Everybody's Sweater

This is how I feel - flat and wanting to hide under a potted fern.  Bitey Whitey is gone.  We sent him to the university for an autopsy and are hoping they'll be able to tell us something that can help someone, hopefully not ever us again.

While I was sitting with him I did as much knitting as I could and got Elizabeth's second sleeve done and ready to attach to the body.

As I knit I decided that since I was never going to be able to make a Bitey Whitey sweater, he could be a part of this sweater, specifically the last three rows on that second sleeve. And I realized that in fact, all the sheep were all a part of all my sweaters.  Everyone here is a part of everything here.  My heart.  

While I waited for the vets to arrive yesterday I hustled to make sure that the sleeves were indeed the proper length and put all the stitches back on the needles to join everything together.  It somehow seemed important that he knew (and probably I knew) that we'd always be together, the sleeves on each others sweaters.  And the way you join the sleeves to the body?

K2Tog (Knit Two Together)

The Yellow Bird Of Happiness

It's been a rough few days here. Bitey Whitey is sick. Very sick. Something flukey as best the vets can figure and we are trying to figure out how to treat something we don't know quite what it is... Let me stress once again - whatever you've heard (probably all your life) about sheep giving up and dying on you for no reason at all is just such complete bunk.  He's hanging in there and fighting hard and hopefully I'll have some good news to share soon.  

In the meantime, as I was looking out the window of the Wool House, washing out his oral syringes, I noticed some bright yellow action out on the sunflowers next to the lavender garden.  A beautiful yellow finch going to town!  I love watching the birds and bees partying on flowers I've planted.  It makes me feel like I've accomplished something good, for me and them.  And I needed that this afternoon.

As an aside, the first pictures I took were framed like this one - bird, sunflowers.  I feel awful that I haven't taken any pictures of my zinnias this year as they've been spectacular, so I moved over a bit to shoot through them and at least include some color in the shots.  Sometimes just a step or two one way or the other completely changes a photograph.  Which version do you like best?

The Crazy Sheep Lady

Most folks around town know me as "the sheep lady". Only my online friends call me the crazy sheep lady :-).  Saint Tim and I have been so busy this whole week.  You name it, something's been going on every day.  And we're okay with that.  It's hectic, but important to take care of friends, family, furries, volunteer stuff, town activities, oh yeah, and work.

After we got home from helping with the 5K this morning, I did the morning chores, checked in on everyone and then grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down out with the boys, now affectionately known as "the melon heads".  Even though they are all good buddies and have plenty to keep them busy, they LOVE some special "momma time" and will stand at the gate watching me run to and fro, wishing I'd stop and play.

These are the sweetest boys in the whole world.  Daniel (Marcel's brother) was only originally picked to join the group because he was Marcel's brother.  He wasn't especially friendly and the end of the first two weeks he was here, I was beginning to have my doubts if he was ever going to be.  Count Chocula and Bitey Whitey had shown friendly tenancies as lambs, so Robin knew they'd be a good fit here.  Hershey had not displayed any signs of being interested in being chummy and I doubt Robin would have recommended him as a breeding ram if he did.  A too chummy breeding ram is never a good idea, safety-wise.

Hershey became my first buddy in the group.  I think it was the very first morning that he walked right up to me and started politicking to stay (and not leave to be a breeding ram on another farm).  Within just a couple days he was sleeping in my lap.  He gave me some street cred with Bitey Whitey and Chocula and soon they were pretty chummy, too.  And once Daniel came around, he's been my Very Best Bud, the sheep that loves me most.  That's his nose in the picture below.  He's a close talker, just like his brother :-).

Hershey still sleeps in my lap.  Always.  Everyone else better Move Over.

Daniel waits until things settle down and then he grabs a spot on my left side.  Chocula also sleeps on me too on occasion (there are some sweet pictures on Twitter) and Bitey Whitey likes to lay down behind me so he doesn't have to compete for a spot.  Number One Profile is prime real estate.

And always reserved for Hershey, who likes to lay his head on my stomach and cash out for awhile.  

Nothing makes my day like sitting out in the field covered in sleeping sheep, listening to the rest of the sheep going about their "busy" mornings.  When I go back to my "busy" morning, I'm dirty, greasy, my iPhone is disgusting and usually my hair has been chewed on to the point all I can do is tuck it back under my hat and walk away.  

