A change of plans

My guys left yesterday for a long weekend in Nebraska, and I was supposed to drive over to the coast this evening for a women's retreat. But this morning Bonny was lame – very lame – in her right rear.

It's possible she could have been lame last night; by the time I got home to do chores after taking Rick and Brian to the airport, running errands, and taking a class (more on that later), it was late and dark. She could have been hobbling when the sheep ran into the fold from the wooded lot without me noticing it. But this morning I kept the sheep in to fill up on hay before letting them have a few hours on grass before I left, and took the opportunity to put a bigger coat on Bing and trim feet on the rest of the sheep (I had already done the three I rooed, plus Browning).

Bing is black as black can be, and produced a stunning, crimpy fleece

I noticed Bonny limping, so I caught her and ran my hands down her hip and leg without feeling anything amiss. She was otherwise bright and alert and not grinding her teeth, so I figured she had been bashed (probably by Bart) and would be fine. A couple hours later I turned the sheep into the pasture, and although she was still hobbling, she started gobbling grass with the rest. But as the afternoon wore on, I noticed her laying down more, and hobbling worse when she did move. I cancelled my weekend plans and went about dragging the chain link panels back into the fold to set up a hospital corner.

Notice that the patient still has a good appetite 

Once I got the sheep in and Bonny separated from the rowdies, I went over her leg again from hip to hoof, but still can't find the problem. I hoping a dose of Banamine and rest will bring some improvement by morning.

My calendar unexpectedly wiped clean, I find myself in an oasis of time and quiet. I stopped and "smelled the roses" (below) before coming inside to dine on exactly what I wanted to eat. Now inspirational music is playing, the dogs are napping, rain is tap-dancing on the roof vents, and my knitting is beside me. I do believe God knew just what I needed this Sabbath!

That's it for now from . . .

Shearing 2013

Whew! It's been a busy three days. Tonight is the first chance I've had since my farrier/shearer was here Tuesday morning to recap the event.

It was a mixed bag. Some of my sheep sheared off beautifully (Annabelle, Bart, Bittersweet, Bing, Browning), and others were at a terrible point in the rise (Blake, Bonny, Marta). Poor Blake got several nicks, making me wish with all my heart that I had persevered and rooed the rest of him, not just his neck.   :-(             As it is, I'm going to have to scissor-shear him, Bonny and Marta in a few weeks so that their fleeces don't end up with old growth cotted on the tips of the new growth, making their next year's clips worthless. That's what happened with Bramble; I never got her scissor-sheared after her ill-timed 2012 shearing so her fleece this year will have to be tossed. I'll scissor-shear her just as soon as I can get to it – maybe tomorrow morning.

Without further ado, here are photos from shearing day.

I'm sorry, Blake; next year I'll roo ALL of you!

Browning, awaiting his turn

A boy and his sheep

Butterball Bonny demonstrating when NOT to shear

Bing getting sheared

Bittersweet (aptly named) getting sheared

Bittersweet minus his GORGEOUS fleece

Green grass; clean coats

That's almost it for shearing 2013, at . . .

April dawning

Yesterday morning's light was marvelous.

Oreo apparently wanted a better view.

After Brian and I finished morning chores, I decided to salvage Blake's neck wool. Before my Texas trip it was firmly attached; by the time I got back, he looked half-rooed! (I couldn't find any wool around his pen; either he was rubbing it off and then eating it, or his half-brother Browning was grazing on him.) From the looks of him I thought the fleece would come off more easily than it did, but he didn't seem to mind the pulling. I wasn't sure I was up to another rooing marathon, though, so after pulling a mid-side sample for micron testing, I left the rest for the shearer.

(That was a mistake; more on that tomorrow.)

Mid-side ON the sheep

Mid-side OFF the sheep

Love that polled noggin . . . along with his lovely fleece, and nice structure, and attractive head. ;-)

That's it for today from . . .

No time for foolin'

I've got too much to blog about! (In other words, fair warning: long post ahead.)

Our weekend weather was absolute perfection – Spring at her best. Easter festivities in this area are often soggy; not this year!

Tahiti, my favorite daffodil!

We had a busy day at church Sabbath; the Pathfinder youth group presented the service and Brian had several responsibilities which he discharged admirably. That afternoon we played family Frisbee in the pasture, then let the horses out for their first good taste of spring grass. (That presented a great photo op, but my batteries were recharging after all the photos I took at church!) Brian wanted desperately to camp in the woods Saturday night, but was satisfied with a tent pitched on the lawn – as long as we all stayed in it. :-/   (I lasted until 1:30 a.m., then hobbled my way in to my own bed.)

First thing Sunday morning, Brian went to a neighbor's and did some yard work. (He wants to earn money for a sturdier mountain bike, so has started a 'business' towards that end.) He was pleased with the money he earned; Mom was pleased by the neighbor's high praise of the job he did. :-)   After that, Brian's neighborhood buddy came over to hunt for and dye eggs,

This egg was a surprising challenge for the boys

then they went to the other boy's house and did it all over again!

While I helped the boys, Rick got busy with a borrowed splitter. After the boys left I headed to the barn to work on sheep; when I came up at the end of the afternoon, I was amazed at the amount of wood he had split and stacked!

It made the visible results of my labors look paltry in comparison, but I think I was every bit as tired at the end. I decided to finishing rooing Cadbury (appropriate for Easter, no?). His wool didn't pull off any easier than Sarai's – and he was a whole lot less gracious about it.

Cadbury, mid-side, last rib

We had an hours-long wrestling match getting most of his body done;  in the end Rick held him for me while I scissored his hindquarters and belly. (Rick was exasperated enough by the end of that part of the task that asking him to hold Cadbury for an "after" shot would have been pushing my luck!) Again, I had ambitions of rooing more than one sheep; again, reality bit me rather hard.

At the end of the day, I rode my horse (at Rick's instruction, mind you) while Rick mowed the lawn, then Rick ultrasounded Lance's back. Lance's back ends up with a temporary lump every time I've worked him recently, and we're trying to figure out what's going on. Rick has a suspicion after last night's exam, but he wants to shoot some x-rays to know for sure – or as "for sure" as these things can be.

Hope your weekend was hoppy happy!

That's it for today from . . .