Saturday, April 24, 2010

Spring Lambs

Well, I am traveling North driving from Florida to Ohio and my husband, Jeff, is at home with a very sick ewe.  Elizabeth dropped that beautiful black lamb, fondly referred to as "trouble" with no problem.  However, Bethany, is not quite so lucky.  She must have twins in the oven and apparently they are too much for her body.  She has developed Toxemia and is quite ill.  The vet was out on Wed the 21st and gave her an injection to induce labor.  We have been force feeding the poor girl and she has perked up a bit, but she is still too quiet and weak.  We are doing everything we can to save her and her lambs.  I am anxious to get north and be home with Bethany and do what I can to help.

Jeff is even creating a "grass cocktail" three times a day and feeding it to Bethany along with her other meds. This grass cocktail involves blending grass and water in the blender, straining out the grass and adding yogurt and other nutrients and they using a syringe to feed it to Bethany.

Bethany is a great ewe and very strong willed and Shetlands are a hardy breed, so if you are reading this please say a little prayer for Bethany and her ewes and stayed tuned to see pictures. . yes, I am optimistic that I will have happy pictures to post.

Check back for any update :)

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Awesome Spring Day!

When you take time to enjoy the little things around you, it is quite suprising what you see!  I will attach some great pictures from today, but let's see why I think it's an AWESOME Spring Day. 

I started the day on the computer at about 6am, couldn't sleep so got up to catch up.  I spent about an hour downloading really cool, FREE knitting patterns from Knitting Daily.  Then I rinsed some yarn that I dyed last night - black and pink.  Natural black sheep, llama or alpaca is hard to come by so I decided to just dye some wool black.  It is not as dark as natural, but it will work for the project I have in mind.

After doing chores, I did a wee bit of cleaning . .. everyone knows how well I like to clean :)  then I started felting some items.  Most of the items are mine, for the vendor booth, but a few of the purses are Lorie's.
The Sun is out and bright, but the air temperature is not too hot, so it is perfect.  I really don't like it when it gets too hot and sticky.  So, I wandered around the back yard and took some random pictures, enjoy.

The wethers:


Elizabeth and Mr. Ram Lamb:


The Chickens enjoying the back yard and one in the barn hidden behind a tub in a favorite egg laying spot:



Since I can't leave anyone out. .. here are the girls relaxing and Buster Brown Sun Bathing


Okay,  ONE more . .. how could I leave out Hoover???? Sleeping in the sun on this wonderfully, sunny day!
I hope you are able to enjoy the spring days like we are!  Off to unload dirt. . .Jeff's just arrived home with a load of dirt for the garden :)

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Lambs!

What a wonderful suprize!  I got to leave work on time - actually at 5:00 as it should be and I was really happy about that.  It really is the little things!  Anyway, when I got home, I glanced out in the back yard and one of the ewes was facing the back of the pasture kind of bobbing her head up and down like she was eating grass. . . why does this seem odd, you might ask . .. well, there is no grass in their pasture.  So, I changed and headed out to the barn and sure enough. . Elizabeth had given birth to a beautiful black ram lamb.  I don't know if he'll stay the pretty black that he is now, but he sure is cute.  He's been up and nursing and seems to be doing well.  I'll weigh him tomorrow, turns out the sling to the scale was dirty from being in the barn and I did not want to put his clean belly in the dirty sling. .. so weight will have to wait until tomorrow.  I did pick him up and he is a solid little lamb.

Elizabeth seems to be a very attentive momma!

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Relaxing Evening

My "real" job has had me really, really busy.  Working long days. . the kind of days when I wonder. .. .did I feed the llamas?  Where did I park my truck. . .. .and what day is it?????  So, as a treat, I came home "on time" . . well for me lately. . .5:30 was as close to on time as I could get. .. . so when I got home it looked so peaceful out in the back yard. .. the llamas and alpacas were either sitting enjoying the warm spring day or wandering around.  The same for the sheep.  The chickens were content to pick around the yard and the cats were lounging on the porch. . .. .so, I poured myself a glass of 101 Lakes Red, got my new book that Debbie gave me for my birthday, found a chair and headed out to the yard.  As I sat reading my book, sipping wine. .. the chickens came over to visit, the sheep came to the front of their pasture and the alpacas kept looking at me like . . is she just going to sit there???? 

Eventually, Jeff came down to relax also.  The chickens really are quite relaxing to watch.  They are very busy little critters. .. they even come when I call them.  It gave me a chance to observe all the chickens and evaluate their overall health . . .. .they seem quite content.

So, it was a nice evening and now I have 2 days off (I remember when I always had 2 day weekends), you sure take them for granted until you lose them.

So, over the next couple of days. .. .we'll plant some spring veggies, put away some Christmas decorations, dye some wool and maybe pick up some ducks and turkeys to add to the clan.. .. Sounds like a lot to do . .but I am looking forward to some fun "work"!

BTW - finished the book already . .. early this morning sometime . . .it was a good one. ..Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Spring is here!

Could I be lucky enough that the spring mud has been here and gone???? Probably not.  There are, however, many other happy spring reminders around the farm.  The crocus has bloomed, the daffodils are sprouting, kittens are popping out and the sheep are about ready to lamb.  I was just down at the barn and my suspicions that Elizabeth will lamb first, I believe to be true.  Now, being used to llamas having crias. .. .llamas have very small "milkers" . . .while I was doing chores I happen to notice a little pink under Elizabeth. . .. nothing little about it .. . she's got a bag full of milk and a huge udder. .. .  . .Bethany is a bit behind on her development so I think Elizabeth with lamb in the next few days followed about a week later by Bethany.  We will make their pen smaller today so they are easier to manage and keep tabs on.   Stay tuned for pictures.