PawleyFarm Seasons

A Season of Sadness

2012-01-02T22:46:00.000-08:00

Now that the holidays are behind us, I must report a sad event. We had to have Jordan's beloved Great Pyrenees,Chuck, put to sleep on November 30th as he had become increasingly aggressive.. About a year ago, he turned on the sheep and killed three last fall. After much research, discussion, and soul-searching it was decided that he would become Jordan's companion instead of a livestock guard dog. He adapted very well to living inside Jordan's house on the Ione farm and was an excellent companion, riding in the pickup and accompanying Jordan on trips, whether they were just out doing farm work, taking their daily run, or visiting friends out of town. His role as Jordan's constant companion was further cemented when, shortly after becoming a house dog, a fire began in the wiring of the old farmhouse they were living in. Chuck jumped on Jordan's bed, barking an alarm and waking Jordan in time to put the fire out before much damage was done. Even though we could no longer trust him around livestock, he was such a joyful dog, and was wonderful around cats, chickens, and kids. It seemed Chuck had found a different niche than what we had intended for him, as he had saved Jordan's life and had so many other valuable qualities. He also dearly loved his chickens and protected them from predators such as raccoons and opossums, or other dogs.

Unfortunately, this fall, as the weather began to cool, Chuck became harder to manage, even chasing cats, who he had always done so well with. He also began growling at us if we disciplined him in any way. Jordan had done extensive submission training with him to make sure he never became aggressive toward people, but something was wrong. This aggressive behavior culminated one night as Chuck had accidentally gotten out and killed sheep once again. We caught him in the act and he ended up turning on Jordan and biting him, breaking skin and severely bruising Jordan's forearms even through a heavy coat. After consulting with the vet, the heart-wrenching decision was made to have Chuck put down. It is hard to have an old or injured pet put down, but a physically healthy dog in the prime of his life who has been such a protector and companion is an entirely different thing. But he could no longer be trusted and he was too powerful and adept at killing. If he was willing to hurt Jordan, what might he be capable of with someone he had no bond with?

I believe strongly that a cherished family pet deserves to have their family with them when they die, so Jordan and I stayed with Chuck as the vet administered the medication. As Jordan stroked his head and ears, his eyes locked trustingly on mine until they closed and he lay down with a gentle sigh. As the tears flowed freely in that exam room, I only hoped he could forgive us all for what had to be done.

We took him home on a beautiful Wednesday afternoon and buried him next to his old friend, Roxy, on the hill overlooking the house and barn. It was a warm and sunny afternoon, so mild for the last day of November. Suddenly, a red and black butterfly appeared, fluttered around my head, landing for a brief second, then flying to Jordan where it also circled him several times before disappearing into the sunlight. Through the tears, the healing and forgiveness had begun.

Chicken Barn Progress

2011-11-25T22:07:00.000-08:00

The chickens are enjoying the lights Jordan installed in the chicken barn. The extra light during these short days will help to keep the eggs coming and the heat lamps supply a bit of extra warmth during the chilly nights. We also have one permanent roost up and will soon be putting up more to eliminate those beautiful Tidy Cats buckets!

The hens have been making good use of the nest boxes.

And filling up the egg buckets.

Jordan also installed lights in the small chicken house behind the barn. And just in time for this Buff Orpington hen to move in with her two new babies. Silly hen to hatch little ones this late in the year!

This Japanese banty chick who was hatched in September hunkers down in the tall grass to get out of the wind.

This handsome little rooster is one who a little black banty hen hatched back in June.

The rosecomb on this Silver-Spangled Hamburg rooster is quite interesting. He seems to be very proud of it and enjoyed posing for the camera.

This rosecomb Brown Leghorn seems to be yelling out a message to the world. I'm not sure if it is a message of pride of alarm, though!
Until next time, may your messages of pride not be confused with alarms!

Another Outlaw Taken Out

2011-09-25T21:40:00.000-07:00

Last night a good-sized raccoon attempted to help himself to chicken dinner, but the dogs are quite protective of their chickens and made short work of the thief.

Ranger naps while the chickens scratch for bugs around him.

Chuck stays alert while Big Red and a Barred Rock pullet forage.

And Cordell stays on guard to make sure the raccoon doesn't cause any more trouble.

The raccoon did manage to take a bite out of one of the Speckled Sussex pullets and she was bleeding a bit from the leg and thigh area last night after the attack, but appears to be okay today.

Until next time, may the outlaws in your life be served with the justice they deserve.

Webbed feet in the Wheat

2011-09-04T21:04:00.000-07:00

The irrigation risers into the wheat field were open this afternoon, making a very pleasant temporary wetland for geese and ducks.

Puddles of water and spilled wheat on a warm September afternoon are like heaven to these guys!

This handsome fellow is Einer (Enar), a blue Swedish duck who came to live with us about 3 weeks ago. He is very sweet, enjoying treats fed to him by hand and also likes to be handled and petted. Unfortunately, he is not so sweet to the dogs and chases them mercilessly, sneaking up behind them and yanking hair from the backs of their legs. This is especially offensive to the dogs when they are sound asleep, but Einer seems to delight in making the dogs jump and run away. I have tried locking him out of the yard, shutting all of the gates, but he always finds a way in, so Einer has to be locked in a large dog kennel in the barn, complete with plenty of feed and a pool of water, and only gets to come out when I can keep a close eye on him so he doesn't end up beheaded by one of the dogs as they reach the end of their patience with him. He is miserable locked away, but until he learns to leave the dogs alone, it is for the best.
Einer's mate, Ulrika, was a black Swedish duck. She was a beautiful little hen and had a puffy crest of feathers on the top of her head, like a small, silly hat. She had begun laying eggs, so when she disappeared several days ago, I figured she had located a suitable nesting site. She never chased the dogs, so I hadn't penned her up like Einer. Sadly, on Friday, I found her lifeless little body on the front porch, behind a plant. Not a mark was on her, not a feather out of place, so I am certain the dogs didn't take revenge for Einer's ill deeds, but really have no ideas as to what may have happened to her. And I had begun entertaining hopes of a small flock of Swedish ducks living in the barnyard. Now that Ulrika is gone, Einer seems to be a bit more interested in hanging out with the geese instead of chasing the dogs, but he won't regain his freedom until he decides to stay in the barnyard and leave the dogs in peace.

The geese came to live with us last spring. They are both ganders, so won't be producing any eggs or goslings to add to the flock. They are Chinese geese, a very loud, talkative breed. While some geese can be aggressive, these two have always kept their distance and have not shown any aggression, except occasionally toward the sheep, who don't seem to be too upset by the threats. I bought the geese in an attempt to help keep predators away from the chickens, but they instead bonded with the sheep and prefer to stay with them whenever possible. Watching the geese run and fly behind the sheep when we move pastures is a pretty amusing sight.

Headed back toward the barn after a good time splashing, preening, and eating. While they were at first quite resistant to being moved out into the wheat field, my webbed-footed friends enjoyed themselves immensely once they saw the delightful, and unexpected, puddles and feed.

Until next time, may all of your hesitations be replaced with delight.

Chicks on the Move

2011-07-29T14:23:00.000-07:00

The chicks have outgrown their original brooder and moved to their new home. While the inside of the coop is not too much bigger than their previous space, they now have a fenced yard which adds quite a lot of space for stretching their wings.

