Its a Daisy Kinda Summer!

Daisies are my favorite summer flower.......

........they greet me along the path to my front porch...............

........they smile at me when I go for walks with the dogs in the fields...........

.........and some of the daisies I have are kinda crazy like this variety but there is one Daisy that just drives me crazy on a daily basis............

..........its a four legged kinda daisy!!!!! I have been having a hard time coming up with a name for this almost 5 month old LaMancha doe. She is the bottle baby I got back at the end of March and is EXTREMELY NEEDY!!! I tell her everyday she is crazy especially when she trips me up while I am pouring grain, or chews on the bottom my shorts, or sneaks out when I open the gate and runs to the garden, or chews on my hair when I sit in the evening to chat with the animals. She drives me crazy sometimes!!!!! The other day she got out (again) and was nibbling on some weeds in the field, right next to a patch of daisies. And then her name just popped up in my mind!!!

CRAZY DAISY!!!!!

Her official name will be "Autumn Acres Crazy Daisy".

I think her name suits her just fine. Now of course, as I mentioned before, daisies are my favorite flower..........and this silly LaMancha has been growing on me:)

Friendship on the Farm

I love watching the animals hanging out with each other.

Take for example this silly LaMancha buck who is determined to get some leaves off the tree and TJ who is willing to lend him a "back" to get them. Keep in mind that TJ is ram.....a very laid back ram obviously:)

And how much better does it get when you can have lunch with a group of friends, even if it is on the wrong side of the fence. Right after I took this picture I chased their silly selves right back under the fence:)

Wishing You a Happy 4th of July!!

Wishing everyone a wonderful July 4th weekend!

May you enjoy your time with family & friends.........

............and may your day sparkle with good times and fond memories!

To Be Ag or Not.

As a relatively new Shetland breeder who hated anything science related in school, esp. when it came to understanding DNA & genetics (hence that is why I am a history teacher); I am working slowly to understand the many different components of Shetland sheep. One of the things I am working on understanding is the whole Ag and modified concept. I have spent much time reading through the NASSA on modified, colors, fleece types etc. I am getting there......slowly.

Let me present what I have been thinking about and observing.

Pictured above is Windswept Betsy, a musket ewe with markings labeled as Blet/Biel/Flec. Betsy is out of a blk/wh ram & a moorit ewe. These are Betsy's kids born on 4/19/09. When the ewe lamb was born I would have said she was a dark brown w/smirslet markings. The white lamb is a ram lamb.

This is the same ewe lamb as of 7/1/09.........gee, quite a change in the coloring. So while I was reading the NASSA website on the modified Shetland cases, I was noticing that some lambs that looked just like this were labeled as moorit......some were labeled as mioget????

This is her fleece.......I have never had a lamb with this type of fleece!! I think this is the most exquisite fleece and it is so soft!! I just love it!!! Okay, I am sure I am not saying this politically correct in Shetland terminology so please tell me the correct way to label this fleece.

This ewe would be labeled as Ag correct? Modified? Moorit or mioget?

This is the ewe's twin.......a white ram, a yuglet/flecket correct? Now, how can one tell or is it possible for a white sheep to be Ag or is it just given because they are white? I can say that Betsy, the twins dam, is Ag. Her facial coloring changes completely from summer to winter.

These may appear to be simple concepts for seasoned Shetland sheep breeders; but I am trying to sort through the lambs that I have and what they could produce in the future.

Besides Abigail's beautiful ram lamb, both of these lambs here have the type of fleece texture I think I like the most.

Anyways, I just wanted to share some of my lambs and possibly get some feedback from those that better understand the in's & out's of Ag & modified in the Shetlands:)

"P" stands for..............

So today things beginning with the letter "P" jumped out at me.........must be a teacher thing.

A pair of miniature horses........Speedy and Monique taking in the sun after breakfast this morning.

These twin ram lambs are out of Lil' Country Acres Eliza Jane and Jammer. The moorit boy on the left has about an inch & half scurs and the spotted kat ram is POLLED. Only signs of a scur is an itty bitty knob on the left..............

