HOT..............SPOTS!!!!

This is day 3 in Ohio with temps over 85.........I AM DONE WITH HOT WEATHER! Is this a sign of irritation? perhaps because I am now 40 pushing 41 in a few months? I am to young for hot flashes........where is the fall weather?

I decided that perhaps my Nigerian Dwarf goat named "Summer Rain" could perhaps do a rain dance. She was born about 4 years ago in August when there was a lot of rain, hence her name. However, she looks about as thrilled as me about the weather and opted to stay in the shade.

Psst....... did you notice anyone lurking behind the tree? Is that my little Jammer?

Speaking of hot spots......this is my Johnny Reb. Hey, a girl just can't have spotted sheep! I have always wanted a leopard Appalossa but then I found out about POA's. I thought they might be a better size for me (I am a staggering 4'10 1/2 feet tall by the way) & since I hope to ride Johnny one day, POA size was a plus! Johnny came to me from Rindy up in Danbury, Wisconsin. I got him for $400 but go figure, it cost $400 to ship him to OH. I got him last November & let's just say I am a total novice in the horse dept. but him & I are slowly coming along.
PSST..........Johnny doesn't know it but in about 3 weeks he is gonna be a gelding:)

And last but not least in the hot spot category.......meet my little "Squirt" ( he had a lot of issues w/house breaking hence his name). This is Squirt's favorite spot to nap on a hot day or too cool down after he chased some rabbit in the field. He is my attention deficit child in so many ways but I just can't help love a beagle mentality.

So, these are some of my hot......spot topics of the day.......maybe I'll just get the water hose & do my own rain dance:)

Harvesting Good Women & A Good Book

Alarm goes off at 4:30 am (really its 4 but I set my alarm 30 minutes ahead, some pyschological game I play w/myself), first day back to school.....are U kidding me? Ten minutes later it goes off again, ten minutes later.....okay I'll get up. Today is a trial run to see how much time I will need to get ready for school..........so I got to school at 8:50.....I mean I did stop to see Mom & Dad on the way in....okay so I will do better tomorrow......obviously my plan needs tweeking.

There is no air conditioning in my school, it was like 90 plus degrees plus Ohio humidity so tape does not stick well on walls, the computers were not up & working, I could only get one channel on the TV & it was not the one that had my soap on it (go Young & the Restless:) so left at 2:30....I did get some stuff done but I left a mess for tomorrow. I was not feeling inspired nor were the animals when I got home. So I fed a little, walked the dogs, & turned on the computer.

I was excited to see new people came to visit me & then I thought I would see what everyone else was up to. And there was Nancy's post, stacking all that hay........ yep, thats what single farm women do....I stacked over 150 2 weeks ago. Just me & the young kid throwing it up to me. Why? Insanity? Nope, just cuz it has to get done & if we don't do it, who will? Its work but there is always some satisfaction lurking around the corner. Sometimes I get depressed when I see what others have but then they might be a couple, & sometimes I get annoyed when people don't realize I AM OUT HERE BY MYSELF & YES ITS CALLED WORK!!!! And then I smile when I get a compliment because someone has the same values as I do & appreciates what I do.

So, with all that said I would like to share some of my favorite inspirational books with you. I am an avid book reader/collector & these are books that inspire me and consul me when I need it.

Women of the Harvest by Holly Bollinger & Cathy Phillips

Vermont Farm Women by Peter Miller

HARVEST: A Year in the Life of an Organic Farm by Nicola Smith

MARYJANE'S: Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook by MaryJane Butters (also a great magazine!)

The Soul of Vermont byRichard W. Brown

Please share your inspirational books with me & others on your blogs, after all we do have sheep in common..............

no butt's about that:)

Let's Go for a Walk Dixie

The day before have to go back to school is always such a downer. I know I should not complain because I am blessed with having my summers off but I still feel sad when I have to go back. I have to go back because I am the dept. chair for soc. st. in my building but the kids don't come back till next Thursday. Who is the idiot who thinks its more productive to go back in August? Why not just wait till the day after Labor Day? Isn't that how it was back in the day?

Needless to say I was just in one of those moods today where I did not know what I wanted to do so Dixie & I took a walk......she loves to go for walks around the yard.

Sometimes when we go for our walks we find animals who think they are people sitting on the deck enjoying the scenery. This is Cubbie, my first wethered goat, who finds hanging out on the deck much more relaxing than hanging out in the barn.
We always take a walk around the barns to see what's happening out back.........

And then we like to check out the gardens....notice I keep the gate closed due to escaping goats & lambs:) We really need some rain here in Ohio. We got so much in June & then there was nothing and there is still nothing and tomorrow its suppose to be 86 degrees......gross. I am looking forward to fall....notice I already put my scarecrow flag out. I actually have been decorating all over the yard & inside the house for fall......hey if the stores can do it so can I!

This is inside of the gate. The flower garden is coming along, sometimes I get impatient but I know it takes time. I really need to stop subscribing to all those stupid magazines then I would not start all these gardens. But then I might be bored.....now that's a scary thought.

