December 7, 2009

Here's Jackie.....

Happy December everyone! Hope all are doing well.

Can you believe only 24 days left in the year? I can't.

Much going on around the farmstead of late. Seem to just stay busy like it or not.
Dad is having heart problems again. Hoping to have much good news to report Wednesday. At this time the procedure he was to have last week was postponed. His blood was too thin to risk having the procedure done. They took him off the blood thinner and are waiting for test results to continue.
We managed to get the pigs into process on the 3rd. Woo Hoo! Happy, happy that those 9 - 300 something pound pigs are out of here. This was the largest and most destructive group of pigs we have dealt with and I tell you I am so glad they are gone!
The better half made it in for Thanksgiving and the day after, though had to work the weekend. We were able to run out to Fairlight Farm and pick up our two new additions to the Shetland flock.
Wanna see them?
Here's Jackie! Isn't he just lovely :-) Ok, boys aren't lovely but I just love his spots!
Just a beautiful boy!

This is Selena our new Shetland ewe. She is a sweetie.


Another of Jackie & Selena

And yet another of Jackie and Selena...a bit closer.
Actually they are still leery of me. Can't get too close.
At feeding time I can almost touch them.
The rest of the time they wouldn't let me touch them with a 10 ft. pole if their life depended on it.

Miss Pitty Pat makes up for the newbies hesitation. We call her Velcro...yes LOL sticks to you like Velcro.
Not sure if Scarlet and Pitty Pat are bred, though if Jackie has anything to say about it, they are. He barely step foot out of the truck when he found the two new girls. There were a few sheep races and a good bit of foot stomping going on. Selena made it known she was the boss. Jackie made it known he was all ram.
Things have quieted down, the girls steer clear of Selena, though they eat from the same dish as Jackie.
I love watching Jackie. If he sees something he is not quite sure what it is, he starts stomping that front foot. If that doesn't scare whatever it is away he lowers that head and shows them his horns. He is a big bad puff ball for sure.
We haven't put them with the Shetland boys (wethers). Still have a bit of work to do on the fencing. Though happy to say we are one step closer, the sheep shelter roof is fixed as of Friday.
The Shetland boys are in the bottom pasture with the Angora girls for the moment. Which is actually difficult. The sheep can't eat what the goats eat, the goats shouldn't eat the sheep food... the sheep can't have the goat minerals, the goats need more and different minerals than the sheep... so they all pretty much get stuck with eating oats and hay. Many are not very happy about this situation. Seems we are really going through the hay, especially since it has turned off cold.

Kirby (light fleece) and Kelley (black) fighting as usual over the same blade of grass hay.


Bonnie Lass begging for Sundance to come visit (the girls are all in heat). And believe me they can smell him which makes things worse.

Till next time...have a very good one!

4 comments:

John Going Gently said...

lovely sheep and a lovely barn! its lovely

Deb said...

Love your new sheep. I hope everyone you want to settle did so and you have many beautiful babies in the spring ;)

Hope your Dad gets good news on Wednesday!

Tammy said...

And here I was worried about your 'little ewe lambs'--They look like they are taller than Selena even. :-) Hope all is going well there. If you have a few animal crackers (I should have sent some with you!) that will get through to Selena pretty quick. She loves her crackers.
Good to see an update. I'll be praying for your Dad and family.
Tammy

Tonia said...

Ahhh PittyPat and Scarlett!!! I still think babies!!Lol!! Mis PittyPat has always been like that. SO different than the other sheep even the ones we bottled raised.