Another sunny day

Another sunny day after the snow storms....but how frustrating. The snow isn't melting much, just enough to cause 'wet' instead of 'melt'....

I believe it set everyone back a bit.

People aren't too happy around here right now....not like we don't expect spring snow, just that we were primed for thawing with several weeks of weather going up into the 40's. Then this.

A bit depressing for some.

Not too bad for me, nor the sheep....nor even the baby chicks that have hatched.

Just not what we'd hoped for I suppose!

I want to dig in the dirt and plant the many seed packets I've bought. I would like my garden to thaw out.

My tomato starts are doing very well, a table full of cups with nice tomato plants growing up, in my livingroom. We raise our tomatoes in the greenhouse, the ground is too cold to grow them outdoors and expect to ever see a ripe tomato, and we start them from seed in the house. I have a nice flat of marigolds ready to put into pots too.

I wintered over a few rose bushes in the dairy room, they have survived and are waiting for real sun too.

Hurry up spring...

Another snowstorm, another day on the farm...

Yes, we had a big snowstorm Saturday and Sunday. They say we got 6 inches of snow, and it broke all-time records.

Well, it started snowing again this morning at 7am...I was to leave for the airport to deliver a dog for a flight around 9am. I could have done 9am had it not been forecasted for another, yes, another snowstorm. So I hurried, fed the farm, packed up, and left for the airport by 8am. Good thing I did, it took more than 3 hours to go 55 miles, just barely making it there on time. On the way home, a nervous wreck watching too many cars do 180's and 360's and ending up in the ditch, I stopped at the post office in town to see if my chicks had arrived...no, THAT truck was 3 hours late from Anchorage too. I live 12 miles from the post office, and lucky for me my guy works in town so after making a quick phone call I headed home. I knew I'd have to run in and change back into chore clothes quickly, this time the snow was horizontal, blowing in from the south east and Prince William Sound. Rushing like a hen with the sky falling on her head, I made my way out to the sheep shed where I was greeted by many loud voices asking what took so long. Sheesh, talk about a SPOILED group! I shut them in and threw in a bale of dry hay to munch on...ahhhhh, peace reigns once again. After making the rounds to the coops and the barn next, I headed into the house and took the photo above. That's what it looks like at 2pm on Wednesday, April 9th, 2008.........not a ewe nor lamb in sight! But I know they are very happy with me right now too........

hope your Wednesday is nicer than mine weather -wise!

so more lamb photos

Since everyone needs lamb photo fixes, I thought I'd share some photos I took before the snowstorm came in yesterday.....these are from the unregistered flock since none of the registereds have lambed yet.....plenty of gray showing....

Happy Sunday!

I have a lamb question...

I have a strange lamb question....or it could be a strange lamb....

it's a boy of course, and a big boy at that. I bought his mom a few years ago, this is her first lambing here, she's unregistered but looks mostly, if not all, Shetland. Now, I wasn't present when this boy arrived into the world during the night. No, I saw him the next morning. He's a gray, one of those black Ag boys, and I didn't even need to pick up this big boy to determine he was a boy...that gray sure does stand out from behind, doesn't it? hehehe...

so, forward a few days, I have this lamb coming up to me. Not stopping back a ways to look at me, no, walking right on up to my feet. Looking at my feet like some do? Nope, stops and looks up at me. How strange. His mother isn't friendly to me, good luck catching her if you're not serious about it....so why does this lamb come up to me? I didn't imprint him, that I'm sure of.

Today he greeted me again, stood there at my feet....so I reached down and rubbed below his jaw.....he leeeeeeeeeeeeaned into my hand. Perhaps a dominant boy out there, don't know, but oh did he lean. So I stopped and stood back up..he proceeded to chew my pant leg.

No, I'm sure he's not really a goat.

So I took a few steps, and I could feel bump bump bump...trying to still chew my pant leg.

Now why couldn't this be a ewe lamb instead? It would be so nice to have such a friendly ewe lamb without much effort.

Somehow this boy thinks I am a big part of his family. I will have to band him soon...he might turn out to be a very nice gray, and a friendly one at that, so I can work on finding him a kind spinner's home where his friendliness will be appreciated. He would be terrible as a ram!

Any thoughts why he's picked me???

It's snowing....

Yep, it's snowing. I don't think I need to take a picture of that for you, do I? You've already seen plenty of it 'down there'....spring WAS here, really it was, we could even leave hoses out all week without them freezing........

that's done with for now. Harumpf!

