And another one gone...

Rooed, but certainly not naked! Blake's 2" of new growth revealed.

... another one bites the dust!

Brosna, the drama "Queen"

It was a sheep-centric day at Boulderneigh. This morning I gave Benny the last of the rumen remedy I had mixed up, then sat in his pen to  overwrite some of his recent bad experiences with good ones.

While he is bright and alert with good appetite now, Benny is still wobbly on his feet. If he got a mild case of "polio" from not eating, the unsteadiness could be a lingering effect. I will continue giving him B vitamins in hopes that he makes a full recovery; in the meantime he will stay in "protective custody" so he won't get knocked down by other sheep.

After loving on Benny, I spent time picking foxtail seeds out of the lambs' fleeces while working on their halter training. First the boys, who did quite well,

then the girls. Brosna's new owner is picking her up tomorrow, and plans to show her at the Oregon State Fair – so of course she was the only lamb who acted like being on a lead was pure torture!

"Who, me?"

"Yes, Brosna; YOU."

It didn't help that Vienna yelled for her daughters the entire time they were away from her; Brosna had her mouth open, yelling back, in most of the photos I took of her. (She has just finished screaming "Help, help!" in the photo above, while my sweet Bree nonchalantly nibbles.) I'm so glad Vienna gets to keep one daughter; she has been a very vigilant mom and would stress over losing both of them at once like Sarai will at the end of the month. (I don't think Sarai will mind at all.)

This afternoon I tackled the long, laborious process of rooing Blake. I waited too long; he had a good 2" of new growth (at least in its stretched-out state after rooing) that made rooing difficult. He was very patient and good-natured about it, though. Next year I think I may scissor-shear him early in the season. He is always too sticky for my shearer; he produces a TON of lanolin (my gummy fingers were another reason it took so long to roo him).

Oh, and Bittersweet was back to normal the day after I dewormed everyone. I don't think the medication can act that fast, so maybe his bottle jaw was caused by something else.

Two more fleeces to harvest at . . .