Emily the sheep Wrangler

We took three days off of work to get caught up on things at home........technically, we need about 3 weeks worth, but we started with 3 days.  My sister in law, Emily, is a city gal, but I will never say conversions don't work, because Emily is quickly becoming two very capable extra hands at the OK Acres farm.  

Friday was the perfect day to gather the sheep and do lamb vaccinations and worming, we check eye lid color and only worm those that look as if they have a heavy worm load.  Every year, I worm less than I did the previous year, so something is working.  Emily agreed to help and showed up in her new "farm boots"......see below.

Emily in her new "farm boots"

After a few, pardon the pun, flowery compliments on her new footwear, we are off to the lot to gather sheep. The sheep went in the pen nicely, for ONCE, and so we started checking eye lids, feet, fleece, boy packages, horns, teeth, and conformation as we vaccinated lambs.  My friend, Terri and her son Clayton, were on hand to help out since Clayton will be showing 2 of my lambs at the local Green County Fair this year.  We went through a small hands-on teaching session with Clayton to point out what we were doing.  He's a farm boy, so he caught on quickly and I let him take over checking worm loads, teeth and "packages".  He did a great job!!!  It's so much fun to involve a young person in something that gives you joy.  

Ok, back to Emily..........I waited until today to post this, because today is her Birthday!!!! The next two pictures are ones that I took when she decided she was man enough catch and flip one of the Shetland/Charollais/Texel cross bred ewes on her fanny.  I love this picture, when have any of us had such joy on our faces when we are vaccinating sheep?  (grin)  

Faith doesn't look nearly as pleased-lol

Horses at dusk

Dually, my husband's Tennessee Walker (he has more of a swinging running walk) 

Dallas, my Tennessee Walker heading to the buildings (notice the natural gait of a running walk)

I just couldn't resist a couple shots of 2 of our horses heading to the buildings on Monday night.  They just are so wonderful in motion, I could watch it all. day.  

My Dad

My great niece, Lauren giving my dad a card.

My dad and I (he's much happier than he looks here-lol)

I am blessed with 2 great parents.  My dad was always the ultimate provider and I tried to shadow him no matter what he was doing as I was growing.  He worked 2 jobs for a lot of years to give all of us the things he felt we needed and from that I learned the value of a good work ethic.  He didn't put up with any back talk, thank goodness, because I got to pass that along to my son.  He and I would work in his motorcycle repair shop, I would wash tools and put them away and he did the actual work.  He taught me how to ride a mini bike at the rip old age of 5 and later, I got a motor cyle and spent many happy summers terrorizing the neighborhood with a couple other kids on their motor cycles. 

We raised pigeons together for years, at one time our coop exceeded the 200 mark!!  A lot of fun time was spent at pigeon shows and swaps with my dad.  We would get up before sun up, crate the birds, load them in the truck, and off we'd go............those were great years.  

Then I discovered boys........and dad made sure I understood there wasn't going to be any shanigans tolerated with his little girl.    Once I married and moved away, both my parents have been there every single time I needed anything.  Not judging, not complaining, just THERE.  A lesson that I had to learn when my own son moved away, just be there when they need you.  

Am I lucky, do I feel blessed, do I have great parents?  yes, yes and yes.  

My mom I

9th Anniversary

9 years ago today, I married my best friend..........I have never been happier in my life.  Mike allows me to be ME, and that's the best gift you can give anyone.  He puts up with me when I drag sheep, chickens, rabbits, alpacas, llamas, geese......etc. (you get the idea) home.  He feeds my hoards of animals, never complains and simply wants me to be happy.  Can life get any better than that?  I think not.
So, thank you to my dear husband for making all my dreams come true.  You truly are one in a million.

Dream concert experience, back stage passes, meet and greet, pictures with Jason., all free!!!
And, one of my favorite pictures of us.  (grin)

Farmer Mike

Since I posted the hay day pictures a couple days ago, I forgot to post one of my hubby baling.  And since he's so darned proud to be sitting on that tractor, I had to post one more photo..........

