Long time no post, long time no spring. This weather is driving me crazy! So crazy Nate and I ponder moving to a warmer climate. We are forecast to get 6-8 inches of snow Tuesday. Not a lot different from this time last year, but still not fun.
WORKING-We've been busy working on projects, mostly sheep projects. We've converted the garage into a lambing barn. With our weather experiences I am terrified of the girls lambing in the wet, icy, frozen pasture. We have about half the garage sectioned off with sheets of oxboard, and a nice gate/door and three lambing jugs set up on the other side. I've got my lambing kit packed and ready to go, and am getting SO nervous for lambs. Hopefully our first lambing season treats us well.
Last weekend my mom came out and we cleaned the chicken coop of six months of yuk. The chickens don't seem to care, but I sure do. We also were gifted a few more laying hens last Sunday so hopefully egg production will increase enough that they can start paying for some of their feed.
School and consulting has been very busy too. In fact, I need to quit blogging and start writing a report from my visit on Friday.
WAITING-We have made over thirty phone calls to try and get a shearer. I finally had a new shearer lined up for today, and then he called to reschedule for next Saturday. In the meantime our shearer from last year called to let me know he'll be up on Friday. So Friday is shearing day. Nate will have a busy day since I'll be at work. The boys will be home with him too, so hopefully some of my family can help out and save the day. Anyone looking for some work/entertainment on Friday?
Nervously waiting for lambs. According to the lambing calendar we could be expecting babies as soon as Thursday. I only witnessed four of the girls bred, and that wasn't until December. So that leaves six that could lamb sooner. We are as ready as we can be. I would really have liked everyone sheared about four weeks ago, but with the shearer shortage and weather, we'll make do. I'm nervous that some of the girls are in poor condition. Some of them I have no worries about. I just want to be able to have a better visual of what is going on. I was out checking for bags on Friday. Sunny, Kizzy, Good Mama and Jacobs are all definitely bagging. Everyone else was too hard to check either because of too much wool or too much flightiness. I know Bunny and Fiona have not had lambs before, would it be common for them to not show a bag as quickly as the experienced mamas? Impatience and nerves!
Finally, the topic I began this post with. We are waiting for spring, waiting for ground, waiting for green. I guess we'll keep waiting a bit longer!
1 comment:
Hi Tifany,
It sure sounds like you are making the most of your time even though you are waiting.
I'm glad a shearer finally came through for you. Last year we sheared right in the middle of a tight lambing week. Everything turned out just fine even with my major worrying.
Your first timer girls may not bag up as significantly as your experienced ewes. Experienced ewes also tend to look bigger in the stomach too, thereafter. Just like women, they've been stretched before and things are never quite as flat as they used to be. Sorry for the crudeness, but it's pretty accurate. LOL
The snow is by no means on it's way out here either. Tiring to say the least.
I hope your shearing and lambing go super great. The first time I saw a Shetland lamb born I thought something was horribly wrong-it was smaller than my plain-sized cat. I finally realized...that is normal. They are just like wet butterflies emerging from a crysalis. Get them dried off and they start to look like lambs. :)
God bless you in this new adventure!
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