The Boys Reunited....

All across the country there is a silent (mostly) struggle going on between many a shepherd and their sheep. Especially those shepherds who keep multiple rams in hopes of having some choice in which bloodlines co-mingle to produce that perfect lamb in the spring.

It's another season on the sheep farm. Smallholders like myself have the added disadvantage of not having enough distance between the rams or various breeding groups, and sometimes that causes big problems. One of the joys I have found in blog-land is following a group of people that are in the same sometimes sinking boat as myself. Right now, breeding groups are either being put together or taken apart, or some rotten ram has gotten in where he isn't suppose to on most of the Shetland blogs I read.

Putting rams back into the ram flock is always fraught with drama and angst--mostly on the part of the shepherd. There is the potential for injury or death to the rams, and the shepherd tries to cover all the bases to prevent such from happening. The rams will be okay in a few days, once they get their flock order once again settled. A larger ram flock seems to have fewer problems with hierarchy and in fighting. It's always amusing when a ram has 'finished his job' with the ewes and starts pining to rejoin his rowdy ram buddies.

There are many tricks that shepherd's use to ease the re-introduction of the rams. Crowding them all into a very small area without food or water for a day is one. This way the rams can't ram each other or do any serious side-swiping, and they get used to their buddies smell again. When they are released they have eating more than fighting on their testosterone shriveled brains. Putting several rams in a smaller area with hay bales or tires to slow down any ramming is also used. Really smelly, cheap perfume can be used in an attempt to confuse the rams and eliminate 'ewe' smell --both ends are sprayed. Vick's Vapo rub is another alternative. I'm pretty sure there are few things more awful smelling than a rancid rammy smelling ram wearing cheap perfume.

Of course one of the big things during breeding season, as I mentioned, is keeping the rams in their own pastures and not off visiting 'dry' ewes or another ram's breeding group. Especially towards the end of breeding season the rams get restless and want to visit around. Lest you think they are the only problem though, I have one word for you--ewes. They usually aren't quite as bad, but they are pretty shameless and will stand glued in a corner, eyeing a potential suitor across the way. They bellow and they wag their tails and I have no doubt if they could find a way out they'd be off in a heartbeat to join the ram.

Here at Fairlight, I have several rams. I have an old Merino ram named Blue who lives with his wethered son, Lanny. I haven't used Blue for several years, but that hasn't stopped him in the past from pacing a path along the fence line as he fervently wished to be with the ewes--even if they only came to his kneecaps. However this year, something surprising happened. Blue shares a fence line with the ewes and last year I had to put up a double fence, with a no-ram's land in-between. I did this because the year before he pushed over the fence and joined the ewes, which caused a trip to the vet for a 'morning after shot' for one ewe, and, well, that is another story. Blue has never been a fence destroyer though, unlike the Shetland rams. The fence pushing over incident was more my fault for not checking to make sure the panels were securely wired. Anyway, back to this year and the surprise. Blue has absolutely no interest in the ewes. Mind you he still shares a fence with them, but he is oblivious to their charms. Likewise the ewes don't even bother to try to entice him. In effect he has become a wether. I'm guessing that he is just not producing the hormones anymore. He will soon be nine years old, and for a merino ram that is probably a pretty ancient age.

In addition to Blue, I have Jackdaw the ram lamb from this year. Jackie will be headed off to his new home though after breeding season, so no re-introduction worries here at least. (Jackie and Selena left last weekend!)

Then there is Jeff. Jeff lives with his twin brother, Callum. Callum was a ram until he was about two years old. Then Cal made several mistakes all in a row. 1) He virtually tried to kill the ewe he was put with. 2) he took down an entire section of fence in a very short time. 3) he wouldn't stay in his pen, demolishing or damaging several more gates and fences and 4) he tried to take me down. Number four sealed the deal and he had a visit from the vet. Shortly after wethering Cal and Jeff tore through a fence to be reunited and then a few days later, Jeff beat the bejebbers out of Cal and nearly killed him. That is another story for another time, but the recovery was long. However except for that summer and breeding seasons the boys have always been together.