On my needles

Thought I'd share my latest project with you.  Got the pattern on Ravelry, it's called Lingonberry Shawlette.
So far, it's been a pretty fast knit, but I'm just now getting into one of three pattern charts for this project.  Simple YO's, ssk's and K2tog stitches.  Since I bring all my knitting to work to pass time during breaks and lunch, I have to have something that doesn't require a lot of concentration.  I also get interrupted a LOT during my work breaks, and I can hardly say to the ringing phone,,,,,,hang on while I finish this row!

I also just finished up knitting a small neck warmer that will be given to female heart patients as a gift.  My mom is a heart attack survivor, so I decided I could certainly do more than one scarf and found this super cute neck warmer to knit.  I'm thinking I'll make a few more, they are so simple and neat.  

Hay day

What did we do this weekend you ask?  Well, we made some hay.  Our first year of running our own crop ground and my hubby is as happy as a pig in mud.  You can take the boy out of the country, but not the country out of the boy..........and Mike is living proof.  (His brother, Nick, is just as bad)
We started tracking down and rounding up equipment last year and have yet to purchase everything we need, but with the help of a farmer/friend/neighbor, we got our 1st crop hay, cut and baled without rain.  The corn we planted is starting to look pretty good since we finally got warmer weather and the shot of rain we got this morning is another step in the right direction.
Below are a couple shots of the BIG event on Sunday....(yep, that was sarcasm) You'd think we were getting the place ready for the a social event the way those two guys went about things the last couple weeks.  (tiny snicker)

THIS........is the place I sat while watching the boys bale hay.  lol

A Pre-baling conference...............tires inflated? Check.  Hitch pin secured?  Check.
Baling twine in twine box?  Check..........you get the idea.  (once again with the sarcasm)

LET THE BALING BEGIN!!!  

My brother in law, Nick, driving a 520 JD he restored.

If it seems like I'm poking fun at the guys, well, you'd be correct.  But there were so excited by the prospect of doing anything farm related, it was too cute an opportunity to let get by me.  Anyone that knows me, knows I love to pick on people just a teensy bit.  Ok, A LOT!  Sorry, it's my dad's fault, he's a wise @$$ from way back, and his dad was one too.  So, you see, I really am not to blame at all.  (grin)

300 bales in the shed.........my sheep, horses, llamas, and alpacas are licking their chops.  

Good people

For all the snipping and disagreements that happen over little things in life, there's one thing that I can always count on from my cyber friends, blog buddies and everyone in between..........kindness.
Words cannot express how touched I have been by the comforting words I've received from people that I've never even met in person, but I feel like I know them just the same.   Everyone seemed to know that I didn't just lose "a sheep", but a part of my life that was important to me, and for that, I am grateful.
I hit my dashboard on my blog today looking for more "lambs for sale" posts, and I was reduced to tears by the simple act of kindness from Lorraine on her blog ( Lorraine's post )  Now that I've ruined my makeup one more day, I am warmed by the sweetness of so many.  
Do I think that all of us will agree on what is the perfect Shetland, heck no, but I know that every one of you are good people.  We all share the same thing, a love for Shetland sheep, the knowledge of pain over losing one that is special or the heart ache of having to sell a herd that brings us so much joy.  All of these things bind us.........and I, for one, am glad for it.
God bless every single one of you.......and thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Warm regards,

Goodbye Sarah

I lost a wonderful ewe this weekend, V Creek Sarah.  I know a lot of you know why this ewe was so important to my breeding program.............ie: UK bloodlines, fantastic micron results, etc..., but the real sadness comes from the fact that I truly loved this ewe.  She had a gentle eye and despite the fact that she was pretty flighty when she first came to us last year, she turned into a sweet and friendly soul, and during the last several weeks, I've grown even more fond of her due to her quiet ways and superb mothering, even though her own health continued to fail.  

