March 16th in Wiscosin

Some people get spring flowers and rain this late in March.........and some people get 3-4" MORE of snow and single digit temps.  Turns out that it's our turn for the snow and cold this year, and I'm less than enthusiastic about it.  I'm supposed to have lambs any day now, and this is not lamb-friendly weather.  Yesterday found me in front of a sewing machine whipping up lamb coats, because it sure looks like we'll need them this year.  I used my cats for guinea pigs models for fitting the coats, and they were less than amused by the honor.   I'll get pictures of my homemade lamb coats when I have actual lambs to model them. 

Here is what it looks like outside today

 Just outside the office door at about 11 am this morning at work. 

My boss's house, our cars with a couple inches of snow and the wood eagle sculpture looking as unhappy about the snow and the rest of us. 

My Warped Sense of Humor

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say this particular fella didn't win any awards for this. 

Breeding groups (Fall 2012 for 2013 lambs)

I know, I know, it's spring......and I'm just now posting my breeding groups from last fall.  I had so much going on, I just never seemed to get it done and then I'd forget again.  It's a vicious cycle for a forgetful, aging woman.  I've had several people ask about possible lambs and since everyone wants to know the sire, I'll posting this to help me and the potential purchaser.  (since my brain fog creeps back constantly)

You can view details of the rams and ewes on my Ram or Ewe page, just click on the appropriate tabs.  Groups were put together on November 1st and removed Bing, Ringo and Elvis on 12-9.   I did use Thor as a clean up ram this year, he was in with the entire flock of girls from 12-9 to 12-26.  


OK Acres Bing
OK Acres Alabama
Lil Country Bee Sting
Shltg. Pines Ceylon
Kimberwood Dot
White Pine Killian
OK Acres Salina
OK Acres Vienna

OK Acres Ringo
Shltg. Pines Catherine
Shltg. Pines Bengal
OK Acres Sierra

OK Acres Elvis
Sommarang Challis
S'More Cotillion
Lil Country Disco
Wintertime Garnet
Faith (Shetland X-out of Fiona)

Crosswinds Thor
Shltg. Pines Anais Anais
Lil Country Meadow
Shltg. Pines Salicional
OK Acres Seneca
Shltg. Pines Temperance
Lil Country Velma
Faith (Shetland X-out of Fiona)
Fiona (Charollais/Texel/Columbia X)
Fergie (Shetland X-out of Fiona)
Janet (Shetland X-out of Faith)

Another Wish Fulfilled

I'm am so excited I am grinning like an idiot.  What has made me so happy you ask?


TAAAA   DAAAAAAA....

My very own, custom made, shearing and rooing stand!!!!! 

 My super, fantastic, talented man and I stayed after work last night and created this one of a kind aluminum sheep stand that's just the right height for Shetland sheep to be at a working level that doesn't have me bending over for hours at a time.  The sides are removable and it weighs about 20 pounds.  I cut the material, did some sanding and cleaned up the material and my husband did the actual welding and piecing of this little project.  I am giddy with happiness, strange, but I've warned you that strange things make me happy. 

Rear view

 We are going to make a hoop with a mounting rod that will keep a wool bag open and in a handy spot for dropping the fleece in while I'm working. I am also going to cover the chain on the head piece with felt so it doesn't dig into the sheep's nose and neck.  Most of the time I hope to simply tie them up with their halter, but if I get a feisty one, they can just rest their head in the head piece.

Front view

 We have also put foot pads on the legs with holes in them so we can mount a 2 x 4 onto them in case  we had to use this in an area that didn't have a hard surface.  I might add a couple tool hangers yet, but I think we've thought of most everything that I will need.  Maybe a ramp too!!!!
(we'll see how it goes)
I tried to get someone to get on the new stand and demonstrate it's purpose for the photos, but I didn't have any takers.  sigh

Talented Shetland pony

This just seemed too fun to NOT share it with all of you.  I subscribe to a Visit Shetland newsletter and this was on there as a promo for Shetland.  If this doesn't make you smile, you are made of stone. 
Cheers!!!

Ice, Snow, Ice, Rain, more snow, more ice........that about sums up our weather the last couple weeks.  The various types of precipitation that we've experienced lately has resulted in a large amount of ice in our fields, in the sheep lot and our driveway.  Yesterday the sun came out and it started to get warm enough to melt a bit, this is generally a good thing, but all it did was put a super glass-like surface to the already treacherous ice in the sheep lot.   I went down to do chores after getting home from work and I threw out the hay bales to the sheep, llama and alpaca.  I am usually mobbed immediately, but there were only a few sheep around me and the hay.  A large group of the pregnant ewes had gotten on the other side of the fence that separates the lot and since they had to cross a huge, very slippery ice "flow" to get through the gate, they weren't going to chance it.  I grabbed a bunch of hay, and put down a trail from where they were, through the gate and to the main lot.