Like a crazy sheep lady.  

And I'm okay with that :-).

The Cookie Bandits

After Maisie got her trim, Bill offered to fix my shearing job clean up around Hershey's "unmentionables".  I thought the easiest thing would be to just let all the boys into the barn, assuming the other three would explore, raid the hay stall, knock stuff over...for the minute Hershey would be in the barber chair.  Not ones to miss any tricks, as soon as Bill grabbed Hershey, they all headed back to the front of the barn where they just happened to remember seeing a box of cookies sitting out. 

Stella headed down to intervene.

And pick everything up.

And, excuse me?!?  Give them cookies???

All I can say is the next time a certain someone tries to say I'm "spoiling these sheep", she'd better remember when one finger is pointed at someone else, there are THREE POINTED BACK AT YOU!  ;-)

What The What?!?

"They cut off all my hair!"

The gratuitous "before" shot.

Hershey has had a lot of wool.  It's been an unusually cool summer, so up to this point I didn't feel like he was terribly stressed and thought he could hold out for the fall shearing.  The other night though, when I was playing Chase Me with the boys and he didn't want to run and jump as much as the others, I decided he was headed to buzz cut city.

Chase Me is a great game.  Similar to racing around with Hank when the weather turns cool, you just gotta get 'em started and the next thing you know they are boing boing boing-ing all over, racing back and forth, running into each other, Daniel can jump over the top of any of them, Bitey Whitey had a wipe out the other night and ended up with green knees...  Good times :-).

"Oh, man, that's one sweet mullet!"

"What's a mullet?"

"Blossom said I was cute!  She really did!"

"Dude, you look ridiculous."

Don't listen to them Hershey.  I think you're very handsome!  They're just mad they didn't get a haircut and now you are going to be able to run just as fast as they do ;-).

And don't worry boys.  Bill will be here in another week or so. 

Letters Home From Camp Givalammacookee*

Dear Robin, camp is good. The counselors are nice. We do lots of fun stuffs and we get to eat lots of cookies, especially when Auntie Reg comes over. 

And even Daniel is having fun too.  He was pretty shy in the beginning, but he's real happy now.

Hershey has a big mouth and likes to holler that we want more cookies.  Chocula is pretty loud, too.

Bitey Whitey got in a little trouble for trying to steal some jewelry, but nobody got too mad.

And for those lambs who don't like cookies...

Camp Givalammaboxacheerios.  Crazy Maisie hates cookies.  I've tried stuffing them in the side of her mouth thinking that once she gets a taste of them...  No dice.  They go in one side and torpedo out the other.  She loves some Cheerios though, but only if she gets to eat them out of the box!

* Credit Robin for the clever camp name :-D.

Watermelon Break

The boys, well mostly Bitey Whitey, the watermelon monster, galloping in for some watermelon.

Why I Hate To Leave The Farm

I love living with all our sheep, horses, cats, dogs...  I really feel like it's a privilege and I'm thankful for every one of them.  Almost all the time ;-).  However, being responsible for their care can be stressful.  Stressful to the point that I seldom even leave the farm any more.  

I've started trailering Hickory over to a nearby farm to ride and take some lessons a couple evenings a week.  Before I left this evening I made one last check on all the paddocks to make sure everything looked okay. I told everyone that Hank was in charge while I was gone.  The boys were napping in their temporary stall and all seemed well.

I came home to this.

"Whatchu mean my nose is all red?"

Holy cow!  What happened?!?  Is that blood???

"Whoa, that DOES look bad!"

At this point I am frantically looking all over trying to figure out what's gone horribly wrong.  It doesn't really look like blood, but what else could it be?!?  Paint?  We have a couple old red gates and sometimes I see pink spots on top of some sheep's heads where they've been rubbing on them, but there is nothing in the field this color!

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Or is there...

I'd set the watermelon rind out for the chickens.  None of our other sheep have ever acted in the least bit interested.  Bitey Whitey and Daniel Not-Boone are officially addicts.

And now I'm afraid to leave the farm because I might miss something really funny ;-).  

And The Names Are...

Daniel Not-Boone.  Not Daniel Boone, because one Boone (Rebecca ;-) is plenty around here!  Just kidding RB.  Sort of...  If his face looks familiar, it's because he's Marcel's younger brother.

