Big Daddy Leaves the State

Okay, I should have seen it coming. Three months of active job hunting and nothing...I mean nothing. The only lead he had on a job was snafued by a ticket he forgot to pay in Pa. before we moved. Then desperation set in, and a lightning bolt from NJ. A big shot builder Matt worked for a couple of years ago called with a job. A woman with "deep pockets" - a construction term for wealthy - wants her historic barn restored inside and out. The job could last from 3 months to a year. Matt has a good reputation for saving old structures that are hanging on by a board or two...and once the structure is saved they find other things for him to do. The builder is even offering him a room in the historic Bed and Breakfast in Long Valley that Matt rebuilt a while back. It's great to have Matt working again but it means Maggie is in charge of the farm. I did it from August to January and at times I was the one hanging on by a board or two..but this means I can finally get out of the trailer and into the barn apt. My friend from work, Kelly's, husband is coming over to check out what needs to be done. With Matt making NJ wages we can afford to hire someone. But that doesn't help with the enormous responsiblity of getting a couple of hundred animals fed and cared for properly. Just getting the hay out is hard work, twice a day. I better stock up on Advil. Matt is cutting down old wooden stanchions today and will construct a wall that I can pass feed through to the sheep without getting mobbed and carried away. We got bulk grain delivered yesterday so I can auguer it down through a chute instead of hauling bags. Nobody will be home with the bottle babies during the day, so I will have to hustle home. They will be screaming for their milk by that time. I will leave Tonya out with the flock and hope she is not butted around too much. She's too old to leave in the crate all day, but with no mother to protect her, she is vulnerable to any ill-tempered ewe. Even so she seems happier with the flock. I type this as I am waiting for him to get up and catch a ewe with mastitis that needs a shot, and the drain in the milk room is overflowing with washing machine water and flooding the place. We will all have to make do...

Chip has Found a Friend

Mocha, Chip and Fudge are out of the jug and members of the flock now. I found little Chip snuggled up against his big buddy Breeze last night, feeling safe and protected. Mom is standing by, just in case. The lambs seem to want Breeze more than Chris, the big red llama. Maybe it's because Breeze is white like so many of them, and smaller than Chris. It's easier to jump on Breeze's back. It rained all day yesterday and today it snowed all day. More snow expected tomorrow - fine with me. I love the snow, and don't want it to stop. But summer has to come to grow the hay because hay is life itself on the farm.

Thoughts of Last Summer

When we first moved here I was living alone during the week. Matt would come up on weekends. When there was no moon I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. It was scary at first, and still is, when I walk around the hay mows in the dark....in fact I try to have all the chores done before dark and hunker down in the trailer for the night. When I had my sewing machine in the hay mow and I was really pushing to get bags done for the Oct. 20 Rhinebeck Festival, I would find myself looking up into a vast empty black space, and get a little freaked out. I thought surely there were spirits floating about, drawn to my life force. There is a cemetery across the street where the founding Puritans, the Burkhytes are buried. Why wouldn't they come over to see what's going on? Matt says leave them alone, they are at peace in Heaven! They must be as they've never come to visit. Not yet! Some nights I would tiptoe out of the trailer and lie on top of the picnic table and stare straight up to the stars - and there were plenty. I would see comets galore with my proliferal vision, and once thought I saw a UFO. I told my kids, who got a little worried about their mother out in the way-back-yonder by herself. They were probably aircraft from Fort Drum. No flight path to Newark Airport here! I became quite the star watcher, and read the New York Times star report regularly. No smog or glare in Brookfield to block the view!

Have We Made It?

Have we really made it through our first winter in Upstate New York? People told us were were crazy, we would freeze our ______off, did we realize what the winters were like?, etc. etc. etc. Now it is almost April, and the signs of spring are here. WE not only made it, we made it in a tin can. Hauling it down off the hill and tucking the trailer in below the giant silos on the south side of the barn helped. I was getting rocked like crazy up on the hill and when the hard fall rains came I was leaking like colander after pouring out the spaghetti. I had pots all over the floor. They tell me this was a mild winter. When it started getting cold and I was on my way to work, I would take storm gear with me. I had rubber boots, extra coats, mittens, scarves, hats, etc., along with candles and matches, cell phone charged, the whole deal. Thought I might be trapped in a surprise raging blizzard. Then I would get to work and the girls had on their flip flops and the teachers were still in tee-shirts. But I was ready, just in case. It's not yet March 15 and the teachers at BOCE have their sandals and capri pants ready for the first hint of spring weather. I think I will still keep the storm gear in the truck, just in case.

A Spring Tease in Central New York

The temperature outside my barn door in the shade is 66 but the sun says 75! Snow is melting like crazy and I sink in when I make my way to the trailer. There will surely be flooding in low lying areas. I am relieved to be on high ground, and although we may be muddy, we are not flooded. I moved here from a town that was underwater three times in a year and a half. I moved here while one flood was being born up river, here in the Susquehanna which poured into the Delaware and sentIt' the flood all the way back to Riegelsville where my neighbor lost two cars and I was cut off from my sheep. AJ was driving the F150 back to Pa. when a raging river poured over route 81, the road we were travelling on. Cars were being carried away while we bombed through it and continued on our way. AJ says that truck saved our lives. I believe it. It's all part of the grand scheme...we got the Sign that said go out and buy that truck - and we were in it when the flood came! They say one foot of snow equals an inch of rain, so all this melted snow should be pouring into the Susquehanna right now, and headed back south to the Delaware. Glad I am here.