Then I noticed that both llamas were eating, but our alpaca wasn't there.  I headed for the walk in shed and as soon as I rounded the corner I see poor Abe laying on a giant sheet of ice and he's tight against the gate and can't move.  No amount of prodding  would get him to move, it was apparent that he had given up trying to stand on the ice.  So I pushed him on the ice until we reached the shed and once there I supported his back end until he got up and I was able to get him inside.  He couldn't even straighten his back legs, and he was a very cold little fella.  He must have been laying there for hours......sigh. 

We bedded the shed with a lot of clean straw, got him fresh hay and water and he was eating and appeared to be fine by 10 pm.  I'm hoping he doesn't develop anything from his ordeal, we will just continue to watch him carefully.  My husband said he's going to take the skid loader out there and use the bucket with teeth to score the ice and rough it up so it's easier for our animals to stand until it melts. 
Today it got to 43 degrees, so we'll see what kind of mess we have when we get home today.......blech.

As you can see.....certain cats feel like they need to hog the dog bed.  The truly funny thing is that a 100# dog let's a 10# cat do this.  

Stay upright and off your arse everyone. 

February is so boring

While I wait for the season of insanity.....aka lambing season.......please enjoy a few photos that I took around the ole "ranchola" the last couple days. 

Snow fall last night was so...........Silent.

Another full cat trap.  I think it took Thomas about 10 seconds to jump in after I threw it on the floor.

Thomas spent a considerable amount of time the other night sitting up on his butt like a squirrel and looking at the ceiling fan.  I got numerous shots of him doing this, but this one seems so funny to me.  He's got this startled look on his face and seems to be saying. "What???"  Or maybe he's transformed into a Zombie cat. 

Nikki......her only job is being cute.  (and eating, and sitting right in my way when I'm watching tv, or wanting to sit on my lap when I'm spinning or knitting) 

Happy Friday Everyone!

Short Story

I was sick last weekend and since I felt useless just sitting around...........I turned this.......

 

Into THIS.. .....465 yards of 100% Grade 1 fawn kat DK weight yarn.  

Blog Party Winner

drum roll please

A winner was drawn this morning.......there was a 1 in 40 chance of winning.......A N D

Sandra of Thistle Cove Farm is the winner of a 100% Shetland cap.  

Sandra!!! Please send me your full name, address and hat size so I can get this done and sent to you.  And thanks to everyone that stopped by and commented, this was a great idea Vicki. 

Flip Flop

I know most of you saw my post yesterday with the flood waters knocking on my door at work, and the mini geyser in the lawn.  Well, today there's a snow storm......that's right folks, you heard me........ S N O W and lots of it.

I know it's kind of hard to see, but just above that bush in the lower left corner is where the geyser appeared yesterday.  Welcome to Wisconsin, where freakish weather is normal.

Yesterday's high temp: 58 degrees F
Today's high temp: 25 degrees F

33 degree change in 24 hours and now I'm sneezing and my throat is sore.......stupid bugs are awake again, but I will defeat them!!!!

February or April???

I'm getting a teensy bit concerned about the weather lately.  Today's high was 58 degrees, now keep in mind that this IS Wisconsin and this IS January.  We had thunderstorms with thunder, lightning and lots of rain last night, today we've had a couple down pours and several "good" rains and now water is everywhere.  Not a typical January in Wisconsin, not by a long shot.  Tonight's weather prediction is that the temps will continue to drop and they think we could get as much as 6" of snow and then the weather will turn frigid.....again.  The animals are very confused, and just when the I thought the weather was cold enough that all illness bugs could be cut to a minimum, it got warm again.  

Here are a few shots of how it looked at my workplace today. 

Just outside my office door

Around the corner from my office......you can see our 3 seasons "break room" in the upper left corner

Entrance to the shop......

Lovely............isn't it?

Sneak Peak

Hump day, Wednesday, the middle of the week.... everyone seems to sigh and moan with dread when we talk about Wednesdays.   I happen to like Wednesdays....we are halfway to the weekend and I get to spend time with my knitting pals on Wednesday nights, a small island of fun in the middle of my week.  I do dislike Tuesday, the day before hump day, 4 days from the weekend and the day that makes it seem as if the week will stretch on forever.  ugh.

