The very best thing about traveling for me is coming home. Oh I love staying in hotels and eating in new restaurants and especially meeting shareholders and readers. But coming home to the farm and my flock is such a joy!
The new chickens are settling in fine and they are very nice, but not nearly as nice as our previous chickens. I hope they’ll get a bit tamer with time, but as long as they are making eggs and providing barnyard atmosphere, it’s all good.
Miss Linda is in heat which means that she wants to be where the action is instead of stuck in the small paddock with the doelings (female baby goats).
She’s been mooning around all morning makes loads of noise and looking at me with pleading eyes.
How could I say no to that face? It wasn’t easy, let me tell you.
In other breeding news, Jack seems to have gotten the job done with Hannah, Nanny McPhee and Mrs. Doubtfire. Jack was a bottle baby three years ago and he is without a doubt the gentlest creature on our farm. I love him so!
I am terribly worried about Truman, our only Cormo ram. When we picked him up in New York he was underweight, something I attributed to the fact that he was the smallest male in the pasture and not particularly competitive at the feed trough. Just in case though, I also had Erin worm him twice since we arrived in Virginia. We’ve also been feeding him separately to make sure he’s getting enough to eat. We’ve seen no real change in him and by now he should be improving. Besides being skinny he just seems run down. He’s getting extra vitamins with molasses and a shot of coffee every morning to give him some energy, but I don’t have a good feeling about the situation.
I’ll keep you updated on his condition. In the meantime though, I am buying another Cormo ram, just in case. I can’t take a case on having as few lambs in the spring as we had this year.
All the other sheep are thriving in the new pastures. I love seeing Buster- one of my first four sheep- looking so peaceful and content.
I let the flock out on to new pasture this morning which is always makes them happy.
And when the flock is happy, I’m happy.
So much more to write but if I don’t get to Lowes and the grocery store soon the day is going to disappear before my very eyes! More soon.
Oh, almost forgot! All of our Leaf Peeper Sock Yarn Colorways are now on sale in the shop for half price. That’s just $10 for 420 yards of super-squooshy sock yarn! We need to make room in our inventory for some very cool stuff coming in November, so stock up while it lasts.
I am also excited to announce that our 2010 Juniper Moon Calendars are now available. This year’s calendar has all new photos AND we’ve included a schedule of most of the sheep and wool festivals and big yarn events in the U.S. (Props to my sister who spent a million hours compiling the list and emailing the event coordinators for the 2010 dates.) I’m even more excited to announce that $1 for each calendar sale will be used to purchase a Knitting Basket from Heifer International for a family in need. I’ll keep y’all up-to-date on our progress.
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Great pictures, really perked up my day. Wish I could be there this weekend. Miss Linda looks so saaad. But it is for the best not to breed her this year.
Wow. How could I resist those sock yarns for $10? Seriously.
Is there any way you can get a vet to come out to take a look at Truman? Ya know, just to nip anything that may be brewing, in the bud.
Oh, I do hope Truman is okay.
Went to order your sale sock yarn and fell in love with toe shoe sock yarn and had to have it instead! Gorgeous!
If you ever want Reiki sent to any of your animals, just ask me, and I will send good energy their way. Love your animals.
There’s also a great woman in your area that does T Touch, Energy Work and other assorted things, very successfully, on horses etc. Her website is: http://www.onehearthealingcenter.com/ She works on people too.
Nothing more soothing and satisfying than seeing all your critters idyllically meandering over gorgeous pastures with a picture-book barn and tidy fence in the background. Makes your heart sort of swell up, doesn’t it?
I’ll be keeping Mr. Truman in my prayers, though. An unthrifty ram is not a good thing.
I *love* Heifer International and I’m so glad you’re donating to them!
ummmmm, anyone else notice the big SATELLITE dishes in the background there??????? mmmmm – Linda?
OMG, you’re right, Lisa. TWO satellite dishes makes for more than a little TV entertainment. What is she up to??
Also, seriously, you know we’ll all think Truman well, best we can. Do you have a vet, yet?
The rest of the flock looks very content in your idyllic pastures.
Thank goodness there was still some of the sock yarn to be had! I made the mistake of not ordering a few hours ago and I see the stock has already dwindled dramatically. I think I got in just under the wire.
Does this mean the calendars will be sent out to us double share orderers soon? (is that even a word???)
Sending healing thoughts to Truman.
Hi Susan,
Considering how good the rest of the flock looks, this makes me additionally concerned about Truman. This is a good time to call a veterinarian with sheep medicine experience. (worning him will not help if the worms he has are resistant to the wormer you are using, and that is all too commonly found these days). If you are lucky, he is just underfed from too much competition, but if it is anything more complicated, you need to know, not only for his sake but also the sake of the rest of your flock. Trust a wise, old shepherdess on this.
thanks for the update!!
Thanks for giving us the farm update. Your new farm is beautiful and everyone looks so happy (poor Miss Linda). I hope Truman will be okay.
Temptress you…I haven’t really bought any yarn since I started spinning, but I was smitten by that sock yarn, and broke down and bought some
I hope Truman will improve, have you thought of getting a fecal test, even your local animal hospital could test that for you so you could see what’s happening? Or maybe try changing your wormer? I just had a long chat with my vet about parasite control, can you tell?
Everyone else is looking so happy and content and healthy. I’m loving your new setup, so pretty, and flat
Good luck with your big photo shoot, wish I could be there.
Loved this update, thanks. Especially love that the new calendar will have all the fibery events around the US listed – that’s really really great!
Also LOVE that you’re donating to Heifer International – my local knit group donated enough to buy a goat and a clutch (?) of hens. Just seems the perfect things for knitters/fibery folk to donate to, doesn’t it?
Some chickens are special. Steve, the marine rooster, (RIP steve, he left me last year) was special….. the descendents of Steve are ok, but not him. His son DB (drinking buddy) has been standoffish of late; coming into his own I suppose…. in any event, love your postings. You’ve inspired me – I invite you to read of your good works at http://www.clemscritters.wordpress.com.
How much does a Cormo ram cost?