What I've Been Up To

Hello friends. It's been a while and I feel it is time to give an update as to the comings, goings, and general happenings here on the farm and beyond. We have been busy around here and life is always happening. Time is not in abundance and everything has to have a priority. I am doing my best to be a good steward of what God has blessed me with and so, I have begun a journal so to speak to keep track of what has been done, what needs to be done, and anything in between. Farmhouse, homeschool, barnyard, and garden are my main sections with other subsections to help keep track. I am a person who must write everything down, if I don't I either forget what needs to be done or become overwhelmed with all there is to do. Writing is what helps me to think better and to know where I am in all of my to-do's.

This Fall was so beautiful and the kids and I found ourselves always making excuses for going outside. Thankfully we were able to be a little productive by enjoying the sunshine and picking up walnuts from our

walnut trees. I had such a wonderful time talking to the kids about the blessing of where we live, while watching them load the overflowing baskets with the little gems of nature's goodness and laughing at the same time. It does my heart good to see my children find joy in the simple things and to see their imaginations soar

with what God has provided in nature to play with. I am constantly at war with the temptation to let my kids

watch TV and movies. Maybe others think it a little thing, but I want my kids to grow up in reality. That a person knows how to think, how to work, how to enjoy what God has made, and that nothing is more important, exciting, or amazing than God is of utmost importance. The glitz of this world gives a false glow and it is unfortunately so alluring to children...and adults. My children have no idea how to operate a computer, get on the internet, or how to work the TV. They do know how to shoot their bows, catch chickens, cuddle chicks, and hunt for bison, grizzly bears, stone sheep, and moose in our back pasture. I am thankful beyond measure.

We were able to harvest our first animal on the farm a few months ago and it was truly a special experience. To have a steer arrive in a shrunken and wrinkled frame and to have had him end his days as a healthy, vibrant, and large animal was rewarding to say the least. The children were all present when the butcher arrived and they got to witness the whole process. There was no crying or shock, just excitement and interest in what was happening. The butcher was great with the kids and explained everything he was doing and how to do it. The kids got to see what the lungs, kidney, liver, and heart looked like and were amazed at how big Gus's stomach was. My little ones got to see firsthand where their food comes from and I was a happy mama to see that for them, as it should for all, this was normal and a day to be thankful. I was very pleased with how well our steers organs looked and the butcher said that he was very healthy. This is an animal who was true to the meaning of grass fed, no antibiotics, no hormones, no grain - just grass, sunshine, and time. Let me tell you

friends, the meat is some of the best we've ever eaten and we are thankful to have an extremely full freezer. I had the pleasure in the days to follow to render the tallow from our steer and it has beauty in its own right. There is so much to learn from living on a farm and caring for livestock. No matter what I'm doing, or where I turn, I see the hand of God intricately weaving glimpses of himself in what He has made. I am convinced that in my life of being a wife, mama, and shepherdess, that I am never far from the daily graces and blessings from the Lord.

Last week we got 30 chicks and let me tell ya, they are cute. It's difficult to be productive when there are so many adorable, chirping fuzzballs in the greenhouse brooder box. I go out often with the kids for obvious reasons, but I also let them hold the chicks quite a lot so the newbies get used to us. I have no use for crazy animals and so we will win the affections of our livestock either by handling or food. We are getting 20 more
tomorrow and so I've officially become a crazy chicken lady. Seriously, we're going to have almost 70 chickens total by tomorrow evening. Crazy. Chicken. Lady...   All joking aside we are taking a step of faith

and venturing into the egg business. I think it's something that is doable for my kids and I and so we have remodeled a second coop and are going to go for it. You will never know if you can do something unless you try. I have quite a few breeds living here on the farm because I like to try new things and I had a few new breeds that I want to give a try. Here is our chicken line up: Rhode Island Reds, Buff Orpingtons, Ameraucanas, Barred Rocks, Cuckoo Marans, and Black Australorps. The Ameraucana chicks are especially endearing because of their unique markings. Here's my favorite.