I thought she had pneumonia, and she did, but it was because she was laying around so much due to her real issue, a pinched nerve which the vet and I believe occurred while she was giving birth.  After 6 weeks of careful nurturing, she just couldn't seem to go on any longer.  It was only at the end that I realized how much pain she was actually enduring, and I vowed to have the vet out the next day to put her down, but she was gone when the sun rose on Sunday.  As I sit here trying to decide if I had done everything I could for this awesome ewe, I realize that I had, and yet I still question if I could have done something sooner that would have tipped the scale to her advantage.  

My only consolation is that I have 2 wonderful ewe lambs from this sheep, Solace, her lamb from last year and Seneca, this year's ewe lamb.  Seneca gently nugged her mom to try to get her to get up on Monday morning and it was darned near my undoing.  I give Seneca extra attention and scratches, in the hopes that will help ease her separation anxiety, but it's still sad to see her wandering around looking for a mom that isn't there.

This shepherdess is too soft hearted for this sort of thing.  Sarah will be buried on the hill over looking the pastures where she may now rest forever.........pain free.  

Sarah and her ewe lamb this spring

Sarah and Seneca

Thor

Say hello to the what's coming to OK Acres from Crosswinds Farm this fall.

So, without further ado, introducing........................THOR

He's lost one of his scurs in this photo, but that's ok, he can shed that other one too and I won't be a bit upset.  (grin) I have become a bit "moorit heavy" at my place and I think this little guy will help rectify that situation nicely.  The fact that I had a mioget and moorit rams last year seems to be the cause of that.  Breed moorit to moorit, and what do you get?  hmmmmmm..........Moorit???  (big grin)  The super duper bonus here is that Thor is a poll carrier.   I still love the look of those majestic horns on a nice ram, but my buildings and gates are grateful for the transition to hornless sheep.  
With 2 spotted rams, I'm hoping to have an entire pasture full of flashy lambs in 2012.  I cannot believe that I just suggested that I'm thinking of spring 2012 already.  sheesh.

Corinne always has wonderful sheep to offer and this year is no exception.  Her honesty and integrity make purchasing Shetlands a extremely pleasant experience.  Thank you Corinne for letting Thor come to OK Acres!!! 

Wool + Dye = FUN!!!

I got my first ever wool dyeing lesson last Saturday and I'm hooked.   A short trip to Arena, WI last weekend with a few friends was the highlight of my week.  I even got a chance to dye my own yarn from one of my gray shetlands!  My beginner attempts are crude, but I can tell you that I had such a great time, I could care less.

My first attempt at dying.  I guess I don't have  much else to say in my defense.  (grin)

This is 100% Shetland yarn from one of my gray sheep over dyed with whatever I felt like throwing on it.

Two kinds of roving, one is merino (not mine-lol)  and some of my gray shetland (on the left) The yarn in the center is a black and white alpaca with some accent colors added.

Both of these are yarns provided by our teacher.  The one on the left is a poly blend done in pastels to show us how this material differs in how it takes dye compared to the Corriedale (sp) yarn on the right.


Well, that's it, now I need to figure out what I'm going to make with so many single skeins of yarn!!!  Maybe , Hats!!!!

Black Gulmoget ram for sale

I love this little gulmoget, but you see he has horns, AND he's related a several of my sheep, so he has to be sold.  OK Acres Sawyer is out of Sheltering Pines Salicional Salicional's pedigree (S22530) X Wintertime Black Forrest. Black Forrest's pedigree (S21917)
Sawyer is one of a set of twins, his sister is a gray Gul/Kat that I am retaining in my flock.  Sawyer has silky fleece that I'm sure will be a single coat, but since Forrest does some funky thing to lamb fleeces, I am torn as to how to classify his fleece at such a young age.  I will continue to evaluate him as he grows.  Anyone interested in being put on a list for him after evaluation, please contact me at okacres@hotmail.com.  And you can simply click on the Sale list tab at the top of my blog for more info.

Alexandria

Ok, I finally noticed this little girl about a week ago.  I have no idea how she got under my radar, but I was sitting by the shed watching lambs and I saw this little gal and thought, "How did I miss how nice you are little girl?"

Partial sale list

After spending countless hours of sitting in the lot studying sheep, I've come up with a partial list of lambs for sale.  Here is the some of them, in no particular order.  