Ancona chick, 4 weeks old

While they were pretty hesitant at first to enter their new yard, it didn't take too long for the more adventurous in the bunch to head into unknown territory.

Black crossbred banty chick, 5 weeks old

The little black banties are a week older than the rest and most of their chick fluff has now been replaced by real feathers.

Speckled Sussex chick, 4 weeks old

The Speckled Sussex chicks have also replaced much of their down.

White Orpington Chick, 4 weeks old

Light Brahma chick, 4 weeks old

The White Orpingtons and Light Brahmas seem to have feathers on their bodies, but their heads are still fluff.

Partridge Cochin chick, 4 weeks old

Free hatchery mystery chick, 4 weeks old

But, oh my goodness, the Partridge Cochins and free mystery bird are pretty pitiful this week. I know the Cochins will be very handsome birds when they are grown, but the mystery bird? Hmmm, I guess only time can answer that question!
Until next time, may time be kind to your countenance!

Growing Up

2011-07-14T22:19:00.000-07:00

It did not take long for the baby chicks to outgrow their stock tank. In fact they were only in it for a day before I tipped it on its side to give them more room. The active chicks were constantly running over the smaller, weaker ones and interrupting their naps. Poor little sleepyheads! I used heavy cardboard to slowly increase their space until they had the full run of the 6'x10' enclosure after several days.
Mortality has seemed fairly high as I have lost a total of 7 chicks, most within the first week. Two of those were the white Cochins I was concerned about and also lost two of the Mille Fleur bantams. The rest were a variety of breeds. The light went out on Tuesday night of this week, which happened to be a night it chilled off somewhat and we got a little rain. I nearly lost one of the Brahma banties then, but was able to get it rewarmed before it was too late.

Light Brahma

The slower growing breeds are still cute and don't look too awfully different than they did two weeks ago.

Silver Spangled Hamburg

But the faster growing chicks are just starting into their awkward stage.

Brown Leghorn

Baby chick fluff is being replaced by real feathers.

But the poor little black banties are about a week older than the rest and totally into the awkward, gangly, teenager stage.

White Orpington

Every adolescent wants to stand out from the crowd, and . . . .

Golden-Laced Wyandotte

spread their wings a little.

Dark Brahma and Silver Spangled Hamburg

And everyone likes to hang out and talk with their friends as they find their place in the world.

Until next time, may you be blessed with good friends to help through the awkward moments in life!

Mail Order Chicks

2011-06-27T19:30:00.000-07:00

Let me first clarify that the phrase 'mail order chicks' should in no way be confused with 'mail order brides'. I am referring to the feathered, cheeping chick. Sorry, boys! I only call attention to this as I have sons in their twenties, so can just hear the comments they might make!

Last winter I received a hatchery catalog in the mail. While I have always been intrigued with the thought of cheeping boxes being delivered to my post office, I put the thought of ordering chicks aside. For a while. But as winter wore on and I found myself drawn back to the images of so many different breeds of chickens, most of which I had never seen outside the pages of a book or catalog. By February I had decided that I would just order some of those exotic fowl. I had lost most of my flock by then and I had a new plan. To raise young chicks and fix up one of the barns below the house. The barn the old hens preferred was impossible to make predator proof on my budget, but I figured I could make the smaller one work.
I made lists of the chickens I would order, then amended the lists. I knew I wanted gentle hens as I love being able to walk amongst the hens as they cluck at my feet. But these are just the kind of hens that foxes and coyotes love. Easy pickings. So then I added a few whose descriptions included phrases like "very alert" and "forages and avoids predators well". Next the kids got in on the fun and spent time looking through the catalog, each one choosing their favorite. Final decisions were made and the order was placed for delivery the week of June 27th.

Contents of the smaller box

Today was the long-awaited day. It started with a phone call from the post office at 5:51 AM. I raced off to get the chicks, rush them back home and settled in as quickly as possible. It is just amazing that those tiny fragile creatures could survive the trip from Iowa to Oregon. Survive they did and arrived with every single one alive. They were so happy to join the four little banties in the warm stock tank where they drank, ate, stretched their wings and ran from one end to the other. They will soon outgrow this setup, but it will keep them safe and warm for several days while they build strength to enter a larger space.

Bearded Belgian d'Uccle Mille Fleur banties

Unfortunately, I have lost one little Mille Fleur banty and believe it may have been my own fault. I think I missed him when showing them the water and dipping their beaks to encourage drinking. He seemed okay when I unpacked them and moved them to the stock tank. Then again, maybe it was the little guy on the right side of the picture and he wasn't just dozing as I had thought. In additon, I am having some trouble with all three White Cochins. They arrived far weaker than the other chicks and I have been hand watering and feeding them throughout the day. Time will tell if they make it or not. I will keep doing whatever I can to help them along.

Partridge Cochin chick
These little guys were so lively I had a hard time getting a picture of them. One immediately jumped out of the basket I was using to contain them for photographing.

Until next time, may all the chicks in your life be strong and healthy!

Chicken Nuggets

2011-06-25T21:20:00.000-07:00

Several days ago, mama hen brought her 10 little ones to visit in the yard, which I discovered when I heard a loud "PEEP, PEEP, PEEP" coming through the house. One of the housecats was bringing me a treasure with the other cat close behind in case he dropped it. When I went to take the chick from him, though, he changed his mind and no longer wished to share his little nugget with me or anyone else. After a short chase, I managed to retrieve the poor terrified chick. Out in the yard there was panic with hen and chicks scattered to all corners. I managed to scoop up four more babies and found another little one had already been killed. I penned up the five I had caught with the hope that mama would come back for them and I could then catch her and the remaining four. She did come close, but was always watching out for me and I could not manage to get the gate to the the outer pen closed before she was back out. Poor babies cried and cried for mama for two or three days and have just today stopped calling for her, but she thinks the yard is a dangerous place and refuses to come back in. Yesterday I checked the babies in the morning and found my favorite chick had died overnight. He appeared healthy and strong, so am not sure what happened, but was sad to lose him as he was a beautiful mahogany color with feathered feet, while the rest are black chicks with some light patches. He did not happen to be the one the cat brought into the house, either. That was a black chick and is doing just fine!

They look so tiny in the big tank all alone.

Minnie Mae would like a taste of chicken nuggets, please.

Sorry, Minnie Mae, you are going to have to stick to your cat food!

Chick Surprise!

2011-06-17T15:03:00.000-07:00

One of my black banties had gone missing and I was sure she had become chicken dinner for some sharp-toothed critter. I had found her abandoned nest some time back, which is usually an indication that the hen is unable to return. But, lo and behold, I was pleasantly surprised yesterday to find her alive and well as she clucked lovingly to 10 little ones out in the barn lot!

I am hopeful she can raise this batch of chicks as the Pyrenees cross pups are becoming more and more effective at keeping the predators at bay and protecting their family of chickens, sheep, etc. On Tuesday, their dad, Chuck, was here to visit and together they killed a raccoon who had been hanging around for quite some time. This morning the pups brought in the body of a young raccoon they had killed. While I love watching raccoons and am fascinated by their actions, I lost about 40 chickens last winter, many to raccoons who would climb into the barn rafters and dine as the chickens slept. The carnage of chicken body parts that had fallen from above was not a pretty sight in the morning.

