http://lightnessofbeing.me/2012/01/23/think-good-thoughts/

And in the spirit of “thinking good thoughts,” I will resume posting to the blog after taking about six months off.  Next time I will have some updated photos of the farm flock.  Take care, and think good thoughts.

This spring we planted more apple trees, raspberries, blueberries and 70 grapevines in our newly established vineyard.  We are moving our focus to fruit and berries; next year we will likely add many more grapevines.  Trophy Husband made the commitment to keep four llamas and a small handful of sheep.  We really appreciate and enjoy the zen vibe of llamas.  If you have llamas, you know what I mean.

We are keeping four sheep, Emmi (a black Finn ewe,) Reese’s Pieces (brown 1/2 Shetland, 1/2 Finn ewe lamb,) Jellybean (musket Shetland ewe,) and Phyllis (white Shetland ewe.)  We may keep Reese’s Pieces twin brother who is also brown.

FOR SALE

The sheep that are left in the flock have remained because I liked their fiber and personalities.  But, we can’t keep all of them!  Make an offer, sheep that aren’t sold will have to go to the freezer this fall.

Kia one year old Finnsheep ewe, she is dark gray, carries spots.  Her fiber is lovely- she is gray at the skin, not a fading black.  She had a single piebald lamb this year.  She is shown in the photo below with her spotted, piebald ram lamb.  $200 + registration fee, if desired.

SOLD 2011 Single Finnsheep ram lamb. He is a gray, piebald ram lamb.

Bonnie, a two year old moorit Shetland ewe.  She had 1/2 Finnsheep twins this year.  She is an attentive mother with plenty of milk.  $125, unregistered

Shetland Bonnie in full fleece. Born in 2009, she is moorit and carries spots. She will be for sale after her lambs are weaned.

Brown twin ram lamb, 1/2 Shetland (Bonnie) and 1/2 Finn (LRO Eino) – he is still intact and would make an excellent sire for a fiber flock.  His fiber is very soft and plentiful.  I am still deciding if I should whether and keep him in the spinner’s flock.  Brown is my favorite color to spin.  $150  He is shown in the photo below with Bonnie, his Shetland dam.  He is solid brown, carries spots.

Finnsheep ram lamb – Twin, black, carries brown and spots, nice fiber, good growth.  $200 plus registration fee, if desired.

(photo to follow)

Glory – a small gray Shetland ewe, and Curly – a non-fading black Shetland whether, both are spoken for.

We also have one three year old Mulesheep ewe left (1/2 Shetland 1/2 Bluefaced Leicester.)  She singled her first year and has twinned the last two years.  She is an excellent mother with alot of milk to raise big lambs.  If she is not sold for breeding, she will go into the freezer along with her lambs.  $150

Mulesheep Sasha with her 3/4 BFL ewe lamb

While preparing this post, I realized I need to take some updated photos of the flock.  If you are interested in a sheep and would like more photos, just leave a message.  I will take more photos in the next few days and post.

Shetland Bonnie with her 1/2 Finn 1/2 Shetland Lambs

It’s a warmer spring  day today.  Finally!  I promised more photos so I will keep the text brief.  Above, is two-year old Shetland Bonnie with her 50% Finn lambs.  The ewe lamb on the left has pretty white markings in her lighter brown fleece and her brother is a rich, dark chocolate-brown.  This is Bonnie’s first lambing and I am pleased to report that she is an attentive and excellent mother.

Spotted badgerface Finn ram lamb 2011

Above is the gray Finn ram lamb sneaking a drink of milk from Bonnie.  This boys mom, Finnsheep Little Red Oak Kiia, has been a reluctant new mother.  I have kept a close watch on them – she doesn’t let him nurse for long.  I’ve felt his teeth and they don’t feel sharp.  And Kiia’s bag feels normal so he is getting milk from her.  I will keep monitoring them and supplement bottle-feed him through the fence, if needed.

Australian Shepherd Molly with her pups

Our Australian Shepherd, Molly, whelped 7 puppies on Friday.  Border Collie Gus is the father.  Shepherd George was in attendance for the births while I was at work.  Molly needed no help; she and the three females and four males are doing well.  We weighed them today and all are gaining weight.   Molly is tricolor and Gus is red so we will see how the colors develop.  The pup at the top of the photo is lighter than the rest – I hope that pup will be red.  I know nothing about dog color genetics and I decided I don’t care to learn.  We don’t plan on breeding dogs in the future.  We did want one breeding from these two because they are both great farm dogs.  We were hoping to wait until the end of the year but Gus had different ideas.  (A brief lapse in judgment by this Shepherd  aided in his access to Molly.)

Two-day old Aussie/Border Collie pups

Winter Returns

This photo is from our front window.  TH (Trophy Husband) is removing a patch of Boxelder trees in front of the house.  Boxelder is a hard-to-kill “weed tree” in the maple family.  It has very hard wood (tough to cut) so it makes for better firewood than a shade tree.  I counted 14 trees in this area.  The trees monopolize the landscape and are in different stages of growth or decay.  I’ve wanted them removed for five years but TH has resisted because they are on the west side of the house; they do give afternoon shade.  TH has finally relented and agreed to remove the trees.  We will replace them with poplar, maple, evergreen trees, shrubs and flowers.  On this Earth Day I have no worries about losing the weed trees; we have already planted well over 100 new trees on our property!

I promise updated lamb photos in the next post.  Enjoy the day!

I couldn’t get a good photo but here is a sneak peek.  These lambs are 50% Shetland 50% Finnsheep.  I absolutely love the moorit coloring and both parents have wonderful fleece so I have great hopes for these two lambs.  The ewe lamb, on the right, already has very curly locks and her HST markings are lovely!