Bitey Whitey.  This is what he looks like, but my favorite view of Bitey Whitey is when he comes up and sticks his nose in my face and his big ears fall backwards all the way down like "Do your ears hang low..."  Very cute.

And, with the shortage of grass in their paddock, having to fight over the same blades seems completely rational.

Count Chocula.  Saint Tim came up with this name accidentally last week when we were trying to do something with one of the other boys and Chocula wouldn't leave him alone and kept chewing on his shirt.

 "Cut it out, Count Chocula!" 

I think that's a great name for him :-D.

I have yet to get a good shot of Hershey, who was supposed to be a fancy pants breeding ram on a big farm and what he really wants to do...

...is just lay down next to me and catch some zzzzzz's.  He's officially one of the friendliest sheep on the farm, and we have some FRIENDLY sheeps!

"Hey!  Where'd the guy with the cookies go???" 

Yep, they're already cookie monsters.  Oh, and the big white lamb is only going to be here a couple more days.  He IS going on to the breeding farm, but in the short time he's been here he's been called Bitey Off-Whitey, Dinsdale, Graham Jr. and a few, um, other names ;-).

I'm Happy To Report

...that cat sniffing is alive and well at Equinox Farm. Poor Eli.

Bitey Whitey and Daniel Not Boone take a turn.

Then Count Chocula.

And even Bitey Off-Whitey.

Hershey didn't get involved because he is not that kinda sheep was too busy eating ;-).

Not. Funny.

So, yes, they all have names now.   We'll try to do some formal introductions tomorrow :-).

From The Other Side Of The Wall

Can you believe it was just a year ago that Blossom was on this side of the wall?

"I see you sleeping on my cot!" 

"Her cot???  The sheep around here say the craziest things."

It's been So. Hot.  Yesterday afternoon I caught the black lamb trying to use my phone to call NY for a ride back home. Since I'm trying to get the new kids used to me and "tamed down" (they weren't bottle lambs, so aren't quite sure why we'd all want to hang out together ;-) I pulled out Blossom's cot and an extra fan and did a Claire Bear's Done Give Up in their temporary stall yesterday afternoon.

This is Bitey Whitey, the only new sheep with a name as yet.  We're tempted to go with Bitey Brownie, Blackie and Off-Whitey, but it doesn't really sound so good if your sheep all have Bitey names and surely after the heat breaks we won't taste so salty ;-).

"I'm really cute and need a really cute name.  I'm the smallest lamb, probably the most curious, definitely the most agile 'cause that lady put our feed bunk up off the ground and I can still jump in it and walk around, so maybe a circus name?  I think a circus name would fit 'cause that guy with the funny hair says this place is a circus.  I guess 'cause it's so hot???"

This picture doesn't look like this lamb at all.  I guess he's working it for the camera because in real life he doesn't look like a regal, studly ram.  He's a shaggy, sweet little love bug who immediately walks over every time I come around and stands next to me and bites me encourages me if I don't scratch his back, head, neck, ears... enough.  He loves to have his face rubbed and told what a nice boy he is and when we I get tired of this he lays down at my feet and goes to sleep.

He's given me some "street cred" with the other lambs and Bitey Whitey and then Bitey Brownie have now signed on for back scratching and face petting and hearing what sweet boys they are... :-). 

Marcel's brother is still not sure about it all, but I'm sure some cookies will help bring him around ;-).

"What are cookies?  That's all the sheep on the other side of the wall talk about!"

The black lamb is supposed to be leaving at the end of the week.  I overheard Saint Tim tell him "I wish you weren't leaving" last night.  My thoughts exactly.  Not sure if I can talk Kathy into a sale since she's expecting delivery of two breeding rams, but I think I'm going to try. 

We're hanging in there.  Stella and I had to go get strawberry milkshakes and root beer floats yesterday to keep from melting down.  Decided to go pay our water bills while we were in town and as I walked out of the water company I left my cell phone sitting on the counter.  

We got a couple minutes down the road and realized I was missing something and turned around.  As we were pulling in, one of the drivers was pulling out.  He held my cell phone out his truck window and we had a good laugh.  It's so nice to live in a town where if you left your cell phone sitting on a counter it would show up in your mailbox if you didn't remember where you'd left it.