Stormy

Most of yesterday was shot rescueing the fawn. Later in the day I skirted another Cormo-BFL fleece from Sunshine's wether lamb. Had the fleece out on the skirting table was about half way finished and the sky turned dark and thunder was rumbling toward Atlanta. Ran out to the pastures to open the barns so everyone could get out of the storm and while I was gone it started pouring down on my fleece. It's not easy skirting a wet fleece. Ended up spreading the remaining wool on screens to dry and will get back to it today. When I took the goats back up the hill to the feeders this morning the fawn's mother came running toward us, I hope all is well with the baby I returned. I'm sure Wolf got one of her twins. Wolf is locked in the front pasture for a few months until all the fawn's are old enough run with their mothers.

Fawn

I knew what Wolf was up to when I went out yesterday. He wasn't with his herd of goats. Alex was off for the weekend and feeding went pretty quick. Was on my way to the mailbox when I noticed the goats acting funny. There was a fawn at the gate getting butted around by the does. I yelled at the dogs and went in, the fawn let me catch him, he was crying and looking for milk. I thought he was hurt but only had cuts on his legs. His heart was racing. I put him in a box of towels in the garage, he rested a bit. I saw Wolf was covered in blood. I have way too many deer here and the dogs sometimes catch a fawn and kill it, I can't do anything about it but yell at them. And I will kill deer during hunting season, but not a fawn. I called the DNR and explained what had happened and asked what I should do . She said to let it go, they have no place to release the fawn after he is old enough to be turned out. Just too many deer. So I moved Wolf and his herd to the front and moved the sheep to the back pasture. Then took the tiny fawn to the woods where I saw his mother and released him. He crawled under this brush pile. Took this picture before I left.

Does and kids get a day out

Tried letting the does and kids out to graze late yesterday evening, spent an hour trying to run them out of the barn lot, only to have them beat me back to the barn. Ran them back out and locked the gate this time, the does stood at the gate screaming and the kids just kept testing the electric fence with their nose, and yes it is working. Tara's kid Shadow jumped through the wires, so I let them back in the barn. My goats are perfectly contented to lay in the barn and let me bring their feed to them. Brought them several sweet gum tree tops and they were happy. They are not happy with their new hay, they hate fescue hay, I only wanted them to have some roughage since they get alfalfa, not going to eat it. Still no bermuda hay available.

Caroline scatching

Everybody had a turn scratching on an old pine tree that is worn slick from all the use. Squirt has a grin on his face. Scratch, sleep, graze, chew cud. Not that bad of a life for a sheep. The weather is getting warmer and some are panting, my job is to keep fresh cool water and mineral. The BFL have a hard time with the humidity. Moved corral panels to the goat pasture so I can lock crazy horse out to feed them some grain. They were panting also, do I feed them grain to keep weight on, or let them eat grass, fat goats and sheep have a harder time with heat than skinny ones. Made it to the feed store to pick up grain and mineral, then on to the grocery store before the mad holiday rush is on.

Squirt's turn to scratch

Hershey and Cocoa under the scratching post

Hershey at the scratching post

What goats like to do

Alex and I were able to get all but 3 crafty old does in their shelter for worming this morning. We will move some feeders over to their pasture tomorrow and try to sneak up on them. They have acres and acres of head high grass and I hoped that would be enough but some of the older ones are getting thin, so I will have to feed some grain at least a few days a week. Sheep would be roly poly fat on all that grass, but not the Barbie doll goats, takes more protein to grow mohair than wool. Now I hate to, but must get on the road to bring in the supplies.

Sweat Pea

I have been passing by Sweet Pea's fleece for many weeks now. I think it is my favorite of the yearlings. She is half Cormo, quarter BFL and quarter Cotswold. Got her skirted and in the washer, should be clean now and ready to get on the drying racks. She is the smallest of  the  triplets, sister to Sweet William and Sweet Woodruff, all very,very sweet and spoiled. Not sure what the fleece will become, but it is beautiful just as a raw fleece.

BFL enjoying minerals

So much going on this week and it's only Tuesday. Started worming yesterday with the mama does and bucks. Today the does at the pond. Had to stop this afternoon and clean floors, then bake an apple pie,green beans, potato salad and fire up the grill for ribs, and a gallon of sweet tea, need some real food. Got a delivery of good hay finally and the fiber sales over the weekend almost paid for it. Got one more herd of does to worm and I think the sheep can make it a little longer. Have to make a trip to the feed store before everything closes for the holiday and get all my art fiber ready for the art gallery, opening is soon.

Evening chores

The day light is long and I made it home by 5:30 with plenty of time to recheck all the sheep and goats before dark. Cut lots of sweet gum branches for the does with kids. These babies love those tender, star shaped leaves. They will eat them long before starting on grain. Goats are browsers like dear and smart too, these trees and vines have the same protein as alfalfa hay. A kid goat can get fat on does milk and forbes. This is Blazer's doe kid that was tube fed for a week before she caught on to the teat. She just couldn't figure out how to do it. She is not as big as her brother, any animal or plant that doesn't get a good start or is stressed just doesn't grow and produce as well as those that do.