For awhile I had three rams and a wether in the Shetland pen, but the drama was tiring and I eventually sold two of the rams. Now re-introductions consists of just putting Jeff and his brother back together. Since rams are usually very wired and over the top aggressive during breeding season, I have to put the shield on Jeff before putting him with Cal in order to keep injury potential to a minimum.

The principle idea of the shield is that it keeps the rams from seeing forward, so in theory they can't ram each other. They can still tussle and side swipe, but not the terrible ramming with their heads. The shield itself is basically a halter, with a large piece of leather across the face and eyes. They can see out of the side of the shield so they can move around, graze and do normal sheep stuff--even run pretty fast.

They can also still pry fences up with their horns, although it slows them down , and they can still function as a breeding ram. Some shepherds put them on the rams to keep themselves safer during this season.

There is always a chance they might get caught up on something, so it is a worrying time. Jeff has a very small, but very broad head, so while the buckles and straps all fit, the shield was too short and both eyes peered around the edges. Pretty useless that way and it caused a big almost disaster once involving another ram, a cattle panel and myself, when I didn't realize he had outgrown it! My solution is to use duct tape and two leather patches to extend the shield out in front of the eyes. The shield does not touch his eyes at all.

I plan to take Jeff's off in just a few days as he has calmed down quite a bit already. My biggest worry now, is, will he stay where he is suppose to? Is breeding season over in his mind?

Update--ram shield came off this weekend, just in time for a nasty weather system to roll through. Click here to see a picture of the ram shield in it's original state. They are available for large and small rams, as well as horned and polled.

Still Here...

Boone runs like the wind...or is that a freight train?

...adjusting to the new 'it's dark all the time when I'm doing chores routine' and trying to catch up all the projects that need to get done. I am closing in on 'the must get dones'. The flu kind took it out of me, but slowly I'm getting back to where I need to be. My cough has finally started to subside in the last couple of days which is a big relief. As I mentioned with the time change it's pretty much dark when I get home and dark when I do morning chores. It can get get dicey at times while feeding the sheep, keeping an eye on six little kittens, carrying in wood and etc. when it's dark as pitch. However we are adjusting. The first few days were tough though. Lots of yelling (me), getting lost (kittens), big sighs (Boone), but we are getting a routine now....

Here's the rest of the picture....that's a just bathed Ashley prancing along behind. They both had just gotten bathes and were being forced to hang out on the cleaner front area--the abuse just never ends.

It's cloudy today, but so far no rain. The other day there was an article in the paper that said that this past October had been the second wettest on record. And I'm sure most of that rain fell on the weekends.

Whaa? Trying to sleep here...got my cushy bed, got my blankie,
got my fire...

Yesterday I broke up Jeff's breeding group. It didn't go as badly as it could have, but let's say it didn't go as smoothly as it could either. It took allot of patience (on my part) to trick Jeff into a catch pen to start with. The girls were oblivious and in and out of the pen, but not old cagey Jeff--he knew what was up. Eventually though the girls free access to grain got to be too much for him, and he bulled his way in. I slammed the panel shut behind him and despite him trying to push his butt back through, I was able to wire it. Haltered him, took a fleece sample (I remembered!), and then worked on putting the ram shield on. What a mess--all that wool and curvy horns and little cooperation. He got pretty mad because he hates the shield, but eventually I got it on. Then I tied him up (where he did all kinds of fancy tricks like rearing like a stallion and trying to butt the post down, until I shortened his rope close to strangling length...), and attempted to coax the girls out of the pen. The theory there was they would run as fast as their woolly hides could go up to the ewe pen, since they've been pining over being separated all this time. But no. Chickie came out, meandered all over the place and Lark followed her along side the fence, instead of coming out the gate. Eventually they both came out, but they thought they'd just stay down there with Jeff, thank you very much. So I left them to wander and got Cal out of his idyllic getaway paddock and put him back with Jeff. Then I let the monster loose, and he chased Cal around for awhile, but the shield keeps him from ramming, and at his age he gets winded pretty fast, so it was all pretty low key. Meanwhile the girls still weren't cooperating, so I had to do all kinds of stunts to try and entice them up to the ewes. Finally the light bulb went off and they came deer hopping up there as fast as they could and even went in the gate like angels.