The most exciting thing that I'm doing right now is a little surprise that I'm doing for my dearly loved little ones. I feel so blessed to get to be a mama to the three precious souls that I've been given. There are some seriously hard, fall-on-your-knees-in-desperate-prayer moments and there are many melt-your-heart moments where there are silent prayers sent in a continuous stream to the Lord for His abundant mercy and grace. I have never felt the depth of my selfishness until I became a mama, nor have I felt the fierce love and willingness to do whatever it takes to care for another person, until I birthed a child. It is a miracle and a gift to be a parent, but it is also a tool for sanctification. Letters are my love language. I have begun a box for each

of my children am filling them with letters from me - their mama. One might be about my love for them,

another about what we did that day, and another may be about a struggle we are going through and I want

that child to know the whys and reasons why their mama handled it the way she did. I want to give my children a glimpse of themselves from their mama's perspective and tell them stories of what they did and funny things they said. I want to write them letters that will encourage them in the Lord and offer wisdom that I've learned so far. This will be kept a secret from them until they've grown and are ready to move out of the house. I pray and hope this will be a treasure and blessing for them since this will truly be from my heart. If you know my kids...mums the word.



There is so much more that I can say, but this must be enough for now. Following is a little collage of random happenings and bits of beauty that I've captured on the farm. I am forever grateful to my God above for all that He's given me and am thankful for you friends, readers, and fellow believers. I will do my best to be a more regular blogger once again. I'm thinking of doing a giveaway. What do you think?

Ear Tags and Cooler Weather

Life on the farm has been a bit mundane lately.

Life has been busy and quite frankly, I've hardly taken any pictures due to always feelin' a bit behind. I have a hard time thinking about blogging when I feel like I have so much to do. You know? I'm sure you do.

I started homeschooling Jude a few weeks ago and it's been wonderful. He just loves it and its so great to watch him learn. I am not an extremely organized type-A person though and so having to be on a schedule is a bit rough for this mama. I am really having to learn how to prioritize and decide what needs to be done and what can wait.

Yesterday was an awesome day. I woke up before the family and thought, "I want bacon". And you know what? I went to the store and got some. Exciting stuff I tell you and it tasted amazing. The drive was worth it alone. It was a cloudy, tempestuous day and the sky just beamed of Gods handiwork. I pretty much just praised the Lord the whole time I was on the road.

Fall is here and I'm loving every ounce of it. Last year we felt like Summer until November and so I'm hoping with this cool and windy weather it's the Lord saying, "You will have lots and lots of rain this Winter." We need the rain, but I don't control that so I'll just wait and see what is in store.

When cool weather comes it usually means the sheep will start cycling soon, which means the ram needs to have all his ladies with him. As of yesterday we still had the lambs with their mamas and so we separated them out and ear tagged the newbies. I seriously could just stare at these lambs all day. It seems like a small miracle that we actually had lambs born to the farm a few months ago. Just amazing!

Let's just say he's happy, happy, happy.

When you have small children and are trying to move animals things always get interesting. For instance, they ALWAYS want to watch and see the action. That's when you have to get innovative.

Have a baby in a stroller and a bunch of hay in the way? Lock the tires and put the stroller on top. Oh yes we did and she was happier than she appears.

Jude and Ella of course wanted to help, but they settle for getting to pet the little beauty. 

Seriously, isn't this little ewe lamb just gorgeous? I would have gotten a full body shot, but lets just say she has springs for legs and Seth had to make her sit to behave.

Now anyone that knows my son knows that he's a mini warrior. He just has to be conquering and he was sure he could catch a sheep. Now we all know he's much to small, but hey give the boy a chance. And so we did. 

The pictures don't do justice, but in the last one he actually has hand fulls of wool and had a pretty smug look on his face. It didn't take long for the sheep to get away, but he threw his hands in the air and cheered because he got so close. I'm now kicking myself that we didn't think to have him ride one. He want's to ride a sheep so badly and we're even considering letting him do mutton busting in the Spring. We will for sure let him ride our sheep before then and let's just say, if he can ride our sheep he can ride any. These things are fast and can jump like a kangaroo. I hope my boy will still have his front teeth by Summer...

I just love my precious Leah. She makes my heart happy and is such a blessing. Here's my attempt at getting a picture with my kids. I'm always the one missing due to being the one taking most of the pictures. I'm trying to be more intentional about getting in front of the lens.

We got a good one...finally. After many attempts (to follow) I have a picture that I just love. 

Before you wonder why do many darn pictures let me say one thing, "Just look at their faces!" I couldn't help myself and I'm still laughing. And your welcome.

Death Lurks in the Shadows

We had a death last night. A healthy reminder of what can and does happen on a farm. When darkness covers and the shadows reign supreme, death lurks and waits for the opportunity to strike. It's ugly and it's grim, but so is life in various seasons.

Death has a name.

