Of Sun Dogs and Puppies

I often see sun dogs in the evening. We have a great view of the west sky from our place. This afternoon I noticed these sun dogs rather high in the sky. We've had a week of lovely clear fall weather. Now the rain is moving in for the next couple days.

Two weeks ago we got a new boxer puppy. A girl this time. Her name is Hayley. I love her a lot but she thinks my dining room is her potty. Something's got to give. She's 12 weeks old today.

BR finally got weather suitable for painting the barn. He worked at it all weekend long. Nice going, Mr. C!

Hey, Blogosphere, I didn't forget you.

Summer's dry, hot weather has passed. As we are nearing Autumn here on the Guitner Road, the rain has arrived. Remnants of Hurricane Lee brought nearly a foot of rain last week.
We had a new occurrence - water in our basement. I had bragged to a co-worker at the beginning of  our rainy week that in 25 years, we had never had water in our basement. Sept. ninth's deluge changed that. We spent last weekend drying out. We vacuumed 200 gallons out, then turned on the fans and dehumidifier.

The sheep got sheared Wednesday evening. There was a thunderstorm going on outside but all the sheep were dry in the barn. YAY! Dan (our shearer) will soon wrap up his fortieth shearing season.
I have wavered between breeding sheep and not breeding sheep for 2012 lambs. Here's the latest on that: I will breed 6 ewes to Blue this fall.

The cooler weather and shortening days have Blue thinking of the upcoming breeding season. As I watched Blue pacing the fence line admiring the ewes, I was reminded of a Johnny Cash song.

I apologize if the donkey may make you think of Hannibal Lecter. Fiona's wearing a grazing muzzle for her own good. She loves grazing, so to keep her from foundering on the lush grasses she is muzzled. This muzzle allows her to eat and drink at will. It just makes eating more difficult for her. 

This month will mark a year she's been with the sheep. They all continue to progress in cultural understanding. Fiona and I are on friendlier terms, too. I took the banner photo yesterday when I saw her laying beside the sheep in the pasture. I hadn't seen it before. When your belly is full and the temps are warm, take an outdoor nap. Mm-mm - good.

The banner photo reminds me of a Sesame Street spot: One Of These Things Is Not Like The Others.
I see three possible answers: 1) one donkey  2) one standing sheep  3) one white sheep

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I'm Downsizing but the Sheep Are Moving On UP

Two groups of sheep left here in the past week.
The first group, six yearling ewes and stunning Mick, a ram, moved east of Scranton, PA. The ewes are 6 of the 7 sheep in the banner photo. The dark ewe in the center back and the donkey are still here with me. The second group to leave here has also moved north and east of here. They are about an hour from NYC. That group is composed of 8 of this year's ewe lambs. I received this photo of them grazing upon arrival at their new home yesterday.Yes, there are 8 sheep in this photo. Shy Cinderella is well hidden behind spotted Minnie on the right.Thank you, Susan for allowing me to share the photo you took of the young ewes at their new home yesterday.
To the new owners: I hope you will enjoy these lovely animals as much as I have. May they bring you peace and delight.

Open Barn April 16 10 AM to 3 PM Final Notice

Leaping Lambs Video, originally uploaded by lamb lady.

It's too bad the weather will be rainy and windy for Saturday's Open Barn. We won't get to see anything as cute as this.

April 3 - 2011 Lambing Wrap Up - Mesa and Jetta

Mesa delivered twins just after noon Sunday. A big boy, Lightning McQueen, and a little girl, Sally Carrera from Disney Pixar's "Cars." In the photo below, Sally is standing by her mother and Lightning is resting in Mom's shade. Blue is the sire to these two lambs. In this photo they are about 27 hours old.Jetta was marked on my calendar to deliver this weekend. This was her first delivery. She had a big black boy - Flik and a brown/gray tiny mite girl - Princess Dot. These two are named from "A Bug's Life." Princess Dot is very small beside her big brother. I didn't weigh them but my guess is 5 pounds and 10 pounds. This is the largest size discrepancy I've seen in a few years. Jetta's babies are by Newman. In this photo they are about 16 hours old. I was in the house, bathed and in bed by midnight. So that's a wrap for lambing this year - YAY! Twenty-two lambs to eleven ewes. Nine sets of twins, 1 set of triplets and a single. Seven sets of twins were a boy and a girl, 2 sets of twins were 2 girls, the triplets were a girl and 2 boys and the single lamb was a boy. The final tally 12 girls and 10 boys.

March 27 - Butterfly

Butterfly's Ariel and Eric, originally uploaded by lamb lady.

Butterfly delivered her twins Sunday morning. I would be lying to tell you I didn't have anxious moments during this birthing. She delivered Eric first. When Ariel was born she paid her no mind and went about cleaning Eric. I put Ariel on a towel in front of Butterfly and swooped up Eric in a second towel, taking him out of Mom's visual range for a short time until she realized she had another lamb that needed her care. (You see, last year I wasn't there when she gave birth in the pasture. When I found her she had bonded to one of the lambs and the other needed bottle fed. I didn't want that to repeat.)
I'll spare you the entire story but this year Mom likes both her babies. YES! By afternoon there was time for a bit of play in the lambing jug.

March 26 - Tundra, Tresor and Bella

Busy day from sun up to sun down. Three sets of twins were born today. Each set was a boy and a girl. I was to be at Mom's and Dad's for breakfast at 7:30. Instead, I was in the barn with Tundra's babies. White Prince Charming and pretty brown and white Cinderella.Tresor took advantage of some pasture time to deliver her babies. Brown and white Mickey and brown, black and white Minnie greeted the world Saturday afternoon. Bella chose the pasture to birth her babies, too. The sun was getting low in the sky and I hustled the 3 of them to the barn. The brown ram is Captain John Smith and the black ewe is Pocahontas.