I just had to include this picture of Snickers goat. He is not happy with me at all. Yesterday he got out and helped himself to the roses just beginning to open up their gorgeous blooms in the yard as he is a master gate opener. He again got out several times today, and in fact, joined me inside the house at one point as I had a back door open. I looked and looked, but could not figure out where he had gotten out. While taking pictures of the chicks, I put him in again and set a pan of grain outside the pen. He still refused to show me where he was getting out until he thought I'd gone back to the house. From my hiding spot, I watched him slip though a gate that had not been fastened tightly enough when the guys were working cows yesterday. I refastened the gate and gave him his pan of feed, but he knows a small pan of grain is not equal to the freedom he was tasting.
Until next time, may you savor the freedoms you are able to enjoy!

Goat Adventures

2010-02-07T21:32:00.000-08:00

Here is the newest addition to the farm critters. We had a family adventure to go pick him up outside Athena, Oregon, about an hour away from the house. It was supposed to be a relatively quick trip, but after the keys being locked inside the pickup and waiting for a locksmith to rescue us, it ended up being a rather late night. Gotta love these kinds of adventures!

This pretty goat was given to me as he was too small for the market shipment last fall and now needed to be removed from the doe pen before they begin having their new crop of babies. I agreed to bring him home as my pet goat has been very lonely since his brother died serveral months ago. I figured if this guy wasn't friendly and did not have the makings of a pet, he could always continue on toward his original fate as a meat goat.

We brought him home last night, so figured on keeping him in the barn with the other goat for several days until he got his bearings and was comforatable in his new home. He had been around people, but never really had much handling, so I expected to put in some time with him before he started liking people. First thing this morning, Ethan and Eida ran over to the barn lot to see the new addition and he took right to them, even chasing Eida around the pen as if she were a playmate, bucking and kicking. He loved her even more after several handfuls of grain. After the kids left, every time I went outside, this new guy had his head through the gate rails, calling to me, begging me to come over. He is not quite sure he wants to be scratched and petted, just wanted me close by, then was content.

Because he seemed to have bonded well both to myself and the other goat, I tried taking him out of the barn lot. He stayed close to me, so we headed off on my regular evening walk. He stuck right beside me the entire way, as if he had been taking walks with us forever. The little brown goat, Snickers, is definately the boss, butting and biting if the new goat tried to get between myself and Snickers or jumped on a log to be king of the mountain, a major breach of goat conduct!

So, it looks like this youngster may have the personality needed to save him from becoming barbeque. He may even fit in well with some of the public events our animals attend in the community such as petting zoos and Living Nativity. Lucky little guy!

Any good name ideas? I was thinking of sticking with the sweet theme as the brown goat is Snickers and this guy is kind of a backward Oreo coloring. He is a French Alpine breed, so maybe something French?? All suggestions will be appreciated!!

Until next time, may your attitude surround you with sweetness and keep you out of the stew pot!

Meet Chuck!

2010-01-24T00:01:00.000-08:00

Last spring, Chuck came to live with us at the age of 13 weeks. He had just been taken away from his mama, put into a dog crate, and hauled in a car for a couple of hours to get to his new home. He was not impressed with all of the changes, his new home, or us! Jordan is telling him that we really are okay, but Chuck is not easily convinced and pouted for nearly a week.

Once Chuck recovered from the tauma of moving to a new home, he warmed up to all of us and found a best friend in Roxy. She tried to teach him important things like barking at coyotes, swimming in the river, and hunting mice. He understands about keeping coyotes and bad guys away, has learned to splash around in the river and tries to imitate hunting mice, but really wonders what all the fuss is about - those little mice don't even count as a snack . . .

We lost Roxy to an unfortunate accident and buried her on the hill behind the house on Thanksgiving morning. Chuck was very bewildered and did not understand why his lively friend would not get up and play with him. He became so upset when we wrapped her in her favorite blanket that he had to be held back as he was pawing and unwrapping her faster than we could get her covered, even after we had allowed him quite a lot of time with her body. His grief was so great that he continued to dig on her grave for several weeks and has now taken to spending a lot of his day laying up on the hill near her gravesite.

Chuck looks so regal laying in the golden leaves by the river, but in reality is eating a dead fish. He has even been known to eat dead dried up snakes he has found in the road.

Chuck finds great delight in the snow, running, playing, chasing, and rolling in it. He really is well suited to cold weather and stays so much cleaner with all the sparkly stuff on the ground!

So, from afar, we can pretend Chuck is a regal, dignified protector, but close up he is just a goof. Whenever he is out with the livestock, or on a walk wandering the pastures and woods with any of his people, he is actually quite serious, but when he is around the house, he is always up for a bit of fun. With lambing season yet to come, we will see if he can keep the coyotes and cougars away, but we have not had coyotes close in by the house and barns as we've had in the past and have lost no chickens to predators since Chuck has come to live with us. His grandparents are proven cougar killers, so maybe his family's reputation has gotten around and the local thugs have moved on to safer neighborhoods.

Until next time, may you be blessed with a diligent and loyal protector . . .

Catching Up

2010-01-10T19:57:00.000-08:00

My sisters, Stacey and Paula, are so diligent at keeping up their blogs, while I plod along slowly. My sisters, you inspire me and I can only hope to one day come somewhere close to your awesome accomplishments! I think I can, I think I can . . . .

If you have not seen their blogs, pop on over and visit Stacey and Paula and enjoy as they are both excellent writers.

So many things take place here on the farm when time passes between posts and it becomes difficult to decide where to start, but here is a quick run down of several changes we have had. I will follow up with more in-depth posts on several of these changes.

Of course, the weather has turned from early fall to midwinter and we are currently in mud season.

Last spring we had fairly heavy lamb losses due to predators, both coyotes and cougar, so Jordan got a Great Pyrenees pup whose parents are proven livestock guard dogs in hopes that he can help reduce any further losses.

We lost our beloved Roxy dog on Thanksgiving and still miss her every day. She was an invaluable part of our family and the farm, and we will never be able to truly replace her.

We took several of our most friendly critters to our church's Living Nativity and found out some interesting background on my miniature donkey, Elmer. Turns out Elmer and I share a birthday!

Another sad event took place a couple of weeks ago when one of Jordan's fair lambs, Jumper, died of pregancy complications.

After having his feet trimmed recently, Roland, KP's little mustang went down in the barn and may have died if Jordan had not gone out to check on the horses when he did. I beleive he pulled back and went down, tightening the rope further, flipped to his back, then was unable to right himself as the halter and rope held tight. He is such a good common-sense horse it surprises me he let himself get into such a predicament, but am so grateful the outcome was positive. While he was a bit shaky afterward, he seems to have no lasting ill effects and is back to his old self.

Amongst these highlights, both sad and glad, are the usual happenings of new kittens, baby calves and the never-ending hunt for the hen's newest hiding places for their precious eggs!

Until next time, hope your happenings are more glad and less sad!

Home at Last

2009-11-01T18:16:00.001-08:00

The ewes and lambs came back home on Friday after spending the summer on pasture. They seemed to be happy to be back and Jim, the old ram, was nearly beside himself to see his harem again.

