Tag: sheep

mosey + plod :: two

Sheeps & Peeps2 Comments
 

It’s time for week two of mosey + plod.  Let’s meander though the back pasture… look there’s Daisy waiting by the gate to welcome us.  We are all enjoying a break in the wintry weather with sunshine and temperatures near sixty.
 
Looking back over our shoulder, Moe is standing guard at the fence, stamping his feet, making sure that Raven is not going to somehow sneak inside the pasture. 
 

Walking down the hill toward Madison, we come to the little wooden bridge we built across the gully.  For some reason it always reminds me of The Three Billy Goats Gruff, and as usual I start mimicking The Troll “Who’s that trip-trapping across my bridge?” in my scariest, deepest troll-like voice.  Luckily, there is no troll waiting for us today, and we make it safely across with just a little slipping and sliding on the mossy boards.
 


 

Making the turn up the hill we find evidence of the wild turkeys, squirrels and chipmunks feasting under the hickory and walnut trees.  There still seems to be plenty of mast on the ground so hopefully the wildlife will have a good winter.
After following us for awhile and checking our pockets for carrots, Liam and the rest of the sheep have lost interest in us and have gone back up to the top of the pasture to graze.  They are intent on finding what ever green bits they can while there is no snow cover.

 

Walking on through the pasture to one of the bottom gates, if we look through the trees, we can see Poseidon and his girls over on the knoll pasture. 
Maybe, we will mosey over there next week.

(I am so excited to be a part of this amazing group of walkers put together by urban.prairie.forest to honor her Grandma Jean.  Thank you for this wonderful project!)

Father Winter’s Visit

Sheeps & Peeps5 Comments

Father Winter hunkered down for a visit over the holidays bringing all his friends – freezing fog, ice, wind and snow.

While making it difficult to get through daily chores, they have created a winter wonderland that is beautiful to behold.

Every surface is covered with ice.  Every tree is covered with frost.  Many times the same twig has hard rime on one side and soft rime on the other.  Blue skies have been rarely seen, but occasionally the sun would force its way through creating a world full of sparkle.

The sheep, along with the dogs, have packed down snowy paths and feeding areas.  They all really prefer to spend most of the time out in the midst of it all, seeming to only sheek shelter during the windiest of the storms.  Well equipped, by Mother Nature, they are constantly showing off all that wonderful, wooly insulation.

Sandy's Blizzard 2012

Sheeps & Peeps7 Comments
the first 'coop curtain' of the seasonbarn lanedrivewaytaking hay to the back pasturelambs tucked snugly in the barnglimpse of sunshine in the evening
cemeteryCathedral ParkCathedral ParkGeorge Washington HighwayBellviewroad grader
traffic backupsnappedconfusedcabin feverthe lambspumpkin
snow off barn roofat the barnsnowshoesbellacoop curtainthrough the barn door
Sandy’s Blizzard 2012, a set on Flickr.

There is now electricity within about one and half miles of the farmhouse! We’re hoping today is the big day! Hopefully by the weekend it will warm up and melt down enough that we can begin repairing fence, etc. Once again, we can’t say enough how fortunate we’ve been compared to others. We are thankful!
Special thanks goes to the volunteers at the Aurora Fire Department who have worked tirelessly in the community… first cutting trees and clearing roads, pumping out basements, delivering Red Cross meals, even picking up people to vote! The list could go on and on and on. They have helped so many.
There are more photos in this set and notes with more details on the individual photos on Flickr. Thank you so much for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers!

In a Cloud

Sheeps & Peeps10 Comments

The fog that began Saturday evening, was still clinging to the ground all day yesterday.  It was very surreal, kind of (what we imagine it would be) like walking around inside a cloud.  Although it wasn’t raining, you could not help but be drenched from the fine mist that constantly surrounded you.  In spite of chill in the air, it was really quite beautiful.

Weather Update:
Rain began during the night, and we now have been issued a blizzard warning from 6 p.m. tonight through 6 p.m. Tuesday, with the worst of it coming around midnight. Most of the leaves are now off the trees, so we’re just hoping the lights stay on. Stay safe everyone!

Tee Time (It’s a Give-Away!)

Sheeps & Peeps12 Comments

Well… we’re still muddling along without electric on half of the farm, but we decided to celebrate Independence Day with you.  It’s a Give-Away!  We introduced these Sheeps and Peeps Farm tees at our Open House and now have them available in our Etsy shop.  The graphic was designed and hand-drawn by local artist, Marceline Mason.  
You could be the lucky recipient of your choice of a Sheeps and Peeps Farm tee – available in adult, youth or toddler – or an infant onsie.  Just comment on this post and a winner will be chosen by random number generator.  Comments will be closed on Sunday at 10 p.m.
Wishing you all a wonderful holiday!
Comments are closed… winner will be announced shortly!

Sheeps and Peeps Calendars!

Sheeps & Peeps17 Comments

Well, they’re here… our first farm calendar!  It’s 8 1/2 X 11 inches, spiral bound and printed on high quality paper.  The good news is they are now available in our Etsy Shop, but wait… there’s even better news.  We are giving one away to a lucky blog reader. To enter the give-away simply comment on today’s post.. Comments will be closed on Sunday at 8 p.m. and the winner chosen by Random Number Generator. Good Luck!
Connents have been closed… a winner will be announced tomorrow.
Comment #10 was chosen by the random number generator – congratulations Wendz!

Shearing Today

Sheeps & Peeps7 Comments

We’re heading to the barn to finish shearing preparations… always a very exciting day!  It’s a good thing we got everyone into the barn early yesterday because we were hit with several severe thunderstorms and heavy rain late afternoon and through the night.  You just can’t shear wet sheep so we were lucky.  Family and friends are coming to help and Rebecca is coming to look at some yearlings.  Our shearers, Joe and Melvin, will be here at 9:00, so off to eat some breakfast and then to the barn!

Getting Ready for Shearing

Sheeps & Peeps7 Comments

We are busy getting ready for shearing on Saturday.  The cooler weather has been a great relief to everyone, but the sheep will be quite happy to shed their heavy coats.  In the meantime, we thought you might find this story interesting.  Our Mom ran across this while doing some research for the church; reading old newspapers on microfiche at the Terra Alta Library.
Warning! It is not for the faint of heart…
Queer Accident
Dr. Potter Nearly Loses His Life Shearing Sheep.
On Monday while Dr. W. R. Potter, who resides on the old homestead, a mile from Kingwood, was shearing a sheep, the animal suddenly kicked, struck the shears, and knocked them out of the Doctor’s hands.  They went over his head, struck a beam above, and the Doctor dodged them with his head, they came down and the blade entered the calf of his leg, and made a deep and horrible gash, severing an artery and a vein.  The Doctor held on the the struggling sheep, unaware of the seriousness of his hurt; but presently, feeling his boot full of blood, he had it pulled off, and tried to stop the flow.  Feeling himself weak, he sent the little boy who was with him to the house for help.  His sisters came, but before they could get the blood stopped, Dr. Potter bled at least a gallon.  He was removed to the house, and before surgical aid could be gotten, he had a spasm and became flighty.  The Doctor came near bleeding to death, and it was some time before reaction set in.   He is now getting along as well as could be expected.
~ from an 1888 Preston County newspaper (perhaps the Kingwood Chronicle?)
In other news, on that same page…
Wanted at I. Armstrong & Co.’s, Bruceton, W. Va. – 100,000 Lbs. Wool.
(presumably for the woolen mill that was located there)
Alright… after all that excitement… we will now return to our regularly scheduled programming…
pretty sheep pictures.