Saturday

Got everyone fed early and loaded up fibers to sell at  the Peachtree Handspinner's meeting. Sales were good, glad the spinners are still spinning, in times like these arts and crafts seem to have a revival. We want to go back to more important things. I really appreciate the loyal buyers helping support a local farmer. If we buy more things grown in this country it can only help the economy. I just wish there were more things made in this country from what we grow. Years ago all our cotton went to the cotton mills in Georgia, just 20 miles from here, it was carded,spun and woven into fabric. Most of our cotton was a good grade and low mic that went into underwear. Now, most of our cotton goes to China. You have to search high and low to find anything made in the USA from USA cotton.  How can a pair of panties that has travelled a zillion miles on a barge be cheaper than a pair made in Georgia?

Buried treasure

I've been walking around a huge pile of fibers in the wool mill for quite awhile. Last Wednesday I decided do something with them. I found all sorts of fibers, dyed rovings, small amounts of this and that, some I had put back for me and forgot about. I washed for two days and now have them drying in front of the fan. Will probably combine them into batts for spinning or felting. I never find any money, but fiber is just as good. I wish a spinner owned the hay and feed store.

Felting ram fleeces

Finally felting some Cormo from my ram, Dan. I think he is 3 or 4 years old now, bought him when he was 3 or 4 months old. He is not my kind of male, short,stumpy and wrinkled, but he has the most uniform and finest fleece af any Cormo I have seen, and I checked out a few before settling on him. He is also a very nice ram. My BFL is one of the meanest rams I have ever had. He has the body and the fiber, but a bad attitude. It's hard to find everything in one male, fortunately with sheep you can use a different one to fix the traits you like. Felted 2 scarves, one from each ram, both fibers felted easily, the Cormo a little softer, the BFL dyes brighter.

Wolf's herd

Moved Wolf's herd up to the hill pasture behind the pond, moved the sheep that were there to the front pasture. I need a dog to stay on that side of the pasture. My dogs would rather hang out with goats than sheep, so I try to keep one of the goat herds on the back side. This is a beautiful spot of ground and very peaceful. Caught Wolf napping when I walked up to bring them in for the night. He's getting ready for the night shift.

Back to normal

Hillary is back out to pasture with her herd. Still has the green vet wrap around her neck until the needle pucture heals. It makes her easy to spot, just to see if she is eating and keeping up with the other goats. She grazed by her daughter most of the day.

Cloudy start

The morning was off to a cloudy start, but changed into the best day ever. Sunny with a dry cool breeze. I could love it. Worked on fences again, this time clearing and spraying for weeds. I use to weed eat under my electric fences, but had to give it up, the vibration numbs my hands. There are miles and miles of fence here. When vegetation covers the wires the fence is grounded and it doesn't shock the predators, so fence work is a constant.The goats will know when it is not working, by smelling the wires, and they will soon figure out they can go through. The grass is always greener on the other side.

Wednesday through Sunday

Hillary is and older doe that stayed at the home ranch to babysit the yearling does. The younger does need a leader to take them out to pasture and hunt for food, find the water and mineral feeders, and run to the barn when a cloud blows in. And, Hillary is one of my best does, so I want to keep her close. She must have eaten a bit too much grain. She was lagging behind the flock on Wednesday and stopped eating. I have seen it before, rumen acidosis. Ruminents have 4 stomach and when they get out of balance the acids will eat the stomach liner, cause gas and bloat, and will die if not treated, FAST. I tried my magic for 3 days, but it didn't work. Took her in on Friday to get a needle in her vein, brought her home and hooked her up to an IV. Offered her wild herbs, she ate 2 leaves. Gave her a tub of Stoneyfield yogurt and a lot of drugs, she layed around moaning. Saturday she finally peed. Sunday she pooped and baaed a weak baa. This morning she was chewing a small cud and later today is eating hay. So, I spent 6 days nursing this doe back to health, and let everything else go.

Pullet eggs

The pullets born on Christmas are already laying their tiny first eggs. My head feels like a bowl of rice crispies this week, with the snap, crackle and mostly pop. Now that the front has moved through it is finally gone. Checked the eyelids on the 20 bucks on Monday, all but 1 were a deep salmon color, so I will wait another 2 weeks before worming them. I did trim all 80 feet and delouse them. Took a day off from trimming on Tuesday because my hand was hurting. Wednesday it was on to the 30 yearling and 2 year old does in the front pasture. Only 4 needed wormer, all 30 got their feet trimmed and deloused, that's another 120 feet. For some reason the parasites are not as bad as last year. Last year was the worst it has ever been, the drought followed by rain caused an explosion of eggs on the pasture. Stomach worms are a southern sheep and goatherders biggest problem and expense. They will loose weight, have a break in the fleece, have intestinal damage or even die  if not caught soon enough and given proper treatment. The problem with the wormer meds is there is not much available that works, the worms have become immune. And not a lot of money is spent in the sheep drug world for research, so we use what is available for cattle.