The younger ram is a purebred Romney who is now getting to know the ewe lambs. He has a much sweeter nature than old Jim. We are looking forward to seeing what his lambs will look like next spring.
We spent a good portion of today working on fences and tagging the ewe lambs. I love the weather this time of year, clear and crisp, but warm during the day. Nothing short of glorious!

Until next time, may all of your homecomings be cause for celebration!

Jordan's Catch

2009-10-31T18:48:00.000-07:00

Jordan has always wanted to catch a fish in his bare hands and this afternoon he finally got the chance.

Complete with a bit of a Halloween scare.

I laugh every time I watch this video.

Until next time, may all of your scares be pleasant ones!

Spring Frolic and Romp

2009-03-03T20:22:00.000-08:00

This is one of the twins born as a surprise back in December. He and his brother are the oldest and largest lambs in the flock and are teaching the younger ones to romp and frolic.

The black lamb with white markings on her face and all four feet off the ground up on top of the hill is one of quadruplets. She is the smallest of the three survivors, but is doing well. We have been keeping an eye on her and attempted to supplement with milk for a while. Even through I knew she was hungry from her cries, she had her own opinions on that nasty tasting rubber nipple that did not remind her of mama at all and refused to drink. It takes a while to wait a lamb out and if they are hungry enough they will eventually decide to take the bottle even if it doesn't look or smell like Mom. Warm milk being dribbled down a hungry baby's throat is a pretty convincing tool. This stubborn little girl never did concede to the bottle, so I stopped trying after she was about 3 weeks old. By then she was nibbling hay and I figured she was obviously getting enough grub to get by. Her growth rate did not match her siblings, and she could have been a little plumper, but she wasn't crying like when she was younger, so I stopped putting us both through the tortuous milk dribbling ritual.

And down they go! They love to race down off of this hill, over to the next one, around, and around, over and over, leaping, and jumping.

Oh what a beautiful morning!

This is Daisy's lamb. He is the only one this year who was an only child - no siblings. There are 18 lambs all together, though, so he has plenty of cousins to play with.

Slowing down.

Getting tired.

Nap time. I believe this ewe is the mother of the quadruplets. She still looks pregnant with that big old tummy! She and her sister look quite a lot alike, both are three years old now. One was born to Daisy and the other's mom was Ivy, but we switched ear tags and now I am not sure which one is which. Daisy's daughter was Pansy and Ivy's Holly. I am pretty sure it was Holly who had the quads. Ivy had triplets last year and raised them to maturity without any help at all. She is a very good mom. We have actually culled out all of the ewes who were not good mothers now and have kept all of the good moms and easy lambers. It sure made lambing season go a lot smooher this year.

Until next time, may you find time to frolic and romp in the spring sunshine.

Coon Dog

2009-02-28T18:26:00.000-08:00

Taking a walk through the woods this morning, Roxy discovered a tempting scent. We hurried to catch up to her frantic barks.

Look, I found a critter! It's right here, under this log.

OOOOOH, it is in here. Come on guys, let's tear this log apart!

Okay, it is growling awfully fiercely. But can't I please tear the log apart?

We can go home now, all that barking and digging made me tired and it is just a small coon anyway.

We are thankful to see Roxy feeling so frisky as she was a pretty sick dog about 3 weeks ago. We were hoping for some puppies from her, but instead she contracted a serious infection. She was droopy and not herself, but we had no idea how sick she was. The vet said if we had waited another day to bring her in, he probably would not have been able to save her. She had to be spayed, so no puppies, and the treatment was expensive, but Roxy says she is worth it. She also says we should let her sleep on the couch, but I have to draw the line somewhere!

Until next time, may someone love you enough to let you sleep on the couch!

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

2009-02-01T07:52:00.000-08:00

The inseperable brothers have been cut from each other. At about 3:30 this morning, I awoke to a loud squawk coming from the front yard fence and immediately jumped out of bed, flung open the door and knew some dirty dog was stealing one of my pets. I slipped on a robe and slippers as it was quite brisk out of doors, and went on a starlit hunt. One Barred Rock rooster came running toward me through the front yard, so I was a bit relieved to see him and sent our dog, Roxy, out on the trail of the other, heading up the hill behind the house. At one point she must have run into the fox as she let out a warning bark and set out on a chase. I was hopeful with all of the commotion, the fox might drop the rooster as his plump frame must have been quite the burden for a delicate fox, but alas, we followed for a bit and no such luck. It has been my experience that a fox will usually snatch a bird, carrying it off to kill in a safer location farther from the house and barn. Chickens struggle only briefly, then resign themselves to the inevitable and I have recovered chickens from foxes by scaring the fox into dropping the bird with the chicken having only minor wounds, recovering fully. I continued to call for a time, hoping to hear the answering cluck coming from under a sagebrush, but eventually returned to the house, half frozen. The remaining rooster was sitting in the middle of the yard, so I carried him to the porch, felt for any injuries, and finding none, perched him on the porch near my bedroom door. In the past, the brothers would sometimes be diligently scratching for bugs and tasty morsels throughout the yard and find themselves lost from one another's sight on opposite sides of the house. They would crow to each other until they were together again, happily scratching and preening side by side. All roosters fight each other at times, but I never saw these two get into a scuffle. They were together constantly. In the picture posted above, he had just crowed and was waiting and listening for an answer from his brother, but all he heard were crows from the barn banties. He must walk into the dawn of a new day alone, with only memories to sustain him. And with a chicken, that won't be long.

Happier times - cold weather, warm hearts.

Until next time, may you never walk alone.

Gifts

2009-01-11T22:00:00.000-08:00

It has been difficult to get a good shot of the lambs as Salty is such a friendly mama and will be sniffing the camera before I can get it focused and clicked. She is really always looking for a handout and hoping I may be bringing her some treats! Here I caught her snuggling with her kids before she jumped up and came over for a scratch on the head. If you look closely, you can see just a bit of the black lamb laying right bihind her. He is snuggled up as close as he can get and the white lamb had been doing the same on her front side. They are growing like bad weeds and begining to play king of the mountain on the hill inside the sheep pen, jumping and twisting in the air on their way back to mama. So far they are still the only babies, but it looks as if there will be more soon.

I wanted to draw charcoal portraits of the kids for Christmas, and here are how they turned out. This one is of Taylor giving KP a well-deserved look. I named it "Uh-Huh". I intentionally left KP only sketched and did not fill in detail on him, so he is a bit hard to make out in this picture I took of the framed drawing. In the original, you can tell by the tilt of his head, he is trying to be sorry for whatever it is he has done now. Get him, Taylor!

This is KP and Roland and I named it "My Way" as they each have an opinion on which way to go, and they are definatly not the same way! I think KP won as he appears to have the more determined look, but Roland is giving his opinion on the matter through his body language.

Jordan and Sebastian were coming to "An Understanding" here. Jordan is just cracking the whip as he asks Sebastian to begin moving into a circular lunge pattern. Sebastian is not sure he wants to comply and is giving Jordan the eye, but Jordan is standing tall and will only increase his request should Sebastian balk.

