Crazy days and crazy weeks leave one a crazy life.
Yesterday’s went like this. When DH got up, he reminded me that I was to take him to a Dr. appointment in Seattle, which is a one hour drive each way, so I called the girls that are learning to garden and asked if they could come in the morning instead of the afternoon.
I then called our friend to ask about the water system and he told me he had taken his truck to have work done and he was stranded half an hour away. So off I went to rescue him. When I got back the girls were here so we worked on fertilizing and planting beets. When they were comfortable doing that, I came in the house and had a quick breakfast and DH and I headed to his appointment. We were blessed with good driving conditions and the appointment was short.
When we got home, the lady who does fence work was here to see where our fence problem was. I did not know she was coming. We went over what she found and she will be replacing some very old fence posts
I don’t even remember lunch so it was probably left overs.
I changed into farm clothes and another friend that I invited over the day before showed up. She is such a delight and we enjoy her company so very much. She wanted to see the babies that were born Friday morning – a surprise – because I didn’t that that breeding was successful. So we visited while she took lots of photos as I fed the sheep I felt refreshed when she left. Yes, it was a crazy day, but a very good one.
There are other appointments and the girls are coming back 5 days a week, to help and to learn. They are unusually polite and attentive teenagers. Today they learned to drive the tractor.
DH and I spent 3 hours this morning and got the stalls cleaned. I don’t like to let it go more than a week, because it gets hard to clean.
This is the 4th set of black twins this year. Both are ram lambs and will be sold as fiber pets. Apparently this hen wanted to be in the photo and if this is what it takes, she is willing.
In between the craziness, I have been altering sheep coats and spinning. I’ll update you on that soon.
I miscounted, thinking all the sheep were in for the night. When I went out in the morning this one was freshly born.
More babies are arriving on a fairly regular schedule these days, which means more cleaning, and other duties. So far 7 ewe lambs and 3 ram lambs. We will be seeing new ones over the next month. These are all Cormos. When they are done, the Shetlands will start. One never tires of seeing new life happen.
Did I mention more cleaning?
And here is what happens if you just can’t wait your turn for the nest and don’t want to go find another. The hen below was just a bit smarter and used a lamb jug. It didn’t bother her one bit that there were lambs there as she only needed a small corner.
Sometimes the work is hard and one is usually very tired at the end of the day, but I love that this is a very rewarding way to get my exercise.
We ordered this 30 x 40′ roof in August. It has had several promise dates. But now it’s here and erected and the animals will have more dry space and less mud. I am so happy to have it, but it is the worst company I have ever worked with. So this was Friday’s excitement.
Working backwards, my friend, Mary and I went to the Sew Expo Thursday for 3 hours. We wore our feet out shopping fast and spent very little However, I did find a company to process my wool that I can drive to instead of paying those horrible shipping costs. Plus she specializes in fine wools, which I have. We will try to get to her shop this week and see what she can do. Her yarns at the Sew Expo were incredible!
Wednesday, Beau went back to the specialist to have the eye with glaucoma removed. He is doing very well, except with the E collar, he runs into things that won’t bother him when it gets removed in another week. His first two days, he was hurting a bit and really wanted to be babied, but he’s over that now, and wants to be outside telling off the coyotes that come to near his property. We will hear when we take him back what they found in the eye. The vet said he doesn’t see this breed with glaucoma.
Tuesday, I mentioned the new babies who are now growing so fast. We may get another one or two tonight. The ewe was acting a bit off and shows signs of wanting to birth soon.
And did I mention the snow is gone and the sun is out – though cold – and I am appreciating it. Spring is coming and we are so ready!
Jonquille’s lambs of 2019. I went to the barn to let the girls our to enjoy the sunshine today and heard these darling little baby sounds. You will see the cinnamon color on the one which means it was a more difficult birth. It fades fast. I’m just thrilled that mom was able to produce them without complications.
On the left the empty spaces are harvested greens, then purple Chinese cabbage, a green bok choy, carrots, radishes, salad onions, lettuce seeds, and the raised part at the end is strawberries. On the right, the cabbage and celery got burned due to my misunderstanding of the on and off buttons and we had a hot day and the fans were off. They are starting to recover. There are some healthy weeds at the far end and up front chives, harvested “cut and come again” lettuce and parsley.
I find early mornings I am most productive, so I’ve been getting up and spinning until it is time to go to the barn and release the animals for the day. Then I spin when I have little spaces of time throughout the day. It never seems like I’m getting anywhere, but then the day comes and I’m ready to ply what I’ve spun. This week was spent plying. 
Today I finished plying the last of the Merino burgundy (lower photo is real color) and washed these hanks, then hung them out to dry. This amount of wool represents a huge amount of spinning hours. I am hoping I have enough of the burgundy for a cardigan for myself. After it is dry, I will rewind it and see how much yardage there is.
Lambs:
One more mother this month and two next month, will finish our breeding season.
