Ugly Dogs Farm

Last Weekend in August...

2011-08-30T11:02:00.002-04:00

It has been a while since I wrote a "weekend recap"...

The craziness of the summer is winding down and the HOT temps have given way to cool mornings and beautiful afternoons. I almost feel guilty writing about the amazing weather we have had since the east coast is trying to dry out from the torrential rains and winds of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene...

Rams enjoying the afternoon sun...

I still have most Fridays off from work as things have not picked up much at the warehouse. This past Friday was a lazy day - a greek salad from the greasy spoon in town, some buldozing/manure removal with the mini-excavator back by the horse barn, measuring cotton warp for a new project on my Dorset Floor Loom, and dinner with friends in downtown Flint. While the company and the wine was great, the food at the restaurant didn't really impress me and we stopped for ice cream and then breadsticks on they way home...

Saturday started out with a GREAT morning Zumba class... I only had around 10 students because a lot of people were vacationing up north or running in the CRIM race which was happening in Flint on Saturday, but it was an energetic group and we got a great workout (thankfully burned off that ice cream and those breadsticks!!!). I got home and starting "slaying the reed" on my loom (this means I was threading the strings through the slotted metal reed).

Saturday afternoon sun through the trees...

We then visited friends to see the progress on a landscaping project they had been working on... this led to a few cocktails and snacks in their kitchen for most of the afternoon. I made the mistake of not eating prior to the visit and I really overdid the snack thing... Got home in time for evening chores and decided dinner was in order - a run up to the crappy little Chinese restaurant in town rounded out my poor eating decisions for Saturday.

Luckily my friend Peggy, a neighbor and fellow Zumba enthusiast, agreed to an impromtu Sunday Zumba session, and we danced, burned, and excercised all of those bad calories away! It was a gorgeous afternon to Zumba behind her house and I am sure all of her neighbors wondered what all of the yelling and latin music was about. Luckily her house is in the middle of 30+ acres so while they may have wondered, they were not able to see us sweating our butts off.

The rest of Sunday was filled with working outside, taking care of livestock, and enjoying the absolutely gorgeous weather. It was a great weekend to do little and enjoy good friends, good food, good drinks, and great excercise...

Monday morning was back to the daily grind...

Monday morning painted sky...

MARGARITAS!!!!

2011-08-25T09:44:00.001-04:00

Me and Nicole...

Last night the "Zumba Crew" had our monthly margarita night... After an hour of sweating our butts off at Zumba, we all met at Senor Lucky's Cantina to partake in a few cocktails and a lot of laughing... a LOT of laughing. Wayne doesn't Zumba but sometimes joins us for the margarita "after party"...

Anna and me...

Wayne and I happen to be "frequent flyers" at Senior Lucky's and for some reason they still let us in the door??!? Margaritas often appear at our table before we have even ordered any and we have a good rapport with most of the wait-staff. I always imagine that they must cringe when our motley mob of sweaty and disheveled Zumba-ers bust through the door unannounced each month.

Wayne and Nicole...

I can't say enough about how Zumba has changed my life... Besides the excellent workout that has quite literally reshaped my body, there are some really amazing people who have become great friends. We are brought together by common "fitness" and "fun" goals and find that we have more in common than we ever would have guessed...

For those of you out there who are considering joining a club, or starting an excercise program, or taking up a hobby, or whatever else might be running through your head... stop considering and start doing. You may find a whole community of friends you never knew existed. You may find that you have a passion for your new endeavor that you never imagined. You may become more fulfilled in your life than you have ever been.

Don't put these things off!! Today is a gift and tomorrow is not gauranteed. You will never regret taking that first step down the path, but you will certainly regret the step never taken. Who knows, that path might lead to a table surrounded by friends and heavily ladened with MARGARITAS!!!!

Michigan Fiber Festival 2011

2011-08-21T09:39:00.001-04:00

I had a great time yesterday at the Michigan Fiber Festival in Allegan, MI... It was a LONG day, but a lot of fun.

Waking up at 4:45 to do chores on the farm was easier than I expected and the 2.5+ hour drive across the state seemed to go by pretty quickly as well. The whirwind day of visiting with friends, meeting people, showing sheep, showing fleeces, selling my clun ram lamb... Let's just say that it seemed like it was time to leave for home WAY too soon. The 2.5+ hour drive home and all of the evening chores, well... those were just as much "fun" as expected.

We did GREAT at the fleece show. Wayne took two fleeces to exhibit, a white Merino fleece from Annie, and the new black Merino ram's fleece. Annie's fleece took 2nd place in the white class, and the black fleece took first place in the black fine class... Then Annie's fleece took Reserve Champion Fleece overall and we got to talk to the judge and she was very complimentary of both fleeces.

The judge indicated that she would have placed the white fleece first overall had it been a little longer... You see it wasn't a full three inches because as a yearling Annie was sheared in May and this year she was pregnant and was sheared at the first of February... So it was not a full years growth. We are thrilled with our results at the fleece show!

The Merino lambs did well in the sheep show although Merinos are pretty slow growing so they are not much competition to the large framed Columbias they were competing against. It is great to be able to exhibit our sheep and show the "fiber community" what we are producing. As Merino breeders, I think we are really happy to make our mark with our fleeces while putting out nice sheep.

The Clun Ram "Y059" has a new home with Salle Haverkamp of Newago, Michigan. Salle will be using "Cadbury" (so named because Salle thinks his face coloring reminds her of chocolate) to help produce a dairy sheep flock. I am very excited to hear how he works out!

Y059 - aka "Cadbury" with Magic

Friday with ME!!!!

2011-08-19T21:39:00.001-04:00

It's been a BUSY week...

On Monday night the regular Zumba instructor was out of town so I taught class... On Tuesday night we finally got around to deworming the ewe flock. This was something we had on the "to do" list for a while but couldn't find the time for... good news - it's done! Wednesday night - Zumba!!! On Thursday we went to the Genesee County Fair and I got to be a board judge for the sheep shearing contest.

There were shearers there from all over the country - Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, South Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan... and those are just the people I knew or had heard of before. I thought I heard someone say they were from Iowa, but now I am not sure if I may have been dreaming. Prior to the contest we hung out with other fiber enthusiasts (spinners, weavers, sheep farmers) and sold some of our hand woven rugs (VERY cool to be SELLING the stuff we are making!!!!).

Wayne worked with his Merino lambs all week so that they would be ready for the sheep show. This morning we loaded them in the trailer along with a Clun Forset Ram lamb we are selling to a customer on the other side of the state and he headed off to Michigan Fiber Festival in Allegan, Michigan. I will go over there for the day tomorrow which means a long day of driving, but TODAY I had to myself.

WHAT TO DO??!?!?!

I watered all of the potted pots and baskets of flowers on the porch as well as the herbs in the raised herb garden.

All of the water tanks for the animals got power-washed to get all of the grime and algae cleaned out. Then they were filled with fresh water.

I fed a loaf of whole grain wheat bread to the Peacocks... I actually bought the bread to make grilled cheese sandwiches (which I LOVE) but don't eat very often but when I saw the birds outside, I decided that they should have the carb-fest instead of me...

Momma peahen and her baby...

At around 7:00 this evening I went for a run. It was the first time in a LONG time that I have been running and it was so nice to rediscover the joys of running...

You see landmarks that you ONLY notice when running - they might help you keep track of your pace, mentally mark your progress, or just spark your imagination. You find yourself alone with your thoughts - really deep in your mind, only to be suddenly pulled back by a barking dog, passing car, or yelling kid. It is my best time to work through things that have been bothering me or to plan for the future or deal with the present.

It is time when I enjoy watching my running partner and how he changes with direction, time of day, the incline, and other shadows (he is pictured below).

My Shadow...

I really was a sight I am sure... Comfy cut-off black sweat shorts, an extra-large red "Detroit Red Wings" t-shirt with the arms cut out (I have no idea where I got it but I know that I did cut out the arms at some point), dirty white running shoes, and covered in sweat.

The fashion police may have more than enough reason to issue a warrent for my arrest, but tonight's run was MORE than worth whatever athletic-wear crimes I may have committed.

FIT and TRIM...

2011-08-15T09:48:00.001-04:00

Hmmm - "FIT and TRIM"... Although it sounds an aweful lot like I am about to blog about my latest health and diet routine, today I want to show you our Natural Colored Merino lambs. This past weekend we started getting them ready for the Michigan Fiber Festival Sheep Show which Wayne will be taking them to NEXT weekend. The process of getting a sheep ready for a show is called "fitting", and it involves a whole lot of "trimming", so the title "FIT and TRIM" seemed perfect!

These lambs were born in March and have been living the good life ever since. Plenty of food and water, and only the occasional stress from deworming, innoculations, and well - that one time we took their moms away and they screamed for a few days... But they have grown well and are ready for their show debut!

Each breed of sheep is "fitted" differently for show.

We started off by shearing the wool off of their bellys with a set of electric sheep shears... it really "cleans up" their appearance and makes them look taller and longer. It is the "black is slimming" of the sheep show world.
Next we put them up on the trimming stand and trimmed their feet - all of the good feed they have been eating makes their hooves grow fast so keeping them nicely manicured is a necessity.
We then use an electric trimmer to clean up the face. Some of the baby wool on the face needs to be trimmed to keep a neat appearance.
At this point we had to tag their ears with their registration tags and scrapie tags. This is probably not the most pleasant part of their "day of beauty" but it is necessary. All registered sheep need to have permanent identification.
We then get a carder out (a brush with tiny little teeth) and card the ends of the fleece... this really helps to pull out a lot of garbage that has gotten stuck in the wool, and picks the fibers apart from each other.
Next is the trimming and this can take forever... we trim, blend, shape, and trim some more until the sheep looks neat, tidy, and well formed.
The lambs are not completely finished, but they are well started so that when they get to the show, there is less work to be done and Wayne can focus on all of the finishing touches that will make them stand out in the ring.
Finally we put a sheep coat on them to keep them somewhat clean and they are turned back out with their lamb friends to complain to each other about the horrible ordeal they just had to endure...

Magic (ewe lamb) looking all "Fit and Trim"

Louis (twin ram lamb) sporting his new sheep coat..

Sammy (twin ram lamb) demonstrating how to stand on the trimming stand...

A Good Decision...

2011-08-10T15:18:00.001-04:00

Cody, the paint mare will go to her new home this weekend. All week I have been getting text messages, and Facebook messages from the new owners asking questions and expressing excitement about her. The kids have been cleaning brushes and getting things ready for their new horse. I mentioned that they have picked a new name (Rayne - combination of "R"ich & W"ayne")... as it turns out, "Daisy" and "Delores" were also on the short list - I think "Rayne" was a good call!

It thrills me to no end to see their excitement and to KNOW I have made a good decision.

Cody and I posing for the camera a few weeks ago...

Such a pretty face...

Moving Forward...

2011-08-08T10:05:00.001-04:00

It has been a long year so far...

Farm life can be hard, and sometimes one finds that they have bitten off more than they can chew. As people who take commitment very seriously, Wayne and I feel the need to put 100% in to our animals... Sometimes though, there aren't enough 100%s to go around, right? When a hobby becomes a 2nd full time job, it stops being FUN and starts to be overwhelming...

OVERWHELMED

I had expected an extended lambing season, and although it was no suprise, it was stressful. All of the little things that can and do go wrong in farm life seemed like huge obstacles... To the point where walking through a muddy pasture seemed like more than I wanted to deal with. So when something BIG would go wrong, such as losing a beautful healthy month old lamb who was caught in a section of electronet fencing (and electrocuted to death)...   It was too much.

Wayne and I took a long look at what we have going on and realized that we had gotten too big for the resources we have... too many animals depending on our time, limited space, and limited finances... too many other hobbies which we would like to spend more hours developing (Zumba, weaving, spinning, RELAXING!!!)... So we had to make some hard decisions.

SHEEP

First of all, we decided to cut back on our ewe flock... we have steadily worked our way up to close to 25 - 30 ewes over the years... This is too many for us so we are cutting our numbers. We will keep our Merino ewe flock as it is and would like to maintain 5 - 6 brood ewes as our flock size. So as we raise or aquire nicer sheep, we will re-access our current ewes and cut back to maintain the highest quality flock. Our Merino endeavor feels right to us and seems to be going in the right direction (and faster than we expected).

We will keep our Clun Forest ewe flock at around 5 - 6 ewes.  We have one old ewe who will be culled this year.  She raised twin ram lambs for the 2nd year in a row but this year it seemed to take a lot out of her - It just makes sense to cut back those old girls who would require special care. I want to say that our clun lambs have grown exceptionally fast again this year and we see a demand for breeding stock in our area.

The Border Cheviot flock will be cut hard. They are my favorite sheep, and probably because of this we have grown our flock larger than it needs to be. Our three oldest ewes will go, I have also picked out two beautiful ewes who have been great producers who will be offered for sale in a starter flock package. We are also going to offer the 4 North Carolina ewes for sale. They had some really nice lambs and my goal was to cross them with my genetics and keep the resulting ewe lambs... Our goal is to cut back to 8 - 10 cheviot ewes which will allow us to keep our quality high and our flock young.

EQUINE

This past Friday we said goodbye to three animals. Barney could not possibly have made it through another winter and although he had been getting around pretty good, his weight had never built back up this summer and the flies were tormenting him... He is now buried next to Luke up in the circle of spruce trees. We also said goodbye to Akasha and Jag - probably the two hardest decisions in our lives. 'Kash had injured her hip many winters ago and had never been completely sound since, Jag was her very best friend and in his older age had become a very hard keeper.

In this terrible horse market, the thought of selling them and not knowing what kind of life they would have was terrifying. A very wise friend once told me that "there are worse fates than death" and perhaps truer words have never been uttered. I have seen horses that people have starved. I have seen horses suffering from terrible lameness and pain because someone can not bear to say goodbye. I have seen animals forgotten and neglected who no longer have the twinkle of life in their eyes... There are indeed worse fates than death.

Cody, our 13 year old paint mare was visited by three young children and their parents yesterday. They petted her, talked to her, fed her grass, sat on her back, and then sent me a note last night that they would love to give her a good home. I am giving this mare to them with the understanding that although she is without price, she is definately not without value, and judging by the interaction yesterday, I made the perfect decision for both Cody and for these kids. Plus she will only live 1.5 miles away so I will be able to see her and watch the relationship grow with these young horse-crazy kiddos...   AND, they want to rename her Rayne which is a combination of "Rich" and "Wayne"... How sweet is that?

BIRD

I have a lovely Meyers parrot who I have probably never written about - and doesn't that say volumes in itself???   Patty was hand raised and is the sweetest bird I have ever met. She loves people and loves interaction...   But obviously TIME is the one thing I have least of to give. Luckily, my brother and his family are coming to visit from Minnesota tomorrow and they will be taking Patty home where she will get all of the love and attention that she deserves.

MOVING FORWARD

Things have not changed drastically and yet they have. Some recent decisions have been very hard - I will continue to feel a great loss at the three friends we have said goodbye to a few days ago... We will work to cut back our sheep flock to a manageable level... but I feel very sure that we have made good decisions for the right reasons and I know we are headed in the right direction.

This is my first posting in a very long time... I wish I could have taken all of you with me through the trials and errors of the last months, but I just needed to journey through it by myself.   And not to say that it has been a dark time because we have really had some wonderful and rewarding times this spring and summer.

Here is a GORGEOUS little 2011 Cheviot Ram lamb...

Shepherd's Picnic and Free Clinic - 2011

2011-06-05T22:11:00.001-04:00

On Saturday afternoon, Ugly Dog's Farm hosted a picnic and free clinic for shepherds and fiber enthusiasts. We lucked out with excellent weather - sunshine and a pleasant breeze blowing in from the west.

Carol Densmore from Cross Wind Farm gave an excellent presentation on processing fiber.

She demonstrated using various fiber processing tools for picking, carding, blending, and preparing fiber.

Dr. Heather Ludlam from Windswept Farms talked with shepherds about various sheep health concerns...

