I'm such a sucker!

So, when my daughter called me from work and said a girl there was trying desperately to get rid of her kittens before her father..um..disposed of them...what could I say? Yes, of course!! Seriously, how do you say no to such cuteness? Kids think it's a big deal that the kittens are free...right! There is no such thing as a free kitten or a free puppy!! One of them will have to be fixed, then there are shots, wormer, flee and tick meds...on and on and on...oh ya and a new screen door!

TA DA...introducing my new Merino ewe lambs! I am very excited to have found these beautiful girls only 2 1/2 hrs from where I live. I plan on crossing them with one of my Shetland rams next Spring for Fall babies. It will be hard to wait that long but the Merinos develop a bit slow and wont be ready to be bred until then. The picture is not great I know but they are still in a stall and there is not very good light in the barn. When I get them out I will get a picture of that unbelievable wool of theirs to show you.

This girl is already begging for animal crackers! They are not as friendly as my Shetlands but not as flighty as I feared either.

I inherited the worry gene from my father and his family. It drove me CRAZY as a kid and now, of course, I am just like him. My kids, you guessed it...hate it. And although I can read this verse over and over and over...well, I still worry. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this weeks verse..

Verse of the week:

Luke 12: 22-

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!"

Let the sun shine

We have a break from the rain and cloudy skies today so I thought I would get out and take some pictures to share. The lambs are all growing so fast. The little girl above will actually be a nice dark gray. Patsy (below) is one of my friendliest lambs.

Amos is finally getting his horns. His fleece is very nice so I hope those horns turn out ok.

Simmons is one of my nicest lambs. His fleece is gorgeous and his horns look great so far.

Lucy...what can I say about Lucy. That is a bit of a long story. She is now living with the rams. When my last ewe had lambed, I went out to find one of her twins in the middle aisle of the barn even though I had the mom and both babies still in a stall. His back was broken and he was in alot of pain. I had to put him down. I could not figure out how in the world he had gotten out of the stall. The gate was a hog panel so I assumed he probably stuck his head out and was pulled the rest of the way. The only way that could have happened was Lucy. I still didn't want to believe it but about a week later, after the mom and her other baby were out with the rest of the sheep; I looked out in the pasture and Lucy had the other baby by the back leg swinging it like a toy. I was able to get to him in time and he was ok. I have Lucy with the rams until I can figure this out. Then one night I went out to put the sheep up for the night and I couldn't find that little ram lamb. His mom was calling for him but no response. He has simply vanished. I can't find traces of blood anywhere. Nothing. I can't imagine a coyote getting in and only taking one sheep. I guess it will remain a mystery. I've talked to several people and read about livestock guardian dogs and I think it is a matter of aggressive play. She is not a mean dog.

On a brighter note, I have been busy keeping up with the yard and painting furniture. I found these old metal chairs in the trash at my grandma's house. I brought them home and had them sandblasted. I've always liked old stuff better than anything I could buy new. I have also started a new rug. This is the rug before it is washed and sewn. The colors are a nice slate blue, brown and tan. I'm sewing it now and that is by far the most time consuming for me. I'm anxious to get it done before school is out next week. I need something to catch all that dirt the kids bring in. Bring on Summer!!!

More Lamb Pictures

Time to catch up on lamb pictures. My Internet provider has been unreliable as usual so I have been spending all my time outside. I've been mulching all my flower beds. I had several plants die last year and when I pulled them out, I noticed they had moldy looking mulch around them so I raked the old stuff out and put all new down. I have so much area to cover that I can't afford to buy it in bags so I used my trailer and bought it by the scoop full. Unfortunately, that means I have to shovel it all out into a wheel barrow and then dump it that way. It is a lot more work but also a lot less costly. It is good to have it all done. Now if I can just keep up with the mowing maybe I can get my house clean!

The lambs are growing so fast! I have loved looking at everyone's lamb pictures so I thought I would show a few of my new babies and a few of the older ones. This is a little ewe lamb I named Patsy. My grandpa who died before I was born raised sheep. My mom has several old black and white photos of her as a little girl with her dad and the sheep. So, I decided to name some of my sheep after some of my family. My moms name is Patsy...I'm not sure if she would be flattered or not! I think this little girl is a doll.

This is a ram lamb, Amos, was named after my grandfather. He is solid moorit and he is gorgeous! He is very correct and has nice crimpy fleece. I think he may be a keeper.

