Sheep Thrills Farm

Happy Ewe Year!

2011-12-31T17:15:00.000-07:00

Happy, happy Ewe Year to each and every one of you!

We're hoping time and constraints will allow a bit more blogging in the coming year for us! One of the plans is a "Tale of Two Fleeces", following the processing of two ewenique raw North Ronaldsay fleeces from Orkney, as well as many other projects we hope to get into!

May this next year be happy, healthy, and prosperous to everyone!

Cheers!

Celebrate!

2011-10-03T10:52:00.000-07:00

Happy National Spinning and Weaving Week!

This is the time to get all those unfinished projects done, the equipment dusted off and greased up for work, and, most of all...sharing what we Fiber-Folk actually do with all those fleeces, cotton bolls, silks, dyes, and...
(well, you get the picture)!
Take that spinning wheel or drop spindle outside or downtown and spin! Invite friends over to share what each other is doing with their fibers after they're spun.(Knitting? Crocheting? Lace making?)
It's time to show others what we do and how we do it! They'll figure out how nice it is, get hooked, and maybe even keep these wondrous arts going.

This is our week to show 'em exactly how its done...so go for it! YAY!!!!!!!

I'm Still Around...I think

2011-06-21T08:32:00.000-07:00

Yes folks...I am still around. It's been a year like everyone has - with its ups and downs, excitements and doldrums, thrills and duds. I have been meaning to write more blog entries but have found myself wanting to be outside, or spinning (hand spinning), or knitting, reading...or even checking my eyelids for holes while "listening" to a tv program my DH is watching.

What I have put off doing is becoming more enlightened on this WordPress blog as I had frustrating problems uploading photos. Some of that is resolved, but it still isn't as easy as blogspot was - or I should really be honest and say I haven't wanted to devote the time to re-teach myself and become more efficient at it.

The sheep are fine...the cats are mostly good except for Shadow showing his age and Pixel is battling lymphoma. The HHWB and I are getting older, getting much closer to retirement and thoughts of moving from Arizona to a place that has more moderate temperatures and weather. I hope to get back to blogging on a more regular basis but just wanted everyone to know that, yes, I am still upright and above ground. ;)

Cheers!

For A Friend

2011-02-05T15:35:00.000-07:00

Tonight, my friend Tina is hurting. Earlier today, Tina said a sad goodbye to a long-time cherished friend, her cat, Sinda.

Tina and Sinda shared over 20 years together. Sinda was there before Tina met her husband, John, and was her constant companion over the years. I know too well what she feels this evening. It's more than just the loss of a cherished pet, but more of the loss of a friend and companion who shared the ups and downs of life with grace and love.

My heart goes out to my friend tonight. I know that with time, the hurt of this time will be replaced by warm memories of the beautiful times they shared together. And if you wish to leave Tina your support, here's the way to her blog:

http://ablipontheradar.blogspot.com

In Memoriam

2010-10-26T12:38:00.000-07:00

Bluff Country Skittles - May 7, 2003 to Summer, 2010

It is with deep regret that I inform long-time readers of this blog about the passing of one of the great Shetland rams. Bluff Country Skittles passed away in the high pastures of Colorado this past summer. Skit was a young ram, just 7 when he died, but he left a large impact, as big as he was, on many hearts during his life.

Skittles had gone up to Jared Lloyd's ranch the summer about this time last fall. I needed new bloodlines for my small operation and Jared was very keen on adding Skittles genetics to his flock as well as "collecting" him for posterity and keeping his genetics available to future generations. Sadly, that was not to be.

One morning this summer, Jared said he walked into the sheep shed to find Skit lying down, front legs crossed and his chin resting on them the way he slept many times. But he didn't move. When Jared went over to rouse him from his sleep, he discovered that Skit had passed on. There was no sign of trauma or markings in the dirt of a struggle or thrashing. Just Skit, asleep.

I know I will miss him. He was one of my first Shetland loves and a truly majestic ram in so very many ways. He had almost perfect conformation, was large but well-built and had personality to spare. I couldn't have asked for a better ram to begin earnest breeding with. He had it all.

I will miss our walks around the place, Skit...and how you would gently sway me towards the apple tree for a snack of leaves if you could get away with it. You left some mighty big hooves to fill, Buddy...

...and I will miss you.

Where does your Vitamin D3 comes from?

2010-10-14T04:13:00.000-07:00

So, you take your Vitamin D3 geltab each day, but do you know where that vitamin might come from? Guess. Go on...just take a guess. Fish liver oil? Well, maybe. But read the label on the bottle. Does it actually state "fish liver oil"? No?
If it states "cholecalciferol", you may just have a sheep to thank for your health.

"There are two commercial sources of natural vitamin D3: fish liver oil and an oil extracted from wool. "If a label lists 'vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol)' then it is from wool oil. This is considered a vegetarian source (the animal is not harmed, just sheared), but not vegan. Fish liver oil will be in parentheses if it is the source." (6) Animals can obtain vitamin D from licking their fur, and in humans, rickets can be successfully treated by rubbing cod liver oil into the skin."

(from: http://www.doctoryourself.com/dvitamin.htm)

Recently, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Disease. One of the markers used in determining a thyroid problem is the level of vitamin D in the patient. Even though I work outside, in the high-altitude sun we have here at Oleo Acres, I was way below the bottom of the range of this essential vitamin in my system. Most folks in this area can work outside for about 15 minutes in the sun and get more than their daily need of this vitamin. It is essential for a number of reasons. I guess I just have to be different, don't I?
As I did more and more research on the need for vitamin D, especially in the D3 form, one item kept popping up in the sites I searched. Much of the D3 supplements are made from wool fat in the fleece of sheep.

It seems we shepherds have been on the healthy track and not known it. ;-) Just another reason to thank those four-footed creatures we have come to enjoy, love, and respect, eh?

He's Back Again!

2010-09-15T07:10:00.000-07:00

Yes, indeed-y do! I had someone show up at the barn this morning who has been missing this summer. You guessed it - Bran (pronounced "brawn") is back!
No sooner had I finished feeding the sheep and headed for the water hose to water the flower beds when I heard a very familiar squawking at the barn. There he was.
He was chatting away in what I can only assume was an account of his summer travels - I've been here, here, and here and ate this, this and that. And while I was there I saw this, this and that other thing. He honestly rattled on and on much the same as a second-grader returning from a summer away and making sure all his friends knew every-little-thing he did that summer. It was the same for Bran.
The only thing was, after telling him it did my heart good to see him again, was he switched to the "Where's my egg?" mode towards the end of his conversation with me.
So, like a friend, I did what anyone would have done...

...I went and got him an egg! Welcome back, dear friend!

Trying To Keep Cool (In More Than One Way) -or- Caution: Venting Ahead

2010-08-18T07:49:00.000-07:00

As you have noticed, I have been spending time doing all sorts of things this Summer - things other than sitting at a computer writing.
We have had family visits from New Zealand, growing lambs, book reading, learning to knit socks, gardening, shepherdess-ing, and trying to keep cool in our hotter-than-usual summer, and fighting the reoccurring sinus-infection-from-hell.
One of the problems I have been having is accessing my photos to be able to post to this blog or even to access lamb photos to place on my sales list. I have been using Picasa, which I loved until I updated it and now can't find anything...or I have multiple files showing up.
It's frustrating and, in short, I hate it. Photos I have downloaded from my camera disappear. I'm not sure this is Picasa's fault, or someone tinkering in my photos when they shouldn't be. All our home computers share a home server unit and I suspect things are going on I have no inkling of.
Yup. Frustrating. Period. I had just taken lamb-for-sale photos, downloaded them into Picasa with the intent of getting them online as a few of you have expressed wanting lambs from me this year. I cannot find them anywhere at all. I will have to really give thought to a replacement program and educate myself as to how to remove Picasa while retaining the photographs I do have on that program to a safe place. It's just been very aggravating.
Other than the "Photo Conundrum", the summer is going by quickly here. We had Val & Hugo, our son-in-law's parents, visit us and included them in a trip to Oregon and Black Sheep Gathering. Other than car problems, it was a nice trip. (I did get sick on the way home...) Oregon was beautiful! We managed to stop at Crater Lake before heading cross-country to Eugene.
Black Sheep Gathering was wonderful! I got to visit with friends as well as see more Shetland sheep from other breeders, look at vendors' wares in the vendor tents, and I even got to help show my friend, Lois', sheep in the show ring. I had a ball! That said, I found out I don't get up and down in a show ring that well any longer, but it was a ball nonetheless. :)
It's finally time to get some lambs moved into others' flocks. Every one of them is a keeper, but that is a luxury a person on a small farm can't afford, due to space availability. I have picked out three or four to keep in my ewe flock as replacements for their mums. Hard decisions, but decisions nonetheless.
I promise...I will try to write more as we start into Fall. And I do hope to have some photos to go with the entries as soon as I can find them....

...wherever it is they are hiding...

Soon, I Promise

2010-07-01T08:36:00.000-07:00

It's been an uber-busy month here with family visiting from New Zealand, going to Oregon to attend the NASSA (Shetland breeders) annual meeting at Black Sheep Gathering, as well as day trips and shopping and eating and...
Well, you get it.
But today, if you have a moment, please stop in at Rascal's World (http://welcometorascalsworld.blogspot.com) and give Leigh a hug. Rascal crossed the Rainbow Bridge this afternoon, leaving a hole in many people's hearts, especially Leigh's.
There is a new star in the heavens this evening...

OK, OK...

2010-06-03T08:37:00.000-07:00

Yes, I've been bad. I've been "living life" and not blogging. There's actually so much that has been going on I've gotten to the point when I sit down in my chair I think I'll just "rest my eyes" for a bit, and well...you know how that old chestnut goes. I think it just gets worse with age. ;)
The lambs are growing like weeds. The winds have finally stopped. It was hard getting good photos of bouncing lambs running 110 mph in winds of 40+ mph. I either had blurs or nose-prints. Or, was pelted with volcanic cinders being thrown about in those winds. I actually had places on my face where the stinging cinders drew blood as they hit me down by the barn. I will try to get some photos up soon...but life just might get in the way.
We are expecting relatives from New Zealand in about a week and a half. And we are delighted they are coming. Both of us can hardly wait!
When your family is an ocean away, you start to cherish visits much more so than if they were a mere two hour flight away. I envy people who talk about visiting family "all the way back East!". Let them try a 14 to 16 hour flight and see if they still have exuberance in their voices. ;) For those of us who don't take sitting in one place for too long very well, long flights can be torture. I think airlines should install treadmills in those big jets for those of use who need "to move". We'd get our moving and the people sleeping with their feet in the aisles wouldn't be bothered. Hmm...if there were enough of us moving on treadmills, could we make it Down Under by using "Human Gerbil Power?" I wonder.
And I have fallen into doing research on my ancestry. What started out as a simple look-see to find out more information has turned into a captivating journey for me. I have run across incredible ancestors and find the history behind them absolutely fascinating. My DH, the Hired-Hand-With-Benefits, has been cheering me on - almost as gobsmacked as I am. This journey has explained a few things both in my mind and soul, as well as educating me more about history I glossed over during educational endeavors. Now, I am enthralled in to wanting to know what lies behind the next turn...and beyond.
I suppose this all encourages the old investigator that I once was. That, and the deeply-instilled training from my father of wanting to see "what happens if we do this!??"
I will try to get back on the farm-track, dear Readers...just bear with me a bit longer. It's getting way hot during the days now. I think we had, maybe, three days of Spring in here somewhere? But, as I mentioned, the winds have died down immensely so I don't fret about having my Nikon outside any more.

Now, if I can just get over this darned cold...

The Blog Has Moved

2010-05-12T20:00:00.000-07:00

Hi, Everyone!

This quick post is just a reminder to those of you wanting to know where we are. I have moved the blog to our website. We're now a one-stop-shopping-place! So mosey on over to:

www.sheepthrillsfarm.com

While you're there, sign up for notices of new content on the sight, including new blog posts. You'll notice we not only have the farm there, but there's a tab for sheep sales as well.

Some of you haven't noticed we've moved. We'd love to see you again! And you can find us on Facebook as well under Sheep Thrills Farm. Ya'll come!

A Few More Pictures -or- They're Off!

2010-05-10T06:46:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more pictures taken last week. Upon looking at the lambs this morning, I have realized just how fast they are growing...not only in their bodies, but in their behavior and minds as well. The lambs have started eating more and more solid foods while the moms have shortened nursing times dramatically. I find this funny as the lambs simply run a circuit of "Lamb Races" only to head back to Mama for a quick drink before heading out again. They may not be nursing as long but what they lack of in time they make up for in quantity.

Sugar (white/gray with spot) and her sister, Candy, were a few days behind the other lambs. These are Ailee's girls who were born by c-section. They are two of the sweetest sheep I have ever seen - hence the names.

This little charmer is one of Amanda's triplets. I haven't named her as yet. Her sisters are darker but she's got some interesting markings - or is it pheomelanin coming through the white? Wikipedia has a nice simple definition for we mere mortals: "Another common form of melanin is pheomelanin, a red-brown polymer of benzothiazine units largely responsible for red hair and freckles." Hmm...maybe I should name her "Freckles"???

Here's Loretta with her two. We've tentatively named her ram lamb "Rory", after the little sheep of The Barn comic strip. I need to get a nice photo of Rory to send to the cartoonist who does the strip. He is so very nice and really gives us a chuckle each morning.

Candy and Sugar taking a bit of a siesta in Ailee's feeder.

Candy, being sweet. Normally she's jumping all over me wanting a scratch or a brisket rub. We're working on "minding our manners" this week.

And finally, They're Off!!! The Lamb Races have begun in earnest here at Sheep Thrills Farm!
So...whose YOUR money on?

The Newbies

2010-05-04T12:01:00.000-07:00

It's been a very busy few weeks around Oleo Acres (one of the cheaper spreads). The lambs are growing so fast now and the Lamb Races have officially begun! A few times a day the girls and their babies are turned out into the pasture area for some noshing grass and running excess energy off. It's funny to see the moms running after the speed demons the lambs are - huge udders weighing them down from joining in fully.
It's amazing to me to see each ewe taking turns as the "babysitter". The sitter watches the lambs while the others enjoy the grass or have a long drink of water at the trough. One will spell the other and the process begins again.
While I sit and watch the goings-on I have noticed the boys in their pen. At times I see the wethers and Loki running the fenceline just begging to be let in with those babies to show them what running is really all about. Then I will see Loki, his head gently resting on one of the wires of fencing and looking my direction, batting his eyes. What a ham. "No one's paying any attention to me and I should come first!" I go over and scratch his chin through the fenceline. "Later, Lok-ster. I promise."

Here are a few photos our friend Lois, from Stonehaven Farm, took as she came through on her way to the hospital on the reservation. More will follow...I have finally figured out a better way to load them to the blog.

A kiss for the shepherdess

Lacey and her two, ewe and ram, lambs

Lacey's pretty ewe lamb

Ring around our Mum! (Amanda and her triplets)

Oooo.....wht's inside here?

Proud father, Jehovah's Skeld Loki

These are just a few photos. It seems when I take my camera down to the barn I either have nose prints on the lens or the lambs are running so fast it's hard to get good shots in even with the "Sports" setting.

And, if you get a chance, please stop by my sheep-friend Michelle's blog. Michelle lost the ewe to a beautiful little ram this morning. I know her heart is hurting very much over the loss of her Brava - one of her first Shetland sheep. She could use some "hugs" right now. Thanks.

A Quick Update

2010-04-24T14:41:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to post a very quick, short update on Ailee and her lambs.

For those new to this year's lambing, Ailee (one of our ewes and fleece producer par excellence), could not deliver her lambs normally and was rushed into the vet's office a week ago for an emergency c-section delivery of two beautiful ewe lambs.
Due to the drugs and stress she had undergone, Ailee was taking care and nursing only one of the lambs. I had taken over and was bottle feeding the other girl as Ailee kept pushing her away. I named her "Sugar", for the sweet little girl she is.
I had been feeding Sugar until about three days ago. It seemed when I showed up with the bottle, Sugar was more intent on just wanting to be with me as well as sucking on the seams of my jeans. I had a sneaking suspicion as to why but it wasn't confirmed until today.
Ailee has indeed taken over mothering Sugar as well as continuing on with her other daughter's care! It seems all she needed was some time and space as well as a round of pain meds and care. Today we saw Ailee actually nursing both girls at the same time, one on each side.
I feel relieved. Sugar is getting the care she needs from her own mother. I don't mind being a substitute, but this wee lassie needs to grow up with sheep and learn all things "sheepy". While part of me would have loved to bring her in the house (diapers, please) and have a "house lamb", I know, deep in my heart, that our house is not where she's meant to be. That said, she still stays very close to me when she's out in the pasture. Or she'll run with her sister and the other lambs...but as soon as she's tired she's right at my side...still my shadow.
Thank you all for your kind words, suggestions, and encouragement as we have dealt with this situation. It has not only helped me, but also Ailee. I see her getting stronger each day and more of the mother ewe I know she can be.
The only sad thing is that Ailee will have to find a spinner's flock to live in instead of a breeder's flock. And these two beautiful ewe lambs will be her last babies.

Our 2010 Lambs Have Arrived! -or- Boy, Am I Tired...

2010-04-21T13:01:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, lambing began here at Sheep Thrills Farm. While not totally a surprise, from the size of all the ewes we had suspected they might "pop" well before last Wednesday. It became apparent the girls were having twins at the very least with all of them being very "wide loads" as they ambled around the pasture.
Lacey lambed first on Wednesday morning. She always seems to be the first ewe to lamb - which makes me wonder about her outward composed behavior. I think I know who our "Flock Floozy" is. ;-) Out first was a beautiful little spotted girl, then a handsome young lad made his appearance right on her heels. Beautiful twin lambs. The little girl is a spotted gray and her brother has some color (browns) to his legs.
Amanda, being know for the huge boys she normally has, kept wanting scratches and brisket rubs as her time approached. I would whisper in her ear, "No boys this time, Amanda. No two big boys...I want three little girls, please." Amanda must have been listening to me.
My friend, Melanie, being a nurse and interested in all things medical (and a godsend with all the help she gave), came to witness the births and assist me by handing me necessary items I needed to help the moms and clean up the babies. While we watched Amanda having more intense, but unproductive, contractions, Mel asked what that was hanging out Amanda's bum. It was a tail! I gloved up and went in - and found a lamb's rear-end where a head should be! I tried working my way down to find legs to correct the lamb's position, but there was no room at all in there. After trying to find the other back leg without success I decided to get a good purchase on the hipbones of the lamb and pull along wit Amanda's contractions. Out popped a beautiful brown and white spotted lamb. And it was a girl!
No sooner did the one lamb get out and breathing when another lamb was sliding out of Amanda right next to her sister -- another girl!! While Amanda was frantically trying to clean up the twins, I heard a groan and looked to see another lamb hanging out of Amanda's backside. I thought "My gosh! What's she got in there, a litter?" As a matter of fact, she had three girls in there! Yes, Amanda have me three beautiful little girls...just like I asked her. :) Good girl, Amanda!

[caption id="attachment_681" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Amanda's Triplets"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_682" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Lacey's Little Girl"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_683" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Lacey's Little Boy"][/caption]

After Amanda's triple-play I thought I was done for that day. Mel went home late in the afternoon leaving me word that if either of the two remaining ewes lambed to please call her. OK. I'll keep an eye on them in the monitor in the office.
I checked about 9 p.m. to find Loretta digging furiously trying to make a nest for herself. "Don't tell me she's going to have her lambs now!" I thought, promising myself to check on her later. So, I stayed up checking Loretta at 10, then watched TV for a bit, heading back to the monitor at a little after 11 p.m. But wait a minute...what's that with Loretta??? OMG! She's got two lambs and they're both white! Loretta is a iset (forsted looking) black Shetland ewe so having white lambs was astounding to me. (They are actually very, very light gray). Twins again and one of each, a ram and a ewe lamb.
Things settled down quite a bit but I did notice that our last ewe to lamb, Ailee, was starting to act as if she was going into labor. Oh, great! Geez-Louise! But Ailee never progressed along as she should have. The next day I had Rob, Sheep-Vet-Par-Excel-lance, come out to check poor Ailee. Yes, she was in labor. No, she isn't progressing. Let's try some calcium gluconate and oxytocin to speed things up a bit. Nothing. She went on all day in fits of activity as if she was going to lamb any minute, then nothing for hours.
Melanie had come back later Friday to see how Ailee was doing and if I needed any help. By now it was past midnight and into Saturday morning. I gloved up and :went in" finding that Ailee's cervix not dilated at all but a lamb's head behind the membranes just wanting out. I called Rob from the barn. After telling apprising him of the situation, he decided she should come in to the clinic. He'd meet us there. If we let it go longer we'd lose her and the lambs as well. She needed a c-section.
So, my DH, Ralph, got the truck ready and we hefted Ailee the Rotund into the back of the truck. At Rob's office, he too did an exam showing how tight the cervix was. He tried to open the cervix. Nothing. Before we knew it Ailee was shaved and prepped for surgery.
Ralph passed the gas as Rob had shown him...Rob opened Ailee's side...and then Rob dropped a huge lamb in the towel I had waiting in my arms. "I think this one's dead.", he said to me. I took the lamb, toweled it off and suctioned the fluids out of the mouth and nose. And it was alive! A beautiful spotted lamb! And it was a girl!!!
Rob called me back saying to bring a towel...that he'd found a second lamb. Soon I had another lamb to care for - and it was another ewe lamb as well. As he was closing her incision, Rob said he thought this should be it for Ailee - and that she never would have been able to deliver those huge lambs in any normal way. The next pregnancy could kill her.

I don't have pictures yet of Loretta's lambs or Ailee's two girls. As Ailee was out of it for most of the bonding time she really needed to have, we fed the lambs colostrum and dried them off. So far, she's bonded with the second ewe lamb, a lamb born brown but with a definite gray underneath that coat of brown. But she hasn't bonded well with the first.
As of this writing, Ailee continues to push the spotted lamb away from her and refuses to let her nurse. So, I step in. Ailee still sleeps with the lambs and does some other motherly actions, but it's clear - "I like this one, not that one!" I bottle feed the spotted lamb I have taken to calling "Sugar". The jury is out, though, on whether or not Ailee will take on her full duties. In any case, it's become clear that Ailee should be going to a new home as soon as she weans these girls. And isn't it the way that she's got some of the best fleece in the flock? But Rob and I agreed. No more lambs for Ailee, ever. She needs to be in a flock without any chance of becoming bred. She's had two pregnancies with problems both times. Sorry, Ailee...it's a spinner's flock for you.

So...for the ending totals we have the following: 7 ewe lambs, 2 ram lambs! Not bad, Loki. Not bad at all. Ya done good, kid!

*Note: Today is the birthday of Miss Sinda, the Cat, who shares her life with my friend, Tina. She turned 20 today! Not bad, Sinda...not bad at all. :) Please stop by her home at Marietta Shetlands and wish her a Happy Birthday.