This morning, Seth and I saw two large dogs running in our back pasture. We've never seen these dogs before and due to losing a ewe last year, we are highly cautious and will take action if need be to protect our property. We would expect the same from neighbors if our dog was roaming; all is fair, which is why I always make sure Franco is tied when I'm not outside and that he's in sight when I am. We watched these dogs chasing something (probably a rabbit) and I was amazed at the ground they could cover. Such great strides.

Later this morning, my Father-in-Law came in and told me what happened. My heart sunk and the dogs came instantly to mind. I grew up on a farm and I KNOW what dogs can do, even the nice ones that no one thinks could hurt a fly. You get two dogs together and the 'pack' instinct kicks in...and it's a strong instinct at that. Now I can't blame a dog for their instincts, in the wild with out it they'd die. Fact is fact.

However, we also can't let dogs run loose. Any farmer you'll meet will have a story or two about loose dogs. This is fact too. Dog owners need to be responsible for their pets or in turn farmers will be responsible to protect their livestock.

After the breakfast dishes were done, I decided to go have a look.

My mind was changed.

Death didn't come in the form of dogs of the domestic kind.  They don't kill the way the wild ones do. Coyotes will kill, devour, and strip their prey. The word 'thorough' comes to mind when I think of a coyote kill. Dogs will kill and maybe a chew a bit, but not the way their wild counter parts do. This friends, was a coyote kill.

Protective measures will be upped. Sheep will need to be locked in the barn every night, the electric fences will have to be in working order, and ears will need to be tuned in the the yip's and yowls of these night seekers.

Lord willing, we'll have lambs in a few weeks and you can bet that these opportunists will have to find their easy meals somewhere else.

Or else.

Preparing For Lambs - Crutching

It has been a long week and yet, it still seems to be getting longer. Remember that flu that I told you about? Well, my son woke up with a fever this morning. My poor boy got it! I thought we were all on the mend since it's been about 4 days since the rest of us recovered. Ahem...wrong!  The incubation period of this flu must be quite long. I'm still hopeful that Leah won't get it. Nothin' wrong with a little  hope. Or a lot.

Farm life never stops. Sickness may sweep through your house and yet the animals still need to eat (heck, we need to eat), gardens still need to be planted, and life goes on. We have almost completed our chicken coop and it is going to be great. Not one of those fancy shmancy coop's that you see on Pinterest like this one or this one.  My hubby and I plan on having a mobile coop someday...maybe you'll see this around someday.  Our coop-to-be  is lovely nonetheless and I am thankful to finally see it come to fruition. More on this later.

Where was I...

Lambs.

Currently, there are six ewes and one ram residing here at the Shepherd's farm. I am PRAYING that this number will increase in a few months. We need us some babies! Seriously, I like my sheep and all, but I like to have lamb for dinner too. Everything here serves a purpose and it all isn't  just here for enjoyment, even though we do get our fair share of the latter around this joint.

Wow, can I even type one sentence without going off on a rabbit trail?

There are many ways that we are preparing for lambs and one just so happens to have a unique name. Crutching. Aren't you so glad you can add this to your vocabulary? I know, your welcome.

Three out of our six ewes have a TON of wool and there was no way for us to see if they were bagging up, so I made a call to our shearer and had him come our way. He came out a few days ago and crutched our sheep. If your wondering what that means I'll do my best to explain. Crutching is when you have the belly, the front of the back legs, and the area around the sheep's bum shorn. The purpose is to make it easier to see if the ewe is bagging up, if she's going into labor, and it makes it MUCH easier for the new lamb to get to the teat. If you'd like a better explanation go here.

I love it when our shearer comes over. He is such a wealth of information and he's also pretty funny..and talkative. I always need to plan on an extra half hour of conversing once the real work's been done. We also go way back. I raised sheep growing up (read more about it here) and was actively involved in 4-H. Tim (our shearer) and his family were in 4-H too and so we've known each other for a long time. Nothin' like sheep to bring people together.

I loved getting to be in the barn. The smell of hay, lanolin, and dust permeated the air. It almost feels like a mini-vacation when I retreat to this coveted place. Lately, I've been too busy to come here let alone get outside. The dirt and hay covered floors with the years of age and spiders webs hanging from the beams are a delight to this country girl's senses.

 

Listen to the rhythmic sound of the shears, imagine the scent of lanolin, straw, and dust, and if you dream of living on a farm one day...you have this to look forward to.

That is, if you want to have sheep.

