Ewes with Attitude

So, this spring 19 lambs were born.  Only 6 were ewes, the rest ram lambs....ugh.

This was the largest amount of lambs I have ever had born on the farm. 

 They are driving me crazy....little escape artists.....playing catch-me-if-you-can.....whatever.

Wooly little stinkers.

Pictured above is Pawlett.  Okay, I admit, she is a favorite.  Her mother Betsy is the matriarch on the farm and the most stubborn sheep I have......stomps her foot at me whenever I get in "her way" and personal contact is beneath her.....it is the world according to Betsy.  Final answer.

Pawlett, however, has always been friendly, loving skin scratches, coming up for hugs and grain.

I was so thankful she was not like her mother.

Then she became a mom for the first time.

  I have become a mire after thought.

The only thing that matters are those twin ewe lambs.

Pawlett is 99% zoned into those girls ( 1% is devoted to her grain time ).

She will not go anywhere if she can not see those girls and she will not shut up if she is calling for them and they are ignoring her. They are inseparable. 

Daughter #1

Daughter #2

Spoiled rotten wooly lambs.  They are lucky they are so awesome.

At this point selling them is not an option according to Pawlett.

I think stomping her foot at me is not the only thing she would do to me if I sold them.

 Ewes with attitude......I don't think the farm is big enough for all of us;)

A Romney/Shetland Lamb for Sale

Ain't he cute?

He is a Romney/Shetland cross.

His wool is absolutely beautiful.....he wasn't that cute when I was trying to get a picture of his wool; hence no fleece photo.  But he is still cute....lucky him;)

And he and his brother are for sale!!!!

Please leave a comment or email me if you are interested......they would be a great addition to a fiber flock!!

PS......I will try to get that wool photo too;)

My Table Top Dancing Goat

This is Nelly.

A yearling LaMancha who was a bottle baby.  She lived in my house for the first 8 weeks of her life.

She even went to school with me so she could be bottle fed every couple of hours when she was first born.

Nelly is also a mom because she knows how to jump every fence on my property and she jumped right in with the 3 adult bucks.  Her daughter was a bottle baby this past spring because Nelly had no intentions of being a mom.....grain, fence jumping, and tree leaves are Nelly's only concerns in life.

To sum it up.....Nelly's goal in life is to drive me crazy.......and she does it on a daily basis.

Nelly using perfect posture to reach the willow leaves.

Nelly almost loosing her balance trying to get the willow leaves.

Nelly beating up the willow tree because she is pissed off because she is not getting the leaves she wants.

Nelly moving to the old picnic table to get a better advantage on willow leaves.

Nelly's perfect standing posture even as she stands on the table.

I know, I should give her props on being smart enough to use the table to achieve her goal.

However, her creative and smarts is beyond words.

Nothing she does surprises me any more and believe me, she has pulled some good ones on me.

Nelly in action......what a total goof.

And Nelly doing table top dancing........

Ain't she somethin"?

Happy 40th Birthday to My Little Sister!!!

Dear Sister Jen,

Where has time gone?  Wasn't it just yesterday that you were this little rolly polly little baby that I waited 7 years for?  I was so excited when I heard I was going to get a sister!!!

Now I will be honest that I use to count presents to make sure there was equal distribution of Christmas gifts when you were little and now that we both are in our 40's  I still count to make sure we get equal amounts of presents.......but seriously, mom better not stop giving us Christmas stockings!

And when you were little you use to want to always help me with everything and I was patient and loved to play with you until you figured out how to open my bedroom door and then the lock had to go on cuz you were NOT cutting my Barbie dolls hair and putting Vaseline on my teddy bears!

And then there was the teenage years and we just were not on the same page.....there is just not enough space to discuss the clothes you secretly stole from me, the hair issues you had and I could not get into the bathroom, and then the trip to Walt Disney World and Ron Jon's Surf Shop.....but we survived and we can laugh about it now.

You were right by my side the day I got married........and you were right by my side when I got divorced.....couldn't find a picture for that one for some reason...lol!

You fell in love with those darn Newfies like I did and nothing made me happier when I was able to give you your first love......Thunder.  This has always been one of my most favorite pictures of you by the way;)

And I had to laugh when you got your first brown Newfie because I told you "they" were a tad left of center than the other Newfies! 

I bought you those pink coveralls and coat to keep you warm (and cuz I am still a better dresser than you;) because I, as your older sister will always watch out for you.

Time has gone so fast and to think my little sister is turning 40 is hard to believe.

I want you to know how proud I am of you.