Today's the Day...Maybe

2010-04-13T08:01:00.000-07:00

Today should be the start of lambing season for Sheep Thrills Farm. The girls are uber-pregnant right now, with two showing signs that labor may be beginning soon. The first photo below is one I took about a month ago, right after shearing. It was obvious then the girls were all "with lamb". Loki did manage to figure out what breeding season was all about.

[caption id="attachment_674" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Udderly Pregnant "][/caption]

I am really looking forward to seeing what we get with this breeding from Loki. When I was researching his pedigree I noticed all his sire's first generation (called F1 generation when using artificial breeding) were white, but when I looked farther into the F2 generations offspring, all sorts of colors and spotting showed up. I know Loki carries spotting as he does have a mottled nose of black and pink as well as some sports, although small, on his face and ears. I am really hoping for a multitude of colors this year. That said I also realize Mother Nature has the final word no matter how I plot and plan.

Ewes live to be moms. They excel at mothering above any other creature I've known, humans too. They're OK with skipping a year, but give them the choice and they'd have litters of babies if they could. (Not unlike the Finn-sheep who do have litters) I can see in the girls' eyes that while they are at the very uncomfortable stage, each one is hoping for lambs to mother. I have to be on my toes that one ewe won't steal another's lambs, which has been known to happen. They just love those babies!

As soon as we get some lambs I will post a few "baby" pictures. The lambs haven't even hit the ground and I ready for lambing to be over with. As I wasn't sure if Loki could handle the job (I've always used full-grown rams before), and with the stress of the dog mauling attack in February, I wasn't sure we'd have any lambs here at all. But where there's a will, there's a way - and Loki most definitely found "the way".

[caption id="attachment_676" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Rascal, the Gardener's Helper"][/caption]

Rascal, on the other hand...could care less about lambs and more about sunshine.

Anticipation

2010-03-31T13:45:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. Usually, this time of year anyway, is kind of slow time for shepherds. We're waiting for our "Christmas". We're waiting for the lambs to be born.

Most of us plan our breedings carefully. I do have friends who have experienced a few "oops" this year - mainly when a ram with other ideas than cooling his heals jumps a fence and parties with the ladies he finds in the next field. Most of us know who was in with whom and in approximately 147 days or so, the results will make an entrance to the World.

This is the first year I have used a ram lamb - ever. I like older rams. They know their job, the main reason for them to be around anyway, and take their work very seriously. Skittles was that way...just show him the girls, turn him in with them, and be prepared to remove him a couple of weeks later. "Nuf said. The older guys show confidence and smoothness which the ladies seem to like. You can almost hear the Barry White music in the background.

Loki, on the other hand, is a young punk. I say that lovingly as I do enjoy watching him bounce around the pasture for the pure joy of life, nothing more. He was too young at fall breeding season to have an agenda. The world is/was his oyster, so to speak. Then he gets put in with a bunch of girls. Most are old enough to be his mother, too. What the heck is that shepherdess thinking? Why am I in here?

Then it hit him. Hmm. Maybe there is something to like about girls after all. Clumsy and not assured enough of himself to make things go smoothly, he courted the girls one-by-one. I remember the looks on the girls' faces back then, looking at me as if to say, "You've got to be kidding, right? This punk?"

So, now we wait. Approximately 145 days ago, Loki was seen to, ahem, cover one of the girls. Almost two weeks now, it was obvious after shearing that apparently Loki did both figure out which end was which and huge fleeces (even back last fall) not-withstanding, did figure out what this Ewe Dance business was all about.

Right now the Waiting Game is going on with the shepherdess. The girls are playing their cards very close to the vest even though they look like water balloons on toothpicks. When they lie down, bellies spread out on the ground around them. Ripples can be seen if you watch long enough - babies trying to move around or find room in cramped spaces. And as the girls move about, you'll see one suddenly stop, mid-stride, lower her head and wag her tail furiously. Those darned kids are kicking me again. Quiet down in there!

But just let me get the barn ready for the new arrivals and we get a day of horrific winds as well as the chance of snow again. The high temperature for tomorrow is supposed to be in the 30s F. I was just getting used to the 60+ F weather, too, darn it.

But spring is the shepherd's Christmas. We hope everyone does fine through the lambing and moms and babies all are healthy...

...this is when we get to see what colors, patterns, and "flavor" our best laid plans have made. We only hope Mother Nature will give her approval. C'mon, Amanda...I'll take three little girls this year instead of the two bruiser boys you usually have. Please? I'd really like to show my granddaughter what a lamb is.

Status Quo

2010-03-18T04:42:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share a few photos from around the place, taken in the past two months. They'll give you an idea as to the amount of snow we I had to deal with this winter. Oh, my DH was help, but he had to be very limited due to the surgery he had in the Fall. He was the one who called the guys to get the driveway plowed out after the Big Snows.

The first photo is of the barn roof during the snowstorm. All we could see was the weather-vane.

The Barn Roof in the Big Snow

[caption id="attachment_653" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Loki, complete with purple oil on his horns where he scraped them playing with the wethers."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_656" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Too much snow!"][/caption]

: The boys before the attack. Little do they know the shearer will be here Sunday.; Things are getting back to a sort of normalcy here. The boys are healing, slowly, but making progress. The girls seem to be fine although we won't really know until next month if the stress of the dog attack had any effect on the lambs they carry. Two of the girls, Ailee and her mother, Amanda, have porked up to where I will have to shorten their rations a bit or get them moving more. I may have been working hard during the snows, but the ewes had The Good Life in the barn - eating bon-bons and laying around all day long.; I remember seeing a sort of treadmill for farm animals on one of those antique-finding shows on TV. Boy, could those girls use one. ;) I wonder if they have a YMCA for sheep???; And I have started getting ready for spring and summer activities. One thing is for sure...one can not wear one's self out shoveling snow, then do all sorts of housework and cooking. Now that snows are melting fast, the creek is running full-bore, it's time for me to start the projects I set aside during this winter.; I'm pretty sure the Hired-Hand-With-Benefits (aka the DH) will appreciate a cooked meal now and then. ;-); NOTE: Thank you all for asking about the boys' recovery and the court proceedings. Unfortunately, as we are still going through the court proceedings I can not make a comment on them except to say everything is going well. The young man who owns the dogs has, so far, been making restitution for the veterinary expenses. We won't know the complete outcome until sometime in May.

An Update...

2010-02-25T15:11:00.000-07:00

Thank you all so much for your supportive and helpful comments on the recent mauling incident here. I wanted to give you a quick update on the boys:

So far, everyone is healing slowly but continually. There are a few puncture wounds I am keeping a very close eye on. Most wounds are healing...or at least the physical wounds are healing. I'm not sure if the boys minds will ever heal mentally from this attack.

Sven's eye is making good progress. I thought at first he had lost the whole eye, but upon closer inspection by the vet, it was the upper lid itself that was damaged. I have ointment to place in the eye a few times a day. At first Sven, well...all the boys really, did not fight my fussing over them. They stood patiently while I bathed wounds and dressed them, or wrapped hot, moist towels around sore legs with puncture wounds. Now, they try to run or refuse to stand for my efforts. This is a good sign. They are healing and feeling better.

It's as if they are saying, "It's OK , Mom. We're feeling much better. You can go now." I've been dismissed. :)

Oh, I will still watch them very closely. And next week they are due for a second Draxxin injection to be on the safe side. But I can tell it's time for me to let them be and heal on their own for the most part.

...and I am so very grateful this did not happen during fly season.

Horrified

2010-02-20T05:22:00.000-07:00

This past Monday, as my DH was off for the holdiay, we decided to have a late lunch in town as well as pick up a needed part for the '53 Merc he's working on. We left the wethers and Loki in the pasture area that had been cleared of snow, eating breakfast, and the girls had the run of the area around the barn. Both groups had plenty of hay to nibble on to keep them happy.

But when we came home, we were not prepared for what was going on down towards the barn. Two loose dogs had walked across the fencing on the property line we share with the county, on top of the snow, and were attacking the sheep!

I flew down towards the barn to find the boys standing between the dogs and the ewes. Somehow the gate to the corral at the barn was open and they were keeping the dogs from even getting close to the girls. But the price the dogs were extracting from the boys was terrifying.

The first thing was to get the dogs away from the sheep. The larger dog was a black and tan medium dog of maybe 40-45 lbs. That dog saw me and stopped his attack. The smaller dog which looked to me like a cross between a terrier of some sort and some kind of bulldog was still attacking poor Shaun who was struggling, brought down in the mud and melting snow. I had to pull the smaller dog off Shaun, then chased them out the gate to a now waiting husband.

We were lucky in that both dogs had collars with tags and owner's phone number. Ralph took control of the dogs and calling the owner and 911 while I got the sheep penned inside the barn and started to assess the damages. I ran to the house after penning all the sheep and called our sheeps' vet, Dr. Rob to come on an emergency. I grabbed B-vitamins, ProBios, towels and some warm water and went straight back the barn to do what I could until Rob got there.

Loki had very little damage - a couple of facial wounds where it looked like one of the dogs might have tried to get him, as well as a superficial gash on one leg. He was the least hurt of all the sheep.

Sven had all the wool from the back of his head and a shoulder torn out by the roots. His ears were both torn but the worst for him was a bite to his right eye. At first I thought the dog had taken his eye completely, but when Rob examined him, he found it to be the lid that was very damaged. We'll know more when the swelling subsides.

My buddy and rock, Colin, had quite a bit of the wool on his hindquarters torn out and had gashes and puncture wounds to his back legs. He was/is limping as his right hock was nailed pretty well. He, too, had the ears torn a bit and a gash above an eye.

The worst one was Shaun. His wool from the middle of his back to and including his tail was ripped out and he sustained many, many gashes to his haunches. His skin is just raw from all the wool being torn out. Some of the wounds had mud in them from his being downed by the dogs. We got most of the dirt out of the wounds, but Dr. Rob felt it would take time for the body to push the remaining dirt out. It was too deep and would have caused Shaun even more pain to scrub them out.

Both Shaun and Colin were in shock by the time the vet got there.

Had we not gotten home when we did, I'm sure we would have found one or more of the sheep dead, or at the least, way more torn up. I'm certain Shaun would have been dead if I hadn't gotten to him when I did. Every day since I have been treating each sheep. At first we did massive supportive care with injections of B-vitamins and dosing each with ProBios to support their rumens and keep them from shutting down. Injections of banamine for pain and Draxxin for it's awesome antibiotic support were given as well.

Right now, the boys have improved to the point of not requiring the banamine but will get another Draxxin injection 14 days after the first one. Draxxin is wonderful and the fact that it works for fourteen days just means less stress for the boys - and me. I still have to watch for wool falling off the sheep due to stress as well as to keep observing the pregnant ewes for signs of stress or abortion of their lambs. I may not know all the answers until April when the girls are due top lamb.

We're not out of the woods yet, by any means, but I'm hoping that with good supportive care the boys' bodies will heal. Their mental wounds may not heal so easily. Every time I look into their faces I remember the terror I saw in Shaun's eyes as I pulled the vicious dog off of him. My mind knows I did all I could for them and there was virtually no way I could have kept loose dogs, walking on top of the 4+ ft. of snow at the fence along the swampy are of the pasture, from walking over the top of the fence onto our property - but my heart is torn over seeing the boys in pain and hurt,...and terrorized. And I am so angry at loose dogs and their owners.

The owner was cited by our animal control officer. On March 8th, he will have to appear in court to please guilty or not guilty. Here in Arizona, the law is on the side of the livestock owner. I really can't say too much here, for the reason that this will all be decided through the courts. But, I can say that I am so glad we caught the dogs and they had collars with tags on which were active phone and contact information.

The boys are heroes in my eyes. They put themselves between those dogs and the ewes. And I thank God these are Shetlands - sweet, gentle, tough-as-nails Shetlands. And a part of me hopes they gave as good as they got.

This attack did something else as well. No loose dog will be tolerated on this property any longer...ever.

Thank Each And Every One Of You

2010-02-05T07:55:00.000-07:00

I would like to thank all of you for the outpouring of love and kindness shown to us with our loss of Ziggy. You will never know or imagine how much that helped me get through this week. While I read each comment or note with leaky eyes, the pain in my heart was endured knowing I was not alone.

All of us have lost furr-friends. All of us have felt the gaping hole in our heart when it was their time to pass on. I got to thinking that most of my dear friends have lost animals recently. Yet, hurt as we do at their passing, we would endure the pain all over again knowing that we get much more out of our having these wonderful creatures in our lives than we would without them. Our four-legged friends enrich our lives and make us better people for it.

I would like to share something with you...something I found my first time visiting the small town of Jerome, Arizona. It was in a little shop with many "cat things" in it. While I brought a few cat-toys home for the gang, this I got for me.

For all of us who have lost our friends:

"Stray Cat"

"Oh, what unhappy twist of fate

Has brought you, homeless to my gate?

The gate where once another stood

To beg for shelter, warmth and food.

For from that day I ceased to be

The master of my destiny.

While he, with purr and velvet paw

Became within my house, The Law.

He scratched the furniture and shed

And claimed the middle of my bed.

He ruled in arrogance and pride

And broke the heart the day he died.

So if you really think, oh cat,

I'd willingly relive all that

Because you come, forlorn and thin

Well...don't just stand there...come on in!"

-Francis Witham-

To all of those we have loved, and lost...

A Sad Goodbye

2010-02-03T02:48:00.000-07:00

Ziggy

1994 - 2 February 2010

Yesterday, we lost our gentle giant of a cat, Ziggy. While the day before he had shown some signs of a little improvement - talking more to me and eating more than he had been - by that night it was clear something else was going on. We found him in the morning, in the sunroom, unable to move and yowling in a tone I had never heard come from him. I picked him up and returned him to the chair in the office where he had been battling the pneumonia. How he made it to the sunroom I will never know. We never heard a sound throughout the night indicating his distress. It looked like a stroke.

I placed Zig on the heating pad to warm him back up, but by then he was yowling almost constantly. I also noticed his pupils dilated and the light that had been in his eyes the day before was gone. He was as comfortable as possible and I was there, petting his now unresponsive body, as he slipped from this world into the next. Softly, as he left, I thanked him for sharing his life with me and told him what a good friend he was.

It was in 1995 that Ziggy appeared at our house. My DD had come home from work to find a young cat wandering where we park our cars. He followed her down to the house, begging to come inside by sitting on a garden bench on the deck and staring at us through the sunroom windows. And stare he did. I have never seen a cat with such riveted eyes.

We tried placing him in the barn's feed room thinking that would satisfy him. At that time we not only had many housecats already, my father was living with us with his two small dogs. We really didn't have space for another cat. But as many times as I would put Zig in the barn, there he would be, at the sunroom windows, staring in at us. It wasn't long before my DH asked if we could at least bring him into the basement until we could find out whom he belonged to. OK. Will do. Once inside it became obvious. If no one claimed him, he at the very least claimed us.

I never saw a cat with such a penchant for playing fetch. Zig would drive us nuts each evening by insisting we throw a rabbit-fur mousie for him to retrieve. He would be satisfied for literally hours of this while we wore out. No matter how hard or where we threw his toy, it would be instantly brought back and dropped by our feet to please throw again.

That behavior remained until a couple of years later when Ziggy accidently fell out of the second-floor bathroom window. He seemed fine at the time but years later we would find out that he had in some way hurt his spine. The Mousie Game stopped and he started to lay around much more. We thought it was his getting older and outgrowing the game. It wasn't until later when an upward curve developed that it became apparent of the now way-past injury. While he didn't run after mousie any longer, it still didn't stop him from playing, eating, taking walks on a leash around the farm.

And he was huge! Not only big of frame, but he had gained weight up to 26 lbs. Our vet at the time would comment on his size, tempering the comments with the fact that he was in perfect health, and how the vet should be able to feel his ribs. My response would always be, "Press harder."

A little over a year ago, Zig started losing weight. It was determined that his thyroid was doing too good a job and he was placed on medication. This winter, though, there was something we just couldn't put our finger on. Something was different even if all the tests showed he was OK except for the thyroid. Then, about a month ago we had an upper respiratory bug hit some of the cats. Hindsight always being 20/20, now we know it was just too much for Zig's system. The round of antibiotics just didn't seem to work. There had also been some internal bleeding due, we believe, to a sinus infection which ruptured and may have also cause the pneumonia. Well, you know the rest...

I will miss my dear friend. My heart feels like part of it was torn out yesterday. I know that, with time, it will heal and the hole replaced with fond memories of my friend.

And I know one thing for certain: As much as the heart hurts at this time of loss, I would do it all over again. My life has been very blessed with good animal friends...like Ziggy.

A Quick Ziggy Update

2010-01-30T08:15:00.000-07:00

I am so sorry for not posting much this week. It's been a hard week for all of us. In short, Ziggy has pneumonia and is critical.

The night before last I was up late, watching TV and I noticed Zig's breathing was very labored. His poor rib cage was so expanded and his flanks were working hard to get oxygen. He was in distress. Yesterday morning I called and found out that Dr. Bill had space open in the afternoon to see Ziggy. Until then I would just have to make him as comfortable as I could.

Bill examined him, finding his temperature was very low. Not a good sign. Zig had decreased sounds on one lung and Bill tried tapping it to see if it was fluid. The tap was empty - a good sign that it wasn't fluid in the lung itself, but now what? He suggested xrays and I was right there with him. Yes, please, do. The xrays showed some fluid in the pleural lining of the lungs as well as pneumonia(?) in the bronchial passages.

Right now we're trying massive amounts of antibiotics hoping he rallies. This morning, Bill was gracious enough to bring his "Verminator Team", Iley and Seamus the Jack Russel Terriers, to the barn to rid it of voles that had moved in when the field flooded during the previous week's rain/snow/blizzards. We discussed Ziggy a bit while watching the dogs. He said we are definitely not out of the woods yet. It may take a week before we see progress for Ziggy, if at all.

Yesterday, we prepared ourselves for the fact that we may not have our friend with us much longer. If the antibiotics and support don't work, we will not let our friend suffer on our account but rather ask Bill to let him go peacefully.

And I wanted to say "Thank You" to all of you who have sent me emails or comments about Ziggy. You will never know how much that support has meant this last week.

A Quck Ziggy Update...

2010-01-26T02:17:00.000-07:00

As of today, Ziggy is doing much better and seems to be on the mend! Our cat-vet Dr. Bill was able to make it first thing on Monday to give a good exam to, and assistance for, poor Zig.

We had to be dug out with a backhoe/skip loader on Saturday and Sunday with one of the big things being to make room for our vehicles at our parking area. So, there was room for Bill's mobile hospital for Ziggy's appointment on Monday.

Ziggy not only had something burst in his ear/sinus area, but somewhere had some internal bleeding. Bill suspected either bleeding from the sinus area or a possible ulcer in the stomach. Ziggy's bloodwork did show some anemia. Now, with supportive meds, we're making slow progress to a recovery. At least we're very hopeful at this point. Zig's much more comfortable and each day sees some advance.

I have to admit that dealing with this was scary. I hate to see any animal in pain. I knew poor Zig wasn't feeling well, but during the snows all that could be done was supportive care like subcutaneous fluids, warmth, small meals of soft foods...even a vaporizer going to make his breathing a bit easier in this uber-dry air we have here.

And thank you all for your support, good thoughts and purrayers for Mr. Zig. You not only supported him, but me as well.

A Very Sick Friend

2010-01-21T05:09:00.000-07:00

We'd sure appreciate your sending good wishes and thoughts for our dearest cat, Ziggy. When I came in from shoveling snow this morning I noticed something just not right with Zig. He wasn't himself at all.

He'd been feeling poorly with an ear infection, but this is something else. It appears he may have had a stroke. I've given him subcutaneous fluids as well as the low-dose aspirin our vet, Bill, recommended. But it's obvious he's not himself. He's seeking odd places to hide, then will become himself for a bit and sit with me, purring while I brush him.

We are in the midst of one hell-of-a-snowstorm right now. I can't get out, and neither can the vet. I17 is closed so if I could get out, I can't get to town. The forecast is for anywhere between three and seven feet of snow between today and Saturday. Not a great time for a kitty to be sick or in need of medical care.

I will try my best to keep him warm and comfortable. He'll get his meds and all the love we can give him. But that's about all we can do right now, besides pray that he either get well, or gently slip away while he's sleeping by the fire.

He's been a great friend for the past 16 years.

We've Moved To....

2010-01-18T19:27:00.000-07:00

www.sheepthrillsfarm.com

Eventually we will be closing this site. Please join us at our new site.

Snow, Snow, Snow

2010-01-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

Well, it's started. We've been hearing about this series of storms coming for a few days but this evening it's started for real. Snow. Snow, snow, snow.

The weather forecasters have been waffling back and forth as to the amounts we'll get before this week is over, but it all adds up to way too much. At first we heard 3 to 5 ft. of snow. Now we've heard anywhere from over 3 ft. to 7 ft. of snow due in throughout the week in a series of systems moving in from off the California coast.

Bummer! Now don't get me wrong...I like snow. I like snow when I can view it from the sunroom windows while sipping my coffee or some hot chocolate...or even a nice glass of wine. But as I have gotten older (and my bones older still) snow and the cold temperatures that come with it are not as welcomed here as they were ten or fifteen years ago. We really do need the moisture and snow really is the best way to get it as it absorbs softly into the ground and doesn't run off like the torrential rains of the summer monsoons. So, I guess I shouldn't really complain about this.

The sheep don't seem to mind the snow, or at least they don't mind it right now. I will reassess that statement after the end of the week. If we do get as much snow as expected (and if we weren't dug out by the guys with the backhoe/skip-loader) , the sheep could just walk over the fencing around the barn. I doubt they would get far. A few steps and a warm day and the crust will give way to even those tiny, light feet the sheep have and I will be digging them out of the snow. If I can get to them. ;) Later this week, if the snow does start piling up, I will make sure all the sheep and chickens are in the barn. They may not like it, but I will as I will know where they are and if they're OK.

I'm hoping that my enforced hibernation will give me the chance to figure out the ins-and-outs of this new blog/website set-up and I'll be able to get photos back up. It's just a learning curve right now. The past few days have been busy with stocking up supplies for this week and next. When you live in an area where you get these deep snows, it's not just the week of the snow arrival you worry about. It's also the week after when you're trying to negotiate parking lots in town that have no parking as space for piling snow had first priority.

So, there's plenty of feed in the barn, the fridge is full, gas in the vehicles and the guys who dig us out of big snows have been alerted. So, it'll be me, the cats and the DH if he stays home, my stack of books, spinning and knitting...

Gee...the more I list the things I could do if we're snowed in is starting to look pretty good! Throw in a few naps and it almost sounds perfect, eh?

And for my friends and family to the North and East of our little mountain town, please be on alert. We'll try to see if most of the moisture will linger here, but I don't think we have the last say in that. Forewarned is forearmed. It's headed your way.

Welcome!