I decided to walk around my workplace today and take some shots that shows you some of my world here at work.  (yep, I'm getting low on subject matter)  The pond belongs to my boss, it's just down the hill from the shop and office, it's a photographers dream during warm weather.  I think every school team  within a 50 mile radius comes here to have their picture taken on the arched bridge to the island.  Prom goers, high school seniors, engaged couples and prom goers flock to the pond to have their picture taken.  We also have a covered deck that sits on the hill overlooking the pond that we use as our three seasons break room, it's quite beautiful and very peaceful. 

Winter pond shot taken today

Summer pond shot taken this past summer

 

This was a mirror that we made for my boss a couple years ago for Christmas and it hangs in the entryway just outside my office.   The mirrors and glass items that my husband sandblasts are never something we sell, we only do them to donate to some of the charity auctions or simply give them away as gifts.  Every mirror or glass item we do is a one of a kind creation and we really enjoy making them.  I design the layout and order the vinyl and Mike does the real work.  It's tough to get a picture of a mirror, so excuse the weird angle of this shot. 

Who doesn't love a party?

My friend, Michelle of Boulderneigh had this on her blog today and I thought it was a lovely idea, so I'm going to come along for the ride.

My name is Kelly and I started my blog in 2009 because I wanted a way to brag about my Shetland sheep, as well as my spinning and  knitting projects, I liken it to a mother bragging about her children.  I've found that I love to blog, and I've found some great online friends along the way.  I don't always have something witty or intellectual to say, but it's a way to share my happiness, worry or sadness.  I think my bonus in working on my blog is the feeling that people you've never met face to face care enough to comment, celebrate, empathize or simply pray for me.  How great is that?

I live in a little valley in Southern Wisconsin with my husband, along with our outside "residents" a  flock of registered Shetland sheep, a couple geriatric llamas, one alpaca, 3 horses, a lot of chickens and 2 Marmemma guardian dogs that watch over the outside critters.   Inside our house are 2 incredibly spoiled cats and Tess, our 11 year old German Shepherd cross.   The animal numbers have increased significantly since my son went away to college a few years ago.  I've been accused of replacing him with animals and I think he's probably right.

Our goal for our little slice of heaven is to grow as much of our own food as possible, with as little chemical input as we can manage, as well as supporting other local growers, artisans and farmers in our area.   Since finding a lovely group of women that share my love of all things fiber related, I've kind of fallen into a group that mirrors our lifestyle of sustainable living.  This blog, my connection to the fiber community and the people I've met from being a part of it all has become my safe place to land.  I feel like my life has been heading to this place since I was born, everything about it just feels "right". 

I love the idea of having a give-away for leaving comments, and since I've spent a fair amount of time knitting 100% Shetland caps this winter, I've decided that I'm going to offer one as a prize for leaving a comment on this blog post.  No strings attached, just leave a comment and you will be included in a drawing for a cap.  All you have to do is tell me your size, and I'll knit you a scrumptious Shetland wool cap to keep you warm.  You do not have to have a blog to enter, just leave a comment, that's it.   No matter where you are located, I am willing to send your prize to you.
Make sure to leave me your email address so you can be contacted if you win.   The winner will be announced on Feb. 1st on my blog, so make sure you check back. 

Here's an example of one of my caps.  Shetland sheep come in 9 natural "whole" colors and several modified colors, so there is no need to dye the yarn to make them pop!

Good luck and remember to check back on Feb. 1st for the winner.

Truth in advertising? I think not

I just wanted to make everyone aware of a gross over statement from a well known candy maker.   The fact that this candy is made in Canada may or may not be relevant......just throwing it out there. 

Without further ado, I present a bold faced liar!!!

Do you recognize these?  

 

 

I have been eating these little candies since I was a little girl (never mind that I know I shouldn't be eating them, I do it anyway)  and after eating Smarties on and off for years, I have NOT felt one teensy bit smarter.  In fact, I think it's having the opposite affect on my limited brain power and I am considering a scathing letter written to the Smarty people and give them a piece of my mind.  Aye?

Could it be that these little candies could be the reason I walk to another room only to forget why I am there?  Or could it be that they have caused me to drive all the way to town only to drive right by my destination?  And all this time I thought it was my advancing age that was to blame...........whew, glad I got that straightened out before it was too late.

Landon is home!!!

That's right folks, you heard me.........Landon came home on Friday!!  He's gaining weight and looking better every day.  Emily couldn't resist the urge to try out his cute little cow hoodie.  I could swear he's saying, "You are dressing me up to look like a WHAT?" 

Thank you to all of you for your words of kindness and the numerous prayers, your kindness warms my heart.  Bless you all.

