Meanwhile Back At The Wool House

20 has taken over shipping out orders because he says I'm disorganized and make too many mistakes.  Fine by me! The house is pretty disorganized as well...just sayin', 20 ;-).

20 has a stack of packages for me to take to the post office this afternoon and we are hoping to be completely caught up by tomorrow except for a couple of special orders.  Hay feeding season started two nights ago and it's amazingly comforting to know that the farm calendar sales will cover that bill and at least part of the straw bill.  

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Thank you all so much!!! 

Good Morning

Sheep With Character

Perhaps a little too much character!

While we haven't had the cold that, say, Minnesota has had, we've been extremely cold for Kentucky, especially as we were just enjoying temps in the upper 50s and 60s last week.  If you are following on Instagram or Facebook, you saw the picture of Mrs. Pepperpot sporting her new winter coat yesterday.  She's had the most trouble with the cold.

We'd moved her, Lila, Annabelly and PPPP into the "lamb pen" so they could get extra food with less competition.  We put up some sheet plastic to block the wind coming through the end gate and bedded them down in deep straw and hay.  It wasn't enough.  Mrs. Pepperpot was shivering hard yesterday morning.

I scrambled adding extra wind blocking on the three coldest sides, deeper bedding and a heat lamp.  When that didn't seem enough, I took one of the old horse blankets and cut it down to a Mrs. Pepperpot size.  That did the trick.  She finally looked warm and happy.  And no one else was.

The other three could not abide with a sheep wearing a coat.  PPPP was so unhappy that I let her move back into the main flock.  Lila and Annabelly settled down with some Cheerios and I thought I was in the clear.  Annabelly didn't seem bothered by the jacket anymore but started looking extra cold and miserable herself.  She's old and skinny.  Cold can kill...and I thought that was where we were headed.

Okay, we still have Renny's old jacket.  That should fit her.  I struggled to get her to her feet and checked the size.  Two straps needed to be moved over so I marked them and headed for the sewing machine.  When I came back she was huddled next to the gate to get back in with the main flock.  She looked so bad that I decided to let her go back in with them.  She'd still be cold and couldn't wear a jacket in with them, but least she'd be happy and what would happen, would happen.

That's her on the other side of Baaxter just a few minutes later.  Miraculously cured.  She spent the next hour or so either chumming around with him...or trying to beat him up.  I guess their "relationship status" would be listed as "it's complicated".  At least she's happy...and not dying.   

Sheep...

*     *     *     *     *

The reason everyone was allowed in Del Boca Vista was because I was switching out their plastic water tank with a new galvanized tank.  I have no idea why they are no longer happy drinking from the old tank but water is important all the time and especially so when it's cold. 

I'd checked the tank, checked the heater, nothing seemed amiss.   Saint Tim had replaced the automatic waterer in the side field, but they no longer had access to that now with Lila and Pepperpot moved into that area.  Replacing the tank with a different style, material, color, whatever was worth a try.  Replacing it and building a new top (different size) with sheep "help"...was not going to be helpful.  I knew a free trip to DBV would be the perfect distraction.

The number one reason to "break into" DBV is to steal all of Allie's food and sleep in her bed.  You'd think it would be all the grass, but no.  Chocula is a repeat offender.  Look who his new sidekick is.  Yep, that's "sweet" little Muffin.  Even the chicken can't believe this bad behavior.

Look at the big wad of stolen hay.  Keep in mind that it's the exact same hay they all get.  She then proceeded to go around to the back side and rip half the plastic down.  

Kids...

Speaking of "kids", this is the funniest story of the day.  I noticed Buddy was involved in a bit of a scuffle mid afternoon.  I don't let anyone pick on old wobbly Buddy.  I headed into the barn lot to break it up and saw that actually no one was picking on Buddy.  Buddy was mixing it up with Murphy, the biggest sheep on the farm...over a girl!  Poor Renny.  

This went on all afternoon and into the evening with only short breaks here and there to grab a few bites.  I love the look on her face as she watches both morons during one of the short breaks.  I'm hoping things have settled down by the time I head out for the last barn check in a few minutes.  