2010-01-14T09:05:00.000-07:00

I wanted to take this opportunity to re-welcome all of you to my blog. How do you like the "new digs"? I think it will work out wonderfully to have both the blog and the Sheep Thrills Farm website all in one place.

I do have to say that none of this would have been possible without the magic done by my daughter, Kelly. I don't know what I would do without her. Not only does she keep me and my computer on track, even from New Zealand, but she's so gracious to recognize that some days, when I'm having pain issues, she sees and takes the extra time to maybe repeat those things she might have said before but have become lost in the fuzziness of my brain. She'll never know just how much that means to me. She's a gem, although I have to say I'm a bit biased. :)

Soon, everything for the blog and farm will be here, in one place and easier to keep track of. If there's one thing I've learned it's that if you make something easy to use, it will get used...and used more often.

So...welcome, dear readers! Stop in, relax, feel free to kick back and put your feet up. We have some time before lambing craziness starts so let's enjoy ourselves while we can.

Moving Right Along -or- Pack Your Bags!

2010-01-12T19:40:00.000-07:00

Due to some problems with Google and our Sheep Thrills Farm website...plus some wonderful work and suggestions from my DD, this blog and the www.SheepThrillsFarm.com website will be moving to the following address:

http://sheepthrillsfarm.wordpress.com

If you have signed up for alerts to new information on the website or now blog entries, please be sure to visit our new site and re-sign in. This goes for subscriptions to the blog as well.

I realize that this may pose some inconvenience to some of you and I apologize for it, however, this will make my life so much easier. When I last visited our website, I found it changed and in disarray from some changes Google had made. Having both sites blended into one just makes way more sense to me. Hopefully, we'll be able to keep up with our friends as well as keep updates on our sheep for sale as well as fibers and fiber products for sale as well.

The total change will occur in a few days, so please take some time to visit and sign up...and sign in! We'd love to see you there - no baggage required! :)

Loki: "Colin? Do we have to move too? The Shepherdess said she was moving the blog and farm to one site. What's a blog?"
Colin: "Don't worry about it, Squirt! We'll still be doing what we're supposed to be doing right here. It's just some of the business will be moving to a new website...whatever that means."

Colin, you always were the Wise One!

The Reading Stack

2009-12-30T18:22:00.008-07:00

A while ago, my cyber-friend, Sharon, of Sage Creek Farm, had an entry on her "In Stitches" blog about the number of books in her "pile" waiting to be read. I told her that I had one as well and thought it would be fun to share what is in the stack waiting for me to sit still long enough (without drifting off or "resting" my eyes) to enjoy them.
The top two books have gone back to their owner, Lois Moore, of Stonehaven Farm, who left them in my care last month. Lois makes her way through Flagstaff about once a month on her way to Tuba City to service the hospital there as part of their radiology team. While the traveling is rough on her and her hubby, Brook, I have the pleasure of talking sheep, watching her knit, and sharing good food each time she heads this way.

Sharon has retired recently and is a fellow spinner/weaver/fiber person. She and her husband, Ian, have a few Shetland sheep as well. As we are in the same age group, we've found we have a lot in common, especially a fondness for good books. Well, Sharon...here's the stack. I did not include all the periodicals like Spin-Off, Handwoven, Black Sheep Newsletter, etc. It's a good thing too, as I'm sure the stack would have been way too tall.

Right now I'm finishing up Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World.

OK...What's in YOUR stack to read?

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-24T14:52:00.001-07:00

Things have been perking right along here. We finally got the tree decorated! Usually, we put the tree up for a few days before we decorate it so the cats can get their ya-yas out. There's always a battle to see who reigns supreme for the choice spot under the tree. This was also the first Christmas we had a tree since acquiring Daisy May and her boys, Mooch and Rascal. I don't know how long the tree will stay decorated...as soon as I finished they were all over it batting at the ornaments and tasting the tinsel.

Of course, what would a shepherdess' tree be without a few "fiber" ornaments? A wheel, drop spindle, shuttle and niddy-noddy along with a few sheep ornaments.

You can catch a glimpse of one of the cats under the tree. This is always the "primo spot" for any cat once the tree goes up. Must be the wool tree-skirt.

A Partridge in a Pear Tree. This glass ornament was one of my mother's.

May all of you have a wonder-filled Holiday Season - from all of us at Sheep Thrills Farm!

News Flash!

2009-12-18T09:45:00.001-07:00

Video: WALKING
Originally uploaded by kelly42

We interrupt this "Sheepy Business" to bring you very exciting news from New Zealand...

Yesterday, our granddaughter, Gwen, walked! By herself! She will be turning one year old next week. She is every bit her mother's daughter (and father's, too) being as precocious as Kelly was. Little do K & R know, but their world is going to get a lot busier as well as those eyes in the back of the head need to be up and running now.

We grandparents are simply over the moon at this new development! Go Gwen!

And Then It Snowed

2009-12-10T20:40:00.008-07:00

Yes, in-deedy-do...we got snow. I know both The Weather Channel and the US Weather Service put out statements that Flagstaff received 24 inches of snow in this storm, but here at Oleo Acres (one of the West's cheaper spreads), we got 30 inches of snow. And it came in sideways.
Now, I have to say that because we live closer to the Mogollon Rim (pronounced Mug-gee-yone) we usually do receive more snow than the other areas around Flagstaff. This can be a good thing in spring and summer when you really need some moisture for your garden and trees, but it tends to bite one in the bee-hind come winter. After living in this area for over 20 years I have come to the conclusion that "it ain't for wimps", as one old-timer put it.
Arizona is beautiful in very many ways, but can also turn very deadly on you if you don't prepare yourself. This storm came at the height of elk hunting season. It didn't even dawn on us until after the storm moved on and the first reports started coming in to the Sheriff's Office and Search and Rescue...hunters got caught stuck, out in the forest and cut off from any hope of getting out the way they got in. One poor hunter from the Phoenix area, up with a buddy hunting, was killed when a Ponderosa pine snapped in half and fell on their tent, killing him instantly. It missed the other guy completely. Other hunters who could make phone calls on their cells were escorted out of the forest by Search and Rescue or by helicopter.
That said, and the wondering of why they were out in the woods when they knew a storm was coming (Darwinian to my mind), the aftermath is very beautiful. Here's a few pictures from around the place, but I have to say I cheated. I took the photos from the windows, warm inside the house while doing so. It was -10 F when I took the photos.

Over the barn roof to the road beyond.

Looking toward the barn from the sunroom.

The bridge in the pasture going over the stream. This stream is a very rare thing in Arizona. We're very lucky to have it as the grasses along it are green for three seasons.

The beginnings of the dreaded "Killer Icicles". Thoughts of the movie, "A Christmas Story" come to mind when I see these.

I will try to get some photos of the sheep to post in the next few days. It was too cold to even want to try to hold the camera today. Plus, the sheep would not leave the barn. Walk in that snow?? Who? Us? Nope. Not us. Go find some other sheep to get out in this snow.

...oh...and while you're at it, we'd appreciate your placing our feed trays in here. We'll leave the empty trays outside the door for you to carry away.
Just what I needed...sheep demanding Room Service and special delivery. Who do they think I am anyway...Pizza Hut?

Note: This morning, 11 Dec., you may have seen on Good Morning America, Gerry Blair from our Sheriff's Dept. stating that almost 50 hunters and hikers have been rescued from the forests in our area. Both my DH, who works with Gerry, and I both thought the same thing - how many have they NOT found...yet?

The Raven's Gift

2009-12-02T19:53:00.003-07:00

As most of you know, I have a friend - a feathered friend. A friend watching over me as I go about my shepherdess duties about the place. His name is Bran (pronounced "Brawn") after the Celtic god responsible for ferrying souls to the afterlife as well as being the trickster, along with Loki.
Bran became close to me early in 2005. I noticed him hanging around the barn on the winter mornings. Then one day, I realized he was scooping up the mice I trapped the night before in the barn after I threw them on top of the crusted snows. Not long after that I started placing the mice on a post, watching to see of the raven would take them. And take them he did...along with other offerings like the cracked eggs the hens had been careless with, or the odd leftover from the dinner the night before.
Out of these offerings came something else I never dreamed of. The more I watched him, the more he watched me. In the spring and summers Bran would hang around and actually "talk" to me. It finally dawned on me that he was repeating the same sounds over and over to me, then waiting. One day, I answered back, repeating the same tones as best I could. And so it began. I became a student as well as a friend and provider.
Over the past years we've become even closer. If I go get the mail, or garden in the summer, I can hear the voice of a raven I have come to know as well as picking his voice out from the other ravens in the area. When I have the time after barn chores, I will sit on the stoop of the feed room, watching and waiting, for my friend to show up. I usually don't have to wait long before he flies in taking roost on the fencepost or the barn roof.
Our friendship has been growing as we both have moved from mutual respect on to actually enjoying each others company. Or at least I think he likes my company. Two springs ago, Bran floored me with something I never would have thought of.
I had a ewe with a retained placenta after she delivered a very large, single ram lamb. Throughout the night I was to give her shots to encourage the placenta to pass. I was so tired when I was out to give her the last injection at 2:30 a.m. But as I headed from the barn to the back door of the house, I realized there was a "whooshing" noise just above my head. In the darkness of the night with the light from the back door reflecting off his black feathers, there was Bran, flying less than 10 ft. from my head, escorting me to the back door. As I got there I turned and said "Thank you for looking out for me, Bran. Have a good sleep. It's OK now...you can go home." Off he went uttering an almost purring sound from his throat. It's amazing. Ravens don't fly at night but here he was, protecting me and seeing me home in the darkness.
Last week I had another amazing exchange with Bran. He was walking around in the barnyard amongst the sheep and chickens watching me go about my duties as well as making sure an offering was left for him on "his post". I had two cracked eggs that day. After placing them on the top of the post, I watched as he came and took one in his beak. He then flew over the property fence-line to the field behind us and ate the egg leisurely as I fed the sheep and put the chickens in for the evening. Soon, he was back for the second egg. As he sat on the fence, talking to me, and before he took the remaining egg, he stopped and looked at me. I guess he sensed I wasn't too much myself. I was coming down with a massive cold and really didn't feel like spending more time than I needed in the cold weather that day. I looked at him as he approached the remaining egg, then said, "OK, Bran. You get all these eggs and treats. Well, what's in it for me? What do I get?" He looked at me and off he flew, egg in mouth, towards the direction of the trees across the road.
The next morning was cold and windy. I was later than usual out to the barn as I just didn't want to deal with the wind in my face early in the morning. As I approached the barn I saw Bran walking in and out amongst the sheep chatting with them as he walked. He spied me coming and flew to one of the fenceposts, watching me approach with what I can only say looked like a huge grin on his face.

And there, on the top of the post where I place the mice, eggs and treats for him, was a bone. He looked at the bone, then looked at me. I knew what it was. This bone, this thing that was obviously dug up from somewhere due to the dirt on it, was a gift. A gift for me.
I took this treasure, this gift, making sure I thanked Bran profusely for thinking of me.

...and we humans think we're so smart. I, for one, know I have a very, very special friend. No bones about it. ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T14:17:00.001-07:00

From all of us here at Sheep Thrills Farm, we wish you all a very Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!!!
And to all our troops serving in the military around the world, thank you for serving! In our eyes, you are heroes - each and every one of you!

First, I Moved The Sheep...

2009-11-22T16:39:00.006-07:00

...to the far end of the pasture in two makeshift pens. I made sure the sheep would be safe, but also that they really couldn't see what was about to happen just on the other side of the barn.
Earlier this year our neighbor decided to sell her place to our county and the Parks & Rec Department. They were very interested in adding the land, which has part of the wetlands stream running through it, to the land they owned behind our houses. The large field has springs and is the last sheet wetlands in Arizona. Our neighbor, a divorcee my age, had bought the house from one of her children, using it to restart her life again. With the economy taking a downturn, she was feeling the pinch of how much her mortgage would eat up her paychecks...paychecks now shrinking with her hours being reduced to save money. The house needed a lot of repair and work - much more than she could do herself or afford to have someone else do for her.
Earlier this summer we were approached by Parks & Rec and our local fire department, Highlands Fire District, to let us know the house was scheduled to be burned (after other measures were done such as asbestos abatement, land was to be shaped behind the house into a retention berm for retaining any runoff from the fire so as not to contaminate the watershed). While the idea of having a house go up in flames right next door didn't set too well, both my DH and I know how important this training could be for our fire department. If they would be considerate of a few things we requested, sure...we were all for this being used as a training event for firemen.

"Why are we all way over here? And why are all those silly chickens running around like chickens with their heads cut off?"

Safety for the sheep, chickens, and our property was of utmost importance for me (and my DH). The last thing I wanted was my barn going up in flames with my winter's supply of hay and feed! I was assured things would be protected with firemen assigned to specifically watch our property to prevent any and all damage to our place. Well, OK...but...
I was informed that I shouldn't worry...or they would be replacing everything if something happened.
I moved the sheep and chickens anyway.

Above, the house with boarded up windows and most everything removed inside to just leave a shell of its former self. We got a tour in a briefing the day before the burn.

Signs of a fire started in the main floor bathroom. The firemen had training inside the house on dealing with a smoke-filled situation and how to find their way out of thick smoke before the main fire was started.

A bit more smoke with some ladder work.

The fire beginning in earnest. It was amazing that the actual fire took the house down in less than half an hour.

My DH, Ralph, on the roof of the barn taking video of the whole process. The smoke actually got thick enough to roust him from his loft to join the rest of we mere mortals on the ground. I got a thick blast of it when I was checking to make sure all the chickens were out of the barn. I found a few stragglers who would not leave the barn for anything. As the smoke was too bad to argue with them, I left them to either smarten-up or be chicken dinner. Their choice.

More smoke. I couldn't help but think of all the firemen as boys with infatuation with fire. Probably a leftover thought from watching both my brother keeping the campfires flaming when we were kids and my hubby doing the same thing during other family camping trips. Guys and fire.

The roof fully engulfed in fire now. The heat was intense, even upwind. This is the point where we had very thick smoke at the barn and Ralph had to abandon ship from the roof.

Totally engulfed in flames. The whole burn took less than half an hour from start to finish.

Cooling off the flames on the side of the house facing our barn. This is the point that was scary as debris, mostly just flakes of burnt carbon, were lifted into the air by the heat and flames of the fire. There were even firemen from the Fuels Reduction Team stationed in the pasture behind our places to make sure browned, dry grasses weren't set alight. That was my big concern....our grasses are so dry now it would have only taken one unseen spark for a field fire. Luckily, everyone was really on top of things. Professionals all!

All that's left of the house. The foundation and rubble will be removed by a contractor and the ground shaped and hydro seeded. It will blend in with the rest of the vegetation by next year.
Way back in the Dark Ages, when I did investigations for the US Army on Fort Hood, I did a few fire/arson investigations. That was back when there were no special fire investigators. What I saw and knew then came back to me as I stood there watching how fast this fire took this house. Although there were no furnishings inside the house, this illustrates just how fast a fire can take a structure - set or not. It is something to really respect.

And it showed how professional each and every firefighter was in handling this situation. We never really think of these professionals unless we have a need for them. They aren't seen everyday as police are when they are on patrol. Firefighters kind of get the short end of the stick when it comes to PR. This whole situation made me stop and realize just how much we count on these people...
...and how much respect they deserve.

...and we now have a new view out the sunroom windows! :)

It's That Time Again

2009-11-08T19:13:00.001-07:00

It's that time of year again. Or rather it's been that way for a while here. Time for turning the ram (or ram lamb in our case) in with the girls and let Nature take its course.

"What the heck is going on at the barn? And most importantly, why aren't we wethers invited?"

And here he is himself, Jehovah-Jireh's Loki. This youngster is the sire for next year's lamb crop - er, um...provided he figured out what he's supposed to actually do with the girls. I have seen him try to court the girls off and on, but not I haven't actually witnessed Loki and any of the ladies "in action", so to speak.
Loki is the result of AI breeding. (Artificial Insemination) His sire, Island Skeld, is quite a nice looking and very well-bred ram. All of Skeld's F1 lambs (the first offspring resulting from an AI breeding) are white, like Loki. But when I started looking at the F2 generation, I saw lots of spots and colors showing up. We may have white, or some very interesting colors this spring. As most shepherds will tell you, lambing is very much like Christmas morning...you can be very surprised at the outcome as well as excited in anticipation of what you might get.

Three of the girls in the Breeding Group: Loretta, Amanda, and Ailee.

Lacey must be gone walkabout or in the barn finishing up what everyone else left in the feed pans this morning. Lacey was the first ewe I placed in with Loki. I'll need to start watching her next month for signs of impending birth if she settled soon after they were penned together.
I'm not really used to having breeding spread out this way - a ewe every week until they were all in with the ram. Loki was supposed to come with another ram lamb his age, but for some reason that didn't happen. I needed to put him in with other sheep for company but the wethers would have really bashed him as he was so young and small at the time. Lacey is the sweetest ewe I have as well as the smallest so I decided she should be the first to meet Loki. She's both protected him as if he was her lamb and also become smitten with him as her paramour. She thinks I was looking at something else, but I saw her batting those big brown eyes at this little Hunk-O-Ram. ;-)

Lacey early last year after shearing.

So, c'mon guys and gals...I've missed having lambs around and I know you girls have too. Who knows what we'll get? I'm not sure, but I can hardly wait for spring and lambing. :)
...and we have a growing list of people wanting Sheep Thrills Farm sheep. Time to get to work, Loki!

Off On A Walk

2009-11-02T21:27:00.006-07:00

Part of my DH's post-surgery rehab is to walk. The only caveat is that he is to walk on flat trails or in places such as the grocery store or the mall. We're lucky in that just a short way from Oleo Acres is a really nice place to get out in the fresh air, view the locals in their habitats, get some sun, and still keep to flat trails. It's called the Kachina Wetlands Project, completed a few years ago by the Army Corps of Engineers as a way to utilize reclaimed water. It's a beautiful area with great views of the San Francisco Peaks.
I thought you might like to come along:

A view of the Peaks. Mt. Humphrey's (the peak on the left) is the highest point in Arizona at 12,633 ft. We live at 7,000 ft. just south of the town of Flagstaff, at the base of the Peaks.

Our recent snow was melting fast on the south face of Humphrey's Peak. You can see the clusters of golden aspens gracing the slopes.

As we walked along, groups of Juncos flew out in front of us as if to lead the way. This one stayed long enough in the rushes for me to get a shot of him.

Looking northwards to Mt. Elden where all the TV, radio and various communication towers are set. The day before this, snow covered Elden as if someone had dusted it with powdered sugar. It used to be totally covered with pines and aspens but a huge forest fire claimed it. It is recovering, but slowly on this side. Many people hike the trail up Elden. You have to keep aware as well as keep your dogs on a leash as there are wild things watching you. It's not unusual to hear reports of mountain lion and bear watching hikers. Hikers must be yummy, eh?

The ducks you see on this pond usually stay throughout the year except for sessions of bad weather or complete freezes of the water in these ponds. There are large lakes nearby where waterfowl retreat until smaller ponds re-open at thaw. Part of the ponds were still frozen and unavailable to the ducks. They stuck to the open waters on this day.

I love seeing the cattails and rushes here. I may have to give using them in basket making a try. Try as I might, I can't seem to get the cattails established along the banks of our creek in the pasture. While our grasses get pretty tall and afford the waterfowl refuge, it would be nice to have a patch of cattails as well.

Another view across one of the ponds. You wouldn't know it, but there's a gated community just on the other side of the trees. (Our hoity-toity neighbors) Clearly the people who live in that community adhere to the "Good fences make good neighbors" policy. When that community, and its golf course, were built, many wildlife trails and habitats were destroyed in the process. We used to see way more fox, turkey, mule deer, elk, and bears and lions before they built. I still hear turkey when I'm down at the barn, but now it's the turkeys a neighbor down the road is raising, not the wary wild birds that used to come through.
And while we were walking we spied a flash from a dark colored animal we had flushed from its hiding place. At first we thought it was a fox, but it turned out to be a cat.

A very large cat! (This taken with my telephoto lens at quite a distance)

I'll try to take you along again, if you like. Our Flagstaff Urban Trail System has now connected up with the trails in the Kachina Wetlands. We know where they connect, but haven't explored there yet as some of the trails are a wee bit more rugged. Maybe next time.
Anybody want to come along? :-D

Happy Halloween...

2009-10-31T18:22:00.002-07:00

...from all of us at Sheep Thrills Farm. Pharaoh Ziggy commands it and we must obey!

"Look into my eyes. You are all getting sleepy. Very, very sleepy. What's that, Mom? Oh, OK. Ahem...You're getting very sheepy...sheepy..."

"Now can I get out of this hat, Mom?"

Happy 60th Birthday to my Hubby!

2009-10-28T13:51:00.004-07:00

Grandpa Ralph and Gwen

I would like to wish my dear husband and "Other Half" a very, very Happy Birthday! Today, he turns 60.
Partying is very limited, however, as he is really having to take things slow after his recent surgery to repair a 10-inch incisional hernia where his spleen was removed earlier this year. He got to have the 32 staples (stitches) removed yesterday. WooHoo! We had planned on trying to take a trip during this recovery period but I don't think that may happen. It seems like appointments and schedules keep interfering. Traveling may have to wait until he's sleeping a bit better and not so sore.
I know that these blogs, or at least mine, tend to center around the author's life and viewpoints. But in reality, my husband is always there to lend a hand with the operation of my farming/livestock endeavors. Whether he agrees with what I do or not, he's still there to support me and my dreams - not an easy task in itself as I tend to be very independent and stubborn. (Who, me?) Ralph's the unsung hero here at Oleo Acres.

Here's to you, Hon...may the next 60 years be even better. A very Happy Birthday to you!

Goodbye, Ole...

2009-10-27T21:41:00.005-07:00

...be a good boy and remember, you're a Sheep Thrills Farm sheep. Do your job and represent us, and the Shetland breed, well!

Ole as a yearling

Yes, Ole has found a new, wonderful home with Mayleen. Mayleen is a grad student at Northern Arizona University doing work in sustainable agriculture. She is researching local, small-scale agricultural producers to learn more about the challenges and rewards of their pursuits and has a particular interest in livestock issues as well as a love of Shetland sheep!
Mayleen moved to Flagstaff from Maine where, among other animals, she had a pet Shetland ram. She had come over to interview me about the sheep. As we stood at the barn, the sheep introducing themselves graciously, she spotted the pen where two black wethers paced the fence line looking longingly for some of the attention the others were receiving. I explained to Mayleen that Ole was up for sale but his brother was in the pen to keep him company. As she started giving Ole scratches and the beloved brisket-rubs, I could see Ole looking into her eyes. He had become a puddle of wool as she hit all those spots he couldn't reach to scratch. He was putty in her hands.
That evening I received an email thanking me for my time with the interview and...was Ole available still? She wanted to buy him. She really missed having a Shetland. It was fate. :)
Yes, I replied with another email. He's yours. So, last Friday, Mayleen and her daughter, Maia, came to pick him up. Mayleen doesn't have any other sheep (yet) but does have two horses sharing Ole's area. He's inside a pen, but the horses live right next to him and have their heads hanging over to visit with him all day long. She'll keep an eye on him to see if he develops any signs of depression, but so far he's been fine and settled right in. I suspect he's loving all the attention he's getting now...much more than I could have given him.
I drove over today to get a nice picture of Mayleen and Maia with Ole, but the wind was blowing so badly (as it does on the east side of Flagstaff) that the two of them got blasted in the face with cinder dust and dirt.
All dust aside, here are a couple of pictures of Mayleen and her new Sheep-BFF:

Looks like True Love to me. May you both have a very long, loving and wonder-filled relationsheep!
... Make us proud, Ole! We know you can do it!

