Happy Mothers Day, Bernice!

My 'pregnant teenager' Bernice lambed last night! She looked a little suspicious at chore time, so I went back down a couple hours later and found her talking to a vigorous moorit ram lamb who was already up and soon at her udder. She was being a great little mother; I watched for quite awhile to see if a twin or the afterbirth would be delivered and finally decided she was done. When I got to the house I woke Brian up (he had fallen asleep on the couch)  and asked if he'd mind if I named my Mothers Day lamb after him, since he's the one who made me a mother. He grinned and said that was fine; now I have to decide if the lamb will be Brian, Bryan, or Bry. If he's wethered it won't matter as I won't register him, but time will tell. Yes, he's the result of 'line-breeding' of which I'm not a fan, but sometimes the results can be awesome and first impressions are extremely positive.

No matter the late night, this morning started bright and early at 5:00 to finish prepping for the concrete coming at 7:00. My contributions were doing all the chores (as I did Sabbath morning; at half-speed but still, yay me!) and returning the laser level to the equipment rental store. Brian took the morning off to help, along with several other volunteers (bless them!) but ended up getting sick (possibly/probably with Norovirus😷). I spent hours on hold then talking to a nurse on his behalf; he was begging to go to the ER or urgent care but that isn't warranted at this point. He is not an easy patient – and I am not a natural nursemaid like my MIL, but Rick thought I should stay home today and do my best.

ANYway, here are progress photos of our beautiful new shop floor. Thanks to Rick's FIL and BIL (who took over his father's concrete business and drove up from CA with tools to head up the project), we have a nicer finish in our shop than we do our garage or daylight basement floor!

We've gotten a little rain over the weekend and today, not the soaking we need but better than nothing. I've been taking photos of our iris and other flowers as they bloom, and raindrops add a sparkly touch.

Oh, we did have a very nice family Mothers Day breakfast (Rick's mom and FIL along with the three of us), and my son gave me delicious chocolates and a card that made me cry. Wish we could have had my mom here; I called her and we had an hour-long chat. My sister and I also went together and sent her flowers.

That's it for now from . . .

Counting down and checking off

With surgery looming on April 9 I've entered countdown mode, starting to check off things that must be done before I'm laid up for awhile. I need to start a written list so I don't forget the various house and barn staples I need to stock up on, the medical devices I need to procure, tax payments that must be paid ahead of time, etc. I need to confer with the two friends and a neighbor who have volunteered to stay with me for the first week while Rick and Brian are at work to create a schedule. And 'just in case,' I need to fill out an advance directive and write down some specific instructions for Rick regarding the dispersal of my sheep, horses, and fiber tools.

Tuesday I went to Salem Health's joint replacement class. Most of what the nurse and physical therapist covered is in the book I was given at the appointment with my orthopedic surgeon, but going over it again and getting to ask questions was worthwhile. One of the friends who has volunteered to stay with me attended as my 'coach.' My sister has also been passing on pearls of wisdom from her own knee replacement experience and those of people she knows. I think I'll be as prepared as it is possible to be without having gone through any prior surgery and recovery.

A BIGGY to check off before surgery is getting my flock of 15 Shetlands sheared, and thanks to the help of a fellow Shetland breeder, we're over halfway there. We can only do one or two a day; even with both of us working together, one on each side, each sheep still takes 2-3 hours. I am SO thankful for her help; doing them all myself before surgery would have been impossible. She has also agreed to give my flock a home should anything happen to me, relieving me of any concerns about their future welfare.

Unfortunately, shearing yearling Bernice yesterday confirmed a growing suspicion. When her half-brother Bud escaped briefly last winter and responded to her flirtation in spite of his broken shoulder, she got pregnant. I didn't record the date and the signs are subtle at this point; I don't see her lambing by April 9. The disastrous results of lambing season three years ago that started when I was in Texas helping my parents still haunts me; now I'm in more knots over little Bernice's situation than I am over my surgery. Hopefully I can at least get my guys to help me clean the sheep fold in order to set up the lambing jug in the corner so it's ready when needed.

IG/Facebook and assorted blog post-specific photos follow (IG posts have words in quotes).

"Apparently a dual-purpose Nylabone."

"Interesting dayscape and nightscape from yesterday" (two photos)

"Morning  cuddles."

"Good morning!"

"The first of my yearlings was sheared yesterday–such SOFT, fine, crimpy fleece!"

"I don't share many photos of Chuckie because he's usually too close for a good photo."

"More grey yearling gorgeousness (I have three) and, unfortunately, an unplanned little bun in one of the ovens." (three photos)

Bernice from the side.

