Summer resolutions

I know resolutions are supposed to be made at new years- but it just never seems like the best time to start anew. Its cold, snowy, icey...just not the kind of weather that ignites my emotional and physical drive. Now, this time of year- I'm motivated to change, fix, work on things. So- how about Summer Resolutions, or End of the school year Resolutions. Makes more sense to me.

Okay- so what are my resolutions?

Riding- I am resolved to focus on my riding skills this year. I have really let that lapse- just no time to ride...I spend all my time feeding, cleaning, grooming, driving (the car) back and forth to the barn, and no time to just have fun with the animals. I miss riding. About 5 years ago I resolved to take riding lessons and learn how to jump. Well, I did that- and it felt great. Then I got a horse that was "nuts" and put the fear of God in me. Killed my confidence. I now have the most wonderful horse (Lady Felicia) and I need to get my riding legs back (and my confidence) so that is my number one resolution. (yes, it is Prancer in the picture- he's an awesome horse too)

Children- I resolve to work on being more patient with the kids when they don't do what they are supposed to (I can be quite a nag), or when they are whiny and difficult (like when Markie repeatedly throws his shoes on the floor and then screams for them, or when Lori is out grazing on the lawn- or eating maple leaves = which look surprisingly like the "tree stars" of Land Before Time ) That said- Lori has a great imagination. Some days she is a dinosaur (eating tree stars) or one of the goats (grazing on the lawn- yuck!!) of a pirate (complete costume going on here- the back of the couch is her ship) or on occasion, Spiderman (luckily she has not figured out how to walk up walls- but I"m sure she's tried). I need to laugh more and get frustrated less.

I also resolve to spend a little more time with the teenagers- so I don't lose touch with my boys.

Home- I should resolve to focus on housework, dishes and laundry...but I won't. I really don't like housework, don't like being indoors at all...so why bother. It appears that no one else in the house really cares either- or they'd offer to help.

Okay- sounds good. So...what's your Summer Resolution?

Having fun with farming!

I'm exhausted again today. So much work to do to keep up with the farm, if only days were twice as long!

As I was raking out the goat pens I was thinking about all the farm tasks and how some are truly fun, and others are not so much fun. I started making a mental list of each and thought I'd share my thoughts.

Fun Farm Tasks:

Babies!!!!!!! Holding baby animals, feeding baby animals, holding them again. Watching baby animals spring through the air. We've had lots of babies here this year, more than we normally do, and it makes it all so much more fun...chicks, bunnies, kids, lambs, crias...

Milking goats and sheep. Yeah, some days you just don't feel like doing it, like rainy days... but otherwise it is an enjoyable task, makes you feel so "natural" gathering your own milk, sort of like picking apples or harvesting veggies from your garden.

Shearing sheep. I find that is such fun, exhausting, but fun. I love the feel of the different wools and fibers, thinking about what I am going to create with the particular fleece...will it become yarn and then a sweater or scarf? will it be felted into a necklace? will it be sold to someone who will create something special with it?

Collecting eggs. Much like milking the goats...it is harvesting the fruits of your labor, and brings a smile to my face and a warm feeling to my heart. Of course, that is if I get the eggs before the girls do. My daughters love to collect the eggs.

Farmers Markets. I love farmers markets. Talking to people about our farm, our animals, our products. Seeing the interest in the customers. Hearing about what they are going to make with the skeins of yarn they just purchased. Hearing about their grandparents, or great grandparents farms of yesteryear. Chatting with other local farmers. It is such a fun way to get our farm products out to the public.

Feeding the animals in the morning. They are so happy to see me, I feel loved. :-) I talk to them, tell them about my day, ask about theirs. Give a little scratch behind their ear, or under their chin. Kisses from the horses and baby kids and lambs. Just starts the day off right.

Not so fun Farm Tasks:

Cleaning up manure. Ugh. Goat and sheep poo isn't too bad, llama and alpaca is easy...they make a nice pile for me to scoop up. Chicken poo, is gross and I dread having to clean chicken coops. Horse poo, doesn't smell bad and scoops up easy...but I just don't understand why horses that are free range and not closed up in stalls, feel the need to back into a stall to relieve themselves...rather than take a walk through the 4 acre pasture and find a spot off in the distance! Then there is rabbit poo. I hate cleaning rabbit cages more than anything else!!! but, I love rabbits, so I'm stuck with that chore.