Don't Pay The Ransom...

2009-10-21T11:16:00.005-07:00

...I'm still here. It's just been a couple of crazy/odd/busy weeks around Oleo Acres. I have to admit that lately I haven't been on the computer much or when I have been "on", I haven't felt like being very creative.
This summer saw a couple of health problems pop up for both my Hired-Hand-With-Benefits and myself. My DH developed a HUGE incisional hernia requiring surgery which he underwent last Friday. Today he had an appointment with the surgeon to have the drain placed at the time of surgery removed. I remember thinking it was so much longer than I ever imagined as the surgeon snipped the stitches keeping it in place, then drew it out all the way. Eww! Unfortunately the stitches stay in until next week.
Now, my hubby has a GoreTex mesh patch (made here in Flagstaff) holding things together. Yes, it was that big. His original scar was about 8 inches long. Now it's about 10 inches long. Those of you who have seen the movie Total Recall might remember the character called "Quatto", a mutant being living in the stomach of a "host". We named the hernia Quatto.
Now Hizzoner has to strap on a "binder" to, in reality, hold things together and in place while his body knits tissue into this mesh. He calls it a girdle, but I've never seen any girdle look or act like this. Today the surgeon said Hizzoner could remove the binder for sleeping but if he needs to get up to go to the bathroom, to be sure to strap himself back in it. If it were me, I'd just wear it all the time. I hope he does. I don't think either one of us want to see him go through this again.

As for me, I was diagnosed in August with thyroid problems. the words "thyroid cancer" have been bantered about by a couple of doctors, but as things with the thyroid can be slow, I've had to wait and have occasional scans done to monitor the situation.
What I find strange, but logical, is that the function of the thyroid is totally different than this problem of fast growing, questionable nodule/growths'. You can have a beautifully functioning thyroid and still have masses and nodules in the tissue itself. Or, like me, you can have a thyroid that is waxing and waning, ready to give it up at the least suggestion along with other problems. At least I know why I've been having days where I have no energy what-so-ever.
I just wish my brain would stop thinking of all the things I want to do when my body just wants to make like a slug. For now I just have to wait for the next scan before decisions are made. One of the doctors said I would grow tired of waiting and just want it removed before something actually required surgery. At first I thought he was nuts for saying that. Now, I'm not so sure that he isn't spot-on.

And for those who have asked me, yes-in-deedy-do...Mr. Bran has returned! He came back about 10 days ago, with the Mrs., but no youngsters. Clearly the kids thought more of the summer place and decided to stay. But Bran is now on his regular routine, stopping by for an egg or a mouse from a trap, or the odd leftover hot dog.
Here's the proof:

I have to admit...my steps back to the house were a bit lighter after seeing my friend return. Summer just didn't seem the same without him watching over my comings and goings at the barn and in the garden. Thanks, Buddy.

Shadow Update

2009-10-08T16:35:00.003-07:00

Thanks to all of you who were concerned about my BFF (best feline friend). Shadow is slowly getting a bit better. We still don't know what has caused all the sneezing. It could be allergies or a virus. Luckily, it has not progressed and there has been no temperature or sign of a fever. I have noticed that Shadow has been sleeping more than usual as well as enjoying the warmth of the woodburning stove in the evenings. Can't say as I blame him for that. Now that the temperatures are in the 20s F at night, those of us who are chronologically challenged here at Oleo Acres are moving a wee bit slower than we do in the summer.

All things considered, I think I'll take moving slower over hot summer anyday. Move over, cats...that wood fire does feel might good.

A V-E-T Visit for a Buddy

2009-10-05T12:28:00.003-07:00

I thought I would get a quick post in while waiting for Dr. Bill to come to check out Shadow. Yesterday, Shadow spent a good deal of the day either sleeping or sneezing. A bit listless and "gurgle-y", I decided that having a good once-over by a v-e-t would be a good thing. I just don't need a respiratory infection spreading through our 7 cat household. Having two sniffling people here is bad enough.
Shadow is indeed just that, my shadow. As a kitten 14 or so years ago, he was delivered to the house next door, only to be abandoned when the renters moved out. No one wanted him, but he and I became great pals - and have remained so since he first came into the house. He didn't even hold my making him get a "Hoo-Ha-ectomy" against me. A true friend - to give up one's HooHas so you can be near someone. He's been glued to my hip ever since.
Shad is our official "Greeter". Liking most everyone, he loves meeting everyone who comes over, always showing a cheerful nature.
And even not feeling up to snuff today, he's sitting near me, purring. Little does he know that the Prisoner Transport Unit is about to come out of the basement so I can get him to Bill's van when he arrives. It's so windy and cold out today, I don't dare carry him up to the car area.

...It's OK, Bud. You're just going to have to trust me that this will be for your own good. Let's hope you'll be on the mend soon.

The Case of the Missing Maraca

2009-09-30T09:43:00.006-07:00

It was a cool morning as I arrived in the Living Room for Daywatch. Even before my first cuppa joe I noticed something was odd, wrong...out of place. Little did I know. I had walked right into the middle of a crime scene.
My partner was no where near as I arrived on the scene. I can only assume he was still in bed after a late night of film noir movies, popcorn, and a date with a hot bimbo. But that was his problem. My problem was staring me right in the face. No time for that cup of much needed fortitude. A crowd had gathered at the crime scene. It was time to go to work.
I knew that the owner of the item before me had reported it missing after getting back to New Zealand. She wasn't sure if it had been lost or stolen, only knowing it was missing. Little did she know of the high population of dreaded cat burglars in this area. As the crowd gathered, I wondered if the thief was hiding from me in its safety, trying to blend in and go unnoticed. I could feel eyes watching me approach the item in question. They had made a mistake. The culprit had left the item in plain sight or didn't have time to hide it again.
Donning gloves so as not to contaminate any evidence I picked up the precious item. Damn. No prints. Not even a tooth-mark anywhere to be had. This case was going to be hard.
I canvassed the area locals. No one was talking. If they knew who had pinched the goods, they weren't giving up the information. I looked into the faces surrounding "it". Eyes darted back and forth as if looking whom to pin the blame on. Paws pointed in all directions with looks of "He did it!" or "She was the one!".
This was going to be a hard case to solve. Below is a photo of the crime scene before all the triangulations were made and evidence bagged.

The maraca did not have one bit of evidence on it. No prints. No teeth marks. No DNA samples to be had. It was as if someone had taken it, hid it away, and now thought it safe to bring out into the open again. We'll have to hold "it" in the evidence drawer until the owner requests we send it on, or they come to pick it up. But for me, this case is not closed by any means.

It's just a matter of time. One day, whomever took the maraca from the child is going to make a mistake and lead me to them. Then an apprehension can be made...the case can be closed.
...all I have to do is wait.

Did She Say What I Think She Said?

2009-09-19T14:47:00.005-07:00

Sven: "What did she say, Ole? Did she say we have to go?"
Ole: "Yup. That's what she said. She said that because I've been 'feisty' with the other wethers, I have to go. Well, OK...I guess I did try to take over when Skittles left, but Colin didn't push back, so I just took over. I think that was a mistake, Sven."
Sven: "Well, duh! Ya think? Geez, thanks for nothin', Bro! I sure hope I go to a fiber flock. I have the most wonderful black fleece."

Yes, it's been a hard decision, but the time has come for both Sven and Ole to find new homes. While Sven has stayed sweet and does have incredible fleece (may have to re-think him), Ole has become a little devil at times for unknown reasons. I should have tossed him in the trailer with Skit when he left to keep him company to Colorado, but I didn't think of it then. Naturally.
For some reason, Ole became very pushy for attention which slowly turned into bashing other sheep out of the way to get attention, to finally throwing his head into the Shepherdess when she didn't move fast enough to suit him during feeding. Mistake. Lethal mistake. He's got to go - one way or another. As my friend, Lois, states, "Life is too short to waste time and affection on bad wethers." She's right. Ole has to go.
Sven may be another matter, but he may go also. I got to thinking after advertising the boys on Craig's List that if I do sell both these boys, I won't have any black fleeces left in the flock. Both Colin and his sister, Loretta, are iset with more of a frosted black to their fleeces. Sven's is almost totally black. Ole, on the other hand, is turning iset as well, so why keep him?
Wethers usually have just one job on a sheep farm - to make fleece. Or to make meat. Since they aren't capable of breeding their lives tend to be shorter than those of breeding quality animals. If their fleeces go coarse for some reason, or they develop bad attitudes, they need to go elsewhere. Sometimes that "elsewhere" is the freezer. So, with limited space hard decisions must be made at times. One leaves that a better one might take his place.
Ole was wethered for being an "assertive" lamb. He would have made a very dangerous ram with that attitude. No matter what we did discipline-wise to him as a lamb, Ole insisted on being in the middle of everything. And if you had cookies in your pocket you better come forth with them or get butted. Wethering (the removal of testes in male sheep to render them sterile, for the non-shepherd readers) usually changes the personality to where that sheep can become a sedate, friendly, productive member of the flock. Wethers usually make great pets. And it has worked for these past years, but for some unknown reason, Ole started developing more aggressive behavior - way more aggressive behavior. He went over to the Dark Side.
This change might be due to different things, but I'm hoping that a change in location (i.e. different flcok or becoming a fiber pet) might be just what he needs. It's that or the freezer. "Life is too short to waste time and affection on bad wethers." And all manner of discipline has not been effective. (sigh)
So, if anyone reading this wants a wether...just contact me. ;)

And below, you see just a sampling of what happens to me when I try to just relax to watch tv...that's L'il Rascal on my lap. "L'il" because he has a hero, an inspiration in his young life - "Uncle Rascal" of Rascal's World, for whom he was named. And some of you wonder why my laptop can't fit on my lap sometimes. ;-)

Just blame Rascal...and Daisy, and Pixel, and Mooch, and Shadow, and Ziggy, and Europa! (When my DH snapped this photo, three other cats had been in the chair with me just before he came in the room with the camera.) ...No wonder I can hardly move when I get up.
Maybe it's time to finally install that Ejector Button.

I Guess...

2009-09-09T20:24:00.007-07:00

...it just doesn't take much to entertain me anymore. Who would have thought I would be calling a new washing machine "sexy" and "exciting"? But, here I am, new washer freshly installed in the basement, and excited about the new technology. My poor dryer pales by comparison. I caught myself saying to Hizzoner, my DH, that I liked the washer so much I had wished we could have also gotten the dryer.
It all started about two weeks ago, just as Lois and Brook were making their way around the sites in Northern Arizona and staying at "Chez Sheep Thrills", I had one of those days. You know the ones...things happen in spades. Well, that day both the washing machine and the vacuum cleaner decided to up and die. Usually we are people who fix things rather than replace them, but I guess the deck was just stacked against us this time.
When I called the repair shop for appliances, the technician remembered our POS washer. He listened to my description knowing exactly what had happened - it was the transmission. And it would cost no less than $400.00 to replace it. No brainer. After all the problems I had with that machine, fixing it would have been throwing good money after bad. Better to put that amount towards a new one.
Then, the work really began! I checked advertisements, consumer sites, and feedback from other people as well as store after store for pricing information. I had thought of getting a new top-loading washing machine again. You know the ones...just like all the other ones I have known throughout my life starting with my mother's old washer with the wringer rollers on top. Then it hit me...why not take this opportunity to look into more efficient front loaders?
The only drawback I saw with the front loader (other than the expense) was how would I ever wash fleece again. Well, duh! Why not like I always did before I had a washer - in the sink, tub or laundry tub. Or I could send them off to be processed. Here in Arizona water is at a premium so sometimes it's actually cheaper to send the fleeces out anyway. The more I read and researched, the more it made sense.
So, front loader it was and after even more research on brands and cleaning abilities of different models, I settled on an LG Steam Washer. I had heard and read that some front loaders had a reputation of not getting clothes very clean, but this particular LG model has a great record for clean clothes and efficiency as well as ease of use and longevity. The 10-year warranty on the motor wasn't a bad thing either. :) After running some heavy loads through it today to see what it could really do with farm clothes and Hizzoner's grubby "I've-been-tinkering-with-the-'53 Merc" workclothes, I have to say I'm very impressed. Clean clothes without massive amounts of water.
Here she is:

And here's a close-up of the console. No more horrid buzzers for me. This one sings a nice melody, chiming cheerfully as the buttons are pushed.

So, maybe it IS true...old dogs can indeed learn new tricks. Or maybe at least with the aid of modern technology. I will see if this really does save on both water and energy.

Now, on to the vacuum!

What the Heck? The Shepherdess Mentioned There'd Be Girls In Here...

2009-09-04T18:22:00.002-07:00

Hmm...that new Shepherdess said I might find another sheep in here. She said it might be a girl sheep. Is that like my mother? I miss my mother and sister.

OK...there's hay in here, but I sure don't see any other sheep!

Maybe over here? Nope. No sheep on this wall either.

I guess I'll just have to stand here and look cute. Boy, this being a flock ram isn't what it's cracked up to be.
Wait a minute! I smell something vaguely familiar. And someone is sticking their head through that little door the chickens go in and out of.

This might get interesting after all!

Subtraction and Addition

2009-08-25T18:47:00.004-07:00

Skittles left yesterday. His new home is with Jared Lloyd in Colorado. Jared has a bevy of beautiful ladies just waiting for Skit! And yes, I had a few tears in my eyes when Jared walked him into the trailer. Skittles was my first Shetland love. Oh, I loved the girls when they came with their babies, but it was Skit who turned my head and heart the Shetland direction.

What made it easier letting him go was knowing that his genes will have more of an opportunity to be best utilized at Jared's place. The fact that Jared is interested in collecting and saving Skittles genetics (for AI) showed me that he really appreciates all Skit's attributes. The fact was that I needed some new genes in the flock and Jared had a young up-and-comer I was interested in.

Meet soon to be named, Jehovah's Loki. Jared had wanted me to pick out a name for this youngster and after seeing that impish look on his face, "Loki" seemed like a fit. His sire is Skeld, a top ram on the Shetland Isles. No, Skeld didn't visit Colorado...except in a little tube. ;) Loki is the result of an AI breeding.

All the lambs we get from Loik will probably be white. White is a color that has been lacking in my flock. I am hoping to use Loki for a few years, then he may have to do some traveling as well. When you have a very small operation, you have to make hard decisions as to whom to keep and whom not to. It's the one aspect of this sheepy-business I really don't like. But I do not have the luxury of having different fields in which to stockpile sheep I want to keep. We have limited space. I would never want more than two rams on this place at any one time. The fact is, it's easier to replace the rams than the ewes, so most rams do not get to spend their lives on one farm. sigh.
Loki's fleece feels just like soft clouds. I realize that this is his "lamb fleece", which is always the softest fleece any sheep has, but his fleece is softer to the hand than some of the others we've had here. I can hardly wait to see what he throws next spring.
Normally, I don't like using ram lambs for breeding. In fact, this will be the first time I've ever done it this way. We'll just have to see how it goes. I am a believer in letting a sheep mature before breeding, usually not using them until they are a year old at least. Since we did not breed last year, and I have a growing list of people wanting lambs from us, I think this year we'll just have to see what Loki can do.

Bye, bye, Skit, my love. I will miss you and always cherish you in my heart. I know you'll make us proud.
Welcome aboard, Mr. Loki. Just in case you didn't know it, you've got some mighty big hooves to fill.

No Wonder You Have Kids When You're Young...

2009-08-18T18:50:00.006-07:00

...'cause when you get older, you need a break now and then. :)

Yes, I'm still here. It has been three whirlwind, crazy, busy, beautiful, weeks around Oleo Acres. Our daughter and granddaughter were here to spend three weeks with us! WooHoo! While the original intent was to see Miss Julie before she passed, Kelly still came over to go with us to a neighborhood get-together in her memory. While she was here, we made use of her wondrous abilities to: have her help me get my new (on my lap as I write this) laptop computer up, running and connected up; set up a server for all the computers in the house (which backs up all the computers' files every night so we'll not lose anything again), clean out the office with a fine-tooth comb (something Hizzoner hates to do because he can not throw anything away); eat lots of Mexican food with us; and share her daughter gracefully with two beaming grandparents. I don't think Gwen's feet hit the ground while she was here. We loved it!
Truthfully, we did come to realize that having a baby around illustrated just how much older we've become. We're not ancient by any means, but I know I could tell that bending, carrying, car-seating, buckling anything Gwen was in to actually keep her in, and going-going-going all the time did take me down a notch or two. I loved it!
Here's just a few of the pictures I took:

Best Friends. Grandpa and Me

OK, Pixel...You're In For It Now!

"Who? Me?"

Ninja Warrior Baby? -or- Up-and-Coming Pool Shark?

Along with everything else going on, I have been finalizing something for Sheep Thrills Farm. I haven't really wanting to say anything yet, thinking it would jinx everything, but I am working out an exchange of sorts. It looks like Skittles will be heading for Colorado. A fellow Shetland breeder and someone appreciative of quality rams, Mr. Jared Llyod of Jehovah-jireh Sheep and Cattle LLC. , was very interested in Skittles. Would I be willing to exchange Skit for one of his rams? Jared knew I needed some new genetics and had a number of candidates for me to choose from.
While logic dictates this is a no-brainer, I have to admit that I will really miss my buddy, Skit. With the exception of breeding season when he takes on the appearance and personality of a shark in a feeding frenzy (I swear, those eyes of his would roll back in his head if a ewe in season was anywhere near), Skit has always been a big teddy-bear.
I hesitate to make friends with any ram, espousing a more "ToughLove" approach as my friend Lois, of Stonehaven Farm, calls it. Skit and I respect each other, but that never stopped him from asking for his tail to be scratched or that spot between his shoulders rubbed a bit when I let him out to pasture. He always gives me a look to say, "Thank you.", then goes on his way. Apparently, he believes this is a duty that every shepherdess must provide when asked nicely.
It was only when Jared promised that Skittles would be used for breeding, then when he's older, he'd be retired to a pasture with another of Jared's beloved rams to live out his days. Skit will have more ewes, plus have a larger place to roam. He deserves that and it's something that I cannot provide on our small place. So, I said yes. Soon Jared will arrive to pick up Skittles and deliver two ram lambs, one of them sired by a ram from Shetland. Yesterday the veterinarian came out to examine Skit and fill out his Health Certificate for travel. He's ready to go and fit for this year's breeding season. And I will miss him.

I don't know if he realizes it or not, but I will have to explain to Jared how important having a "Tire Toy" will be for Skittles.
...I so hope there's room for one in that new pasture.

Foiled Again

2009-08-08T21:38:00.003-07:00

In the midst of having my daughter and granddaughter here for a visit (yes, pictures will follow, but I just had to get this in...) we had a dramatic shift in our weather. It had been warm with nights of having fans blowing on us to keep us all cool, or at the very least, comfortable. That was until last night.
This year has been a strange year, gardening-wise. We had cool weather last until the end of June. Even cold-loving seeds planted in late May were hesitant to do much of anything. Beans crept along...corn seems to be held in stasis...the tomatoes and zucchini planted in containers on the deck just sat there. When July hit, so did the hot weather of summer bringing with it the intensity of our 7,000 ft. summer sun. The monsoons never really amounted to anything. We watered and watered hoping for storms to come through to stimulate the garden into doing something.
But last night was the kicker. We got frosted. Usually we don't see any sort of frost until around 15 September, but in actuality we can have frost on any day of the year. Such is mountain living.
I was glad for the cool night for good sleeping. I vaguely remember Daisy trying to get under the covers with me while Mooch snuggled up along my leg, purring and vibrating, glad for the warmth. But when I got up this morning and turned on the TV to see what the forecast was for today, I saw the notice -a new record low temperature had been set for Flagstaff last night. Flagstaff itself was 36 F. Seeing that I knew we had to have gotten lower, most likely at least 32 F if not lower. I only had to walk outside and view the damage. The container tomatoes, zucchini, and some of the flowers on the deck were hit. So were the green beans and corn. The pumpkins were totally taken out. Sorry, sheep. It'll be store-bought pumpkins again this year. Some of the plants might try to come back, but we really don't have much time left in our growing season for them to make a good comeback. Darn.

I just have to remember the definition of what an optimist is: Optimist - A gardener in Flagstaff, Arizona. I know I'm not alone. Most other mountain gardeners have this same problem.
At least I hope I'm an optimist...some years I just feel like a fool.

Under Renovation

2009-07-29T20:08:00.004-07:00

It has been a crazy, wonderful week here at Oleo Acres (one of the cheaper spreads)! Since my last post, I have been cleaning, anticipating, excited, frustrated, and elated, then tired. Why? Our DD and 7 month old granddaughter arrived from New Zealand this past Sunday!
At the end of last week, I also bit the bullet and bought a laptop computer. Sitting at the desk for long periods of time was just not working out - my neck and spine were not happy no matter what I sat in or where I moved the computer screen. Something had to change or I had to give up doing anything on a computer. I did quite a bit of research before getting one. Since the DD, aka The Computer Guru, was installing a home server to back up our computer(s) each night and store information, I thought it best to time my purchase with her visit and get my laptop included with the rest of the system. She has been so generous in her help with all of this. So far everything is working well.
I LOVE the laptop. I can sit anywhere I feel comfortable. As I write this I am sitting in my recliner while everyone else is watching TV. My spine and neck are so much more comfortable although I am relearning where the keys are. Thank heavens for Spellchecker.
But enough about the computer...I feel so very blessed having my daughter here. Although we keep in touch almost daily through computers and emails...and Skyping on the weekends so everyone can see each other, I miss having her closer. While we get to see how our granddaughter is growing - the new teeth that have come in or the crawling on the floor - I love seeing my daughter and her wonderful husband as well.
I am a believer in children leaving home and making their own ways in the world, but that independence comes with a price. I love seeing her "fly". I am proud of all her accomplishments. But with that comes a few feelings of being like a rock - grounded here while she soars. It's the way it should be, but that doesn't mean I have to like it all the time. Kelly has grown into a wonderful woman whom I am overjoyed to be friends with. My father used to say that a parent's first duty was to be a parent...to teach your children to be good people. Sometimes that meant being tough, but that's the job. If you ended up being friends at the time the child became an adult, so much the better. When I watch my daughter interact with people and hear what colleagues say about her, I know I both did the best job I could and that we've added the dimension of "friends" to our mother/daughter relationship. Win-win.
Now I get to see Kelly in the parent role. She's a beautiful mother. It shows in the smiles my granddaughter, Gwen, has on her face as she goes through her day, embracing all the universe has to offer. It shows in the patience Kelly has with a cranky child fighting jet lag and time zone changes when she herself is so tired from the very same reasons. It shows in the way she cuddles and kisses her daughter when she thinks no one is watching.