2011 Twin ram and ewe lambs (Shetland RA Bonnie X Finnsheep LRO Eino)

Shetland Bonnie (born 2009) will be for sale after weaning her lambs.  She is a sturdy, quiet sheep who is quickly becoming fond of animal crackers.

Shetland Bonnie in full fleece. Born in 2009, she is moorit and carries spots. She will be for sale after weaning her lambs.

Our First Gray Lamb!

Last week, April 6th, our most stunning lamb of the season was born to Little Red Oak Kiia.  She is a first time mom who birthed a single ram lamb, no help needed.  Kiia was bred to Stillmeadow Toivo, a gray badgerface ram with a finely crimped fleece.  I arrived home from work to find this little guy dried off and standing next to his dam.  His weight was 6 lbs. 4 oz.  He is exactly what I was hoping for!  However, now that we are decreasing our flock, he will be for sale.  His facial markings are piebald; I think his body markings may be “light badgerface.”  The black does not go all the way to his chin and he has white markings on/underneath his tail.  Elizabeth from Stillmeadow Finnsheep, any thoughts??  Again, I will post better pics in the next post.

2011 Single Finnsheep ram lamb. He is a gray, piebald ram lamb.

2011 Finnsheep ram lamb

Look at that fleece!

For Sale

And as a last note, brown Finnsheep ram Little Red Oak Eino is for sale.  He is a two-year old, extremely mild-mannered ram who throws spots.  His fleece is soft, lustrous and lovely; it spins like a dream.  He is very easy to handle and walks well on a leash.  Please leave a message for more info. and recent photos.

Shetland Bonnie will be for sale after weaning her lambs.

Finnsheep gray piebald ram lamb will be for sale after weaning.  It will be hard to let him go as I really wanted a gray sheep on our farm!

We will have more sheep for sale during the summer.  I am waiting for lamb weaning to make the final decision on who will stay in our small flock.

Mud Season

Spring is right around the corner – at least that is what it says on the calendar.  Here, on the farm, it will be mud season for at least a few more weeks.  Before moving to the country, I thought there were four seasons during the year.  After all, that is what we learn as children; I grew up in the city so I assumed was true.  However, the truth is evident to those who live far from the paved streets and sidewalks.  Actually, there are six seasons – Winter, mud, spring, summer, mud, fall. We’ve had so much snow this winter that MUD season is in full swing and it’s a doozie!  For the first time in five years, we have resorted to parking our vehicles at the end of our driveway, near the county road.  The frost is still in the ground and the melting snowbanks (yay!) supply a constant stream of water running down the driveway.  We have perfect conditions for a very nasty mud season.

Melt water overflowing into the barnyard.

Anyone with a barnyard knows how disgusting it is at this time of year.  We have become accustomed to the mud and “other stuff” we slog through this time of year.  The only difference this mud season is the level of our “creek.”  It’s actually not a creek, but a drainage ditch which runs through our property.  It looks like a small creek with all the old trees grown up on the banks.  The creek usually fills at this time of year with the snowmelt.  Today, I discovered that the creek has overflown its bank and is flowing into a low section on the edge of the barnyard.  Yikes!  At least our house sits on higher ground.  Hopefully, our minor flood will only last a few days.

2011 Finnsheep ewe and ram lamb twins (Dam Emmi X Sire Eino)

On a happy note, black Finnsheep ewe Emmi birthed our first two lambs  of 2011 yesterday.  A solid black ewe and a black ram lamb with a small white spot on his head.   They were dry and nursing when I found them.  My guess is they were born a few hours before discovery.  I got mom and lambs into a jug and dressed the ewe lamb in a red fleece jacket and the boy in blue.  They are so cute and all are doing well.  Today the ewe lamb weighed 6 lbs. 13 oz., the ram lamb weighed 6 lb. 9 oz.  Lambing season has begun!

This winter, I have had to face the fact that my lungs can no longer tolerate the dust and winter cold that comes with maintaining a flock in Minnesota.  When we moved to the farm, I knew that my history of pneumonia and lung issues would most likely have an impact on what I could or could not tolerate.  So now, it’s come to that point.

This will be our last lambing season and by the end of pasture season (October?) we will have sold MOST of the flock.  We will keep a handful of sheep and the llamas.  Trophy Husband insists.  I’m not so sure because that will place the burden of winter chores upon him, but we have a few thoughts on different ways to feed a small flock so there is less time spent, thereby decreasing exposure to the dust and cold.

Sheep For Sale

We will have Finnsheep and a Shetland ewe or two for sale.  I want to see what the lamb crop looks like this year before making the final decision.  Our lovely gray yearling ram, Stillmeadow Toivo, already has a new home at Little Red Oak Farm with Gail.  Our moorit Finn ram, Little Red Oak Eino (three years old) will need to find a new home.

I have a moorit Shetland Bonnie who has been exposed to Eino.  I would be willing to sell her now.  She is almost two years old.  This will be her first breeding.

We also have three 3/4 Bluefaced Leicester ewe lambs (one black and two white) who are for sale or will be going to the butcher within a few weeks.  They are beautiful, sweet girls with lovely fiber.

We have a small black, two year old Shetland with lovely Ag gray fiber.  She has not been bred.

I have not updated the Sale Site yet.  If you have an interest in any of our sheep please leave a comment and I will get back to you.

And on another note, some time in the next few days the blog visit counter will top 20,000.  That’s pretty exciting!  Well – I’m off to feed the critters before work.  Have a great day and thank you for all your encouragement!