December

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December...much like the whole year.  Plough on and focus on what went right...

A Nice Day

...that isn't today :-o.

Yesterday was up in the 70s.  Tonight it's going down to 17.   (!)

Solstice Sheep Of The Day - Murphy

As we drew near the end of the Solstice Sheep this week I started counting who was still out.  Five to go.  Who were they...Liddy, Tavia, Tessa, Burrnie and Murphy.  Then I was down to three and I drew Liddy and then there were just two.  Ooh, wouldn't it be fun if Murphy was the last one?

I fed Bea and the cats and put the kettle on and finally got up my nerve to pull today's tag...Dang it,  Murphy!  Wouldn't that have been a great story if the sheep who is best known for being the first out every dang day of the year turned out to be the very last sheep on the Solstice calendar?  Oh well, it's still a pretty good story.

I've been sharing everyone's favorite treats and at first glance this picture doesn't appear to be a treat picture, but it is.  Besides being the leader of the flock, Murphy's main claim to fame is opening gates.  So much so that there were some many times I toyed with sticking him in a big cardboard box with, or sometimes without, air holes and shipping him back to New York.

Murphy's motivation for opening gates is always food related and his main goal in life these days is to move into Easy Breezy (on the other side of this gate).  Oh, he doesn't want to move into a retirement home.  He just wants to steal their food.  

Murphy is obsessed with any treats, but is especially fond of the chopped alfalfa fed to the Easy Breezy sheep.  

Solstice Sheep Of The Day - Liddy

Liddy's claim to fame?  She got kicked out of a fiber festival!

"I did?"

Well, they didn't make her leave early, although I'm sure they wanted to, but we were asked to never bring her back.  Why?  Liddy is a talker...and she has the voice of a three pack a day smoker.  People complained that she was "growling".

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Volume Up

I had a question about Andy's bell back at the beginning of the Solstice series and I thought I would just answer it when Liddy's turn came about, figuring she'd not be far behind...and here we are three from the end.  Liddy is the other belled sheep.  There are just two even though it sometimes sounds like more.

The bells do a couple of jobs here.  First I can always find the sheep, just by listening for them.  They don't go out in the dark, but we can have some really foggy mornings and because of the bells I've been able to tell which field they are in even when it's so thick I can't see them.  

The other thing the bells do is tell me what the sheep are doing.  If they are just grazing or walking back in from the back fields, the bells just jingle.  If something has spooked the sheep and they are running in, the bells CLANG CLANG CLANG and I know to go check.

Sometimes the bells also tell me when Liddy is into something she shouldn't be.  Liddy comes out for an extra breakfast in the mornings and sometimes stays with the Easy Breezy sheep longer than she's able to keep herself out of trouble.  

Liddy loves all treats, but especially loves her special breakfasts.  She could just move into Easy Breezy...but she doesn't stay out of trouble.  Ever.  That bell is always ringing.

Solstice Sheep Of The Day - Kaala

With the way the draws have come, with so many matching their real personalities and traits, I expected to not see Kaala until Sunday or Monday.  

Kaala got here in 2018 and her first shearing here was 2019.  She was the very last sheep to be shorn that day.  In 2020 she was again the last sheep to be shorn.  In 2021 she was the last.  In 2022 she was second to the last.  I don't remember where she fell in 2023, but it was definitely in the last two.  She was at the end of the line again this year.

Some sheep figure out to just go on through.  Most fall in the 'wherever they land' category and some sheep put it off to the last minute rather than just get it over with.  This frequently happens with lambing too.  You know who the early lambers are going to be and the same couple of ewes will always be at the tail end.

Kaala has spent this year teaching people how to spin yarn.  Her fleece is perfect for this because it's not too long, but not too short and has just enough gray running through it that you can easily see your angle of twist.  She's in all the drop spindle kits these days.

Kaala likes treats, but what she really likes is to wait while everyone else goes out to graze in the morning because she's figured out Liddy, who also waits, get a special breakfast and she's figured out how to capitalize on that.  

The 2025 Farm Calendars

It's time to reveal the 2025 farm calendar!

