Spring IS In The Air!

Her are "The Girls" enjoying the sun in the garden today. I shooed them away several times and then just gave up. They so enjoyed their dust bath.

We should see some lambs this weekend. Today I hooked up the baby monitor. It is so nice to hear "baaaas" in my kitchen while I am cooking dinner. Of course Minnie Guinea is a bit annoying with her non-stop "buckwheat...buckwheat ... buckwheat..." but I have learned to tune her out. She is the only surviving guinea hen on our farm. I felt sorry for her when the fox got her friend, and the chickens would not accept her into the group, but she seems right at home scooting around the sheep and pony.

Preparing

I took this picture on the morning we sheared. I just love how Lady Bug, our pony, fits so nicley into the group.

This afternoon I will muck out the barn ( though I have to admit, I have done well keeping up with it this year ) and prepare my lambing stalls. No more camping out in them once they are clean. The first lambs should start arriving on March 29th ... my birthday!! Guess that means I will have to keep at least one ... or two ...

I actually am planning on keeping at least one. I am so pleased with Blizzard's fleece. Her mom is Madeline, a Correidale, and her dad is Joker, a Babydoll Southdown ram. The combination of the two breeds creates a wonderful fleece as well as a sweet, smaller sheep. So I may keep Madeline's lamb again this year.

So I am anxiously waiting, watching, and reading, it is good to keep lambing procedures fresh in your mind for when the big day arrives.

Shearing Day

Unbelievably, the weather turned warm yesterday. My shearer came at 9 and by 11, we had shorn, vaccinated and trimmed the hooves of twelve of my flock. It sure is funny to see how small they actually are when they are "naked"!

My fleeces were still damp, so all twelve are spread out on my basement floor to finish drying before they are weighed and skirted, then packed into boxes to be delivered to Green Mountain Spinnery. Next week we will finish shearing the rest of the flock, then before I know it babies will start arriving! I am so excited!