Dr. Ludlam stressed the importance of developing a relationship with a veterinarian, controling parasites in your flock, and many other topics of interest to those who keep sheep and livestock.

Cindy Ciecewa from Pitchfork Ranch shared their flock nutrition program with those in attendance. Cindy and Margaret raise and show Romney and Bluefaced Leicester sheep.

Letty Klein from Pine Lane Farm discussed fleece character. Many attendees brought fleeces for Letty to use in her discussion and she talked about presentation, uniformity, handle (feel of the fleece), strength of the fiber, and many other things she has to take into consideration when she is asked to judge a fleece competition.

Letty also brought one of her rugs for us to see. She is author of a wonderful book on braiding wool rugs from roving: The Shepherd's Rug - A Braided Wool Rug From Roving

In addition to all of this great education, we also enjoyed some excellent food!!!

Local spinners were also on hand to spend the afternoon and show off their skill.

It was a fun afternoon, we learned a lot, and enjoyed spending the day with fellow sheep and fiber friends!

What a great day at Ugly Dog's Farm!!!

JUNE 4th - SHEEP BREEDERS PICNIC AND FREE CLINIC

2011-05-09T08:40:00.001-04:00

MSB Small Flock Committee Sponsored:

Spring Picnic & FREE Workshop

June 4, 2011 – Noon

Ugly Dog’s Farm

5185 N Washburn Road

Davison, Michigan 48423

810-299-3417

www.uglydogsfarm.com

rich.fitz@charter.net

Topics Include:

Ÿ Flock Health – Dr. Heather Ludlam of Windswept Farms will discuss various sheep health concerns in order to help shepherds diagnose/treat/prevent common problems in their flocks.

Ÿ Fleece Characteristics – Letty Klein of Pine Lane Farm will talk with shepherds about various kinds of wool and what makes them unique.

Ÿ Nutrition – Cindy Cieciwa and Margaret Van Camp of Pitchfork Ranch will talk about their flock nutrition program.

Ÿ Wool Processing – Carol Densmore of Cross Wind Farm will teach various fiber processing techniques in this “hands on” session.

Also Featuring:

Ÿ Potluck Lunch – bring a dish to pass and enjoy talking with fellow shepherds and wool enthusiasts.

Ÿ Fiber Art – our latest spinning and weaving projects will be on display – check out a few of our floor looms! (bring your spinning wheel or YOUR woolen-wares to show off).

Ÿ Ugly Dog’s Farm Sheep – come and meet our purebred Natural Colored Merino, Clun Forest, and Border Cheviot sheep!

ALL ARE WELCOME!!! - PLEASE JOIN US ON JUNE 4^th!!!

Feel free to call or email for more information!

Pictures from the 2010 event...

What a Spring...

2011-05-08T20:52:00.003-04:00

Spring has finally "SPRUNG"... We had a gorgeous weekend here... Most of the trees are budding out and the grass is growing like crazy with all of the rain we have had.

It has been a crazy and busy spring. Our lamb count is up to 25 live lambs... 13 ewe lambs and 12 rams - there are 3 more ewes left to lamb. With our fair share of both good and back luck, I will be happy when our last ewes are finished and we can focus our attention on other endeavors... One lesson I will take forward with me from this lambing season is that not all ram lambs will be ready to breed when you think they should be. I knew that our little guy from North Carolina had been brow beaten by his ewes and I knew that we would be delayed in our lambing.

The good news is that once he got breeding, he REALLY got busy... Most of his breeding group has lambed within the same 2 week period... So it seems that once he got a taste of being a breeding ram, he decided to take the job seriously.

In addition to "lambing luck", we have had our share of good and bad luck all around... the crazy rains of spring helped to flood our basement - just about at the same time that our ewes finally started pushing out lambs... luckily, these were my tried and true homegrown Border Cheviot ewes and they did us proud - easy lambings and good moms. The sump pump clogged as the rains poured down and a couple inches of water accumulated before we found it.

Much time was spent sorting through and throwing away things that have been stored in the basement for a very long time. Sometimes the universe has a way of telling you when you have procrastinated long enough...

Barney seems to be doing great right now. He is enjoying his hand feedings twice a day now and it seems to be agreeing with him. I am glad he seems to be doing so well... he is completely off of the pain medicine. I believe that I will not put him through the hardship of another Michigan winter, but I sure would like for his last days here with us to be good ones.

Wayne will return tomorrow from his trip to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival and it sounds like he had an AWESOME time... He helped our friends trim and show their sheep, got to shop all of the vendors at the festival, and he is also bringing back our new ram. Wayne sounds thrilled with the new guy and I can hardly wait to see him in person.

We have finalized the agenda for the Sheep Breeders Picnic and Free Workshop which will be held here at the farm on June 4th... Dr. Heather Ludlam will talk about flock health, Letty Klein will talk about fleece characteristics, Cindy Ciecewa and Margaret Van Camp will talk about sheep nutrition, and Carol Densmore will be doing a "hands on" session about processing fiber. I will post all of the info on here within the next day or so...

We have also been buying and stacking up loads of last years hay to try to fill up the barn for next winter... I always feel better when we have our food stores in place.

All of this and Zumba too... Monday, Wednesday, Thursday nights and Saturday mornings (I am now teaching every other Saturday)...

I am NOT saying that things are going to slow down any time soon here at Ugly Dog's Farm, but I do think that having the life and death struggles of the lambing barn behind us for the year will defintely free me up for more blogging. Sometimes there is just too much processing going on and blogging is not an option. I have grown to enjoy writing about what I think, what I know, and what I learn - and even when I don't write about it immediately, I WILL share all of it with you...

Happy Mothers Day to my Mom and to all the mothers out there...

A Good Day...

2011-04-27T21:19:00.000-04:00

April 27th will go down in history as a good day at Ugly Dog's Farm...

It rained most of the day and the mud is rediculous. But the grass appears to have grown an inch and we have some new additions to report...

Doe Eyes had a beautiful ewe lamb around 11:30 am. I couldn't get a good picture because this little lamb was immediately on the move. It is usually day 2 before a lamb is playing and jumping as much as this girl was - I guess she is an over-achiever (I can totally relate)...

Covergirl followed up with a fiesty little girl of her own around 2:20 this afternoon. This one likes to pose for the camera (again, I can relate)...

And at 4:00 Wayne found that one of the Clun Forest ewes had just finished giving birth to a handsome set of twin boys (once again - handsome, I completely relate!)...

It appears that a few other ewes will soon add to the lamb count...

Sunshine!!!

2011-04-23T13:55:00.001-04:00

It is a beautiful sunny day! Spring has been slow to arrive this year, but today is gorgeous and it's not just us humans who are basking in the sunshine... (click on any picture to enlarge)

The peacocks are struting their stuff...

The rhubarb has shot up out of the earth...

AND - the lambs are having a blast!

RUN BABY, RUN!

It's a GREAT day to be a lamb!

AND - a great day for a kiss!

Clun Forest Ewes - Ready for lambs...

2011-04-19T21:45:00.000-04:00

I mentioned that we finally got around to vaccinating, de-worming, trimming feet, and shearing the Clun Forest ewes this past weekend... I had wanted to get some nice pictures posted of the girls in their birthday suits but we have had nothing but snow, rain, and wind for the past few days.

The girls look great and their udders are filling up nicely, indicating to me that X63 (the Clun Forest ram) got his job done in record time...

one of my older girls carrying some lambs...

I am especially excited about how well the yearling ewe looks... This is the first time that we have ever bred a ewe lamb. It is a standard practice among Clun Forest sheep breeders to breed ewe lambs and since this ewe looked mature enough when fall arrived, we decided to give it a go. That being said, we have been extremely diligent about trying to monitor her body condition during pregnancy... (this can be a challenge when looking at a sheep through 3 - 4 inches of wool!)

Too skinny and her growth and health could be compromised, too fat and she may have problems lambing...

After shearing on Saturday, I think she looks PERFECT!!! I love it when a plan comes together!

she has nice length of body and a beautiful topline...

beautiful little udder started and nice width of body as well...

I really like this girl... (can you tell?!?!?!?)

Checking off the "To Do" list...

2011-04-18T09:20:00.000-04:00

It was an eventful weekend at Ugly Dog's Farm. Many tasks which have been working their way up the "to do" list are now complete and checked off...

On Friday morning, two card carrying members of the "Procrastination Club" finally finished their income taxes and sent in the paperwork to Uncle Sam. I always have the best of intentions to get my taxes done early - however, I usually have to settle for "on time" instead.

Our Clun Forest ewes are due to lamb in 2 or 3 weeks so it was high time we caught them, trimmed their feet, gave them their yearly CD&T shot, and dewormed them with injectable Cydectin... While we were at it, we also did the same to our rams and yearling ewes. My legs and back are still a little sore from bending over the 12 sheep we worked on.

A trip to town to visit the bank, the feed store, and an early dinner (with a margarita) at the local Mexican Restaurant rounded out a busy Friday.

Saturday started out with 9AM ZUMBA!!! Afterward, I drove out to Flushing, Michigan to pick up the Amish guys who were trimming feet at a friend's farm. Usually, we will meet this friend halfway to do the "Amish exchange", but since I begged and pleaded to go 2nd in order to attend Zumba, I offered to pick them up instead.

We got all of the horses and donkeys feet trimmed in record time and I drove the boys home to Brown City while Wayne stayed home to watch for the sheep shearer. Usually we have shearing planned well in advance, but Spring has been slow in arriving and we have been holding off getting the Clun ewes sheared. If we were going to get the girls sheared before they lambed, now was the time... Luckily, the shearer was able to fit us in at the last minute and shear the pregnant girls on Saturday afternoon.

By the time I returned from Brown City, the Cluns were naked and enjoying their dinner... They look great and all 5 ewes have beautiful udders! Will post some pictures this week once the sun returns.

Saturday evening finished off with dinner and wine at Pitchfork Ranch in Swartz Creek... We had an amazing beef roast cooked on the grill, mashed cauliflower with sour cream and crumbled bacon, carb-free ice cream bars, and a few other odds and ends that escape my memory at the moment.

On Sunday we awoke to snow flurries...

We had breakfast in town, stopped to buy Barney some feed, and went to Kroger to do some serious grocery shopping. The power was out when we returned home so we went to visit our weaving freind and mentor Cathy Phaneuf from Phaneuf Pharm.

Cathy had a Harrisville Designs loom that Wayne was interested in and she also had newly born miniature goats to visit. There is never a shortage of fun and entertaining things to see and talk about with Cathy. She is in the process of setting up her brand new, monster-industrial, super-loom!!! This thing will be big enough to weave blankets that are 10 foot wide and has an air compressor that lifts and lowers the harnesses... It is truly amazing and I can't wait to see it completely assembled.

We got home to the power being restored, and after such a busy weekend, it was the perfect time for me to take an afternoon nap! After feeding time, our friends Mel and Roberta joined us for a nice home-cooked meal which Wayne had prepared.

Thank goodness for Monday!!! I can sit down...

Barney Update:

He is hanging in there. The bute continues to keep him feel good and Norman the horse-shoer took his heels down lower to try to keep him comfortable. He is eating great and trying to graze on the little bit of grass that is sprouting between snow flurries...

He got a bunch of carrots this weekend and his best friend Sophie is sticking to him like glue.

Hanging in there...

2011-04-13T21:31:00.002-04:00

Thanks to everyone for your best wishes for Barney...

We are treating him with bute which is an anti-inflamatory and it seems to be helping with his sudden onset of pain. We have also bumped up his grain at feeding time and Wayne is hand feeding him in the morning now too in order to try to put some weight back on him. I think the warmer spring temperatures may be helping too.

He is still braying for his food at dinner time and it is good to know that he still looks forward to his meals and keeping me on schedule. We'll see what happens, but for right now he seems to have rallied.

We will enjoy whatever time we have left. He will get his favorite treats, lots of attention, and I will make sure that when we spend our time together each evening that I tell him all of those things that need to be said...

Thanks again for all of your support - will keep you updated on the old boy...

A Chance to Survive...

2011-04-13T09:08:00.000-04:00

Last night I attended a 3 hour CPR certification class. I thought it might be a good thing to know since I attend a lot of group fitness classes and I am also around a lot of horseback riding functions. CPR is one of those things that nobody wants to have to use, but everyone should know.

The class was taught by a local guy who is retired from the American Red Cross but still wants to be involved with teaching the public valuable life-saving skills...

It was a very interesting class...   I learned that someone responding to an emergency who is not being paid to provide care is protected from liability lawsuits by "Good Samaritan" laws. The instructor also said repeatedly that a person who is unconscious and not breathing is essentially dead, so anything you do to help gives them a "chance" to live. If you do nothing, they are almost assured to die.

This reminded me of life as a farmer - an animal in distress is as good as dead. You can help them and possibly save them... you can give them a chance. Doing nothing gives them NO chance. Essentially you can't HURT them because they are as good as dead.  It is completely possible that you may try to help and they die anyway, but doing nothing ensures they have no chance...

Thinking about the people in my life that I care about, I am glad that I might know something now that could give them a chance to live. When it comes to my livestock I have been tested... I know that I have given some of those animals the chance to survive.

I hope that I am never tested to give a person a chance to live, but I will perform CPR if I am faced with the situation...

I hope someone might do the same for me.

And a Down... WAY down...

2011-04-12T10:23:00.001-04:00

And the roller-coaster takes a swing in the other direction...

Poor Barney is not doing well and I fear that he may not be with us much longer...

A few weeks ago, during one of the many plunges back into winter temps we have seen many of this spring, Barney came up very lame. He was limping around badly and he was very uncomfortable... Daily doses of bute seemed to alleviate his pain and within a week he seemed back to normal

Unfortunately, yesterday Barney was not good at all.   Out of the blue, he was walking VERY sore on all four feet and looked miserable. I bedded his lean-to thick with straw, we got him a bucket of water so he wouldn't have to travel far to the water tank, and we put lots of hay in there for him to eat. I hand feed him every night with his equine senior and I hate to say that he is also losing weight.

I will not let him suffer. I will not let him be in pain if I can help it. I don't want to let him go - he is a link to my childhood and to my late uncle and is a friend I talk to every day... but friends have to do what is best for each other and I think my friend will soon be with me only in my heart.

Perhaps a few days of bute and an increase in feed will give him a last hoorrah... Perhaps not??   Barney has lived a long and full life either way - I know it will be a hard day when we say goodbye.

It is a hard thing to do, but be it a bird, a sheep, a horse, a dog, a donkey - any animal in my care...   I will always be able to look myself in the mirror and say that I had the strength and character to do the right thing when the time comes. No animal will ever needlessly suffer because I don't want to make the hard choice.

Will keep you updated on Barney... in the meantime, you can go back and read about my good friend here: One Mighty Fine Ass

Another UP... WAY up!!!

2011-04-12T10:01:00.000-04:00

As if watching lambs play was not therapy enough, I have become even more addicted to ZUMBA! It is fun, it is dancing, it is a party... it is EXERCISE IN DISGUISE!!!

Over the past few weeks, my Zumba instructor was off with her family on a Carribean cruise and I got the opportunity to jump into her job while she was gone. I imagine that nerves may have been something to overcome had it been any other time of year, but life and death happening at home in the lambing barn really has a way of putting things in perspective, right?

Things went awesome... not only did I get to go and dance and work out, but I got to motivate others and get them excited about an activity that has changed my life. One of the nights I got to lead a class of over 40 people! The energy and excitement in the room was absolutely electric...

This past Saturday was my official training day and I spent from 8:00 in the morning to 6:00 at night getting my Zumba Basic 1 Trainer Certification. What an amazing day... started out with a Master class led by one of the country's leading Zumba instructors, but then we got to learn all about Zumba, the history of the dances, etc. They broke down four different dances and we learned all of the "ins and outs" of the merengue, salsa, cumbia, and regaeton.

Needless to say, I was exhausted, tired, and very sore by the time the class ended, but so pumped up. I did not think it was possible that I could be any more addicted to Zumba than I already was... BUT I AM!!!!

Ups and Downs...

