I Take It Back..

What I said about LeRoy, and "I doubt he'll try that again" ? Ok, I take it all back.

I went over to the barn yesterday, and there was under the wagon.. same spot.

I thought from this angle, he might be starting to bloat? Or maybe it's just the angle..

I got him out and he's looking at me as I'm walking away - as if to say "as soon as you're out of sight... I'm going back to my spot!" (notice Virgil under the wagon too... there really is a fan going in the barn, but I guess nothing compares to laying under the wagon!)

Just one of the many reasons I'm crazy..

about Jack!





Despite the long hours he puts in at work, and all the other work he has going on when he gets home, and elsewhere- he's never too busy to stop and play.





He's a great guy.

A great Dad.

And a great husband.

A New Project...

Today was our "groundbreaking" day on getting started on our house. We had planned to build several years ago, but we built a shop first, and along the way during that project we built living quarters in the upstairs. Then.. we were going to start a house. However, we've been cozy and content ever since, and just hadn't been real motivated to leap into building a house after we finished the shop. (and I say we, meaning not just Jack and I, but my Dad, my brother, friends.. a lot of people fit into that "we".. there were a lot of people that helped us along.. a tremendous amount of help!)

We have come to the point though, where we need more space - Wyatt needs his own room! We love where we live now, but it's becoming a necessary. So, all that being said, this is where we're building our house. (it's just beyond our shop/apartment) Unfortunately, those trees there in the front had to be cut down to accommodate an electric line/pole.

We hate to cut down living trees, but really didn't have any other options that were feesible. We will miss those trees, but will replace them with smaller ones in a different area that will hopefully someday reach those heights!

I'm sure the sheep will miss them too, but at the time this pic was taken, that's not what was on their minds. Starting a chainsaw up around here is like ringing a dinner bell.. they came from all corners of the pasture to see what we were trimming, and to see if there was anything in it for them!

There was. With that done, (yet not completely finished.. as there is still wood split, laying everywhere! Not to mention some branches remaining in the sheep pen.. ) but today was the day our excavator was scheduled to dig the basement. It went great -

and we have a hole in the ground!

It will be an on-going project, building this house.. and we cant even begin to have an idea of when we'll be finished, but we're getting started, and we're excited to be at this point.

Hey! Someone get me out of here!

Today was a full schedule, but nearing the end of the day, I noticed that LeRoy wasn't out grazing with the other boys. Which.. is unusual. The boys are in a separate lot from the girls, and it's fairly easy to find them - if they're not in the lot, they're in the barn. (unlike the ewe pen where you have to go up and down seven hills to find one of them that is coincidentally hiding on the other side of the barn) So, with all the heat, I thought i'd better just check the barn to make sure LeRoy was ok. There's a fan running in the barn, so I just assumed he stayed behind to have full access to the fan! Well.. along the way, I saw a big hind end under our wagon that is parked outside the barn. The boys sometimes lay under the wagon, so I wasn't overly concerned at first, but then I noticed he wasn't moving.


That's because he didn't have room to move! How in the world he got wedged in here, I'll never know. Le Roy had got himself trapped under the axle on the wagon - literally, with no room to spare. The wagon has a load of barn siding/metal on it and the back tires are flat, but they were flat before he got under there, so it's a wonder that he got there, but it was a bit of a wonder that we were able to get him out too. Jack had to "jack" up the wagon and I was on the pulling end. Free at last!

I doubt he'll try that again.

Disclaimer: I didn't leave him to go and get the camera..(lol) that would've been dirty. Of all things, Jack was watching Wyatt at the moment and I had my camera to take a few pictures of the rams while I had free hands.. who knew this is what I'd come back with.