Whereupon they were beset upon by the savage masses--normally called ewes---and endured quite a bit of ramming and chasing before everyone settled down. So that is done. Jackie will stay with his girls until Jama can pick him up. It will be easier to put those ewes back with the main flock since they are in the same area and require only two open gates, with no decisions on the ewes part.

Ashley using any excuse to 'get silly'. Unfortunately when she gets real silly, there is allot of jumping around and excitement. Then Sage thinks he has to try and attack her. So he runs across the bed, growling and I try to stop him, and Ashley is pretty scared of him and well we are working on all of this...sigh...

Jeff will have to wear the shield for a few days at least, and he is very ticked off about it. Can't say as I blame him, as it looks pretty awkward at best --especially with all that silver duct tape I used to extend the eye pieces. Poor guy, looks like something out of an alien space ship. He is sticking close to Cal though and they seem pretty happy to be back together. Jeff's wool is gorgeous and I can't wait to see what the 'numbers' show.

Wood has been ordered (three cords) and I still have about a cord and half left for now, as well as a few piles of 'ice storm' wood to haul up. I need to locate some round bales--only about eight I think, as I still have hay from last year.

Wool and roving sales have been spectacular this year and it keep me busy sorting, boxing and mailing orders off. I'm so glad I finally 'bit the bullet' and got Paypal.


The dogs have been sadly neglected and like all good parents everywhere, to make up for it, I've been buying them lots of stuff--chewy bones and treats in this case. Also lots of pictures of them on the blog this time. They would like more walks please and not so much attention paid to those stinkin' kittens please. Ashley the Shredder has been very, very busy and has added Digging to her title as well. All sweetness and light she looks, but a very busy little body lurks behind that exterior.


Noah is doing very well. Only a couple of things now that I notice, and they are very minor. So far no more seizures and he is a playing machine.

That's it for now. I need to head out and unload some wood, and get Boone's house winterized. Then I think, I think, that the critical things are done on the list, if the weather shuts down on me. Well, except what the heck I'm going to do with six little Cheeto kittens. Still working on that one.

Boone...sound asleep. He just melts away into a gooey pile of wrinkles and snores. Wish this photo had been clearer. Quite the sight....

Jackdaw's Breeding Group

Fairlight Jackdaw
(Three Ring Just Jack x Fairlight Duckie)

JackieD is a black and white smirslet ram lamb born this past Spring. He is a pretty little fellow, and I finally got some good photos of him, with his head up for a change. He is a good natured little fellow, and I hope he will produce some spots for me. His conformation is nice, and I think he can add in some 'bone' to the lambs. He is a small but sturdy little fellow. I'm not sure yet what his fleece type will be, possibly double coated, or just as possibly intermediate. Jackie has four ewes, three of which will be staying here. As soon as I break up breeding groups Jackie and Selena will be going to live over at Prosperine, which is not too far down the road. He is out of Just Jack, a moorit and white flecket ram with a nice intermediate fleece and Duckie, a solid black double coated ewe. Again with this combination of bloodlines, I'm hoping that there will be some spots.

Fairlight Selena
(Minwawe Redford x Fairlight Blackberry Winter)

Selena is three and half this year, and has not lambed despite being put with a ram the last two years. Because of space restrictions, I can't keep everybody, so I hoped to sell her to a fiber home. She has a gorgeous fleece, that shears out impressively. Earlier this year, I was able to sell her to a fiber/pet home and she will also be going with Jackie to Jama's. I'm hoping she does settle to JackieD as I think she could produce some lovely lambs. We decided that putting her with Jackie when he was separated from the ewe flock would be a good thing. He would have company and she might possibly breed and settle with a longer season with the ram.