Boys...

Biscuit's Beds

If you've been following along on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook (they all usually crosspost, but sometimes not the videos), you've already seen a few of Biscuit's beds.  Yesterday was an especially good bed day because he kept jumping up on a big bag of loose hay to nap.

He disappeared during evening chores last night and I found him here, under the skirting table, on yet another comfy bed.  I didn't have my phone with me or this would have been on Instagram as well.  Luckily I had the big camera tucked into the rest of the mess on the table.

I realize that these two pictures are pretty much the same, but his expression is slightly different so I included both.  I think it's kind of cute with all the sheets hanging down everywhere (we were cleaning out the loft for hay delivery and I didn't want any extra VM added to the fleeces :-o).  It looks like a tent fort.

"All the beds are mine ;-)."

Here is a recap of the highlights from yesterday in case you missed them.  And an oldie from the porch. 

And when you get too big to sleep on mom's lap you can still fit on a big bag of loose hay 😍. #Biscuit #stillsortoffitsmylap

A post shared by Sara Dunham (@thecrazysheeplady) on Jun 7, 2017 at 5:17am PDT

"This is definitely mah favorite bed!" #Biscuit #notcomingtothehouse

A post shared by Sara Dunham (@thecrazysheeplady) on Jun 7, 2017 at 9:58am PDT

Don't miss that cute back foot 😍. #Biscuit #comfybed #feelingbetter

A post shared by Sara Dunham (@thecrazysheeplady) on Jun 7, 2017 at 10:03am PDT

And he's out 😍. #Biscuit #naptime #haybed

A post shared by Sara Dunham (@thecrazysheeplady) on Jun 7, 2017 at 10:09am PDT

"Okay, this is actually mah favorite bed. Or my mom's favorite Biscuit bed ;-)." #Biscuit #kywoolfestival

A post shared by Sara Dunham (@thecrazysheeplady) on Jun 7, 2017 at 10:35am PDT

Fingers crossed - might be doing a bit better. Sleeping on Kate's bed with a couple extra cushions can't hurt 😀. Anyone remember another cot lamb? #Biscuit #bottlelambs

A post shared by Sara Dunham (@thecrazysheeplady) on Jun 1, 2017 at 10:22am PDT

This is his favorite porch bed :-).

Flat Stanley

That is one comfy dog, sleeping on a warm winter afternoon.

Bedded deep in some leftover hay.

"We were saving that for later."

Making Hay While The Sun Shines

We've had such a wet spring that I was afraid we were going to be in the same situation as last year, scrambling to the very end to find local hay.  Not only was last year stressful because of the shortage, but remember the last 100 bales that I thought looked like nice hay but ended up making the sheep sick because of the clover (at least that's what we're guessing)?  I couldn't risk that again.

Fast forward to this spring.  Stella's grandson Jason has taken over the family farm and offered to sell me square baled hay from one of their fields.  I could pick any field I wanted...but as spring turned to summer, we all decided there was too much clover there to feel safe.  The neighbor who usually takes the roll bales off our back field said we could trade our clover free field for one of Jason's.  That'd work!

We've never been able to find anyone who was willing to come square bale our small five acre field. Rolls are so much faster and easier to handle.  Square bales require more a lot more equipment, labor and time...and hassle.  While it's all the same hay, rolls are too hard for me to feed, so I budget $1600 per year for 400 square bales.  

While that probably works out to be a bit high for plain grass hay cut from our own farm, at least I know exactly what grass is in it, that it hasn't been sprayed with any chemicals, that it was put up correctly and I've supported a very local farmer.  But between gathering equipment, people, worrying about the weather, lots of sweat and tired bodies, I'll have to guess that's some of the hardest money he's earned!

They (because nothing is done by yourself in this neighborhood "association" ;-) decided to cut and bale our field in two parts so in case the weather ruined the first half they'd still have the second.  The first part was baled on Saturday.

103 bales

Cutting the second part.

