We've Survived The Big One

We got about 15-18 inches of snow. We kept our electricity throughout it all. The snow fell for about 24 hours. It wrapped up here around 2 PM Saturday. Our saving blessing was that when the snow stopped falling, the wind stopped blowing. The sky turned blue and left us to enjoy the beauty of it all.
Here are some photos of our adventure. You can click on the photos for more detail.
The barn steps. Brad climbed through the hay hole this AM to throw down hay for the sheep.
The sheep are trapped in the barnyard till I get a path open for them today. Blue is making certain the girls are still there. I fear he would tear the place apart if he couldn't see them.
Brad had a big snow blower fun yesterday. It sat unused in the garage last year but has been handy this year. It performed well in the deep snow. Brad says the heated handles are a joke.
Some evening light photos from Mom's and Dad's.
A snow drift around the north side of the house.
Mom's nandina bush is as pretty in the snow as a cardinal.
And finally, a lovely Sunday morning view west of the Guitner Road.

Exuberant Merlin

I haven't made a post since we lost Merlin. We are doing well. We are not ready for another dog at this time. We are glad Gus is here to help us along. I'm getting teary just now as I type.
Mer helped me bring in the sheep in the snowstorm on the Saturday morning 12/19 before Christmas. By Sunday night he was seriously ill. On Monday afternoon when he peed outside just before going to the vet, I saw exactly what the problem was. His liver had failed.
The vet thought maybe he could get him turned around but by Wed. morning 12/23, it was obvious to the vet he was beyond recovery. We put him down that evening. I was shocked to see how he had deteriorated in 48 hours. Had he not been at the vet, he wouldn't have lived that long.
The vets and their staff always enjoyed Merlin because he thought a trip to the vet was fun. He loved the techs and they loved him. They cried along with me that evening.
We've shed a good many tears since then. I was concerned I wouldn't know when it was time to say goodbye. It was definitely time and I've had no regrets about our decision.
Many friends called or took time to comment or write a card. I have appreciated their sentiments. We had hoped to bury Mer here but the weather made that quite impossible so he was cremated and we have his ashes here with us. We got out photos the other evening and a video we made the first few months he was here. They are a comfort. That dog loved people and his life better than a lot of people love theirs. He will be missed.

Gus Is Snooping Into Packages

Gus feels sure there's something in the bag just for him.

2010 Lambs - Wrapping Up Breeding Season

Electric sheep with eyes all aglow. Ten of these ewes are mine and ten are from my breeding and come back annually to breed again.
Don't tell the ram but his glory days are just about kaput for this year. The shearer worries about Blue being too thin going into breeding season. It's been my experience that he actually gains weight once he gets with his girls. It's prior to breeding, pacing the fence row 24/7, that wears him down.
P.S. This photo was taken Dec 17 - just 2 days before the big snow.

It's a Marshmallow World in the Winter...

The foot of snow we got is beautiful, light and fluffy.

Saturday Morning Sunlight - Life is Good

I can't say if it's due to being at work or the days of rainy weather(probably both) but it seems like a long, long time since I've seen the morning's golden light. The sheep were bathed in it this morning. Look at the golden light in that clump of red cedars on the hillside. Sweet. Click on photo for a larger view.

Reese's Homecoming

Reese is a matriarch. She and her oldest daughters, Clara and LoveHeart, were born here on the Guitner Road. In fact, Clara and Lovey were born here during my 50th birthday party. Now they live in Boyertown, PA, east of Reading. Without a ram at their farm, they come here each fall to get new babies. This year the Reese clan has arrived, ten strong. Five last weekend and five today. We followed them out to pasture today to join up with the other breeding ewes and the ram. Here's a brief video of that meeting. Blue should be in his glory. He's got 19 ewes to attend to and such fine weather for courting:

They will be here well into December. I would love to know if they recognize each other from living here and from their previous visits. Studies say sheep are supposed to have good face recognition. Don't you wonder how the sheep communicates that to the surveyor?