Down In The Garden

Three day weekends are so nice. Three whole days off! I have several things I want to get caught up on, and one of those was weeding the flower and vegetable gardens. My favorite time to work in the garden is in the early morning. It's so peaceful and sometimes almost magical. You begin to see the world from a whole new perspective.

Weeding away, I found several surprises that the summer's growth had hidden away.There's the unusual green terrapin that shares the hosta bed with the equally odd blue terrapin.

Oh, and look! There is Mr. Toad's barn....

....and there is Mr. Toad himself, lounging under the tree! But wait...that's not a toad! It's a frog! What in the tiny world......???

Have a great weekend everyone! Hope you get to take the time to appreciate the little things too.

Jackson Cheese

Last week five of my ewes went off to new homes. Along with them also went "Jerry" a lovely shaela ram, owned by Allena and Beau who were very kind to bring him over to the farm a couple days before he was to be picked up.

We had a nice visit, with lots to talk about and lambs to look at. Allena tried another go at the spinning wheel, and we came up with some more ideas to try with it. It definitely needs some repair work, which I think I can figure out.

But that isn't what this post is about. This post is about the cheese! Goat cheese to be exact. Allena brought me a container of cheese she had just made that day. I was skeptical. I haven't had good luck with goat cheese in the past (mostly very strong, store bought stuff). But I wanted to try it, and it looked very good. It's great. I'm not sure what the proper name for it is, but it has dill, and parsley and onion and a bit of mint in it. Tastes wonderful on crackers. Allena said she also has other cheeses curing as well. This whole goat milking business is pretty new to them, but they've jumped in with both feet and it is sounds like it is working out great. I know I'm impressed!

Allena should be back in the world of internet soon. She is getting her laptop repaired (after a child versus laptop incident ;-), so I hope she'll detail some of her cheese making adventures. Until then, drool all you want, cause it was mighty fine eatin'!

Sunday Afternoon Drive

For years I drove a small pickup that had room for the driver and passenger and that was about it. This pretty much let out taking excursions with the dogs. Even one moderate size collie would take up the passenger seat and spill over into the drivers lap. There were one or two times that I would put one collie in the seat, and one in the floorboard (on pillows) for a drive to the vet or groomers--but it wasn't a pretty sight. After getting the moose, er, Boone it was pretty much a given that one dog was the maximum. Back 'in the day' when I had my first two collie girls, Hanna and Mara, and little Nicky the Pom, we did allot of adventuring around in my old AMC Concord wagon. I've really missed being able to do that, so when my old truck died, I wanted to get the extended cab version so I'd have 'options'.

Finally over a year after getting the truck, I decided to take the dogs for a Sunday afternoon drive! What fun! What work! First they had to get brushed and powdered and fluffed so they'd smell good and look pretty. Then I had to clean out my truck and put sheets all over everything. After that I had to make sure I had plastic sacks and paper towels (in case someone got sick!) and plastic ziplocs in case someone had to poo at the park. Yep, we were going to the park! Way out here in the middle of the country even.

If you take the back roads from my place there is a very well known state park about five miles away --it's a trout fisherman's paradise and quite heavily 'tourist-ed' in the summer months.

Boone hadn't been out and about since all his vet appointments the first year he was here, so it was time to let the big boy see the world. Ariel hadn't been out for years either, except to the groomers and vets. If anyone recalls the last time I loaded Boone in the truck for the vet's appointment it was a horrible ordeal trying to get him up in the seat. This time he got loaded into the extended cab area behind the seat. Just enough room for a big slobbery dogue. He did remarkabley well, and was eager to get in, with just a little help from me, so I guess he just couldn't cope with the height of the front seat. Ariel got lifted into the front seat, where she sat sprawled across hers and part of my seat--stiff as a board.

So...here we go! Buckle your seatbelt!

Ariel is a little apprehensive.....

Boone is allot apprehensive....

Headed down into the valley..see how green everything still is?

The road winds up and down the hills and hollers, heading for the river

What would be a trip to a trout fishing park be without a picture of the trout?