First load headed to the barn.  Boy, it's a good feeling to see a big wagon load of hay coming in the driveway!

Saint Tim tossing a bale to the loft.

Monday

"Wow, that's a lot of hay for me to eat!"

As soon as the second part was cut, they changed Sunday's forecast from 10% chance of rain to 60%. While I always worry when I see hay on the ground and storms rolling through, this time it was personal.  As the clouds bulldozed their way across the county late in the afternoon I thought we were toast.  They held together though and oh so slowly eased down the road.  WHEW!!! Yesterday was perfect hay weather.  Thank you!!!

Look sharp!  Here comes the boss.

Part of the quality control team :-D.

"This weed shouldn't be in here, so I'll pull it out."

"Everything else looks good!"

Bullwinkle had a blast running around, jumping the rows and taste testing everything. 

Jason's brother Matthew helped.

Other friends and neighbors were in and out to help.

And the wagons filled - 327 bales total.  

We can probably make it with 350, but I like a 50 bale cushion in case we have a long, hard winter. The (new :-) neighbors on the other side of us (which used to be part of our farm years ago) have offered up their back field to make up the difference.  So, for the first time I'm going to be feeding home raised hay.  I know that's not a big deal to most farmers, but I'm really excited about it.  

"Putting up hay is sure thirsty work!"

Sunday Snippets

One more breakfast shot :-).

A couple lavender puzzles for you to enjoy working while sitting in the AC.  I'm sitting out in the yard under a shade tree with Bullwinkle so he can get his grazing in.  It. Is. Hot.  But the company is good.  And occasionally the breeze is nice.

Sadly, when it gets this hot it usually means a storm is fixing to blow through.  This would be bad because 60% of our hay is on the ground.  How about some NO RAIN dances until it's safely in the barn. This is the first year we are going to get to feed (hopefully!) our own home grown hay and I'm going to be really sad if gets ruined.  

The first 100 bales smell so good in the loft :-).  I sure wish Smell-O-Vision really worked.  Between the lavender and the fresh cut hay...aroma therapy for sure.

The Breakfast Club

Some shots from the other day. Today is sunny and way too hot for February. Ugh.  I know I'm in the minority, but I sure hope winter is not over.

The breakfast greeters.  Left to right - Allie, Liddy, Daniel, Woody

Andy tries hard to be a clever and excited gate climber, but the boy has No Skills.  You can see that Woody has walked away and around the corner to show him how it's really done.  

"Quit taking pictures and just put the food out.  And not that blecky orchard grass.  We want some the first hay."

We'd all like some more of that first hay, Maisie.  Luckily we have had a mild winter and hay that we couldn't find anywhere last fall is popping up in ads all over the place. Hopefully they won't have to eat the two year old orchard grass much longer.  I am obviously not feeding any more of the bad hay.

The old (safe) orchard grass is so unpopular that about a third of the flock has decided to go forage elsewhere.  It's not that bad.  If I'd fed it first this winter they'd have eaten it much better.  It's sort of like eating homemade sweet rolls for a couple months and then having to switch to plain shredded wheat.   

I doubt we'll have to worry about it too much longer.  I think spring is right around the corner.  Sadly (ducking and running ;-).

All Is Calm

It wasn't always the case this weekend.  We used up the last of the messy, but yummy hay last week. I tried to switch them over to finish up the leftover orchard grass from last year, but they didn't like it any better this year than they did last, so I moved on to the new hay.  

I set out two bales Friday night and they dug into it with enthusiasm.  Saturday morning I woke to everyone feeling bad and about half of the sheep foaming at the mouth, drooling and starting to bloat (!).  The vet was here within the hour and we spent almost two hours at 12 degrees, basically up to our elbows in cold water (it started warm), dosing everyone with antacid and mineral oil. 

There was some clover in this grass mix, but not enough that it could be considered "rich".  It was also not a significant change in quality from the other hays.  Several people have now looked at the hay and can't find anything wrong with it including some sort of noxious weed...but something sure was.  