Happy Birthday to Big Daddy

Today Mattie is 51 years old. He forgot that today is his birthday, and I almost forgot. Fortunately my little Mia (who has saved me a million times in so many ways) called to wish him Happy Birthday as I was on my way out the door to work. That is what the stress of lambing and so many little lives depending on you can do. I stopped at Homestead Feed on the way home to pick up more lamb milk replacer and bought him a new pair of Muck Boots. He's so easy to buy presents for. I buy them in this order #1 - power tools, #2 - Carhardtt clothes, #3 - boots and socks. It was time for #3, as his old Muck boots were shredding. They come with a nice set of treads now. I finished a pair of socks I had started for Christmas, which made a nice homey wifey kind of gift. It almost seems sad to put these socks on those gnarly feet - but he is my Big Daddy and it is his birthday. Oh, what those feet do for me in the course of a year on the farm! He spent the day fixing the water in the trailer - again - so I could get a hot shower tomorrow and is out picking up hay from Mike Walker's farm in North Brookfield right now. I brought him fried calamari and hot wings from Frank's in New Berlin and he seems to be happy with that. No news on the two job interviews he had recently - bad news - but he has another interview with Loew's in Norwich as an installer scheduled for Wednesday. Please, oh please, oh please let a job come through for him. A man out of work is not a good thing. The masculine provider thing comes into play and it's just not good.

Running the Sewing Machine

The afternoon goes on while I am working on my second Bundaflicka bag of the day. When life gives you a lot to handle - sew bags to contain it all! The first Bundaflicka bag was born when I was teaching knitting and quilting in a summer program in Morristown, NJ. Yes, George wintered over there, in the cozy Ford mansion while his army froze across town at Jockey Hollow encampment. My kids grew up playing in the reconstructed huts. Well, my assistant, Mia's best friend, Lisa Palmer, was going to Mexico on vacation and needed a new tote bag. There we were with mountains of fabric, machines and cutting tables. I whipped up a bag for her and she said it had to have some kind of closure. We had femo clay in the classroom and the signature heart button was born. The rest is history. Since I have become a fan of the movie, "Signs," (M. Night Shamalamadingdong's story of the kid who had asthma so the aliens couldn't kill him with the poison gas? You know the movie?) I have come to believe there are reasons why we do things like start making tote bags, soap, taking pictures for notecards, etc. When the going gets rough I sit down and sew. By the grace of god, people have been laying down money for my bags for six, eight years or so! Last year at Rhinebeck there was a constant flow of bags out of my booth. That money was used to start my barn apartment, which is about half done. I pray it is done soon because the melting frozen pipes have flooded the trailer. The reality show goes on and on...

Some of Us are Too Big for our Sweaters

The lambies are growing by leaps and bounds. I just can't believe how well they are doing. The cold seems to agree with them. I have heard that from shepherds for years. Cold weather lambing may be hard on the shepherd but it's great for the lambs. Fewer parasites to prey on them, no flies on their tail and scrotum bands either. There is no green grass for them to eat, but my lambs are doing great on hay. It's so cute to see them with their little hoofs up on the window sills, looking out on the pasture, their future playground. Matt and I have a LOT of fencing to put up. It is prohibitively expensive to hire a fencing company. We got an estimate on putting fence up along the road in front of our fields and it was over $8,000. Not a chance! We will be spending a lot of quality time together this spring. Speaking of quality time, I highly recommend moving to the country to jump start your marriage! Spending the winter crammed into a little trailer with six dogs and cats, the wolf at the door, has done nothing to damper our marital ardor. We just can't stop hugging and kissing..well, you know where this is going. "Too much information, Mom!" my kids would say.

Bye, Bye Carder

I said goodbye to my Patrick Green Cottage Industry Carder. I'm glad I never had a chance to use it or I would never have been able to part with it. I paid it off over a long time and was so proud that I finally owned the "means of production," in true Marxist fashion. I would be a complete home based operation and not have to cart my wool to the festivals to give to the mills, or pay a fortune to ship it to them. But it was not to be. Matt being out of work all winter has absolutely killed us, and farm taxes are due. I didn't want to send my big boys to market, which Matt was threatening to do. I couldn't look them in the eyes and knowingly send them to a horrible fate, in fear and terror, being shoved and prodded and violently killed....and all that beautiful wool soaked in blood. After all the caring and nurturing, helping to birth them, dripping colostrum in their mouths, sacrificing so much to feed them, buying a farm for them, I'm going to kill them for a pittance? Or let them linger for days in the back of a truck on the highway, sucking in fumes? No, can't do that...just can't do it! I could have sold my diamonds - I never go anywhere to wear them, but I am saving them for Hannah and Mia. I already sold two of my wheels to Laticia, who, in a gesture of amazing generosity, offered to hold them for me until I could get the money together to buy them back. Can you imagine? A complete stranger essentially giving me an interest free thousand dollar loan? I didn't know people like that existed anymore! So the carder had to go. The lady who bought it is so happy to get it, a dream for years she said. That made me feel a little better. Now I can pay my taxes, get some bulk grain in so I don't have to pay so much more for bagged feed, and get myself some NEW GLASSES!!! I can't sew my tote bags blind!