Rain. Rain makes everything on the farm less fun. It makes mud. I hate mud. I get my feet stuck in mud. They get mud in their wool (which I then end of washing out), on their fur, in their feet.

Buying hay and grain. It just costs too much, but it is inevitable. Hubby does the human grocery shopping, I do the farm grocery shopping...I hate the money I have to spend, but it is worth it to have the opportunity to enjoy all the wonderful critters that live at our farm.

4H- A Family Affair

I never had the opportunity as a child to be a part of 4H. I never really knew anything about it until my boys were born and I started taking them to visit local fairs. As soon as Johnny was 7, I signed him up with a club about 40 minutes from us (this was the closest rabbit club to us). After a few meetings, we decided, with two other families, to start our own club. So, in 1999 I became a 4H leader. Our first club was just rabbits and cavies. The following year we added a poultry group. Things grew each year, we later added sheep. I am now a leader in a different club, in a different county, with a good friend of mine. Our club has again grown quickly and we have a very devoted membership, and very involved parents. We have kids working on Sheep,
Goats, Llamas/Alpacas, Poultry and Rabbits. We have a large Community Service component for our club- which the children and the community are benefitting from.


What do I like most about 4H? Hmmm. Maybe its sharing a love for farm animals with a great group of children. Maybe its the time I get to spend with my own children enjoying their animals. I love the fact that both boys and girls, of all ages, can do an activity together (unlike scouting- which my kids also enjoy- where sexes and ages are separated). I think one of the best things about 4H is that the parents can enjoy it along with their children.


I so often hear from parents in our club (and unlike my first club where most kids were dropped off and picked up- these parents more often stay and take part in the meetings) how they "are having as much fun as their kids in 4H!" What could be more wonderful than an organized activity that is truly fun for the whole family...pets included!


Want to find out about 4H clubs in your area? visit http://4-h.org

Shearing Time!

I don't know why, but this is my favorite time of year. It may be exhausting and busy, my back may hurt, I've nicked my hands a few times, and I think there is still a piece of wool in my right eye- but, I love this time of year!

Besides spending more time with the sheep, goats and alpacas (which is a welcome time for all of us, as we rarely saw eachother during the winter- other than to feed and water. It was a cold and snowy winter...not conducive to playing with farm friends). So, we get quality time together. There is just something about physically shearing a sheep, goat or alpaca that brings one back to their roots. Well, maybe not one's individual roots...I wasn't fortunate enough to grow up on a farm. My grandparents had a small farm...but no sheep. I'm thinking more like the roots of our ancestors...for whome farming was a way of life for them and their neighbors.

This is the first year that I've had electric sheep shears. I've had goat shears...which work great on goats, and okay on alpacas...useless with sheep. So, I've been shearing my sheep for the past 6 years with hand shears and/or sharp scissors. What a delight it is to shear with electric clippers!! I called my mom that first day to tell her that I had sheared 8 sheep in one afternoon!! What you need to understand is it often took me two days to shear one sheep by hand. Today I even sheared my first alpaca. His first time being sheared as well- the two of us made quite a team. I was rather proud of myself, but poor Sam was horrified. (by the way- to the dear friend that told me that alpacas only spit at eachother and not at people- that may be true- unless you are the person who is restraining them and shearing them- they DO spit at people! LOL). We did finally come to an agreement, I'd shear quick if he'd stop spitting green goop at me. Sam is shorn, not that pretty show cut that you see on people's website. More like the cut that a 3 year old does the first time they find scissors left in their reach. Let's put it this way...when I put him back in the pen and the other alpacas came over to check out his "new do" He spit at them! I can only assume they were laughing at him, and he wasn't at all amused. He'll get his payback, though, they all have the same barber!

The goats didn't look half bad- I've gotten good at them, and they are much more willing to stand still and let me cut. The sheep looked better than last year, and only the first few suffered clipper nicks. Overall, I'm pleased with my shearing. Not fancy, but effective.

Now my wool is moving its way from the wash sink, to the dye pot, and eventually on to the trampoline. Yes, the trampoline. Much to my children's chagrin, the trampoline makes the idea wool drying tool. Large, raised from the ground and black to attract the sun, the trampoline is made of some sort of a woven material, so it allows the wool to breath underneath, and dries it in record time! Don't worry, kids, in a few weeks you'll have your trampoline back!