I was pleased with the outcomes of the drawings and made them into notecards, along with the drawing I did in 2007 of the barn which I am using as the logo for my PawleyFarm site. I think I will name this notecard set 'Lessons' as Roland, Sebastian, and KP are all learning in these portraits and old barns always have lessons to teach if only we are quiet and listen. I will offer them on both the PawleyFarm site and my Etsy shop, which will be the most public I have ever gone with my drawings. A bit scary, but a bit more exciting! Taking the time to draw before Christmas made me realize how much a part of my soul that creative process is. Drawing is one of those activities where I am totally unaware of the passage of time. I don't even think about eating while in the midst of the thousands of decisions about where to put the next mark, how light, how dark to make it . . . . It can be enough to drive a body mad! Don't worry, I plan to keep both my ears attached to my head!!

Until next time, may you be blessed with a pursuit in which time flies in swift, sweet enjoyment and may you be sent the gift of time enough for this life-giving nourishment to feed your soul brimming full to the top.

Surprise Arrivals

2008-12-30T18:19:00.000-08:00

If you read my last post, you might remember I said the lambs were staying snug and warm in their mamas and we were not expecting any babies until the first part of February?

Apparently, Salty had a secret and somebody was sneaking around on the wrong side of the fence last summer! She had two nice, healthy, full-term ram lambs this afternoon. Come to think of it, Salty seems to be the early lamber every year . . .

Salty is the sweetest ewe in the flock. She was raised on a bottle as a bummer lamb, and, like many of our animals, spent her first summer providing therapy to special needs kids at Western Trails Therapeutic Riding Center. Last Christmas, she performed at our church's Living Nativity, only to pop out a nice set of twins about 2 weeks later. Again, with no warning and unexpectedly early. Many of the ewes grunt and groan and look as if they are going to pop for weeks ahead of time, but Salty has always just snuck her birthing time in when we aren't looking. By the time we have found she has lambed, she has them cleaned and dried off and they have been up and had a bit of rich, nourishing milk. She has never needed any help with her babies, always knowing exactly what to do. Tonight I was watching her for a few minutes after I put her in the barn. The white lamb appears to have been born first and is figuring out the dinner thing pretty well, while the black lamb hasn't quite gotten it down yet. Salty kept talking to him and nudging him in the right direction until he found the dinner table. Oh, did his little tail wag in satisfaction as the rich, creamy milk warmed and strengthened his little body!

I remember my father-in-law routinely tipping over every ewe and squirting a few drops of the rich colostrum into the baby lambs as that swallow or two would often make all the difference and determine if the baby would live or not in the harsh Wyoming cold. I am glad Salty is a good mama and I don't have to take her on in a wrestling match! Even though Salty takes great care of her babies, even wrapping them in a sheep hug by snuggling her large, wooly body as close as possible if it is cold out, all ewes should be penned up to bond with their little ones for a few days to eliminate any confusion as other lambs are born. Sheep are notorious for stealing other ewes' lambs, then forgetting their own. They also need a bit of molasses shortly after the birth to ensure their calorie count stays high enough to keep them healthy as they produce the extremely rich milk the newborns need to build their fat reserves.

Hey, you don't suppose Salty got word of my last post and wanted to get in a good practical joke, do you? Or maybe she was just jealous of the cows with all of their new little bundles of joy?

Regardless of the reason, somebody was still doing a little bit of slipping around last summer, and sneaking in the dark will always catch up with you eventually!

Until next time, I hope your sneaking always turns out as a nice surprise!!

A Blessed Season

2008-12-29T09:41:00.000-08:00

The ice sparkled and glowed, adding extra cheer to Christmas this year. A white Christmas seems to be so much sweeter than does a brown. We often make do with brown over white, living in the Columbia Basin of Eastern Oregon, but have been blessed with two weeks of winter this year.

We had lows down as far as -10 and it snowed nearly every single day. Roads were closed, schools shut down as the drifts piled ever higher. The frantic pace of our everyday lives was suddenly interrupted. Mothers with young children played out in the snow instead of bundling babies off to daycares. The snow angel population grew by leaps and bounds. The squeak of the snow underfoot tinkled like tiny enchanted bells. Gallons of rich, creamy hot cholcolate were consumed, toasting tummies from the inside out. The woodstove in our living room puffed and chugged along, warming many a backside and drying out snow pants and work boots.

Deer and antelope moved down from the higher country to eat alongside the cows.

While the new lambs stayed warm and snug inside their mamas, not quite ready to be born yet, flurries of calves arrived along with the snow squalls.

The goats enjoyed their daily snow walks, but enjoyed more returning to their deep straw beds in the barn!

KP and Roland found a little time to play in the snow. Roland is KP's Unimog, easily plowing through the chest deep snow they ran into back up the canyon, with never a slip due to being born out on the range to a wild and free mama Mustang.

Roland and Jordan also got to help move cows down from the upper pasture a couple days after the canyon jaunt. I was unable to capture any photos as I rode Roland part of the way, then helped via 4-wheeler after I traded Jordan as riding bareback with the leg brace was proving to be a bit much. I have resigned myself to using the saddle next time as I can't get enough grip with the silly brace in the way. Pooh!

Elmer and Sebastian were content to much hay while Roland was off adventuring.

Roxy had snowballs all over her body after following KP and Roland. Adventuring is great, but I do beleive she hears the call of the rug in front of the crackling woodstove!

All of the wise banty chickens moved into the barn to cozy up, but the silly Barred Rock roosters adamantly remained at their post, roosting on the fence rail in the front yard. For several days, we dilligently moved them over under the shelter of the the huge Douglas Fir tree, but, realizing they would not get down during the day, pity was taken upon them and they were moved onto the front porch along with feed and water until the storms abated. They soon found a favorite chair, but every couple of days would wade through the snow and roost again upon the freezing fence rail. Their combs are damaged from the cold, and one of the boys has lost some weight, but they have survived this round. Now to wean them from roosting on the front porch . . .

We awoke Saturday morning to warm winds and dripping eaves as a Chinook blew in, bringing spring in the middle of winter.

By Monday morning, most of the snow had turned to mud on the ground, but had freshened the trees up nicely.

And the roosters were ecstatic to be freshening up with a good dirt bath. This guy kept turning around, throwing dirt up on himself, then would snuggle down into the good, brown earth as if he thought he may never see it again.

Hmmm . . should we let him in on the forecast? Possibility of snow showers again on Thursday. We'll just let him enjoy his bit of springtime for now!

Until next time, may all your seasons be blessed.

Snow Trophies

2008-12-26T16:02:00.000-08:00

It has been snowing nearly every day for two weeks now and has really dumped a lot on our litle banana belt of Oregon. Jordan has a new pickup which he has just been itching to try out in the snow, so it seemed like the perfect time to see what it could do. He, of course, was alone here on the farm that afternoon when he headed up the canyon behind the house. He followed the Rhino tracks for a ways, but even they soon ran out and still his pickup was plowing forward, albeit, somewhat slower than at the lower elevations. Before he knew it, he was just pushing too much snow and could no longer move forward. So he tried backing up, but, hmmm . . . Too late. He walked back to the house in the dark and the next morning, he and KP headed up to unstick him. KP was able to get him out with his pickup, but in the process, the deep snow pulled off both bumpers. My reaction would have been - OH No, my truck is broken! But the boys see it as an opportunity to make new bumpers!
Until next time, may you be blessed with the ability to see the opportunity in adversity.