Owen County Fan Fair

I mentioned in my last post that I stopped by the OCFF on the way home from "sheep shopping'' - and.. I did a little more shopping there:



(and I say I don't like to shop..lol) This painting was painted in acrylics by Ron Devore. I met Mr. Devore 3 years ago when I set up at the Owen County Arts in the Park. He had a painting of dairy cows out in a grassy field with the barn back in the distance.. I've thought about that painting so much over the past few years, that when I saw this one, I didn't go home to think about it! Here's a little bit of a close up on the details of his artwork. He is currently painting a series of paintings - the barn quilts of Owen County. (Kentucky) He painted 2 pictures of this barn - the barn quilt was on the other side of the barn. It is a beautiful painting as well, but I liked this view of the barn. It's more "lived in". The side with the quilt faced the road and did not have cattle tromping in front of it - the grass was all green in front of the barn.. freshly mowed. You know this side of the barn is being used- and I love it.

I was a bit sad to learn that he doesn't always record/photograph his work, and several of his barn quilt paintings have already sold. I inquired about the possibility of displaying his work on a website for others outside of our area to see and appreciate. If that works out, I will be posting a link. His work really is something to see!

Another great find of the day was.... pottery!
This is by Heartsong Pottery - by Gail Herrington of Owen County, Ky.

She was set up with another local potter and they had such beautiful pottery .. I thought of starting my Christmas shopping, but then.. wait, I have just the place for these pieces!

I love these pieces. Someone once asked me if I use my own pottery. I guess it's not good advertisement to say "no" but.. in all honesty, I prefer other potters work. I know what goes into a piece, and when i look at my work, I think of the night I stayed up pulling handles, or glazing them outside when snow was blowing in the barn and my fingers were freezing! You get the idea. I display someone elses pottery in my home and I look at it and remember the day Wyatt and I went shopping for sheep and we stopped by the art fair. I am then freed up to just enjoy the piece and it's beauty. (with no thoughts of sleepless nights and freezing fingers!)

There are such wonderful artists all around us.

A New Ram

We were looking to add a new ram to our flock this year, and we feel this ram lamb will just the right addition to our flock! I have to say though, the decision wasn't easy.

In addition to great fleece and conformation, we were also looking to add pattern to our flock.

This guy - currently known as 476 looks to be a gray moorit (with a double gray gene) (thanks to everyone who has had a hand in helping to decipher this!) I'll know more about what his pattern is when lambs hit the ground, but we're really looking forward to the 2012 lambs.

We will also be using our mouflon ram lamb as well as ziggy, or moorit ram, this breeding season.

476 was one of a triplet of 3 ram lambs. Just to give you an idea of how hard the decision was, just look at his brothers:

and that's not to count the other ram lambs there to choose from! This beautiful gray moorit has a fleece that just glistens..and the spotted ram? goodness, i need to quit looking at these pictures because i want them all. (Jack is supportive of this venture, but he might not be if I bought 3 or more rams at once! lol) These rams, along with other wonderful Icelandic lambs, are available at H&K farms - located in Pleasureville, KY.

We also purchased a gray moorit ewe lamb and a moorit mouflon ewe that we are excited to bring home. (and Sir Charles.. I can't wait to show you Sir Charles, an icelandic/border leicester cross)

It was a great day visiting H&K farm and then, to top the day off, Wyatt and I stopped by the Owen County Fan Fair - a new event in a nearby county to welcome Nascar fans. There were local artists, and potters.. and a big inflatable bouncy house for Wyatt! I did a little shopping there too! (pictures coming... I love local art)

I'd better stay home for a while now.

Little Ewenice, Big City (part 2)

It's been a few months since I posted about the exciting trip that Ewenice was taking. I had hoped she would write, or send a post card sooner, but I was just glad to hear she was safe, and having a good time. She sent this to share:

She is having a great time! She said she made this sign in hopes of getting on the Good Morning America show. Yet, she kept getting pushed to the back of the herd. (She said it was much like trying to get to the grain pan in the ram pen.) So, that didn't work out so well for her, but she said it's been quite an adventure.

She is currentnly staying in Kewe Gardens, which is a short ride on the Qewe10 bus to the subway that takes her into the city. (where she grazes in Central Park) She said the grass is good there, and the night life? Well, she's never seen anything like it!