Whoopi Had a Ram Lamb!

I entered the barn this morning to find a little ram lamb standing next to Whoopi. Hadn't heard a thing on the monitor...but the dogs barking all night must have obscured the newborn sounds. I still can't believe there was only one in there. I examined her and got as far in as my arm would allow and nothing's there but gooey placenta that hasn't come out yet. I gave her oxytocin to help get the afterbirth out but nothing so far. I guess she is just F-A-T which would account for the shortness of breath and lying down all the time. It's still a puzzle because I am on such strict rationing of grain and hay that nobody get's too much to eat around here (except me and Matt unfortunately). Whoopi must be very good at pushing other sheep away from the grain dish and eating more than her share. The little ram is very spunky and had been nursing already when I found him. I still nursed out some colostrum and gave it to him, and got his Auntie Jan sweater on - a perfect fit. I'm watching for another lamb, just in case it was tucked way up in there, but I don't think so. Triplets, huh? Live and learn!

No Babies...

I thought for sure there would be little bundles of joy dropped this weekend, but nothing yet. What gives? It is a balmy 40 F. in the barn so come on girls! Whoopi is so big she can hardly breathe. She pulls herself up for a few minutes then has to lie back down. She will be much more comfortable without that load of lambs. Moira, Fiona, Minerva and Matilda are on deck...so I have five total to go. Then the goaties. Matt thinks Celeste is carrying triplets again. They were such a joy to watch last summer. I am hoping for a lot of black does...but will take what they give me. In the meantime, I have grandchildren on my mind! I hope Luke (5) calls me again tomorrow! He is quite the conversationalist. He always asks me "How many days?" until he comes to the farm. When I tell him a hundred he is not quite sure how to compute that big number...it just sounds too far away. I wish it was tomorrow!

Beautiful Hannah...

Hannah is eight years old and she is a knockout...I mean, movie star beautiful. She is very much a Las Vegas girl, who takes care of her skin and nails and never lets herself go. When she came to the farm last summer, she was very concerned about the fields scratching up her legs. In Las Vegas, the girls are very big on mini-skirts and scratched up legs would never do. The Las Vegas Hannah soon became Farmgirl Hannah and she fit right in. Hannah loves to collect eggs for breakfast in the morning. She has a real good sense of humor, and I caught the fun-loving Hannah sneaking up to Pavarotti, the rooster, while he was sleeping, and plucking out a tail feather! Hannah took to horses like a jockey and we look forward to getting back in the saddle this summer. I hope to get out on the famous Brookfield equestrian trails, which are over 100 miles long and state maintained. Long range plans include horses in residence for Hannah and Luke (and Omi) to ride all year long.

Hannah and Luke are Coming!

It's official - Hannah and Luke are coming back to the farm this summer. I can hardly contain my excitement. I only see them twice a year if I am lucky. They will visit the other grandmother first at her beach home on the Chesapeake Bay and then come here for "another kind of experience." I had only been here one week when they came last summer. We lived in a tent in the hay mow, and had a sofa and TV set up in there, too. We swam in the creek and went riding at Barb Taylor's place. We had bon fires every night. Hopefuly the barn apt. will be finished by then and they will have their own room with a claw foot bath tub to bathe in instead of the stock tank. Won't be nearly as much fun!

This is Where the Coyotes Come From

I looked out the East End this morning and found Thor, doing his guard dog thing. He knows the coyotes live on the ridge behind us, and he is ready. Thor is free to roam the barn and fields now. Finn and Knut are still locked up when we are not around. The three of them loose together equal r-u-n-n-o-f-t! Thor seems the most mature and stable and knows what his job is. I wanted three guard dogs because I didn't think it was fair to expect one dog to fight off a big pack of coyotes. If you heard them all singing you would know what I mean, and tell me I need even more. Last summer I would shine my big light up on the ridge and watch all the pairs of glowing eyes watching me and my flock. One night, lying in the trailer which was parked up on the hill at the time, I thought I heard dozens of fire engines in the field above me! They were coyotes singing! It is a wonderful, eerie sound. I don't own a gun, and I don't want any on the farm. Dogs are all I need. Good dogs will work together to protect the flock. My friend Doreen has seen this happen with bears on her farm in NJ. One dog goes after the bear, one stays with the flock, one in between as back up. Her dogs were purebred Maremmas. My dogs are a mixture of four well-respected sheep guarding breeds, Maremma, Anatolian, Great Pyrennees, and Polish Tatra. They are still young at one year...and I'm giving them time to figure out why they exist. If the coyotes manage to get in the barn, and they do around here, the llamas will stomp them to death. Hope that doesn't happen, but it's nice to know Chris and Breeze are there!