I am also appreciative to my son-in-law...for sharing his family with us. It's very clear that Gwen is a "Daddy's Girl" and misses him, even though she loves her mommy.

And I'll bet he's missing them just as much...

(PS - As soon as I get access to photos again on my computer, I'll be including some photos of The Visit with Kelly & Gwen) :)

A Treasure in the Morning Sun

2009-07-23T20:13:00.002-07:00

This fellow was basking in the early morning sun on the woodpile behind the house. The woodpile is just a few feet from the house and I was taking a short-cut from the strawberry patch to the basement door. As I passed, my brain said that something was a bit different. "Stop and look, fool. You're being shown something really neat."
I've seen him before. In fact, I've taken him from inside the basement and placed him on that very woodpile twice this summer. The Hired-Hand-With-Benefits leaves the basement door open with just the screen latched when he works about the place on the weekends. As there's quite a gap at the bottom, bugs, mice and the occasional snake have wandered in. While entering our house is an act of kamikaze-like suicide for a mouse in this "House of Seven Cats", I don't want the snake hurt. He's doing his job around here and it's an important one. He too eats mice, bugs and the odd fallen baby bird.

Terrestrial Gartersnake

This fellow is a youngster. These snakes can reach up to about 36 inches in length. Years ago I actually saw one that size here, but haven't seen any that big since. Seeing this snake actually makes me feel good about the eco-climate here at Oleo Acres. There is food here to sustain him. It's probably the "mom" in me - I enjoy seeing everyone in my charge eating well. I am a believer in not letting someone going away from here hungry. :)

Of course the sheep would tell you differently. They will tell you, even right after consuming their "mass quantities" (my apologies to the movie "Coneheads"), with hay still hanging from their fuzzy lips, that I do not feed them enough. They are starving. Their shepherdess just never feeds them enough...pudgy wee beasties that they are!

Welcome to the menagerie, Mr. Snake. Rest assured. Some of us like seeing you around. Just be careful not to sneak up on the HHWB...he spooks easily. ;)

We Know How To Siesta In Arizona

2009-07-21T19:54:00.002-07:00

It's been hot here. Even for us way up in the mountains...it's been hot. So hot that even the cats have taken to summer siestas in the midday heat:

Rascal knows how to really relax...as well as block out the incoming air from the open window. Yes, he really is that big! He's going to be a huge cat. Right now he and Mooch are 1 year old gangly teenagers who are bottomless pits when it comes to food. Now I know how my mother felt trying to keep up with my 6'4" brother who never seemed to be filled up.

Mooch lays low in the Crow's Nest of the cat-tree. Why he gets up high where it's warmer I'll never understand. He doesn't move for hours in the heat, but seems to enjoy himself nonetheless.

Daisy, sound alseep and snoring to boot. She's obviously exhausted from keeping Mooch and Rascal in line.

And HRH The Princess Europa takes advantage of no one else being in the box to take her nap.

Move over guys...I think it's time for me to start slowing down during the heat of the day as well. Maybe we should get a Kiddie Pool for some Water Sports? I know Mooch would love it as he's always playing in the waterbowls anyway!

At A Loss

2009-07-16T21:40:00.006-07:00

Some of you have been wondering why my entries in this blog have not been many for the past few months. Well, a dear friend of ours had been diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. Yesterday morning she lost her fight.
I first met Julie when we moved to Flagstaff. My DH had one last tour of duty in Korea before his Army retirement, leaving Kelly and me behind to hold down the fort. We knew no one in Flagstaff. All we knew was it was centrally located between our respective families and looked like a nice place to retire to. Feeling somewhat cut-off, I joined both the quilters' guild as well as the weavers' guild, knowing that both groups were full of people known for welcoming newcomers. That's where I met Julie.
I guess Julie really met me. We had taken a class our local quilt shop put on, sitting next to each other at the work table. Soon we found out that we were both Army Wives (the real ones, not the TV show ones) except that Julie's husband had passed away a few years before while mine was just "gone". If I missed a meeting of the guild, or at her house where our Tuesday Night Ladies Quilting and Terrorist Society met, the phone would ring the next morning with Julie on the other end asking if we were both OK.
We loved chatting about experiences past and present. She had an extremely interesting life with the Pentagon as well as for the military overseas in Paris and Germany. She and her husband were married in Paris as well. Just the name "Paris" and you could see a smile on her face and a gleam in her eyes. True love. Julie + Lee + Paris.
She was always there if you needed help or that piece of fabric the quilt shop had sold out of and you needed more to finish a project. Kelly became like a granddaughter to her. Julie always was there with a graduation present or a wedding gift. We'd talk about the military...her about the time she and Lee spent in Europe and Lee's involvement with liaison work in Germany after WWII...me about what it was like to be a WAC, then the transition to the New Army including my becoming an investigator. I remember one evening at her house with the TNT quilters. We had been discussing work and the military. I was explaining what some of my investigative work entailed, then I had to stop due to the discussion getting a bit "touchy" on things I couldn't discuss. A young woman made a flippant remark like "What? Will you have to kill me if you tell me?" I just smiled and said nothing. Julie knew. Julie just said, "Probably.", smiling sweetly. She knew. And because of it, she was about the only person (other than my DH and a few friends) who also knew I turned down a job offer at the White House on the Army staff (way back then). She knew I loved field work and crime scenes more than the prestige that job would have brought me. She just knew and I didn't have to go into detail.
And gourmet food was top on Julie's list of "the Good Life". Foods of all sorts. Christmas always saw a bag of goodies presented to us with treats from around the world along with an appropriate wine selection paring.
Then this spring the coughing wouldn't stop. A mutual friend stopped in to find Julie very ill, but not wanting to "bother" anyone to take her to Urgent Care. She called me from the hospital to tell me she was on a "vacation" but if I was in the area she'd love to see me. I went right in to see what was going on. Fluids on the lung were drained, tests were done, and then the bolt out of the blue. Cancer. Adenosarcoma. It was everywhere by the time they did the first PET scan. She was too weak to do chemotherapy. And I saw my petite friend shrinking before my eyes.
She had no family - or at least family she wanted contacted. She had a brother but gave instruction to the circle of friends now joined to aid her in any way possible. She'd kick our butts if we did. Then this month, food wasn't going down well. We all tried everything to no avail. By last week we could see she was losing her battle and pain was now setting in. By Sunday she was back in the hospital scheduled for fluid to be drained from around her heart. It didn't improve anything. I saw her late Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning she passed on.
I will miss her smiling face and diplomatic demeanor. She lived life to the fullest, only missing her much beloved husband.

I know when the pain became too much and air could no longer fill her lungs, Lee held out his hand and asked her to go dancing in Paris. And Julie, being Julie, did the only thing she could have done...
...she went.

And I will miss her.

Taking Note...

2009-07-08T00:25:00.004-07:00

It's been an odd summer here at Oleo Acres, one of the cheaper spreads here in the mountains of northern Arizona. We had a slow start to summer as the garden has attested to: cold nights into mid and late June saw a very slow start to seeds and transplants, winds kept drying out the newly emerged seedlings, and now the hot, high-altitude sun takes its toll on all of us. While now we just have about a 30 F degree swing between day/night temperatures, in June we still had temps swing from 75 F in the day to in the 30s F at night. Plants need to be made of strong stuff to endure those swings. Throw in the stress of our thin air allowing for more intense rays of the sun, and some plants just don't survive.

I planted my Bush Goliath tomatoes in containers on the front deck this year. While they (I have only two plants) are still only about a foot tall, you can see above the large tomatoes they produce. Clearly, they like where they are.

I was a good Do-Bee, limiting myself to only one zucchini plant. It's doing very nicely perking right along in a matching container between the two tomato plants. Can you spot the small zucchini already forming? Watch out neighbors! I take the August 6th holiday of "Sneak Some Zucchini On Your Neighbors' Porch Night" to heart! (heeheehee...forewarned is forearmed)

Some of the raspberries are starting to form fruits. These are very young plants who, not knowing about our late frosts, decided to bloom a bit on the early side this year. I was worried that most of the blossoms had succumbed to frostbite, but apparently the plants know more about it than I do. I can't help myself from noshing my way past the strawberries first, then "checking" the raspberries to see their progress. Of course they would have more progress if someone stopped eating all the fruits.

Above is a cluster of fruits forming on our one blackberry. The blackberry was here when we bought the place back in '92 and is the only one. However, what it lacks for in company it makes up in generous amounts of huge blackberries. Some years I can get a batch of jam out of my pickings. Most years I have to freeze the berries to add to the following year's harvest to make jam. The plant live right up against the south wall of the basement. I know it loves the heat from the masonry as well as it's pretty well protected against the prevailing winds. I'm a firm believer in the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." philosophy. Clearly, the plant likes where it is. So be it.

And I decided that even a tired, old chicken feeder can't retire on a "farm-ette". I sowed it with leaf lettuce seeds that came in one of those tapes. The seeds are supposed to be evenly spaced. Apparently the company who makes the tape and me have a dichotomy of opinion as to what that spacing should be - and that all the seeds need to sprout to make it so.

One of the treats I watch for are the butterflies that visit the garden and flower boxes along the deck. I was treated to this visit by Mr. Swallowtail as he sipped the nectar from the Rocky Mountain Penstemmon we have growing up everywhere. The day before this, a lovely Mrs. Hummingbird tried out both the penstemmon and the bright red petunias. Both were welcomed treats and visitors. I hope they return.

I hope that all of you have the time and opportunity to enjoy the gardens and plants about your homes. While I don't like to be outside at all in the hot midday sun, there's nothing like having a cup of coffee with Mother Nature in the cool of the morning we have here in the mountains, taking the time to appreciate all her labors.
...I guess I just need to do it using stealth tactics I learned in the military so those darned sheep don't hear me being quiet. For some reason they believe they should be fed before my first cup of coffee. How dare they! :)

We're Still Here...Maybe

2009-07-01T21:24:00.003-07:00

We have been having server problems lately. When the service people arrived tonight at *:30 to look into the problems, we found out we were just one of a group of about 100 in our area whose computers lost connection capabilities. They worked for an hour. As soon as I heard "We're up!" from my HHWB, I thought it best to let everyone know that we are still here - sometimes. :)

But the best news is that our daughter and our 6 month old granddaughter will arrive here at the end of this month for a 3-week visit! WooHoo! The only sad thing is that our wonderful son-in-law will be holding down the fort at home with Sam, the Cat. It would've been nice if he could come as well.
...but I won't complain. :)

The Wool Festival - 2009 Edition

2009-06-20T16:36:00.004-07:00

After weeks of "waffling" about whether or not I was going to attend the local wool festival, I decided to go ahead and try it again. Last year, both my friend, Melanie, and I went and both did really well. But this year, I only had fleeces to sell.

Mel and her husband, Mark, putting together her dyed yarn displays.

One rack up and one to go...

Both yarn racks up. Aren't her yarns beautiful?

A shot across the table with some of my yarns in the foreground in the basket.

A basket of Mel's beautiful, bright, space-dyed rovings.

While we were located in the same spot as last year, next time we/I go we'll move to the other side of the building where more booths are set up. I only got the chance to really walk about once and noticed that, while we were very protected from the winds where we were located, most of the activities were elsewhere. The were quite a few alpaca people with booths. I think ours was the only "sheep only" booth in the whole place. But, we had more traffic on Saturday when the festival had the sheep herding demonstrations across from us. Sunday the sheepdogs weren't there for some reason.
I can't complain about sales. My fleeces sold out within the fist two hours of the show on Saturday. The bobbin lace makers having a display on Saturday could not believe that someone in Arizona actually had real, honest-to-goodness Shetland fleece. One of them called her sister in Phoenix as she was standing at the booth wondering how many they wanted to split together. Plus I had repeat customers seeking out more Shetland for their "wooly-habits".
Now I have a quandary. I had planned on sending this year's fleeces out to be processed into combed top and roving to have available at next year's wool festival. But since they all sold so quickly I will only have fleece available next year if I go. With customers looking for Shetland fleece now coming to the farm to get it right off the sheep at shearing, I won't have surplus to sell at the festival. Hmm. To be honest, I like the farm sales much better. I think the customers do as well. They actually get to see their fleece come off the sheep of their choosing.
While I like going to festivals and shows and getting our name "out there", I also have to admit I don't have the energy I once had to keep up the pace of the summer shows. Now I have come to a time to reflect and find the balance between promoting the farm, getting the jobs done at the farm, and spending my time doing pursuits I enjoy.

Maybe it's time to have a bit of a "wool festival" here at Sheep Thrills. I know Hizzoner, the Hired-Hand-With-Benefits, wouldn't mind burning a few hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill. And with this summer's more mild temperatures the sheep have been growing in fleece both thick and long already.
(Or are my fluffy sheep a portent of things to come?)

Wool Gathering, er, Selling

2009-06-05T20:22:00.001-07:00

Colin says:

The Shepherdess said she was going to sell our wool tomorrow! She kept singing, "Yes, Sir, yes, Sir...three bags full..." around the barn this afternoon as she took big black bags with our beautiful fleece in them from the shed to the barn she lives in. She said she was leaving me in charge! Woo-Hoo!

We just can't figure out what this big, pink ball is for. As she gave it to us she said it would keep us busy while she was gone. Geez...we have plenty to do around this place. Who needs a big, pink ball?

Skittles chimes in:
Hey! She didn't give me anything but a few cookies tonight! Where's my ball? Don't I get a ball?

Shaun adds:
Don't look now, Guys. I think Ole and Sven just killed the ball before the Shepherdess even left! I think I hear my mother calling me. See ya...

That D----d Sign Has Got To Go -or- We're Full Up!

2009-05-28T13:50:00.002-07:00

This past week has been a week full of worrisome happenings: a kitten we adopted out has gone walk-about causing major concerns for her new owners; I have had tremendous headaches complete with brain scan to see if there was something amiss there (and it did confirm I do, indeed, have an actual brain); and a dear friend is very, very ill in the hospital.
Today, I saw a cat that has been hanging around the farm duck into Hizzoner's tractor shed. Carefully, I opened the door. I got a very quick glance at the face of the cat, then spied two smaller versions of said cat. Yup. Lightening does indeed seem to strike twice. A mama-cat moved her kittens in.
I only saw the two kittens and the mom, but we just don't have room for any more cats. And the shelters are turning away animals here due to over-filled capacity. To top it off, we are people who just can't ignore them. I did put out some food and drink for the mama. This damned conundrum! I will make sure these guys have food and drink available except at night when the kitty-killers (aka coyotes, skunks, racoons...loose dogs) come around.

Yogi Berra said it right...

"It's Deja Vu all over again!"

My Soul is Dancing

2009-05-22T08:56:00.003-07:00

It is raining in Arizona. Not the torrents coming from vicious monsoon storms, but a soft, gentle, constant rain. One that seeps into the needing earth giving both the land, and my soul, some much needed moisture. I should be out dancing in it instead of inside at my desk.
These gentle rains seem to revitalize me. Sometimes the sun and dryness here can be very harsh. Maybe it's my Celtic/Viking genetics. You know, the genes that keep telling me I belong in a more northern climate with ferns and forests instead of the high mountain desert area I live in. I like it here, but some days the harsh environs gets to me.
I know a shepherd in Oregon who used to live in Sedona, just off the rim from us. She had been raised in Arizona but moved to Oregon when she "grew tired of looking at the bones of the Earth". I had never thought about it until I heard her say that. "The bones of the Earth."
I do like it here. Maybe it's just this type of rain brings back memories of growing up in the Midwest where rain occurs much more often. Before living here my HHWB (Hired-Hand-With-Benefits) and I spent seven years in the Flint Hills of Kansas. Rain was a weekly occurrence. Plant seeds in the garden and jump back or you'd be flattened by the plants shooting skyward. Well, OK...maybe not quite that fast, but fast enough to see the growth from day to day. Here I beg and plead plants protected in Walls-of-Water to please grow and give us a few tomatoes for our table. Between the dryness, the 50 degree day/night temperature shifts in summer, and the rats-with-antlers (aka elk) it's a wonder that people can actually make a garden work. (Please don't tell my fellow Master Gardeners this or I'll never hear the end of it. I'm supposed to be "upbeat" and "enthusiastic" about gardening here. heeheehee)

A shot, from the house, of the stream and a bit of the pasture. The grass is turning a luscious green and getting deep. This means wonderful grazing for my sheep!

Above, a rarity to be treasured - a puddle down by the gate into the pasture.

A shot of the pine near the front door, its needles soaking in the cherished moisture.

Don't get me wrong. There are some real advantages in living here, as there is in any place you are. We may get snow that is three feet deep in one storm, but in about two days the roads are high and dry after the sun comes out. Being 7,000 ft. closer to the sun will do that for you. The breezes are fresh with the scent of pine. And that harsh sun I mentioned earlier will brighten every corner of your life...as well as every corner of the house and barn, summer or winter.
But as with anything in life, moderation is a key factor. Too much of our sun is harsh on the eyes and skin. It bleaches out the fleece of uncoated sheep. Plants labeled "full sun" will wither and die unless part of the day isn't spent in shade. Like Icarus, we dare not get too close.
Days like we've been having, with the soft rains, also make me think of New Zealand, with the lush gardens and neighborhoods where missed family live. I look at my ten year old apple tree, barely as tall as me, and think of Val's apple trees - tall, lush, laden with fruit. Of Ross and Kelly's yard with Sam the Cat and I checking out the plants and trees.

So, for today, I shall dance in the rain as I plant my sweet pea seeds and feed the sheep. I know I won't be alone in my appreciation of the weather...already the sheep and chickens have started dancing without me. The sheep are just dancing for the joy of it. The chickens are dancing with the worms they have now found. Too bad their dance is at the worms' expense. :)
May you find something wondrous to dance about in your day today...

A New Chapeau for an Old Gal

2009-05-06T19:26:00.002-07:00

The past couple of weeks have been crazy around Oleo Acres. Well, what else is new? As soon as we returned from our trip to New Zealand, we had two horrid windstorms here, each taking bits and pieces of the roof shingles and paper with them. I had forgotten just how unnerving listening to the wind rip your home apart could be. We were stationed in Kansas for seven years. Those years saw many times when the wind tore through our housing area, downing trees and brush while leaving our WWII brick quarters standing tall. Many a time a hot meal was left on the table as we scrambled out the door to the basement stairs when the tornado warning sirens alerted us to oncoming storms, Ralph with Kelly in his arms and me with a "Survival Bag" of necessary items and the cat(s) held tight in my arms.
We knew it was almost time to have a new roof put on. We'd had water damage from snow and ice storms the previous winter of '07-'08. Now the wind was finishing off the other parts of the roof toward the south side where the weather hits us. It was time to bite the bullet, with the aid of our insurance company. Not only was the roof damaged, but we saw sections of the privacy fence by our garden flattened as well. It looks like it will be a busy summer here.

After tearing off the old shingles and roofing paper, the contractor laid down a waterproof membrane along the edge of the roof and up the valleys where we normally see ice dams form. Then all was covered with roofing paper, a new drip edge and here you see a few photos of the shingles going on.

We decided while the new roof is going on to add a few sun tube, or solar tubes, to the package to brighten areas of the house we thought could use some extra brightening: one in the kitchen, one in the hallway to our bedroom, and the final one in the stairwell to the basement. A friend in town had some installed in her abode when a new roof was put on and they made such a difference we couldn't pass this opportunity by.

One delight is that my Coffee plant (above) and my citrus (lime, below) are blooming! The front sunroom is fragrant with the smell of blossoms!

Another wonderful happenstance was that we found out we had more property than we thought! The county has bought our neighbor's place. they will tear down her house and add that land to the wetlands they own behind us. That being the case , what with the county about to take possession of said property, they had their surveyors come out to stake the true property lines. On our walk around the house this evening we both agreed that this weekend we need to move our railroad ties and rocks over to the line. (And yes, the county would love to have us sell to them as well as they would love to add our stream in their property, but we're not selling to anyone until Ralph retires - and prices go back up a bit. ;)

I'm just sorry I don't have any pictures of lambs to share with you this year. Then again, with everything that's been going on here with surgeries, trips, and roofs...well, maybe that was a good idea not to breed last fall after all.

A Needed Rabies Vaccination? For Here, Yes!

2009-05-03T14:35:00.007-07:00

(Please keep in mind that the following is happening in my area and may not be happening in your area. This is meant as a "forewarned is forearmed" passage of information...)

This past Wednesday, I vaccinated my flock of sheep for Rabies. For those of you following the news you'll remember the infamous "Bobcat in a Bar" in Prescott, Arizona, where a bobcat wandered into a local pub, during broad daylight, and tried to attack patrons. Well, we've had a few similar happenings here in northern Arizona as well.
What prompted me to inquire about the prospect of having sheep immunized for rabies was an incident a few weeks ago on the east side of town. A gentleman left his house one morning to get in his car in his driveway and was attacked, and subsequently bitten, by a rabid fox. In Suburbia. Yes...the fox was found and yes...it tested positive for rabies...and yes, the man had to undergo treatment.
Being the inquisitive person I am, I started asking questions of the two veterinarians I use. The thought had struck me: Well, I put the sheep in the barn area at night to (hopefully) avoid predation by the coyotes, dogs, bears and lions we have in this area, but was I overlooking the smaller pests? We have skunks, bobcats, fox, raccoon and porcupines moving through all the time. And "What if..." one happened to bite a sheep and transmit the virus to the sheep? Hmmm...
OK...our county did place a quarantine into effect for the city of Flagstaff and parts north into the San Francisco Peaks, with all cats and dogs to be inside or under control of their owners for a certain time period. While that is going on, county and Fish and Game people were dropping vaccination baits all over the areas where rabies had been found in hopes to "vaccinate" any creatures who had not contracted the disease already. However, two things were very wrong with this implementation: one was that not enough area was included in this quarantine to cover the range of the rabies, and, from the feedback for various people involved in this scheme as well as local veterinarians, it isn't working all that well. A third thought was did I really trust the county officials?
After talking to the vets, I decided it would be in my best interest to go ahead and vaccinate the sheep. One problem with the transmission of rabies, if a sheep does get bitten from a rabid animal, is transmission to humans. Although I doubt any rabid animal could even catch one of my "Puddlejumpers", do I want to chance both their health and mine? I don't think so.
When a sheep (cow or horse for that matter) starts to show symptoms of rabies, one of the first signs is coughing as if the animal is choking on something. The responsible owner then reaches in the mouth of said animal to retrieve the object d'jour only to find nothing but saliva all over their hand and arm. All you need do is have an open wound from a cut or torn cuticle, or to slice yourself on a sharp molar and there you have it.
Little did I know that one vet had already ordered the vaccine for me. OK...I get the message. I'll vaccinate the Sheeple. So, everyone got their shot and the next day were not only grumpy with the Shepherdess, but just grumpy from the shot as well.