Locksfield Willow
(Fletcher Sundance x Fletcher Limmerick)

Willow is 8 1/2 now, and had the year off from lambing last year. She is a very loving, wonderful mother, so this year she gets in the breeding group. Willow has produced many lambs for me, but only three ewes. I would love to get a solid (non Ag) ewe lamb from her. She produces lovely fleeces and beautiful lambs. She has an intermediate fleece, and was a wild flecket at birth. She is also Jeffrey's dam. She is also pretty pudgy. :-) Willow was the first ewe I picked out and bought for my Shetland flock. She hasn't ever warmed up to me too much, but neither is she a wild snot, so we co-exist peacefully. I'm not expecting Willow to give me solid fleckets, but I'd happily just take a solid ewe lamb from her.

Fairlight Luna
(Minwawe Redford x Locksfield Willow)

Luna is a lovely little musket ewe, who is 3 1/2. Luna is a small ewe, with a lovely, intermediate fleece. Luna was a wild Ag flecket as a lamb--probably one of the most beautiful lambs born here. Luna is much like her mother, Willow (who she hangs around with most of the time), not overly friendly, just content to hang around on the outskirts. Like her mom she will come up for cookies, and is probably a little less suspicious of me. Luna produced Orion, a lovely yuglet sokket musket ram her first year to lamb. This year she produced a lovely solid moorit ram, Conway. I'm really hoping that she will produce some spots for me---and hope just as hard that they won't be Ag! If I can't have a non Ag ewe lamb out of Willow, I would settle for one out of her daughter.

Fairlight Rosemary
(Minwawe Redford x Locksfield Tabitha)

Lastly, but never least is my dear Rosemary. This is the friendliest, sweetest ewe on the place. She has a home here for the rest of her life, if it's up to me. She has a nice intermediate fawn fleece, but is somewhat cow hocked and her tail goes from 'okay' to 'oh no' depending on the season. This year she produced two lovely, lovely little lambs, with gorgeous fleeces. Rosetta, her daughter was one of the lambs I retained. Her fleece is so beautiful---lustrous, crimpy and a wonderful fawn color. I'm not sure Rosemary will produce color for me, as she had solid lambs this year from a flecket ram. Her sire is a smirslet/sokket and she is out of a solid moorit ewe.

And those are the breeding groups for this year. Willow's bloodline figures very prominently--she is dam of Jeffrey, great grandam to Chickie, dam of Luna, and grandam of Selena. Shandrew Rouen, my oldest ewe (she'll be 10 next spring) is also featured heavily---she is dam of Lark, grandam of Chickie, and grandam of Jackdaw.

Five more months and a bit, and we'll know the results!
(p.s...if the sheep look a little stressed, it was because I was basically stalking them to try and get some decent photos!)

Jeffrey's Breeding Group

Fairlight Jeffrey
(Stone Ridge Harris x Locksfield Willow)

Jeff is six and half years old now, and I haven't used him for several years, having had access to some rams with outside bloodlines. However, this year I wanted to give him a couple of ewes in hopes he will produce a nice ewe lamb for me. He always produces lambs that have lovely soft fleeces in the intermediate range I like. His fleece stays very consistent throughout, only falling off on the back of the britch area. However he does produce 'scadder' around his neck area, especially just before breeding season--perhaps in attempts to impress the ladies? He is sired by Stone Ridge Harris who was a grey flecket and out of Locksfield Willow, also a grey flecket. Jeff himself was a wildly spotted grey flecket as a lamb. I plan to get a fleece sample to micron before I break the group up. I had intended to get one when I put them together, but with all the excitement I completely forgot.

Jeff's twin brother, Callum, who is now a wether, sired two lambs before the big surgery. Of those two, I still have the ewe lamb, Duckie, who has produced both Omen (smirslet) and Jackdaw (this year's black and white flecket). This line seems to cross very well on spotted lines, so we shall see. Both breeding groups are basically much the same lines crossed backwards...Jeff is related to most of the girls in Jackdaw's group and Jackdaw is related to the girls in Jeff's group.

Now on to the ewes...all two of them..

Fairlight Lark
(Minwawe Redford x Shandrew Rouen)

This ewe is a nice darker moorit (under that sun bleached fleece) with a very, very dense fleece. She has one of the lower micron counts in the flock. Lark produced a nice ewe lamb for her first lambing this year, Fairlight Eve, but no spots. Lark is out of a moorit smirslet ram and a solid black ewe.