This is one of those storms that moves in over Cook Inlet (this might be a good time for you to Goggle Maps "Anchorage", the body of water coming up from the south is the inlet where the Beluga whales are.). We're at the West North-west part of Knik Arm, at the 'top' of Cook Inlet. We are surrounded for the most part by mountains......Talkeetna Mtns to the West; Chugach Mtns to the East; well, when a front in the spring comes in from the south, up Cook Inlet, it can get stuck.

The sucker is indeed stuck.

The radar shows it sitting over us, it's not going to 'go' anywhere for a while, not until it's empty of moisture.

So I can sit here in the spring blizzard at the computer....I heard about the potential storm yesterday, so I hauled straw for the sheep shed in case anyone wanted to lamb in the storm since they like to do that, and I hauled a square bale of hay since silly sheep stay out in the snow eating their new round bale with fervor and I get tired of worrying about them and their 13 lambs and finally lock them back in - then they'll need something to munch on until they give up on yelling at me for locking them in.

I even picked up hoses, again, in hopes that they can be left out again in a few more days.

Spring never comes easy in the north, but then again, we wouldn't appreciate the good days as much as we do if that's all we had were good days.....

why aren't my registered sheep having lambs? I don't know, they are holding onto them tight. Can't wait to see what Barbados contributes to the Alaskan group..do they hold the secrets of spots or not.......time, and spring, will tell............

Birthday game?

So, the Birthday Game is floating around the sheepy blogs...here goes:

My birthdate:

You have an extraordinary character - moral, responsible, and disciplined.
Your sincerely and honesty shine through in almost every situation.
Driven and focused, you rarely let your emotions get the better of you.
You're level headed and rational.
People count on your to look at things objectively.
Your strength: Your unwavering loyalty and ethics
Your weakness: Your rock solid stubbornness
Your power color: Navy blue
Your power symbol: Shield
Your power month: April

First I noticed they didn't use a spellchecker (grin).

Driven and focused...well, triage, experienced long enough, will do that to you. It's how you stay sane.

As a herding instructor, I'm needed to look objectively at what the dog, the sheep, and the handler are doing and make adjustments, so ok, I have to have some objectivity.

I am loyal to my mentors and those who've been kind to me. No doubt.

Stubborn.......yep....been known to be stubborn, firm to convictions.

Power color navy blue - well guess what, the new house and the old house are carpeted in navy blue. Not kidding. The bathroom towels and carpets are navy too. Scary.

April, huh? Never thought about that one........

good night!

Good morning, it's Thursday

Good morning. It's already Thursday... why is it that when the daylight gets longer, the days seem shorter? Is it because spring is on it's way and we are anxious for flowers and leaves on trees, gardens, time spent on the porch or deck, perhaps also waiting for the first real outdoor BBQ of the year? It could be one or more of those things. I'm waiting for more lambs to show up. We wait for spring, then we start seeing lambs appear in multiples.....then nothing.

Primitive breeds such as the Shetland have their own breeding schedule in the fall, when they are good and ready according to the weather, the decreasing sunlight, the temperatures, and, when they are just good and ready! Unless you're using things to synchronize the exact 'when', then you are like me...waiting. A little anxious. Forever checking. I watched the lamb races here yesterday, round bale feeders are conducive for lamb races. But less than half of the ewes have had their lambs in that group, and my registered ewes have not even had a lamb yet in their group! The lambs are late all over the place it seems, most shepherds reporting in that they've had very few lambs so far compared to last year...all except Minwawe, who already has a wonderfully large group of lambs to enjoy seeing on her blogspot. She must be on a special piece of land there with magic in the water too. The rest of us, well, we're still waiting!

Last year, I asked that someone's lambs be saved for me this year...Cheesecake is a favorite ewe here, one that came from Peeps last year. Everyone loves Cheesecake including me, but I especially love her little, sweet, and melodious voice...it is like music to my ears. When I was told her mother has this voice and usually her lambs also have the same voice, well, that was that. I had to ask for those lambs, if any were born from her mother Cupcake, this year - and they were. Cheesecake also has a wonderful fleece and a very nice Shetland disposition. Of course I would want the chance to have more just like her.

Above is a photo of Cupcake and her new lambs, Chocolate Torte and Key Lime Pie.... aren't they beautiful?? I couldn't have asked for more, lucky lucky me, they were both girls too...not that that really mattered, I would have taken boys if that's what she had! I am very grateful for these special lambs, I can't wait till they have wings and fly fly fly north to call our farm home......not soon enough, just like waiting for spring....not soon enough!

good morning!