Driven to Blog

I guess Matt is right. I am a habitual blogger. If I can't tell it to the blog it just doesn't feel right, keeping in what I need to share with the world. Who is that world? I don't really know. I find out when I don't post and people miss the bulletins from the way back yonder. When the internet didn't work this morning, and I had to wait THREE HOURS for Matt to wake up and fix it, I wondered what I would do with myself. I played with Tonya, Forrest, Denzel and Chip, gave them their bottles, wandered through the barn a few time, took lots of pictures, imagined how they would look on the blog, forcefed Whoopi her molasses and oatmeal breakfast, checked on the three other moms-to-be and went back to the trailer to lie down. Paul McCartney and Heather's divorce was on the news. I loved Paul in 1964 and still do, so anything that tart says about him is fightin' words to me! I NEVER liked her...anyone who would dump their fiance two weeks before their wedding to go with Paul, well, what would you expect? Actually, I think I would probably do the same thing! How can he ever replace Linda? Look what happened when he tried!

Naughty, Naughty Monkeys

Okay, so I have stopped hyperventilating for the time being. The monkeys chewed up my motem wires and I couldn't get on my blog to post this morning. Matt, who can fix anything if he wants to, displayed the typical behavior I have come to expect over the last eight years...cursing, swearing like a longshoreman, stomping, threatening to barbecue the puppies, throw them out into the snow, etc. Giving me orders to call the phone company, find this, find that, which I did, and guess what? He fixed it in about ten minutes. One monkey is going to Bunnyland in Ontario, and the other monkey is still looking for a home. Any takers?

Minus 10F. - Not Too Bad

Okay, so we made it through the night with no lambsicles or kidsickles. Whoopi still looks very uncomfortable, like she wants to get rid of this load - but no pushing. Matt is still home, waiting to hear about two possible jobs, and I am secretly relieved he is here to watch for babies. No money, but no frozen babies! One would think animals wouldn't need as much water when it is cold, but they actually need more. Intense cold is very drying and the sheep want water all the time. The spicket Matt installed freezes in cold like this and he has to thaw it with a propane torch. Then we have to detach the hose to hang up after every time we use it. I hope to get a better arrangement, with a floater to bring up the water level when down, sometime soon. I took away the deep stock tank after reading about a drowned lamb. The shallow stock tank is for our own Red Neck Saturday Night (which I plan to have tomorrow -- Woo Woo!) I use two smaller tubs now, but I have to fill them often. Good news - Kim Parkinson in Kingston wants my Santa, the brindle Rottie/Lab mix I brought in from the cold at the farm up the road. Kim has two adorable kids and a nice husband. It's the textbook picture perfect family for a dog! With lots of bunny poop to eat! I just have to get her up over the border. Big Daddy might run her up for me. Santa is more Rottie than Lab, very sturdy, strong and assertive. The kind of dog you want helping to raise up your kids!

Big With Lambs...

This is Whoopi and she is very pregnant. I think she had triplets last year, with two surviving. She looks like she could be carrying triplets again by the size of her. She can hardly breathe and is very uncomfortable, as you can see by her straining pose here. She's not in labor yet and I pray she doesn't give birth tonight. It is very, very cold outside and the barn temp is going down, too. We put her in a lambing pen and gave her some feed and water of her own. She was too tired to fight the crowd for food at feeding time. This way she can get some strength up for the task ahead. Matt hung a heating lamp so it's ready in case I come out here in the wee hours and babies have come.

We let Myrna, Nina and Natasha out of the jug. Now they are members of the flock. Natasha was the second black twin who Myrna was not taking to kindly to at first. Now Natasha is big, heavy and thriving. I take particular pleasure in seeing Myrna with her twins, as she lost two sets of twins prior to this...I still don't know why. Myrna is featured on my Bundaflicka farm sign, right in the middle - her heart shaped face posed so prettily. I am up to 34 lambs, most of them ewe lambs, with three or four more ewes to go. I might hit 40 lambs. Forty is a Biblical number - for example, forty days and forty nights. I like that!

Maggie's Farm on the Web

My web site is up and low and behold I got my first pay pal order. What a rush! Why I have not gotten it together to do this before now is beyond me. Once it is all set up it's so easy. Finding Leslie of Greenberry House was a big step in the right direction. I am such a technophobic it's ridiculous. I grew up watching Howdy Doody, Wagon Train and Gunsmoke. I fantasize about an Ipod with all my favorite 60's songs on it but haven't the slightest idea how to go about it. Tonight Mattie and I got my carder up on Ebay and it took us both an hour to set up the account. I was amazed at how many people put fleeces, roving, etc. on ebay. It somehow doesn't seem as nice as a farmy web site where you can immerse yourself in the environment where the sheep live and practically smell the hay...but the critters have to eat and I am dragging myself into the 21st century reluctantly but optimistically.

Mattie's Surprise...