This was one of the first lambs born. His fleece looks great and he has nice straight legs and a tiny tail. His name is Wishbone and he will be for sale as I have a surplus of black lambs this year.

This is the latest set of twins born. One boy, one girl but no names yet..I'm running out of ideas! I still have 2 sheep who haven't had their babies yet. They look enormous and by my calculations, they have to have them by May 3rd. Lambing has been great fun this year. The babies have been so spread out that it really hasn't been stressful at all.

It may be raining but at least Spring is here

It is raining..again...but there are beautiful signs of Spring everywhere. The ewes from 2 of the breeding groups have all lambed and now I'm waiting on the third group of girls. I can't wait to see the lambs from the ram I leased but they seem to be in no hurry to show me. Hope your lambing is going smoothly and I am enjoying all the lamb pictures I see on the blogs.

Here is the verse of the week..hope you enjoy.

The following is taken from The Purpose Driven Life..

What makes God smile?

God smiles when we love him supremely. "I don't want your sacrifices - I want your love; I don't want your offerings - I want you to know me." Hosea 6:6 (LB)

God smiles when we trust him completely. "He takes pleasure in those that honor Him; in those who trust in His constant love." Psalm 147: 11 (TEV)

God smiles when we obey him wholeheartedly. "Obey him gladly." Psalm 100:2 (LB)

God smiles when we praise and thank him continually. "The righteous are glad and rejoice in his presence; they are happy and shout for joy." Psalm 68:3 (TEV)

God smiles when we use our abilities. "He has shaped each person in turn; now he watches everything we do." Psalm 33:15 (Msg)

Lamb pictures

I just went out to the barn and couldn't resist sharing these lamb pictures I took. This guy is now 1 day old and you can tell more about his markings now that he is all dried off and bouncing around. I have no idea what to name this guy. His markings are so striking. He looks like Gene Simmons! Maybe I'll name him KISS!

I think I'm gonna be a rebel!

I think my markings are much more dignified!

Well, I'm cute and saucy!

Wool, babies and verse of the week

I have been experimenting with dyeing wool again. Michelle suggested I try over dyeing some of my black wool and I decided to give it a try. I don't have any idea if I did it right but the result was pretty cool. This is a black iset fleece and as you can see the dye was very uneven but I like the result. I think the roving will be beautiful.

We had one more baby born last night. He is a katmoget with black legs and belly and then his head is a combination of brown, black and white. I got out to the barn about 2 minutes before he came into the world. The ewe seemed to be in more pain than the others I have observed. When he came out she just sat there and made no attempt to start cleaning him off. I waited as long as I could and then I took off my sweatshirt (note to self: take some old towels out to the barn!) and cleaned off his head and used a syringe on his mouth and nose. She finally decided to take over but it scared me to death! 3 ewes down and 7 to go!

Verse of the week...hope you enjoy!

Psalm 104: 24, 31-33

"How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures....May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works - he who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke. I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live."

More babies

As you can see, this ewe has not had babies yet but wow does she look like she is ready to pop!! I just can't believe she hasn't gone yet..any day. Zanex however did have her babies!

These little twin girls were born Wednesday night of last week. They were both up, dry and nursing when I went out to check on everyone one last time before going to bed. The 4 that have been born so far are all out of the same ram..Rex. As cute as they are, I have too many black sheep. These 4 will have to find new homes so I'm trying not to get too chummy...no names yet. They are so cute to watch! I feel bad that they have not been introduced to the outside world yet. It is just too wet here. I am having a heck of a time trying to keep everyone a dry, clean place to sleep!

BABIES ARE HERE!!

The first lambs arrived on Monday night about 11:30 p.m. I had been watching this ewe very closely all day and she didn't let me down. I was able to watch the whole thing..how exciting!! Actually we all go to see it except my daughter who had been home the previous week on Spring Break..sorry Kels. She was very disappointed she didn't get to see any babies while she was home.

Of course, both lambs are rams..oh well, they are too cute to care right now!!

Verse of the Week

I have neglected the verse of the week for so long I had to go back and look at where I am in the book I have been quoting from - The Purpose Driven Life. Looks like we're up to week 5. It is one of my favorite chapters in the book. I hope you enjoy it too.

It is titled "Seeing Life from God's View"

"The way you see your life shapes your life. How you define life determines your destiny. Your perspective will influence how you invest your time, spend your money, use your talents, and value your relationships. "

"The Bible offers three metaphors that teach us God's view of life: Life is a test, life is a trust, and life is a temporary assignment.