Left side: OK Acres Miami, moorit blettet ewe out of OK Acres Maggie x  Crosswinds Nantucket FOR SALE $225
Miami has intermdiate fleece , good confimation and is one of a set of triplets.
Right side is OK Acres Barron: Fawn katmoget blettet out of Lil Ctry. Bailey x Sheltering Pines Bug
The ewe is out of horned lines and the ram is out of polled lines, Barron has very tiny horn buds, will be registered pending further evaluation.

Front shot of OK Acres Barron
FOR SALE $250

Chandler, moorit krunet sokket ram and Cadillac,  moorit smirslet sokket ram: Sheltering Pines Ceylon x Sheltering Pines Bug (from polled lines, will probably scur.)  Both are: single coated, dense, consistent fleece and does not fall off.
Chandler will be sold without papers, Cadillac will be registered pending further evaluation.
$350 Cadillac Sale Pending
$175 Chandler

Cadillac will be going to my good friend, Garret at Ramsay Farms

Chandler, running for attention.

Madison: Lil Country Meadow x Sheltering Pines Bug. Fawn katmoget (w/ minor head spots)
ram, polled lines, has tiny bb sized horn buds.  Great conformation, soft, dense, consistent fleece from head to tail.
Will be registered pending further evaluation.
FOR SALE $250

Monroe: Lil Country Meadow X Sheltering Pines Bug. Fawn katmoget (minor spots on head) ram
Polled lines, has tiny horn buds, will probably scur.  Great conformation, soft, dense, consistent fleece from head to tail.
Will be registered pending further evaluation
FOR SALE $200

More shots of Madison and Monroe

Miami, one of Maggie's rams and Aurora.
Far right is Aurora: Sheltering Pines Aster X Sheltering Pines Bug,  dk. moorit  blettet, slight intermediate fleece, soft and dense.  FOR SALE $225

Lambs showing promise and mini lamb races.......

Below is a picture of Salicional's twins: Salina, a gray kat/gulmoget ewe and Sawyer, a black gulmoget ram. On the left is one of Meadow's rams and in the upper left corner is Bailey, her lamb is off playing  

Salina was born with a dog coat, but I am told that is pretty typical of this line and they have a tendency to turn awesome at 4-5 months old.  Both lambs are pretty good confirmation-wise.  Sawyer is horned and is a very calm personality.  Salicional has that darker smoky blue that I love so much in gray kats, so I'm hoping that Salina will be similar.

This little girl has caught my attention from the minute I saw her standing next to her mom.  Seneca just has that "something" that makes you sit up and take a second look.  She has the perfect white triangle of white on her head and those adorable bands of white on her lower back legs are such a nice touch.  And....she's out of an F1 ewe with a 5 yr mircon of 20.9 AFD and a ram with a 2 yr micron of 18.9 AFD.  I can't wait to see how she turns out as an adult.  For now, she's soft, dense and her conformation is right on.

Sarah's ewe, Seneca. I love this ewe, she's staying.

Solace gave me two spectacular lambs this year and as they mature, I am becoming more impressed.  Both lambs have great fleece, soft, dense and consistent, they are poll carriers on both sides, with the added bonus of possibly carrying spots too.  Both lambs were born with minor white on their heads.  I honestly believe they were a wee bit premature, so they have a bit of catching up to do, but they are filling out nicely and I am crossing my fingers they continue to improve.

Sparta, Solace's ram out of Bug.  Square, poll carrier, spot carrier and the yummiest fleece on the place.
SOLD pending further evaluation

Sierra's fleece.  Runner up for favorite ewe lamb (Solace X Bug)  Her brother, Sparta,  has stunning fleece as well.
The sunlight washed out her fleece, so sorry for the poor photo.

Sparta's fleece close up.  This little guy just gets softer as he ages. 

Sierra again, minor white on head.  I was scratching her and she just laid down. 

Fawn kat (half poll) ram out of Meadow.  Both are exceptional rams, and will be for sale pending further evaluation

Meadow's ram lambs have really impressed me, square little lambs, with dense soft fleece and they both have white on their heads, so I'm assuming they carry spots.  Sire is Sheltering Pines Bug and he's as spotted as they come, with the bonus of incredible fleece.  Meadow and Bug are poll carriers.