2011-04-12T08:49:00.002-04:00

Life is full of ups and downs... Sometimes the roller-coaster gets going so fast that I need to take my fingers off of the keyboard and hold on for a little while. Thanks for being so patient while I roll with the punches for a little while!

Let it Shine...

2011-03-30T21:06:00.000-04:00

We had a nice set of twins this morning out of one of the new ewes from North Carolina... I took this picture with my cell phone and sent it to my sister. We both agree that it looks like we were a little late taking down the Christmas Nativity scene...

I don't know if it is the "heavenly" light streaming down from the window or maybe they just look like little angels...

Momma did great and delivered these twins around 11 AM today. Brother and sister both weighed 8 pounds, 14 ounces when we weighed them this evening.

Late Afternoon Nap...

2011-03-28T21:31:00.001-04:00

There is nothing like a nice nap in a puddle of sun after a hard day of playing...

If the puddle of sun is already occupied, it can be just as nice to snuggle into some warm bedding for a snooze...

Running around, jumping, and playing is hard work!

This little guy's eyes are closed up tight - his tummy is full and he is content...

Even Magic took a break from her day of mischief to relax...

Afterall - last night all of these little buggers were busy checking out the new arrival...

It was a good day to be a lamb...

Even the chickens lucked out and found a patch of grass where the snow had melted...

Natural Colored Merinos - The Future...

2011-03-28T09:54:00.000-04:00

Hey there folks! Exciting news from Ugly Dog's Farm!

We have had some wonderful success with our Natural Colored Merino flock, but this year we had gone as far as we could with the genetics we had available here at the farm... We just didn't want to end up with lambs named Bubba who were their own cousin, uncle, and grandpa so it was time to look for an outside ram.

The challenge is finding a quality, black Merino ram with a pedigree showing that he is truly a Merino... There are a lot of percentage Merinos out there with nice color, but we really wanted to stick with what we already had going for us. Not to mention that as soon as you cross another breed in there to get the black color (usually they use a Corriedale), your color heritability changes completely and you can no longer predict with much accuracy what color lambs you might expect out of your flock.

After much searching, poking, prodding and all of the usual "stressing out" that I put in to any decision, we have made arrangements to purchase a beautiful, smooth bodied, polled, Merino ram from Terry and Steve Mendenhall of Mendenhall Wool Ranch in Loma Rica, California.

Terry put up with all of my questions, and sent us a fleece sample (which is WONDERFUL) and she has agreed to bring the ram to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival in May. Wayne will be there helping our friends from Pitchfork Ranch show their sheep and they have generously offered to trailer the ram home after the show.

Introducing "Mendenhall 9146"...

We have at least one ewe who will "meet" this boy as soon as he arrives... maybe we'll be lucky enough to get fall lambs!?!??!

Finished Towels...

2011-03-20T09:44:00.001-04:00

Thought I would share a few pictures of the towels we finished yesterday...

It's hard to believe that just a few weeks ago they were just cotton yarn... I am amazed at what we have been able to produce with a little patience and a lot of time.

Each towel is different...

Here is the first one we wove -

we used a cream/gray color yarn for the weft...

We used light green for the weft on the 2nd towel...

A thicker light blue yarn on the third towel gave a totally different look and feel...

2 inch stripes of a few different colors gave a great "checker-board" effect to the 4th towel...

On the final towel, we used the same green/bronze that we used for the stripes in the warp and it turned out beautiful... I can't believe how nice our edges turned out considering there were two of us weaving whenever we had a few spare minutes...

I'd say we're addicted...

Lambs, Lambs, Lambs...

2011-03-19T21:23:00.000-04:00

You may have noticed that I have been a little remiss in my blogging responsibilities lately. Between lambs, lambs, and more lambs, I have been a little sleep deprived. Not to mention a marathon week of Zumba - 2 hour celebration on Sunday, and my regular Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday classes. Plus we finished the cotton towels on the loom, and purchased a 2nd smaller folding loom which I have begun to warp. So much going on...

I promise pictures of the towels which turned out AWESOME... I think one of them will definately say "Happy Birthday Mom" as my mother's birthday is quickly approaching. I am not always the best at calling (shame on me) because I get so busy, but I think she would really love one of the towels...

I did take some pictures of the lambs and hope you enjoy them...
4 ewes down and 19 left to go...

You have already met Annie and Panda's lamb...

Ugly Dog's Farm Black Magic is full of spunk!

2nd to lamb was one of the new Border Cheviot ewes we got from North Carolina - She had a gorgeous ewe lamb

Ripped Ear was the next to go and gave birth to twin ram lambs

And last night TB, a natural colored Merino ewe, gave birth to twin boys... The first one weighed 12#10oz and the second was 11#10oz

Thats nearly 25 pounds of lamb!!!

I promise that I will follow up with more pictures of the lambs, pictures of the towels, a request for a blog post on my sweet pet parrot (who will be going to live with my brother and his family this summer), and a few other happenings around the farm that I want to share.

Lambing Supply Tote...

2011-03-15T19:35:00.000-04:00

We have a tote full of lambing supplies that has been sitting on the kitchen table for the last month waiting to be carried to the barn when lambs are born. This tote just holds some of the standard things we need to process newborns... emergency supplies stay packed away in the house "just in case".

It felt good to carry the tote to the barn early on Sunday morning when Annie had her lamb... We really didn't need to use much from it that morning, but it always makes me feel comforted to be prepared for most things.

click to enlarge

The kit contains a bottle of Chlorhexidine Solution as well as a plastic cup both of which we use to dip newborn lamb navels and feet to disinfect them.
There is also a tupperware container full of Nutri-drench which is an energy supplement for lambs as well as syringes - great for cold nights and or "slow starting" lambs.
There are copper lamb ear tags and a tagger for permanently identifying lambs... sometimes it is hard to tell the little ones apart and it is important to keep everybody straight if you want to register them.
There are rubber gloves which come in handy for various "dirty jobs".
There is a drench syringe which is handy for drenching ewes and or lambs with various medications or supplements.
There is a set of foot trimmers which are great for keeping those hoofs in good shape.
There is a container of small rubber bands and a "bander" which are used to band tails.

The wait is over...

2011-03-13T13:10:00.004-04:00

Lambing has begun!

I woke up at around 2:30 AM this morning and walked down to the kitchen to listen to the baby monitor for a minute and heard the tell-tale "mommy-talk" that always means someone has lambed or is going to lamb very soon.

I quickly threw on some warm clothes and trudged out to the barn to find Annie talking to her brand new baby - here is where it gets good. We didn't know if Annie carried the recessive black gene... If she did carry it, there was only a 50% chance that she could have a black lamb when crossed with Panda (who is black)... so we weren't expecting what we found.

Not only did Annie have a BEAUTIFUL black lamb, but she had a BEAUTIFUL black EWE lamb!

It certainly doesn't get much better than that... Panda and Annie did GOOD!

Wayne is a VERY proud grandparent...

Wayne was so happy he gave Annie a hug...

Checking in...

2011-03-08T08:58:00.000-05:00

Man, am I ever tired... The last few nights I have been excited and have not slept well.

Ripped Ear is HUGE! I don't think we have ever had a border cheviot ewe get as big as she is - she is not fat - it is lambs... the question is, HOW MANY?!?!?! I tried to get some photos that show how big she is and for whatever reason, the pictures just don't show her massive belly...   What's up with that?!?! I can walk past a chocolate cake and suddenly any picture of me looks like I should win the "rate of gain" contest in the livestock tent at the county fair?!?!?! Just not right.

Last night, I could tell that Ripped Ear's udder had filled up quite a bit. After eating her dinner, she was extremely uncomfortable and spent most of the night standing and alternately lifting her back legs while making some pitiful noises. We checked on her a number of times through the night and I think the lambs are moving into position - her body is preparing to push those little guys out.

By this morning, her bag is even more full of colostrum and I think she is on track to be the first to lamb. If she gets any bigger, I am afraid we may have to scrape her off the barn walls when she explodes...

In other news, Wayne finished the first towel on the loom yesterday and started the 2nd one... He picked a different color for the weft - we are planning to make each one a little different. I talked to my sister yesterday and she said she studied the picture I had posted of the towel progress VERY CLOSELY... She is convinced that she could make out the words "BIRTHDAY PRESENT FOR MICHELLE" in the pattern. I had not noticed it before, but she is very observant.   I thought it had said something like "BUY IT NOW FOR THREE EASY PAYMENTS...." but it can be so hard to make these things out.

The last piece of news is that I have signed up for ZUMBA INSTRUCTOR TRAINING on April 9th in Novi, Michigan!  That's right folks, if you aren't sick of hearing about ZUMBA now, JUST WAIT!!!! I am very excited!

So many "relatively" new found passions in my life that I could never have expected, but now can't imagine being without... In the words of a very wise friend who repeats this as his mantra, I must admit that "LIFE IS GOOD"...

The Fabric of our Lives...

2011-03-06T13:58:00.002-05:00

This weekend, as we have been waiting for the first lambs of the year to be born, we started another weaving project... It was time to try something new and to "step it up a notch" so to speak.

We had taken a trip last weekend to Phaneuf Pharm, home to our friend and "weaving coach" Cathy Phaneuf and picked up some cotton yarn in a few different colors we liked. Our plan was to weave some cotton kitchen towels and Cathy helped us plan how much warp we needed to put on the loom, we picked a pattern, and she also gave us a few more tips on working with cotton and smaller diameter yarn.

On Friday we prepared the strands for our warp and threaded them through the reed... we decided on using two colors alternated in 2 inch stripes. To give you some idea of how much planning and time was involved, the warp for these towels is comprised of 378 strands of cotton yarn - each at a length of 5 yards.

After I returned from a great morning Zumba class, we spent the rest of Saturday threading those 378 strands of warp through the heddles which are the little wires that raise and lower the strand so you can weave through the opening created. We finished tying the warp late on Saturday. We did have a few mishaps along the way, but we got them straightened out and I think things turned out great in the end.

click to enlarge

This morning we finally started weaving our first cotton towel... I am still very surpised how much I am enjoying weaving.

My View from Here...

2011-03-03T09:20:00.000-05:00

It got really cold last night... the sky was clear and temperatures dropped down to the single digits again. I know that patience is a virtue and although I don't always show that I have much of it, I find myself hopeful that this will be the last single-digit night of winter. I am ready for spring and all of the signs of life that it brings with it. There is one part of spring that I am not looking forward to...

We are in a pretty rural area but are still relatively close to the hustle and bustle of urban life. I always find myself suprised at how some people who live in an urban area see our rural roads as a dumping ground. Folks drive out from the cities and dump their yard waste along our roads... other times it is a used appliance or couch... bags of garbage often are seen obstucting an otherwise picturesque view. I am left to wonder what these people are missing?

It is obvious that they don't see the same thing that I do when I drive down my road... they must not see the beautiful woods, fields, hills... They couldn't possibly see the beautiful old barns and the old oak trees.

I am especially bothered when they "dispose" of their unwanted pets along our roads. It happens a lot and there is no excuse for it... our county has an Animal Control facility which will take unwanted pets for a very reasonable fee... Truth be told, they usually have cages out front where people can leave pets after hours for free.

Even if the unwanted animal is euthanized by the shelter, it is a much less traumatic and painful death than they would be afforded out in the "wilds" of our rural roads. Death by coyote attack, being hit by a car, or starvation is the likely fate of "dump-offs".

A few years ago, we took a walk down our road to the dead-end turn-around, which is a popular dumping ground. In the bushes we found an open cat carrier and heard a very small voice calling from nearby. After some coaxing, out came a little orange kitten that could not have been more than 6 weeks old. He was very skinny, covered in fleas, and suprisingly very friendly... so friendly that there was no doubt that he had been handled by humans since birth.

I was angry - this particular spot was over 1/8 of a mile from the nearest house. This little guy did not have a chance and would certainly have died from starvation, flea infestation, or possibly would have been a very light meal for a coyote or hawk. Of course, we rescued the little guy, gave him a flea bath and fed him, but there are countless others who have been dumped and have perished.

These are not wild animals... You can't dump them off and expect that they will go back to nature. These are animals that humans have domesticated - we have taken away most of their ability to fend for themselves. Euthanasia can be a hard choice to make, but there are worse fates for these animals than a quick and humane death.

It's true that nature can be cruel, but that does not mean that man should not make every effort not to be...

I realize that most of my readers are "animal people" and that I am preaching to the choir, so to speak... but I hope that maybe one of the "urban dumpers" will happen upon this blog, read this post, and start to see some of the view that I see when I look down my road - it is a beautiful sight.

Wait and See...

2011-03-01T18:44:00.008-05:00

Well, we made it... we are finally at the "wait and see" stage of lambing time... based on when we put the ram in, we could have lambs at any time now. Each year, I get so focused on that magical 147th day that I almost expect some kind of mass birthing session to happen as soon as the day arrives. One day we will break down and put marking harnesses on our breeding rams so we will know EXACTLY when our ewes get bred, but in the mean time we "wait and see" who lambs first.

Last year, Jammers was the first to lamb and Panda got the honor of being first lamb... this year a few ewes are in the running...

Annie...

Ripped Ear always bags up within a few hours of lambing...

TB also is making a nice bag...

Some of the North Carolina ewes are bagging up as well (although they are a little camera shy)

Panda off to Canada...

2011-02-28T21:38:00.000-05:00

Jammers is a beautiful Natural-Colored Merino ewe... she won numerous awards for us in 2009 including Champion Natural Colored Fine Wool Ewe, Reserve Champion Natural Colored Ewe, and she had the Champion Natural Colored fleece at the Michigan State Fair. In the fall of 2009, she was bred to an exceptional black Merino ram and we had high hopes for what she would produce at lambing time.

It was a cold night in March of 2010 and we watched as Jammers went into labor... After she pushed out her water bag, we saw two white feet appear followed by a pink nose. Wayne and I were a little bit dissapointed when we didn't see the black lamb we had expected. We had done everything possible to ensure color! More than anything else we were hoping for a healthy lamb, but color would have been really nice.

Our momentary dissapointment immediately turned to amazement as we watched the rest of the lamb emerge from the birth canal...

Here was a lamb we could never have imagined... He had amazing color, beautiful conformation, and personality to boot.

Jammers was an excellent mother and Panda (named for his Panda-like facial markings) quickly grew into an exceptional ram.

Wayne took the young ram to the 2010 Michigan Fiber Fest and he was right at home with all of the attention.

Panda earned the title of Champion Fine Wool Ram at the 2010 Michigan Fiber Fest and gained many fans during that weekend in August. One of those fans happened to pass word on to a friend in Canada who was looking for a fine wool ram to cross on his flock.

Bill Stearman of Willow Garden Shetlands in Consecon, Ontario has been working on a breeding project creating Shetland/Cormo crosses and was looking for another ram to further "fine up" the fleeces of the resulting crosses. Bill thought that Panda might just be the ram he was looking for.

After months of communication, a veterinarian visit, USDA paperwork, green tattoo ink, and a few phone calls, everything was in place for Panda to cross the border into Canada...

Bill drove to our farm yesterday and finally got to meet his new ram in person... After months of communication I am pretty sure that he not only purchased a new ram, but has a few more people to count as friends - he is a very nice guy.

Ugly Dog's Farm Pandamonium left for Canada this morning...

We wish Bill and Panda all of the best... We are very happy that Panda has found such a great home, although I must admit that the pasture seemed more than a little empty this afternoon as I fed the boys. I have a feeling that Panda is one of those special animals that will always have a special place in our hearts.

This past fall, we bred Panda to Annie - another one of those special animals. I wouldn't expect her to throw the color we had with Panda... but anything she does have will carry the recessive black color gene from him.

Time will tell what gift Panda has left here at Ugly Dog's Farm...
Annie could lamb at any time - tomorrow will be 147 days since they were put together.

Know your Food...

2011-02-24T09:43:00.001-05:00

I don't think that enough people really put much thought in to where their food comes from... Some of our young people today are never exposed to agriculture, and if they are, it is usually a "cleaned-up" or "sanitized" version of farming so as not to expose them to harsh realities that might scar them for life. I think that is unfortunate.

