Two more lambs

Maddy and her ewe lamb

This weekend both my boys were home to help me put up a fence so I won't have to mow as much lawn. In the midst of all the pounding and running around on Saturday morning, Maddy delivered a little ewe lamb. 

The color on this one is pretty puzzling, she looks decidedly brown on her back half but definitely black on her head. I think maybe she's emsket and Mia's lamb is shaela.

Mia and her ewe lamb

This morning at 4 a.m. I checked the barn cam and saw that Rose had lambed. So I whipped on some sweats and ran out to find she delivered a good sized English Blue Patterned ram lamb.  He's a Shetland/Bluefaced Liecester cross. She had licked him off well and was very attentive to him - great!  I stripped her teats and put a section of hog panel up around them since Maddy was still in the Sydell pen.  Went back in to sleep a little longer. Before going back out, I mixed up some lamb milk replacer with some powdered colostrum.  I've never had a BFL lamb without having to supplement for the first 6-8 hours because the moms are a bit touchy with their bags or the lambs can't find the teat. But this is what I saw when I got out there.

Amazing!  What a good mom she is and to think she's only a yearling.  I wonder if it's the influence of her sire, Ward Harwell and the fact that the hybrid lambs may be a bit more aggressive nursers than purebred BFLs. I hope my other two BFL ewes are as easy as Rose. Her lamb was doing so well, I let them out on grass for a while this morning.

Looks like Rita (in the foreground above) will be next and she's definitely carrying a bigger load than Rose was.

Not to be outdone, the hen hatched out a batch of chicks this weekend too. I haven't let them out of the barn, so no photos yet. The Shetland goose started setting on about a dozen eggs last week.  I hope some of her eggs are fertile this year.

Round two of Lambing Begins

River Oaks Mia surprised me with a little gulmoget ewe lamb late on Monday afternoon. I had the calendar marked for lambs on the 19th, so I wasn't really ready.  Mia's an excellent mom and there were no problems.

This little girl is not Ag grey, she's modified grey like her sire, Somarang Hansel.  Emsket?
It was interesting that Mia was born at 11:50 p.m. on Mother's Day 2011 and she became a mom the day after Mother's Day 2012.  Not really in my plans, but that's the way it is.

So Mia and her Mini-Mia got to christen my new Sydell lambing jug. I just love it! It keeps those pesky older lambs away from the choice hay and corn syrup water that the lambing ewes get right after delivery. I should have bought one way back when I first started off with sheep.

Now I'm waiting on the three Bluefaced Leicesters and Mia's 1/2 sister, Maddie to lamb.  My large natural colored BFL named Rita is marked as due on Saturday, she looks like she could have twins. I've set up the barn cam again and will keep a close watch.  I also bought the ewe headlock that attaches to the lambing jug just in case I need to restrain the BFLs so their lambs can nurse.

Oh, you may have noticed I changed the blog format again.  I didn't like not being able to see the blog list on the right. I really like being able to see all the most recent activity on all my favorite blogs.

Changes are coming

Lots of changes on the horizon here! And the first you may notice is the blog format. I thought it was time for a change from the dark grey background. I like how you can see several posts at a time on this version.
But in order to see the whole post you must click on the header.  Also, you have to move your mouse over  the side bar on the right to get the blog list, followers, etc.  But I like the cleaner, fresher look.

The other big change is going to be to my house  --  I am getting all the windows replaced and new siding!

I am SO blessed to be living here. I have, without a doubt, the very best neighbors in the world. My neighbor's church has volunteered to provide the labor to install the new windows and siding. All I have to do is buy the materials.  :-)))

In the days before Stan died, he told me to talk with my neighbor Tim about getting this done. He said Tim would know the right people to get it done. But Stan and I could never have imagined such a generous offer.  It is so remarkable and inspiring to see how people around here live their beliefs. 

So now I think I should concentrate on organizing, painting, and cleaning up the place this summer.  Then the inside will be as nice as the outside is going to be.

Shepherd's Harvest weekend/lambing, etc.

Spring has definitely sprung, the stone cherry tree is in full bloom and the dandelions are up.

Those Black Locust trees aren't dead, in a month they will be full of fragrant blossoms and lots of bumble bees.