Life is a test - God continually tests people's character, faith, obedience, love, integrity, and loyalty. Words like trials, temptations, refining, and testing occur more than 200 times in the Bible....Character is both developed and revealed by tests, and all of life is a test.

Life is a trust - Our time on earth and our energy, intelligence, opportunities, relationships, and resources are all gifts from God that he has entrusted to our care and management. We are stewards of whatever God gives us....The more God gives you, the more responsible he expects you to be.

Verse to remember: Luke 16:10a (NLT)

Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won't be faithful in large ones."

Up and Running

Well, it is good to be back in the land of Internet. Our satellite system basically blew up and we had to wait on them to come install a whole new system. I never realized how much I rely on the Internet! I keep up with my checkbook, the weather, my kids grades and homework assignments, email and of course my blog and the blogs I enjoy reading. Hopefully, this new system will work better than the old one. So much to share since I last posted so here goes...

The shearer came. All I can really say about him is he did get the wool off the sheep and he was a nice guy. Several cuts and not very even shearing. When he left I was both relieved and irritated. Relieved to have the wool off the sheep and irritated at how they look. I really shouldn't complain since I didn't have to do it myself this year!

We still don't have any babies! There are 4 girls who look like they could go any day. I think they will be spread out quite a bit this year. I was hoping to have all the babies on the ground by spring break and that is obviously not going to happen since that starts Friday. Oh well. I have started picking through all the fleeces and washing some. I am very happy with most of them and hope to have them all ready to take to The Fiber Event in Greencastle, IN in April. Frankenmuth Mill will be there to take your wool. Saves me having to box it all up and mail it.

I have also been experimenting with dyeing. I have one fleece that I'm not crazy about so I am using her fleece to practice on. I am also using colors I'm not crazy about. This is a lime green used on a light gray fleece. The color will be variegated since her fleece is gray, brown and even has some black in it. Should be interesting.

Projects and Waiting for Babies

I have been making these balls of roving for a braided rug I am starting. I do this ahead of time to hopefully save time while braiding the rug. I separate the roving into 3-5 feet lengths to keep it from tangling while braiding. This is not even close to being all of it I will need but it is a good start. The colors didn't turn out in the picture but it is a combination of gray, black iset and brown. All that roving for a 3x5 rug!

I finally finished the blue/white mohair scarf I have been weaving. I had a hard time finishing it because the mohair was very hard to weave. It is very sticky! The final look is nice but it is not very soft and probably too scratchy to actually wear. It is probably the way I wove it..too tightly. A looser weave would probably given a softer finished product. I guess that is how you learn! The brown, black scarf is alpaca with a white cotton..very soft. The other plaid (did I mention I have a thing for plaids?) is a wool scarf.

I keep checking on the girls, any day now. Is anyone else this excited about lambing?

Shots, Round-up and Verse of the Week

What a busy weekend!! It is always good to look back on a weekend and know you got something worth while accomplished. We cleaned out the sheep barn (I'm finally starting to call it that..it has always been know as the horse barn before the sheep took over). We created another stall and were able to bring all the sheep inside so their wool could dry for shearing. The barn has 4 - 12x12 stalls and 2 - 12x16 stalls so they have plenty of room. I was also able to give everyone their CDT shots and wormers. It gave me the chance to look at bellies and guess at how far along they are.

I like having them in a smaller area because it really tames some of the wilder ones down. I can spend more time with them and get some of the hay out of their wool before shearing. Of course it is more work to keep clean but I am anxious to get them sheared and start working on all that wool.

The 4th day of The Purpose Driven Life is all about eternity. Hope you enjoy this first paragraph from that chapter and the verse for the week.

"This life is not all there is. Life on earth is just the dress rehearsal before the real production You will spend far more time on the other side of death - in eternity - than you will here. Earth is the staging area, the preschool, the tryout for your life in eternity. It is the practice workout before the actual game; the warm-up lap before the race begins. This life is preparation for the next."

Verse of the week 1John 2:17

"This world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever."

LUCY!!!