When I got home from work today Mattie had a surprise for me...a creep feeder for the lambs! It's adorable! This way the lambs can go in and snack all day long without the big sheep pushing them out of the way. The smaller goats can get in there too, which I don't mind at all. Goats eat much slower that sheep and they are often left with not a lot to eat. Long term plans include seperate feeding of the sheep and goats. It is real cold again and will get colder for the next couple of days. Very nervous shepherd am I. Minus twelve predicted for tomorrow night. Lambs and goat kids wouldn't last long in that kind of cold. We are planning on putting doors in the east end so we can shoo the critters into the inner barn and close it off to make a smaller area to heat. We will also replace some broken windows and basically button up the place. Having some hay in the mow will help, too. This winter we are flying by the seat of our pants...a very cold pair of pants.

Cheap Insurance

This is what we call in the trade, Cheap Insurance. A bottle of milk replacer with a patented Pritchard's Teat screwed on, ready to pop in the mouth of a bottle baby, screaming in her crate for her hot meal (like my Tonya did this morning). I have three ram lambs who are getting their bottle supplement now, Forrest and Denzel, and little Chip. Both their moms are feeding twins on one teat and the bottle makes sure they are getting enough. It also takes the pressure off mom who is dealing with her own problems. Now, finding a Pritchard teat is not always easy. Barb, the owner of Homestead Feed in New Berlin just gave me a blank look when I asked her for one. The manager of our Tractor Supply did the same thing, only she looked aghast that she didn't know what I was talking about. I rubbed it in and said, You mean it's lambing time and you DON'T have extra Pritchard Teats in STOCK????????? A saleswoman walked by and said she had been taking rain checks all day. It's just the best teat a lamb could ask for short of momma. They hate those big, black rubber things some uninformed shepherds try to use. The Pritchard teat is little and soft and can be slipped into the struggling lamb's mouth through the side easily. A full belly is a happy belly!

Lambs Everywhere!

They are all over the barn. They stage what Matt calls chariot races up and down the length of the barn, thundering little hoofs, making quick detours around the gigantic mounds of ewes lying about. When they are tired they lie around in little groups taking naps. When they decide they are hungry they practically scream for their moms, who may or may not answer back. Sheep moms are just like human moms. Sometimes they want to be left alone and ignore the cries. As long as the lamb is making noise she knows where he is anyway. It's when he stops and there's quiet that the mom thinks she better take a look!

What A Night...

It's sooooo cold, wind blowing snow, path to the trailer blown over. Three AM I thought I heard newborn sounds on the baby monitor and off I went. I had taken a shower and washed my hair because I was sure it would freeze overnight. Thought I would be back in the stock tank. I didn't put enought layers on to go to sleep and woke up freezing. Holly won't lay on the wall side anymore - smart dog! I stood up some newspapers hoping that would help, put my pillow in front of that but still was cold. Getting up to gear up for the barn seemed better that laying in bed and freezing. Besides, I didn't want to find any lambsicles in the morning. What a blast when I opened the trailer door. Dogs ran out with me but ran right back in when they felt the cold. Lock on the door had frozen and wouldn't close back up. Got into the barn and the puppies sleeping in the laundry were so glad to see me. They are wonderful little creatures. Looks like they will be mine, but Matt is dead set against it...too many dogs! The teachers at work have cooled off on the idea and don't seem to want them. Their littermates went to the pound weeks ago. Don't know quite what to do... No newborns in the barn. Just Chip and Fudge crying for their mother to get up and let them nurse. Mocha only has one teat, the other is consumed with mastitis. Nursed it out and gave antibiotics last night as per vet's orders. Some milk came out this time, not slimy infection fluid. Maybe that means the meds are working. I am trying to get the boys on the bottle to relieve mom but they are reluctant. Don't blame them, even my patented Pritchard teat is rubber, not perfectly formed like mom. Warm milk replacer can't compare with mother's milk but mom can't make enough with one udder for those two big hungry boys...

Matt has the trailer door rigged up with truck straps...I stumble back into my trailer sofa cot and seem to blink my eyes before the alarm goes off. Back to the barn to check for lambsicles and do chores before work...hope I have some clean clothes!

Auntie Jan Sweaters Coming in Handy

Went to Auntie Jan's goody box and got two more sweaters out for Mocha's boys. Have to name them something like Chip and Fudge. These sweaters are coming in handy! Temps are diving tonight...I better hurry up and get in the trailer shower for it will surely freeze tonight and I will be back in the stock tank. Even a neighbor, whose house doesn't look like it is in such good shape, said "You mean you are STILL in the trailer?????!!!" her eyes wide with amazement. Don't ask, I told her!

Farmgirl Done In...