My four-legged flock and herd. Enjoying them while I can.💕

Oh, and happy Spring Equinox! (Yes, it is raining.)

That's it for now from . . .

Proof of life

After my dad died (dad #2, that is), I tried to call my mom daily to make sure she was doing okay. She didn't always hear her phone (or didn't know where it was, or had inadvertently silenced it) so after asking the neighbors to check on her at various times, I finally asked her to check in with me instead, even if it was just to text "POL" (for Proof Of Life).

I have been trying for awhile now to post here, but between a lack of discretionary time and physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion, I just couldn't get 'er done. Then yesterday I got a sweet PM from a Rav-pal, checking in to see how life was going since I have so much on my plate these days and wanting me to know she is thinking of me. I took time this morning to respond to her, and decided my response, below, could be used to give my blogpals POL.

"Thanks for checking in. I'm keeping my head – well, at least my nostrils – above water and that's about it.

“My surgery date is April  9 – if I don't have to delay it. We are still in the process of moving my husband's vet clinic into the new space, and yesterday I started training a new hire in the chaos of boxes and supplies everywhere and no phone service. I have some concerns about her and if she doesn't work out, I'll have to continue covering the office until someone else can be found and trained.

“My sister and I were going to converge on my mom in TX next week to help her get ready to move from a 5-bedroom, 2-car garage house into a 2-bedroom apartment near my sister's in NE, but she adamantly refused our help so I cancelled my ticket this morning. That takes one thing off my plate but we know she is NOT going to be able to do this without our help whether she likes it or not. Since her move-in date is May 1, I won't be able to BE any help if I don't change my surgery date. But the thought of postponing makes me cry; I'm taking two Aleve twice a day and am still barely functioning at times.

“The other thing that MUST be done before surgery is getting my flock of 15 sheared. Doing it myself in my usual time- and labor-intensive way isn't physically possible; getting on a  professional's schedule is iffy. But another Shetland breeder has agreed to come help me, so I think we'll get them sheared at least. Most of the skirting will probably have to wait, but I have a few fleeces already reserved that I will do my best to skirt and ship off before surgery/recovery.

“At least my son is working again!"

I have photos on my iPhone to share but not enough time to download and save them, so I'll just add one more piece of farm news. Bridget miscarried a dead lamb, so provided none of the little escape artist ewe lambs got bred through the fence, I don't have to worry about a lambing season. A blessing in a bane, I guess.

That's it for now from . . .

The tortoise and the hare

That would be Broadway and Pony Jacobson, my last ewe to lamb and the shearer who was here Wednesday evening. One has been a watched pot for weeks; the other showed up early, worked quickly and efficiently, and was gone again before I would have managed to shear half of a sheep.

Shearing went like clockwork. The seven candidates were shut in for the day so they could be held off food and water (for comfort's sake). Just before Pony arrived I removed coats; while he was setting up in the barn aisle I caught and haltered the three boys so I could lead/drag them to the shearing station in turn without delay, followed by the girls. While he was shearing I wrote names on bags, then swapped a freshly shorn sheep for a woolly one. After Pony left I caught all seven again to put coats back on, so by the end I was pooped, but well satisfied with how quickly and smoothly it all went. Pony even brought his own help, although they weren't needed here. Here are the few photos I managed to take.

Helper #1

Helper #2 (the apprentice)

the three Musketeers, checking out their old coats

Thursday morning I turned out the girls, but Broadway hung around the gate and promptly went back into the fold by herself when I opened the gate for her. My ewes only do that when they are ready to deliver, so I was hopeful even though she still hadn't dropped through the flanks. But if I thought she'd get on with it so I could go to work and then agility class and a stop at Costco, I was soon corrected. I stayed close to home, checking in on my 'watched pot' every hour or two. She was where she wanted to be, but beyond that, not much happened. Eventually she laid down and pushed occasionally but without conviction, distress, or progress. I fretted; Broadway was, after all, my C-section lamb. When Rick finally got home well after dark, he gloved up (I was out of gloves at home) and checked to see if her cervix was dilated. It was (whew, so not ring womb then), so after a bit of discussion, we decided to give her an injection of the type of steroid lambs produce to stimulate birth when they are ready to be delivered. I checked on her one more time before falling into bed around 11:30, praying for the safety of my pretty ewe and her unborn babes.

