Shearing Day Scheduled

Jem and Tallulah - One last look at the girls before their haircut

I just scheduled the sheep's first shearing for this Saturday at 1pm.  I have to admit I feel a little nervous, and I'm not even the one doing the shearing or being sheared!  But the protective, mother instincts kick in and I immediately jump to images of traumatized sheep with their naked bellies nicked by electric shears.  Then I think of how cold they will feel in the 30-40 degree evenings without that 5 inch thick wool coat.  

But I trust Sandy, my shearer, fully.  This woman has been raising and shearing sheep for over 40 years, and has traveled all over the world to talk to other sheep farmers.  She did admit that this is her first time shearing a Southdown (aka Babydoll).  According to Sandy, the description of the Southdown shearing experience from her "shearing bible" written by Godfrey Bowen of New Zealand states "that Southdown sheep are the most difficult of all the mutton breeds to shear.  It has a great deal of wool that is very hard to poke off.  The Southdown is very difficult to bend into shearing position because of its thickly set and strong body.  Further it has a fighting disposition and this does not help."  And here I selected Babydolls, not only for their cute teddy bear faces, but for their allegedly gentle, non-aggressive dispositions!

Hanging out in the orchard

Getting to know you

Now that the weather is better and the grass is growing, the sheep have been let out to graze. In order to let their immediate pasture area have a chance to grow we let them in the middle section where the garden is. This area also abuts the main chicken area. And this gives them a chance to get reacquainted.

Jemima and Oreo

All three sheep decided to nap.  Daisy in the coop.

Spring into friendship

That's what Magnolia does. Since she was a pup, Mags has pursued relationships with all things living. One of my favorite memories of her as a little one and a very telling moment of her personality for me, was when she discovered an ant on our patio. She was intrigued and very excited to share space with another soul. She patiently observed the little guy, whined a little(in that adorable "I am really excited kind of way"), and finally inched closer on her belly to get a better look. She was careful not to frighten him by moving too fast and did not want to hurt him by stepping on him. It was time to meet face to face. Mags moved her head close to him in order to sniff and lick him as she does with everyone she meets. Well, you can pretty much guess the outcome of that interaction. (She spent about 10 minutes inquiring as to his whereabouts)

The point is, Mags is innately loving and curious towards all living creatures. We trust her implicitly with all animals on the property. (although I am not sure about chipmunks) The weather has improved exponentially(as has our moods) so we have been reintroducing Mags to the sheep. She seems to have a natural penchant for herding as well as making friends. Here are some pics from yesterday's visit. Thankfully the sheep are over a hundred pounds so no chance of losing them to a nostril. :)

Did I do good Mom?

She will love me soon

Aw come on and just play

Wait, what?

Mud Season

It's here. The snow melted with alarming rapidity (at least for those living near flowing rivers or owning homes with no sump pumps) over the past couple of days.  When I left for work yesterday, the pasture and much of the backyard was still snow covered with the occasional, small grass patch peaking through here and there.  When I returned home 9 hours later, the snow was almost completely gone from both.  The only sign of snow remaining were the large banks near the edges of the driveway, and the random ice floes scattered about.  That and LOTS of pooling and streaming water, and mud.

Mud season had arrived.  For those of us who are aesthetically minded, it's a difficult couple of weeks.  It is the dark abyss between the purity of snow and the glorious green-ness of late spring.  At our house it means smellier than usual chicken yards (conjure the smell of wet, rotting pine shavings, chicken poo and that earthy mud smell and you'll get what I'm talking about), and floors caked in muddy dog prints.

Despite that, I can't help but smile.  The sun is shining, the air is warmer, the snow is almost a distant memory and I think I can safely say that we will not experience a water shortage this summer -- no matter how dry and hot July and August get.  This wet, soggy expanse of mud and streaming water translates into a full well and happy, happy plants.

Signs of life

April – the month that tries the souls of the hardiest gardeners, especially in the northern tundra.  While many of you in the comfortable world of Zone 6 and above are already seeing signs of spring – crocuses, daffodils, snow drops, perhaps even signs of bright green on trees – we are STILL buried under unsightly piles of snow.  The good news is that the last several days in the 40s and 50s have caused a great deal of melting, and yesterday’s rain certainly helped.  We can actually see some ground in places at this stage, which is progress.  Just not enough progress for my taste.  The beds in the backyard are still buried under snow or swimming in 6 inches of slushy water; the pasture, much to the sheep’s chagrin, remains snow-laden.  The hens are slightly happier since they at least have exposed pathways with plenty of mud in which to scratch and dig.  

My greatest hope of seeing anything with color in the near future lies with my front borders.  The snow has melted and I can actually see the little red and green tips of tulips peeking up out of the mulch.  It’s not much, but it’s all I have to hold onto at the moment. 

  

Getting tired

We are all getting very tired of this endless winter.  It was -4 this morning, and the high will be in the low 20s. Heading out to the sheep this morning, it felt like January, not the last week of March.  The ground remains covered in 1-2 feet of ice and snow; the air is frigid.  Thankfully the last couple of days (after Saturday's dump of another 4-5 inches of snow) have been at least partly sunny.  The sky has been spring-like;  bright, clear blue with a warming sun.  We did take the dogs out for a walk yesterday in the sun and let them run free in the sheep pasture (the sheep were in the barn and run-in, but strolled over to say hi).  They ran and played, and chased and jumped after snowballs (well, at least Ruby did).  It was good to see such exuberance.

The hens and sheep unfortunately have been cooped up (no pun intended) since November; their mobility and grazing restricted to much smaller spaces.  I can't wait to see all of them back out grazing and roaming at will.

This winter has been hard on all of us.