Bottle Feeding Goats

This has been our first experience bottle feeding goat kids. I shouldn't say that, we tried once years ago, and the kid died, and it broke my heart. I didn't plan on ever trying again. Well, when Lilly's first kid came out stillborn (a little buckling) with irregular looking amniotic fluid (looked infected), I grabbed the feet of the next two doelings and pulled them quickly out and got them cleaned up. Mom was not looking so good, so we put her on antibiotics. I am pleased to say she is coming along nicely and hopefully will be fine. The two doelings are over two weeks old now, and just thriving! We are bottlefeeding three, as that same night Sarah, one of our angoras, gave birth to a little nubian/angora buckling. I figured I'm bottle feeding two, might as well three! I have to say, I've never had such friendly goatlings!!

When I bottlefed that first goat years ago, I used the goat formula you mix up. I was worried about having the same results as before, so I looked up online to see what other people use. One website that I have always trusted the information on suggested whole cows milk with corn syrup mixed in (of course, fresh goat milk would be ideal, but I knew I wouldn't have enough to feed three kids). I decided, hmm, makes sense. The site http://www.fiascofarm.com/ said "real cow's milk was better than fake goat milk" which made perfect sense to me. Als0- no mixing needed. Easy to get. If you run out in the middle of the night- it is sold everywhere.

What I ended up doing is using whole cow milk, adding whatever goat milk I got from the mommas, adding a little goat drench to some of the bottles, and a little corn syrup to the milk. About once every other day I add a tiny bit of sulmet for coccidia. The goats are doing so well. They are growing daily and have doubled their birthweight at 2 weeks. They are active and healthy. And, I am still sane! (In spite of the one night they decided they were STARVING at 2am!) I have learned, feed them a little extra right before bed, and turn off the light! Then they just might sleep.

Would I do it again? Absolutely! The goats are bonding to the humans, and hopefully will make awesome 4H projects for the children! It didn't take all that much extra work, and it was kind of fun! With two more does to kid this week, I am hoping that those kids will stay with their moms, though, and three kids are keeping me busy enough! But, if I have to bottlefeed, at least I'm not terrified of it anymore!!

New Yarn!

Spinning yarn is incredibly relaxing, as many of you know. I never ever thought I'd be spinning my own yarn, that's for sure. I used to play with my grandmother's spinning wheel (she didn't spin, it was just a decoration) when I was a child, but spinning was something they did in the old days, not in the present. I did love to crochet (and quilt), not knit, though, in spite of my nana's wonderful instruction. Knitting took too long, I could crochet something in record speed, LOL.

Many, many years later, I got a few sheep. I had no idea what I was going to do with their wool, but I wanted a couple pet shetland sheep. I enjoy shetlands tremendously. But- then I had all these bags of wool stocking up. So, I bought a little antique spinning wheel, got it working, and decided I was going to make my own yarn! But, how? Well, I figured if women, and young children I found out, for centuries were able to do it, so could I. Those colonial women didn't go to the yarn shop for spinning instruction- they just did it! So, that was my plan.

First- okay, you have to wash the wool. No problem. I skim the info, got it- you put the wool in a pillow case and put it in the washer on cold. I should have read further to find out that I didn't want it to go through ALL the cycles (like spin). But- it gets better. How do you dry the wool? Apparently NOT by throwing that wool filled pillowcase into the dryer!! My first, beautiful, deep back, shetland lamb fleece...became garbage. Went back, reread entire instructions, and now know how to wash wool.

I bought hand carders, carded the next fleece, and sat down at my wheel. About a week later that wheel went into the basement and the wool back into a bag. I could not do what a 6 year old colonial child could do!

A few years, and many more sheep later, it was time to learn to spin. This time I bought another wheel, hated that one, bought yet another wheel (this time and older Ashford traditional) and woo-hoo!! I learned to spin yarn! I now use that same wheel, and also an inexpensive electric wheel (the least expensive of the babe NW flyers, that runs on a sewing machine motor.) I love that little wheel also. I am hoping to fix and get running my aunts big antique wheel (a classic Canadian wheel) in time. Spinning is just such fun! I am so proud that I can spin as well as a 6 year old colonial girl (at age 41,LOL)

My latest batch of yarns include some lustrous dyed and natural color mohair skeins, a few soft and fluffy alpaca skeins, and some various wool skeins from our many breeds of sheep. I hope to try spinning some angora (bunny) yarn later this week...a first for me, I have't yet spun straight angora. I also have plans for using some colorful cotswold locks to make some "fun" yarn. I can't wait!