And as much as I hate to admit it, even though it cost me some money, I feel I did the best I could for not only my flock...but me and the Hired-Hand-With-Benefits as well.

NOTE: In my research I found out from a Vet-Tech that horse owners can become exposed just by bridling a horse IF that horse was exposed to the virus. Who would have thought that the simple act of placing a bit into a horse's mouth could be a contributing factor?

Happy Birthday to the Bonzo Brothers!

2009-05-01T10:09:00.005-07:00

One year ago today, under our front deck/step, a hungry, dusty, very pregnant young cat, abandoned by her humans, delivered her kittens. Young and on her own, not even a year old herself, she raised six beautiful babies, all safe and secure in her well chosen den. About mid-May, two humans not only trapped her, but removed said decking and nabbed her six babies as well. That's how Mama (aka Daisy May) came to live with us.
And as those kittens grew, we were able to find good homes for all but two of them: Mooch and Rascal.

Happy Birthday, Boys!

I can't imagine life now without Daisy and the "Bonzo Brothers", as we affectionately call Mooch and Rascal. They have added to our lives in richness and warmth with their antics and love.

You did good, Mama...

...now will you move so I can have some of my own pillow?

New Faces at Sheep Thrills

2009-04-25T17:20:00.003-07:00

He talked me into it.
This last week I had to cull one of our older bantam hens. She had a tumor in an inappropriate place (I won't go into details as they are somewhat gross) and it was time to let her go.
After coming in from feeding and telling the HHWB (Hired-Hand-With-Benefits) the news, I just shook my head. All of them are getting older, I stated, then went on to recount how this one's eggs were not high quality any more, or that one's almost quit laying except if the moon is in the right phase and I'm standing on my head. Then I couldn't believe what came out of the HHWB's mouth....Maybe we should get a few replacements? Maybe it would stimulate the older girls to have some younger ones around? Just a few? This from the man who is all for "downsizing" around Oleo Acres this year.
We had read in the newspaper that the feed store would only have chicks available for this weekend...with a two for one sale to clear out the remainders of the Spring Chick Days. Well, OK...we wanted to go out for breakfast so why don't we just go and look to see what breeds they have in? Famous last words as you can see from the photos below:...

We came home with two Jersey Giants, two Brown Leghorns, and two Rhode Island Reds - all pullets. :)
Years ago, I had a small egg business here with just over 70 laying hens of various breeds. I have also bred and shown both Speckled Sussex and true Ameraucanas. But all that chicken dander finally got to my asthma, so after some rumination I decided to just have enough hens for us and a few friends.That's worked out fine, but now it was either get more chickens or give up having farm fresh eggs. Shudder the thought.
The HHWB has seen me many times stand in front of the egg department at local grocery stores for the better part of 30 minutes inspecting eggs in cartons. Yup. I'm that picky about what we eat. Plus, I know when you see a carton of eggs with some of the eggs "pointy side up", it means the dozen has been manipulated by store help - taking the broken ones out and replacing them from other cartons to make a dozen of salable eggs. A clear sign of someone tampering with those eggs. I won't bore you here with thoughts about all the cracked eggs I find either.

Long story short...we now have a few replacements on-deck. Maybe you older gals better take notice. I hear Campbell's is looking for a few "retired" layers for a soup they're working on...

Views From The Skytower -or- Auckland, From A Bird's Eye

2009-04-21T09:22:00.003-07:00

As you view Auckland from other various parts of the harbor (see previous posts re: New Zealand), you notice a towering, impressive building gracing its skyline. That's the Sky City Sky Tower. A trip up the Sky Tower offers you 360 degree views of not only Auckland and its suburbs, but even farther views - on clear days.
I share with you now some of those views for you armchair travelers. The blue-tint of the photos comes from the tinted glass of the View Deck windows. You will also see that the day we were there wasn't too clear a day. It had been misting on and off that day. Enjoy!

The Bay Bridge linking north and south sides of the harbor and cutting many miles of driving to get from one side to the other.

Looking past Devonport on to Rangitoto Island, remnants of a volcanic eruption 600 years ago witnessed by local Maoris. We've actually taken a ferry over, ridden in a guided tour-tram as well as trekked to the summit of the remaining volcanic cone. The landscape is amazing with its volcanic lava rock outcroppings and areas where you could see where the lava had flowed down into the sea.
Other various views of downtown Auckland as well as "the Burbs":

If you follow the link above, you'll be taken to the Sky Tower site with all the information on the Sky Tower itself. What always dumbfounds me is that people actually bungee jump off this blasted tower. During a previous visit to the Tower we were treated to the sudden appearance of a man in an orange jumpsuit dangling outside of the windows of the Observation Deck for just a moment before plummeting downward with the giant rubber band around his ankles. Craziness.

About the only thing we didn't see from the Tower was the Travelocity Roaming Gnome...but then "The Amazing Race" people weren't there that day. ;)

Max

2009-04-17T18:56:00.004-07:00

Max
Maybe '93 to 17 April 2009

We lost our buddy and friend, Max today. He had been in declining health but took an extreme turn for the worse these last ten days. He wasn't eating much, drinking lots of water, as well as showing signs of pain. It was hard, but we let him go...peacefully.

Max came to our house in the spring of 2001. Years before, he had been abandoned at the farm of a person who worked at the Sheriff's Dept. with Ralph. She said that was around the early '90s. In 2001 she was moving from that place into town and since we were good with cats would we take him? It was soon obvious that before he was abandoned, he had been abused.
It took years for Max to start warming up to us. He would hide under beds or blankets to stay safe until evenings when he thought it safe to come out. It was apparent to us that a man had hurt him as he ran from any man in the house, even if that man just wanted to be friends.
After a while, Max started to enjoy lying next to me in bed or in my chair when I watched TV. He was such a sweet soul.
These past few days I had wished that he would drift off to sleep, dreaming of the happiest he'd ever been, then let go of his frail body that was failing his gentle soul.
Rest well, dear Maxi-Cat. I pray that someday our souls will meet again and leap for joy at each other's sight.

And thank you for being a part of my life, adding to the richness of it with your love and trust. I will miss you.

Exquisite!

2009-04-15T10:36:00.004-07:00

This beautiful cardigan and the matching set of booties were knitted by our son-in-law's mother, Val. Isn't it gorgeous? Val chose a laceweight yarn (hope I'm correct here, Val) to knit this for the new granddaughter, Gwen.
Val's the kind of knitter who could look at you, holding an in-depth conversation, while knitting right along at Warp 9. Sigh. I am in awe of her talents.

I count our extended family in New Zealand as one of the blessings in my life. While everyone was a bit anxious at our first meeting years ago, we all hit it off straight away. I feel as if I have known Val and Hugo all my life. The private joke between Val and I is that both of our kids came home with foreigners. :)
Both Val and Hugo have been over to the States a couple of times. We have a ball when they visit even just doing simple things like visiting the sheep down at the barn or shopping at the local Kohl's store where everyone seems to find at least one necessary or frivolous thing they needed. And Las Vegas will never be the same. wink, wink...
So, you see what I aspire to as I learn how to knit myself. No, I never learned although my mother, another knitter-extraordinaire in her own right, tried to teach me many times. I was the child who could not sit still indoors long enough to learn anything even remotely domestic. The knitting talent has jumped over me and landed in the capable hands of my daughter. Maybe, someday, with practice, I will be able to at least do a hat or two.

I just hope I'll be able to keep my jaw from dropping while watching the two "real knitters" in the family. But, it's like having the Mona Lisa hanging in front of you while you are stuck doing paint-by-number....

Colin's Boo-Boo

2009-04-09T17:38:00.003-07:00

This past weekend, the Hired-Hand-With-Benefits was outside doing "manly" things about the place. I had put the wethers in a pen and let the ewes out to graze in the pasture. Since everything and everyone was "doing their own thing", I thought I would take the opportunity to slip into town for some groceries. After getting back, I was putting the groceries away when the phone rang.
It was the DH calling me from his cell. He was down in the pen with the wethers and said I should come down to look at one of the boys. "Something isn't right with him."
Well, when I got down to the barn, the "something not right" was a torn shoulder! It seems that the DH, after handing out treats, thought the wethers would accept him working in their pen on a very windy day even though they had not really seen this guy since before his (the DH's) surgery. That was months ago. Add in that very windy day and it was enough to spark freaked sheep running into the edges of fence panels. Our oldest wether, Colin, did just that.

As I took a good look at the shoulder, I could see that the skin was torn down to the muscle, but did not actually tear into any of the muscle. It's flapping about was a signal that sutures were called for. Poor Colin was so upset I knew we'd never be able to hold him still enough for me to do the "evil deed". After cleansing the wound and getting some sterile dressings on it to keep dirt out, I went in the house to call the vet's service. Naturally, these things happen on a Sunday.

When the vet's answering service picked up, I was told that they were instructed not to call him. OK, well, I'll give you that the operator was young and sounded very inexperienced, but they could have at least told me why the vet was unreachable. Something didn't sound quite right and very unlike Dr. Rob. Luckily, Rob's office manager and assistant par excellence lives down the road from us. If Rob was out of town, Kim would know whom I could get to help with the shoulder issue. And...better yet...I know her cell phone number. ;)
As soon as I related what had happened here and before I could even begin to ask her if she knew of any other vet available to work on sheep, Kim offered to call Rob on his cell phone. Within minutes Rob called me telling me to bring Colin into the clinic for mending. Bless his heart! He had just come off the ski slopes on the last day our local ski resort was open.
So, my poor Colin was drugged into a stupor, hoisted onto the surgery table, draped and both sutured and stapled back together again. All the while Rob and I were chatting away about sheep-this and ski-that. Afterward, Rob gave Colin a tetanus booster and a dose of antibiotics. I was about to put Colin back down on the floor when Rob pointed out that one horn was a "bit too close for my liking. How about we trim him a bit while he's sedated?" Go for it. Great idea. Rob looked him over and did everything but change the oil and filter. :)
Driving back home I thought about how important it is to have a good vet on our "Sheep Thrills Team". I so appreciate all he does. Granted, this is how he makes a living and we did have a bill for the emergency services, but because we consider Rob and Kim as important members of our operation, they both give us respect as well as much needed help. Somehow, some way, I plan on thanking both of them for "being there". It's comforting to know they are there when I need the help - day or night...Sunday or weekday.

...just don't do it again, Colin. ...and why is it you always pick a Sunday to get yourself into these predicaments? It's cats that have nine lives, Colin...not sheep. You and Ole are working on around your sixth lives about now, so just cut it out, will you? I've had way too much excitement lately. ;-)

And for those of you who have wondered...yes, here's the latest photo of my friend, Bran. (pronounced "brawn") He is indeed here both morning and evenings when I feed, looking for some small treat or just to chat with me. I just wish my "Raven" was as good as his "People". He is definitely trying to teach me phrases and I try, but I can tell I just don't have the correct accent yet.

Thanks for being around and watching over me, Bran. It's always comforting to know you're here. But, no...I'm sorry...no mice right now. Would a hotdog be OK for now?
...Thanks, buddy!

We Bring You This News Flash...There Be Naked Sheep at Sheep Thrills!

2009-03-31T21:21:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, I received a call from our wonderful shearer, Penney. she was in the area and would it be possible to stop by tomorrow (Tuesday) to shear my sheep? I immediately said, "Yes!"! Penney had been stuck in Idaho during some nasty snowstorms but had made it home to southern Arizona with herself and some sheep she was transporting in tow. Now she was making a loop doing shearing jobs up in northern Arizona, hoping she could fit us in as she came through our area.
Penney is about the best shearer around these parts having not only shorn since she was 9, but was raised on a sheep ranch. She knows her stuff. I consider it a blessing that I have found someone who really cares about what she's doing. She shears fiber animals for a living, not just as a side business. And you can tell that from the quality of her work and the way she treats the sheep.
So, I shuffled things aside and got ready for shearing today. She was a bit late arriving, but got right to work, shearing Skittles first. When Skit saw Penney, he immediately started to gently baa in his deep voice. He doesn't do that for just anyone. He loves Penny and just stares at her with this smitten look on his face and makes goo-goo eyes at her all the while she wisks off his fleece. Penney could hang Skit up-side-down for all he cares, just as long as it's her doing it.
We only have nine sheep now. Penney took her time, setting each one on his or her bum then caressed each one giving each a peck on the nose. You can tell she really loves her work. Not only shearing, Penney also checks their teeth and hooves, trimming feet if needed. Then the shearing begins. Last year she didn't nick any of the 16 sheep we had. This year Amanda's fleece was so dense that she did receive a nick as well as when Penney was trimming her feet, Amanda jerked causing Penney to cut a dew claw too short and it bled. We put blood-stop powder on it to control the bleeding and the shearing continued. that was the only sheep who sustained any sort of "trauma".
It was a long day. After shearing we came inside the house to get out of the wind. Even though we set up in the barn, the wind kept changing directions and was very cold. Naturally, over coffee and tea we talked "sheep".
Marilyn, our friend and farm-sitter, had come earlier to witness the shearing of a couple of sheep and to pick out a fleece for herself. It turned out she picked Ole's fleece. As the day progressed Marilyn joined right in helping where she could by sweeping off the 4 x 8 sheet of plywood Penney was shearing on, or raking up the tags and skirtings (the mostly unusable parts of the fleece that are better off composted) as well as helping move the sheep in and out when needed. As she got ready to go home, Marilyn asked if she could buy Ole's fleece from me and how much it was. I gave her a hug and said "Happy Birthday" and "Thank you for all your help today". I knew that she had celebrated a birthday last week. Since my HHWB (the DH) had to be at work today, Marilyn's help, even with the few sheep I have, was very welcomed. I was grateful for her staying and she found the whole process mesmerizing. After I hugged her I noticed she had tears in her eyes. She just couldn't believe I would let her have Ole's fleece. I just wanted her to know that her help was very welcomed by both Penney and I. Many hands make light work.
So now I have naked sheep. They look so small compared to the puffballs on toothpicks they usually look like before shearing. I find myself relieved. It's done for another year. We can get on with other things now...like playing with all those beautiful fleeces. :)

And yes, Ole...it will grow back. And yes, Ole...you are still the cutest one and I love you, too... Just remember to stay in the barn tonight, Ole. It's still cold at night and I think you're going to need to buddy-up with the others for added warmth.
...and no, Ole...you can not come into the house with me...

The Grand Trip...Part Deux

2009-03-26T12:55:00.003-07:00

I have had a really hard time deciding which photos to post from our trip. There are so many good ones! I just had to share a few more of the family before we move on to the next post...
For this trip to New Zealand we decided just to concentrate on visiting family and resting. It has only been a little over two months since my DH's surgery. He would be filled with energy at times, other times just running low and "out of gas". Most of all, I believe our spirits really needed to refresh themselves...and not only from the DH's surgery, but from a very hard winter. I was physically (and mentally) exhausted from all the snowstorms and the work they entailed: shoveling, splitting wood, feeding the wood stove when the furnace acted up at the end of January, and the anguish we both felt not being able to be in New Zealand to welcome Gwen or to help the Kids around the house during the last part of Kelly's pregnancy as we had hoped to do.
Being with all the family was worth every mile of that long flight over. :)

Kelly introducing Gwen as we arrived with the morning's light

"Who is this Grandma person and why is she calling me her 'Little Shepherdess'?"

"Alright, Gramps...pull my finger!"

Having a chat while waiting for the ferry from Devonport back to Auckland while "the kid" has my camera

Ross and Kelly's first attempts at their newly acquired Wii Guitar Hero band. They named their virtual band "Attention Shoppers".

My buddy, Sam the Cat, whom I tried to spoil

The look out the back off the deck. The tallest tree in the background is a Norfolk Island pine.

The two pictures above are of a Mandevilla vine growing on the deck. It was absolutely breathtaking and a welcome change to see its cheery color after our winter white at home.

Sam sunning under the Pohutukawa Tree

One amazing, happy family! (even if Gwen was getting a bit grumpy...)

Next post...riding the Nihotupu Tramline with Val and Hugo through the New Zealand bush!

A "Grand" Trip, Part One

2009-03-23T15:48:00.005-07:00

Yes, Folks...it finally happened! We made it to New Zealand to visit our family and meet our new granddaughter, Gwen! Ralph had received clearance from his surgeon that he could make the trip, so tickets and itineraries were hastily planned and off we went. It was wonderful!

The first part of our journey saw us riding our local shuttle down to the Phoenix Airport to catch a flight into LA. Luckily, all our bags could be check through to Auckland so we just had to shuffle ourselves around after checking them in. We took the shuttle as I don't like really small planes (which is what they use to fly from Flagstaff to Phoenix). I blame my brother for this as he was the pilot for the first plane I ever rode in - a Cherokee Piper. Now, you have to know my brother...who saw this as an opportunity to scare the bejesus out of me, again, and did exactly that. But I digress...where was I? Oh, yeah...
We caught a flight to LA getting there in time to have a bit of a meal as our overseas flight didn't leave until very late. After eating, we walked or sat and read until we we told we could board. On we went into the Air New Zealand flight of a 777-400! Although it was packed full like a sardine tin, it was a really nice, smooth flight. Both of us managed to dose off once and a while. I don't think I made it completely through even one of the movies.
Early on the Auckland morning two days later (you lose two days going over due to the International Dateline being crossed but it was actually a 12-hour flight) our son-in-law, Ross, picked us up after we went through Customs.
When ever we arrive in Auckland, I always enjoy the sight of two huge Norfolk Island pines as we step out of the front of the terminal. They're probably 60 ft. tall or better, but they are both a sign of "Welcome" to me, as is the moisture in the air and the smell of the ocean not far away.
After a fairly short trip we arrived at Ross & Kelly's house where Kelly and Gwen were waiting for us.

And here she is! Miss Gwen herself!

"So...You're my Grandpa, huh?"

"Why is Grandma calling me a "Gloucester Fisherman" because of my hat?"

Yes, I do have a few photos of me holding Gwen, but right now I'm taking the pictures...

Snuggles with Daddy

"Mom says Grandpa is trying to rot my brain with TV, but she doesn't understand that we're really watching a Cricket Match."

We had a lovely time visiting family. We really did not intend to do much travel or exploration. We took walks with Kelly and Gwen while Ross was at work, went out for some great meals, had a family barbecue to catch up with the whole clan, and did some short trips into town on the bus or train. Ralph was still recovering from his surgery and I was just plain enjoying myself. It was nice to be able to help out as well. I never thought I'd actually enjoy helping with the dishes or laundry, but I did.
We even went with Val and Hugo, Ross' parents, on a small train-trip through the New Zealand bush to a reservoir (more on this in another post).

All the grandparents & Gwen

At first the summer weather there was hot and more humid than we're used to in Arizona, but storms moved through cooling the nights off to where you could definitely tell fall was in the air. This last photo is of something I love, but don't see very often at my place. Rain. I loved it! :)

The other person's grass is always greener, isn't it? Well...you should see all the lovely green grass there is in New Zealand! :)

More to come...

Watch This Space...

2009-03-15T00:43:00.002-07:00

Later in the week I hope to have a new post in...I promise! I will let you know why I haven't blogged in a while and what's going on in our corner of the World. Let's just say I'm not where I usually am. ;-)

Until then...

Thank you, Boys...

2009-02-22T12:57:00.005-07:00

It was a very hard decision to make. I took the three remaining ram lambs from last year's lambing to the butcher earlier this month. Times being what they are and having an overabundance of rams, I just couldn't see any valid reason to prolong keeping these boys. The cost of feed in Arizona is outrageous, plus I have enough wethers of the same colors already. They are now living in the freezer.
We all think of the housing markets with this downward economy, but these conditions effect everyone - farmers included. This is the first year many sheep people I know have had to sell even breeding stock for the meat market. But on the upside, this is the time we also keep the very best for breeding. We Shetland breeders tend to have rather large hearts for our small sheep. If individuals don't make the cut as breeding animals we tend to find them "Fiber Homes" or "Pet Homes". Shetland's intelligence and friendly dispositions make them easy to place...usually. But not these past two years.
So, steeling our hearts against the hurt we make tough decisions. This is the part of farming we have to face whether we want to or not. Decision time. Who goes, who stays. It's been this way since man first started keeping animals. A Farmers' Natural Selection, if you will.
My three boys went to market where they were slaughtered as humanely as possible considering just what slaughter really is. They came back to me in beautifully wrapped packages labeled for resale should I wish to sell the meat. And I love lamb, so last night I broiled a small package of loin chops for myself to try. I had never tasted one of the Shetland sheep I raised even though others have. I wanted to know if my care and feeding came through in the meat.
So, I found out...
It was the best lamb I had ever tasted. (Even with my cooking the chops a bit too long.)

Thank you, Boys. I respectfully appreciate what you have given me. And may I always appreciate exactly where the food sustaining me comes from. You did good, Boys.

The Case of the Missing Barrel

2009-02-21T11:27:00.006-07:00

Lacey: "OK, Loretta. the Shepherdess said something about a "whiskey barrel" hiding somewhere in this mountain. I don't know what a "whiskey barrel" is, or what it looks like, but if the Shepherdess needs it, it's our job to find it for her. You look over there."
Loretta: "Gosh, Mom. It would sure be a whole lot better if I knew what this thing looked like. But I'll look for anything that shouldn't be here on our mountain."

Loretta: "Mom. You don't need to watch me that closely. I know what I'm doing. Wouldn't it be better if you looked on the other side of the mountain?"
Lacey: "I'm just watching to make sure you don't slip and fall, Dear. It's a mother's job, you know."

Loretta: "Mom, if you really want to be helpful, you'd get those other sheep up here to help look for this thing.
Gee, Mom...isn't this mountain getting smaller? I thought it was bigger yesterday when we were out here yodeling. Isn't this where you left your dirndl? Ole said he lost his dad's lederhosen somewhere on the mountain. Can we still sing if we've lost our costumes?"
Lacey: "Just be quiet Dear and keeping looking for the Whiskey Barrel and leave mommy alone. I think I'm getting a headache."

As you can tell, things have been very busy around Oleo Acres. There is so much to tell! Yes, we've had more snow, as you can see in the photos of the girls out in the pasture, but we've had our lives interspersed with visits from our friend, Lois, as well as the Hired-Hand-With-Benefits having surgery on a finger!
Yes, another surgery. My DH has had a finger that over the years has taken a nasty curl to itself. It had gotten to the point of being painful as well as frozen in a bent position that could not be straightened out. So, since he was recovering from the spleenectomy, he and I both thought it was a good time to have it fixed. So, on the 12th of February, he went under the knife again. This time is was a local and done as an outpatient. I knew he was in no pain after surgery when he asked to go to Cracker Barrel for a late lunch - a lunch of breakfast food, actually. I love restaurants who serve breakfast all day. He couldn't have anything to eat prior to his noon surgery schedule, so I didn't eat anyhing either. I think it a cruel thing when a person can't have anything to eat, but everyone else does.

