Little Indigo

Lucy

The Juniper Moon Farm version of the water cooler.

Sabine looking pensive

Miss Bertie, Queen of the hay pile

Sicily

Seymour

Seymour, Franny  and Zooey

Brooks

Carina

Liberty

Miss Dashwood

Churchill & Charley chowing.

Bennett

Cosmo & Buster

Jerry

Ernie

Today was the best day! The sun was shinning, the sky was blue-blue-blue and the animals were contented. And if that weren’t enough, my dear friend Lizzy House told me she’s creating a fabric line inspired by JMF,

Lizzy is an artist and one of my favorite people in the world, in addition to being a successful fabric designer. Her saying she is creating a fabric line inspired by our farm is like the Beatles saying they are writing a song about me. It’s an honor that my mind can’t begin to process, so I will just say that I am touched and speechless.

Speaking of Lizzy, there is still room in two of the workshops she’s doing here at the farm in March, Block Printing on Fabric and Mini Quilt, Mini Work of Art. Not only are these workshops a great opportunity to focus on your creative side, it will also be a ton of fun with plenty of time for bonding. Sign up quick, cause the spots are going to go pretty fast.

I’m still visiting family in Texas but I am madly homesick for the farm and my flock, so I had Caroline send me some pictures this morning.

We are staying in tonight, watching movies and dining on comfort food; risotto, a mushroom tart and lemon pudding cake. Tomorrow we’ll have black-eyed peas for luck before we take my sister to the airport to fly back to Switzerland, where she lives.

What are your plans for New Year’s Eve? Whatever you do, please be safe! There will be lots of people who shouldn’t be driving on the roads tonight.

My friend Amy came over this week and we put two of her daughters straight to work eating watermelons. I love these kids to distraction- they are bright and funny and helpful and interesting and just lovely. You should know that Oona (on the right) has the voice of a 75-year-old chain smoker who has been up all might playing craps.

Today was super-busy crazy and I didn’t have the chance to take picture one. Luckily Amy came by with two of her three lovely daughters and took these adorable shots.

What I didn’t take pictures of was cleaning out the lambing stall, taking delivery of a barn full of hay and straw, cleaning out the chicken coop, stocking up on sheep, chicken, dog and pig food, watching three chicks hatch, tube feeding Petrel several times, Caroline arriving and getting moved in, putting the dogs new collars on and giving them their heartworm meds and frontline and starting to get the barn organized.

I think I’d be tired even if I hadn’t stayed up all night checking for new lambs. No new lambs to report but Piper and Petrel are doing great. Petrel’s back legs are getting stronger and he is starting to take some shaking steps.

We will be working on getting the lambcam in better focus tomorrow. Thanks so much for all the sweet emails- we’re glad you’re enjoying watching and we’re working on making it even better for you.

More pics- and maybe more lambs- tomorrow!

I should have known when I saw that there was snow in the forecast, but somehow, it never even occurred to me that today, of all days, would be the first day of lambing season.

I had to make an early morning trip to the feed store in in Northern Virginia, cause all the stores around us are weirdly sold out of sheep feed, and asked my friend Amy if she would mind checking the flock while I was gone. Amy’s sweet husband Paul has been at the farm pretty much 24/7 for the last week trying to get the new lambcam – lambcam 2.0- up and running in time for lambing, so Amy said she didn’t mind going over with him.

So, of course, Amy finds a lamb in the field with no sign of a mama. She called me and I tried to guess whose baby it was based on who was bred first. Amy tracked down the likeliest suspect who also had a bit of a…um… damp action area, and coaxed, encouraged and half drug her into the lambing stall. Then she called me to tell me who the mama was. When she read the ear tag number, I said, “Wait a minute. If it’s Liberty’s baby, there had to be another one out there! Liberty ALWAYS twins or triplets!!!” Except imagine me border-line hysterical when I said it, driving 80 m.p.h. trying to get home.

So dear, sweet, patient Amy goes back out into the field, searching for baby number two. And she finds him. With his actual mama. Remember coaxing, encouraging and dragging that happened before? All of that again, but this time carrying a lamb in one hand. Luckily Amy’s own Mama had come with her and helped out.

Let me introduce  you to Mama Jekyll and her babies, Piper (standing) and Petrel (laying in the corner). Did I mention that birds won the vote in our Naming Conventions poll? Birds for the lambs and Apples for the kids.

Piper is a eweling and Petrel is a ramling; that’s a girl and a boy to the un-sheep initiated.

Both lambs are in great shape but Petrel is a little bit weak and having some trouble getting on his feet to nurse from his mama.

To make sure he’s got something warm in his belly and is getting some energy, I’ve been tube feeding him today. He should be able to nurse on his own by tomorrow. He’s got plenty of energy and he’s alert, but those long legs are just a little to much for him today.

He’s quite a cutie.

I’m already a little bit in love with him.

Tube feeding again. Every hour and half or so till he can nurse on his own. Tubing isn’t nearly as dangerous as it looks, in fact, it’s dead easy once someone has shown you how to do it. I don’t recommend trying it on your own until you’ve seen it done though.

Jekyll is a good mama and doesn’t seem to be favoring Piper over Petrel.

There have been lots of kisses and licks.

It’s very sweet to see.

Are you in love with him already too?

Oh, and one of Ethel’s chicks hatched today. She looks like she belongs in an Easter basket doesn’t she?

And when we went back to check on her, she had a friend!

Today has been kind of bananas. I’m going to be up all night feeding Petrel and checking the pasture for any other ewes in labor. These things tend to happen in batches and Jekyll wasn’t even in the first five bred. We could have a lamb storm tonight!

Be sure and check the lambcam for the latest updates. I’m leaving the lights on tonight, so that the pigs and Jekyll won’t be woken up every time I go in to feed Petrel, so you can watch me feed him if you time it right.

ETA: All today’s pics are courtesy of Amy. That woman is a peach, I tell ya.

]]> http://www.fiberfarm.com/2011/03/first-lambs/feed 37 http://www.fiberfarm.com/2011/03/today-in-pictures-15 http://www.fiberfarm.com/2011/03/today-in-pictures-15#comments Sat, 26 Mar 2011 21:46:17 +0000 Susan http://www.fiberfarm.com/?p=10965

Getting to know all about you.

Getting to like you.

Getting to hope you like me.

Haven’t you noticed?

Suddenly I’m free and easy?

Because of all the beautiful and new

things I’m learning about you.

Day by day.

]]> http://www.fiberfarm.com/2011/03/getting-to-know-you/feed 24 http://www.fiberfarm.com/2011/02/this-weekend-in-pictures-nashville-edition http://www.fiberfarm.com/2011/02/this-weekend-in-pictures-nashville-edition#comments Sat, 26 Feb 2011 04:30:43 +0000 Susan http://www.fiberfarm.com/?p=9871

Me and Mary (aka Grandma Tutu)

Upside Down Puppy Time!!!

Many pictures were taken.

The best pancakes IN THE WORLD.

Jenny

Jenny and Amy

Longer post tomorrow. I worked my backside off today and I am exhausted!

Big Ernie

Aberdeen

Sweet Buster

Cini, on the job.

We’ll have the post announcing how much $$ we raised and who won all those fabulous prizes later this evening.

In the meantime, enjoy these pics of Roquefort.