We give away a lot of "free range" eggs to friends and family. On more than one occasion we have had people tell us that they won't eat them... They would rather have the "clean" ones that come from the grocery store. As though the grocery store version of the egg has been fabricated by scientists wearing sterilized haz-mat suits in a clean-room. I always say the same thing - "all eggs come out of a chicken's hind end - the only difference is that here you can see what the chicken ate... you can see what MADE that egg."

It makes me sad to go to a restaurant and to see a kid throwing out half a hamburger. It's not the kid's fault - they have been handed the "sanitized" version of farming so they haven't really had to face the hard truth that an animal lived and died and became that burger... Nothing has made me respect my food more than to raise sheep and then to eat them. Killing and butchering an animal is hard to do... and it SHOULD be. Throwing out a hamburger should be just has hard.

Our Amish friends often have some good insight... they have mentioned before how our "English" young people are on average larger, sexually mature sooner, and are more sedentary than their kids. We are eating meat and drinking milk from animals what are bred, fed, and medicated to grow larger, sexually mature sooner, and live more sedentary lives... Is there a connection????

I encourage people to think about what they are eating... I encourage them to purchase as much of their meats, eggs, and produce from local farms as they can. Go and meet the farmer and see what the animals eat, how they live, and if you can stomach it - how they die as well.

We feed our animals locally grown forage, whole grains, and important minerals, we provide them with fresh water, and make sure that they have the best life we can provide.

I won't pretend that we don't ever eat processed foods and I can't say that we have not purchased meat from a grocery store, but we do make an effort to know our food, to respect our food, and to educate our peers... I hope some of you may do the same!

Super-Cooled Rain...

2011-02-22T09:01:00.001-05:00

At the beginning of the season, we wish for snow... We sing songs about "Dreaming of a White Christmas", beckon the powers that be to "Let it Snow", and greet "Suzy Snowflake" as she is "tap, tap, tapping" at our window pane.

All it takes is a few white knuckled drives to work, some frigid afternoons spent on the tractor plowing out the drive, and a couple of headers into a pile of snow after slipping on the ice and you are ready for Suzy Snowflake to pack her bags and "thumpity thump" herself down the road with Frosty as he is run out of town.

We got around a foot of "the white stuff" on Sunday night. It is gorgeous the way it coats the ground in a white blanket and ices the pines and spruces as though they are on the set of the remake of "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer". While it is beautiful, I am ready for spring rain.

They are calling for another winter storm for this Friday... After the beautiful "taste of spring" we enjoyed last week, I can hold out for spring rain... I can keep my chin up (while wrapped in a warm home-spun and hand-woven scarf) knowing that we are almost there...

This Friday when the snow pummels us yet again showing that winter is still here, I will choose to think of it as super-cooled SPRING rain!

Yep, I came up with that ALL on my own.

I guess that makes me... SUPER COOL!!!!

Bulging Bellies...

2011-02-20T13:34:00.001-05:00

No folks, I haven't given up on my fitness quest...

The average sheep gestation period is 147 days. The rams were put in with our first breeding groups 139 days ago... that means that we could be having our first lambs in just over a weeks time.

Ripped Ear is looking WIDE...

I mentioned before that we used some ram lambs this breeding season. One of them we got from down south was pretty small and got pushed around quite a bit at first by some of my more dominant ewes. We will probably have a lot of late lambs out of that breeding group, but by the looks of things we will have some other lambs to keep us busy in the meantime.

Pregnant ladies chewing their cud...

This ewe is looking WIDE...

Annie will be a first time mom and she is getting wide and is growing a nice udder.

They are forecasting a winter storm which could start any time and bring with it a lot of snow and ice. I sure hope it doesn't mess with my Zumba class tomorrow night... gotta get my "Z" on!

Stay Warm!!! Spring is on it's way...

Love the Skin You're in...

2011-02-18T15:19:00.000-05:00

I think that once or twice on this blog I have mentioned my love affair with Zumba... Without wanting to sound like a broken record, I have to tell you once more how much I enjoy this class and how it really has helped me to change my life.

In February, our Zumba instructor offered "Love Yourself" discounts on Zumba classes if you had perfect attendance, posted on Facebook why you love Zumba, guessed the number of classes it would take to burn off a box of chocolates, or posted "before" and "after" pictures of yourself on her Facebook page.

I am all about a discount, but I had to admit that I was a little freaked out about posting a "before" picture... This reluctance suprised me - what was my hang up? I mean, anyone who knows me has known me fat and skinny... they have seen it before. What was the big deal???

After much introspection, I figured out that when I looked at those pictures I didn't see me with some extra pounds... I saw an "out of control" Rich who I didn't want other people to see. I love food... I always will, but I think I ate to battle stress, to pass the time, to fill voids.

2006 was a very hard year... my horse died, my co-worker became ill and passed away and I had to do both of our jobs while dealing with the loss, then my job moved to India and I was let go after 10 years on the job, my favorite uncle was battling terminal cancer... It was a horrible time and I ate to find comfort.

Unfortunately that comfort was short lived... I would put on weight and feel my blood pressure rise, grow too big for my clothes, and feel more out of control... so I would eat more. What a vicious circle!

Redefining my mindset on food, running for my health, partying at Zumba - all of these things put me back in control. I feel healthier... I have more energy... I like to feel "in control" of my health.

I realize now that I can't turn my back on who I was - that person has helped to create who I am today...

I don't want to get out of control again, but I think we should all learn to love the skin we're in... how can anyone else like us if we don't like ourselves?

I will always try to be a good, hard working, freakishly handsome, and unbelievably witty guy (I might have to settle for just freakish and unbelievable though).

King of the Hill, Fruit of the Loom, & Eau de Toilette...

2011-02-17T22:31:00.001-05:00

King of the Hill

This afternoon when I pulled in the driveway after driving home from work, there stood Gibbs the donkey on top of the manure pile... You could tell that he wanted nothing more than for someone to challenge him for his position at the top of the heap.

Donkeys have a playfulness about them that is really endearing...

Fruit of the Loom

We finished scarf #2 on the Leclerc Floor Loom this evening and I think it turned out even nicer than the first one. Who knew that weaving would be so much fun?!?!

Now I'm not saying that we aren't going to make any more scarfs, but I think it's time to expand our horizons and possibly try a different project... how many scarfs do we need?!?!?

Maybe a blanket? A table runner? A super-hero cape to wear around the farm (with a big Z on the back for ZUMBA-MAN). The possibilities are ENDLESS!

Eau do Toilette

Every year as winter turns to spring, I am always struck at the sudden change from the beautiful, white, pristine, snow covered landscape to the wet, brown, muddy, manure covered paddocks. One of the realities of keeping livestock is that they are going to poop... and poop... and poop... In the cold and ice of winter, there is little you can do to clean it up. Manure is left to accumulate until spring.

Melting snow in winter paddocks does not become puddles of clean, fresh water... it becomes Eau de Toilet (aka Toilet Water). Eventually, the ground will thaw and the nutrients in the manure will help to fertilize spring pastures. In the meantime it is a muddy mess. I am not complaining though... it's just another sign that Spring is on the way!

I have seen bottles of "Eau do Toilette" being sold in department stores for some pretty high prices... I might need to order some little bottles and start filling them up - maybe call it "Scent of Spring"??? Order now - while supplies last!!!

SPRING FEVER!!!

2011-02-16T21:40:00.000-05:00

After a very long stretch of bitter cold winter weather, we are enjoying unseasonably warm temperatures this week.

I am NOT complaining... As a matter of fact - I'm lovin' it!

It seems to me that I am not the only one with SpRiNg FeVeR...

This boy thinks it's time to start showing off for the ladies...

Maybe he's been watching me "struting my stuff" around the farm...

His buddy chased him off and told him to back off from the girls...

Their audience looks pretty unimpressed by all of the antics...

This is Michigan... we still have lots of winter left to go, but these warm days are a welcome relief and a great teaser of what's to come.

I got the FeVeR!!!!

Boys Will be Boys...

2011-02-13T18:24:00.000-05:00

Today was a beautiful day... Not only did the temps get above freezing for the first time in a long time, but the high was around 50 degrees!

Ugly Dog's Farm Pandamonium (Panda) - Natural Colored Merino

I mentioned that we are selling a ram to Ontario, Canada. The buyer had requested some updated pictures so I took shots of all our rams enjoying a break from the bitter cold of winter. These boys will all be a year old in 2011 and will have their first offspring born very soon.

All of these boys are real characters...

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie...

2011-02-13T10:15:00.000-05:00

After such a busy weekend, the dogs seem to have the right idea...

Tomas catching some Sunday Morning ZZZZs

Dogs always seem to know when it is time to reward yourself with a much needed break...

Border Collies holding the chair down...

It won't be long and we'll get ourselves jump started for the day, but in the meantime I think it is best to let sleeping dogs lie...

who said couches weren't for dogs????

Hair, Scarfs, Murder, Hooves, and Tattoos...

2011-02-12T21:11:00.001-05:00

We got our haircuts yesterday morning and luckily avoided any head butting... You asked for pictures of the new "dos" so I will try to post some, but so far haven't taken any pictures of myself that adequately capture my rugged good looks... (meaning that for some reason the pictures look more like ME than Russell Crowe or Brad Pitt).

We finished the first project on the Leclerc Floor Loom and the scarf really turned out well...

There is still quite a bit of warp left on the loom so we started a 2nd scarf. It is kind of neat how changing the color of the yarn we are using for the weft totally changes the texture and look from the first one...

Yesterday evening we had a great time at a Murder Mystery Dinner put on by the Genesee County Agricultural Society. They were raising money to benefit the county fair and it was a really nice event. The food was top notch and we had a great table of people to sit with. LOTS of fun, a silent auction, and fabulous prizes... well, prizes anyway.

This morning it was off to Brown City to pick up the Amish guys who were scheduled to come out and trim our horses feet today. These guys do a great job on the hooves and are really good people. We have been using them for our horses manicuring needs for nearly 10 years and they work as hard or harder than just about anybody I know.

My back hurts just watching them work...

Veterinarian Karl Gubert from All Creatures Veterinary Service in Metamora came out this afternoon to do an inspection of our sheep flock... We are selling a black Merino ram to a someone in Ontario, Canada and one of the import requirements is a flock inspection within 30 days of importation of the animal. We also had to tattoo the ram's right ear with "USA"... luckily, we are well versed in tattooing sheep ears because it is a requirement for registering Clun Forest Sheep.

I think that the ram may have preferred "MOM" on his forearm, or maybe a picture of Mickey Mouse on his rump, but he will have to settle for "USA" on his ear.

Perhaps tomorrow, if the lighting is just right, I will be able to get the perfect shot of the new haircut... in the meantime, rest assured that you aren't missing out on much.

Shear Strangers - A note from a friend...

2011-02-10T08:34:00.001-05:00

I know I have told you about my top notch network of "sheep friends" who are always willing to share knowledge and experience. Well one of those friends emailed me yesterday and wanted me to share a bad shearing experience she had in hopes that someone reading my blog might avoid the same.

Rams can be aggressive SOE's (Sons Of Ewes), not only to people but to other rams. When introducing rams together, it is a good idea to pen them up in very tight confines so that they don't have enough room to back up and "ram" each other. Sometimes you get some very dominant boys who will fight to the death if given the opportunity.

In my last post, I mentioned that freshly shorn sheep who have spent their entire lives in the same group don't always recognize each other after being stripped down to their birthday suits. Remembering this fact when shearing a group of rams can help avoid disaster. Penning them up tight for a few days is a good idea.

My friend had some rams who had been getting along very well. She had them sheared and put them out in the same pen they had been in before. You can imagine her horror when she found one of her best boys dead shortly thereafter from fighting. Bad things will happen, but the more we know, the more disasters we can avoid.

Wayne and I are both going to get haircuts tomorrow morning - I sure hope we recognize each other...

Shear Madness...

2011-02-09T09:11:00.000-05:00

I had originally planned to write a more detailed "Shearing Day" blog, but the gruesome discovery on the barn floor that morning turned me into a stressed-out mess for a few days... I still think that an amended "Shearing Day" posting is in order so here it is...

Preparing for the Shearer -
I think it is important to carefully prepare for your shearer's visit, especially if you ever want them to return!

You should have your worming/vaccinations/feet trimming done prior to shearing time OR have enough people there to help so that the shearer is not waiting for you.
If you plan to have the shearer do "extras" like shots or foot trimming, arrange it with them ahead of time AND expect to pay for this service.
Make sure the sheep are DRY on shearing day... not only will wet wool not dry once sheared and bagged up, but your shearer will get soaking wet having to handle water-logged sheep.
Have your sheep penned up prior to the shearer's arrival... and don't expect them to catch your sheep for you.
Don't feed the sheep before the shearer arrives - believe it or not, handling and manipulating a sheep with an empty stomach is much easier on sheep AND shearer. A full stomach will not allow the sheep to bend appropriately.
Have your supplies ready: bags for wool, broom, garbage bin, coffee or water for the shearer, wound dust, livestock dust...

Have a Plan -

Who will catch the sheep, where will the sheep go after shearing, who will bag the wool, who will sweep between sheep?
Which sheep will you shear first? Usually we shear our white sheep first and then the black since we don't want to mix the black fibers in with the white clip, but grade of wool is also a concern. We shear our white fine wool first, then our black fine wool, followed by our coarser wools.

Here is a diagram of our barn set up for shearing:

click to enlarge

Post Shearing -

Dusting your sheep with Livestock Dust after shearing can be a good idea if you have had any issues with mites, ticks, or other bugs. We don't worry too much in the winter, but do dust our sheep sheared later in the spring.
It is inevitable that some sheep will get small cuts - maybe they were wriggling around and the clippers slipped or they have very wrinkly skin that got caught in a blade... Have wound dust handy, but don't get too worried, the lanolin which sheep produce will likely have them healed in no time.
Feed the sheep - their bodies will need to adjust to their new "climate" now that they are nudists... extra calories will help keep them warm. Food will also keep them busy as they "meet" all of these strange, naked sheep they think they are just meeting for the first time.
Tip your shearer if they have done a great job... If you think about the hard work they do, it is thankless, dirty, taxing on the body, and they will remember your generosity (even if the tip is lunch or some farm produce).

If you make every effort to be prepared for shearing day, you will end up with happy sheep, a happy shearer, and a good wool clip.

I love shearing day... it is amazing to watch your sheep go from wooly beasts to slick and clean in a matter of minutes... and suddenly you have a whole new batch of WOOL to play with or sell!!!

Hindsight...

2011-02-07T10:05:00.000-05:00

Hindsight is not always 20/20. Sometimes the past is as much of a mystery as the future, but I'm still absolutely convinced that we can learn valuable lessons from it anyway.

The ewe who lost her lamb is really doing great. She is feeling good and even jumping around at feeding time - this is a GOOD thing. All of the other ewes are doing fine and showing no signs that they are having any problems. I have watched the flock very closely over the last few days and have noticed that one of my old girls is being very agressive at feeding time...

Most of the other ewes stand down to her without argument, but it is entirely possible that the ewe who lost her lamb had been hit broadside by the old bully. It will probably remain a mystery.

LESSONS LEARNED:

In the future, I will not likely introduce two groups of ewes together so late in pregnancy.
I do have a very "common sense" vet who is not going to push me to spend money unnecessarily (Teresa pointed this out).
Experience continues to make me a more knowledgable shepherd (and hopefully some of you can learn from my experience too).
We have some great friends who continue to offer their experience, support, and encouragement (including many readers - thank you!).

Hindsight is not always 20/20.

Hindsound usually indicates that Hindsmell is not far behind.

Hindsmell stinks.

Kind of Warped...

2011-02-06T15:03:00.000-05:00

No folks, this is not a post about my warped sense of humor...