Putting the farm calendar together has become one of the best parts of fall....besides the cooler weather. These calendars started as just a fun way to share some pictures with friends and family, but gratefully grew into a "bake sale" way to help our small flock of sheep support themselves.  

I had a fun group of photos to work with this year and I like the whimsy of several of them.  Who wouldn't like a sheep blowing a raspberry at a big pile of snow? :-)  Once again I added a short story to each month and lots of mini pictures fill in the blank spaces and add extra fun and tell further mini photo stories.  

We also created a limited run of companion note cards again this year.  I used quite a few of them last year and was happy that I sent more snail mail than I have in years.  If you'd like to share a favorite calendar picture with a friend, the companion card is a perfect option.  The accompanying stories are found on the back.

It is still unrealistic for a small farm to "upgrade" to a fancy online shop site so once again we are doing the old time ordering system where you send me an email letting me know what you'd like and where it should be shipped and I'll include an invoice and return envelope in your package.  Add an extra note if you'd like :-).  

Those notes are how I learned that several of you don't turn the calendar pages until it's time so that each month is a surprise.  I love that idea and now do that myself.  Even though I made the calendar, by about March I've forgotten who comes next.  I love being surprised!

That spoiler factor is also why I've put all the boring text up here and hidden the sneak peek calendar and card shots below.  Don't look if you don't want to!  Or you can peek...but goreallyfast ;-).

2024 Equinox Farm Calendar $25.00  

Companion Calendar Note Cards $10.00 

Buy together and save $5.00  $30.00

We charge just actual USPS shipping cost with no mark up for packaging and handling.  If you'd like a quote, send me and email with your zip code and I can give you an exact price.  

If you'd like to see all of the pictures, I did a video tour and talked a little more about the pictures and what these calendars and cards do for our small farm.

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Well, Lancelot is still rolling in the mud.  We lost Jared over the summer so Maisie is now the “friendly” face of the farm.  She might look a bit frail these days, but it’s still a good idea to watch out for the sheep with the tail.  Possum and Archie take turns (mostly) in the wool box bed.  Pinto continues to jump in and out of the arena at will, and a new friend, Pinot, is keeping spell check confused.  When Bea's not out ruling the world, she’s now moved from our feet to the bed.  She has no idea what we would do without her.

We will always miss our old friends.  If you aren’t familiar with their stories, we encourage you to visit the farm blog to meet them.

As always, a special thanks to Saint Tim for doing all the hard work and heavy lifting and a grateful thank you to all of you who are such an important part of our farm family.  Your care and kindness through the years is appreciated more than you could ever imagine. 

 

September

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For anyone keeping score at home...

Remember the groundhog staring in the back door while eating a pear in the orchard in the August compilation?  Yep, that's him up in the tree after Bea and Possum tried to tag team on him.  A few days later he ended up on the Wool House porch.  Tim has named him Gary.  He is not moving into the house.  I repeat...

Somehow I have once again not blogged about the biggest tobacco plant I've ever seen.  I'll try to fix that tomorrow.  Sigh...

Did I not take a single picture of Archie last month?!?  :-o

Morning Mystery

Biscuit was the first sheep through the gate this morning, coming over to me for his morning back scratch.  I reached down to rub on him without too much thought...and then realized he was there and no one had gone out.  That's unusual.  

I looked back up the hill expecting to see Murphy fighting his way through, but he was just standing there (the tall sheep between the Krista and Liddy).  I waited a few moments expecting him to start down the hill, but he stayed put.

Everyone else was now looking back at him too.

He kept looking around...

Everyone kept waiting...

 And kept waiting...maybe not quite as patiently...but they waited all the same.

He finally gave the all clear, marched down through the group and they all headed out.  No clue.  I just find this fascinating.

March

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Just A Few Years Older

I saw Liddy out grazing under one of our favorite old trees this afternoon and wondered if I sat down out there if she'd still come sit with me.  She laid down on her own so I walked over to sit with her.  It was a perfect spring afternoon.  Bright blue sky, greening up grass, busy birds, a few bees and cool enough that it was still enjoyable to sit out in the sun.  

There is almost nothing that smells as good as a warm sheep napping in the sun.