Preserves

2008-07-16T19:20:00.000-07:00

The knee surgery I had the end of May put me out of commission much longer than I had anticipated, but am slowly regaining my strength and resuming daily activities. Many thanks to all who have faithfully been checking my blog, knowing I would return one day!

Jordan helped me can cherries last week and we put up 14 quarts of cherries and 16 jars of jam. Mmmm, I had to bake bread the next day just so we could have that delicious jam on fresh bread. It was so worth it! These were some of the best cherries I have ever had and came out of Benton City, Washington, which is located about 45 minutes away. I find it extremely satisfying to put up food for the winter this way and love to gaze upon the vibrant colors of the fruit jars lined up on the pantry shelves. As the summer wanes and the nights start to chill, I often feel this strange compulsion to stuff jars full of any produce I can lay my hands on and have experimented with some unusual recipes such as pickled watermelon and corncob jelly.

I have strong memories of my grandmothers putting away food for the cold season and recall the dusty, apple-scented must of the fruit room in the cellar. My little girl eyes would shine with wonder as I contemplated the perfect jar of fruit to choose to accompany us at dinner, or the jar of pickles to take on the family picnic. I would remember the hot, sticky days of laughter as we picked fruit on a family outing, the yellow jackets causing shrieks from us kids as they competed with us for the sweet fruit. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches eaten in the grass of the orchard with cold, fresh water to wash them down. Faces stained with juice as we had eaten enough for a belly ache. Preserving food, preserving tradition, preserving memories. I am proud to carry on this family legacy.

Until next time, may you be blessed with sweet traditions weaving the past with the present and tendriling on into the future.

Bumper-Be-Gone

2008-05-10T13:33:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday afternoon started fairly quietly. The sheep had found (or created) a hole in the fence to allow them access to the lovely new wheat. Jordan was away at fire training in Sisters, Oregon, so the rest of the family pitched in and helped chase them into a holding pen until some fence repair could be done.

The guys were itching to go four-wheeling, so as soon as the sheep had been secured, we headed down to the woods. This picture had been preceeded by one of those "should we, or shouldn't we?" moments. The question is answered here- we did, but maybe shouldn't have!

This is what happens when you get stuck as good as we were. Yes, it is the rear bumper off of Mike's little Ranger pickup. KP was making decent, but slow, progress pulling the Ranger out, when suddenly, POP, off came the bumper, flying through the trees like a trout on a line. Tammy is such a sport, enjoying the humor of the situation. Little did she know that when KP and Taylor headed back to get the caterpillar to help out, they would get stuck too and Tammy ended up having to run the come-along to pull the Ranger out. She was not comforatable trying to drive the pickup (and the hip-deep water on the driver's side was also a deterrent), so she stuck with the hard labor. Poor girl, I am sure she had to have someone else comb her hair for her the next morning as she probably could not raise her arms! Mike, good husband that he is though, continually shouted encouraging words through the open window!

Okay, next time we will . . . .

And I wasn't a whole lot of help, stuck inside the truck with a bum leg, either.
But a short three hours after we started on our 30 minute adventure, everyone was safely back up at the house, eating cake and watching the bumper-be-gone video amongst hoots of laughter!!
Until next time, may all your misadventures end in good humor.

A big thanks to Taylor, who shot most of the pics and got this video, too!

FarmBoy Prom

2008-04-30T17:29:00.000-07:00

All dressed up and ready for a night on the town, Jordan's senior prom - Woooo-Hoooo! Jordan looks very handsome and Alex is gorgeous in her ivory gown. It was quite chilly on this evening, but I hear it was warmer inside the dance! The handsome couple had reservations at the Bonefish Grill in Tri-Cities before the festivities.

And they are out of the gate!

Well, he is polite and opens her door for her, but that pickup sure is dirty. Chivalry is still developing!

Oh, no - what is this? Alex waits in the truck while Jordan races to shut the gate before the sheep get out!
Don't worry, they made it to their dinner reservations on time and the night went off without a hitch, despite this minor detour as a country boy tries to get to prom without mussing his clothes, or the lady's! Everyone at dinner was polite and made only small mention to the slight scent of sheep poo wafting up from someone's shiny black shoes!

A Steep Price

2008-04-16T21:08:00.001-07:00

The goat brothers, Snickers (above) and Hershey (below), came to live with us last fall after serving a term as therapy goats at Western Trails Therapeutic Riding Center. These guys are two of a set of triplets and were bottle raised. If you know anything about goats, you know they socialize to humans extremely well, so having been raised on bottles and then used as therapy animals for kids with disabilities, they are very people-oriented. They are Nigerian Pygmy goats, so are pretty small. This combination makes them difficult to keep in a pen and impossible to keep out of the yard. They quickly figure out gate latches and only complicated devices requiring thumbs are able to foil these guys. They are seriously like having twin two year olds around. I wouldn't mind them in the yard, except they have a fondness for my roses and other flowers. They also just generally get into stuff and drag it around the yard. Consequently, they have spent much of the winter in a large, hay-filled, chain link dog kennel inside the barn. I let them out every evening and we would go for lenghty walks together. They stay closer to me on walks than the dogs. It is so funny to watch them romp, stand on their hind legs to head butt each other, and just generally enjoy life.

Now that the weather is warming (slowly!) and the green grass is growing, I wanted to put up the electric sheep and goat fence for them. Behind the house looked like a great spot, a steep hill for them to climb and romp on, sagebrush to scratch those itchy backs, four large apricot trees for shade, and best of all, lush green grass to graze on.

Not to mention, the view from up here is spectacular. I especially like how the cow trails all converge at the corral as the cows have come in for water from all parts of the pasture.

Here is Jordan helping out. Notice how far down the trees look, and yes, they are the old apricot trees which are included in the pen also. It was so steep I actually had to crawl on hands and knees with rolls of fence on my shoulder to get up some parts. What a good workout! Well, it turns out old ladies with creaky knees shouldn't be hill crawling so much. I am now in a knee brace and the doc is not allowing any flexion on that leg as we attempt to avoid surgery. Hmmmmm . . . . . Anybody in the market for some really friendly goats?

Until next time, may the hills rise up to meet you . . . gently!

Sebastian's Surgery

2008-04-01T21:49:00.000-07:00

"Hey guys, whatcha doin'?"

Sebastian was very curious about this unfamiliar pickup with people getting out of it. Little did he know it was the vet and his crew coming to geld him. I wonder if he will be so friendly to strangers in the future?

What a gorgeous day we had for this surgery, reasonably warm with no wind, yaaay!

For anyone unfamiliar with horse terminology, to geld a horse means to castrate, or neuter, him. Unless you are set up to handle a stallion, male horses should be gelded. Stallions are unpredictable and can be hard to manage, so gelding them makes them much safer and easier to work with. Jordan aquired Sebastian last year and had no plans to use him as breeding stock, so planned to have him gelded from the start.

Jordan steadies Sebastian while Dr. Lincoln inserts the catheter for the anesthesia drip.

And down he goes. Dr. Lincoln steadies his head as Sebastian went to his knees, then over on his side. It was apparent that Sebastian was unsure what was happening and it was a little scary for him, but he was soon sleeping like a baby.

Jordan offers a soothing touch and comforting words as the anesthesia takes effect.

Dr. Rademacher gets down to business as Dr. Lincoln monitors vitals and Jordan holds a leg out of the way.

