady) on Nov 13, 2019 at 12:15pm PST

A fun snow video from yesterday.  That's Big Moose chewing over the background music :-).

Far Out

One thing (of many) I've enjoyed about having Rocky and Jared here is watching how far they travel in search of fresh grass.  We have plenty acres open for grazing, but the majority of the sheep graze just within a stone's throw from the barn.

A big part of that may be because in the early days Hank didn't like them going too far away from the 'safe zone' and for years would call them in when he thought they'd gone far enough.  There's probably another part of it that has to do with being fat and lazy ;-).

Rocky and Jared (aka Big J) could care less if Hank tells them to stay close.  There's good grass out there and they are the men to go eat it all.  That's Jared farthest away in the picture above.

Rocky is usually close by, but I've never seen him go as far as Jared, who I've seen all the way at the back corner.  A few other sheep have taken to following them out there - Cheeto and her boys, Andy, sometimes the Ts.

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Wait! What’s coming?

A post shared by Sara Dunham (@thecrazysheeplady) on Sep 1, 2019 at 7:44pm PDT

There was a fun series of pictures on Instagram one evening with Kate and Tilly herding the boys back home.  They were out there all by themselves while Cheeto was in Easy Breezy being weaned.  You've got to stay with the adults a little bit, boys!

Stone's throw... ;-)

We've had some pretty mornings, but fall is still eluding us.  There are two days next week that are forecast for 98 degrees :-o.  At the end of September...

How about a couple of new puzzles :-).  Enjoy!

On The Subject Of Names

Several years ago (!) when Baaxter was a baby, it took forever to come up with his name.  A name that suited him and suited us and he could wear (or we could wear out ;-) for years to come.  In the interim I called him Lamby Lamby, which is what I call all lambs.  

Now, years later (!) if I'm trying to get his attention and he's not responding to Baaxter or Baby B, I quietly say Lamby Lamby and he immediately turns his head.  This has also been confusing for him with subsequent bottle lambs who I inevitably call Lamby Lamby in front of him.  Poor Baby B...

I should never be put in charge of names.  While Big Moose is a name that Big Moose can wear (and we can wear out...and already are :-o), Mini Moose...poor Mini Moose...  I think he's already learned Mini Moose and I'm not sure we could change it even if we came up with something perfect.  Poor Mini Moose...

He does seem to recognize the name Cute Lamby...but that might be confusing with subsequent lambs... ;-)

Two new puzzles :-).

Enjoy!

It's Important To Cook Both Sides

That's actually Mini Moose, sleeping with Big Moose's mom.  She's a sweet old ewe :-).