Belladonna Bonding
As she nears 6 1/2 months old, Belladonna’s training continues and bonding with the flock grows. She still has a little too much unrestrained enthusiasm to be left with the ewes unsupervised, so weather permitting she spends much of the day in the corral. There, woven wire fence allows her to interact with the ewes but does not allow her to cause them any anxiety. She patrols her perimeter, barking loudly at any perceived threat. She also enjoys bringing her chew toys over to show her buddies. We divide a couple bales of hay and feed them leaning up against the fence to force encourage the ewes to spend most of their time near Bella. For her part, Bella has developed her very own method of gaining sheep trust by pulling through and chewing on the odd bit of hay; thus establishing her spot in the flock.
{this moment}
{this moment}
A Friday ritual.
A single photo – no words – capturing a single moment from the week.
A simple, special extraordinary moment.
A moment to pause, savor and remember.
Participating with the SouleMama blog.
The Fiber Room in Winter
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| skirting fleeces |
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| soaking… washing |
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| fleeces drying |
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| dyeing lamb’s locks |
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| carding… spinning |
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| knitting… knitting… and well, more knitting |
The fiber room is a busy place as the winter weather drives us inside. There are always plenty of projects in varying states of completion. Much as each sheep has its own personality, each fleece is just a little bit different. The lock structure, crimp and curl, the color and luster all differ from fleece to fleece. It is a wonderful time of year as we get to enjoy the fruits of our labor and also share some of our beautiful fleeces with our great customers.
Frigid Mornings
Like much of the north east, we have been enduring bitterly cold temperatures. Yesterday morning dawned full of wind and snow. The crows worked on Samson’s dog food taking advantage of the fact that he was holed up in his dog house. This is an on-going game/battle, and if you observe for awhile, you can see that the crows even seem to work as a team with one of them sometimes acting as a lookout. (Have you seen the PBS Nature episode – “A Murder of Crows”? It showcases a lot of really interesting research involving crows; definitely worth watching.)
It doesn’t take long for tracks to disappear when the wind and snow are both going strong. Some mornings boot tracks will fill back up with snow in the few hours it takes to finish the morning chores. Overnight wind and snow had caused some pretty nice drifts on the road between the driveway and church, and on the barn lane, especially at the top of the hill. The Ranger made short work of the drifts, but with a bit of wallowing and fish-tailing. We were ever so thankful for the invention of bungee cords, by the time we made the mile-long trip from the old barn back with a load of hay.
There, the girls were patiently waiting. The sun began to peek through, and despite the wind and frigid temperatures they preferred the field to the barn; surely a testament to the warmth and the comfort of wool .
Winter Colours Week – (Unofficially) Brown
While Poppytalk’s Winter Colour Week is officially over, here at Sheeps and Peeps Farm today is Brown. This is necessary in celebration of the many Brown pictures taken for Wednesday, which actually was officially Green. We hope you will enjoy this unofficial Day 6 of the farm girl take on Winter Colours Week.
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| Icy brown seed heads, not yet devoured by the birds |
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| Sturdy beams of the old barn still providing shelter and the memory of the quiet strength of family members no longer with us |
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| Top of the old barn and our precious hay crop |
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| Bertha our sheep… wool… providing warmth to combat the wintery chill |
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| Winter Colour Week inspired us to find the quiet beauty in the everyday… oft-times unnoticed and passed by |
Thank you, Poppytalk!
{this moment}
{this moment}
A Friday ritual.
A single photo – no words – capturing a single moment from the week.
A simple, special extraordinary moment.
A moment to pause, savor and remember.
Participating with the SouleMama blog.
Winter Colours Week – Silver and Gold
All week long we have been participating in the Poppytalk’s Winter Colours Week, and here’s our farm girl contribution to day five. The photo count is approaching 2,500 in the Flickr Pool. Today it is Silver and Gold.
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| The carding cloth of our recently purchased Strauch “Mad Batt’r!” We are very excited to get this “Batt’r!” going. |
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| Ladders and ‘scaffolding’ in the old barn; still receiving some TLC |
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| Some of the over 600 silver teeth in our Pat Green Triple Picker |
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| We love our Bergey and its silver tower! Installed by Matt and company at PIMBY |
Winter Colours Week – Green
Thursday of the Winter Colour Week over at the Poppytalk blog has arrived, and today the colour is Green. Check out some of the great pictures in the Flickr Pool. The count is over 2,100 this morning.
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| Sugar coated leaves of green grass |
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| Green undergrowth hides a surprise visitor |
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| Frosted coated pine |
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| ‘Green Leaves of Grass’ rainbow-dyed locks of wool |
Winter Colours Week – Blue
Over at Poppytalk’s Winter Colours Week, Wednesday is Blue. The beautiful Flickr Pool is approaching 1500 pictures. We’re adding some blues from around the farm this morning… some things that help us get through the winter.
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| Blue mineral feeders Their bright blue colors make morning chores go by a little faster |
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| Blue Frosted Tips Reminding us to look up – enjoy the beauty around us, appreciate the seldom seen blue sky of winter |
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| A cheerful blue mug of hot green tea makes all things more enjoyable |
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| Our Mountains Our constant source of strength and inspiration |