Here Boone and Ariel (still a little apprehensive) pose in the little rock shelter that sits over the river

After a short, but successful stroll in the park we head back home

I love how this tree arches over the road

Boone was wiped out, and had to take a dip in the pool when we got home

Ariel was ready to go again!

All in all it was a good trip, short and sweet, without too many stresses for sheltered dogs! I picked an area of the park that had very few people (hard to find), so that we were able to just unload, wander about, and then head back to the truck. I hope to be able to do trips like this more often, particularly as the weather cools and fall sets in. The dogs will get more relaxed and it'll become more enjoyable for them. Next time we might even pick a spot with people.

Beautiful Weeds

Goldenrod On A Country Road

Flower Child

This is Rain's little ewe. I call her Rain-Drop and she is a sweetie. She'll be going to her new home soon. She came in off pasture the other evening, wearing this flower. It was so her.

Mock Hummingbirds...

I really don't know what these large moths are--I've always thought of them as mock hummingbirds. They look very much like a hummingbird, in the way they flit around, and the way they are made.They usually come out around dusk, and are quite frenetic in their activity. The Four O'clocks seem to especially draw them.If anyone knows what these insects are, I'd be interested in hearing their proper name and history.

Apple Pickin'

The other evening I went down to Mom and Dad's and picked some apples. Mom isn't quite up to apple pickin' yet, but didn't want this abundance of apples to go to waste. I rarely do much preserving or freezing, because of lack of time and freezer space. However, I was pretty sure I could give the surplus away at work.

Apples are pretty easy picking, compared to some fruits. It doesn't take long to fill a bucket or two.These will make some good pies.

Supervising Apple Pickin' is hard work--just ask Boone

Dark Lady of the Shadows

Getting ready to wean the lambs takes some prep work. Fences have to be checked, hay feeder filled and the water tub turned over, ready to fill. Imagine my surprise when I flipped the black rubber tub over and found this large lady. She was pretty surprised too. Sorry the pictures are so fuzzy--I really did try. For about three seconds. She had quite a little secluded home until I came along and disrupted it all. Black Widow spiders are not that common but I have seen a few around here over the years. This has to be the biggest one though. I did a little reading on them after finding her, and found out that their bite is not the death sentence I had always heard. People can and do die from them, but mostly if you have a compromised health system to start with. They will make you ill and they can cause severe muscle cramps and other unlovely things. However they are extremely shy and non aggressive, so will seldom attack or go on the defensive. The exceptions are if you accidentally grab one, or threaten their egg sac.

They tend to make their homes low to the ground and in dark, concealed places---so be careful where you stick your hand when you are out and about on the farm!

I don't know where this lady will take up her new residency, but I do know every time I walk in that paddock I step high and feel uneasy!

Sunrise

Three different days.
Three magnificent sunrises.
It's hard to get the morning chores done, with such awesome distractions.

Life As A Weaner

Angus says "I want my Mommy!"
"Or Cookies".....

Running the fence line

Omen & Orion console themselves at the Hay Bar

It hasn't been a very quiet weekend. Not peaceful at all. This weekend was Weaning Time. Usually I pretty much let the girls self wean their babies, but this year there are a couple ram lambs and some ewe lambs that will be leaving for their new home shortly. (I hope!) With the cooler weather the little ramlings have become very 'ramly' in their attention of the girls. While Shetlands are seasonal breeders, there is an occasional exception and I sure don't want any surprise January lambs. I sorted off two groups from the main flock. One has two rams (Orion & Omen), two wethers and an ewe lamb. The ewe lamb will only be in there a few weeks, and is my attempt to separate her from her mum, so she will be more people friendly. We have a ways to go.

The second group is five ewes that have been awaiting pickup by their new owners for several weeks now. I decided to separate them as one ewe in particular also needs some one on one work. It will also help them that they have formed a new flock before they leave here. At first the wild one made the rest of the tiny new flock spooky, but now the other girls have changed their allegiance to lovely sweet little Maythorn (who would sit in my pocket if she could), so that is already a big improvement. Of the five in this group, three are adult ewes and two are ewe lambs. The ewe lambs are inconsolable and unfortunately located much closer to the house than the other weaner group.