Fence work today

Deer riddled the fence in the bottom pasture last night. Caught their hind legs in the top strand when jumping over and breaking it off the corner post. Electric fences won't keep deer out and they can go through or over without getting caught or hurt. But they can do some damage to the fences, breaking post and wire, and it happens alot. It's pretty much a safe haven for them to get away from predators to have their fawns, just stay away from the Pyrenees. So I spent several hours pulling and stretching wire then twisting to get it back on the post. Just another job in the day of the life of a sheepherder.

Mothers Day

Lovely yellow roses grown by my daughter. Had a great Mother's day with all the trimmings. Alex helped morning feeding go quickly, done by ten, then started cooking for the big dinner we have every year. The weather was lovely,the company was good,  couldn't have asked for anything more. This week I start back on the worming-hoof trimming schedule, starting with the buck pasture. There are 4 adults and 16 yearlings in that group. Need to sell some bucks before fall rut.

Can't find the goats

The does on summer pasture are enjoying the days of sunshine and tall grass. It's a miracle how a sheep or goat turns rain and sunshine and grass into wool and mohair. It also takes good mineral and a safe pasture and good shelter, but mostly the sun and rain to make grass for them to graze. An animal also needs that sense of security to really be contented, not being harassed by predators and a nice place to rest really will help them gain weight and stay healthy. Well, most of that applies to people too, we really don't need so many things. I know I am happy when the sun is shining, it is cool, and we are getting enough rain to keep the grass growing.

You can row the cotton

You can row the cotton, the old timers would say. Looking out on the long rows you can see the stand of cotton. Plants are really growing in the warm nights. These cotton plants were up in about a week, a plant will be healthy and more productive if it is not stressed trying to get out of the ground. We normally no-till the cotton ground, but after all the hard rains we had over the fall and winter, the ground was compacted and had to be plowed before being planted. After planting we had 2.2" of rain that sat the soil back down like concrete, so we ran a rotary hoe across the top of the rows to break the crust. Cotton is a finicky plant.

Gypsey

Gypsey is sleeping in front of her best friend Ruby. Gypsey lost her kid, it had some birth defects and didn't make it, she cried all day and went back and forth to the place she gave birth, she was a first time kidder and doesn't understand. I kept her in the barn with Ruby and the other mama does for a few weeks and decided it was time to turn her out to pasture with another herd. Every now I then I catch her looking into the barn, so I let her in to see that her baby is not there. She stays for awhile to visit  Ruby, then she's ready to go back out to graze the sweet grass. She can try again next year.

Sweet smells

Today was the first day of the sweet smells of spring. Wild roses, honey suckle, fescue, white,crimson, and purple clovers, privet, sweet peas, everything blooming and smelling like perfume, only I hate the smell of bottled perfume, so fake, compared to the real thing. Grass and every plant is growing now that the nights are warm, I can tell a big difference in the last week, you can almost see them growing. The air is still fresh, not so humid, yet. The mysterious vine in an earlier post has been identified by Alice as crossvine. The Market bulletin has an article on the vine, it is a Georgia native. Spun a few skeins of the lime green-blue Sunshine roving, very nice, I don't usually spin a two ply, mostly thick singles.  Should make great sock or sweater yarn.

Marathon

Cinco de Mayo was a marathon day, started washing windows and screens on the house at first light, got 4 dye pots going, took care of all the 2 and 4 legged animals, then carded 3 different rovings. The lime green is Sunshine, the gray-brown is her triplet sister Midnight. Spun and plied the third roving, a brown BFL, from Midnight's son, Cocoa, with a little peach Cormo lamb for highlights,  from Jewell's daughter. These three are my favorite wools for knitting scarves, they spin up fast and knit easily on big needles, and are soft enough to wrap around your neck. I have to have these days to feel like I am accomplishing something, most days will come and go, but sometimes I can still get-r-done.

Foggy Morning

Complete fog when I woke this morning, but it soon burned off and got warm. I was ready for the 2" of rain we got, better get it while we can, really helps the grass grow in the pastures. Curlie's buck kid is eating hay this morning and screaming when he gets his shot of antibiotic, goat kids are dramatic about everything. When they are quiet you know something is wrong.

Dinner's ready for Blaze's kids

Blaze's kids are doing well, but one of the other kids has a fever, mostly resting, not normal for a kid goat, no other symptoms, yet. Started him on a different antibiotic today, and he seems better, the fever broke. Spent a lot of my time just watching him for any changes. A seasoned shepherd will spot a problem with a lamb or kid just by knowing what their normal habits are, and everyone is different. That little something off, or not eating and playing, or separated from the herd, slow to come in and out from the pasture, usually means they need to be checked out. Much time is spent giving the best treatment possible for a full recovery. I'm off to the barn for my final check of the day.

Does on summer pasture

Spent several days last week deciding which does to move to summer pasture, brought some back home and took more back to the pasture. Out of sight and out of mind does not apply to me. I like to see all my animals and listen up for anyone in trouble. These does have head high grass to graze that should last all summer. I just worry about their safety. They have a guard dog, Dollie, and electric fencing. All they need is cool water and fresh mineral to go with the salad bar. They will have the sweet music of field larks to listen to, this pasture is a song bird sanctuary. I never mow it and they only have one predator, a hawk.