Fairlight Chickie
(Locksfield Griffen x Fairlight Duckie)

Chickie is a sweet little solid black ewe, possibly double coated. There will be a little line breeding on her dam's side by putting her back to Jeff, but nothing to close. I'm hoping for spots out of both of these ewes, but who knows. I know Jeff will produce wildly spotted Ag fleckets, but here is hoping for a nice little spotted ewe lamb that isn't Ag! Chickie's sire is a black smirslet, and again her dam, Duckie has produced both a smirslet (Chickie's twin brother) and a flecket ram.

Sorry for the slightly blurry pictures. The girls were being very clingy and nervous, and would either hang out next to the fence, or I would have to snap one across the pasture...

Vacation.....Poof....

Sneak Peek of Jackdaw's Breeding Group

L-R--Rosemary (fawn), Luna (Musket), Selena (very back--Fawn), JackieD (black/white smirslet/flecket) and Willow (grey)

Well, it's almost over. This is my last day before I head back out to work on Monday. I'm disappointed in what I didn't get accomplished. I know that I did get allot done, but with the rainy weather, the outside tasks that I needed to do (mowing) didn't get done. Out of ten days of vacation there were two..count them...two..days that were dry and sunny and today is one of them--and the other was one day when I was at the lake.

Kitty Play-pen--COMPLETED--kitties installed.
It is mostly in the garage, with only about a foot outside. They can get plenty of sunshine, but safe from rain.

Last night we got a killing frost, so I'm headed out in a bit to pull and stack the rest of the garden plants. It's beautiful and sunny today and the leaves are falling in mounds. This afternoon I'm going out to sit in the sun and play with the kittens, maybe read a little and do nothing else!

Tempe---attached at the foot?

Last night we had a Fire Department soup supper fund raiser. I'm secretary for the department, so I get to take peoples money when they come in. ;-) We charge 3.00 per adult (less for kids), and 10.00 for families. There is no limit to what people can eat. It's a pretty good deal, and by not charging an arm and leg everyone can come and get a good meal for a good price. People also seem to feel more generous because of this and last night we made over $400.00. That is very, very good for this small community. We (the membership of the FD) bring various soups and desserts, so there is minimal expense for the department. All that is paid out of the budget is for paper goods, crackers, cheese etc. We hold the event in the Community Building. The FD operates with volunteers and on dues and donations only. No government funding or anything like that. We have to pay insurance and work comp, utilities and upkeep of the trucks and grounds. Our dues are 30.00 per family, and at the moment we are operating in the black. So far, with two soup suppers a year and sometimes a yard sale, we have been able to keep from raising our dues. The turnout was really nice last night and people seemed to enjoy themselves, even though the fire was spluttering around and it was chilly in the building.

Fall foliage....tattered poke berry bush

My house is kinda a mess right now, but I hope to get it in some semblance of control today. I've been working on several areas and have things scattered about, waiting to be relocated. I just can't figure out with all the work I did this past week, how things can look so...undone. Sigh..

Verity...I promise someday you'll be as beautiful on the outside as you are on the inside...and if not...who cares?? ;-)

Oh well, despite the groanings, it was a great vacation. I did get some work done--the important stuff anyway,-- and just enjoyed not having to rush to get everything done before or after work.

Have a great week.....

Taking A Break...

I'm in the house, taking a break. I'm giving myself one hour of guilt free time to recuperate, before heading back out.

You see the kittens are in confinement. And it makes me feel guilty. At the moment though there is no choice. That is, if I want to get anything else done. Over the last few days the little hotshots have discovered how exciting, how thrilling it is to come into the yard with a big bad dog or two. Boone is fine as long as I'm there to make sure he minds his manners, otherwise....

Tempe---trying to get her to hold still for a photo is nigh impossible!

Need I say the instigator is Tempe? Big surprise I know.

This isn't really another cat post though, so I'll detail the escapades later...if I have the energy.

This post is about......sheep! Finally... However no pictures. I was too busy doing to take pictures this time. I'll get some of the breeding groups soon though.