Liddy will always be my little girl :-).

From the Way Back Machine - May 2015

Wait! I'm Here! I'm Here!

I'm off to a late start, but we are finally ready to hit the trail.  I'm still not 100% certain of what I'm making, but I'm going to be using the Lamb Camp Bottle Lamb yarn so I put everyone on the Ravatar with me.  I'll start knitting tomorrow.

When you aren't competitive and are mostly in the race for the experience, it's called a "camping trip".  That's going to be my plan for this year.  I'm going to enjoy spending time with some of my very best friends and hopefully have a vest to show for it at the end.

Can you identify all the sheep above?  A couple are a little vague, but the "characters" should be easily recognized :-).

Whew!

I've been so busy trying to get myself and others ready for the Kentucky Shepherd's Market this Saturday that I haven't even been posting much on Instagram the last few days :-o.  

I think the market is going to be really fun and I'm excited for all the interest in a new fiber venture, but after the last few years, I am no longer a very good "go out in public" person, so there's some a lot of stress about that.  If I get sick, someone still has to take care of the animals...  That's something to think about before you go out in public when you are not well.

My sheep are why I do these things.  I took a few minutes after I got done feeding last night to remember that and enjoy them and the peace and quiet of being in a cozy barn with your best friends.  I ended up going live for a bit because I figured I wasn't the only one who might enjoy listen to the sheep rustling about eating dinner.  

Exhale...

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I've enjoyed using a few of my pictures to help promote the market.  Chocula and Mini Moose are my favorites, but I have a new Pinto version ready for later today :-).

My Favorite Sheep...Of The Week

I started this post at a not unreasonable time yesterday evening and then got so caught up in reading through all her old baby posts that it got so late I finally had to turn the computer off and go to bed.  If you'd like to stroll back through, follow the monthly archives (on the right side of the blog) from the spring of 2015.

Liddy was one of my most fun bottle lambs.  They are all characters, but she was especially fun and super snuggly and we spent many hours during her early days taking the best lamb naps ever.  She even slept in the bed.  

I'd forgotten how hard it was to get her moved out of the house and that she didn't like to eat normal sheep food.  How much she loved to ride in the car and truck.  I will never forget her sitting out with my friend Lisa or how she walked out of the barn, across the driveway and around to the far side of the car to visit with an ailing neighbor.

  

"Just doing my job, ma'am."

I tried to get a prettier "portrait", but mostly Liddy was annoyed I was disturbing her nap.

I'm sure no one will be surprised to see this is not the first time Liddy's been caught yawning on the blog ;-).

Surprise!

We've had some weird potential predator sightings lately, one right up by the closed chicken coop door (!).  I picked up a cheap game camera yesterday to see if it could be of any use.  I've long loved following Colorado Farm Life's captures of not only the wildlife around them, but also their daily comings and goings, so I was pretty excited to see what I'd find here.

I need to do some thinking on how best to focus on the chicken coop area without the horses messing with it, so for last night I set it up looking out towards the back of the farm, just up from the creek.  I'd seen a coyote further out from there and figured if it was going to trek to the barn, it would likely cross this path.

I knew something has been coming around at night because Bea has been on high alert and doing a good job sounding the alarm.  Interestingly though, I've not heard any coyotes calling except way back on a neighboring farm.  I'm not sure if this is what she hears in the evenings as the time stamp was from early morning, but look!

Just strolling through, using the bridge.  I've never seen a deer here.  I've never even knowingly seen any signs of deer when I've been out walking, but of course their tracks and droppings look very much like sheep...  No coyote or fox sightings.

I'm only going to run it at night to try to save on battery usage, but for fun I left it on this morning until all the sheep had gone out.

Murphy, leading the way.

Baby B

Burrnie:  "I feel like someone is watching me."

Liddy is never up with the early risers ;-).

 Bullwinkle and Biscuit bringing up the rear.

I haven't decided where I'm going to set it tonight.  I think I can rig it up near the coop, but I'm also toying with watching the creek.  I'd like to set it up back at the ponds, too, but need to let it do it's main job for a few night first.

Stay tuned!