Aster's ewe lamb, ( Alexandria)  I'm starting to really pay attention to this little girl, nice consistent fleece throughout.

                                                         Alexandria may be for sale.

Annnndddd, they're off......

This bunch just got freaked out when they pushed the hose out of the water tank.

Random pictures

This is the field just north of our house (no till corn going in the ground)

All this after working 8 hrs someplace else

One of the few windmills I've ever seen that was completely intact without bullet holes in the blades.

As I was driving to knitting on Wed. night of last week, I grabbed my camera and took a few random pictures of things that always catch my eye on that route.   But, before I left the driveway, I just had to get a shot of my hubby engaging in his favorite past time.  As long as there's a tractor, combine, milk truck or large piece of machinery involved, he's in hog heaven.

This is my dream barn................the dream is that this is on my property!!  (sigh)

Blue funk

This week has been testing me...........my mom once told me, "The Lord will never give you more than you can handle".  I have found these pearls of wisdom to be pretty accurate through the years, my mom gets wiser every year.  (grin)  The reason I bring this up is because the last 4-5 weeks have tested me in a number of ways, and this week seems to have been the time it just kinda caught up with me emotionally.  Turns out, that same phenomenon has been happening to a number of my friends.
I can't speak for the others, but today I woke was laying in bed at 2 a.m. and thinking, "Where did I put that paper that my son needs, did I give that ewe enough antibiotic, and I have to remember to get that A/R report printed for my boss today."  I drift off to lala land for a few minutes and wake up from a bizarre nightmare that hasn't reared it's ugly head since my husband got killed in 1989!!!  Finally, it's 6 a.m. and I give up and just get out of bed.  Just think of all the things I could have gotten accomplished if I had just gotten up at 2 a.m. !!  : ) sigh.
As the day has progressed, I have been reflecting on all the things that bring me joy and the many blessings in my life.   I get to spend another Mother's day with my mother!!! How can that NOT bring me joy?  And no matter how rough life may seem, I always have 100% support of my dear hubby, my son, my parents,  my sister & brother, a huge extended family (ps-I have fantastic in-laws) and my friends.  God chose to bless me with some pretty wonderful people in my life and everything else simply pales in comparison to the love they give me and the love I feel for them.
Happy Wednesday everyone,

Naked sheep and spring flowers

Another busy weekend, sheep shearing, hoof trimming and lawn mowing.  Technically, I didn't do any shearing, but I did the hoof trimming and my body is complaining about that loudly.  This is probably the latest I've ever done shearing, but the rain and my shearers schedule kept pushing the date back further and further.  It turns out that the sheep really did need their fleece in April, so I don't mind too much, I just hope they have enough growth in case I want to take someone to WSWF this fall.
Yesterday afternoon I strolled around the yard and took pictures of new growth and spring flowers, so I'll sprinkle a few of those shots in here too.  Please ignore any weeds that may have found their way into the pictures, THAT will have to wait for my body to heal and another sunny weekend.  (grin)

Sawyer will be for sale after further evaluation
Salicional x Forrest

Splash of spring............

How did that chicken get here?

Cole and Bug (BS: before shearing)

Sparta (sold)  polled ram out of Solace X Bug

Emily and  Alabama

Sawyer and Terri

Sparta's hornless head

Madison's hornless head (for sale) Fawn kat carrying spots out  Meadow and Bug

Cole, Mike and Bug

Sierra is being retained, Solace X Bug 

My favorite thing!!!

Naked sheep

John (my nephew) and Bug (AS: after shearing)

This is one of the many trees we planted last year.  

Meadow X Bug (2 fawn kat rams that are hard to fault, fleece is spectacular
One with horn buds and one without.  (both will be for sale after further evaluation)

Tiny tree in the shadow his mature elder.   (planted 30 of these last year)

My favorite rooster.......a couple easter eggers, one black prduction hen and a speckled sussex.