My last post mentioned that Lucy was an 85 pound sweetheart.....well.....I'm not calling her a sweetheart today!! This is the second heated bucket she has destroyed. These things are $60 each! I can't even imagine how she is managing to turn them around to even get to the cord. They are very heavy when full and I do keep them full. Anyway, I have put the new cord in a pvc pipe and rigged it so that she hopefully wont be able to get to it. I'm suprised she didn't get shocked. She doesn't even look guilty..well, maybe a little.

I know she is probably bored. I don't spend as much time out there when it is this cold. I have to make myself stay and pet her for a while when I go feed. Guess I need to spend a little more time out there. She has some massive chew toys but I guess the big green one looked better to her!

I also need to go out to the barn more often...there might be a baby soon. There are 2 girls who could go soon but they really don't look ready yet. I'm starting to think about names already. Last year my kids wanted to do a Disney theme. I don't know if I will go with a theme this year or not. Maybe since it is an election year, I could go with former president's names? Maybe Clinton for the frisky ram lamb? I might be onto something here..will have to give it more thought.

Confused wool?

I'm not sure what is going on with this guy's wool. The top layer of it is coming off and leaving the under layer alone. None of the other sheep are doing this so it doesn't seem like it would be rooing if he is the only one. We have had a very strange winter with temps in the 60's one day and then 20 the next. Very weird. I'm hoping the shearer will be here soon.

I have been in Arkansas for a week so have not had a chance to post. I got a call from my dad saying my grandma was not going to make it much longer and she wanted to say goodbye to everyone. She has been in the hospital for about a month. She passed out at home and was taken to the ER. She is now in extended care where they are hoping she will get strong enough to go home. I really don't think that will happen. She wont eat and is getting very weak. I was able to spend several days with her and I am very grateful. At 94 she is one of the funniest people I know. She doesn't even mean to be funny. She makes ma laugh and smile. She kept telling us all to be good to each other and love each other. Family is and has always been everything to her. The nurses love her because every time one of them would do anything for her she would say what every southern lady says..."bless your heart". She seems to be at peace and she knows where she is going when she leaves here. I'm just thankful that God picked me to be her granddaughter.
I haven't posted a picture of Lucy in awhile. She is an 85 pound sweetheart. She knows what her purpose is. She is happier because she knows her job is to guard her sheep. Day 3 of The Purpose Driven Life is about what drives your life.

"Everyone's life is driven by something. "

The 5 most common ones are:

Guilt

Resentment and anger

Fear

Materialism

The need for approval

The benefits of a purpose driven life are:

Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life

Knowing your purpose simplifies your life

Knowing your purpose focuses your life

Knowing your purpose motivates your life

Knowing your purpose prepares you for eternity.

"Point to ponder: Living on purpose is the path to peace"

Verse of the week:

"You Lord, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you." Isaiah 26:3 (TEV)

Verse of the week

This is my ram "Rex". I thought he had wonderful fleece and when I spun it last weekend I was even more impressed. He will however be going up for sale. I have given a lot of thought to what I want from my little sheep farm and have decided I want a small flock of varied colors for my own personal spinning, knitting, and weaving whims. I had at one time thought I would breed my girls every year and sell several each year. I have decided I want to keep a few and maybe breed a ewe or two each year. Having lambs is just too fun to not ever breed. I also have decided to get rid of my rams. If I want to breed a couple, I will lease a ram. As for ram lambs, which I am sure to get nothing but since I declared this, I will cross that bridge when I come to it. I think I am just getting tired. Maybe it is just the winter blaas. I remember back when I wanted a big house, a big yard in the country, lots of animals and now 20 years later...here I am and......I want a smaller house, a concrete yard painted green and I still want my animals but just not as many.

On an up note, I found someone to shear this year!! That is a huge relief!!

Well, we are suppose to get 6-10 inches of snow tonight so I am trying to psych myself up for a weekend full of inside projects. I promise to look at the snow and say "Oh, it's snowing...how pretty" and actually mean it. Inside joke.

Here is Day 2 from the book The Purpose Driven Life

I hope you enjoy it.

"You are not an accident"

"God never does anything accidentally, and he never makes mistakes. He has a reason for everything he creates. Every plant and every animal was planned by God, and every person was designed with a purpose in mind. God's motive for creating you was his love. The Bible says, "Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love." ( Ephesians 1:4a (Msg) )

God was thinking of you even before he made the world. In fact, that's why he created it! God designed this planet's environment just so we could live in it. We are the focus of his love and the most valuable of all his creation."

Verse of the week

Psalm 138:8

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever - do not abandon the works of your hands.