Sunday Muse

A noiseless, patient spider,
I mark’d, where, on a little promontory, it stood, isolated;
Mark’d how, to explore the vacant, vast surrounding,
It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself;
Ever unreeling them–ever tirelessly speeding them.
And you, O my Soul, where you stand,
Surrounded, surrounded, in measureless oceans of space,
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing,–seeking
the spheres, to connect them;
Till the bridge you will need, be form’d–till the ductile anchor hold;
Till the gossamer thread you fling, catch somewhere, O my Soul.

~ Walt Whitman from “Leaves of Grass”

More Shopping

Some shameless self-promotion today, as we direct your attention to the new link on our sidebar – the Sheeps and Peeps Farm Gift Shop.  We hope to sell some things in this shop that don’t quite fit into the Etsy ‘handmade’ category.  Mugs, tees, onsies and our calendar are posted so far.  We hope to get some of our notecards and postcards listed here soon. 
Please let us know what you think.  We’re still working on the mug photos.  Who knew it would be so difficult to get a good photo of a mug (these are round two).  In the meantime, we hope you will enjoy looking around our new shop!

After Weaning

The ewes’ lambing chores are done for another year, and their job now is to regain strength and condition.  It has still been pretty hot and muggy for them so they spend much of the day under the trees.  They come out for brief periods of the day but do most of their eating at night and in the early morning.  We are feeding them about a bale of hay a day, as the pasture is still growing slowly even after the recent storms.  The shepherdess/s’ job is to keep an eye on them to make sure they are all recovering from the big job of raising their lambs, and that everyone is drying up without complications.
The lambs are already becoming much more independent.  They have been moved to the cleanest and greenest pasture on the farm.  Hay was made here in early June and nothing has been on it since late March.  The lambs are now scattered all over the field in small groups when grazing, but are quickly learning to come when they hear the call “C’mon sheep!”  We scored them again on Saturday, and all but three’s scores were satisfactory.  Those three were marked with chalk on their rears so that we can easily spot them in the field and keep an eye on them.  It is very rewarding observing the lambs growing and developing their unique personalities.  It’s lamb watching time, once again. 

Weekly Top Shot

We spotted this little guy in the pasture following a heavy rain and herded it out of harms way into some taller weeds by the fenceline
The red eft ~ the terrestrial juvenile stage of the red spotted newt
Beginning as a tadpole, the newt then lives for 2 to 3 years in this beautiful bright orange stage
As an adult, it turns green with red spots and once again takes to the water

Joining The View From Right Here for Weekly Top Shot