Feels like Thanksgiving

This fall has been the best I can remember in a long while. The weather has been great and the trees did have a lot of color in spite of the drought. To top it off Evan got his first buck and doe providing us with some of the best deer meat ever. I just don't feel like you can have fall and Thanksgiving without fresh meat. I eat fresh vegetables and fruits from the garden all summer, but come fall I want fresh meat, and I prefer deer. You can't buy anything this good and nothing could be better for you.

A different view

It has never happened to me before, in all the years of dealing with bucks in rut. There are 2 different breeding herds, with space between them. I let the outer pasture herd into the barn to eat grain, then ran them back out to pasture, as their were 2 does in that herd in heat. Bucks will fight through fences and tear them down if they come face to face. I thought everything was okay, I went into the dominant buck's pasture. I herd a stampede coming, I saw him out the corner of my eye, but it was fast. He hit me with all he had, I managed to climb over the fence, as he was still eyeing me, I lay on the barn floor, there was no feeling in my right leg for about 30 minutes, then I got up and hobbled about the rest of the morning. After all the morning chores I went to the house and checked my leg. It is twice as big as my left leg, looks like a whole pork tenderloin is strapped to it. The good thing is he didn't hit full force on my knee or bone. The best thing to do is stay off it, which means on my back looking up at the ceiling, I can't take that. The buck will be featured in a middle eastern stew by Saturday.

Are you gonna kiss me or not

The bucks are in with the does and this yearling buck is trying to figure out what to do. Ruben, son of Ruby, has the best handle of any fleece on a buck that I have. He has a lot of hair, very consistant from head to toe, no kemp, very fine fleece, not dark, just a creamy light red. I gave him five does and maybe he will settle down and go to work. Scott the two year old buck in with the larger band of does, has gotten very aggressive and downright serious about his does. Seems all of Ruben's does are coming in heat first and Scott is having a hard time waiting on his girls. I hope the fences hold him for the next weeks.

I get by with a little help from my friends

Lately I have had a few friends to help out with farm chores, fiber processing, marketing, and buying fiber to keep the local fiber farm afloat.  And I appreciate it. Now I'm one of those independent sorts that finds it hard to accept any help, since most of the time I work alone and I just go ahead and do what needs done when it needs done. I can't wait until someone has time to help. Sheep and goats need to be dewormed regular, shorn when the wool is ready, fed on a schedule, barns need cleaned, and all the fiber needs washed, dyed, picked and carded. After all that is done it is time to start again.

Calm before the storm

Barry wrecked my weekend. I was late for Peachtree handspinner's meeting because he was fighting. He was back at it early Sunday morning. He has always been so calm, but now that the does are screaming, he is ripping the place apart. First, I thought it was Tuxedo, so I locked him in the old barn, then I moved Barry because Miracle Gro was really pounding on him, but Barry crawled under the fence and started the fight again. So now he is in isolation and everything has calmed back down, for now. Then I remembered he has Rusty blood in him. His mother is Rusty's daughter, and Rusty could not be contained if there was a doe in heat. Rusty would take his horns and raise the bottom hot wire and crawl under to get to a doe. He was very powerful with that thick neck, but he was a Fabio of angora bucks.

Trailing of the sheep

The sheep were eager to return to their fall pasture. Moved the big horse out first, then opened the gate and they all funneled in. Returned to shut the gate and they had all returned to the old pasture looking for the spot where they bed down for the day. I knew the big horse would chase them, so it was back to get a bucket of feed and call them back down, they came, this time I ran to close the gate. The bottom pasture is their favorite, plenty of space and quiet, and the mini horse loves them.

Shearing

Now that there is relief from the heat I am shearing again. Not all the sheep are so good about standing on the shearing stand, but Sunshine's boy is happy. I have learned not to let the Cormo-BFL crosses wool get so long that it wraps around the drums in the carder. I also have to hand pick the fiber before carding, as the commercial picker makes neps. There is a learning curve with every fiber that you grow, how to breed a good fleece that is all usuable and little skirting ( skirtings are thrown away).  One that is easily shorn (not a lot of wrinkled skin, wrinkles slow you down), not to much dark grease so that it can easily be washed, picked and carded and will be a delight to spin into a yarn that can be knit or woven into clothing that will reflect all the work that the sheep and shepherd have put into it for a year of their life.