Buddy (gasp) was in the worst shape.  Petunia and Woolliam were not far behind and there was a large group in slightly better shape than them, but not by much.  We re-treated eight of them in the afternoon and Buddy got a third treatment Saturday night.  At the 11:00 p.m. he was looking better, but still not great, but he did eat a cookie, which at least made me feel better.

I walked to the barn Sunday morning worried at what I might find, but thankfully everyone was pretty much back to normal. While Buddy still didn't want to eat any hay, he did eat some ewe nuggets (large pelleted food) and once he realized he was getting special treats, he was completely back to good old Buddy.  I have never been so relieved. 

The super cold is breaking (thankfully) and we had snow move in late in the afternoon as the temps started to rise.  The sheep, in their well insulated wool sweaters, were covered from head to tail with a thick layer of snow and they were so beautiful.

I stood in the barn lot watching everyone picking through the orchard grass hay that they don't really like, but at least won't kill them.  Petunia noticed and walked over to see me.  Buddy, who is behind her with his head down eating hay (yay :-) saw and rushed over too.

And sweet Spud on the left.  I'd like to think they were just coming over to see me and tell me they were feeling much better, but I think they were just hoping I was still doling out ewe nugget "cookies" ;-).

*      *       *       *       *

Buddy sick was a sheep anyone would have noticed as something wrong. He was standing off by himself, head hanging down, looking miserable and wobbly.  Graham kept going about his days like everything was fine...when it wasn't.  After reading the lab report and thinking (and thinking and thinking) back, there were some signs I should not have missed.  

He did have a bad tooth and it had apparently been bothering him longer than I knew/noticed.  If I'd been able to put two and two together earlier, the outcome might well have been different.  A sheep not getting enough to eat, especially a fat sheep, can get into dire trouble quicker than I'd have ever guessed. 

Trying to care for animals can be heartbreaking, especially when you try very hard to care for them and care so much about them.  I did learn a lesson from Graham that might have helped Buddy this weekend, but the cost of that lesson was so great that I doubt the scars will ever heal.  All I can do from here is keep watching and caring and hoping all the rest of the lessons I need to learn come from books, not best friends.

So as not to end on such a sad note, here is a short clip of Hank bedding down for the night.  Keep in mind he has a barn, his own stall and an insulated dog box in his stall.  He and I are both going to be sad when the snow is all gone tomorrow.

Hank the snow dog.

On A Dreadfully Cold And Dreary Day

Here are some sunny shots from the other morning.

Maisie and Andy having a hay eating contest ;-).

I haven't noticed Baaxter's X in a long time.  In real life it just looks like some random spots to me, but I guess the straight on head shot via the camera brings it out.  Sometimes you "see" less with the camera and sometimes you see more.  I'm glad to see the X :-).

Sadly, just a head's up....fleeces :-/.  We had a ton of trouble getting enough hay in the barn this fall.  The weather (mostly too much rain) was just against the local farmers all spring and summer.  The hay we normally buy (orchard grass) didn't produce well.  They hay we finally found (panic late in the fall) is a mixed grass...with a lot mixed in.

Orchard grass is a clean single blade with nothing to really grab and stick to anything, perfect for fleece protection.  This hay is a mix of blades, leaves, flowers, some weeds and even some prickly bits.  It goes everywhere.  However, the sheep love it.  They eat nearly every single bit.  I've had waste as high as 40% with orchard grass in years past.

The denser fleeces are holding up pretty well.  Not much gets down through the thick coats of Blossom, Liddy, Chocula, Woody, Lila, Maisie and most of the Jacobs...  The long wools (Hershey, Murphy, B. Willard, Keebler, Rebecca Boone, Graham...) look awful.  The sheep, however, are all much happier and, bottom line, that's more important anyway.  

So why is Hank sitting over here by himself?

So he can keep a close eye on those dastardly horses!  I cheated and tossed the horses hay over the fence at the end of the barn the other day.  I was out of bales in the side shed.  Sorry, Hank.  I won't do that again.  You are a good dog.

