What a Busy Week...

What a beautiful week it has been around here...The goats and sheep have made good use of it. We now have 5 new kids (1 single and 2 sets of twins) and I think about 19 lambs. I would have to go look on my note to tell you how many of twins or single. Well, actually there was only 1 single and rest were either twins or triplets... We don't ever remember the kids being so social. The oldest kid doesn't mind at all coming back to the barn to visit the new kids and leave her mom who is in the upper pasture. It is so funny to see her running out through there all by herself...
The 2 new Border Collies have been keeping David and Em busy. They both are really sweet. I am staying neutral. I am good at spoiling them...No, all joking aside. They use me to do some of the commands to the dogs. Em took Ruby to the Stock Dog Clinic today. They were tired when they came back. Charity must to have gotten to comfortable in the dog house because there was a big fight when Ruby went to dog house and there Charity sat....Em has to put Charity up in the barn this evening. It is suppose to rain and sometimes Ruby doesn't care if it is raining and Charity sits out in it....
My garlic is up and looking good. I planted a spring mix...I ordered it from Vermont Seed in WI. They have a fall mix also I need to get ordered. They send it when it is time to plant in this zone... The garlic I planted last fall just didn't make it. It was such a wet winter...
There wasn't a computer class last week but will be one this week. Then the one next week we want to take and there is a Yeast Bread class at the Extension office also. We may go ahead and sign up and just be about 15 minutes late...Em hasn't been really big on cooking so when she wanted to take bread class I decided I better get her there...
We have a new hand mower with bagger. For right now the kids are pretty happy using it even with the bagger. They have been throwing the grass over into the pens to feed. The boys are getting the ideal what is going on and stand at the fence waiting on them to get there with the first bag full....
I have been working on mowing the tree line. The dandelions are in full bloom right now. I no more get them mowed and look back and there they are again...The trees are really looking nice. I am now really pleased we stuck with keeping them mowed for 6 yrs. This last fall we did get our first good gathering of walnuts. For spring , It shouldn't be too long and the Dog wood should be in full bloom. We don't have redbud trees here on our tree line but right now they are in full bloom along the highways. So pretty...You would think with 23 different types of trees there would be a redbud...
We had visitors a couple days this week here on the farm. A lady from Mitchell came with her granddaughter. She enjoyed the visit but the most exciting to her was when we got back to the house and here sat 5 kitties...(actually are taking 2 kitties when ready)I think the sheep and goats may have been a little large for her...Grandma is a big spinner and rug hooker so she loved the fiber animals...Saturday evening a van pulled up. The couple was here in the area going to a wedding and had seen our goats and stopped on there way home..They were from KY. They are just getting into fiber animals...Then today my doll maker came by with her family. We took a walk out back to let her little girls see the new kids and pet them. The in-laws came later in the afternoon to borrow a saw....
One of our other kitties is going to live in a lawyers office. There is a cat already there that needs a friend...We still have 2 left to give away. It will just take some time...2 other cats we have outside have been reserved to go to a farm. Then that leaves us with what we wanted. We have 2 more to have fixed then we will be ok. I tell you I don't know what multiplies faster, Cats or rabbits...
David is sitting here testing a sock cylinder before shipping it out. Works good. I will pack it with the sample tube and get it shipped out. Sitting here writing this somebody just paid for another. I guess he will test it tomorrow night...
I guess I better close for this evening. I need to get some dishes done. I did get some banana bread made earlier today and a decent lunch but time flew after that.
Take Care....

