Blooms, berries and cherries

Breakfasting in the garden is awfully sweet this time of year!

Life is not so sweet for two lambs tonight. Brosna left for her new home this evening, and Boston was banded so he can live a long and hopefully happy life as a fiber pet and ram companion. Sure is hard to listen to my babies baaa-ing; I'm praying that Marta and Bali remember Brosna and help her adjust, and that Boston's discomfort eases quickly.

That's it for now from . . .

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 . . .

Mission mostly accomplished

Bing is sheared and all ovine occupants are wormed – except big Bart. Couldn't catch my shiest sheep; I'll have to wait for reinforcements – the first of which arrived home late tonight.

This is what bottle jaw looks like

After sheep stuff and chores, I moved the drip hose (again) in the garden. I peeked at the radishes, and found a few big enough to eat. Supper inspiration was born. I pulled the radishes, and pinched off some basil and leaves of the bitter salad greens that are going to seed. I ate the radishes as an appetizer, then sautéed a small onion with some sliced almonds and minced garlic, added the greens (including the radish leaves) and cooked just until wilted. I sprinkled it all with some Himalayan pink salt and used it to top some organic whole wheat spaghetti. It was delicious – if I do say so myself!

That's it for now from . . .

Working hard, or hardly working?

For those of you who worried that I wouldn't take any time to recharge while I had this delicious solitude, never fear. In fact, you might need to worry that I haven't done anything else!

I have taken naps three days in a row (I can't remember the last time I took ONE nap!); on Sabbath I spent several hours with a friend who is back "home" for the summer (she lives in VA now) and another chunk of time on the phone with a college roommate I haven't connected with in ages; and on Sunday I did this.

But now it is time to buckle down to a sheep rodeo. Benny is much better (he's EATING! he's CHEWING CUD!), but Bittersweet presented with bottle jaw this morning, confirming Rick's suspicion that I might be contending with a parasite problem. That makes sense, given my limitations of space. That means I need to catch (if I can) and worm Bittersweet and all the rest of the adults. Then I HAVE to get Bing sheared, which is going to be a slow, tough job because 1) he's black on black, and 2) he's a bit of a pin-ball. In other words, it will take great care and patience to not see blood red!

That's it for now from . . .