Sunday, October 22, 2006

Shear Delight?


Well, when you own sheep, you eventually have to get to this part... (unless of course, you eat them!)


Bill Ottoway and his family came out last Saturday and I got a 1:1 walk through on shearing, and actually got to take care of half of my little flock. Like the title says, "It's harder than it looks".


Of course it was compounded by my affection for the sheep, and my intense fear of cutting them (I was the only bleeder of the day - duct tape band-aid on the saluting finger). Madison documented the occasion, and my friend and business partner, Allison, casually looked on.


Bill's son, Thomas, made it look ridiculously easy, but that happens alot when you're 6...


I keep running over the steps and stages in my head, trying to drill it into memory for the Spring. I'm going to shear them again, even though the staple might not be long enough, it will put us back on the right shearing schedule, and it will give me another chance to polish up my skills...


I'm sure the sheep are thrilled...

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Rude Interruption

Have you ever been having a conversation, when someone jumps in and rudely takes over, changing the conversation to themselves? Well, please excuse the commenter on our farm blog, who has decided it makes a nice place to advertise....someone at PaidSurveysOnline. It has forced me to change the settings to be able to Moderate Comments, when really I wanted anyone to be able to talk with us about what we're doing....but such is the world today. Folks can be so obsessed with themselves, self-promotion, consumer goods, and being pushy that they just can't stop themselves I guess...it makes me sick. And angry. I like the idea of searching for a company or service that I want, not being bombarded with junk mail, telemarketers, spam, and now this....Sorry, I'm ranting, huh? OK, back to the farm...

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Morning Graze



I had the luxury of a few hours this morning, so I let everyone out for a morning graze on the lower lot. The sheep scurried for the lushest grass and fallen apples, and the goats stayed with me (on leashes - of course!) and happily muched scrub rose bushes and weeds...
















What a peaceful way to start my day...I wish every one could be like this. But it was also obvious how quickly winter is approaching, and even the sheep are eager to grab the last green bites to be had before a heavy frost.

Alexander busied himself around the pond, and almost got an unplanned bath in his haste to chomp the weeds...


It was Hattie who brought me out of my reverie...with a nose-butting right into the camera as if to say, "Aren't you supposed to be somewhere?" (sigh)