I think I have mentioned that Wayne and I have been spinning wool into yarn for a while now. I didn't expect to enjoy spinning as much as I do, but I find it very relaxing and rewarding. The problem is that you end up with a bunch of yarn and nothing to do with it!!! We have sold some and given some away, but with all of the expense and time you have into it, you really want to find a way to use it yourself.

Wayne received a small Ashford Loom for Christmas 2009 and he made a few projects with it including my awesome Merino Wool Scarf which he gave me for Christmas this year. This last fall, when he saw a Leclerc Floor Loom on Craigslist for a great price, he brought it home and made a place for it in the computer room. It is HUGE and has a lot of parts - foot pedals, cranks, mechanical brakes... It was a little intimidating to think of trying to learn how to use it.

On Saturday, Cathy Phaneuf from Phaneuf Pharm came over and taught us how to warp our loom. As with most new hobbies, weaving comes with it's own vocabulary and I am learning it slowly. To "warp" a loom essentially means to "string" it. The "strings" that run from back to front and through the parts that raise up and down when you press the pedals are called "the warp". The "strings" or yarn which you weave through the warp are called the "weft". Don't worry, there will not be a test (I hope).

Cathy showing us how to tie the warp

Cathy is a great teacher... she broke the very intricate process of warping the loom down into very easy steps and her excitement and love of weaving was infectious. I learn better from people who are excited about what they are teaching about.

We have spent a few hours since Cathy left on Saturday weaving our first project... It is going to be a scarf made from handspun yarn in a Pebble Weave pattern with bands of regular weave every 5 inches.

I did not expect to enjoy weaving...

Progress on our first Floor Loom project

As you push down on different pedals you weave through the "shed"

The "Pebble Weave" pattern we are working from

Our progress (note the band of regular weave near the top which will repeat every 5 inches)

Deflated and Defleeced - yet Determined...

2011-02-05T21:53:00.000-05:00

DEFLATED

It's easy to blog about the good stuff that happens on the farm, but really hard to write about the bad, especially when it is fresh and stinging. I don't want this blog to be a view "through rose colored glasses"... I think too many people tell only about the "ups" and the "downs" are left in the back of the proverbial closet where nobody can see. I want to share our "downs" too... It might be a learning tool for someone and it will definately be good therapy for me to write about it!

Each breeding season is kind of like blowing up a balloon... every step you take toward lambing is like blowing another breath in. You choose the right ram, vaccinate, worm, feed the right food, and when lambing time arrives you have a nice shiney balloon to marvel at. The problem with balloons is that sometimes things don't go according to plan and you feel the balloon (and your spirits) deflate.

Yesterday morning as we were penning the ewes in the barn for shearing, we found an aborted fetus on the barn floor... This was a first for us. If you search the internet for "aborted lamb", you find a multitude of horrible diseases that can quickly attack a flock and cause an "abortion storm". On the other hand, something as simple as a ewe getting bumped at the feeder by another ewe can cause an abortion.

By now, most readers probably know that my mind automatically expects the worst so besides being upset about the lost lamb, I was instantly worried about the rest of the flock. I called my vet and he told me that I needed to calm down. He said that if we were to lose another lamb then we should take the fetus in for testing and start treating the flock, but that one abortion is not cause for mass hysteria.

We have in the last two weeks introduced two groups of ewes together, moved them into a new area (the barn), and penned them on Sunday to trim feet, worm, and vaccinate - it is very reasonable to think that the ewe got bumped... but I will be watching the flock like a hawk and worrying. Ahhh, the joys of keeping livestock.

DEFLEECED

Shearing itself went VERY well... I am really happy with how the ewes look - it can be a challenge to know how fat/skinny they are under 3 - 4 inches of wool and is nice to know we are getting better at judging body condition. Even our "old girls" look good.

Cheviot Ewes awaiting Shearing...

We penned the ewes up and one by one the shearer expertly harvested their wool. This year local sheep shearer Sy Caryl sheared for us... He shears all over the country and competes in various shearing contests. We are really lucky here in Michigan in that we have many professional shearers to choose from and the few we have used here at the farm have all done exceptional work.

Merino Ewe getting naked...

We gave extra hay to the ewes and will keep them out of the wind until their wool starts to grow back and their bodies acclimate to losing their wool coat.

NAKED SHEEP!!!

DETERMINED

All of the ewes are acting great and looking very healthy - even the ewe that aborted is eating and drinking and chewing her cud. We gave her a shot of antibiotics because we could...

I am determined not to stress out over this set-back to the point where it isn't enjoyable anymore. Afterall, you have to love the journey in order to love the destination.

I am determined to keep blowing up this balloon... true, it could pop, but life is a party and what's a party without a few balloons?

Special Delivery...

2011-02-02T19:42:00.001-05:00

Now before you think that the UPS driver risked life and limb in "the blizzard of the year" to deliver these packages, I must confess that these were delivered on Monday and Tuesday but I didn't get around to opening them until today...

To the untrained eye, it may appear that someone in our household has un unhealthy relationship with the Home Shopping Network, but in reality this is just another sign that lambing season is quickly approaching...

As a kid, I always loved getting packages in the mail, and I must still be a kid at heart because to this day it feels a little like Christmas when I have a box to open. Forget the fact that I just ordered the stuff last week... I still find suprises (likely because of the brain cells that succumbed to red wine poisoning over the weekend).

I received my needles and syringes from American Livestock Supply... For the sheep, we use the 3, 6, and 12 cc syringes as well as 18 and 20 gauge 3/4" needles. I prefer the syringes with the Luer Lock tips - they have a "screw-on" type system that really help to keep the needles from pulling off...

I ordered Ivermectin Horse Wormers and Sheep Nutri-Drench from Valley Vet Supply. The Nutri-Drench is an oral Vitamin and Mineral supplement for newborn or "down" lambs and it provides INSTANT energy. It is great for lambs born on very cold days.

I received two boxes of products from Pipestone Veterinary Supply. We usually order stuff from them a few times during the year... I am suprised they don't send us a Christmas Card?!??!?

We received a 25# bag of Pipestone's Lamb Milk Replacer... I really think this is an exceptional product and highly recommend it to other shepherds. We hope that we don't have to use it, but it is something you can't wait for if you end up needing it so it makes sense to have a bag on hand.

We also bought a tub of Nursemate which is a "first milk" or "colostrum" replacer... Again hoping NOT to use it!

There are two bottle nipples... I think I mentioned that we "LENT" some out last year and they were never replaced. They are pretty cheap so it is no big deal, but it just irks me when people don't follow through - (I know, get over it already Rich!!!)

We received a 2# bag of Deccox which we will mix in with our mineral to try to minimize the Coccidia in the barn during lambing (terrible tiny parasites that can cause diarrhea and possibly death in lambs).

There is a bottle of Iodine Spray for wounds and possibly newborn lamb navels...

AND for the first time this year... A HUGE bottle of Chlorhexidine which is a very effective disinfectant that is gentle on the skin and safe. Many shepherds are starting to use this in place of Iodine for navels as well as for disinfecting lambing tools, tattooing equipment, ear tags, and the like. This is also used in human mouthwash so it must be relatively safe. The more disinfected I can get, the better... maybe I had better order some bleach!

When it comes to having animals, I think you need to work and hope for the best case scenario, but plan and order supplies for the worst case scenario. Afterall, you don't need to be a Boy Scout to be prepared!!!!

More snow than I thought...

2011-02-02T15:23:00.000-05:00

The blizzard continued all day and we ended up with more snow than I thought...

My well honed driving skills were not enough to keep me from getting the car stuck at the end of the driveway but we were able to walk it out with the truck. On our way to town to get lunch we saw three cars stuck in snow drifts but we made it to town safely, ate to our hearts content, and came home to plow out the drives.

Is it spring yet???

Snow Day!

2011-02-02T11:43:00.000-05:00

While the blizzard didn't bring us the massive pummeling of snow that some places have been hit with, we did wake up to a little accumulation of the white stuff and it is still coming down.

Based on the weather forecast, my workplace had decided to close for Wednesday and I did my best to clear the schedule for the day. It was nice not to have to brave the ice and snow covered roads first thing this morning.

The animals seem to deal with the snow just fine. We threw everybody some extra hay in order to provide more calories for them to burn and stay warm... Personally, my calorie intake seems more than adequte to keep me warm in the coldest of conditions...

I hope everyone is staying safe and warm! Once this snow stops we can get to work plowing!

The Last Weekend in January...

2011-01-31T21:16:00.000-05:00

We woke up on Saturday morning to find 8 inches of new snow on the ground. It was beautiful powdery snow that sparkled in the sunshine. I really enjoyed the day, plowing the drive to the road and the drive back to the horsebarn. Twice we had neighbors stop in to visit... it was a very rare winter day where the sun brought people outside who have spent most of the last month holed up inside avoiding the cold.

We made it to the Shiawassee Trail Riders meeting on Saturday Evening and had a good time... A few unsuspecting folks made the mistake of asking about our sheep and they got an earful about eating locally, knowing your food, and the virtues of raising your own meat. I really think it is important for people to think about where their food comes from, how it lived, and what it ate.

Sunday was a very eventful day, we penned the 19 ewes who are in the barn and one by one caught them, tipped them on their rumps, vaccinated them with CD&T, wormed them with injectable Cydectin, and trimmed their feet. CD&T is a vaccine against tetanus and several other clostridium toxins, we give this to the ewes 1 month before they are due to lamb and the ewes will pass some immunity on to their lambs.

We did have one mishap during the procedure... poor Annie, our white Merino ewe who is arguably our most spectacular ewe got a sore leg thanks to my mistake. Tipping ewes up can be a hassle (especially for those of us who are challenged in the height department) she tried to get one of her back legs underneath herself on my first attempt to flip her and that leg got bent back uncomfortably. She was limping a bit yesterday but is moving much better today.

I just feel terrible when I hurt them needlessly... I know it is part of farming and mistakes will happen, but my forementioned need for approval from my peers is second only to my need to beat myself up with guilt when I do something stupid. In the long run, I think guilt makes me more careful and more thoughtful about how I handle my animals so it is probably a good thing.

On my way out the door to work this morning, I made a sidetrip to the barn to check on Annie... although my vivid imagination had produced images of a leg swollen to gigantic proportions turned black with gangrene, reality was much less dramatic. A very slight limp which was even better this evening.

This Friday the shearer is coming to shear the ewes... In an ideal world, it would be nice to combine giving shots, foot trimming, and shearing all at one time so as to avoid the stress of penning and catching the ewes twice, but I think it is important to respect the shearer's time and have these extras done so all he has to do is shear and not wait on us. Plus, the more we handle our ewes in the month before they lamb, the calmer they seem to be when lambing time arrives.

The weather forecast is calling for massive quantities of snow for this week. The latest reports called for snow accumulation of 8 to 15 inches by Wednesday. We shall see... February might start with a whiteout!

Lean on Me...

2011-01-28T22:16:00.000-05:00

When you own livestock, you somehow build a group of friends who have the same kinds of animals you do. These groups become known as your "horse friends" or your "sheep friends". You know that even if you have nothing else in common, you are both insane when it comes to at least one thing.

Tomorrow night we are going with "horse friends" to the annual meeting of the Shiawassee Trail Riders. There will be a dinner, a benefit auction, and a club meeting, but no-one would go if the draw was the food, auction items, and meeting agenda... nope, these will be passable, but could all likely use a little more flavor. The draw will be the comradery, the socializing, and the friendships with people who share some insanity with us.

It is nice to have these groups of friends to talk to, learn from, and lean on when you need to.

We spent most of the day at the farm of some "sheep friends" who were due to start lambing today but got called to work for part of the day. They didn't see any signs of labor this morning but asked if we would keep watch for them just in case. It is nice when people think enough of you to trust you with their farm... it is even nicer when you know they feel they can ask you for a favor. I like to be the kind of friend that can be called on.

We arrived at their farm around 10 AM and by the time we left at 4:30 PM, there were 5 ram lambs and a ewe lamb on the ground. That's what you call a population explosion! There were lambs shooting out left and right and more ewes showing subtle signs that they weren't far behind.

I am sure that these "sheep friends" will be up through the night checking on ewes and lambs. As much as I am looking forward to the start of our own lambing season, right now I am looking forward to a good nights sleep.

Sleep tight and stay warm!

Perspective from the Barn...

2011-01-27T22:23:00.000-05:00

We are one step closer to lift-off folks... We are like mission control counting down the days and checking off the "to do" list. Today I ordered supplies from Pipestone Veterinary Clinic, American Livestock Supply, and Valley Vet Supply and spent a bunch of cash on lambing supplies and horse wormers.

This evening we also moved the Cheviot and Merino ewes in the barn... it was snowing pretty good out and we need to get the wool dry for shearing in a week. The dreary gray days and long cold nights of winter are SOOO much more tolerable when you are preparing and planning for lambs.

I think that the world would be a better place if everyone had animals to care for. It puts things in perspective - the things that are truly important, how fragile life is, how the simple things are the sweetest, nothing worthwhile is easy.

Where does YOUR perspective come from?

Stay warm!

Fitness Guru for a Day...

2011-01-27T08:36:00.000-05:00

I am not sure that I have mentioned my current obsession with a certain fitness class...

...well, I haven't mentioned it very much.

This class is a GREAT time... A combination of latin dance, cardio-aerobics, and the best dance party you have ever been to. Zumba ROCKS!

So last night I arrived for Wednesday night class and found that the instructor was not there yet?!?! Pretty unusual for her, but it happens. About 10 minutes before the class was to start, her truck came pulling in to the parking lot and out jumped her husband.

It turns out that about 20 minutes earlier, she starting vommiting violently and was unable to leave the safety of her bathroom. It was much too late to notify anyone that class was cancelled so she sent her husband with the CD of the music and instruction that "Rich and Rachel know the songs and can run the class and everyone can Zumba for free tonight". WHAT? First the Stylish Blogger Award and now Fitness Guru of the Day? Pinch me!

Had I found out any earlier that I would be thrown into teaching the class, I may have had a chance to get nervous, but luckily by this time there were only a few minutes to get my shoes on and get started. It was a full house and we had at least 30 people Zumba-ing their little hearts out.

What a RIOT!!! I quickly settled in to my preferred and sought after role as COA (center of attention) and probably hammed it up just enough to be entertaining (or completely annoying). I hardly could believe that running a group excercise class could be so much fun and by the end, phrases such as "TIGHTEN UP THOSE ABS" and "BURN OFF THAT CHEESECAKE" were flowing out of my mouth like I was auditioning for the role of Richard Simmons.

Who knows what the future holds? Maybe becoming a certified instructor? Maybe nothing? But I do know that I had a great time and got more than my minimum required dose of approval from my peers (which as I mentioned has been a lifelong need).

This week the world may have lost Jack Lalanne, but another fitness guru has risen from the ashes...

...or smelled like the asses?

Straw Shake Down!

2011-01-26T22:29:00.000-05:00

Today while I was off to work, diligently earning my keep, Wayne was at home spreading straw in the barn. For the next week, we will move the ewes in the barn when the weather is bad so that we can get all of their fleeces dried out for shearing. The shearer will be here on Friday, February 4th and will harvest our wool crop from the first 19 ewes who will start to lamb in about a month.

Why Straw???

At one time, straw was the "go to" animal bedding, but today a lot of people use wood shavings, ground up corn husks, shredded newspaper, etc. With sheep, straw is really the best option for several reasons... First and foremost, it isn't likely to contaminate the wool. Wood shavings can become little slivers of wood that get tangled in the fleece and render the wool garbage.

If we were more talented than we are, we would figure out how to spin the straw in to gold, but instead we spread it on the floor and let the sheep deficate and urinate in it... As the manure accumulates, we will put more fresh straw on top. As the manure and straw "break down" underneath, it will create heat and the barn floor will act as a giant heating pad for the lambs to be born on.

It is important that we keep the barn well ventilated and that we keep a fresh and clean layer of straw on top of the manure pack. We will also use "Stall Fresh" granules to neutralize the amonia from the urine. Once lambing season is finished, we will spread the manure pack out on one of the pastures and all of those nutrients will go back into the ground

Wayne also put up our barn calendar where we will record births, birth weights, and other important info (dinner dates, Zumba classes, my birthday, etc).

