Coming home

The sheep were ready to come back to the home pasture. I just opened the gate and they ran to the house, stopping along the way to eat a bite of grass. Jewell was not leading them as she is too old to venture far from her small pasture. But, she taught these girls well. I think she has passed the baton to Midnight. There is always a leader sheep and when the leader passes on usually one of her daughters becomes the new leader. Since her daughters are so young I think Midnight became the leader. With goats there is always a boss goat, she is usually mean and butts all the other does into submission. A lot of people that have goats want to get rid of the boss doe, got news for you, another doe will take her place. Maybe goats need a boss and sheep need a leader.
 

Cotton pickin time

Trying to stay ahead of the cotton pickers, cutting cotton branches, picking bolls and handpicking lint. They are running fast and a stalk mower is behind the pickers, so when it's picked it's mowed, it's gone.  The hand picked cotton is so much cleaner than the machine picked, machines pick leaves that crumble and cannot be removed. The handpicked cotton will be hand ginned, then handspun, then hand knitted. Sounds like a labor of love. But the end results are a world apart.
 

Thank ewe

A big thank ewe to all who came to SAFF and purchased wool and mohair from my flocks. SAFF sales buy our feed and hay that increase every year. There are fewer small fiber producers still trying to make it, breeding quality fiber animals. I hate to think of a world without it. And, a world without all the fiber lovers.

So, whoever your favorite fiber producer is, I hope you will support them with your purchases. 
 

Charm's First Lesson

Charm got her first tie out today, in the rain. She pulled back once then gave in and stood there, tied to a young tree while her mother was just a few feet away tied to another tree. We brushed and talked to her while she accepted the rope and the phobia of being held by something. It's been a week since I weaned the lambs, moved the ram lambs to another barn and kept the ewe lambs in the lambing barn, away from the ewes. The ewes are drying off nicely and got over their calling back and forth to the lambs after the first day. Time passes by quickly, seems like just a few days ago they were born. Evan helped me vaccinate the kid goats that will be weaned a few weeks later. More hoof trimming, shearing, vaccinating and worming to stay on top of. The garden will start bearing  soon, first squash, then the most loved of all, tomato.

It's another filly

It's another filly, the sweetest soul. Out of Aifric. I fund her outside the gate early one morning, she was still wet, but had gone through the fence. Mother was standing on the other side waiting for her return. It's been a year of females, only 2 buck kids and 4 ram lambs. But, I have 14 yearling bucks to market. Was surprised when I sheared them at how good the fleeces are, most will make good breeding bucks. Got them shorn and moved down to summer pasture. They await their new homes for fall breeding.

Yearling does for sale

I have a dozen yearling does for sale. All freshly shorn, feet trimmed, deloused, vaccinated and dewormed. These does will be ready for fall breeding. Prices start at $350 and I have a few unrelated bucks that can be bred to them if you want a breeding flock. The second clip fleeces on these does was much better than I thought they would be. Most of the time spring clip is not good for handspinning and the fleeces are usually stressed, especially with all the rain. First clip does not always tell the true story, but second clip will tell the tale of what type of fleece that goat will have.

Took a minute

Went out this afternoon to feed the two lambs that drink supplemental milk out of a bowl, while checking on the lambs I couldn't resist sitting down with them under their favorite ruminating spot for a few minutes. Sometimes I wish I was a sheep, they are in no hurrry and seem to enjoy life waiting on their shepherd to come out with the feed bucket a couple of times a day while keeping the hay feeders and water tanks full. The ewes feel pretty secure in the pasture and come in a small paddock connected to the barn at night. Today's weather was enough to make us all happy, hope more is on the way.