That I will always be there for you regardless if you are in a crabby mood.

I will continue to do the little things that irritate you because that's what a good sister does;)

Your daddy's little girl and that's ok .....keep sucking up cuz I am mom's right hand B.

So on this very special July 2nd birthday when you turn the big 40.......

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIL' SIS!!!

I LOVE YOU!!!!

Your big sis....Kristi

Mini-Mancha Goats for Sale!!!!

Mini- manchas are a cross between a Nigerian Dwarf goat and a Lamancha goat.

Many say that Nigerian part increases the butter content in the milk and the LaMancha adds the volume.

I personally love the cross! The personalities of the 2 create a wonderful goat!

These month & half old twin does pictured above are out of a mini Mancha doe.

They are delightful.....full of energy.....and friendly!

Check out that little heart on the side of the one girl!

How cute is that?!?!

The doe with the little heart has LaMancha ears and the other doe has more Nigerian ears.

These girls are available for sale at $100 for each.  A discount will be given if they are purchased together!

These mini manchas are almost 5 months old. The one standing is a buck and the one sitting is a doe. Their mom is a purebred Nigerian Dwarf.  The doe has beautiful markings and has a lot of Nigerian features. The buck is super flashy and would make a great pasture mate. The doe is being offered at $100 & the buck $55. He has not been wethered.  

Please leave a comment or email me if your interested in any of these beautiful goats!

A Cat Umbrella

In May I bought this umbrella for my deck.

It gets hot on the deck in the summer plus it would shade my kitchen window. 

It was a good deal....only $22.99

Well, I thought I bought it for me.......

......obviously I was mistaken.

How I Ran Over My Dog & We Both Lived to Tell About

Five weeks ago my worst nightmare came true.

I ran one of my pets children over with my truck.

It was a Saturday afternoon. I had gotten a load of 40 bales of hay and had backed my truck up to unload it. I got out of the truck. Went in the house to go to the bathroom then let the dogs out. I noticed that the angle of the truck, a big Dodge Ram, was not where I needed it so I decided to move it. I glanced at the deck and saw the dogs sitting on the deck so I jumped in the truck to pull it forward.  I had not even moved 5 feet when I heard a  cry from under the truck. My life stopped at that moment. I was terrified as I threw the truck into park, turned it off, & jumped out. I knew it was Squirt. I knew it as soon as I heard the cry.  How had I missed that? Why didn't I look under the truck like I always do? 

 I assumed seeing the dogs on the deck, he was there too.

He was lying under the truck on his side trying to move, scared, and crying. I crawled under the truck to pull him out.  I was in a total panic. When I got him out, he could not stand and just fell over. Grass stains were on his shoulder.  I knew if I would have run him over with the tire of the truck he never would have made it, the weight of the truck plus all the hay.....nightmare.  I ran into the house to call the vet.  I was at the vet within 15 minutes.  My blessings that I worked at the vet for 7 years.  The vet and I figure Squirt got rolled under the truck, hence the grass stains and the pain of not being able to stand plus he had a fracture in his right front leg.  After a full examination, x-rays, and pain meds and instructions for me, I took my 13 year old boy home.  It took him a good week to get use to the splint and by then he had me wrapped around his paw and was milking me for everything.....and that was ok because I still had him and thanked God every day for that.

Of course, the other children knew something had happened and helped to consul Squirt. 

"Squirt, it could have been worse.  She ran me over when I was 10 weeks old, it was so bad the vet had to amputate my leg, the same leg that she fractured on you, " Simon sympathetically explained to Squirt.

"SIMON!!!!!!! You know that is a lie!  I saved you at the vet!! You were brought into the vet to be euthanized because you fell out of a barn loft and the people didn't want to spend money on you! I cared for you and amputation was the only solution for your leg!"  I sternly yelled back.

Simon smirked, "I know, I just wanted to F with you and make you feel worse.  You know Squirt can't hear that well, poor guy probably didn't even hear the truck......he never had a chance."

"SIMON!!!! For 15 years old, you are being a cat punk!!" I pointed out. 

"Yeah, I know......us senior pets gotta milk the system when we can....just looking out for my buddy Squirt....poor guy even has the start of a cataract in his right eye, hard time seeing and you run him over......" says Simon.

"SIMON!!!!!"

It has been a long 5 weeks but I am extremely HAPPY to report that Squirt got his splint off today and everything is looking VERY GOOD!!!  My guilt will never go away and he only clocked me once in the face with his splint when we were sleeping in bed.......I deserved it.  

I hug him every day because I love him and thank the heavens that he is still here with me:)