Joni takes over holding the leg for Jordan as Dr. Rademacher takes the time to explain part of the procedure to Jordan.

Jordan mentioned Sebastian seems to drool a lot, so his teeth were checked and floated as he had some sharp hooks on several of them. The guys took care of that little job while the anesthesia was still working. He should be able to chew better now.

And the big guy is back up! He is still pretty unsteady, but is attempting to creep closer to people for comfort. He especially wants to be as close as possible to Jordan. I am a little worried that he wants Jordan to hold him on his lap!

Oh, man, Jordan, just stop this world from spinning and I will do anything for you!

A big thanks goes out to the vet team who came out and took such good care of Sebastian, allowed me to take pictures, and who went over and above the call of duty to take the time to explain to Jordan what they were doing and why during every phase of this procedure.

Just in case anyone is wondering, Sebastian still loves all people just as much as he used to! He is much calmer now, though, and safer to work with. Jordan walked him quite a bit during that first week to help with swelling and soreness. Sebastian followed everywhere as meek as a puppy on a string.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing in our farm seasons. Until next time, be careful if the world starts spinning, who knows what might come next!!!

Spring Sunshine and Showers

2008-03-28T20:42:00.000-07:00

I must beg forgiveness for my long absence. So many things have taken place since I last posted, I will touch on several today, then plan to post often until I get caught up. As the weather improves and outdoor work increases, it may become much harder to keep up with the posts, but I promisse to do my best!

Spring has certainly sprung, although the weather has turned off cold again. I took this picture of a daffodil out in the front yard this afternoon, hoping it would show the snowflakes falling down, but none of the snow stuck and the focus didn't allow for the falling flakes. I wasn't able to get outside during the heavy part of the snow flurry, but according to the forecast, I may still have another chance! We have had a chilly spring, but it is very unusual for us to get snow at this time of the year.

The cows returned to the high pasture this week and this calf didn't waste any time rubbing his head on one of the dirt banks. I am not sure why the cows seem to get such a lot of pleasure from beating up the hillsides. I used to think it was to keep the bugs off, but there aren't any flies out yet, so there went that theory. Cattle behavior can be quite interesting. Whenever the cows are in the low pasture which is a large, flat pasture with few hiding places, they tend to take turns babysitting, and seem to be comforatable leaving their calves behind while they go off to feed or water. One cow will stay with a group of calves and I have seen them babysitting up to 10 calves at a time. This behavior occurs much less frequently in the high pasture which is a maze of canyons and plateaus. The cows tend to keep each of their own calves by their sides and are more watchful for dangers when they are amongst these wilder places.

The sheep are anxious to head toward the high pasture every morning also. There is still one ewe left to lamb. I thought she would be one of the first to lamb as Jim was terribly interested in her right after he joined the girls, and she has always been a reliable early lamber, so I am not sure what happened. She was Jordan's first ewe and a bummer lamb, so even if she doesn't lamb, we will keep her, but we will be culling a couple of the ewes this year and replacing them with some of the nice ewe lambs. We actually had a very nice crop of lambs this year and will be keeping most of the ewe lambs in order to increase the flock.

It is fun to watch the woolies climb this hill, but even more of a kick to watch them barrel down it in the evening on the way back to the safety of the sheep pen. I really love watching the lambs jump and frolic and butt each other as they tumble over the hillsides.

The feed is good up here on top. This is a former wheat field left fallow for this year and the volunteer wheat makes for nutritious spring feed. This field has a double track running through it deep enough that all the years of plowing and working the field has not removed the road. It is probably a wagon track and may be an offshoot of the Oregon Trail as the house and barn were built around 1865. It is fun to walk it and imagine what it must have felt like to have followed the Umatilla River up on the dry bluffs for miles and finally be dropping down into a green valley with access to the good, sweet water and plenty of room to make camp.

Until next time, Happy Trails to you and may the spring sun shine warm upon your face.

Goodbye, Earl

2008-02-19T19:03:00.000-08:00

Amongst all the new life springing forth comes a reminder of the fragility of life. We lost our friend, Earl, last week. True, Earl was just a lamb, but Earl had personality. He was born the runt of a set of twins in the spring of 2007. He was a gorgeous little tiny thing with his pure white wool and luminous dark eyes. His little black nose and perky ears added to the cuddly stuffed animal appearance.

Earl's mama, Blue, didn't quite know how to mother two lambs as last year was her first time to be a mom and she eventually rejected Earl completely. So Earl became a 'bummer' lamb, one who learned to sneak up on a ewe who had a happily nursing lamb. Earl would steal several swallows of rich milk before the unsuspecting and unwilling foster mom discovered him and indignantly bunted him out of her family's space. Never did I see Earl look discouraged after being sent away. Instead he was on the lookout for his next opportunity. What I could learn from that attitude!

When the slow-witted shepherdess (me) realized what Earl was up to, I began feeding him on a bottle. Oh, how his little tail would waggle in pure bliss as the creamy milk slid down his throat! Earl followed me everywhere and because he was so small would willingly ride around on my shoulders until he was a couple of months old. Bummers are always friendly to the people who raised them, but after the daily bottle stops coming and they are weaned, they realize they are sheep and hang out with the flock. Not Earl. If he wasn't able to follow me, he preferred to be alone rather than hang out with the other sheep - quite un-sheeplike bahavior. Earl found it difficult to relate to the others. Many times I would watch him try to play with the other lambs, but it seemed he did not know the rules. Earl would body-slam a much larger lamb, often one with horns. When the larger lamb followed through on the challenge Earl presented, the resulting head butt would leave Earl shaking his head and looking quite bewildered. He would glance my way as if to say "Is this not how a lamb plays?"

Visiting kids loved playing with Earl, though, and he loved them in return. Finally, someone to play tag with and scratch all the unreachable itchy places under that soft, fluffy wool. In early summer, Earl moved from his birthplace to Western Trails Therapeutic Riding Center. Here he was able to give love to kids with special needs and the fact there were no other sheep on the place bothered him not in the least. Earl had found his calling. Even though he had to tolerate a bath now and again and live with the two goat brothers, it was worth all the attention.

When riding lessons and animal therapy ended as the school year began, Earl moved back home along with the goat brothers. Although the three were quite bonded by then, Earl did start hanging out with the flock. We let him go at his own pace and allowed him to stay with the goats or sheep, whichever he preferred. Eventually he chose to mostly stay with the sheep and often grazed and slept close to his birth mother who seemed to enjoy snuffling his face. Can sheep say "I'm sorry I was young and made a poor choice?" Maybe that is kind of crazy, but there is no doubt she did remember him. Did her acceptance let Earl return to the flock and learn acceptable sheep behavior? I really don't know, but would like to think so.

We believe Earl died from internal injuries caused by the ram, Jim. Earl was still fairly small and Jim is quite powerful and can be aggressive during this part of the year. We recently had a day where Jim accidently got into the pen with the other sheep after which Earl began acting droopy. We put him in the barn with his goat friends and doctored him as best we could, but just couldn't save him.

