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.  

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!

Something Special At The End

We...well 20, Pip, Auntie Reg, Miss B and I...had a great weekend at the Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival.  Tavia, Tabitha and Kaala...won't be going out in public ever again.  They hated it.  A lot.  And Tabitha made sure everyone heard about how much they hated it.  A lot.  

This was the 10th year for this festival. Seems kind of crazy when I think about it.  That just flew by!  Here is a quick tour of the booth for anyone who wasn't able to go and would like to take a peek.  You can even hear Tabitha...because I know everyone would like to hear what she had to say...all weekend long :-o.

We were stopped by a road block on our way out of the park last night.  As the person walked up to my truck to explain why the road was going to be closed for a few minutes, she laughed and said "Oh, I don't need to tell you what's going on."  The Bluegrass Classic Stockdog Trial was over and they were moving 500 sheep into a secure field for the night.  I got out of the truck and walked up to watch.  

Before there was a fiber festival I used to set up my Punkin's Patch booth down at the stockdog trial.  It was my favorite weekend of the year.  I'd be set up close enough to the trial field that I could watch the sheep and dogs all day long.  I'd bring my spinning wheel and my dear old collie Sam.  I made some really good friends down there over the years and it was like the best vacation ever.

I'd stay until the very end of each day because once the last handler finished they'd run all the sheep out into the open field to graze for the night.  That was my favorite.  I love big flocks of sheep and I wonder now if my love of big flocks came from watching all those sheep filter out across that big field each night.  

I didn't have a good camera back then.  Heck, I didn't even know I liked taking pictures in those days.  Maybe that was a good thing.  I might be able to still see things in my mind and heart that I probably couldn't have really captured on film.  Now, 16 years later, I pulled out my iPhone and recorded some video as they trotted up the road.

I included a bit of that footage at the end of this compilation.  I did that mostly because it is a treasured memory from my weekend.  A little gift from the universe to a crazy sheep lady who, while she enjoys being a part of the fiber festival, sure wishes there was a way to be two places at once.  

I also included it because there's something of Punkin's Patch significance at the very end.  The man walking past in the red and white striped shirt is Paul Tucker, now one of those good dog trial friends.  But I met Paul long before I knew anything about border collies or sheep or that I even liked sheep.  27 years ago he gave me a little bottle lamb...that I named Punkin.

Gold Christmas

No white Christmas this year, but the golden sunlight was a pretty good trade.  A couple new puzzles for you :-).

Merry Christmas!

2017 Hug A Sheep Day Party - Part One

We almost cancelled the party this year. Every day for a week the forecast looked worse and worse and by Wednesday/Thursday/Friday it was calling for 45 degrees and 90% chance of rain.  Rain is not fun.  Cold is not fun.  Cold and rain?  No one would want to come out in that :-(.  

Turns our we were all wrong!  One of Saint Tim's big sayings is 90% of the things you worry about happen 10% of the time.  There was a 10% chance it wouldn't rain and it didn't!  And the sun even popped out for a little while.  And as the afternoon went on, we had about 50 sheep huggers...and cookie feeders ;-).

Amy (Auset Images) came down from Indianapolis and took a ton of pictures for us.  Thankfully.  Not only because I never pulled my camera out, but also because she always gets such fun pictures.  The best part is you never even notice she's doing it.  She also sees shots I'd never notice.  Very fun and a great eye.

Woody and Murphy: "Now that's what I'm talking about!  Wait...are those cookies low fat?  What are you saying, lady!"

Buddy never fails to crack me up.  He is licking the bag of treats ;-D. 

As usual, Ewen preferred to just stand next to me while Liddy worked the crowd.  Boy bottle lambs... ;-)

We rotated sheep in and out of the "hugging pen", but even the sheep not in the pen were able to get plenty of attention...and cookies.

"Plleeeeeeeease???"

Chocula and Woody showing how it's really done.  "You've got to climb up on the door!"

Liddy trying to mind meld "Look at the cookies.  You know you want to give me one."

Tabitha made several attempts at being brave enough to come up for treats.  I was surprised that Tavia never came around.  She's usually the friendliest of the Ts.  

Dear old Annabelly was the only Jacob who got duped into volunteered to come out in the hugging pen.

Woody worked the crowd from inside the stall to the hugging pen to the field to the back of the barn to the hugging pen back to the stall and then the field and...

Next up - Biscuit, Muffin and Mrs. Pepperpot :-D.

Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch

By the time we got to the Jacobs on shearing day it was getting late, everyone was tired and they got shorted on pictures.  I love the sunbleached chocolate color of their full fleeces, but also love how black and white they look underneath.  We've had some lovely evening light this spring.

The T's.  Ts just looks wrong.  I'm in a grammar vortex :-o.

Sun to the camera face.

Sun to my back.

Billy Belly and Annabelly.  Both came through winter in good order.  I was relieved.  I was afraid they'd be thin.  They are both 13 I think.  Or, wait, Billy Belly is just 12.  Annabelly was the first Emily lamb.  Billy Belly and Baby Belly were her second lambs.

Time flies!