Home Again

Well, we made it home safe and sound yesterday. God was so good and our long drive home was uneventful and actually enjoyable. Our stay with family was so refreshing and we still wish it could have lasted longer. In a few months, we plan to return to Wyoming for a longer visit.

It's a hard morning here on the farm. I've got to go grocery shopping and unpack and just plain ol' get back to work! So with that said, I'm leaving you with a few pics of what we came back to and then I'm off to start my day.



The only thing that we've had success with, grapes. They are delicious and were a lovely surprise when we got home.



We lost two chickens while we were away. It got soooo hot, I'm talking 115! This is the new window we have in our coop. My dad is awesome and he helped us out. It is the second window we have in the coop now and we're hoping is will help with a cross draft.





The lambs as you can tell have grown like weeds! They are so cute and I wish I could just snuggle their squishy wool. No chance at that happening though. They are as fast as lightning. I'm serious.



I hope you have a fantastic Monday and I hope I do to.   :)

Lambing Season Is Over...I Think.

This past five days of lambing season has been so wonderful and filled with awe at what God has created. I can't get over the fact that I used to just have sheep, but now I can say that I'm a Scottish Blackface Breeder. I knew I liked this breed a lot, but now it's confirmed. These ewes have turned out to be fantastic mamas, dedicated to caring for their new lambs, and have very good maternal instincts. They labor unassisted and have plenty of milk. The babies are thriving and quick to get up and nurse. All that I have just said are blessings. New lambs mean that my flock will increase and that we will have meat for the freezer.

Fernie and Flora both had baby ewe lambs and even though it's not confirmed, I'm pretty sure that Juice had a ram lamb last night. Juice's lamb was the only one born with horn buds and so I'm pretty sure the newest lamb is a dude. I will confirm it tonight when the shearer slicks the mamas.



If you've been keeping up this past week on the blog and on Facebook, then you'll know that I've been checking these ladies constantly throughout the day and into the night. I didn't want to miss the births, but even with my persistence I still missed the first two. I was determined to NOT miss the third. Yesterday afternoon while I was checking up on Flora and her new baby I walked over to the other side of the barn to have a peek at Juice. I could tell something was different and it made me very, very excited. I promptly walked over to my hubby and said, "If I were a betting woman, I'd say Juice is going to have her baby by tonight."

Little did I know.

Dinner was done, kids were bathed and in bed, and I decided to go out to the barn...again. I walked in and my eyes about popped out of my head! Juice was in labor and it was clear as day! I ran to Seth and told him that Juice was laboring. I may or may not have been jumping up and down in the street, I'll let you draw your own conclusions...

Next thing I know I'm heading to the barn with my iphone, camera, and tri-pod in tow. My heart was beating a bazillion beats a minute and I was thanking God for letting me at least see one of my ewe's give birth. At first I didn't let Juice know I was there and I was peeking over the edge of the pen (it's a big board) dodging her glances. Sheep are natural prey and so I didn't want her to stress about me watching. That all flew out the window when she got down to business though, I really don't think at that point she cared. If you've birthed a baby, I'm sure you know the feeling.



While Juice was in misery I kind of chuckled as I looked over to Flora, she had this look on her face and it was as if she was saying, "been there, done that." Can you find her lamb?

Seth joined me not too far into Juice's labor and he got to see it too. His first one and I dare say that he thought it was pretty cool. Cause you know,  it was.

At 11 o'clock pm Juice finally gave birth to her beautiful healthy lamb and guess what? I got it on video!

Warning: This is a video of a sheep giving birth. It is graphic and Juice was baaing quite a bit as she pushed the lamb out. It can be unnerving to someone who isn't used to it so I suggest you a) listen and know that this is normal b) turn your sound off or c) don't watch. I just don't want you to start watching this and not know what your gonna see. 

Oh, and I apologize for my POOR videoing skills. I haven't figured out how to take a decent video with my camera. Sorry.

Seriously, I'm sorry. You'll soon know why...



Juice was such a good mama. Even though she was exhausted from just giving birth, she got right up and started to clean up her lamb. It is so neat to see those maternal instincts kick in. She was doing the mama grunt and the little lamb was answering back. Already a bond is building between mother and baby.





Isn't this just amazing? Here's one more video for you. I hope you have enjoyed this glimpse into farm life.

First Days and a New Name

It's day two and the little ewe lamb is doing fantastic!



I'm so pleased with how easily Fernie is adjusting to being a mama and she very much dotes on her new little one. It's always a concern for the shepherd (or shepherdess in my case) when you are dealing with a first timer. Are they going to know what to do with the new lamb? Will they attach? Will they care and protect their baby? You don't know until it happens.

