Springtime? Seriously?

I'm probably the only one disappointed by the weather yesterday. Even the bees were happy (more on that tomorrow).



I guess it was kind of nice to walk out the backdoor and see Ewenice and Renny sunbathing in the yard.



With the Adventure Chickens. If you look closely (click to biggify) you'll see another one down the hill on the other side of the fence.



They were everywhere. Very busy those chickens.



I took Renny's coats off in hopes her wool had started regrowing enough that if she had a few warm days to reacclimate she might not have to wear them on "normal" Kentucky winter days. Sadly, while some new wool is starting to come in, most of what is there is pretty fragile and still falling out.



And some of that dried like concrete pond mud is still there. Look how high it comes up on her belly. That's how deep she was buried...for several days. What a story.

Stupid Butt Sherman

Uh oh.



Comby knows what's coming.



"I SAID leave me alone you stupid butt Sherman!"



"But I just want to tell you something."



"Go away!"



"No, really. I just want to tell you something."



"That's what you say every time!"

Meet The Flockers

Notice anything out of the ordinary?



Something green maybe?



Renny and Ewenice spent some time with the main flock this morning.



Renny's been dying to get out there. She's very social.



Everyone was pretty kind.



She checked in with Miss Ewenice regularly.



For most of the visit I kept Hank outside. At the very end I let him in and closely supervised. He really wants to go up and sniff her, especially her boo-boos...which is the very last place she wants a dog near. I think in time she'll be just fine. She's smart as a whip...and obviously unsinkable.

I couldn't decide between these two videos, so I posted both. One is a little less Blair Witch-y, but the other one shows how well she's walking on that "bad" leg.





I realize this is starting to look like the all Renny blog, but with so much that goes wrong, it's nice to see some things go right, eh?

Sunday Stills - Hats

The Hanging of the Pine Cones.



City Boy - in a dapper hat.



City Boy, Saint Tim and Janbaby



I spun the yarn to hang this year's ornaments from Crazy Esther's last fleece.



And I love that more than likely next year there will still be some strings left.



I We love decorating City Boy and Saint Tim's Grandma and Grandpa Duchild's memorial trees on The Prairie Path every year.

For more Sunday Stills Hats or Cats....

Peace

Merry Christmas!

'Twas The Night Before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas and all around me
There was unfinished knitting not under the tree,
The stockings weren't hung by the chimney with care
'Cause the heels and the toes had not a stitch there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
But I had not finished the caps for their heads.
Dad was asleep---he was no help at all.
And the sweater for him was 6" too small.
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I put down my needles to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash.
Tripped over my yarn and fell down in my stash.
The tangle of yarn that lay deep as the snow
Reminded me how far I still had to go.

When out on the lawn I heard such a noise,
I was sure it would wake up Dad and the boys.
And although I was tired--my brain a bit thick,
I knew in a moment that it must be St Nick.

Yet what I heard left me very perplex-ed
For nothing I heard was what I expect-ed.
"Move Rowan! Move Patons! Move Knitpicks and Clover!
Move Noro! Move Artyarns! Move Classy!
Move over!

Loopy, don't circle round, just stand there in line.
Pay attention you sheep and you'll work out just fine!
I know this is hard as it's just your first year
But I'd hate to go back to 8 tiny reindeer."

I peeked thru the glass. What I saw was amazing:
Eight wooly sheep on my lawn all a-grazing!
And then in a twinkle, I heard at the door
Santa's big boots stomping on the porch floor.

As I turned around, St Nick I did meet.
He was dressed all in wool from his head to his toe
And his clothes were hand knit from above to below.

A bright Fair Isle sweater he wore on his back.
And his toys were all stuffed in an Aran knit sack.
His hat was a wonder of bobbles and lace
A beautiful frame for his rosey red face.

The scarf on his neck could have stretched for a mile,
And the socks peeking over his boots were Argyle.
On the back of his mitts was an intricate cable.
And suddenly on one I spotted a label:

"S.C." in duplicate stitch on the cuff.
So I asked, "Hey, Nick, did YOU knit all this stuff?"
He proudly replied, "Ho, ho, ho, yes I did.
I learned how to knit when I was a kid."

He was chubby and plump, a well dressed old man,
And I laughed to myself, for I'd thought up a plan.
I flashed him a grin and jumped up in the air,
And the next thing he knew, he was tied to a chair.

He spoke not a word, but looked down in his lap
Where I had laid my needles and yarn for a cap.
He began then to knit, first one cap then 2--
For the first time I thought I might really get through.

He put heels in the stockings and toes in some socks,
While I sat back drinking a scotch on the rocks.
Quickly like magic his needles they flew,
Good Grief! Look at that! He was finished by two!

He sprang for his sleigh when I let him go free,
And over his shoulder he looked back at me.
I heard him exclaim as he sailed past the moon,
"Next year, start your knitting sometime around JUNE!"

I can't find an author's name anywhere, but wanted to share.