More surgery

Landon has healed from his aortic repair but continues to have problems eating.  The doctors and his parents have decided that in order to stop the constant irritation of a feeding tube inserted into his nose, that he will have one surgically inserted into his side.  He is starting to gain a bit more weight now, but still needs to increase his intake, which cannot be achieved through oral feeding at this time. 
I just got the message the he will be going in for the procedure about 4 pm today, please send prayers for his continued progress so they can all come home. 

Here are some recent photo of Landon

One of their kind nurses found a bouncy seat for Landon

Sleeping angel

Landon and Daddy

One of my favorite shots of Landon and my BIL, Nick.  He's a great dad. 

I have no clue why I don't have a picture of Emily and Landon here, I'll have to fix that.
ps~ I knew Em would be a wonderful mom,  I love it when I'm right, she is amazing.

Toodles for now from Landon's favorite Aunt.  (big grin)
pss~Landon has a lot of great Aunts.  

I'm a simple woman

Simple minded?  Sometimes yes, and sometimes...no.  It just that simple things make me happy......I think I've mentioned that on this blog a time or two.    Well, one of those simple this happened this past weekend, I got juice (aka-electricity) in my ram shed!!!!  That's right folks, TWO light bulbs, a light switch annnndddd.......wait for it.........a receptacle to plug in my heated buckets!  I was so delighted by having lights in that shed that I turned them on and just stood there for a while enjoying the illumination.  My husband just laughs and shakes his head at me.   My rams were not as impressed by the new addition to their digs, seemed a bit ungrateful to me, you would think they'd be leaping with joy.  (go figure)

side note: This is only a stock image from google, the actual lights in the shed are much nicer.

I have a husband that refuses to be idle, even when he's got time off work and burning up unused vacation time, he's working all the time.  While off from work this past week he's been helping out his dad at the shop while his brother, Nick, is at the hospital with his son, he split and loaded fire wood that he delivered to his parents, insulated the sky light in the kitchen, helped our son move to his new apartment, drove milk truck on the weekend, went to Menards and got a new walk-in door for the garage, insulated ducting for the exhaust fans in the bathrooms and waited on me last weekend when I was so sick.  What on earth would I do without this great guy?  I have no idea........

Other OK Acres happenings.........

Do you remember that little, cute Maremma puppy we drove to Minnesota and brought home last year?    

Bianca as a puppy with John wondering what in the heck happened to his peace and quiet.

Well, here she is now.......doing what these great dogs do best, protecting her flock.  We've had a few play/chase issues, but she's finally settled down enough to stop that goofiness.  I'm not saying she's not still pretty goofy, but she's really become a great guardian for us.  She now dwarfs John, our geriatric Maremma.  He's a solid 100# dog, but Bianca makes him look like he's small when she's standing next to him.  And he puts up with so much crap from her, it amazes me.

Bianca "guarding" the hay pile.  

See what I mean?  He just stands there and lets her be a pain in the rear.  

The good thing about Bianca's relentless pestering of John is that he's much healthier this year.  Since Bianca keeps him moving, he's lost weight and is no longer struggling to get up or move.   He runs around the lot and pasture with ease once again.  It makes my day to see him so happy again.  He really had a tough time of it when we lost Annie.  John is 10 years old, but he's acting like he's a puppy more and more these days. 
I apologize for the picture quality, it was foggy and overcast when I took these last 2 photos and they are not the greatest. 

Blessings, gratitude and joy

I've been a bit "incommunicado" lately, it's been a scary couple weeks here.  My nephew, Landon, was born on Monday, Dec. 17th and we I was very excited to finally meet him.  He is the first child born to Nick and Emily Bartels, he does join his 16 yr old sister, Lexi. 

StartingWednesday, just as Nick and Emily were getting ready to take their new baby home, they get the news that they want to take Landon to the American Family Children's Hospital in Madison right away.  Landon was born with a defect in his aorta that restricted the blood flow to his lower extremities.   He also has a couple holes in his heart that the doctors feel will heal as he matures. Once he arrived in Madison he was evaluated by the cardiologists and it was decided that the surgery would be required, and that was done on Friday afternoon.   Landon aced his surgery and has recovered at an amazing pace, he's exceeded all their expectations for recovery.  
There is one small issue, he isn't eating as well as he should and from what I understand, that's not out of the ordinary for an infant after surgery.  He can go home as soon as his eating improves to a certain level, we are hopeful that can happen in the next couple days.
Here are a couple pictures I took of Landon on two different days.

