Just Checking In

Just wanted to check in before March ended. And before it gets really busy here, as lambing/kidding should begin any time now.

We sheared the sheep and the few Angora goats about a week and a half ago. We've reduced the flock size quite a bit, so it wasn't as hectic this year and the barn wasn't as crowded. And before we started that morning, I took a few snapshots of the sheep waiting for their turn to get a haircut. That's Pikachu in the middle of the group, a Polypay ewe - she's about four years old and was one of our bottle lambs that year.

Going every which way in the chute. Fortunately, it's not my job to muscle some of those bigger girls around in the chute. How they manage to get themselves turned around in there is beyond me! That pretty brown ewe is Brownie, a Polypay/Coopworth cross ewe.

The Shetland ewes, waiting their turn. They look a bit menacing, with those glowing eyes!

And Zeus did his part to help with the shearing. We actually tried giving him a little pen, so we didn't have to keep such a close eye on him. But he managed to squeeze under the fence and spent most of the morning in with my dad, who was in the pen area the sheep went through after they were shorn. His lead was tied to the fence, so he couldn't chase the sheep, but if the sheep didn't go straight through the "exit" area and tried heading back toward the shearing platform, Zeus would bark at them until they turned around and headed in the right direction!

And now that shearing is over, I have boatloads of fleece to skirt and get up on the web site. And I've got tubs of yarn and roving that I have to dye before Wisconsin Spin In. It's April 21 and 22 at the Waukesha Expo Center in Waukesha, WI - if you're in the area! Please stop by and say hi if you can make it.

Well, must get back to doing something more productive than blogging. I've got some of our Star Dust yarn waiting to be dyed - what colors should I do today? And I have a bunch of worsted weight waiting to be tagged. It's too dark and dreary today to take pictures for our Etsy store. Oh, who am I kidding? You all know that before I get to that, I have to have another cup of coffee!

In closing, a couple more pictures of Zeus - often when I am on the computer, he is under the desk. It's hard to get a picture of him under there, as he is usually up as soon as I push the chair back - he must have been very tired on this occasion.

And a more typical posture. Ready and waiting for his next command.

Meet Zeus!

I would like to introduce you to the newest member of our family. This is Zeus:

He is a Border Collie. A bit over 2 months old, tri-color, very sweet and very smart. I'll probably jinx it, but I have never had a puppy this young with such good toilet habits. He was born in a box stall on a horse farm and confined there, as the breeders were afraid the horses would step on the puppies if they were left to roam. The owners bred their female on purpose, then decided after the puppies were born that maybe that hadn't been the smartest thing they ever did, so the puppies ended up at a nearby rescue. He was at the rescue for less than a week when we picked him up this past Wednesday evening. He sleeps through the night (although those nights are pretty short right now), has yet to have an accident in the house (although we are pretty vigilant about taking him out when he wakes, after he eats, etc), so far has ignored the Xmas tree, which is still up, but is very interested in the cats' litter box. He is not afraid of the goats or the sheep (of course, they are on the other side of the fence at this point in his life). He responds well when we tell him "no" for inappropriate behavior. He does seem to be curious about chicken poop, but it is hard to avoid that on a farm. At the moment, he is curled up behind my chair here at the computer.

It is wonderful to have a puppy in the house again, although I did hope to sleep beyond 6:15 this morning. Oh well, I've lived through sleep deprivation before in my life. But I think I was better able to handle it in college! So if you see me on the street and I don't respond - well, I might be sleep walking!