New sign of spring

Everyday there is another sign of spring, you just have to look. Today was a typical March day, cloudy and cold five minutes, then sunny and warm the next five, with wind. Cross fenced the bottom sheep pasture to separate the shorn ewes from the goats, the sheep only need a little hay to go with the grass that is coming up. The goats need a little grain and hay. Grandson Evan turned thirteen yesterday, hard to believe how fast time goes by. I stay so busy, I have to stop and think what day it is. If I ever find a genie in a bottle and get my wish granted, it will be to spend one more day with Evan when he was 2 years old. He was living with me at that age and it was the best of times and the worst of times. It was hard working with him at my side all day and night, but we had that bond, I miss him now that he is older and to busy for me. I love you Evan.

Higher ground

We are on a hill, but with four inches of rain in twenty four hours we have been looking for higher ground to feed the hay. Didn't even get to put hay out on Wednesday, the rain never let up. Moved a few younger does up to the pond pasture and locked them in the barn. They will try to get back to their herd if I just turn them out, after a few days in their new barn they will accept the new herd and stay put.With all this rain comes more mud, I've had enough mud. It's hard to make sure every one gets fed in this weather, they will pack in the barns and not come out. It takes most of my day just to make sure they are all okay. Need to get started shearing the doe kids from last year, the fleeces are just right, got to get a break in the weather, I will have to pen the shorn ones so they don't get pushed out in the rain. Goats are just like people, just can't except the different ones, once they are shorn, the pecking order starts over.There is always one that is the weakest in the pecking order in every flock, if you bring in a new goat she becomes the new weakest link. New chicks are getting along fine, read in Acres magazine that eggs from game hens are more flavorsome than eggs from other breeds. They are also the best setters and mothers, don't mess with a game hen with chicks, she'll take your head off.

Busy days

Been a busy three days, knew it would be when it warmed up. Finished shearing all the sheep Sunday, had to fetch the sheep from the mother-in-law farm and that was no easy task. Dollie, the crazy Pyrenees has been chasing the sheep away from the barn, making the sheep crazy, normally, they follow me on the trailer, not anymore. Had three hens to hatch chicks, this poor hen and one of her sisters hatched within hours of each other, she only got 3 chicks, her sister stole some of hers and ended up with seven.Another sister hatched eight yesterday,she accidentally left one behind in the nest on the other side of the barn, nothing to do but tear a board off the barn so she could find that chick, I'm sure it will grow up to be a rooster. Look closely at the picture, there are 3 chicks hidden under her body. Reminds me of that magazine I got sometimes as a kid, Highlights,(had to ask Alex the name of that one), where you find the hidden items.

We're gettin there

Slow but sure spring is going to get here. Saw some tiny purple flowers popping up out of the ground, and I'll think of their name later today, UGH! The sheep are finding bits of green grass to munch on, haven't seen any buds on the trees yet.Ready to start planting some potatoes and onions in the garden, carrot seed hasn't germinated.Got to find a place for the spinach.Skirted more fiber yesterday and when the weather warms a bit will get the washer going again, the hoses freeze at night unless I drain them, bring them in the garage and keep a fire going in the stove.So, it's easier to wait on warmer days.This winter has been unusually cold and long lasting.We are used to working outside most of the year but have not been able to get much outside work done this winter.The cold and rain came early making it impossible to finish field work, had to wait until the ground was frozen hard before we could combine the last of the soybeans. And, not much of the wheat ground got planted, and what did ain't looking good.Just hope the ground dries so we can plant cotton,field corn and the garden and our favorite sweet corn.You're not  a real southern farmer if you didn't grow sweet corn and watermelon.

Mella fellas

The no longer ram lambs are soaking in the sun and enjoying being wethers, see how they get along so well now.I'm not getting along with my last dye pot, can't get the fiber to take on more dye, I want it darker blue. Finer and crimpy fibers, like Cormo and BFL,  just want take dye like Cotswold and mohair that dye really rich shades. I love the softness of the  fine wools, but the lustre of the longwools and mohair gets my eye and it feels so silky.The latest shorn sheep and 3 buck goats were cold yesterday, so I fed them extra grain last night and bedded down the barns with straw.Hope we get to those 60's soon.Moved the bred does to the front pasture so I can keep a closer eye on them, just 3 weeks away til kidding starts.We wormed and vaccinated them last week. They will have to be shorn as soon as it warms up so the kids can find the milk.I will gently shear them on the milking stand and try to leave a little fuz to keep them warm.

Price of mohair

Goats are curious creatures with magical fiber, that said, they can be a pain in the butt. I found these heat lamps chewed into bits, these are not the ordinary cheap lamps, they are very nice and safe lamps. They were hanging about 6-7 feet high, on a board in the barn, I could barely reach them. Try to picture how these 90-100 pound does could get to them, standing on the barn floor looking up wondering if that was something tasty to eat, maybe they did like they do in the woods, an older, bigger doe will gurdle a small tree and it's a free for all to get to those tender leaves.Just can't figure it out, but someone was on someone's  back to reach those lamps.Last year I bought a barn camera to keep an eye on my does and ewes at lambing, thought it would save a few trips to the barn in the wee hours of the night. Lasted a few nights before Tanner found it and ate the wires into, guess they wanted their privacy.I spent several hours moving the reciever in the house before I decided it could be trouble on the other end.Now you know why the price of mohair is more than the price of wool,

Shearing cancelled

Sunday's shearing was cancelled. We may be getting snow or rain, weatherman can't say which, anyway, it's going to be cold this week. Started washing some lambswool and got two dye pots going since the woodstove in the shop was burning. Carded several kid mohair fleeces, black and gray, finished the red fleece of Hannah.Unloaded the left over fiber from Peachtree handspinner's meeting on Saturday.It's good to tallk to someone other than sheep and goats, especially fiber folks.I love seeing what a fiber artist does with my wool and mohair, and I sold enough to pay for my hay for February. I appreciate all my supporters. Don't think that a flock of sheep and angora goats is going to support you, but if you work real hard, day and night, they will support themselves, and you get the pleasure of being a sheepherder.Not to mention queen of the manure pile. Really, all you can say is, herding a flock of sheep and goats will keep you in good shape, and that means alot.And all that manure makes good garden soil.