I've got a full weekend planned, starting on Friday with a day of training for work in Bloomington and going to the Friends School Plant Sale with my oldest son Alex. Now that he's a homeowner he's really gotten into landscaping.   And on Saturday, I'll be at Shepherd's Harvest of course. 
Then I'll visit my mom on Sunday.  It will be the first time in years that I've been able to go home on Mother's Day.
I will not have a booth at Shepherd's Harvest this year. I will judge the felting competition Saturday morning and then shop to my heart's content. :-)  My major purchase will be a lambing jug and a ewe headlock from Sydell.  Thankfully I'll get a 10 % discount for being a member of Minnesota Lamb and Wool Producers.
Shearing revealed that 3 of my 4 yearling Bluefaced Leicester ewes are bred (along with two yearling Shetlands). Lambing could start as early as May 19th (after Hansel's break out on Christmas Eve day).  Having the ewe headlock will allow me to handle tasks like milking out a ewe, letting a lamb nursing from a sensitive new mom, hoof trimming, ear tagging all by myself.
I'm also buying an extra panel so I can have a safe heat lamp area for the lambs.  I noticed that the BFL lambs born in March, 2011 grew better than the later born BFL lambs. Once they were dried off and nursing, they were able to take single digit temps without missing a beat or needing a heat lamp.  Plus I got all twins with March lambing of the BFLs. 

I'm seriously considering attending a Spring/Summer Jacket felting workshop in Otsego, Michigan in July.  Anyone want to ride out there with me? Otsego is close to Allegan and Kalamazoo, it's possible to haul a  few sheep one way or the other...just thinking out loud here.  Shoot me an email if you're interested in traveling and/or sheep transport.

Speaking of which, I have two ram lambs for sale, including the polled moorit gulmoget  in the photo below and a horned dark moorit who is not pictured.

Hattie's twin gulmoget lambs, she always produces rich color.

Good news - RAIN has come, yeah! The hayfield we planted in alfalfa and orchard grass last year is looking good but the rain is just what it needed. We've had over 4 inches in the past 5 or 6 days.

If you have time, click on this link to a great article about the Shepherd's Harvest festival director Julie MacKenzie. I loved how the reporter picked up the experience so many of us have with raising our own fiber animals. 

Felted Vessel Class

I had a great time in the vessel class taught by Pamela MacGregor at the Textile Center over the past three days.  All the vessels made in class were fabulous.

Class vessels still in progress, but near the end of class, unfortunately Jeanie's bag isn't pictured here.

It's so much fun to see how people work with color and form.

This photo shows the beautiful large vessels in the back better.

I'm a sucker for purple and blue, so I always gravitate toward that.  But I love the way others use green, reds and golds. And the use of the printed fabrics with nuno prefelt.  Lots of inspiration!

Pam giving me some pointers on how to embellish the lid of my vessel. I used BFL britch wool, merino and the purple was hand-dyed Finn.

A big thanks to Kris Post for getting this class organized and special thanks to Pam for coming all the way to Minnesota.  It was wonderful to meet fellow Minnesota felters and those that came from out of the area. I was lucky to sit across from Judy Colvin's friend, Kim Miller, from Montana.

Despite the long drive back and forth to Textile Center each day, with a visitation on Friday night for my dear friend Nancy Hoerner, and shearing squeezed in on Saturday morning, I am energized and excited to try making a larger vessel.

Camille's Lambs

According to my observations, Camille was due on March 29th while I was in training at Kansas City.  My son Alex took a week off of work to stay here and care for Ozzie and all my animals.

I had a great time in Kansas City. It's funny that the second fellow student I met there was from Minnesota also and she happened to be the daughter of a longtime member of the KCAA (the local art group I've been in since 1981).  What a small world!  We had a good time shopping and eating and swimming in the hotel pool in the evenings after class.

I called Alex on my breaks to see if Camille had lambed.  No, nope, nothing. Well, that was okay, I figured she must not have taken on the initial breeding. When I got home from my classroom training, there was a lot post classroom self-study and then 2 days of on the job training and then work all week.  It was a BUSY two weeks.  Exhausting, but interesting and fun.

On Sunday I got a chance to look back over my records from last fall's breeding season.  Sure enough, two weeks after the initial breeding notation, there was a note saying that Hansel thought Camille was cycling.  So I marked her due date for today, April 12th and started to keep a closer eye on her.

Yesterday morning about 11:30, I got off the phone and didn't see Camille out in the paddock.  When I got to the barn, there she was licking off a little musket ewe lamb.  It looked kind of small and thin and so I was pretty sure she'd have another.

I sat with her for quite a while, clipping and dipping the baby's cord, stripping her teats to make sure the milk was flowing.  It was a long time before the second one came.  I took some video of her in labor...this is the smallest one...

The twin was another ewe lamb, very small and petite.  A moorit, mioget, fawn or maybe even musket  gulmoget.  I will have to wait on identifying her color. Both lambs are brown toned, with light under the wool tips, so they both may be Ag (from their mom) and will be musket. 

 I have been wanting muskets in my flock again.  And the fleeces on these two are so tightly curled, like terrycloth. I think they will be really nice!  The gulmoget is actually much smaller than her musket twin.