I awoke around 2:15 and decided to check on Broadway again. She was busily cleaning up a dark lamb on the ground, with little hooves presenting under her tail. Relieved, I watched the miraculous process of newly minted mother bonding with a lamb that transformed before my eyes from helpless to teat-seeking quadruped. Not wanting to leave until lamb #2 was safely delivered and similarly transformed, I checked things out. The projecting hooves were upside down, no nose visible. I ran my fingers up the legs, feeling for knees or hocks. I found hocks – the lamb was coming hind legs first; time to intervene! I pulled gently but steadily, meeting significant resistance before getting the butt clear; the rest of the lamb came easily then. Given the amount of meconium staining, I was glad I acted when I did, but was concerned that I had done some damage because of the lamb's unstable hind limb joints. But even with them bending every which way, lamb #2 determinedly found its way to food, too. Two Ag grey ewe lambs and a very careful and attentive Broadway; wonderful answers to my prayers! I decided they needed Bible names, and after a few more hours of sleep and a little internet research, I settled on Bernice (darker) and Bethany (with the cloudy coat).

Sunday would have been 145 days from when I separated the breeding groups, so Broadway almost evaded getting bred – almost.

That's it for shearing and lambing this year at . . .

Blossom and Bud

'feral' cherry

one of the last daffodils of the season

part of our home orchard

pieris in flower and new growth

this tree is always a highlight of the season

Eek, another week has zoomed by! Until today, it has been rather uneventful except for a miserable bout of vertigo(?) that kept me in bed and unproductive from nausea most of Sunday, and threatened again on Monday. That made me leery of trying to shear anyone because of all the movement that shearing on my short stand requires. So I've spent more time researching options (equipment vs. professionals) for next year than shearing this year's fleeces since my last post; c'est la vie.

Of course I've been keeping my eye on Boop and Broadway, above. Sure glad that I didn't separate my breeding groups any earlier as they were obviously bred in the very last days of 'togetherness.' This fall I plan to wait until mid-November to put my breeding group(s) together so that next spring I can go to our church's women's retreat; I'm tired of missing out and my ewes don't reliably cycle in October anyway. Bridget mystifies me. Even though she is clearly not pregnant, she has been acting late term – slow to leave the fold in the morning, the last one into the fold in the evening, and often staying off to herself in the pasture. This morning Boop was acting suspicious, and Bridget was staying close. My ewes often ask to go back into the fold by themselves when they are nearing delivery and Boop did that this morning; it was tricky letting her through the gate and not Bridget, who then proceeded to call for her.

Boop's coat was on the loose side after shearing, so it needed to come off. I gave her some time to settle, and then managed to catch her without much drama (she is my wildest sheep) and remove it. Then I left her to it for awhile, checking in discreetly from the upper window to keep disturbance to a minimum.

Oops; she spotted me!

When I saw a water bag, I settled in to wait and occasionally watch. In between peeks, this happened!

It didn't take long to see that another lamb was presenting, but Boop was too busy reacting to the first strange new creature lamb to  settle down and push. Eventually, I decided to intervene, finding only one front leg and a nose. I felt around for the other front leg, then managed to ease #2 out using just the one leg. Lamb #1 took advantage of Boop's interest in #2 to get its first meal:

So you might be thinking I buried the lead, but after checking for plumbing I named these two . . . Blossom and Bud. 😊

Both are strong and vigorous and have nursed multiple times. I divided the barn stall with the chain-link panels Rick refurbished for me, and moved Boop and her lambs in next to Blaise and Bitsy. Blossom (lamb #1, a ewe) looks black with HST spotting (HST stands for white on Head, Socks, and Tail), but will turn gray. Bud (lamb #2, a ram) is black with the gulmoget pattern. Because Sanson, their sire is a gray (Ag) gulmoget, all his lambs will be either gray or gulmoget.

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Today I finished the second rug on the black warp. The first one will be short (I ran out of the darker pink); this one will make up for it by being extra-long. I did identify a couple threading errors which I'll fix before using the remainder as a dummy warp. My next warp will be a variegated cotton thread with a natural wool weft; I'm looking forward to seeing how that turns out.

Rug #2 above the beam; reverse side of rug #1 winding on below

Rug #2 finished

My crafting room has gotten more cluttered because I'm putted bagged fleeces there as I shear them, but I am still focused on my One Big Thing of 2024. What I've already accomplished has made room for my drum carder; I'm much more likely to use it if it is easily accessible (it's currently closeted in a storage space off the crafting room). I have assorted old fleeces, mine and others, that I can then prep and spin, and already have spaces where I can crank out the yarn with my Louet or miniSpinner. Decluttering by tossing is much faster, but decluttering by utilizing is so much more satisfying!

That's it until the last lamb(s) drops at . . .