The breeding groups are together. Yes! I started out this morning feeding the sheep late, so I could get the other critters cared for first. Then I captured the Shetlands while they were feeding, and scrunched them up in a small pen. Much to my dismay over the last week or two some of the ewes have shown up with cockle burrs in their wool--despite me walking the pasture before I put them in there.

My goal was to catch one, clip out cockle burrs (these were mostly around the neck and face wool, thankfully), worm, feed three animal crackers--most important step-- and sort into one of two pens. Rosemary, Luna and Willow went into the east paddock. Rouen, Duckie, Blackberry, Tabitha and the three ewe lambs, Persia, Eve and Rosetta all went back into the main flock. (Hopefully not to be bred this year). Rouen had been particularly distressing me with her cockleburry head. Ever bit of her topknot was covered in them. She got her whole head, cheeks and much of her neck wool trimmed...and loved every minute of it! She looks quite dashing..not. Anyway, once I sorted all those out, that left two in the catchpen--Chickie and Lark. Those two were going to be led down to Jeff's pasture, which is halfway across the place.

Unfortunately for my Dad, when I got to that point, he happened to show up and I enlisted his help in taking them down there. Moving two at once is much easier than trying to lead/drag one. Even at that, it's a chore. I wish they were halter broken but they aren't. Despite Chickie choking herself down once, it went pretty smooth.

After securing them in the (empty) paddock, I headed back out to the barn lot. Now came moving Jackdaw and Selena across the paddock to the east pasture, to joining Rosemary, Luna and Willow. This went remarkably well, even though JackieD veered off course to eat at the hay bale. (I believe we can see where his priorities are....sigh..). Selena was trying to be crafty, but by being patient and working with her, she went into the catch pen easily. Then it was just a matter of opening the gate into the pasture. Woot!

One group safely put together. Now it was back down to Jeff's pasture. The other day I had put up a catch pen, so it was only a matter of putting up a temporary alley way between their two pastures and coaxing Jeff and Cal to go through the alley into the catchpen. This took a while. As I've mentioned they are scardey cats. Plus Jeff was sure those forms moving through the brush on the other side were wolves..even when they baa-ed. Finally though, you could see the idea starting to stir in Jeff's mind...girls?? In he went with Cal right behind him. I had them! Then I made the catchpen smaller, put the halter on Jeff and tied him up out of the way. Reminder to self..do not use a slipknot next time! I captured Cal, who was a real toad, and kept sitting down, while I was worming him. I wrestled him into the pen I had set up for him. Which he does not like. He does not want to be separated from the mean ram, thank you very much!

While my back was turned for two and half seconds Jeff untied himself and took off, with a slip halter on, dragging the lead, chasing the girls. argh..... I had a few panels I needed to set up and secure so I went and did that, muttering under my breath. After making me want to throw myself on the ground and kick and scream, Jeff eventually came close enough for me to grab the lead rope. Then I tied him with a hard knot, and trimmed his feet, wormed him, and put raddle on his chest. And that was that. Breeding group two set up.

Off to the house I went to try and rid myself of aromatic ram smell, eat breakfast/lunch and rest a minute. Just in the nick of time too, as it started pouring down rain for a little while Now if everyone will just stay where they are suppose to! I'm very, very glad to have that chore out of the way. It will be noisy and restless around here for a few days, but that is just part of it.

Now, my hour is up and I'm off to let out the poor kitty prisoners and work on the blasted gate for their play pen. If I can get it done today they will have a nice large play area--and only total freedom when I'm watching them like hawks!

The frenetic energy of kitten....

The Boys are Getting Ready....

Fairlight Jackdaw

....shining their hooves, striking elegant poses and in Jackdaw's case, adding a little finery to his fleece. Breeding groups...hopefully...will go together later this week. The weather is yucky, but I only have a few more panels to move around. The groups will be small this year--three ewes to Jackdaw and two to Jeffery. Getting Jeff up will be the hardest part, he and his twin wether brother Callum are like wild deer when they suspect something is up. Cal will have to be separated from his brother during the breeding season, so I will make him a nice little paddock where he will even get the shed! I don't think he'll mind a bit. Hopefully I will get some nice pictures of the rams and the ewes in their groups to post. If the sun ever comes out....