But it hasn't been all play and grazing, (she had her lamb while away you know) and she's had a little work to do, and she writes that it went really well, and it has all been an experience of a lifetime!

So that's her message, that all is well. It's funny that the postcard came the same day (yesterday) that I was in the store and picked up the latest copy of Vogue Knitting.

I knew there was a possibility that the work she was up there to do might end up in the
"What's new, what's now, what's next in knitting" section of the early fall issue, but I was pleasantly surprised and delighted to see that it's on the newsstands already!

Ewenice is pictured on the far right, 3rd row down. Bewelah is pictured 3rd over on the top row. (Ewenice was a bit miffed that Bewelah was asked to go as well, but what she doesn't know, is Bewelah is actually the one that got the invitation - and "she" was the one to tag along - just don't let that get back to her, ok?)


All that being said, I'm a little behind on updating my website! I've been adding new things to the pottery section of the FCW&P site, and working on the on-line shop at etsy. It was on the list to have completed by "early fall" but it's been moved up to.... "now".

Sending out thanks to Faith Hale for the invitation to display my mugs in her article - what an honor. Thank you. (I hope Ewenice has been on her best behavior, and hasn't been much trouble)

Lambs

It's been a while since I've posted, mostly because it is hard to get pictures of the sheep these days, and my ramblings need pictures!

I was able to get a few shots yesterday of the lambs, and wanted to share those shots.


#44 - Yes, I know - how impersonal. We've always named them, but this year -it just hasn't happened. There are a few with names - like this guy below:

He's "lambies rammie" but then again, so was the ram she had last year..

She's looking as if to say "every time i get up he does this! it's wearing me out."

Myrtle on the other hand is asking "when is this little piggy going to the market?"

This is our yearling "lil friend" She's not as friendly as the name implies - but she was a great friend to the little "broken leg lamb" last year when we had to keep her separated from the group. Lil Friend took up with her, even though that meant sleeping in a cage at night.

By the way - Didi (broken leg lamb) healed up from her surgeries so well, you can not tell she ever had a problem! (much thanks and gratefulness to the great care she received at Carroll County Animal Clinic - they were so wonderful with her. She seemed to rather enjoy getting in the truck and making the trip every time we went - probably because she got so much good and healing treatment there. Not to mention, all the attention) She has a little lamb of her own now. (I'll add those pictures in an upcoming post)

Back to lambs.. this is the mouflon ewe

And her brother:

I need to update my website - he is for sale, but we are going to use him to breed our 3 yearlings this coming breeding season.

And # 41.

It's been a great lambing season- and it's been so much easier to work the lambs this year than in previous years. This is the first year I've been able to get the girls in the barn on a regular basis. We haven't had that barn too long and when we were in the "old barn" - the rams were in the same pen, and the ewes knew they wouldn't get any grain anyways with the boys there, so why bother following me to the barn? We've kept the rams separate so that we can let Wyatt play while I'm checking on the sheep, and we couldn't do that with rams around. Anyways, it's worked out for the best. It's an ever evolving journey here with the sheep, and it takes a while to learn what works. Finally, it's a journey that doesn't seem to be uphill all the time.

Great Time at the Ky Fiber Festival!

Unfortunately, I don't have photos to back up my story, but the Ky Sheep and Fiber Festival was wonderful!

So many people have given of their time and energy to put together a wonderful show, and their efforts were successful!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hello! It was great meeting new sheep and fiber folks, and so great to see familiar folks too!

Several people asked where my lil guy was, and him being almost a year and 1/2 already, we thought it would be best if he stayed home with Dad. I can only imagine how exciting a wool festival, with all the tempting wool, and goods within his reach.. it might have been hard to keep up with him, and hard to keep him out of trouble! But here's a little photo update on him. We were trying to get a few photos of lambs to put a list of available lambs together (we've almost got that ready, so if you were on the list, we'll be sending that in the next couple of days!) The lambs weren't easy to photograph, they were all either eating, or being chased...