Well, it was time to get up and get ready for work and the ole' body just said naahh, no way. My mind was racing...meeting today I didn't want to miss, new kid on my support list, how many sick days do I have left, etc. etc. I gave up trying to rationalize and stumbled out of the trailer to get to the computer in the barn. It was snowing hard already and the forecast was terrible. Snow all day and diving temps. Oh, great, I thought. How am I going to manage all this? Sometimes a farmgirl just has to say ouch. Did the computer and decided to go back to the trailer and lie down when something told me to back into the barn. Everything was fine at 3 and 6. The picture shows what I found when I went back to the barn...Mocha was giving birth to two hefty ram twins - one black and one white! I got there when the hoofs were showing and saw the whole thing - a perfect twin birth. The boys were practically hanging on to each other. I love to see them come out in the bubble which soon breaks for them to take the first breath. Mocha is a first time mother and what a champ. Got her jugged up and Auntie Jan's sweaters on. Much to my dismay, I found one udder with mastitis. I put a call in to Dr. Rachel who told me to give her LA200, nurse out the infected fluid, and massage the udder with Bag Balm. After all these years I will use Bag Balm on a real bag!

Drama continues...Minerva & Little Tonya

It goes on and on...having a hundred animals, many of them pregnant or giving birth, makes for my very own Reality Show. Who needs TV?

Okay, here's the update as of early afternoon. Thanks be to Jesus, Natasha, the second born black ewe lamb is waling away on Myrna's teat and Myrna is loving it. I guess she decided black is beautiful after all.

Minerva, my BFL/Cheviot cross very pregnant ewe spent the night doing this rhythmic moaning...and is still moaning. We gave her a selenium with vit.E, calcium gluconate, and vit. B complex to boost her up for lambing. I need to go in and examine her to see if she is dilated, but Matt doesn't like me to do that and is reluctant to hold her for me. I guess it is a guy thing...he wants far away from this midwifery business. If this moaning and ears down countenance continues I will call Dr. Rachel tomorrow and ask her to come and take a look.

Little Tonya might have "joint ill" which is an infection caused by bacteria coming through the umbilical cord. Her front knee joint is swollen in addition to her back leg. I soak the cords at birth, but who knows? It is an open conduit for bacteria to get in the lambs...She is on penicillin and I have my fingers crossed. Meanwhile we are babying her and trying to keep her quiet. I hope the pen. doesn't screw up her tummy. She's been doing so well on formula!

Good news...my new and almost completed web site might be up today! Leslie of Greenberry House is doing it, and she is so cool. I can throw anything at her and she does what she can. It is so much harder than I thought. Hope the cart works okay. I still have stuff to give her...

Cold wind blowing across my little valley...cold one tonight! I would like to get some uninterrupted sleep, but I don't know how that is shaping up! One can only hope.

Black is Beautiful

As the light at the end of the lambing tunnel becomes visible, I start thinking about my angora goats delivering their kids. Ohhh, that black mohair is soooo nice! Black Jack is the daddy of some of my black goats. He is a very manly goats and the does love him. They are programmed to offer themselves to the studliest male around (my husband knows how that feels) for the betterment of the species. Black Jack has what the girls want. He is getting on in years but we all know that if you've got ATTITUDE, you've got what it takes! Here is Black Jack giving attitude to the camera!

Myrna is a Mother!

Myrna has two beautiful ewe twins, Nina and Natasha, and both are doing fine. Myrna is still wondering what Natasha, the second and black twin, is doing there. She had decided that the first twin was just what she wanted and the extra one is excess baggage. Maggie thinks otherwise and is trying to get them bonded. There was a half hour or so between births, and sometimes that's enough to disrupt the bonding process. Mom is more interested in getting some food and rest and what's this? on, no! not another one! Getouttahere!!! I have my hands full with Tonya and am hoping to avoid another bottle baby. But we do what we have to do. Matt heard what he thought were lamb sounds on the baby monitor and we got dressed and checked the barn at 1. I had set the alarm for 3 anyway. Nothing happening, Myrna still looking adoringly at Nina, annoyed at Natasha. We decide to milk her out again and I give both lambs a belly full of colostrum with the big syringe, pouring it slowly into the backs of their little mouths. Both swallow just fine, they are full and happy. Matt and I crawl back to bed...as of the time of this posting we are making progress but the jury is still out. Nina is fine, Natasha is still the interloper. I haven't given up! I am soooo happy the saga of Myrna becoming a mother is beginning, not ending!

O Happy Day or Third Time's A Charm!