It is a worrisome, as well as terribly noisy time on the farm. When the lambs are first weaned--for about the first two and half days, they tend to do stupid things in trying to get back to their moms. Things like sticking their heads through tiny gaps in hopes they can push their bodies through. This can end badly with a lamb hung up. I try to keep an eye on things, but still I worry. After about three days, things calm down and they accept their new status in life.

Hopefully a much quieter status......

Part of the new five ewe flock.
(Both ewe lambs have attached themselves at the hip to sweet Maythorn)

Sheep Enthusiasm

The word is out--the shepherd is opening the gate!

Wait? We have to wait while you do a head count?!! But we are starving and the flies are eating us alive!

Sheep get pretty excited about eating. New grass is a big thrill. Just going into a new pasture is enough to cause mob scenes. It doesn't matter if they are hungry or not, they just love the excitement of new scenery, a whole new buffet to sample! Their philosphy seems to be, that the first one through the gate will get all the good stuff. No matter that there is several acres of good stuff. They take this so far as to literally have four or five sheep try and squeeze through the gate opening at once. Since it's set up for one to two sheep at the most, this can get ugly. I have actually seen three sheep wedged firmly, all three still trying their best to be the first through. I try my best to funnel the sheep in so there isn't a pile up, but it doesn't always work. With the bigger gates, it isn't an issue, but it can still be tricky getting out of the way!

Last one through is SUCH a loser!

New Chicken Perch

Out doing chores the other morning, I happened to glance up and see this. Of course I didn't have my camera with me, but I thought it was worth trying to dash to the house and back to capture it. I managed to snap one distant picture before Blue started to walk away, but I was able to 'enlarge' it enough to get a decent showing. (Gotta love digital cameras!) It's not the greatest quality, but it tickles my funny bone. You have to know Blue, to really appreciate this. He is a seven year old Merino ram. An old man. A very crotchety and cranky old man. He seemed unperturbed by his passenger, and the hen was evidently enjoying her foot massage therapy on her wool cushioned, lanolin coated perch.

Chopping Thistles And Other Fun Things...

The Upper Pasture has some regrowth on it, so it's time to rotate the sheepies back up there. All the rain has been a blessing for the pastures. I think this field will hold the sheep for at least three more weeks, so it looks like I might make it to September before I have to start feeding hay. Yeah!Whenever I've had the sheep off a field for 4 weeks or better, I always go through the pasture before turning them back on.

I check fences, and look for things like wild cherry that might poison them. I also take my chopping tool and whack down any thistles. Once in awhile, the thistles will get ahead of me, and one or two will make blooms. I try and dig them up by the roots, so they won't come back, but I know a few of them still survive. I'm not even sure what kind of thistles they are. They seem to bloom later than the musk thistles and have a much smaller seed head.

Mullein Gone to Seed

There are many weeds and the wild flowers abound. The sheep will eat many of these things and enjoy them, so I don't worry so much about the 'weeds taking over'. I do look for the dreaded 'beggar-lice', also called 'stick-tights', as they can trash a fleece pretty quick. I found a few bunches that I pulled up and disposed of. Evidently I didn't get them all, as I noticed several of the sheep had them around their neck tonight. Hopefully that will be it--as long as they don't get it into the body of the fleece it usually works out okay, although it isn't pretty to look at.

As usual I had plenty of 'help' as I inspected the pasture and chopped thistles. The dogs enjoyed sniffing about and checking out the field. Boone waded in the muddy pond (of course since he just got a bath!). I think I picked up a few chiggers, even though I sprayed before hand. At least with the weather moderated, even chopping thistles has a certain satisfaction and peacefulness to it.

Ariel all tuckered out after her field inspection.

(But look how clean and shiny she is!! :-)

Boone stops to smell the roses, um, wildflowers