It's Spring in Indiana...Finally

Well, Spring is finally finding us here. We just finally had about 5 days free of rain and the sun actually shined. The grass grew and the mowing began. Only limited though. We rotated the goatie boys out one at a time and let them graze. We got in some more electric netting and made a pen out side the llama boys pens and let them rotate out and mow that area. To get started on the mowing I did buy a new hand mower. The one we had just finally gave out last fall. The other day I went in to have some minor work done on a chain saw and came out with a new mower. That was interesting explaining to David that evening...All joking aside he knew I needed a new one...
The sheep have started lambing. The first set were born last Saturday while we were in GreenCastle at a Fiber Festival...They are sweeties and the middle of the week Star had a set of twins. One boy and one girl. Really cuties and very nice fiber markings...Yesterday afternoon Bianca blessed us with our first kid. A beautiful white doe...Then last night Flake decided David didn't need any sleep. At midnight she started in and delivered 3 by 4 am this morning...So it has been a exciting week around here.
My gardening this year is coming right along. I actually got a pretty good variety of cool weather crop in. I have started gathering my canning supplies. I have a Amish store I visit. It is in the basement of their house...Nice prices. The canning jar lids are about 1/3rd the price you pay for them at Wal-Mart. The other day David got the lower part of the garden plowed and the next dry spell I can get that tilled and be ready to start planting everything else. The time to do that is after "The Derby"...Mothers Day weekend...I asked for a spot to til to put in a good plot of corn and the guys looked at me cross eyed. They aren't willing to give up hay area...
Well, Monday we go pick up a Silver 2008 HHR. 5speed transmission. We just drove a automatic transmission to TX in Feb and it did alot of whinning so we knew we didn't want that. David likes the standards anyway...Jarrod will take David's old car and Em and I share the van. Now I just have to convince David maybe about January we need a truck. We just have put off buying ...Darned, if my van is letting me know my time is up...
Em and I have kinda put plans on a simmering burner that we might just go to Maryland Mother's Day weekend...to Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival...We will see. Hopefully all the lambing and kidding will be finished by then. It is lots of fun. We went about 2 yrs ago.
We enjoyed the Fiber Event last weekend in Green Castle, IN. We had a Booth and Saw lots of people we hadn't seen in awhile and met plenty of new people. My brother and family came by to visit a minute. Our Natural color yarn we had processed was a big hit. A lady from IL really liked it and we were quite complimented by her purchases...Emily enjoyed her Day on Saturday. She took a Natural Dyeing class. She had a good chemistry lesson that day and good use of the Math...It refreshed our memory that we have plenty of things right around us to dye with without using nasty chemicals....Now we are getting ready for the next Festival in June.
Em went with her younger dog today to a Home and Garden Show and met several other 4-H kids and they did a Show on Agility and Obedience. Em said Charity did great.
Well, I guess I better get finished up here and get a load of dishes done and go change the water on some wool I am washing. I have a doll maker thatI have a feeling will be calling just any day for her next load of wool to do hair with...I have been sorting and getting ready for her.
Y'all Take Care....Pam

Nice Days...

For November we are having some really nice weather...I have been working on cleaning the barns and trying to get started on the milk house. This weekend David and I sat down and wrote down our breeding groups and tried to scatter everybody out appropriately... We usually put one pen of goats and one pen of sheep. I think we about have that accomplished. Just got to get the deed done now.

This year we have added another Finn Ewe to our Flock and also purchased a full registered male to breed this year. In the past we have used a Shetland ram. I will just have to take up residency in the barn at lambing time with these girls...They have litters...Carly, shown above, has always had 5 and that was with a Shetland ram. No telling what she will do with our Finn Ram.

Jarrod is weaning a young male llama. This year we had a gilding to work with so that has made the job a little easier. The bad part, Cluckie just isn't sure why he deserves to be put in with the young guy that is always chasing him seeing if he can nurse.

We had a interesting phone call this morning. A Lady from the County Wild Turkey Federation called to see if we would help do a Woman's day they are putting on in May. 4 - 1 hr and 15 min classes. Sheep Wool Craft...I think my brain needs to do some major thinking to fill in a hour and 15 min...I am excited. I think it should be lots of fun.

I have a lady coming to pick up a ram in the morning. We will have to put him in a smaller pen this evening with a buddy. They are in a big pasture now and have gotten pretty good about heading down to the lower part to stay out of our way...

Em is playing her guitar at a Christmas Market right before Thanksgiving. Then will play at a radio Station right after Christmas. This is my brave child. She is coming along right nicely on stage...Her guitar teacher is so good about getting her people out and around.

Jarrod declared his major today at school. He should have a Associates in General Studies and then top that off in Agricultural . He wants to go to Purdue to get a Bachelor in Agriculture.

This has been a busy year and it looks like we will move right into 2008 the same.

Another Chilly Day ...

One more chilly day here in Indiana. Our Angora goats are looking forward to warm days ahead. We went out this afternoon and put coats back on them and turned on the heat lamps for the kids. As usual the sheepies are handling the wind fine. The advantage of all that fiber on the shetland ewes the lambs lay up close and all is fine. Last week Em's Ewe had one of her lambs on her back in the strip where Em had rooed Celest. It was so cute. He was nestled in and the little ewe lamb layed behind Celest....

David has gone to PA to look at a machine for work that was just built. It is about time to have it shipped and they went to approve it...He called a while ago and was meeting a guy he used to work with.

Jarrod has a busy day at school today. His llama ladies are in the barn out of the wind with a good big fresh bale of hay. His boys are behaving today. The wind makes them sit down...

Em and I have been crocheting all afternoon. She is working hard on her 4-H project. A good reason to stay in the house.

Keep visiting back with my blog. I will be adding pictures of the animals and might even take a picture of the kids...

Pam