And, naturally, the day of the DH's surgery would be the day one of our cats became very ill. Poor Ziggy was vomiting as well as having terrible diarrhea. He wasn't responding to Slippery Elm or fluids given under the skin. I tried calling our cat-vet, Bill, but kept getting busy signals or the answering machine. Thinking they were in Las Vegas at the annual veterinary convention, I took a chance and called Rob, our sheep-vet (who also does pets). He was in and had an appointment made for poor Ziggy. I left the patient home, well drugged and feeling no pain. He (the DH) was in his recliner with the remote control. I knew he'd sleep most of the time Zig and I were gone.
Rob took xrays and blood from Ziggy. He suspected either hyperthyroidism or a form of lymphoma. We wouldn't know until the next day when the bloodwork came back.
We found out it was hyperthyroidism! So, now we're treating with medication to see if he responds. So far, so good. He's perked up quite a bit, is eating well, and is not drinking nearly the quantity of water he had been. I was worried it could have been diabetes, but no - this was all a part of the hyperthyroidism. Keep your fingers crossed. We will have bloodwork done again this next Thursday to see how he's responding. Years ago, we lost our daughter's cat, Bandit, to this very thing. Nowdays there is one big difference. Every 72 hours, Ziggy gets a baby aspirin to prevent a saddle thrombosis. A saddle thrombosis is a clot or blockage to the rear of the cat, making legs and bladders uncontrolable. Bandit died from one. I pray that Zig will fair better.

And last weekend we got a treat. Our friend Lois, who is a radiologist, got to spend the weekend with us! :) Losi works for a company who sends replacement doctors to hospitals in need of their services on a "fill-in" basis. She's been working at the hospital in Tuba City, north of Flagstaff on the Navajo Reservation.
This is the second time she's been able to come through Flagstaff. The first was around Christmas. That time we only got to have dinner in town with her as our schedules and the weather kept interfering. But this time she was able to come on Saturday and stay through until Monday.
It was a wonderful visit. Saturday we went to the Museum of Northern Arizona (leaving the HHWB at home) to give Lois a taste of this area. We took our time and stopped for an espresson on the way home. Even though she lives at 3,000 ft. in Oregon, and works in Tuba City at 5,000 ft. altitude, our 7,000 ft. altitude was starting to get to her a bit. We slowed down and pushed the water to help her stay hydrated in our extremely dry climate. Soon, she was feeling better.
But most of all, we got to talk sheep, and knitting, sheep, and spinning and weaving, and sheep! Of course we sprinkled in a few cats here and there as well. I think Lois got her "animal fix" while she was here. :) Today finds her on her way home to her hubby, Brook, and to get ready for her flcok to be shorn on Tuesday.
It was really nice to visit with her. She is a wonderful, gentle soul. I am glad I finally got to meet her. Both the HHWB and I hope she will consider us as her home-away-from-home whenever she's here to sub at the TC hospital.

As for me, I've been enjoying doing things around here. I'm catching up on sewing and knitting (or attempting knitting, I should have said), and reading. I've got a stack of books to read which only gets bigger as I add more books, but haven't had time to read until lately. So, Dear Reader...I am here. I just haven't been on the computer much lately. I try to time it so the HHWB has his time in the office alone, then later I will be in there. Our house isn't huge and with him home until mid-March recovering, I still want each of us to have their own time without the other, hovering. We still watch TV together and are having fun cooking together, but I'm a big believer in also giving each other space once and a while.

Yesterday, my DH had the stitches removed from his finger. He still has a bandage on it but I think he's feeling much better...so much so that I now hear the garden tractor running outside of the office window. I'd better go see what he's up to and maybe yell at him to get off that thing. I don't think I could take another six weeks of recovery. Well, maybe I could...if it was mine. :)

And maybe, just maybe, that missing whiskey barrel planter the plow-guys scooped up will actually be found before Spring!

Mooch has the Right Idea...

2009-02-06T17:42:00.005-07:00

It's been snowing today. We've just received about a foot of new snow, but are thankful it isn't the four feet we got at Christmastime. I don't think I could take another round like that.
Things have been busy, but somewhat odd around Oleo Acres. Having my Hired-Hand-With-Benefits home is hard to adjust to. He is healing incredibly well but is now getting to the point where he's getting bored yet he's still recovering from surgery so he can't do everything he wants to do. I am stuck somewhere in the middle of enjoying having him home, or beaning him with a frying pan. Take your pick. He hasn't learned that just because he can't do things he wants to do is no reason to interrupt my schedule. ;-)
One thing I have enjoyed is not having to get up at the crack of Dawn. We've actually slept until 7:30 or 8 in the morning! Incredible! the sheep have gracefully adjusted their demands as well. In fact, I have found them all to be sleeping when I head out to feed. What a Lazy Bunch we've become. I love it!

As you can see below, Mooch has adjusted quite nicely to the tempo around here. He and his brother, Rascal (seen below brooding behind the loveseat that he can't have the chair Mooch is in), are now 9 months old and huge! I will try to get some photos of Rascal and his puffy-tail. And Daisy May (aka Mama) is doing fine as well. Her biggest issue is that she wants to sleep on my head at night and I want her to sleep elsewhere. We have had to resort to barriers to our bedroom that allow them to look in, cry and be pitiful while we try to remain in control of our bed and keep cat dander to a minimum.

Mooch in Repose

Frustrated Rascal

Hopefully I can return to blogging more often. The HHWB has been working on his computers. I have, wisely, stayed out of the office and his way even though that means less chance of doing emails, blogging or reading friends' blogs as well.

But then there's nothing wrong with a blanket, a comfortable chair, a good book, and a roaring fire in the woodstove. Right, Mooch? Mooch?...Mooch! Darn that cat!

Getting Bigger!

2009-01-25T23:19:00.005-07:00

OK...I just had to share a couple of photos of Gwen and her mum, Kelly. She's over a month old now! I have to say that computers, cameras, and all the modern technology that goes with it has been a blessing since family is so far away.
When we had Kelly we were stationed in Germany and had only each other to lean on. Kel's got all of Ross' family for support, of which I am so grateful.

There's nothing like Mom's shoulder

I can see that Gwen is growing out of the "wrinkly" stage and getting her personality in her face now. Yes. We can hardly wait to see her! Well, I know I can hardly wait to see all of them. We are in the midst of planning for a trip now as Ralph's surgeon encouraged him to travel while he was recuperating. Speaking of my Hired-Hand-With-Benefits, he's doing extremely well. I guess it's true...you can't keep a good man down....although I have to admit that I'd like to "bean" him once and a while as he gets extremely grumpy when his pain meds wear off. If this is an indicator of what retired life would be like, I think we may need separate houses. ;-)

I do want to share one of my favorite photos of my DD and new GD. This was taken by my Son-In-Law, Ross, soon after Gwen was born. Mother and daughter. Both tired from Gwen's arrival. Beautiful. (Or at least I think so.)

Mother and Child

Tomorrow we're off to take the three remaining ram lambs from last year's breeding season to Chino Valley for "processing". I hate to do it, but we don't have room for extra rams we can't use for breeding due to genetics. And with the economy the way it is (with hay $20+/bale) we just can't keep them. They, like a couple of their former flockmates, will serve in other ways. Some of the meat will feed us, some will be sold to restaurants and/or friends, and some may go to the community kitchen. I thank God I haven't had to go to bed hungry, but I know there are people right now who don't have that comfort in these hard times.
I was talking to my friend, Tina, yesterday about taking them. We were discussing this part of shepherding. She and The Shepherd have had to send some of their boys to market through the years. This is the first time we've had to try this route. As usual, she not only comforted me but put things back in perspective. I have given them a good life with green pastures, food, and a shepherd's love while they were in my charge.

...Thanks, Tina.

Still Kickin'...

2009-01-20T19:32:00.004-07:00

Ewes coming off Snow Mountain in the pasture

Yes, I know it's been a while since I posted. The past two weeks have been horrendous around here. As many of you know, my Hired-Hand-With-Benefits went into the hospital for surgery for an aneurysm on the artery to his spleen. Unfortunately, the location of this Nasty-ness was such that his spleen had to be removed as well. The past couple of months (we found this out at Thanksgiving) have been trials of various medical tests and the like to make sure he was in good enough shape to handle the surgery.
Somehow the whole ordeal reminded me of the Albino in The Princess Bride telling poor Wesley that he had to be healthy to face torture. I understand it fully, however sordid it seemed. After all, if I were a surgeon I'd want to know that various other body parts could indeed take the strain of a major surgical procedure.
So, last Thursday HHWB went in. And Sunday morning he came home. He was up walking the halls the day after the surgery and from then on I believe he was driving the nurses crazy with his jaunts around the place. Home he went. Now he's driving me crazy. (He states that driving me crazy is so easy anyway.)
While he's doing really well, he has also realized that this is no cakewalk. Before the surgery, he had told me he was going to an office luncheon this coming Thursday. Yesterday I overheard him telling a cohort he would not be attending. I laughed, silently.
In the past, when I have had surgeries, this dear HHWB has always felt that if I was able to walk to the kitchen, I was healed and "Good to go!". It didn't matter if I was white, grey, red, or purple in the face or body...I was moving. I was OK, then back to work he'd merrily go. Now, I have to admit that my Evil-Self is delighted the shoe is on the other foot. Let him see what it's like. heeheehee

The evening of the day he had his surgery, I came home late after seeing him settled in a proper room and not on the dreaded "3-North" floor of the hospital (a terrible floor where I had very bad experiences in 2007). I thought I would just have a bowl of cereal for dinner, then shower, watch some TV to relax, then to bed. The first spoonful of cereal I had was sour. Yup. The refrigerator we had bought back in '88 had finally died...and taken all the perishables with it. Our local repair-guys, whom we've used for years, passed sentence on the ole gal - new compressor for about $600+. We decided not to have her fixed but get a new one instead. The poor thing has been sying a s-l-o-w death for the past two years.
So, today, I was going refrigerator shopping. HHWB decided that he wanted to come along. OK. I guess. Maybe the walking would do you good and get you out of the house. Off we went. We checked out Home Depot, Best Buy, and our local Sears, finding a suitable replacement which will be delivered Saturday. They have to get it here from their Phoenix warehouse. All the stores had to get items from Phoenix instead of having a local supply. So, Saturday we'll be back to some semblance of normal around here - whatever "normal" is. I think I've forgotten.
Towards the end of the short shopping trip (we don't have huge stores or selections to peruse here) I noticed a definite slacking in my companion's gait. heeheehee He was wearing out. Home we went where he took his pain meds and napped for two hours.

That'll teach 'im!... :)

Mooch and Rascal's Busy Day

2009-01-12T16:18:00.004-07:00

The kittens, Mooch and L'il Rascal, know I've been busy getting things straightened up around the house before my HHWB (Hired-Hand-With-Benefits) goes to the hospital.

Apparently, they take their work very seriously as shown below...

Need I say more? I think not. The picture truly is worth the 1,000 words that crossed my mind upon this discovery. Thanks, lads. I appreciate the thought...I think.

Playing Catch-Up

2009-01-11T19:37:00.008-07:00

I thought I would post a few photos of what all the holiday storms left us around the place. I would have posted them sooner but between working through the storms - shoveling, making trails out to the sheep, splitting wood for the woodburner as well as keeping it going as the heater went out, then trying to get to the roof to keep it clear. Add to that all my excitement of the new granddaughter and concern my DD was OK.
I will admit it did take its toll on me. I started to have skipped heartbeats and heart pounding way too hard for my taste, sending me to our doctor who then stated I was doing way too much. I got the "You're doing way to much, you Fool!" speech from the doctor and I knew she was right. She then told the DH that, for this year at least, no shoveling, plowing, etc. for either one of us. When I mentioned the tractor was down as well as the Hired-Hand-With-Benefits she just said, "Good! Now you'll have to find someone to plow you out!" If there is one person I don't want to piss-off it's our family Dr. :)

So, we hired people...

(Above) The barn and driveway before plowing.

I don't think we'll see the BBQ or Smoker until Spring. And that pile on the back deck was before we had guys come to shovel off the roof!

Bringing in the Big One out into the pasture so I can get feed in to the sheep. I had enough feed to get through the storms, but for some reason the sheep insisted I continue to feed them. Funny that. :) Can you say "Reseeding the pasture"?

The girls on an outing from the barn. They don't like it that they are standing on two feet of compacted snow. And they want to go back in. Silly girls! Get some sunshine while you can!

Tucco, the Mule. Tucco is boarding at our neighbor's place and has taken to hang out near the Boys pen for company as he's by himself.

Now that the snows have subsided and the weather is turning nicer so we have mudpools and muck everywhere, it's time to prep for my DH's surgery this next week. I've loaded the barn with hay and feed, there's another cord of wood out back, and the walks are clear. I feel better about not having to worry about those things as well as my DH. I guess there's only one thing to worry about now...

...how the heck am I supposed to have him around the house for 6 to 8 weeks, recovering and keep my sanity? ;-)

Happy New Year!!!

2008-12-31T20:57:00.003-07:00

Photo by Ross Atkinson

May all of us see the new year come in brighter, happier, and more golden than 2008 has been. While I realize there were some very good things about this last year - my granddaughter's birth, the finding of a potentially lethal aneurysm in my DH before it could kill , my daughter's PhD ceremony ending years of her hard work, the welcome hugs from friends throughout the year, etc. - I believe this past year is one many of us may wish to forget...

But should we? I remember both of my parents telling horror stories of having to go through the Great Depression. My mom lived on a farm in Wisconsin which provided fairly well for the family's needs in the way of butter, milk, eggs, meat, and so on. But my father grew up in a coal mining town in Colorado with very little in the way of money or food. It made me understand why Dad replaced a can of food used with two others from the store. I never understood that mindset fully...until this year.

We are lucky here at Oleo Acres. We have a roof over our heads, food on the table and a fairly stable income. Many others are not so fortunate. A friend of mine who works in a Food Bank in Oregon was telling me of how so many people, for the first time in their lives, are having to request aid to have food to eat. Some others have lost homes and are living out of cars. Knowing these things makes me realize many of the "problems" I may have are small and insignificant by comparison.

I'm not a believer in New Year's Resolutions. to me, they are promises. I don't make promises unless I intend to keep them. But what I do this time of year is take stock of what I can do to be a better person. To do the right thing. To follow the Golden Rule. Right action speaks louder than words spoken.

When I see the above photo my SIL took at the beach in New Zealand, it reminds me to look for the golden things that are all around me in life...and to try to bring a little "golden" to others.
Pax vobiscum. And may this year be truly "Golden" to each and every one of you.

Introducing...

2008-12-23T10:26:00.008-07:00

Gwendolyn Sophia Atkinson
Born 22 December 2008
Auckland, New Zealand

Mother and Daughter

Father and Daughter enjoying a moment to themselves

We are so delighted to become grandparents! Our only wish is that we could have been there, but as soon as my Hired Hand With Benefits gets clearance from his doctor after his upcoming surgery, we'll be over in a shot! For now, little boxes sent from the States will have to suffice.

Congratulations to you both, Kelly & Ross! One never knows or understands the love of the Parent until one becomes a parent themselves. Bless you all...

In Remembrance

2008-12-20T16:12:00.006-07:00

Mr. Frodo Atkinson
2003 - 21 December 2008

This morning, my daughter and son-in-law found that one of their cats, Frodo, had unexpectedly passed away underneath their deck during the night. We are heartsick for their loss.
After moving to New Zealand, Kelly found she missed having cats around so she and Ross sought out suitable candidates through friends. It so happened that a friend of a friend's cat had a litter of kittens. Two brothers joined the household when they were old enough - Sam, an orange marmalade, and his brother, Frodo, a sleek black muscular feline.
Frodo was the one who tended to explore more than Sam. He would almost go into a "patrol mode" each day, checking out the garden in back. He also could find ways to open the cat door when he wasn't supposed to go outside almost like a miniature version of a Houdini.
Kelly said they thought he might have been hit by a car but it appeared he didn't have a scratch on him.
Please, if you can find it in your hearts, say a little prayer for Frodo and Kelly and Ross. I know how much they loved him. I know they are both hurting at his loss. And Sam will be lost without his brother.

Wherever you are, Frodo, may you be at peace. I wish my coming granddaughter had the chance to have you watch over her...may you still keep watch over those you loved and who loved you. You will be greatly missed...

No, I'm Not Stuck In A Snowdrift...Yet!

2008-12-18T17:20:00.004-07:00

I'm still here! But am I ever tired! Since both my Hired Hand With Benefits and his trusty lawn tractor/snow thrower are both out of commission for the season, I have been the one to shovel, and keep shoveling, our thigh-high snow. I know we wanted a White Christmas, but geez!
I informed the Hired Hand this evening that I do not need to take "walks" lately as I am getting more exercise than I've had all year long. The one thing I've had to realize is that I have to pace myself. I have had my heart skipping beats. I believe this is due to stress, shoveling, stress, snow, stress, splitting wood, stress...and have I mentioned stress? Yes, I'm making sure I eat regular meals and have added vitamins to my regime and I have noticed it acting better already. And yes, I will indeed visit the cardiologist...I promise.
I think it's the worry about the HH. I have had a hard time getting through to him that he can not do things he normally does, like fill up the wood bin for the evening's fire, split kindling, or even lift heavy grocery bags. Worry aside, I have to admit that I'm not as young as I used to be either. I really don't mind snows like this, but I need to work smarter, not harder.
The sheep seem to be fine except they can't understand why some of them are Barn-Bound. And Skit seems to insist I come in his pen and dig his tire out of the snow. (Yeah, right...like that's going to happen!)
The one sheep I should really thank is Ole Olafson. I arrive at the gate huffing and puffing as I refuse to shovel a path and walk through the snow instead. When I lift my head up to see, there is Ole - encrusted in snow and a look of delight on his face. He wants his kiss and hug. I get through the snow while he waits patiently. Yes, I occasionally give Mr. Ole a peck on his clean nose and a big hug. He loves it. He would live in my back pocket if he could. I used to think Colin was the Love-Bug in the crowd, but Ole has turned out to be the one who seeks out attention. And on these snowy days it's a pleasure to see him waiting to return the hugs with sheep kisses.

There's another thing I'm a bit worried about: My daughter is due to deliver my first granddaughter any time. Well, that is IF this kid will turn around right. She's backwards. And she's staying backwards no matter what they've done to turn her around. Apparently this kid's going to be like her mother - except that Kelly was just impatient and wanted to get going. heeheehee My DD was scheduled for a C-Section on the 24th, but that's now been changed to the 23rd. We'll still keep our fingers crossed that the kid decides the 21st is OK.

So, everything is actually pretty "normal" around here. But I warn all of you east of us...get ready for this storm system now...it's a doozy!

Under Re-Construction

2008-12-03T23:33:00.003-07:00

My computer has decided to go Walkabout, so entries may be few and far between until it is fixed. Please bear with me.

Also, there is another reason I may not be blogging much in the near future:

All summer long my poor Hired-Hand-With-Benefits had been having intestinal problems. We'd try this or that OTC medication, or eliminating one food or another to see if that helped - all to no avail. This past month I finally put my foot down and made him go to our doctor. All sorts of tests were run from blood test to cultures to CAT Scans (as if he doesn't get scanned by the cats enough around here!) to rule out any growth or obstruction.
Last week, while he was out of town naturally, the Dr.'s office called to ask if we could come in as soon as he got back. Sure thing...I made the appointment without even asking him. I remember the doctor mentioning diverticulitis, but in the same breath she mentioned an aneurysm had been found on the artery to the spleen. We immediately got an appointment to see a thoracic surgeon who looked at the CAT films and decided the aneurysm was not in immediate danger of rupture. Still, my DH is not allowed to lift anything over 20 lbs. or strain. That meant not to do anything, at least where I'm concerned.
We saw the surgeon this week to determine what to do. At first he recommended a "Wait and See" plan of action...until I asked about flying long distances to visit relatives. When he heard that he changed to doing a spleenectomy as the aneurysm is right where the artery goes into the spleen. He'll be fine until the surgery date (Jan. 5th) as the aneurysm had started to calcify - a sign he's had it a while and the body was trying to "repair" it.

So, now we're doing pre-surgery stuff like another more in-depth CAT scan, ultrasound of arteries in the neck, banking blood and a stress test as it's been a while since anyone got a good look "under the hood".
Naturally, I'm bouncing off the walls. I try to keep busy and DH even goes in to work (OK'd by the Thoracic
Surgeon) as he realizes he needs to keep himself occupied so he doesn't dwell on up-coming events.
I can't help but think that all the plans we made such as going to New Zealand to be there for the birth of our granddaughter, etc., even not going to Black Sheep Gathering to save money to go to NZ...well, all plans we had made, were not fulfilled for a reason. had there been no stomach problems, this might have gone undetected or worse, burst flying way above the Earth somewhere over the Pacific. Some One has been watching out and watching over us.
.....Thank You!

And should I be slow in answering any emails you send it's just all this computer business. I really do believe my computer has been chatting with my car....They must all be incahoots with each other, darn it! Let's hope the sheep don't get wind of all of this or they may start to mutiny for lack of their shepherdess' attentions.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T14:19:00.001-07:00

To all of our Family and Friends, we would like to say "Happy Thanksgiving"!
We consider all of you an important part of our lives and wish each and everyone a beautiful day.

May the realization of all your blessings be something that follows you through each and every day of the coming new year. So often we count only tangible things as what are the important things in life. May we all rediscover the intangible gifts and riches we all have.

Pax vobiscum...

Thank You, Girl...Now It's Time To Fly

2008-11-22T15:09:00.004-07:00

The white chicken on the left has been with us for about 5 years or so. Well, actually all of the chickens in this picture have been with us for a while. I originally had four Pearl/Leghorn egg layers from Murray McMurray Hatchery, but this one was our last, the others succumbing to frailties after relatively short but very productive egg laying careers. They were the first to start laying and lay they did! Big, beautiful jumbo-sized eggs that were the delight of my kitchen.
She was the last of her kind. I had noticed she really didn't come back well after a few months off to molt and R&R before it was time to go to work again. This week saw her beautiful red comb start to shrivel and become dull and grey - a sign of a sick or failing hen. Yesterday I thought she was just cold so I made sure she had the heat from the light towards her when I penned them for the night as well as blocking any breezes that may have hit her by shutting the shutters to that side of the barn.
But this morning she barely moved. Sullen, withdrawn...there was a look in her eyes of giving up. She wasn't interested in food or scratch. I left her in the warming morning sun promising to come back to check on her later. When I did I knew it was time to let her go. She had made it into the barn, propping herself up against the nest boxes as if she knew that's where she really belonged. It was time. I knew I had to ease her way past the pain into another light.
Our friend and cat-vet, Bill, had told me about "The Death Hug" he used to cull chickens. By firmly, but gently pressing on the ribcage and prevent its expansion, it calmly caused a chicken to go peacefully. I tried it and found her to go very gently into another place...one with warm sun, bugs, and large pastures. I knew when she barely shuddered it was a kind thing to do.
People may think it strange that a no-named chicken is held in such esteem here. This girl gave us many, many eggs to feed us and others and gave us hours of entertainment as we watched her and her flock-mates do their "chicken thing" in the pasture.