A Tail Of Two Rennys

When I first saw Renny, lying in the back of a pickup truck, I have to admit I wasn't sure the Right Thing had been done. The extent of her injuries, the permeating smell of infection, her coat covered thick with burs and dried sludge was just overwhelming. I remember calling Tim in tears on the way out of the animal shelter thinking I was just going to drive her to the vet and Do The Right Thing.

Dr. Baron met us out at the car in a cold, misting rain and agreed that maybe the Right Thing had not been done. However, as Renny hadn't given up, we decided we wouldn't either and she started cleaning on her, scrubbing and cutting away horrid necrotic tissue that even saying something horrible like "horrid necrotic tissue" doesn't come close to describing. We were there for about two hours. She'd work awhile, go in to see appointments, come back out.

Dr. Cleveland and Lou Ann returned from a farm call just as she was finishing up. Lou Ann had seen the story on the news as well and was also touched by the story. I think she took one look at her and then me and knew I was overwhelmed and offered to come out the next evening to help me with the first at-home treatment. It was one of the nicest gifts I've ever been given. She made numerous trips out to help and she and Dr. Baron even came out on Thanksgiving Day.

So many people made Renny's care possible. Saved her life. The first responders, animal control, humane society, vets, techs, Saint Tim, friends from all over and most responsible, Renny herself. She is truly a sheep of character and I know we have all been blessed.

Much of Renny's hair was falling out on its own, but what was left was either caked with mud or filled with burs. Not only was this an infection worry, but surely uncomfortable for her as well and made catching her to doctor on her a painful chore. A nice couple came out and sheared her as best they could to clean her up and I bagged everything up and tossed it in the garbage.

It sat there for a few days and Renny started showing signs of improvement and I wondered if there was any way to salvage anything of her fleece to make some thank you gifts. I didn't have much hope for the mud washing out (and it didn't), but knew that while the fleece was still wet after washing, the burs would be easier to remove (and they were).



For Dr. Baron and Lou Ann.





Squeamish Alert...

This next picture was taken a couple days ago. I outlined where it started size-wise and if you know where to look (I'm not going go into that much detail) you can see some bumps where severed muscles and tendons and even an exposed vein have healed over. I am still just amazed.



I don't think Renny ever had a doubt.

A Warm Winter's Nap

The sun came out for a little while this afternoon.

"Wool-sh!"

So, using the handy dandy archives I see that last year our Christmas card was painted, printed and in the mail by December 4th.

Holy. Moly.

I did delay painting this card for a little bit until we felt pretty good about Renny being in the picture. In the interim we had a ton of snow (yippee! even though it does slow everything down quite a bit), got pretty good at caring for serious injuries, pretty good at a (thankfully) not as serious injury (it's kinda personal and Ewen doesn't want it discussed on the blog ;-), lost a good friend, burst the water pipes in the wool house, been fighting off a cold, can't get an electrician to come out to save our lives (and haven't even tried a plumber)...and here it is December 21st.

Without further ado...





Merry Christmas everyone!

I feel pretty confident everyone else has picked up more than one Christmas gift, has all their decorations up, baked cookies and gingerbread (I did buy my fresh ginger yesterday), mailed their cards, wrapped their gifts, written letters to Santa and mopped their kitchen floors.

Right?

Snow Foolin'

I was going to title this post "Making Tracks", but apparently I've already used that one. I love being able to run back through the archives to remember what I've forgotten.

I'm thoroughly enjoying all the snow. Sadly it's going to melt quite a bit today...but sounds like more on the way :-).

All Sheep Go To Heaven

Crazy Esther is warm, surrounded by friends and ambling around belly deep in green grass.

A Sheep Of Many Talents

She's beautiful. Has pretty wool. Is very affectionate. Takes wonderful pictures. Never fails to make us smile. Takes great care of Renny.

And is a good eater!



Renny's still thinking about the Hank situation. In between bites.



Notice Renny standing on her "bad" back leg :-).

A Dramatic Photo...

...of Popcorn PeePee Pants.

Can't you really take a dramatic photo of a sheep with a name like that?

Yes

It is as cold as it looks. Zero. At least there's no wind...for now.

What a crazy "winter".

I Don't Want To Know

Boudreaux came in last night with his face covered in snow. My first thought was "I can't believe he stuck his head all the way in a snow bank looking for food when there was hay set out for everyone." Then I realized he was the only one covered in snow.

Did I miss a 28 on 1 snowball fight?

We Don't Have Any Cattle...

But if we did, I'm sure this is where they'd be sleeping.



These two bulls live just around the corner. I'd seen one sleeping in there the other day but didn't think I had time to stop and take a picture. Two minutes - stop and take the stupid pictures. Yeesh!



What's she doing?



I don't know, but she looks cold. Did you see her slip down that big snow drift?



I felt almost like Just Another Day on the Prairie ;-).

Guess I should try to get some "skirt work" done.