Landon on Saturday, Dec. 22nd the day after surgery.  (he's had a little morphine for pain here)

Aunt Kelly and Landon on Saturday 

Landon with the blanket I knitted for him~Christmas day (that's a feeding tube in his nose)

I would like to thank everyone that sent me prayers and thoughts for our family during this time.  I am continually humbled by the out pouring of concern and thoughtfulness of others.  I KNOW that all the people praying for Nick, Emily and Landon is what made the difference in his outcome.  I would like to ask you to continue to include them in your prayers as his recovery progresses.
May God bless each of you for your kindness. 

Continued prayers please

Please continue to pray for my nephew, he is scheduled to have surgery today to repair an aorta that supplies blood and provides circulation to his lower extremities.  His prognosis is good, but so is prayer.  I know in my heart that God is watching over Landon and his parents. 
Thank you all for your support and caring. 

Here is a link to  Emily's blog that has pictures of him and a post about his progress. 

Prayers needed

Please pray for my nephew, Landon, he is on his way to UW Children's Hospital.  Not sure of all the details, but there is some concern about his heart.
I'm too scared to have much else to say, so please just pray for him.

Welcome to the World Landon

Monday brought a wonderful gift to our family.  Nick and Emily (my brother and sister in law) welcomed Landon Irvin Hollis Bartels into this world at 2:21 am on Dec 17th.  He was 7 lbs 9 oz and 21.5" long with a thick head of black hair.

Say Hello to my newest Nephew.........

It's dark because he doesn't care for much light yet.  Hoping to get more photos soon.  Ins't he perfect?  

(ps-that's me holding him) 

Big sister, Lexi, and Landon

Kick in the pants

I love to recycle and re-purpose things, so when my hubby went to the dump 2 weeks ago, I saw that as an opportunity to "shop".  I won't bore you with the details of my trip, suffice it to say that at one point, I was actually getting a leg up to climb in the dumpster for some treasures I'd found.  It was books!!!  Why would anyone throw away books in perfect condition?  Can't they be regifted or donated to the thrift store?   As it turns out, I think I was meant to make that dump trip and find that box of books.    Some of my trials and health issues have been causing me a lot of stress lately due to a number of things beyond my control and I was not handling them well.  I had become overwhelmed and very emotional, which is not the real me at all, and that caused me stress.  Mike was struggling with some terrible back pain and that was causing me stress.......you get the idea.  Two of the books I found caught my eye immediately, and I started reading one of them right away and now I can't put that first one down.  Every page is another way to kick me in the pants and make me realize how very lucky I am to have the life I have and the family and friends that surround me. It reminds me of how tough past generations were and how much they had to overcome just to raise a family and survive.  I am humbled by the sacrifices that these men made for their families and it was all done without a second thought...there was no complaining....there was no looking for a pat on the back, just hard work and a sense of commitment to provide.     

And this is the book............. 

 If anyone would care to read this when I'm done, say the word and it's on it's way to you!!! I also have aonther book written by Tim Russert that was in that box of dumpster books and it's actually the prequile to this book. 

I will be reading this one next...........it's a story that Tim wrote about his dad. 

I am willing to rehome both of these books.  I think the message is a good one.  

I am so blessed and thankful, it's like I'm bursting with it today.  So if you want to climb in that dumpster, get in there, you never know what you might find that will make your day brighter.  (big grin) 

Toodles for now.

Updated Sales lists

I have updated all my sales list.........lambs, rams and ewes. 

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

  May you be blessed and surrounded by love ones and friends!!!

Safe travels to you and your families as well. 

Remember our Veterans

This past weekend some of the members of the Fore Fathers helped the Lions serve a free meal to the area Veterans.  What an amazing experience!!!!  We sure have a lot of great people in our community, ones that rally around any cause that needs a helping hand and ones that open their pockets despite hard times.  I am honored to have these people in my community, and I am humbled and honored to be able to help serve something as simple as a meal to our Veterans that have sacrificed so much for me.
I can barely suppress tears when thanking these heroes for their selfless acts of courage so that I can enjoy the freedoms afforded to me because of their service to our country.  I found it amazing that they were thanking us for serving them a meal, when their service was what makes it possible.
To all the men and woman Veterans, from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!!

You can NOT let these people run out of coffee!!!!

What is a nice lunch without music.  (ps-loved the banjo)

The gentleman in uniform has had that uniform since 1962!!!!  It's in fantastic shape and it still fits that sweet, friendly and talented man. 

A local Veteran and his service dog, he was so well behaved and had the kindest face. (the dog and the owner)

Some of the Fore Fathers at the food table

Lions doing dishes