With all the demands of my new job, I decided to opt out of teaching the lotion making class at Shepherd's Harvest.  And with my rented space in the Anoka Fiber Arts CoOp, I decided to opt out of having a booth at Shepherd's Harvest this year. I will still be there to judge the felting competition and enjoy all the other vendors.  Maybe I'll even take a class.  I'm really looking forward to just going and enjoying the festival this year!

 I'll be working at the Fiber Co-Op this Saturday, if you get a chance, stop in!  The Co-Op is located on the upper floor of the Shepherd's Choice shop, 210 2nd Ave. N., Anoka, MN 55303.

Next week I'm excited to be taking a three day Felted Vessel class from Pam MacGregor at the Textile Center.  Pam is a master of felted vessels.  Her previous experience as a potter really comes through in her covered felt vessels.  Last year when I failed miserably to make a felted vessel for Stan's ashes, I vowed I would take a class.  What a great opportunity this is to have Pam coming right here to Minnesota to teach us!  Thanks to Kris Post for organizing this class.

I will have to be a little late for one day of the vessel class because the shearer is coming early on April 21. YAY!  He's from Wisconsin and doesn't get over this way everyday, so I decided my desire to get the sheep sheared outweighed my desire to attend every minute of the class.  Hopefully I will only be an hour late.  I know the girls will appreciate getting rid of their wool!  And I can't wait to get my hands on it. :-)

Lambs! -- and a Felted Purse!

I'm still crazy busy, but the Shepherd's Harvest booklet is finally at the printer and lambing has started!
You can download the booklet on here --
http://www.shepherdsharvestfestival.org/New_Site/?page_id=559


I only wanted to breed three Shetland ewes, but Hansel had other ideas... So what we have now are the intended pregnancies.  Hattie started it off with a set of twin gulmogets on Sunday night around 10 p.m.  She always seems to lamb at night and outdoors. Last year we lost one of her crossbred twins due to the cold temps and extreme winds on March 13th.  What a change of weather this year!

Who would have ever thought I would be out under a beautiful starry sky, with a warm breeze blowing on my arms (no coat required!) witnessing the birth of lambs in Minnesota in March!  It was so beautiful, there's something very special about being there with your ewes at the birth of their lambs. 

Hattie's ewe lamb, very solid black gulmoget. Very spunky, good size lamb.

Hattie's ram lamb, might be mioget, smooth polled and the best looking fleece of all the lambs so far.

My 4 yr old wether Socks is now in with the ewes (since Hansel went into the freezer in February).  And this was his first time being around lambing ewes.  He's a big Shetland/Bluefaced Leicester cross, in full fleece.  He quietly stood behind my shoulder looking into the calf hut as the newborns were being licked off and finding their legs. It was the first time since Stan's death that I've felt everything was totally right with the world.  What a good feeling!

I went out early the next morning and was surprised to see Heddy come running in the barn with the flock looking for their morning hay accompanied by a set of twins.  What a surprise, Heddy wasn't due until Wednesday.  It's the second time I've missed Heddy's lambing. Darn!  But she did an excellent job with her first set of twins - she's only 2 years old.  Her dark moorit ram lamb (with horn buds) is the first solid colored lamb I've gotten sired by Hansel.  I may need to wether him for a fiber pet, his fleece is SO dark brown. 

Heddy's ram lamb on left and gulmoget ewe lamb on right. She looks like she got her mom's Ag.

Heddy's ram lamb is very dark moorit and the first solid colored lamb we've gotten from Hansel. He has big horn buds.

 

 

I'm pleased with the four lambs so far.  Their ear sets are all very good. Last year I had some airplane ears and longish tails sired by Hansel. River Oaks Camille (Ag grey gulmoget)  is due next week when  I'll be out of state for training for my new job.  My oldest son will be staying here to tend the sheep and chickens and keep poor Ozzie from getting too nervous without me around.

I also had an absolutely wonderful visit with Heather on March 9th.  It was so much fun to be with her visiting the Textile Center, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and StevenBe's yarn shop! We are both Pisces, her birthday is two days earlier than mine, and both were just last week.  Heather made me the coolest felted bag, I just love it!  All my friends have swooned over it.

Back view, the colors are so rich. The other photos don't show them off as much as this one does.

Front of the purse, closed.

Opened to reveal the button closure and a bright red fish.

fully lined with two pockets and the coolest wooden label.

Check out Heather's blog for the process she used in creating it here: http://woollove-functional-fiberart.blogspot.com/2012/03/marine-life-purse-for-pisces-part-3-of.html

I hope to get Heather to come back to Minnesota again to teach some felting classes. She's a great lady.