I did quite a bit of reading before I decided to get Scottish Blackface sheep. I grew up raising Hampshires and while they are a beautiful sheep they do have their issues. Hamps are known to have difficult births because their lambs have big heads and shoulders. It's a bonus once the lambs are born because they grow quickly and are quite thick. Hampshires typically aren't as big as Suffolks (which we raised too), but can be as heavy. In my stage of life and having little ones to care for I wanted a hardy sheep that lambed easy peasy.

Scottish Blackface aren't only known for being easy lambers and milkers, but are also super hardy sheep and have never been a case of natural occurring scrapie. They flock together and so make moving from one pasture to another very easy. They are smarter than your average sheep. I'm serious. I know sheep get a bad wrap when it comes to brains, but these are very smart. They are fence checkers and will get out whenever they are given the opportunity. Ask me how I know.

So far I love this breed. They are smart, maternal, hardy, and beautiful. I really think they are the prettiest breed, but I am sure I am biased. That's ok. The only thing that I don't like is that it is so stinkin' hard to find them around here. Good things are worth the trouble I guess.

***

My sissy came over yesterday to have dinner with us and we decided to catch Fernie and make sure her milk was in and that her teats weren't plugged. I was sure that the lamb was nursing already, but I wanted to ease my mind. Sure enough everything was golden and lucky for me, I got to hold the new lamb again.





The kids are just smitten by her. If I am being honest, I am too.

I've given our newest member of the Shepherd's farm a name. One that is fitting for a Scottish sheep. Fernie is a Scottish name and it means speckled. When Fernie gets sheared in a few weeks you'll know why she's named such.

I was trying to look up a Scottish name that meant 'first' or 'first born', but I couldn't find anything. I got tired of looking and so decided to just look at the list that was given. As I was scrolling down my eyes came across a name and I immediately knew it was the one. Fernie is my daughter Ella's sheep and since that is the case I would like to introduce to you...

Fenella.

Ella is thrilled that it's so close to hers and Fenella means 'white shoulder'. And well, Fenella does have white shoulders...

Huh, you say?

Ok I didn't name her because of the meaning (although it is applicable), I named her Fenella because I think it is fitting for a ewe lamb and I knew my daughter would LOVE it. Also, you won't catching me naming any of my animals names that I would name my children. How many times can I say 'name' in a sentence?







Isn't she just a beauty? She really is marked perfectly and has such nice conformation.

I know I'm just inundating you with pictures, but I can't help myself!

I even have a video...


I hope you are enjoying this because I am just thrilled that I get to share this with all of you! It really adds to the excitement when I see that my readers (you) are into all this lambin' business.

I think I'll leave you with a funny. I adore my kids far beyond fuzzy, cute lambs. Probably because a) they are cuter b) they're my flesh and blood and c) they are just hilarious...especially my Ella. Look at her face!



***Not sure why they insisted on wearing their bicycle helmets, but I will let my kids be what they are...kids.

First Video of Our First Lamb

Here's a clip of our new little ewe lamb!

This Just In...Our First LAMB!

Oh my goodness friends....THIS IS WHAT WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR!

OUR FIRST LAMB!



I am so excited I can hardly sit here and type! My husband went out at 6 this morning to move the irrigation water and he checked for lambs. He didn't see any and continued on his way. I went out around 9 this morning with the kids and checked the sheep and saw nothing. Then, THEN I realized that one ewe was missing from the field. My heart was racing and I quickly looked inside the barn and I started to giggle. Laying in the nice clean straw was a perfect, fuzzy, and DRY lamb. Fernie is our first ewe to lamb and she gave birth to a perfectly sweet ewe lamb. I can't believe it's finally happened.

I've been checking my ladies about 5-6 times a day trying to catch them in the act. Everyone that I've talked to or have read about say that these sheep lamb quickly. The gentleman that I bought our first three ewes from has had Scottish Blackface for 6+ years and he's only seen one of his ewes lamb. I'm thankful for easy lambers, but I do love to watch them in the act. Maybe I'll get lucky next time...

I have to go and continue on with my day, but I wanted to show off our little sweetheart of a lambie. Here are a few extra pictures and don't worry, I'll be posting more pics soon and maybe a video later today!









Isn't she just the cutest thing you ever saw? I told you blackface lambs are the cutest you'll find!

And what's even better...today's my 8 year wedding anniversary. God is good.