Saying goodbye to Earl was heart-wrenching as we had made the decision long ago to keep him as a bellwether instead of a market lamb, meaning he would live out his days as a companion animal for the ewes. As most sheep become very anxious if isolated or left alone, it is good practice to have an animal available to fill that role if needed. Because Earl was too small to be a physical threat to another sheep, was so gentle and easy to work with, halter broke, and had a calming nature, he was perfect for the role. But that apparently was not to be. Instead, we were to say goodbye amidst all the hellos to this year's crop of babies. Parting is often sorrowful, especially when it is not our choice, but we will always carry a bit of our friend with us in memory.

Until next time, let not the sweet sunshine of a memory be darkened by the shadow of sorrow.

A Mother's Love

2008-02-16T20:31:00.000-08:00

Spring is here! Lambs are popping out all over, there are large gangs of calves rumbling through the pastures, the robins are back and meadowlarks are singing. We have even had two sets of triplet lambs so far. This baby is the smallest of the first set of triplets. Her brother and sister were obviously getting the majority of the nutrition before birth. But this little girl is a fighter. She is already catching up with her siblings. Her mama, Ivory, is only a yearling, so this is her first time as a mom, but she loves all three of her babies and is a very good mother. Today was this little family's first time out of the barn and it seems you could see them growing like little weeds in the sunshine. Ivory kept a close eye on all three babies while they were in the barn lot and did not let them stray far from each other.
I have not had a yearling ewe have triplets before. If any of you have first hand knowledge of yearlings having more than twins, I would be curious to hear your story. This ewe, Ivory, was born here in December of 2006 and is out of Jordan's oldest ewe, Becky, who is four now and the matriarch of the flock. Ivory's twin sister, Ebony, should be lambing any day, so we will see what she has been hiding in her large frame.

Umtil next time, may you be warmed by the blessing of a little love in your day!

Snow Babies

2008-02-07T19:25:00.000-08:00

The first lambs of the season were born a week ago today. Their mama, Salty, had them cleaned off, dry, and well-cared for by the time we found them, but the little family still went into a warm, dry barn stall for several days in order to make sure Salty got a little extra feed since she is such a heavy milker. This is Salty's second set of lambs, she also had twins last year as a yearling and cared for them just as well. This set are both ewe lambs, so they will be helping to increase the flock. Papa is black, one lamb looks like Dad and one like Mom. We haven't decided on names yet. I was considering something to go along with Mom's name. Cracker, Tater and Chip, Saucy, etc. Peanut and Pretzel . . .??? Any ideas?

Salty was raised on a bottle and worked as a therapy lamb in a center where horseback and animal therapy was given to kids with disabilities, so she is one of the most gentle ewes in the flock. She also loved playing a part in our church's Living Nativity this past Christmas. She absolutely loves to have her head scratched!

Gosh, Mama, what is this cold white stuff? If we stand real still, maybe it will go away!!!

One of the Ladies in Waiting. Seems the calves are popping out fast and furious now and that first lone calf has a whole gang to play with now!

Thanks for stopping by. Until next time, may you be blessed with the sparkle of new beginings.

Snowy Woolies

2008-01-29T17:47:00.000-08:00

It began raining Sunday morning, changing to snow by mid-morning and snowing heavily all day and into the night. On the Sunday afternoon chore run, Jordan discovered a leak in the stock tank and attempted to fix it. We had a week of cold temperatures before the snow, with lows getting down to between 5 and 9 degrees above zero. Even though there is a heater in the stock tank, those cold temperatures tend to be hard on the watering systems. Hopefully Jordan got it under control and the small pond in the sheep pen will dry up now.

Most of the sheep have been raised from lambs and follow Jordan whenever they can. They are watching him as he began working on the tank. Sheep are well suited for cold weather and even though they have shelter to get out of the rain and snow, they prefer to stay out in the open. They also tend to enjoy eating snow when it is available instead of drinking from the free flowing water source Jordan has worked so hard to keep in working order! Shhh - listen. Do you hear a soft chuckling as they watch Jordan work in that freezing cold water?!

Marvin seems oblivious to the snow piling up on his back, head, and ears. He came under the shed only long enough to eat a few bites of hay, then was back out into the swirling flakes. I feel the same way, having a really hard time staying indoors for long when the soft crystals call.

Until next time, may dancing with the flakes warm your soul.

Wild and Wooly

2008-01-21T21:05:00.000-08:00

We came home on Friday to a flock of missing sheep. Not only one pen of sheep had gone adventuring, but all three pens were out. True, the ram, Jim, was hanging out with Sebastian, the Clydesdale, and that pasture fence is far better suited to a large horse than a short-but-wide and crafty wooly. The ewes had somehow popped a gate open and I am sure it was just too hard for Jim to keep from joining the party. Look out, girls! The one that is really puzzling, though, is the pen of market lambs. No gates were open, no fences looked scooted under and they are definately too high to jump. Hmmm, only the sheep know, and they aren't talking. Anyway, they all willingly followed the pickup back to their safe pen where feed and water are plentiful. We ran them all into the barn and re-sorted back into the right pens again, tied the gates shut and hoped for the best. Time will tell who wins this one.

Saturday morning dawned sunny and warm, so I took advantage of the mild weather and scrapped my plans to clean and bake for some long-awaited yard work. The sun felt wonderful and the roses look much better. About 4:00, the wind changed and the clouds moved in. By Sunday morning it was snowing and cold. It snowed hard while we were in church, but then it was done - just a skiff. KP and Taylor came for a visit this weekend, it was great to have them in church and for lunch together afterward. That makes two weekends in a row now, yaay! We were even able to take a family walk in the sun last week, one of my most cherished family activities.

Most of the stock tanks have heaters in them, but some need to have the ice broken and thrown out daily in order to keep water to the livestock. I love the cold weather. The brisk air makes you feel so alive and refreshed, but it does make chores harder. Here in this part of Oregon, our cold snaps are usually quite brief and mild compared to other parts of the country. I miss the cold and snow that I grew up with in the mountains, but it is easier on the stock and we don't have to feed for as many months down here.
Until next time, may the cold refresh and invigorate you and may the snowflakes fall upon you softly.

After the Storm

2008-01-06T22:41:00.000-08:00

Last night brought rain and a sprinkling of snowflakes, but this morning was clear and beautiful, with just a tease of spring to the air. It was a wonderful morning to work on outside chores, and plenty there were.

Feeding was first on the list, as always. Being a good neighbor is just part of country life and Jordan was feeding cows today in addition to our family's own livestock collection. I pushed hay off the wagon while Jordan drove as carefully as any 17-year-old can through the rough feedground. There is only one calf so far. He is looking a little lonely and I would bet he would like a playmate his own age. Those old cows just don't get out and romp much anymore.

Sheep are a curious critter and tend to get into trouble because of it. One of the market lambs had a slight injury to his cheek. After treating it with a product called Red Kote, the poor guy looked as if a major catastrophe had occured. Red Kote is a spray-on medication and is extremely bright red. He probably would have healed up fine without it, but he would not have been as festive! We should be starting to lamb around the middle of February if everything goes as planned. The ewes are decidedly plumper than ever now.

Jordan is in the process of breaking his Clydesdale, Sebastian, and was able to put a headstall on him for the first time today. He may need several more days of becoming accustomed to the blinders before the bit goes in. Sebastian was intersted in licking the bit, but kept curling his lip, so obviously did not find it appetizing. It is an aquired taste, I have heard.

May the sun shine upon you. Thanks for stopping by the farm. Until next time - Happy Trails to you!