Checking In With The Ts

Tavia, everyone's little favorite.  Even though you shouldn't have favorites ;-).  What a sassy, inquisitive little lamb.  She'll come up and sniff a cookie...but no takers yet.

Interestingly, the two multi horn girls (Tavia and Tabitha) tend to hang out together...

...and these two two horns (Thelma and Tara) pair up as well.

Poor Tessa isn't really as left out as she looks here.  The whole group is a tight knit family.

They do mingle with the older Jacobs some, but the older Jacobs are, well, old...and boring.  Much of the day the girls are off on adventures of their own.  Today is the first cold rainy night since they moved into the side field.  After moving Heidi the Grouch back to the main flock, they feel much safer coming into the barn.  I'm getting ready to go check on them, just to make sure.

A Kate Appreciation Post

Even though I am very comfortable with farm the Ts came from, it's always a good idea to quarantine any new animals for a bit just to make sure, if nothing else, the stress of moving didn't cause any problems that would need addressing.

Normally I would just put new sheep in the side field, but for the winter I have the 'not quite as old as Jester and Ford' sheep in there.  The best option I could come up with was one of the horse stalls.  I didn't want to keep them locked up for week though with no grass and no room to play. so I decided I'd see if Kate and I could take them on excursions to the front yard.

Keep in mind that I am a complete rookie using a trained stock dog so I may be talking about something I don't know enough about to be talking about.  Still, from what I have picked up, Jacobs are not easy to herd, lambs can be tough and sheep that have never seen a working dog before need special handling.  We have the trifecta!

Our first trip out I cheated and carried a feed scoop in case we got into trouble.  The girls obviously had no idea that a dog could tell them what to do and were a little confused, but Kate was very kind and quietly approached them and everyone stayed calm, cool and collected and we made it out to the yard and safely back in.

Now, three times a day we go out for some grass and gamboling.  The first couple of days I stood out in the yard with them so when they started to get themselves in trouble, Kate could "bring the sheep back to me".  Today I sat on the porch, out of the wind, and let Kate run things on her own :-).

I don't really care where they go in the yard as long as they don't go to the house.  I'd also prefer they stayed out eating, rather than goofing around in the driveway.  Kate would prefer they stayed in the barn or a field because "Any idiot knows sheep should not be loose in the yard!"  

Once we get out of the stall, down the shed row, through the gate and somewhere in the yard, I ask Kate to stop.  As long as the girls are staying out of trouble, she should stay put.  Once they head off somewhere they shouldn't, I ask her to go bring them back (her favorite part :-).  You saw that on the video yesterday.

Here they are starting to work their way back up to the driveway.  She's watching them like a...Border Collie.

Tavia, Thelma, Tabitha, Tessa, Tara

Now she's brought them back to the grass.  Tessa, Tavia, Thelma, Tabitha.  I'm not sure where Tara is in this picture. I know she's close by, because they all stick together like glue, but if someone's going to be an explorer, it's Tara.

And here she is!  Kate is trying really hard to ignore her, hoping she'll do the right thing and back off.

You can tell Kate is really not happy about this situation, but is being patient and kind.

"SHEEP DON'T TALK TO DOGS!!!"

And Tara backed off ;-).  This whole scene was just a couple seconds long and I would never expect Kate to tolerate being disrespected.  I'm guessing she knew Tara was just being curious and not aggressive.  I've seen her handle a threatening sheep...much differently ;-).

I've had some questions about Kate, who trained her, why she's retired...  Kate came from Fetch Gate Farm in New York and a friend of a friend hooked us up after we lost Iris a few years ago.  Here is the post introducing her back in, yikes, 2014.  

As I mentioned above, I am not an experienced stock dog person.  I definitely needed/still need an experienced dog to bring me along rather than the other way around.  The plan for years was after Iris passed, I'd get a dog ready to slow down a bit and then we'd take lessons from one of the top trainers in the nation...who just happened to live right down the road.

Sadly, this never happened.  Vergil passed away a few months after we got Kate.  I'm sure we all knew that was going to happen, but Heather trusted me to take Kate anyway.  I will be forever grateful for that as Kate has far exceeded my greatest hopes and expectations as a friend and a working farm dog.

Working with Kate and these new sheep over the last few days has been a blast.  To have a job that needs doing and being able to put together a safe and sane way to do it (while sitting on the porch no less :-) well, it's an honor. If that makes sense.  I so appreciate the things people (and dogs, horses, sheep, cats, birds...) have done for me, shared with me, taught me.   

Today was fun.  Thank you.

The Ts

Painted Rock Farm uses alphabet names. The first year everyone's name started with an 'A', the second year a 'B'... Last year everyone started with 'T'.

Tavia

Tessa

Thelma

Tabitha

Tara

Tabitha, Thelma, Tara

Tabitha and Tessa

Tara

Note the green moss/mold/whatever growing on the cross ties.  That's how much rain we've had this winter.  It's everywhere...along with the mud.  I'm trying really hard not to be sore about this after the drought this past summer and fall...

Tiny Tavia

And you'll have to work a puzzle to see the last picture.  Not to worry, it's an easy one :-).  I love the colors.

Enjoy!