Finally

Moved some of the sheep back to the winter pasture even though there had been no rain in many weeks, there was grass, and now with the rain we got this week, the grass will be green, and they will enjoy grazing it. The cooler temperature makes them happy also, and helps me sleep better. How do I know they are happy? They are up moving and grazing and sometimes kick their heels up in the air, that means they are happy and healthy. When the weather is so hot and humid sheep barely move about in the day time, mostly panting, that is hard on the heart and the whole system, they will graze at night and seek shade during the day. Sheep are called stupid by many, but sheep are smarter than most people.

Fiber store open

Tried to make it to the Peachtree handspinner's meeting today but the interstate was backed up for miles, so I detoured back to the farm. Can't take all the traffic and development, the country is disappearing. They paved paradise and put up a parking lot. Anyway, the fiber store is open and I am getting fleeces washed, dyed and carded, lots of kid fleeces to shear, fresh raw fleece, cotton, spinning wheels and supplies, and visit the sheep while you are here. Get stocked up on winter spinning supplies, some are predicting a long cold winter, fine by me. What better thing to do than to sit by a fire and spin.

Ruby couldn't wait

Ruby has had a hard time with the heat this summer. Nursing twins and carrying a coat of mohair is tough in this humidity. She just doesn't want to eat grain, and pants with her mouth open. A lot of does have twice the hair she has but they didn't refuse to eat. They just regretted it later. Saturday morning made two days in a row she didn't come to the feed bunk. So I sheared her and checked her eyes, she seemed normal. After shearing she was up and moving and no panting. If our weather continues to be 12 months of summer I will have to change my shearing schedule, either shear three times a year or shear in June which is hard on the shepherd.

How many

How many gallons of water does it take to grow that fleece? Friday evening seemed to be one of the hottest-most humid days of the summer. I stayed out past 10:00 pm filling water tanks, about 500 gallons. Saturday morning they were half full, so I refilled them. Finally a cold front came through even though the rain didn't preceed it. Turned most of the barn fans off. The sheep and goats seem to be happy, heads up, not panting, moving around and butting heads. They have not enjoyed this summer at all. I am wondering if wool sheep will have a future in the south.

A white run

I don't usually like to card white fiber, but this was a special request. Before running white all the drums on the carder have to be cleaned of any dyed fiber, or the roving will be contaminated with bits of color, quite a job. Then I decided to run a white Cotswold fleece from Audry, just watching the fiber run down the infeed was cooling. I will follow with natural colored fleeces, then back to dyed. Natural colored fibers are my favorite but rich dyed wool and mohair will catch the buyers eye first. Still waiting on that cold front to come through so I can get back to shearing, hopefully that will happen some day, soon. Got Lambie Pie, Cormo-Cotswold cross shorn and washed this week. I didn't think the fleece would be usuable but after a good shaking and washing the results are beautiful. Never throw a fleece away until you wash a sample, all the sins might wash away.

Ramless in Ga

Sold my Cormo ram today. Was glad he was going to a farm to breed more fine wooled ewes and his fleece will be used for handspinning. Not the prettiest ram, but the best fleeced ram, same grade of very fine wool from neck to britch. Not a friendly ram, but once caught was a perfect gentleman. He takes the heat and humidity well and was a very easy keeper. Time for a new ram to breed his daughters, maybe a colored, curly ram. I have  tried Suffolk, Dorset, Polypay, Corriedale, Ramboulliet, Cotswold, Border Leicester, Blue Faced Leicester, and Cormo. My favorite has been the BFL-Cotswold cross, a very pretty sheep, lots of lustre and easy to shear and process, spins like a dream.

Slow motion

Don't know if I'll ever get enough locks and rovings dyed for fall shows, feels like I am moving in slow motion. The amount of time it takes to get a fleece shorn, skirted, washed, dyed, dried, picked and carded seems to consume me. Then there's that feeling of being over whelmed with the mountain of fleeces waiting on me from shearings past. It's a good thing wool will keep forever if kept dry and moth free. The lanolin will be harder to wash out of an old fleece, but the wool is protected by it. Then there's the question of what color will sell, I prefer the natural colors of the red and brown mohair, every shade of it, light to dark. But next to a lovely dyed fleece, the dyed fleece will sell first every time. Then there's the lovely shades of over- dyed colored mohair, magical.