She served me well and deserved to go with respect for all she had done. Thank you, dear girl. You did well. And I will miss you.

What kind of Autumn am I?

2008-11-13T10:24:00.002-07:00

Your Autumn Test Results

You are a dynamic, vibrant person. You aren't afraid to pursue your passions.

When you are happiest, you are calm. You appreciate tradition and family. You enjoy feeling cozy.

You embrace change. You love change. You see change as a rebirth.

You find love to be the most comforting thing in the world. You feel at peace when you're with your loved ones.

Your ideal day is chill and uneventful. You prefer to kick back and take it easy.

You tend to live in the moment. You enjoy whatever is going on, and you don't obsess over the past or future.

The Autumn Test

First Real Snow

2008-11-12T11:48:00.004-07:00

The other day we had our first real snow - one that stuck on the ground for more than ten minutes. The day before, all of the animals here, myself included, were restless and tempermental. Little did I know that my reason for such mind-set was I was coming down with a cold-thing that has seemed to stick around and taken my voice to some other place for hiding.

I did get out to snap a few photos of the "dusting" the trees received. I only wish it had been more in accumulation as we really need the moisture.

Above is an offering to the ewes. They absolutely love pumpkins this time of year. Each day I try to give them a treat of a pumpkin sacrificed to the sheep-gods/goddesses lest I be made to endure the wrath of the ewes for no goodies. No, my sheep are not spoiled.

I love the frosty days of this time of year. It is my most favorite time. I just wish this stupid cold will make a decision to either stay and really have it out with me, or go away. My hope is the latter.

On other notes, I have been experiencing my computer's decline from old age. Geez...I hope this is not a portent of upcoming trends in my life! :) (I plan to go unwillingly and fighting all the way!) I am still able to send and receive emails, but I have started looking at new computers instead of just replacing bits and pieces of this one. While part of me loves new gadgets and electronics, the other part of me knows full well that as soon as I buy a new computer, it will become obsolete. It's just like driving a new car off the lot - immediate devaluation.

The big news and bonus of the week has been finding out that my DD is having a girl next month! I was sitting last night thinking of all the joys (and some pains) mine brought me. No one should ever underestimate the bond between a mother and a daughter. Ours was and is a very strong one. I can only wish the same blessing for my daughter as the blessing she brought into my life.

And no, Kel...I won't over-do the "Pink"-thing that little girls seem to go through. But you have my word that I will, most definitely, over-do the "Sheep"-thing. There may come a day when I'm about 97 that my sheep may just need a new shepherdess. :)

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T15:39:00.002-07:00

Happy Halloween from all of us at Sheep Thrills Farm!!!

Bye, Bye Blessa!

2008-10-29T12:09:00.003-07:00

SheepThrills Blessa left for a new home last week! Her new mum and dad, Karen & Ray, live in the Globe area of Arizona and were looking for a friendly breed of sheep to add to their "Menagerie". Karen had been in touch with Michelle who graciously recommended to Karen to contact me as we are so much closer.
Well, Karen and Ray came for a visit and fell in love with Blessa. And from what I've heard since they took her home, she loves them as well. Win/Win!
While they were visiting we walked into the end of the barn where I had the ram lambs. Karen didn't want Blessa to be alone and was telling me about a person in their area who had rescued Barbados Blackbelly sheep including a wether if they wanted one. As Karen and I stood talking, I noticed that Ray was singled out by our own Lucius Vorenus, a very friendly ram lamb. The next time Karen mentioned the wether from her acquaintance Ray shook his head no. Then he said he'd rather have Luke. So, soon Luke will be joining Blessa.

Below are pictures of Blessa both shorn and with this year's fleece just before she left. Can you see the smugness behind that expression? From what I've heard she has taken reign over all things barnyard and child, as well as Karen and Ray.

Thank ewe, Michelle! And thank ewe Blessa! I can't think of a better Shetland Ambassador to introduce that area of Arizona to the wonderful Shetland sheep!

Wanted: Job For Experienced Ram -or- Beautiful Ram For Sale

2008-10-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

After a month of hard thinking, waffling over it and driving my DH crazy with discussions, I have decided that Skittles needs to find a new home - hopefully one with many more ewes than I have.
Skittles is one of the best rams I have ever seen! He has darned-near perfect conformation and a wonderful disposition which he passes on to his offspring.
Another plus is that his offspring all seem to keep their dark, rich coloring. The muskets do turn their brownish grays, but the colors always seem to be rich. Even Shaun, our red moorit iset wether, is keeping his rich red color with the iset frosting.

Being a very small sheep operation, we have to continuously keep genetics moving here. We don't have the acreage to swap out rams or make different breeding pens. As we won't be breeding this year, I don't think it fair of me to retain the great genetics Skit passes on. And each morning I see the longing in his eyes as I let the girls out into the pasture. He should be "working" for someone, not cooling his heals.

And so, we offer:

FOR SALE

Bluff Country Skittles

NASSA Reg. #15379

$400.00

(To Approved Flock only)

Skittles carries spotting genetics when crossed with ewes also carrying spotting genes. Every single lamb he's sired for us has been born with a white krunet (crown) or a few white fibers on the top of the head. Skit's also a very respectful ram who only gets a bit feisty when it's fall and the girls go over to the fence line to tease him. Even then he's always respected the fencing.

The only caveat is that whomever would like to add Skittles to their flock must make a Tire-Toy for him. I don't think he could live without his Most Beloved Tire-Toy!

And thank you, Skit...for everything you have done for us. I just think you'd be much happier in a bigger flock, Bud...

It's Time To Pass It On - A Story of a Book

2008-10-15T16:16:00.005-07:00

Many of you have sent me memes to do on past jobs and the like. I have to be very honest that some of those jobs are (or were) classified jobs I did while an investigator for the military and I cannot disclose them in any form or fashion. But I can tell you of a book that came to be in my possession - one who needs to be passed on to my daughter and soon-to-be grandchild for safe keeping. It's worn and tattered from all the moves its had to endure since it was printed, but is still a treasure. For me, the memories behind the book are even more priceless...

In the late 50s, our family lived in Poughkeepsie, New York. Dad was a marketing manager so every few years he'd come home with a map under his arm cluing us in that we were moving. He'd either be transferred or get itchy feet to move. Heck, even his Irish Setter was so used to moving she'd go sit in the backseat of Mom's car whenever she saw a moving truck. So we were all well trained.
My mother had been an executive secretary in the 40s. She was the Executive Secretary to the President of Corn Products (ARGO now) when she met Dad as a Navy boot in Chicago. Still wanting to keep busy, Mom and Dad had installed a huge, heavy solid wooden desk in the basement right next to the shelves of canned green beans and pickles from the garden.On the desk sat a typewriter that, I swear, must've been as big as the desk and as heavy. When you hit the keys it never moved as if it had been bolted to the place of honor where it sat, ready for my mother's adept hands to bring it to life once more.
Around '58 or '59, Mom started working for two women who were writing a special book. She would pick up their copies of the manuscript and edit them, retype them, then take them back for their perusal. In between I remember boxes and boxes of envelopes coming and going as well. We knew that when Mom was in the Dungeon, we should not bother her in fear of our lives much in the same way we didn't disturb Dad when he was down there reloading shotgun shells.
On some Saturdays I actually got to ride with Mom over to one of the women's houses. It was on a huge piece of land along the banks of the Hudson river. I loved going, but was always reminded to behave myself. Best manners. She would even tell me to be quiet in Swedish, so I knew full-well this was serious business.
In the large house was an elderly woman in a wheelchair. She would smile at me and say hello. I'd look at Mom as if asking for permission to open my mouth to return the greeting. "Hello.", I would say. The old woman would tell me that I was welcome to wait in her garden in which there was a beautiful wrought iron table and chairs surrounded by beautiful flowers with green expanses of manicured lawn beyond. It was nice, but what I really wanted was to explore all the other places I saw, especially the barn.
My mother knew my penchant for barns. She knew if allowed I'd be so outta there and lost for hours. But on one visit I was told by the old woman that yes, I was very welcome to visit the barn, but the horses were gone and to be careful and listen for when my mother called me. You'd think she'd given me keys to Heaven. I was off like a shot with my mother's words to "Be careful!" ringing in my ears.
And so it went until the book was published. The younger woman authoring the book, closer to my parents' ages, would come over to our house or we would go to theirs, the grown-ups having drinks while we kids were doing our own kid-things. Then it came. It was a copy of the book! My mother showed it to me with the greatest of care, turning the front cover until it revealed the signatures of the books two authors. Both had signed the book for my mother, the younger author writing a note in which she mentioned my brother and I, even if she did spell my name wrong. The older woman had just signed her name. That was in 1960.
Occasionally, we would hear from the younger author and her family but I missed the kindly old woman in the wheelchair who allowed me the joy of exploring her beautiful gardens and stables. I have fond memories of my explorations including gazing out over the Hudson River Valley full of trees, the river with all its boats and way off to the other side of Upstate New York and beyond. It was magnificent. And so was the kindly woman encouraging the explorations of a child.

I still have the book the old woman in the wheelchair handed to my mother. I remember her thanking my mother for all the work she had done in helping this book become a small reality. It was a small work but highlighted some of the woman's work. The Old Woman in the Wheelchair died a couple of years after the book was published. And I found out she left some pretty big shoes to fill.

The Woman in the Wheelchair was none other than....

Eleanor Roosevelt
and the estate, Hyde Park

The Treasure has been in my possession long enough. It's time for my daughter to become its Caretaker...and to share it with her child when the time is right.

Culling

2008-10-13T14:15:00.002-07:00

"cull (kul) - something picked out for rejection as not being up to standard" from Webster's New World Dictionary

Ask any person in agriculture the job they like the least and, if they are involved in livestock farming, they will tell you that culling their animals is the least liked job. If they mention something else, they're lying. Anyone raising animals, even for meat production, hates the job of culling. Even if you don't mean to, you get to know the animals in your charge whether you have four, or a hundred. As wonderful as it is to see lambs (or calves, chicks, ducklings, foals, etc.)born and to feel excited about all the potential their lives will unfold, the flip-side of that same coin is the fact that some animals are not up to par for passing on genetics. They shouldn't be bred.
With economic times as they are we livestock people can only keep the best of our animals for breeding. As much as all are loved and cared for we have to make very hard decisions. So it was with me this past week.

Two of my charges left this morning. Both are destined for someones table. A reality. Neither would have made the grade for breeding. Good temperment or fleece aside, both had to go. A family who were out last week looking at electric spinning equipment asked me if I had any lambs for the freezer. They were so kind about asking and apologized for even bringing it up before I could answer saying they understood how attached shepherds become to their flocks. And they asked with the utmost respect. Yes, I answered, "I have two ram lambs that really need to go in someones freezer." My soul told my voice to shut up, but my brain allowed the words to be voiced. Reality. They did have to go.
In these days of $20 a bale hay I cannot afford to keep extra mouths to feed. Each individual must pull their weight or go somewhere else. I don't have acres and acres to stockpile extra sheep and so must keep the best for breeding. And I'm full-up in the wether/fiber pet area as well.

And the ram lambs bear the brunt of this. Ewes usually go on to other farms or fiber-flocks where they will have a grand life. One of my young ewes is going on to a fiber flock soon. While she has the most beautiful fleece and temperment, her tail is just too long to allow her to produce registerable shetlands. I don't have the room plus I already have fleeces of that color in the flock now, so she'll go on and be loved by the family who wants her.
The boys face another lot in life. By virtue of their sex alone they become replaceable. Many rams are born but only the very best should be allowed to continue on. That's a hard burden to bear for anyone, but truth nonetheless. I don't need them all. One good ram can take care of a whole lotta ewes.

So, two of my boys who had bad horns (all breeders get this occasionally with horned sheep breeds...and if they say they don't...well, you know the rest)...horns that turned down and inward. If they were in the wild these horns would eventually cull the animal themselves. I said goodbye to the two and told them they would serve in other ways. I know they will be butchered with great respect and nothing will be wasted. I can't complain about lambs being butchered as I love to eat lamb myself. This is where it comes from. A fact of life. Meat does not grow in packages out of thin air. It comes from people producing animals for the table specifically, or someone culling their herd. Like me.

After saying goodbye to the two who left I went in to feed the four remaining lambs. All four of them are breeding quality with great horns and sound structure. As it was a "Ram Year" last year and most breeders I know have an abundance of ram lambs, some of these guys may still end up in a freezer. In this economy I can't complain about any one of my animals feeding a family. In fact, one may end up in my freezer too.

But I can still give them the respect they deserve...and if it becomes fate that they end up in my freezer, I will thank them for giving me strength. I ate my pet sheep way back when I was college-aged. She was the only one left and my cousins were butchering one of theirs, asking my grandmother if they could "do it" for her. As I was away to college and she didn't want to be left with one sheep, she agreed. That Christmas my grandmother, Mom and I had Leg o'Bessie for dinner. And I thanked the old ewe as we said Grace...

Dad had a steak.

It's Over...for this year anyway

2008-10-06T15:32:00.003-07:00

The pumpkins on the kitchen counter attest to our first hard freeze of Fall. Last night our temperatures here at the farm saw us in the low 20s F. And this morning saw the first ice formed on the waterers for the sheep. Oi! I hope we get Fall back again before winter gets here in earnest.

I also remembered a few plants we still had out on the decks at about 10 o'clock last night. I thought I would try to winter over the rosemary (above) and the miniature rose (below). The rosemary was placed on a metal chair in the sunroom and the rose, poor thing, was uncereamoniously scooped up with its pot in a barn bucket then placed on top of "stuff" I had on the glass top table in the sunroom. I hadn't planned on bringing in plants just yet, but I always check The Weather Channel before I head for bed. There it was in big bold letter for our area exclusively: HARD FREEZE WARNING!

I now feel vindicated for putting the electric blanket on the bed this last week. I just had a feeling that we needed more than the wool blanket. I was so glad I did too.
As I wasn't sleeping well and the cats kept yowling at me around midnight, I got up and went out in the living room for a bit to see if they would settle down. When I came back to bed I saw my Hired-Hand-With-Benefits curled up as if he was freezing. I looked over and saw that yes, his blanket was "on". I knew his feet must've been cold (mine were!) so I grabbed a quilt and doubled it up over our feet for the night. By morning I had a nice little World of Warmth created for myself and I really didn't want to come out from under to face the morning.

And if it weren't for the smell of fresh coffee, I might have stayed longer. The heater hadn't kicked on, but I had three cats curled up in my lap as I drank my first cup. Three Dog Nights just don't compare to Three Cat Mornings...

*Note: Yes, Michelle - pumpkins and squash will ripen if you keep them in a dry place, elevated off the floor a bit. I use old worn out drainers for dishes from the kitchen as they elevate the pumpkins and let air circulate beneath. This since I don't have a root cellar. :)

Sometimes A Negative Can Be Positive

2008-09-29T09:55:00.003-07:00

For about the past month, I haven't been feeling well. At first, I started getting tremendous headaches. Then all-over achiness showed up to the party leaving me feeling like I had a grand case of the Flu. My DH took me to breakfast one Saturday morning knowing that I just didn't have it in me to make breakfast that day plus I hadn't been off the farm for two weeks.
It was at breakfast that he posed the question to me: Did I think it could be West Nile Virus? A few years ago our chicken flock was the sentinel flock for our county. When they finally came up with a positive reading, we knew the risk was high that we could have WNV with us each summer as a large wetlands preserve is right behind our place. So, we don long pants and long-sleeved shirts when working outside at dusk and dawn during the summer months. We also slather ourselves with DEET. Still, this year, two of the little bugger mosquitoes got me. It was about two weeks after that incident I started feeling "non-optimal".
So, after the breakfast I began to think maybe I should actually see our doctor and see if maybe DH was on to something. After all, I'm in that over 50 group with "problems". Better safe than sorry, right? A week ago I went in and was sent for the obligatory blood-letting. It was only today I received the results. Negative for WNV. Whew! I dodged it for another year! The assessment made was that I actually did have the flu combined with massive allergy reactions to the bountiful pollen season this year.
So, like the mammatus clouds you see below, something negative can be a positive in life!

(I took this photograph of these beautiful storm clouds from the pasture. Where I was standing there was dead-silence, but these signify great turbulence in the high elevation winds aloft.)

And now that I'm feeling better, on to making some hard decisions as to whom to keep, and who goes from our little flock...in this economy and with hay at $20/bale I can not over-winter any but the best of the flock. So now I must make some very hard decisions. I'll keep you posted...

Pickles, Part Deux

2008-09-15T18:33:00.003-07:00

After a week (In the previous post the Rabbi teaching the class recommended a four-day minimum for making pickles), I decided it was time to try the pickles. I did notice that the contents of the plastic "crock" has changed color. Also some of the spices in the pickling mix had soaked in enough moisture to make them sink to the bottom of the container.

Everything smelled OK...while the dill weed that had been placed on top of the pickling mix had now become soggy and unappealing in look, it still smelled like dill. And now I could smell the definite aroma of garlic mixed in with the dill fragrance. Hmmm...dare I try a taste? Sure. Why not?

I cut a small section out of the middle of a slice from one of the cucumbers. At first, I tasted salt. It was almost overwhelming in its intensity. After the salt flavor receded I did notice some of the other spices and the garlic/dill combination coming through. But over all was that heaviness of the salt.
Now I like salt, don't get me wrong, but this was so intense it was startling. I could see where if you left these "pickles" in this brine bath for a long time they would attain a more sour flavor not unlike cabbage turning into sauerkraut. But after embarking on this educational endeavour, I would have to admit that I prefer my pickles with vinegar. I missed the twang that a good apple cider vinegar imparts in a pickle.

Maybe someday I will appreciate a good true Jewish Kosher pickle. For now, I think I'll stick with my Bread & Butters and the "Kosher Dills" preserved in vinegars. Would I take that class again? Ja, sure ting, you betchya! :)

In A Pickle

2008-09-09T13:00:00.002-07:00

About ten days ago, I saw a very interesting little announcement in our local paper. Anyone wishing to learn how to make true Kosher pickles was welcome to sign up for a class being hosted by our local Jewish church. My curiosity now being peaked, I RSVP'd to go.
This past Sunday saw a small group meeting on the campus of NAU (Northern Arizona University). As I walked in to the meeting room I was greeted by two rabbi, both in traditional dress.
There were a few Jewish families there, but I was very glad to see I was not the only Shikseh there. And, Boy! Did I ever learn about Jewish pickles!
The first thing I learned was that a true Kosher pickle is made using no vinegar whatsoever. Those Kosher Dills you buy in the glass jars at the Mega-Marts are not true Kosher pickles! The Kosher pickle is made through a fermentation process and is bought/served/eaten/enjoyed fresh, never canned (as we can Bread and Butter pickles).

Each of us was given a plastic tub, as you see in the picture. In this tub we made a brine using approximately one scant 1/4 cup of Kosher salt to about 12 oz. of water. To this brine we added seedless Persian cukes (I never knew they existed!), broken into pieces for convenience. Apparently Persian cucumbers are seedless and lower in water content making the best use of this method of preservation.

Next we added 2 - 4 cloves of garlic, two tablespoons of pickling spices (if we chose to), and topped it all off with sprigs of fresh dill just set on top of the whole shebang. Then the lids went on with instructions that at our altitude we could leave this on our kitchen counters from 4 days to two weeks depending on how sour a pickle we wanted. Or, we could put them in our refrigerator if we felt better about not leaving them on the counters due to the risk of "small explosions", as Rabbi Mendi (aka "Rabbi Pickle") called them. Mine is in my refrigerator.

The Rabbi also mentioned that you may see white "scuzz" form on the top of the pickle batch. This was OK and just spoon it off and you'll be fine. Or so he says. :)
The whole idea is to let these pickles be until they ferment enough to actually become pickled. I will let you know how they turn out...

Somehow, this person of Celtic/Scandinavian descent just can't get her brain wrapped around pickling something without the use of good vinegar. But then, I grew up with everything having vinegar and dill...after all...the dill was our "green stuff". :)

Route 66 Days or I've Seen One Too Many Mustangs

2008-09-06T21:31:00.004-07:00

Every year in Flagstaff, there is some sort of Route 66 festival to pay homage to the "Mother Road", Route 66, that was such a big part in the lives and livelihoods of the towns growing up along it. Flagstaff is one of those towns. Along with the railroads, Route 66 brought both travelers through and goods and transport along its length.

We try to go every year. Last year we were accompanied by Val and Hugo, part of our family from New Zealand. (It wasn't too long after my back surgery so I mainly remember there were alot of cars and it was hot...and the cool lemonade we all had in the shade of the city park.)

This year it was just my DH and myself strolling up and down the closed off streets of downtown Flagstaff, cars lining both sides of what are usually busy streets.

The car above included its own carhop!

This car made use of an old parking meter for a signpost. What a great idea! Some of the histories of these cars were absolutely fascinating. Most owners had notebooks with pictures of the vehicles as they were found, many in terrible condition, then showing the steps toward resurrection to show quality vehicles.

Some were even given names. I should mention here that Ralph's work-in-progress is a '53 Merc whose name is "Betty" after his aunt who originally owned the vehicle. "Betty" is the "Other Woman" in my life. Ralph feels toward Betty as I do toward my sheep. I keep threatening to cover the seats with plastic, prop Colin and Shaun up in her seats with their legs and noses hanging out of the windows...My own version of "Sheep in a Jeep" as it were.

And here's Himself, looking over someones work in progress.
You could tell that people spent many, many hours in restoring these vehicles. A very few had original engines or at the least the engines that came with them...the ones they were meant to have. Most other cars had bigger engines than what was installed at the factory when they were made. Ralph's a "Flathead" enthusiast so we always search out to see if there are any other cars with flathead V8 engines in them. I only saw two out of all the cars there today.
Some cars had interesting paint jobs, others had been chopped to where they looked only like ghosts of their former selves. I tend to be a lover of old cars...cars such as Model A's or T's, old farm trucks or delivery vehicles restored to look like they did originally. My favorite was a 1903 Olvera horseless carriage, made in Mexico, one cylinder and was listed as "10 Burro Power".

Naturally, that's the one I was so engrossed in I forgot to take a photo of it. Darn!

He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother

2008-08-28T17:31:00.001-07:00

I walked out into the sunroom today and saw this...Rascal sleeping on top of Mooch. Best of Buds. It doesn't get better than this. :)