What To Do About The Beloved Barn Quilt, I Mean Bat House

In giving folks directions to our farm, I always say "Look for the big black tobacco barn with a barn quilt."  Now it's a barely black barn and the barn quilt is starting to disintegrate :-(.  It used to be just me and Saint Tim discussing the situation.  Now everyone asks about it.

While it may seem rude to think of friends, family, and yes, complete strangers ragging on a quilt hanging on someone else's barn, it's actually more of a curiosity than a complaint.  The bottom of the quilt is 40' in the air.  Yes, what ARE we going to do?

We hired a tree service with a huge bucket truck to hang it in September of 2007.  It was a big job.  He'd have to come back out to take it down.  I'd have to re-paint a new quilt and that was a big job as well.  We'd have to coordinate all that with getting the barn re-painted, which is...another big job.  And then we have to hire Mr. Clifford to come back out to hang the new quilt.  And then the plot thickens.

The other morning, dark and early, the day we dyed Renny's wool, I was up at the barn dividing her fleece and setting out what amounts I wanted to dye.  Around 6:00 I noticed some swooping and fluttering out front and some weird chirping noises.  The bats!

We've hosted a (sadly) very small bat community since we've lived here.  At best count the most bats we've had is probably five.  For the last couple of years I've only regularly seen two I think.  I've assumed they lived in the barn, but I've never seen them or any signs.

The curiosity has been killing me and here they were, flying in after a busy night!  I quick stepped it out into the driveway to watch.  They swooped and rose and swooped and circled in front of me. Definitely more than two but they were so quick I couldn't keep track. Then one would whoosh and disappear.  More swooping and then whoosh, another gone.  Where were they going?

Up under the barn quilt!  No wonder they weren't using the bat house we'd hung on the side of the barn.  They were already installed in the barn quilt bat house out front.  Now I definitely don't want to take the quilt down and I'm leery of even painting the front of the barn.  I need to get up with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife to see if they can figure out what kind of bats we have and if they will migrate for the winter.  Until then, we're just going to stay shabby.

Of course, now I'm obsessed with seeing the bats come in and out.  I haven't made any more pre-dawn trips to the barn, but I know I will.  First I wanted to see them fly out!  I set myself up the other night with a concrete block chair on the utility trailer aka spaceship.  Camera at the ready.  And I waited.

While I waited, here's the back field before the hay was cut.  Complete with the all too familiar thunderheads building.

Graham and Daniel through the barn portal.  I took some pictures of Liddy and Blossom and Lila through the new shop windows portal, but they were pretty uninspiring.  

So I waited.  And the sun set.  Notice the difference in light between the first and last pictures?  And I waited some more, watching very carefully.  And then all the bats were flying around and I didn't see a single one come out.  The end.  

Hay There!

After almost two months now of hearing nothing but farm ATVs buzzing around, the tractors are all out in full force.  It's a great sound.  We have finally had a couple days of sunny, dry weather and everyone's helping everyone get their mostly first cutting of hay off the fields.  What a crazy summer!

Our back field is approximately five acres.  We've kept it mowed regularly since we moved here and other than a small rocky drainage area, it's become a beautiful, nearly weed free field.  Now that we only have two horses, it's mostly sitting idle until it cools off enough that Kate and I can put the sheep on a forced march out there.  We offered it to a neighbor up the road.

This is how things work around here, and why we love being part of our really nice neighborhood. Kurt cut the hay (he's the one with the cows who are going to eat the hay).  Stella's grandson Matthew is tedding for him in this picture and another neighbor, Phillip, came later in the afternoon yesterday to bale.  Maisie watched from the shady barn ;-).

"Wonder if that's all for me?"

It looks like they got at least 16 or so big rolls.  So pretty.  They won't be here long.  Someone, maybe Kent, will come pick them up before they kill the grass underneath them.  I'll enjoy them while they are here.  The best part will be this winter when it's cold and snowy and we see his cows enjoying a little taste of summer and we'll enjoy knowing we, too, played a part in the neighborhood.