Fairlight Jeffery

Did I mention the weather is yucky? Raining, overcast with a chilly breeze. I worked out in it some this morning, moving panels around and will venture out again this afternoon--hopefully by then it'll at least not be raining. The fire is burning, but feels weak and sounds splutterly.

There are plenty of projects to do inside. My website needs to be updated, there are several areas that are screaming out---de-clutter me!! I also need to get some packages ready to mail...(I hope you haven't given up on me Vicki!)..for when I go into town later in the week.

Yesterday I did get the pantry/wool storage area cleaned and organized but it is indeed a slippery slope in there. Roving is not the easiest thing in the world to store, especially on narrow shelving! I was caught in a wool avalanche twice before I could get it all stacked just right.

Really...this is clean and organized!

There seemed to be an enormous amount of junk that needed to be thrown away. I have no idea where it came from. None. Is anyone interested in purchasing a very old cast iron meat scale? Hmmmm? No?

I mentioned that the potato digging was a bit pathetic. I went out and pulled a couple of the shriveled plants up and there were quite a few smallish potatoes clinging to the roots.

With thoughts of a sizable potato harvest I went back into the house and got two baskets to put the haul in. The 'haul' turned out to be about a dozen very small potatoes. Two baskets were not needed.

Even Boone was appalled..."do we have to survive on that all winter?"

On the bright side the soil in the potato growing container is beautiful and full of earth worms. Next year, if the season isn't so rainy, I might have to actually come up with a potato storage plan!


I also got all my winter coats and outerwear washed up/aired out and ready to roll for the season. Little by little....

Outside there is allot that needs to be done--finish the cursed kitty play pen (I hope), get all the front area and yard mowed and trimmed up. Harvest the tomatoes and pull up the plants, fill the wood box and kindling bucket, put up plastic over the chicken house window..not to mention the chicken house needs cleaned out.... I'll get as much as I can done, but there will always be a few neglected tasks, as winter comes blowing around the corner.

For now I'm off to de-clutter.....
(Kitten post coming soon!)

Fairlight Jackdaw--Shetland Sheep of the Week

Fairlight Jackdaw

(TR Just Jack x Fairlight Duckie)

My flock is predominately moorit, or moorit carrying these days. Breeding season is fast approaching and I've been trying to finalize my plans. With so many brown based animals, I feel comfortable using a couple of black based rams this year. Since this post is about Jackdaw I'll feature Jeff at a later time.

Jackdaw is a 2009 ramling out of Three Ring Just Jack and Fairlight Duckie. He was my sole spotted lamb this year. Usually I don't keep my rams for breeding, since I have limited room to grow them out, but he was such a nice looking little fellow, I thought I'd give him some time to grow and see what happened. I have a sad lack of pictures of this little guy, because he has a problem....he is always eating. So out of dozens and dozens of pictures of him, I have maybe two that has his head sorta up. Most are not flattering.

I want to do some line breeding back on these sheep as they have many of the older lines in their pedigrees as well as not so common spotting genetics. JackieD and Jeff are both going to do this for me this year. I'm only planning on breeding five ewes. Three will go to JackieD and two to Jeff. All but one of those ewes should carry spotting genetics, and the fifth one has shown some promise. I'm hoping that Jackdaw will be like his dam and produce spots no matter what kind of pattern bred to. We shall see.

This little guy has the prettiest loud flecket markings, and his fleece looks like it is going to be a really nice soft intermediate. His horns should clear with room to spare. I was very concerned about his tail, but it is looking much better these days. For awhile it seemed to have a 'hairy' appearance, but I think it's going to be okay. It's by no means a tiny 'fluke' but the shape is correct and it isn't overly long. His hocks are actually better than what appears in the photo, as he was in the process of sidling away from me. He is wide and square front and back. He is black and white, although he looks brown, he is sun faded. I think. He wouldn't let me near him the other night after I stalked him with the camera. Anyhoo, I don't think that he is modified, but he does have modified in his background.