As usual, the barn work was closely monitored by Dozer the Cat and he was completely unimpressed.

Say it with STYLE!

2011-01-25T10:20:00.000-05:00

Who knew I had anything to say? (besides those of you who have known me for years and have been trying to get me to SHUT UP for most of that time)…

When I first started this blog, I decided not to let anyone know about it until I had a few posts under my belt – after all, I didn’t know whether I would even LIKE writing about the daily happenings around our farm. The problem was, being the lifelong approval junkie that I am, I couldn’t stand the fact that I had posted something and didn’t have anyone reading to let me know if it was useful, funny, and entertaining or merely self indulgent crap.

I first asked my very good friend Sue, whom I work with, for her opinion. She read the first two posts and promptly told me that anyone who would want to read this garbage clearly had less of a life than I do…

So imagine my surprise, that I have been nominated by two exceptional bloggers for the “Stylish Blogger Award”… What’s this??? Me??? You like me! You really like me! (Apologies to Sally Field)

Thank you to Olddog at Yellow Dog Farm and to John at Going Gently for the nominations. And thank you to everyone else for reading!

One of the “conditions” of this award is that I must share 7 personal things about myself that you may not already know:

1) Back in my school days I was active in the marching band and played several musical intruments. I was elected “drum major” (the bossy leader) and have very fond memories of those days. Hours of grainy home movies of various parades, halftime shows, and other events still exist in the vaults waiting to become featured in my “Before they were Stars” episode.

2) I have a “love affair” with food and at least twice in my life have lost close to 100# in less than a year timeframe. I feel that I am more healthy today than I have ever been, but there is always the thought in the back of my head that I am never safe from being back where I started. I don’t ever want to be out of control again and it is a constant fear.

3) I am very proud to have graduated with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from a top college. My current job utilizes ZERO of this degree, but I learned that I am capable of accomplishing things I could never imagine. I don’t have your typical “engineer” mind… I am more visual and artistic naturally, but that time at school was the first time where I really pushed myself to places I didn’t know I could get to.

4) I was a momma’s boy when I was very young. I remember my first day of preschool when my mother told me as we were walking in that there was no reason to be upset – she would pick me up at the end of the day. I remember thinking “upset about what”? Minutes later as she was walking out of the room, I was crying like a baby – that is until they brought out the modeling clay and once my snake was complete, I never looked back.

5) I had a healthy fear of big dogs when I was younger… They moved fast and had big teeth and I was very intimidated. I would never have imagined that I would have six of them sleeping in bed with me as an adult.

6) I think that I am a terrible salesman… My thought is that I should tell you not only what is good about what I have for sale, and not only what is bad, but also everything that might possibly go wrong or has gone wrong with something else or problems someone else had with a similar product, or a nightmare I had about a product that slightly resembled what I am selling… I guess I figure that if you know all of that and still want it, then I will sell it to you.

7) I am the first one to look at the way “kids” dress today and complain about their sloppy appearance, the dirty looking hair, the inappropriate underwear showing because the jeans are riding too low, the ripped up jeans, etc. However, the first thing I did when I reached my goal weight was to buy a BRAND NEW pair of ripped up jeans from American Eagle… I really like them and I wonder if possibly pictures leaked out to the internet of me wearing these jeans – this might explain my “Stylish Blogger” award?????

Thanks again for the nominations! It is nice to know that people are enjoying the blog! I need to pass this award on so stay tuned for MY nominations...

Sheep Feeder Design

2011-01-24T21:34:00.000-05:00

Through the years we have gone through various iterations of hay feeders for our sheep. The first ones were made of leftover or scrap lumber and worked okay but were either too heavy, or allowed too much hay chaff to get into our fleeces. We tore them apart and rebuilt them a few times but finally scrapped them altogether and came up with a new design.

These feeders are great and work well for us. They have a nice deep tray for the hay to sit in while the sheep are sifting through to eat the best morsels first. We have a lot less wasted hay and our fleeces are much cleaner now.

The bottom tray is made of a frame of 2 x 6's screwed to a 2 foot x 8 foot plywood base (sheet of plywood split the long way). The top frame is 2 x 4's in the same configuration. The top frame and bottom tray are then attached with six legs made of 2 x 6's. Finally, sixteen 1 x 4 slats finish things off...

Pictures say it best!

These feeders are pretty inexpensive to make and are an easy day project. We usually get all of our lumber cut first and then assemble it with wood screws.

We have a few minor changes for the "Outside Feeder" version (cleverly named as it is intended for use outside of the barn... sometimes I amaze myself with these moments of genious). The plywood base is replaced with rough cut planks from the Amish Sawmill and 1 inch drain holes are drilled in each corner. We are also working on making covers for the outside feeders which seem to help saving hay from rain, snow, and sun bleaching.

They are made from the same rough cut planks we used for the trays and have slats screwed to the bottom which hold them from sliding and falling in.

We do not use any treated lumber for these feeders, but this spring/summer I would like to power wash them and protect them with something safe that will not harm the sheep... Any suggestions?

I am no carpenter but I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist.. you can imagine that these homemade carpentry projects can be a little frustrating when they don't turn out exactly "perfect". I have learned to accept these "little mistakes" as my signature. A split board here, a crooked cut there... That is how you know it is my work (I think they call it "folk art" on Antiques Roadshow).

So remember when you are working on your own projects and things aren't going exactly as planned - life is a canvas, don't forget to sign your work!

Firewood and Puppies...

2011-01-23T19:31:00.000-05:00

The cold snap continues - we didn't get out of the single digits today and we were running out of firewood. Unfortunately, it was so cold that the diesel truck wouldn't start. We tried jumping it, charging the battery, swearing at it, kicking it... She just wouldn't roar to life. It is probably time for some new batteries for the old girl, but we'll see what happens when the weather turns warmer.

So we ended up taking the little baby truck to pick up some wood from our good friends Mel and Roberta. They have horses, Texas Longhorn Cattle, and just recently got two new Chihuahua puppies... Truth be told, I think that I was more excited about going to visit the puppies than anything else.

Here I am holding Lily and Sofia

Mel and Roberta are fun to visit, they fill the table with snacks and we talk and eat (two of my favorite pastimes). Mel and I usually partake in the latest cocktail he has come up with. It is definately a good way to spend a cold Sunday afternoon.

Roberta and Mel with my puppies...

All of that fun and we still remembered to pick up the firewood...

Our dogs supervising the wood delivery...

There were a few things we had planned to do this weekend that got pushed back because it was just TOO cold out. Tomorrow is another day.

Stay Warm!

Right as Rain (or rather snow)...

2011-01-22T18:24:00.000-05:00

Good News...

Be it the antibiotic shot, the wormer meds, or just good luck, the ewe is back to her sassy self again. She is meeting us at the gate when it is feed time and once again eating like she is at the Chinese buffet and a busload of Sumo Wrestlers just pulled in.

Jammers is feeling fine!

This week we put out tubs of Kent's EnergiLass Sheep 15 for the ewes who are due to start lambing in 5-8 weeks. It is a 50 pound tub of a molasses based supplement with protien, fat, fiber, and a lot of different vitamins and minerals. This is useful not only in giving the ewes the extra vitamins and minerals, but also to ward off Ketosis (pregnancy toxemia) which I mentioned in the previous posting.

Nutritional Analysis - Kent EnergiLass Sheep 15

Crude Protein, min	15.0%
Crude Fat, min	5.0%
Crude Fiber, max	2.0%
Calcium (Ca), min	1.3%
Calcium (Ca), max	1.8%
Phosphorus (P), min	0.9%
Magnesium (Mg), min	0.4%
Potassium (K), min	4.0%
Manganese (Mn), min	400 ppm
Selenium (Se), min	3.5 ppm
Zinc (Zn), min	1600 ppm
Vitamin A, min	55,000 IU/lb
Vitamin D₃, min	5500 IU/lb
Vitamin E, min	425 IU/lb

This is in addition to our loose mineral/salt mix which the sheep always have access to. We use a loose mineral mix from Armada Grain. It is very high in selenium which our area of Michigan is deficient in. Selenium is very important for muscle health, immune health, etc.

Supplement tub and loose mineral feeder

It has been very cold the last few days with temperatures in the single digits. I have been enjoying my new thermal undies and wool socks...

Just Not Right...

2011-01-20T21:42:00.000-05:00

We have a Merino ewe who has been a little "off" for the last two nights. She has just been moving a little slower and eating with a little less enthusiasm. She kind of acts like I do the day after I have had a little too much Merlot... (or more likely a LOT too much)

When you have animals, you get to know them well enough to sense when they aren't feeling themselves and in the case of a ewe who is 5-8 weeks away from lambing, you need to be on your toes.

Sheep are prey animals and their survival instincts program them not to show weakness... This can mean that when they finally DO show signs that they don't feel good, you don't want to take the "wait and see" approach because they REALLY don't feel good.

Our Process of determining treatment:

Ewe's Temperature is 102.2 (normal for a sheep)

Pregnancy Toxemia is not likely - this is an illness that effects overfat or overthin ewes in late pregnancy carrying multiple lambs. Essentially the ewe does not have enough room in her stomach for feed so she starts burning fat reserves at a really high rate. This releases Ketones into her system which the liver can not filter out. Usually leads to death. This ewe is neither thin nor overfat and it is a little too soon in the pregnancy for this to be an issue. As a preventive, we have put molases based sheep mineral tubs out for the ewes.

Pneumonia - Our temperatures have been all over the board this week and we have had some wet weather, and the ewe's immune system is taxed right now because of pregnancy. She is not running a temperature though...

Parasites - This ewe was on pasture late into the fall and although we worm regularly, parasites are always a consideration with sheep. Plus, I just read on my Clun Forest Mail Group about a vet who had a ewe who had the same symptoms and turned out being heavily infested with the barber pole worm with no signs of anemia.

So this evening we decided to administer a shot of antibiotics as well as a dose of wormer (injectable ivermectin). Neither one of these could hurt and one (or both) will likely solve the problem. If not, we'll go back to the drawing board tomorrow morning...

I guess my motto is that it is better to be safe than sorry. If we don't do what we can for an animal in our care who is "just not right" then I will be awake half of the night contemplating my failure and I already have enough to worry about!

Stay warm and sleep well!

It's Beautiful, but it's COLD!

2011-01-19T20:56:00.000-05:00

The last few days, temperatures have been up and down... Tuesday morning I woke to find the thermometer reading above freezing for the first time in a while and a light rain was falling. By the time I made it to work, the rain had turned to snow and the temperatures fell back down in the high 20s for the rest of the day. Today has been another mixed bag and by the time evening chore time hit temps settled in the mid teens. For some reason, I was very cold and could not get warmed up until I went to Zumba class.

The ram's broken horn appears to be healing nicely... it doesn't look like his injury has slowed him down in the least. Some of the ewes are starting to get big...

The Cluns eating their hay...

The Merinos are starting to show...

Pretty Cheviot Ewes...

Plenty of room at the hay feeders...

Zoey eating hay...

Handsome peacock begging for cat food...

Frozen driveway...

A cold and beautiful sky painted by the setting sun...

Winter in Michigan can be so beautiful... Stay warm!

A Broken Horn...

2011-01-17T20:38:00.000-05:00

Last night at feeding time I found that a yearling ram had broken off one of his horns. There was some blood around the nubbin that was left but he seemed fine and ate his dinner. I found the horn on the ground next to the wire panel fence and I am guessing that he was rubbing on the fence, got the horn caught and broke it off. We packed it with "Cut-Heal" wound powder and let it be.

This morning when we went out to feed, we found that the horn had bled quite a bit through the night. He still acted fine and ate his feed, but looked a little like an escapee from the slaughter house. We caught him and trimmed off some of the frozen and bloody wool on his face and neck, the wound had definately clotted. We gave him a shot of antibiotics "just in case"... I am sure this was an unnecesary precaution, but I would rather be safe than sorry when it comes to injuries.

I called and talked to the vet and he said that it happens all of the time and although it looks terrible, he has never seen an animal bleed to death from losing a horn. I guess if it is going to happen, this is the perfect time of year for it - there are no bugs to get at the wound and the freezing temps will likely help keep things clean and free of mud.

I am going to spare you from looking at pictures of the bloody mess... The ram is still fine this evening and doesn't seem any the worse for ware.

Lambing Barn is Ready to go...

2011-01-16T13:02:00.000-05:00

The big project this weekend was getting the lambing barn rearranged, cleaned, and set up to move the ewes in for shearing very soon. We have an area in the barn that is sometimes storage and other times a lambing pen and this year it had gotten pretty cluttered and messy.

Feeders, trimming stand, horse carts, and garbage needed to be organized and moved.

On Friday I got most everything cleared and put away. This took longer than you might think because I didn't just want to move the clutter to another area but rather put things in their place. It is always nice to be able to find something when you want to use it later...

Friday's Progress

Saturday was busier yet. We took down the fence that had previously separated the two pens to make one large indoor lambing area, I swept up all of the rouge hay, straw, dirt, chicken feathers, etc which was deposited over the summer, and put up the pen walls we had stored against the wall. I also moved the hay feeders, mineral feeder, and water tank in place and things are looking good again.

All that is left is to spread some straw, fill the water tank, and move the ewes in and we'll be ready for lambs to start hitting the ground! We are just over a month away from our first possible lambing date. Ready... Set....

Impromtu Lunch Date...

2011-01-15T18:41:00.002-05:00

My sister called this morning to find out if we wanted to meet for lunch. She and her husband have a vacation home "up north" on a lake and sometimes when they are traveling north they call us to meet them for lunch. We always go to one of my favorite places in town - a little Mexican joint called "El Charritos".

This place has a salad that is AWESOME... it is called a Tapopo Salad and it is a layer of homemade tortilla chips topped with refried beans and guacamole, then on top of THAT is a mix of shredded lettuce, chopped tomatos, green peas, shredded chicken, shredded cheese, and a red wine vinegar dressing - parmesan cheese is then sprinkled over the top. Yeah, it is the salad that dreams are made of...

A small Tapopo is enough to feed an army and a large could likely feed the entire population of the Yukatan Peninsula. All the while, they are playing authentic Mexican music over the stereo system and some of the songs I recognize from Zumba Class... There is nothing like thinking of excercise class while you are filling your face.

One of our "Tapopo" traditions is to take a picture of the salad and send it to my other sister who lives in Chicago... You see, she has come to love this salad as much as WE do and I know it does her heart good to know that we are enjoying that which she is geographically deprived of.

Two "SMALL" Tapopos

Eat your heart out Morty's Mom!!! (my lovely sister)

Sheep Grain Recipe - Food Network WATCH OUT!

2011-01-14T20:07:00.001-05:00

A four day weekend! Whew-hoo!

We drove out to Imlay City this morning to pick up a load of sheep grain.

A few bags that would not fit in the feed bin

In the world of sheep, the word "grain" can mean a few different things. Some folks feed pelleted feeds which are essentially grains, grasses, legumes, vitamins and minerals which are ground up, processed, and cooked into pellets. These can be fine, but they have their downsides as well...

First, sheep are a ruminant animal which means they have a multi-chamber stomach system which is highly developed to process feed - when they are fed already processed feeds which break down quickly, the feeds can break down and ferment too quickly causing problems such as acidosis. Second, these processed feeds are not the most environmentally friendly choice.

Our grain is a mix of locally grown grains as well as minerals and vitamins carefully formulated to fill the needs of a sheep flock in our area. We have switched grain recipes a few times over the years and have made adjustments as we learn more about sheep nutrition. This current recipe is pretty close to one developed by our good friends at Pitchfork Ranch in Swartz Creek, Michigan.