.......yep, there is nothing there!!!!

And a view from the other end. Both boys are being offered for sale. The moorit is $100. $110 if registered and $75 as a wether. The spotted kat ram lamb is $140. $150 if registered and I really hate to see him wethered as he is looking really nice:)

"P" is for the pear tree along the creek. This tree has been here since I bought the property in 1991. I hate pears, yuck. However, it is a shame that if these pears are edible, that I am doing nothing with them.

The tree is LOADED with PEARS!!! Does anyone know where would be the best place to get them tested to see if they are edible? I am sure I could sell some of these or at least give them to those that would appreciate them. Any good tips on pear growing? I have never treated the tree with any pesticides either.

And of course, "P" is for Pink on my screened patio.

It is a good thing I teach 8th grade and not the little kids......I'd have to do this letter thing all the time. Now the letter "P" if I am thinking like an 8th grader...........oh, those pathetic puberty minds just kill me! Thank goodness for summers!!

Gardening with a View

So many of my flowers are ready to blossom in just days due to the very warm weather. I spent much of the week weeding the gardens and checking things out.

The garden pictured above is right off my screened in patio. The lavender blossomed this week. The hanging pottery is actually filled with water and provides a very, very slow water drip for the butterflies that come to the garden. Once all the pink cone flowers open up, I get many butterflies & hummingbirds:)

Pictured above is a weeping pussywillow tree. I call it "Cousin It" because I am constantly trimming it as it grows like a wildthing. This area is a favorite napping place for the cats. That is Linus in the picture. He turned 15 yrs. old in April!! He loves a good stroll in the garden esp. in the morning:)

This evening I was weeding in the cauliflower and broccoli beds and when I went to pull some weeds, Alvin attacked my hand. I had not seen him crawling among the plants so needless to say I thought he was something else! I am so enjoying having the time to actually work in the garden this summer and today I noticed that there are green leaves starting to emerge in the potato bed!!!

Life is looking good in the Harvest Thyme gardens:)

Let's hear it for a Poll-Carrying Ewe!

As a relatively new breeder to Shetland sheep, I spent many late hours scanning the Internet for what I felt was the best breeding stock out there in the Shetland realm of the U.S. Last year and this year I am seeing the true results of my endeavors.

Pictured above is Harvest Thyme Sally Ann, a 4 year old fawn kat. ewe. She is a twin ewe sired by Windswept Yankee ( a mioget, yuglet ram) and Lil' Country Acres Eliza Jane (a fawn kat). She is, I hate to say it, the flakiest ewe I own. Her twin sister, Abigail, however, is my favorite ewe. Sally, however, in the 2 years she has been bred has produced the following:

A moorit, smooth polled ram. He apologizes that he was camera shy today, it was 92 degrees and did not want to smile for the camera.

There is nothing here except a smooth area.

His tail is not the most perfect Shetland tail, but I think it is workable. His hind quarters are looking nice and straight. Opps, gotta tilt your head for this shot, I forgot to turn it. LOL

This is his twin ram lamb brother. He is smaller in stature but is showing potential.

This is his horn area at just over 2 months of age. Very small button scurs. These boys were born on April 19th and were sired by Jammer, a moorit/yuglet/scurred ram.

This is Harvest Thyme Jasper. A smooth polled one year old ram who was sired by Lil'Country Jedidiah and Sally Ann. Jasper is a wonderful ramling with very good manners and a very nice crimped fleece.

Though Sally Ann has only thrown ram lambs, she is definitely a promising ewe for producing polled rams. I had considered selling her, though because of her personality, I am concerned on how she would adjust into another flock.

Anyways, I just wanted to spotlight some of what I have here at Harvest Thyme and that polled genes are slowly working its way into my flock:)

Both of the moorit ram lambs are available for sale at $100 plus $10 for the registration.

$75 as wethers.

They were given Bose at birth & have had their first CD&T shots.