Tag: maremma

Sunny Sunday

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After Saturday’s miserable weather (blowing snow, 11 degrees windchill), we were all (every one of us) searching for our spot in the sun yesterday.

Belladonna
Pumpkin

Davita

Aibreanne

Everyone, that is, except the guineas… and what were they searching for?  Well they apparently were doing some soul-searching, as they spent hours (yes, hours) Sunday morning staring at their reflections in the side barn door.

Belladonna Meets the Ewes

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Sunday morning presented the opportunity to introduce Belladonna to the grown-ups, since we had the ewes in the barn paddock.  She is constantly exposed to the lambs, but has not spent much time off-leash around them because of both their age-appropriate tendencies to run and chase; not good habits for a guard dog.  But around the ewes, she was much calmer and displayed a great natural inclination to sit and observe while occasionally investigating a new sight or sound.  All in all, the five hours Bella spent with the ewes was a great success, and we will continue her exposure this week with the ewes that were not moved with the breeding group.
Bella was particularly enchanted with our old girl.  Curly did not back away at all when she approached, and this certainly intrigued Bella.  She spent a lot of time slowly prancing up to Curly, tail wagging wildly.  Then she would suddenly spin and run away, looking back over her shoulder as if to say, “Catch me, catch me, if you can!”  Quite entertaining. 

Meet Belladonna

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Those of you with enough patience to make it to the end of the previous post about our visit to the Wild and Wooly Fiber Festival, have already met the newest member of the Sheeps and Peeps Barn, Border and Brush Patrol.  She is Belladonna.  Bella is a  Pastore Maremmano Abruzzese, Maremma Sheepdog, and will join our Komodor, Samson, in guarding duties.  She was born on July 15th and weighed 16.4 lbs at her 8 week check-up. 

Of course you realize that this will result in flurry of puppy pictures and puppy stories because we love new babies here at the farm.  Today will be no exception….

We currently have a few lambs in the corral and Bella is staying in a small enclosure inside the barn pen when we are too busy to keep an eye on her.  Saturday evening and Sunday morning I took her for a long walk to the bottom of pasture and back.  Sunday evening we started down the hill and made it just over the crest when Bella firmly planted herself and sat.  Well I kept going, whistling and calling (a good training experience, I am thinking).   I am sure that she will follow.  About half way down, I look back up and there is no Bella.  Walking swiftly back up the hill, I am wondering what she is up to.

She has gone back up to the corral gate.  In no time at all Feisty’s ram lamb comes over to investigate.

And Bella immediately knows where she is supposed to be.  She just isn’t too sure how to get there.
Soooo smart!!

West Virginia’s Wild and Wooly Fiber Festival

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We visited West Virginia’s Wild and Wooly Fiber Festival at the WVU Reedsville Arena on Saturday.  There were several vendors selling wool and wool products, a fleece competition, a local 4-H club selling food, and there were a lot of alpacas… so cute, so curious.

Sarah Beamer was there with her Kerry Hill sheep and in spite of a broken foot gave great shearing demonstrations.
Several farms brought angora goats.
We visited with the folks at the Peavine Hollow Farm booth, and watched a noisy angora goat shearing demonstration.  Lena bought some beautiful gold and blue mohair locks. 
And we bought this…