Boy's best friend

Ky Fiber Festival

Ready or not... here it comes!

www.kentuckysheepandfiber.com

There are pots in the kiln still, and several ideas that haven't surfaced, but here is a few of the new items that I'll be bringing this year.






Ewenice is not pictured here (she's in the kiln) It's been hard with all her jet setting to get her pinned down on a mug, but good news - amidst all the excitement, she had her lamb! We plan to bring Ewenice and baby to the festival as well.

I'm looking forward to the festival, and hope to see you there!

Still waiting...

we are still waiting on 4 ewes to lamb (5 if you count Ewenice) The lambs are growing fast! Time is just moving right along. We have 16 lambs - 8 ewe lambs and 8 rams - all out of Andy, our moorit ram that was sold in December. After he left our farm, we put Ziggy in with the girls, so the remaining 4 ewes were bred to Ziggy - we're looking forward to seeing his lambs.

This is LeRoy... no real reason he's in this post, other than he was posing for a picture as I was trying to get a pic of one of the other fellas... If we could only eat our lambs, I think this guy would be a great sire for meat lambs. We haven't used him as a ram, but maybe next year we might use him to breed a few of the ewes. (if not, why are we keeping him again? oh it's something about the way he runs up to us and turns his head sideways and says "what's up" when we go out in the pasture. Yes, he's figured me out)
ok, lambs.. these aren't the newest pictures, but they are a little more recent than the last ones posted.

This is our moorit ewe, cheyenne with her babies. This isn't a great picture of Cheyenne, but as soon as I get a better one, I will be listing her and one of our other ewes on the website. I've had people ask if we had adult ewes available, and up to this point, we haven't... but then came shearing time. She's a good ewe, she's just a little much for me to try to shear. She's strong.. lots of muscle and she just won't settle down during shearing at all. Thought it was just me, but she fought our shearer that we hired too. (probably has something to do with the year I was learning how to shear..) (i didn't cut her or anything, but it was surely tramatic for her just the same)

Iced Mocha.. does he remind you of the bernstein bears? For some reason, I think of that when i see his pic.. maybe it's that smile?

And dear Alice. She's our non-trusting wild girl. Not so much as 'ewes gone wild' kind of wild, but she is just very leery of us. As wild as she is, you'd think she'd be a handful to work with. However, if I can get 'trick' her into the barn, she's the easiest to work with of any! She sits still for her shearing, while the tamest of them kick and squirm the whole way. Isn't she a pretty ewe? Nice girl Alice.

And since i haven't been posting more regularly, here's our weather. It's definitely "mud boot" season! This is a lot that the cows are in, so it's one you could easily lose a mud boot in. I don't mean to complain about the rain, but i have to say it's the first time i've heard the slugs and snails complaining about having too much rain.

And my little guy... I sure thought he would be a baby just a little longer than it's been. I look at him every day and just wonder how he got so big - so fast!

Eweniversity sports

A Few More Lambs..

and a few more pictures.





The last post ended with Myrtle, so I'll start with her... this is her little guy. 1/2 icelandic, 1/2 ? non icelandic. The little brown ram is not hers, he's just trying to sneak a little milk. He must think she'd never notice a little milk missing.



this is a little better pic of her guy, isn't he cute?

this little ram lamb is 1/4 shetland and 3/4 icelandic. We bought 2 icelandic / shetland crossed ewe lambs last year and this is the first lamb borm from them... can't wait to see what the other ewe comes up with! (i don't think she could top this little fella)

another picture of the mouflon ewe.. same lamb as on the last post, just a little older

What a little character. We might have another 'ziggy' on our hands. This guy loves a face rub. He'll put his head on your shoulder and fall right to sleep.

and his sister.

There's several more out there that haven't had their pics taken yet.. we're up to 15 lambs, with several more looking like they will lamb any day now!

Happy Spring!