Being caught in a Jam

This little ram was born during the wee hours of the morning & when I went to the barn that morning, he was just standing there almost saying," so look at me, aren't I the cutest little thing?' And needless to say I was just dumbfounded because as a new breeder to Shetlands I had no idea what to expect when a polled, black gulmoget ram breeds to a black smirslet ewe....it was like Christmas in the barn that July morning! And of course, he is the friendliest little guy who follows me everywhere, he loves to play with my corgis Dixie, and he is starting to show his little stripped horns.....I will my fingers crossed! So, there is this goofy rap song that my students liked and part of it went "oh hot damn, this is my jam"........so wouldn't that be a cute name & then call him "Jammer"???? Oh, I spend too much time THINKING!!! And I should not name him because that means................

BUT everyone know that know matter how cute you are, if you get caught being naughty.........and being caught in the garden with the evidence in your mouth, then this is not a good thing! I believe it is called being caught in a "Jam"! LOL

And you always have to be careful because you never know who is watching you!!!!!!!!

Got Lambs? Gotta Sell? Gotta stay!

After much aggrevation, delated pictures, waiting to upload I finally would like to share some of the lambs that were born this year. This was my first real lamb crop and I pretty excited about them. Little Country Acres Jed, a polled black gulomoget is the sire of all the lambs.....thank you Juliann!

Above is a black ram lamb. He is polled, just like his father. Born in April, mom is a fawn kat with VERY NICE fleece. He is for sale & I can definitely get better pics if interested. I am asking $200 for him.

This is too cute....I mean a moorit, yuglet, flecket, sokket ewe lamb:)( did I say that right?) She is really coming along nicely. I am going to keep her so then I do not have to keep hoping I have a spotted ewe like Stephen at Sheltering Pines!

This is a very solid moorit, sokket ewe lamb. In my opinion she has nice confirmation. She is for sale.......I am going to ask $300. Please buy her cuz I can really rationalize keeping her:)

Okay, now is this not the darn coolest ram lamb? I asked Juliann about the markings, and we have decided on a black gulomoget, flecket (so close to being yuglet!!) sokket ram. What do you think??? Okay, seriously, I want to keep him in the worst way BUT I am going to put him out there for sale. I am asking $425.......did I mention he has extremely small scurs?? He was born the last week of June.....did I mention I think he is really cool?

These are 2 ewe lambs, not related. The one on the left is marked????? Her fleece is very taupe in color...and the face is marked??? She is out of a spotted, fawn kat...my Abigail who is my #1 favorite ewe...I am going to keep her because her fleece is very nice and because she is so unique. The one on the right is a black gulomoget ewe.....very shy and quiet. She is out of Windswept Savannah Grace...a beautiful mioget ewe. I am asking $300 for her. I can send better pics if anyone is interested.

This moorit ewe above is the twin to the black gul. ewe above. Her facial features are just stunning....just like her mom. She is a talker too! She is for sale at $250.

This little black smirslet ram lamb is the twin to the moorit flecket, yuglet ewe way above. He has small, about 1/2 scurs on his head. He loves my cardigan corgis and loves to have his face licked. He was born on July 4th!!!!!! Perhaps he could be called "Firecracker"? He is for sale at $175......actually I think he would be great as a wether/fiber pet too. If interested in him as a wether let me know and of course the price would be adjusted.

Now of course I have 2 more to show you BUT you have to wait for another day or so because they are way too awesome......and of course my complete favorites of this year......oh darn, teachers should not have favorites but I promise not to tell them. So what do you think about Harvest Thymes first lambs? I think I am in love...........

Lessons to Learn

I just want to give a shout out and many hugs & thank yous to Tammy at Fairlight Farms and Michelle at Boulderneigh who gave me my first comments on my blog!!! I was so excited to have been discovered! I now have that extra bit of confidence to keep blogging!

So, depression is slowly sinking in.....its that sad time of the year when teachers have to think about going back to work and its that happy time of the year when parents are so excited to send their children back to school cuz their children have just about tried their patience.......now since I only have 4 legged children (except Simon the 3 legged cat) I don't understand this urgent need to release children back to school, though when my niece, age 3, and my nephew, age 6, come to visit, they are quite high maintence and I need a nap when they go back home:)

Of course, as a teacher I need to be thinking of a lesson to start the year off with and since I teach 8th grade and they already know everything at that age, sometimes this can be "challenging". Perhaps I will start off with some simple, common sense approaches....nothing too high tech.

Perhaps I should discuss what it means when someone says "The grass is not greener on the other side" And then perhaps I could tell them about the "monkey see, monkey do" philosophy.......or should I say, "goat do, lamb do"?

And yet the hardest lesson can not always be taught by a teacher, it is a lesson that only a person can teach his/herself and it comes from the heart: be yourself, laugh at yourself, and never think your too old to have a little fun:)