Well, all's well that ends well. After chatting for a while with Mattie about this and that in the Milk House, we decided to feed the sheep on the early side so we could make ourselves a nice dinner. We had taken our "Pay Day Trip to Town" and went to, where else?, Tractor Supply, the auto parts store so Mattie could do the brakes on the truck, and Price Chopper, the big grocery store chain up here. I like the indies but they don't have salmon and Mesclun greens...and I have been thinking about both lately. We took a walk through the barn as we always do before shooing them out to put down the feed. There it was, lo and behold, Myrna with a feisty little lamb, licking it off. Now, remember, Myrna had two sets of dead twins previous to this birth and I was very worried about what would happen this year....and there she was, being the perfect mother. Mattie scrambled to get fresh hay for her jug and I went for a warm towel. When I came back to pick up the lamb I raised a leg to find - YES! - a little ewe! Myrna was the mother of a ewe lamb and everything looks normal. I was elated! She followed me back to the pen perfectly, and started chowing down on the hay between licking the lamb. Afterbirth came out, I got her molasses water and was generally high as a kite. I noticed another bubble...she had twins twice before so why shouldn't she again? Nothing happening. Myrna was exhausted and lay down. I was thinking, what to do what to do...Matt said leave her alone. He likes to see Nature take it's course. So do I, but when I am there I tend to want to help. I am so often NOT there! I decided to distract myself and get the bunnies their water, which requires walking around behind the lambing pens...and there it was...a warm, steam rising, giant black lamb at Myrna's back end. But Myrna is too exhausted to get up and tend to it! Knowing how important it is to get the licking going, I decide to get in and put the new lamb at Myrna's nose, which I do...Myrna does not seem interested! At this point, the precocious first lamb is dancing around, talking to her mother who is talking back. They are both oblivious to second lamb. Myrna is still starving and gets up, hooray, I think, but it is to eat more hay! Matt and I wait a while, then nurse out some colostrum for both lambs. I always do this if I can - it "lights the fire" in the belly of the newborns and enables them to get up and find the teat. I call it "cheap insurance!" My hopes are high...the second black lamb - another ewe! - gets up and tries to make nice to mom, but mom is not interested! This happens sometimes when there is a significant length of time between births. Mom is happy with one and the next is an interloper. I decide to wait and see. Mattie and I do out chores, eat dinner, checking on the progress all the while, and go to bed satisfied that the lambs bellies are full of colostrum and thinking that mom needs some peace and quiet to get to know her lambs.

Auntie Jan's Sweater

Tonya has a new sweater made especially for her by Auntie Jan back in New Jersey. It fits perfectly and doesn't she look cute? I want to keep her warm because the temp is falling tonight and it feels cold and damp already. Tonya lives in the Milk House in a crate and we keep the oven on all day and night for heat...a nice dry heat, I must say. I bought this oven out of the local newspaper for dyeing wool but it has turned out to be great for cooking our food and supplying heat to our "operations room." Tonya won't put weight on one back leg and I suspect it was either the puppies or her own mother when we tried to get them to bond with each other. Donnagh wanted Tonya's brother instead...unusual for Bluefaced Leicesters who are usually great mothers. She gave Tonya a good butt or two before we could rescue her! I'm so happy to have this cute sweater for her to keep the sore leg warm. The new arrivals will get their own Auntie Jan sweaters when they come, hopefully tonight or tomorrow. Mommie has to go to work on Monday!

Nonnie's Foot is Healed

Remember Nonnie, the little ewe lamb, Naomi's daughter, who was walking on the top of her foot? Well, we wrapped her leg and foot in gauze and tape, straightening it out so she was walking on her toes. I couldn't wrap it in such a way as to make the foot stay in the right place, but I thought it would work...good news, she is doing great and walking properly. I think her foot may have gotten kinked in the womb. In the meantime, Tonya, Donnagh's lamb, and I are joined at the hip. Donnagh had the prolapse and decided she only wanted Tonya's brother, not Tonya. We tried and tried to get her to take Tonya back, but nothing doing. She was not feeling well after a difficult pregnancy, either. So Tonya lives in the Milk House adjacent to the barn and we do the bottle thing four times a day. I had to move the puppies out to the barn, as they knocked Tonya around and I suspect injured her hip. Nothing feels broken, thankfully. These lambs are tough but when two rambunctious puppies are involved I am fearful. Too bad, as they kept Tonya nice and clean and were great company for her. Now she listens for my footsteps and voice and makes little baa, baa sounds when I come in the room. I hate to take a sheep away from the mother...when it is raised by humans it is neither sheep nor human, neither here nor there. I have two sheep successfully reintegrated into the flock after house raising, Fiona and Baby Thunder, but they are loners and just tolerate the other sheep.

Denzel and Forrest

Lilly and her twins are ready to come out of the jug. Denzel and Forrest are growing nicely and already playing leap frog over mama. Lilly has one udder working and I have been giving the boys a bottle each in the morning and night to ease the pressure. I would do anything for this sheep. She is the only one who sees me and walks over from anywhere to say hello. She loves me, even with the worming and hoof trimming and shearing...she still loves me. We touch noses a couple of times a day. Lilly is the daughter of Blue Tag and Duncan, making her 7/8ths Bluefaced Leicester. Her fleece is soooo soft and a lovely taupe color. I will band her boys so they will be neutered and give me beautiful Lilly-type fleece forever and ever.
Many shepherds are coating their sheep now to keep VM (vegetable matter like hay, burdock, briars, etc.) out of the fleeces - definitely a good idea but very labor intensive. The coats have to be fitted properly or they can chafe the sheep, or come off. They must be changed as the fleece grows to allow more room for the wool. Remember, everything you do to a sheep requires people to catch and hold the animal while someone does the work. I am lucky to have Matt, but he is beginning to wince every time I ask him to catch this one or that one. My sheep are big and some are 200 pounders...AND they have four legs and we have two! I know a few older, and I mean older, women who shepherd alone. I don't know how they do it! They are awe inspiring to me!

Peace in the Barn...