Angora Rabbits

I had forgotten how much I enjoy angora rabbits. I used to breed and show them, for a short time. This was back when my older kids were little and we had a lot of rabbit breeds, and they enjoyed showing their breeds, but were not quite old enough to take care of all their rabbits themselves. I had trouble finding time to work with my angoras, so I sold them and worked with mini rex instead.



Now that my kids are older, and my girls take care of all their rabbits themselves, I have time to focus on MY rabbits...so, I have angoras again.



French Angoras...I started with French. They are by far the easiest to work with (other than the jersey woolies and fuzzy lops- which are angora fibered, but don't generally produce enough of, or long enough of, useable fiber). I have French again. Two bucks and a doe. They are a very sweet natured breed. They don't matt as easy as some of the others. They naturally shed their fiber, so every 3 months you sit them on your lap and just gently pluck out the loose shedding fiber. I brush them on occasion, maybe once a week, maybe longer. They don't have wool on their faces and ears and are fairly easy to maintain. Definitely the breed for those starting with angoras, or children who are interested in angoras.




Giant Angoras...I have three French/Giant crosses. These, too, I am able to pluck, though in the summer I often shear them. They have much more fiber, I find, than the French. They do have wooly faces and ears. They need to be brushed more regularly than the French, as they will matt. One doe doesn't seem to matt much, but my buck likes to matt (well, I don't think he LIKES to, but he does anyway). My girls do work a little with them and show then at 4H, so for someone who understands the grooming needs of angoras, Giants are great.



English...I found out one of the does that my friend gave me is a purebred English angora. They are smaller, have wooly wooly faces. I am told they matt easily, but so far Honey Bunny hasn't been much of a problem there. She can be plucked or shorn.

German Angoras...I recently aquired three Germans. One is pure, the other two are hybrids. Germans are very different than the others, in that they do not shed out their fiber, you HAVE TO shear them. Okay, well, one of my hybrids seems to shed out a bit (Germans are naturally all whites, so they are crossed to get color- I'm guessing my Licorice has some French in him- as he does shed a bit). So, you shear them. They have lots of fiber. It seems to be a different consitancy than the other angora breeds. What I found really neat is the color in the hybrids- much deeper color than my colored French. The color is more consitant across the body, the wooly face fiber and the body fiber is all the same color. The fiber doesn't seem to have the same amount of fluff as the French...maybe it is a larger diameter? But, is still incredibly soft and I'm anxious to spin some. They do matt very very easily and need to be brushed very regularly, as the matts are not fun to remove and you lose a lot of fiber. I would not recommend Germans for someone beginning with angoras, unless they are really ready for lots of grooming. They are, though, incredibly sweet and docile.



I have to say, though, that I am thrilled to be back immersed in angora rabbits, their fiber and their personalities. If you can't find me one day...look in my bunny barn (different place than the kids' bunny barn ) that's where I probably am!

Mending Fences

I always wondered, when watching western movies, why the cowboys spent so much time mending fences. C'mon, you put the fence up and your good forever, aren't you? Oh, no, you never are finished. I hate fixing fences. It took me forever to figure out how to install this fence in the first place. While I use cattle panels at home for the goats, I couldn't afford to fence in 4 acres with panels. I bought a fence charger and a bunch of electric fencing stuff, and went to it. I made a few mistakes along the way- including finding out how strong the charge is when I, without thinking, touched the bolt coming out of the charger while the charger was on (prior to attaching the fence). I guess that is one way to find out the charger does work!

I found out that, yes, they do mean it when they tell you you need more than one ground pole, the ground pole needs to be long, and the ground pole needs to be somewhere where it is wet. I found out that you do need to trim the brush around the fence, branches will fall on the fence during a storm and you actually have to walk to fence line right after the storm, or your animals may go for a long walk and the neighbors will not be happy for the visitors.

I found out that sheep cannot feel the shock through their wool, horses don't like to be shocked and once is enough to keep them far from the fence and anything that resembles an electric fence for the next 30 years. Goats will be somewhat respectful of electric fence ( as I now know to introduce each new animal to the shock of the fence before setting them free). