Lights. Camera. Action!

Well, actually it was action, camera, light, camera, with more action to come. Yesterday Rick make admirable progress on the sheep quarters. He replaced the dog kennel panels that composed the temporary front of the pen with a made-to-order gate. He stacked blocks (we need a few more) so we can build up the front of the pen with gravel to make it more level and eliminate the muddy approach. He installed a light and switch (well, the switch is just hanging for now).
He built a tray below the super-duper hay feeder he made for feeding pellets and to catch the hay "crumbs." He also tied up the dog kennels to the outer wall of the pen so I can easily swing them out to make a triangular enclosure to use as a "ram" pen or lamb jug. Between the hay feeder and the wall of the barn there is a nice little walkway to access the hay feeders which ends at a narrow door into the fold.
To the sheep it's probably just another "prison" (that's Valentine below enjoying pasture time while Rick worked on the pen yesterday), but I'm pretty excited about having such well-designed quarters to keep them sheltered and safe when necessary.
Soon the permanent sheep quarters will be finished and my little flock of four ewes will finally be together. We'll also have the covered breezeway between the horse/hay barn and the vehicle/equipment storage barn, the temporary sheep fold for the first year of Boulderneigh, available to access the arena.

That's it for now at . . .

Indoor beauty

Even when I'm too busy to "stop and smell the roses," my eyes still see the beauty around me as I'm dashing here and there. Even in the house - ESPECIALLY in the house, where we all spend a lot of our time - it is good to surround ourselves with things we find beautiful.

Our sunnier-than-usual January amplified the beauty in our house. Winter sun is always appreciated in Oregon, and has a softer quality than the brassy glare of summer. It streams through the southern windows into our master bedroom and bath, highlighting my favorite white/blue/silver color scheme.

In our great room, the main space of our house, there are many things I find beautiful, from the oak on the floor to the weathervane up near the ceiling to a peacock feather somewhere in between.



Up in my office, these little sheep not only grace the top of the little oak cabinet that houses part of my fiber stash, they are a constant reminder of the dear friend who gave them to me.

That's it for now at . . .

The apron strings are definitely cut

This morning when I let Bella and Rechel out to take them to pasture, Bella took a detour by the quarantine pen before following her mother into the pasture for breakfast. Interesting, I thought. I closed the pasture gate after them but didn't latch it because I needed to clean and refill their water bucket. As I was filling the bucket I heard something and looked up to see Bella in front of the quarantine looking for a way in! She had pushed her way out of the pasture gate and left her mother for - who? Valentine? Dinah? Either way, it was apparent that the apron strings are cut and Bella got that message loud and clear yesterday morning when her formerly doting dam pummeled her.

As far as getting along, everyone is, so the next step is to put them all together. Lois suggested "ram-penning" them together for a few hours at first. After breeding groups are broken up, Lois daubs the rams' heads and tails with cheap cologne or vanilla and crams them like standing sardines into a tiny pen (shown below - with one more ram yet to add!). No one can "pack a punch" that way, and they HAVE to tolerate one another. She says it greatly cuts down on the fighting. Sounds good to me!

That's it for now at . . .

Reshuffling

Since both pairs of sheep were peacefully coexisting, I decided to make the second round of introductions this morning. Rechel went to pasture with her daughter, and Dinah joined Valentine in the quarantine pen for breakfast. Since Dinah is a chow-hound, I expected her to tuck into the alfalfa pellets like Rechel had, easing introductions.

Meanwhile, in the pasture.... Bella was delighted to be reunited with her mother. But to my shock and Bella's confusion, Rechel went after her as vigorously as Dinah had two days ago! Bella was too distressed to defend herself, and ended up off by herself crying pitifully.When she saw me, she looked through the fence as if begging me to fix things somehow. Annoying ditz that she sometimes is, my heart still ached for her.

When I finally tore my attention away from the drama in the pasture, I noticed that a haze of dust hung in the air of the quarantine pen, and both Dinah and Valentine were breathing hard. I entered the pen and sat down, and Valentine immediately hid behind me. Doesn't she look like she needs to be rescued?

Finally Valentine calmed down enough to eat some hay, and Dinah wanted her share of the attention. This is the blissful sheep that first made me fall in love with Shetlands!

By afternoon everyone seemed to have sorted things out, although Dinah and Valentine never did finish their pellets. Too much dust and straw mixed in, I think. Someone could probably make a good living as a sheep counselor if they could figure out how to help ovines sort out their difficulties with less violence; sheep seem to have more relationship troubles than people!

That's it for now at . . .