SHEEP GRAIN RECIPE (13% Protien)
320# Cracked Corn
405# Oats
100# Soybean Meal
55# Molasses
50# Roasted Whole Soybeans
30# Trace Mineral Salt with Selenium
10# CCC (calcite calcium carbonate)
10# Vitamin A, D, E, & K

click on the picture for a closeup view (the soybeans look like tan colored peas)

Hay, grass, and other forage is the vast majority of our flocks diet but this locally grown grain mix has been a great way to deliver the extra vitamins, minerals, protiens, etc which are vital in sheep that we are asking to have lambs annually. There are times during the year when we feed no grain and other times when nutritional demands of pregnant or lactating ewes dictate increased amounts.

We are constantly "tweaking" our feeding program as we learn more and I think it is important to always keep improving farm management. I don't think we have to worry about Bobby Flay showing up any time soon for a "Sheep Grain Throw-down" but if he does, he is GOING DOWN!

In my spare time...

2011-01-13T22:32:00.000-05:00

Winter is definately the most labor intensive time of year to have livestock in Michigan. I am not complaining, I really enjoy the animals and the fruits of our labor, but sometimes it is hard to explain to someone who has never had an animal why they see so little of us this time of year. So in an effort to TRY to explain myself, here is a glimpse into a typical recent weeknight.

I arrive home between 4 and 4:15PM and Wayne usually has dinner ready (I am very spoiled and he is an AWESOME cook). After dinner, I pull on what seems like half of the clothes I own in order to keep from freezing to death in the cold and head out to feed the animals. This time of year we feed a whole grain mix to our pregnant ewes which is specially formulated to give them all of the good stuff they need to help babies grow... I start by feeding this grain mix to each of the groups of sheep. They don't get much, but as you might imagine they LOVE it and are waiting for me at the gate.

Starving Merinos...

What's the holdup with the food?

Enough with the pictures already...

Bring on the FOOD!

The Cheviots are pretty sure they got shorted...

Where is the REST of our grain?

The next step is to fill the hay feeders. A number of years ago we made a GREAT investment when we purchased a "Trail Wagon" vehicle to cart hay and grain around... This sure beats our previous way of hauling everything around in a wheel barrow (which usually ended up tipping over or getting bogged down in the mud). We couldn't have all of the livestock we do today if we didn't have this thing - it is a beautiful thing.

When all of the sheep feeders are full, I drive to the back of the property and fill the horses feed pans. It is really neat how the horses work out their feeding order. Don't try to do it in the wrong order or you'll have chaos... We spread out the feeders all over the paddock so that there are no arguments and everyone gets their share.

While the horses are eating their grain, I climb up into the hay mow and throw down hay...

Next, it is back up to the front barn to feed the donkeys and hand feed Barney his Equine Senior Feed. By this time, it is getting dark and Barney and his co-horts are making their pathetic cries to let me know I have made them wait MUCH too long. If you have never had the pleasure of hearing a donkey bray, it is such a sad and mornful wail and ALWAYS brings a smile to my face... Oh they are pathetic - I love them.

Tonight I also filled water buckets for the sheep pens. Wayne usually has the watering done before I get home but had too much going on today so I was happy to do it. He does the morning chores and although he doesn't have to hand feed Barney, he gets to feed the birds.

I almost forgot to mention that I had help feeding this evening - Dozer was on hand to critique me

So by the time I am finished, darkness has fallen and I have to find ways to fill my evenings so that I don't crash on the couch. Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights I go to ZUMBA and on Tuesday nights we have been walking up at the indoor track in town.

Sometimes I wonder what "regular" people do in their spare time... Now you know what I do with mine.

Snowflakes and Feathers Fall

2011-01-11T20:58:00.000-05:00

Ugly Dog's Farm has been home to many different kinds of poultry over the years - you name it and we probably had some at one time. Currently there are guinea fowl, peacocks, and various chickens running the neighborhood. The guineas seem to cut down on the bug population in the summer and make great "watch dogs", the chickens provide lots of free-range eggs for friends and family, and the peacocks are cool to look at and they drop beautiful tail feathers every summer.

A few years ago we upgraded our chicken coop with a nice big one the Amish built for us. We decked the coop out with nest boxes, perches, and feeders. Unfortunately, after we got most of the chickens trained to live in the coop, a raccoon got in and killed half of the birds one night. The survivors of that night of flying feathers have been too traumatized to spend another night in there since.

Nesting boxes

Perches

Feeders

I have always been suprised at how well the birds deal with Michigan winters. The peacocks have never liked being inside. Even when they were penned up, they would rather roost outside in their flight pen than inside a coop. Now that they are free to roam at will, they forego the opportunity to sleep in the dry coop and perch high in the barren willow or on the railing of the 2nd floor deck. We have never lost a bird to weather exposure.

peacocks roosting in the willow at dusk with snowflakes falling

peacocks roosting on the deck railing

Finally we do have a chicken and a rooster who have found their way back to coop life...

Brave birds roosting in the coop of doom

What a GREAT Weekend!

2011-01-09T20:22:00.001-05:00

We had a blast again this year at Michigan Shepherd's Weekend in Lansing and as always came home with a bunch of new information and great ideas for the farm. The thing that I really love is that the more years we attend, the more it seems like a reunion of friends. Some of these people we see once a year and others more often, but the longer we are part of this group the more I am amazed at how a love of animals can form such strong friendships.

I spent the whole weekend at the symposium and Wayne drove out for the day on Saturday and then came home to care for all of the animals. Some of my favorite topics this year included talks about Selling at Farmer's Markets, Direct Marketing of Lamb, and Less Labor at Lambing time. I also got some great ideas by talking to fellow shepherds about products they use and new management ideas... I will need to update by lambing supply list!

The Sock & Yarn contests went pretty well for my first year running them, and many folks who didn't participate sounded like they planned to do so next year. I was thrilled to find the PERFECT judge for the Skein of Yarn contest - Carol Densmore is a "Master Spinner" who travels to a spinners school in Canada for 10 days each year. Carol really went above and beyond my expectations and spent a lot of time carefully examining each skein. She then provided hand written feedback on every entry with positive feedback as well as where improvement was possible.

For people like Wayne and I who learned to spin by watching YouTube Videos only a year and a half ago, this personal feedback is awesome... We donated prizes for the contest - first prize was a beautiful throw blanket made from Wool and Alpaca fiber, and second prize was a nice big candle.

The Sock contest was by "Popular Vote" as it has been in the past, but next year I am going to make some changes. There were some "unattended" kids who were found filling up the voting cards. There was also some discussion that the rules need some updating - one of the entries was a sock someone had made out of their own fiber by a local wool mill. How can a hand-knitted sock compete with one made by a wool mill? I don't think they ever had this issue before so no rule was ever in place.

I entered photos in the photo contest and won 1st place in the "Fairs and Exhibitions" category. I think that the photo contest is a great way to advertise our farm for free at the biggest sheep breeders event in our state.

I got home this afternoon to a gorgeous sunny day and I spent part of the afternoon walking the farm. Want MORE good news? This afternoon Jasper is finally moving perfectly sound and seems to have recovered from whatever was hurting him. Here are a few pictures I took this afternoon:

Jasper and Sue

Sally

Sue

Akasha, Jagger, Cody, and Billy

Riot

The whole "light horse" gang

Abby waiting to pounce on one of the other dogs...

I hope that everyone else had a great weekend as well... I am already looking forward to next year's symposium!

Lambing Supply List

2011-01-06T22:42:00.004-05:00

There will be a few Sheep Supply Vendors set up at the Michigan Sheep Breeders event this weekend so I thought it might be a good idea to review our lambing supplies to see what I might need to replenish...

VACCINES/SUPPLEMENTS/MEDICATIONS/DEWORMERS

Bar-Vac CD/T - this is a vaccine against tetanus and several other clostridium toxins. Since we have horses on the property, it is extremely important that we protect our sheep from Tetanus. We will vaccinate the ewes 1 month prior to lambing and then will booster the lambs twice after they are born. We purchase this online and our current supply is adequate.
MU-SE - this is a Selenium/Vitamin E supplement which we have always administered to our ewes 1 month prior to lambing. Michigan is deficient in Selenium and it is very important for muscle health, imune health, etc. We purchase this online with a Vet Prescription and our current supply is adequate.
BO-SE - this is a Selenium/Vitamin E supplement which we administer to newborn lambs. We purchase this online with a Vet Prescription and our current supply is adequate.
Vitamin B Complex - We keep this on hand because it is said to boost appetite and energy in a sick sheep. We purchase this at the farm store and our current supply is adequate.
Nutri-Drench - This is an oral Vitamin and Mineral supplement for newborn or "down" lambs and it is INSTANT energy. I need to check our current supply.
Penicillin and LA-200 - We keep these on hand for emergencies. As a rule, we don't give antibiotics to healthy animals, but if an animal is sick or injured we won't withhold antibiotics in the name of keeping things "all natural". It is very important to keep records of use of any meds that require a withholding period before slaughter. As producers, we have a moral and legal obligation to protect our customers. We purchase this at the farm store and our current supply is adequate.
Dewormers (Ivermectin, Moxidectin, Fenbendazole, Albendazole, Levamasole) - We rotate through these dewormers as needed. We utilize the FAMACHA system of monitoring eyelids for signs of anemia so that we can minimize use of dewormers, but sheep are VERY susceptable to parasites and losses can be high if one is not diligent about controlling them. We purchase these online and our current supply is adequate.

NEEDLES/SYRINGES

3ml, 6ml, and 12 ml syringes - we seem to use more of the 3s and 12s and I need to order more of them. I usually price them out online and buy from whoever has the best deal.
18 gauge & 20 gauge 3/4" needles - we use way more of the 20 gauge and we are completely out. I usually buy these from the same supplier as the syringes.

MILK/COLOSTRUM REPLACER

Nursemate - We usually try to have a tub of this on hand as a colostrum replacer just in case we need it. I usually purchase it from Pipestone Sheep Supply and throw it in the freezer to keep it fresh.
Milk Replacer - there are two brands that I really love and trust... Merrick's Super Lamb, and Pipestones Shepherds Choice which also happens to be mixed by the folks at Merrick's. We have had amazing results with both of these products. I will probably order the Pipestone product as it is usually less expensive for essentially the same product.

MISCELLANEOUS

Iodine Spray Bottle - We disinfect all lamb navels and cords with iodine. Our current bottle is getting low so I need to find the best deal on a new bottle
Rubber Banding Bands - We band our lambs tails before they reach 3 days old. We were directed to do so by the State Small Ruminant Specialist - he indicated that it is much less traumatic at this age and healing time is decreased as the blood vessels in the tail are small at that time. For those who may be put off by the tail removal, it is a necessary evil for our breeds of sheep... The long wool-covered tails of these breeds become manure and urine magnets and attrack flies and disease. I have plenty on hand in a vacuum-sealed bag so they don't dry out and crack.
Foot Trimming Shears - I usually purchase a new set from Mid-States at Shepherds Weekend, but I already have a new set so I don't need to buy more right now.
Bottle Nipples - We don't want to have bottle babies, but sometimes they happen and it is good to be prepared. I made the mistake of giving ours to a friend who needed them last year with the promise they would be replaced as soon as they were able to make it to the farm store... they must not have made it there yet. I will buy these from Mid-States Supply this weekend.
Lamb Tube (for delivering milk directly into a newborn lamb's stomach) - We have two of these and have never had to use them - I hope to keep it that way!
Udderly Easy Milker - I added this to the list so that I remember to unpack ours to have handy in case we want to collect some colostrum from a ewe to freeze and have on hand just in case.
Scale - I need to get my digital scale set up in order to record birth weights. We have really learned a lot about feeding in late gestation by monitoring birth weights.
Lamb Tags - in any purebred operation you need a way to positively identify a lamb and we put tiny copper tags in the newborn lambs ears. We have plenty of tags ready to go.

I am sure I am forgetting some things... My shopping list looks pretty lean, but the needles and syringes alone will cost a pretty penny.

For those of you who may be preparing for your own lambing or kidding season, here are links to some of my favorite Supply Vendors:

Winter White

2011-01-05T20:58:00.000-05:00

Winter in Michigan means limited sunlight and I am usually at work in the rare moments when the sun does actually peek through the clouds. A nice dusting of snow has covered the ground again - not enough to make the roads treacherous, just enough to make everything look crisp, clean, and BRIGHT - even when the sun isn't out. I enjoyed the "winter white" this evening while feeding the animals.

My internal clock thinks that it is time to hibernate in the winter and so when the sun goes down I feel ready for sleep... I really count on my Zumba classes to wake me up and last night we went up to the indoor track and walked for an hour. After all of my poor holiday eating choices, it would be easy for me to return to my "sloth-like" lifestyle of days gone by (come home from work, feed the animals, feed ME, and sit in front of the TV for the rest of the night).

My goals for this month are to finish getting the lambing barn prepared to move the first group of ewes in, take an inventory of our lambing supplies and replenish as needed, and to make sure all of the buckets, feeders, and lambing jug panels are clean and ready for use. It is exciting to think that we are less than 2 months away from our first lambs of 2011.

I guess these are the things that help me get through our dreary Michigan winters... winter white, Zumba, and preparing for lambs...

Michigan Shepherd's Weekend

2011-01-04T21:05:00.002-05:00

We have a really active sheep breeders organization here in Michigan and this weekend is the Michigan Sheep Breeders annual symposium. There will be guest speakers, educational sessions, a trade show with a bunch of vendors, a dinner banquet, and the annual meeting.

There are also a few different contests and this year I volunteered to organize a "Handspun Skein of Yarn" contest... It just so happened that at the same time I suggested and offered to host the yarn contest, the person who ran the sock and mitten contest each year had to give them up - so they asked if I would take these on as well and I agreed. Thank goodness I don't need to know anything about knitting socks and mittens - my knowledge is limited to wearing them.

This is always a great weekend and I am really looking forward to it. Last year, the keynote speaker was Dr. Temple Grandin, the famed author and animal behaviorist. She was really an entertaining and thoughtful speaker and it was awesome to have the opportunity to hear her in person.

I am also REALLY looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. It is great to talk with other sheep enthusiasts and to learn new stuff to bring back home and put to good use.

If any blog readers plan to attend, make sure you hunt me down to say "hi"!

Wild, Lame, and Full of it...

2011-01-03T20:55:00.000-05:00

What wild weather we have had over the last week - the ice I was so worried about never came to fruition... The temperatures rose very fast (up to the low 50s) and the rain didn't hit us until after most of the snow pack had already melted or turned to slush. The rain then melted the rest of it over night and our beautiful snow was gone. All of that worry for nothing.

Even the rain cooperated and stopped in time for most everything to dry out before the temps dipped back down into the 20s on Saturday evening.

Jasper the old Percheron gelding has come up lame. There doesn't seem to be any heat in the leg or joints so we're pretty sure it is a bruise on the sole of his foot... Poor guy - he is getting around good but you can tell he is hurting a bit. We'll keep an eye on it - he seems a little better today than yesterday.

We're also keeping an eye on the new Cheviot ewes... They traveled to Michigan in the same trailer with the new little ram and there is a slight chance that he could have bred one or more en route. It isn't likely - Cheviots are very seasonal breeders and the weather was hot when they were traveling, but we are still watching closely (due date would be around Jan 25).

We have started to get the lambing barn ready for winter lambs... We had let the Suffolk girls run in the end of the barn when they were separated for breeding and they were kind enough to leave me a pack of manure to clean up. I am pretty good at shoveling shit - I have been told more than once that I am full of it.

6 Years Gone

2011-01-01T12:41:00.000-05:00

My first horse was a beautiful palomino paint gelding named Justin.

I bought him in his mid teens from a woman in California - he had definately lived through a lot in his previous life. He suffered a knee injury as a colt and had arthroscopic knee surgery, later was sold to some people who went through a divorce and he was nearly starved to death. The woman I bought him from said she rescued him from the neglect.

She boarded Justin at a farm in California's Sierra Nevada mountains where a musician saw him and wanted to buy him for his daughter. The previous owner didn't think Justin was the right horse for a young girl so she refused to sell him. She did agree to let the musician take pictures with the horse and use them for his Christmas Album... You can see Justin with Kenny Loggins on the back cover of his 1998 release "December".

Justin showed some scars from his past... he had a front knee that was a little larger than the other, he was not real trusting of people until you proved yourself to him, and he was pretty serious about protecting his food. But once he got to know and trust someone, he was a good friend to have.

I was a green rider when he first arrived and Justin was not a "push button" kind of guy. He knew all of the tricks on how to get out of work and that forced me to become an assertive and confident rider. This being said, the horse never wanted to hurt me... as I look back, I realize that he never dished out more than I could take.

Justin taught me how to listen to a horse, he taught me how to talk to a horse, and most importantly he taught me what it meant to have a partner. We camped and rode the trails of Tennessee, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and all over Michigan. We did some team penning and went to a few horse shows, but our favorite times together were trail riding right here at home.

It was the fall of 2004 and we had a lot of rain... the temperatures dropped and the mud froze into the jagged ground I have "stressed" about on this blog before. Justin bruised the bottom of two of his feet and could hardly walk. We moved him into the barn and the vet came and treated his abcesses with pain meds and directed us to soak his feet in warm epsom salts water twice a day. After two weeks in the barn, his feet healed and he was able to go back to the pasture with his friends for the day.

This picture by Kat Wiegand - Laughing Horse Farms

It was good to see him moving so well and as I put him back in the barn that night, I noticed that he was moving a little loose in the hind end but dismissed it as being muscle fatigue from standing around for so long. The very next morning Wayne woke me up and said that I needed to go to the barn.

Justin had lost complete control of his hind end. He was not one to lay down much, you could tell that it made him feel vulnerable so he was fighting and fighting to get on his feet. Crashing into the wall and gate, struggling to his feet. He was finally able to get his head up over the gate and by shear force of will balanced himself upright. After a short time he was down again and the struggle would start again.

It was probably a stroke - two weeks standing still had likely formed a blood clot that let loose when he was finally able to move without pain. The vet got there as quickly as possible on that warm New Years Morning in 2005 and our neighbor was kind enough to bury Justin in the back pasture the very same day.

Logic tells me that it was his time, but my heart tells me that Justin saw my young horse "Riot" waiting in the wings and the thought of a peaceful retirement was not his idea of "Golden Years". He left while he still had his dignity and pride and forced me to take what he had taught me and put it to use with the young one.

I still miss him today and I talk to him from time to time. I think he has whispered in Riot's ears a few times when the young boy has shown himself to be wise beyond his years.

6 years gone today but truly not forgotten - rest in peace old friend.

Thank you 2010!

2010-12-30T20:58:00.000-05:00

As the year draws to a close, I want to take a moment to thank some of the people who have supported the farm with purchases in 2010...

Susan Flock - Wolverine, Michigan
Stacie Brown - Jonesboro, Arkansas
Donna Koranek - Lake Zurich, Illinois
Jessica Fisher - Milford, Michigan
Noah Danberry - Colon, Michigan
Karen Kruger - Flushing, Michigan
Martin & Marie King - Richmond, Michigan
Cindy & Mark Mackenzie - Belleville, Wisconsin
Leslie Cieplechowicz-Hofen - Emmett, Michigan

We have been EXTREMELY lucky this year and have met some amazing new friends (and stregthened some old friendships too). So many people have supported us this year in many ways and we wish you all the very best in 2011!

Happy New Year to all of our friends and family!

Another Holiday Gathering...

2010-12-30T19:35:00.000-05:00

My brother and his family are in town from Minnesota and spent the afternoon with us at the farm. My parents joined us as well. Wayne made his homemade chicken noodle soup (which is so thick with homemade noodles that it is really more of a stew - JUST the way I like it!). My nieces treated us to a show featuring their ballet skills as well as beautiful duets on the piano. I can't believe how fast they are growing up - they are beautiful girls.

We walked around and visited with all of the animals. The temperatures were around 40F today and the ice I was worried about earlier in the week has not been a problem so far.

It was a GREAT afternoon and the donkeys were pretty happy with the carrots the visitors fed them... It was a banner day to be a donkey!

The Dog Days of Winter

2010-12-29T21:52:00.000-05:00

We ran the roads for most of the day - went to breakfast, the bank, new tires for the car, and picked up a load of firewood. After unloading the wood, we let the dogs out to play in the snow while we filled the horses water tank. Here are some pictures of their doggy antics...

The "Ugly Dog" rolling in the snow...

Eddie coming, Abby and Mikey going...

Marty posing...

Tomas carrying his chunk of ice (a winter delicacy)...

Mikey looking intent...

The "Ugly Dog" batting her eyes at her daddy...

All six of the hooligans playing in the snow...

Tomas is the only boy... Cycy (the Ugly Dog), Marty, Eddie, Mikey, and Abby are all girls.

Goodbye Girls

2010-12-29T21:35:00.000-05:00

This morning the three Suffolk Ewes left for their new home... I am a bit on the sentimental side and these were our very first sheep so it was kind of strange to see them leave. They really have been excellent ewes for us - good moms, producing fast growing lambs. If our farm goals had gone the direction of a commercial meat flock, these ewes would have been the perfect foundation ewes to build a flock with.

I am really thrilled with the folks who purchased them... They currently have a small flock of Shetlands and wanted to add these ewes to their flock in order to offer customers some larger meat lambs. They really seem excited about the ewes and about raising sheep in general. It makes me feel good to know that these girls are going to a great place.

The resources that we had been putting into the Suffolk Ewes can now go to our purebred flocks and I am really happy with the direction we are headed. The 2010 black Merino Ewe lamb is really starting to come into her own - for the longest time I couldn't get a good picture of her - finally she doesn't look like a baby anymore.

Worrisome Weather Forecast

2010-12-28T21:28:00.000-05:00

Michigan winters can be totally unpredicatable... I can remember in years past horseback riding in light-weight jackets on New Years Day and yet this year we haven't seen above freezing temps since the beginning of December.

The forecast for the end of this week is for warmer temps and the chance of rain. You might think that a reprieve from the bitter cold temps of winter would be a welcomed thing, but instead I am a little anxious. It has been so cold for the last month, that the snows of December have been packed down under the horses feet into a very hard layer covering most of the paddocks. A few days of mild temps accompanied with rain may turn that snow pack into an ice rink.

I am hoping we can keep all of the horses safe and up on their feet if the ice hits like I am worried it will. Tomorrow we'll get some salt and sand ready - it is all we can do... I am pretty sure a few bags of each would be like putting a bandaide over a massive flesh wound, but it's still better than nothing.

Tomorrow morning the new owner is coming to pick up the three suffolk ewes...

Post Christmas Recovery

2010-12-27T21:34:00.000-05:00

As I begin to emerge from a very deep coma, brought on by overindulgence in holiday fare, I find myself very thankful that Christmas comes but once a year. One of the hidden pitfalls of hosting a Holiday gathering is the leftovers... here to tempt for days after the party is done. Let's face it, we don't make health foods to serve to our holiday guests, and Wayne and I both have no concept of how to cook for 15 people. We could likely have served 50 and still had leftovers.

We spent ALL of Christmas day recovering from the party... other than feeding and watering the animals, we did not leave the house. It was cold and snowing and the dogs claimed the seat closest to the wood stove.

I was pretty excited about a gift I received this year. Wayne gave me a scarf made from 100% Merino Wool. The yarn was all handspun on one of his wheels and woven on his Ashford Loom. I love this scarf - it is nice and long and very comfortable.

For those of you who have never been exposed to spinning or weaving, it is very time consuming. There are many hours of labor put into a gift like this... My sister suggested that the scarf was so nice that Wayne should consider making them and offering them for sale. Once you explain waiting a year for a fleece to grow, paying to have it processed into roving, the hours spent spinning it into yarn, and finally weaving that yarn into the scarf... For what you would have to price it at, you couldn't possibly compete with the ones for sale at the local retail giant.

I am on vacation from work this week and we took advantage of the day to pick up horse grain and poultry feed. All of the animals are doing great with the cold temperatures (around 20 F at the moment). I am thankful that the worst of my "holiday indulging" is over and it seems that tonights Zumba class may have pulled me back from the brink.

Thanks to everyone for your wonderful comments and holiday wishes!

Merry Christmas "UGLY DOG" Style...

2010-12-25T10:17:00.000-05:00

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the farm,
the family had gathered to eat, laugh, and stay warm.

With brisket, and pork loin, and cabbage rolls too,
Potatos, squash, kapusta, and cheese ball from Sue.

Grandma brought cheesecake and Laura some bread,
Michelle's homemade Pierogi were truly heaven sent.

The presents brought laughter which filled up the room,
and Wayne showed Jen how to string her new loom.

The party is over but the memories will stay,
and leftovers will make it a great Christmas day.

We hope that this season brings you Holiday Charm,
Merry Christmas to ALL from Ugly Dog's Farm!

One Mighty Fine Ass...

2010-12-22T09:23:00.000-05:00

No folks, I have NOT been staring in the mirror again...

...well even if I have been staring in the mirror, I am not the "subject ass".

I want to tell you about a friend I have had for most of my life - Barney the donkey. He truly is one mighty fine ass.

Sometime in the late 1970s or very early 1980s, my uncle adopted two wild burros from the US Bureau of Land Management. My uncle was an amazing guy and one of the most intelligent people I have had the pleasure to know. He restored antique automobiles, was on a "pit crew" for an Indy Race Car driver, was an avid hunter, the list goes on and on...

These two adopted burros were my first glimpse into the world of livestock. Uncle John named the boys for two of his favorite television "asses". "No. 7" was named after the donkey in the show "Grizzly Adams" and "Barney" was named after Barney Fife in "The Andy Griffith Show". I spent many happy hours in my youth visiting my uncle and feeding "the boys" any weed I could pull and reach over the fence.

Poor old No. 7 died in the mid 1980s. Rather than calling and telling me about this, my uncle, being a bit eccentric, send an envelope of pictures detailing the sad event and burial. In retrospect, I chuckle at the thought, but as a child it was the perfect way for me to learn and be a part of this important lesson of having livestock. Uncle John quickly found a new friend for Barney, an older jack named "Luke".

Many years passed and I continued to be very close with my uncle. He had a beautiful piece of property in the woodland Upper Pennisula in northern Michigan and I spent time with him every fall hunting deer, learning to cut wood, talking about life, and making memories that will be with me forever.

It has been 6 or 7 years since my uncle was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. He asked me if I would take the donkeys for him and if I could give him the slightest peace of mind that "his boys" would be taken care of, this was the very least I could do. My uncle told me that once I had a donkey, I would always have a donkey.

Luke & Barney

Uncle John passed away in the spring of 2007 after a long and well fought battle with a terrible disease. Luke the donkey, who was in his forties at the time, died a year later. Poor old Barney, no spring chicken himself, had been pastured with Luke for over 20 years and was heartbroken on the day that Luke died. Within 24 hours, having heard the news of Luke's death, some good friends offered to let us buy their miniature Jenny to keep Barney company. It was LOVE at first sight.

This is where my "can't leave well enough alone" gene kicked in and I somehow talked myself into buying a 2nd Jenny.... FOR BARNEY... did I mention that she was also pregnant??? (see some amazing pictures of the donkey birth)

Barney is definately showing his age. The winter of 2008 was very hard on him and I was worried that he may not be with us long. I bought him a waterproof and insulated winter blanket, had our Amish friends build him a new run-in shed, and started hand feeding him Equine Senior feed every night. That's right folks, since 2008, I hold a bucket for 15 - 30 minutes each and every night while Barney chews every mouthful.

This is time I have come to enjoy with my old friend. We talk about the weather, the latest happenings on the farm, and remenisce about our younger years. I would like to think that my uncle is watching us and smiling...

Gibbs, Sophie, Barney, and Zoey

By the way, I didn't believe it then but I am pretty sure my uncle was right... I can't imagine life without a donkey or two around.

Obsession, Excitement, and Appreciation

2010-12-20T21:26:00.000-05:00

Obsession (noun) - the domination of one's thoughts or feelings

by a persistent idea, image, desire, etc.

Anyone who knows me personally is probably aware that over the years I have lost, found, lost, found, and lost again no small amount of body fat over my lifetime. In the fall of 2009 with my 35th birthday looming in less than a year, I became very focused on finally conquering my "battle of the bulge". I worked hard at changing my eating habits, my diet, and my excercise routine and ended up celebrating my 35th birthday very happy with my health and very happy with my weight loss (met my goal and then some).

I continue to work on toning and tightening with thoughts that some day I might possibly go to a beach without being mistaken for a marshmallow wearing a bathing suit (although marshmallows are VERY sweet and I insist that we will always have this in common).

You will probably note, after reading my blog, that I am prone to obsessing. The other day I caught myself rescheduling a friends birthday dinner because it fell on the same day as a Zumba class. Luckily I have very understanding friends and "can we reschedule your birthday so that I don't have to unpack my fat clothes" was completely understood.

Excitement (noun) - an excited state or condition.

I am the youngest of 5 children (I am pretty sure that my parents kept having them until they got the perfect one). Each year we try to get the family together on Christmas Eve - this year my sister and her family, from Chicago, will be jointly hosting the family festivities here at the farm. I am very excited to see everyone and to enjoy good company and homemade family recipes.

My sister found my grandmother's recipe for Pierogi and is bringing 6 dozen of them. Unfortunately my Brother and his family from Minnesota won't get into town until later in the week but it will be great to see them when they finally do.

Appreciation (noun) - Recognition of the quality, value, significance, or magnitude of people and things.

Wayne has been working his butt off to get ready for this party... he is cooking, cleaning, shopping, and getting the house ready for my family. I REALLY appreciate it! Between work, Zumba, and Christmas events throughout the week, I will be little help until Thursday night. I am pretty darn lucky!

It's a good thing that the dogs are ready and willing to help... Too bad there are no dishes to be cleaned.

Weekend in review...

2010-12-19T20:27:00.000-05:00

It was a bit of a lazy weekend here at Ugly Dog's Farm...

On Friday morning we drove out to Imlay City and picked up a freshly mixed batch of sheep grain, followed by haircuts (the human kind) and then Sushi with our friends from Pitchfork Ranch at Sagano Japanese Bistro & Steakhouse in Flint...

Now to put this in perspective, understand that for the first thirty-some years of my life, I was a die-hard seafood hater. There is something about the taste, smell and texture of most seafood that turns my stomach. That said, I will try just about anything once (and some things even twice...) so when asked to go out for sushi a few years back, I was willing to try it (with absolutely no expectation that I would like it). I was pretty blown away when I actually liked the stuff... I mean, raw fish?!?!? It's mind boggling even still.

Saturday morning started with 9AM morning ZUMBA!!! I really love this excercise class - it is a cross between latin dancing, cardio-aerobics, and partying on the dance floor - how could one not love a party? We then finished some Christmas shopping and went out for Margaritas with some friends.

Sunday was a very lazy day... other than breakfast in town with friends and picking up some odds and ends for the family Christmas party later this week, we sat by the wood stove and watched movies for most of the day. I fed the animals a little earlier than normal and we took a walk to the end of the road and watched the kids sledding on Toboggan Hill.

The hill is part of the 4500 acre park which is just across the road from us. There are tons of non-motorized horseback trails traversing the woods, creeks, lakes, and hills. It is an amazing resource which we are lucky to have so close to home.

The sheep are finally coming to the realization that their protests have fallen on deaf ears. The tyrant farmers (Wayne and I) are not listening to their demands for 2nd cutting alfalfa hay. Sometimes life is full of bitter disappointment.

The peafowl spent the day in and about the chicken coop - rations are good and plenty in the coop... but don't tell the sheep!

Activisim on the farm...

2010-12-18T19:20:00.000-05:00

The sheep are not happy and they are letting it be known...

We always increase protien levels "pre-breeding" which increases ovulation thus increasing lambing rates (this means good 2nd cutting alfalfa hay and grain for the month before breeding and into the first trimester)...

We have just switched to 1st cutting grass hay (the sheep think it is crap)... There is MUCH protesting going on...

Some of the ewes are even threatening a hunger strike (that is until we get out of view and then they reluctantly eat the "crap" we have left for them).

The poor babies...