Temperament wise he is very calm, friendly, but not pushy. I just really like this little guy and hope that he can produce the elusive (for me) spots. This particular genetic package has clicked well in my ewe flock. Once breeding groups are set up, I hope to post more (and much, much better!) photos of him and the ewes he will have in his group. Of course I'll also post Jeff and his two girls as well.

The end.

Breeding Group 2008

The breeding group has been together now about a week, but it seems like it is taking me forever to get their pictures pulled together and posted! So, I'm just going to go with these pictures and have it done, and on 'record' so to speak. I'm finding the blog to be a good record keeping tool for me to look back on! It looks like I will likely get mostly moorit based lambs next year, with this group. I should get some spots too... hopefully on ewe lambs this time! Of the six ewes, five have absolutely lovely fleeces. The handle and feel of these girls is so nice....I just like to sink my hands into their fleeces while I'm pretending to scratch them....;-) All five are my "Red" girls from the ram I used for those two years. Duckie the sole 'sheep of a different color' has a more primitive fleece and is double coated. The inner fiber is very soft, but I'd like to get a primitive/double coat with a softer outer fleece as well. So here goes. Six ewes this year, as well as the ram, pictures and brief comments to follow.

Introducing: (drum roll please)

Three Ring Ranch Sprat
(Sheltering Pines Jerome x Locksfield Brietta)

He is a fine fleeced little fellow with overall nice conformation and excellent horns! His sire is a "UK" style fleeced ram and while this ram lamb has a longer staple, he still has plenty of crimp and nice handle . I'm very excited about the fleeces on next years to be lambs!

Fairlight Duckie
(Fairlight Callum x Shandrew Rouen)
Beautiful compact ewe, with a primitive fleece. She is the dam of Omen (the smirslet ram lamb), so I hope she will again throw markings this year. She is out of an Ag Flecket ram and a solid black iset ewe. She is a black iset and has no markings. Duckie has the sweetest personality as does her daughter, Chickie.

Fairlight Selena
(Minwawe Redford x Fairlight Blackberry Winter)

This girl didn't settle last year, so I'm especially looking forward to what she will produce. Selena is out of a smirslet/sokket ram and an Ag grey ewe. She had (and still shows seasonally) a large krunet. I believe that she is fawn. She does carry the horned ewe gene which unfortunately produced these curly horns. Selena is my biggest Shetland ewe, and is very long bodied.

Fairlight Luna
(Minwawe Redford x Locksfield Willow)

Beautiful, sweet and shy, Luna is the mother of Orion (moorit yuglet ram) from this year. Hoping that Sprat's horn genes will prevail. Luna is my smallest ewe, and very nicely put together. She is a musket flecket and was wildly spotted as a lamb.

Next is the terrible three. :-) Actually they aren't terrible, but at times I have a terrible time telling them apart! They are all 2007 lambs and this will be their first time to lamb.

Fairlight Lark
(Minwawe Redford x Shandrew Rouen)
This girl is a moorit, and has retained a nice dark color underneath the sun tipped edges. She is sweet, friendly (but has a loud mouth), and carries a tiny krunet. Her fleece is shorter stapled and very dense, with a lovely handle.

Fairlight River
(Minwawe Redford x Locksfield Rain)
This pretty girl can't decide if she is 'wild' or putty in my hands. Her mother and grandmother are 'thinkers' so maybe eventually she'll figure it out. She is a lovely light almost shimmery color, and I believe she is fawn. Her mother is a very dark grey and her sire fawn. I wish I could get a good picture of her fleece, it is amazing. It is long and flowing and almost silky looking.

Fairlight Rosemary
(Minwawe Redford x Locksfield Tabitha)
Last, but never least is my beloved Rosemary. She loves attention and scratches and constantly is begging for more. Her fleece is buttery soft and I love her sweet face! (Although she also has a loud mouth!) She is a fawn as well. Notice she likes to wear feathers in her, er, wool.

Rosemary again.

Hey, girls! Girls?! Wait up!
Sprat and the girls shortly after setting up the group.