The sheep and goats are taking their afternoon siestas. Even Chris and Breeze are down for a nap. What is it about llamas and the way they lie down? Their legs are tucked underneath them to keep them warm. That is when I want to lie down next to them and lean my head on their fluffy backs. Someday I will have llamas that will let me do that. I know a llama woman from Saratoga, New York, who says she can teach me how to tame them enough to do that. I plan on driving over there this summer to visit her. But for the here and now...Myrna is walking around the barn while the others rest, looking for the right place to give birth. I saw her pawing a spot, a sure sign that she is almost ready. She is officially due tomorrow, but I think it will be tonight. Thank Goodness I am home. Minerva, also due, is moaning softly and making little pushing sounds. She had ram twins last year...oh, I hope she gives me some ewe lambs! She is a magnificent sheep, part Cheviot and mostly Bluefaced Leicester. The cheviot in her gave her such a fun personality when she was young, meaning before she came into breeding age. Cheviots are known for their athleticism, and boing, boing, boing all over the place. Now that she is a grand dam she is much quieter (just like people!). Minerva has a fantastic fleece on her...which could be ruined by little lambs jumping all over it. It is time to think about shearing...the temperature is going way down next week, zero F. at night and high of 15 during the day. By the time I can get a shearer scheduled it should be on the way up. Many people shear anyway - getting the wool off is more important to them. "Oh, they'll be fine," I've heard them say. Matt says how would you like to be stripped naked in the middle of the winter? I just love him for that!

Black Jack

My friend, Gretchen, asked me what about the goats? She kept reading about the sheep and wanted to hear about my goats. So I will write a little about one very macho goat named Black Jack. He is a senior goat, about five or six years old...and comes from a town called Mexico, New York. I don't live very far from Mexico, which is under quite a bit of snow if I recall from news reports. Black Jack's owners brought him to the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival to be shown in the goat show and sold as a baby. Matt came to my booth and told me about a beautiful little baby goat covered with black ringlets. He even brought him to the booth for me to look at...but, typical of most husbands, told me I couldn't have him. The story turned out differently...at the end of the show Matt came walking up with the little black darling who had just won "Best Baby Buck" in the goat show! Black Jack has produced some stunning black offspring for us, and supplied me with some terrific black mohair, a fiber that is hard to come by at shows. People usually keep what they have. Black Jack is getting on in years, goat-wise. The does hang around him and bask in his masculine presence. He has a great set of horns.

Five More Ewes to Go

I am loosely keeping track of how long my evening barn chores take us. Tonight we started at 7 pm, back in the milk house by 9:30. Last night, start at 7, finish at 9:45. It all depends. If there are newborns to take care of it will be longer. I have five ewes to go, I think, including Fiona, Minerva, Vespa, and Myrna...ahhh, Myrna. She is a gorgeous "high percentage" Bluefaced Leicester. Not a purebred, but mostly BFL. Two years ago when she was bred to my ram, Duncan, we were so excited about her pregnancy. I watched her for weeks, looking for any sign of impending birth. Then one day as I drove up to the field and parked, I noticed two little dots lying in the grass. My fear turned into panic as I started running toward the little black figures. Myrna saw me coming and ran to meet me, baaing like crazy as if to say, "Mommy, Mommy, you can't IMAGINE what happened!!" There were two dead lambs lying in the grass. Myrna had given birth and the lambs were dead. My heart sank...were they stillborn, or did she abandon them - running away from the terrible pain? All I could do was gather up the dead twins and wisk them away, Myrna following me, baaing all the while. Another year passed by and time came for Myrna to deliver again. There they were, deep in the field, under a tree - another pair of dead twins. Big, otherwise healthy looking lambs - but dead. You can imagine my disappointment. Poor Myrna - what she had been through to give birth to them! And here we are again, almost at the end of a third pregnancy. If I had money to burn, I would ask Dr. Rachel to take Myrna's lambs by C-section. I know when she mated with Legolas and can easily plot the due date. Or I could put her in a lambing pen to better watch her and see what happens when the lambs come. Many shepherds do a "three strikes and your out" with their moms. It is not good for the breed to keep bad mothers, or mothers who have problems bringing a pregnancy to term. I am keeping my fingers crossed!

A Few More Happy Packages

I am happy to report the births of two more ewe twins, breaking the run of ram lambs I have been experiencing. Blue Tag and Ole Crip (I know, I know, but all these names have stories behind them) both older ewes came through for me like champs. Matt was on duty while I was at work and completely missed Blue Tag and her birth. We found them when I got home from work...all dried off and hanging out like girlfriends. Both lambs are big, healthy and on the teat. Good deal!

My friend and fellow Bunnywoman, Kim Parkinson sent me a Feel-Good package...a pound of coffee from Canada. By the smell of it, it's good stuff! The shepherd's friend! How did she know I rely on coffee to make this whole farm thing happen? Kim uses my booth at Rhinebeck to meet the folks from all over the US who are coming to pick up her bunnies in October. She has introduced me to some really neat Canadian folks who are just about as laid back and friendly as folks can be. Why is it the farther north people get the friendlier and well-adjusted they are? Hmmmmmm. I will have to ponder that one...a lot of time snowed in? They just learn to "deal with it?" Speaking of dealing with it...I am off to work!