Happy Thanksgiving!

This is how I plan to spend my afternoon today....this is MY chair after all. After eating my fill and more, I plan to sink into MY soft chair for an afternoon of movie watching with friends and family.

MY chair ....hmmmmmm. I wonder if Matilda will ever get it into her very large head that is is MY chair. She crams her very large body into this chair, that is much to small for her, then looks at me like a little lost creature who has finally found a home. I am such a push over.

I am thankful for her, for all of my dogs, for my kids who flop on the dogs, who pile up on the couch on a cold winter day. I am thankful for my husband who works every Thanksgiving Day and happily eats leftovers when he comes home. I am thankful for my family, my life and my freedom. Happy Thanksgiving.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

BRRRRRRRRRRRRR! Where did this cold come from all of a sudden??

Seems like lately I spend more time thawing my butt out in front of the heater than getting anything accomplished! I have come to the conclusion, that fat does not retain heat...only blubber. I am beginning to wish I could trade my fat for some blubber! Enough about being cold ... I love the change! I like cozing up in my house, in the barn, in my new studio. Ahhhhhh, more tea drinking, pie, hot chocolate, pie, yes you get the picture. :) ....and were does that fat on my butt come from??

The sheep don't seem to mind the cold. They could be in the deeply bedded barn that I took time to make for them, but the prefer to be outside in the cold wind, in the middle of the paddock. Guess I wouldn't mind if I had on wool underwear, leg warmers, sweaters, hats and scarves.

I guess my only complaint is dealing with frozen water buckets. Over the years I have filled water buckets in the kitchen sink and then have made three to four daily treks to the paddocks to freshen water. It is a heck of a job, but I will never allow my animals to go without water. I have seen neglected animals drink and drink when they have been denied fresh water...it breaks my heart. It is also very important for pregnant ewes to always have fresh water available.

I am finding now that my elbows are beginning to show the signs of over use. I carry two full 5 gallon pails at a time ... it balances me. But it looks like I will be carrying less and making more treks. I friend suggested that I use gas cans and wheel them in my wheelbarrow I think that is a great idea. My husband promises me that I will have a snow blower this year as well. Last winter was brutal, and even though I would have rather had water piped to the barn, I'll take what I can get! :)

They're Here!!

The UPS Man, grateful that my husband graded the driveway yesterday, motored his big ole' brown van up my driveway today and handed me a the big ole' box I have been waiting for. CALENDARS!

If you have ordered yours already, then I send you a gigantic MUCHAS GRACIAS ....and your calendars will be in the mail tomorrow. :)

Here is Belle as Miss August.

Look At This!

Look at his scary picture that I just found!! Hard to think about snow when I just watered and fed this morning in my shirtsleeves!

If I remember correctly, last year we received, from the overly generous snow gods, 92 inches of snow. I believe in total, I shoveled a good 6 acres of snow ... well it felt as though I did. It may have seemed like a rough winter at the time, but looking back, it was a great winter.

I am one of those strange people who likes snow. I love sledding, I love the magic of a snow storm. I love to stand on the deck in during a snowfall and listen to the silence. And I looooooove snow on my sheep!

Now that the garden has been "put to bed", I am hoping for colder temps. I planted garlic in late October and I am hoping the ground will soon freeze so that my bulbs will not rot. With temperatures in the 50s they could even sprout!

Today I will be back in the basement setting up my new studio. After a few years of thinking about creating this space, I am making it happen. It will be so nice to be able to set up and leave projects until they are finished. It also will be nice to take my bedroom back!

Welcome Sprout

My trip to New York was fun, but also very educational. I was able to see breeds I am familiar with looking quite different than some of the lines here in the northeast. All sheep are beautiful if you ask me, but I eye is aways caught by the stocky, stout, old-style Romney.

I am very happy to have just purchased, Sprout, a beautiful Romney ewe from Louise and Stephen Hessert of Pleasant Valley Farm, here in Cumberland, Maine.

I have drooled over their beautiful Romneys for a few years now, and now am a very proud owner of one. Yesterday I brought Sprout home to our farm to live. This feels like a big step for me. As my old wether Joe ages, I have feared that I would not be able to find another like him. He is the old-style type as well, and his image was in a dream I had of the sheep that would graze the ridge behind my house. His fleece has always been a dream to spin and his disposition, a classic sweet Romney.

Sprout is much like Joe. The Hesserts were kind enough to breed Sprout to their handsome Guy Noir, a gorgeous ram, before she came to us. I am in heaven dreaming of those big, beautiful Romney lambs I will have in the spring!

Katie

Look at this face. Couldn't you just eat it up?!! I have been trying to get a good photo of Katie for quite sometime, but every time I try she comes running up to me and is too close for a nice picture of her beautiful little face. Today I was sneaky. I let all of the sheep out into the new paddock, then walked behind the barn. They thought I was gone. Then I stepped into the paddock and click-click-click! Got her! Of course after I got this shot, she was practically in my lap. She still loves to be held ... and I can never refuse her. :)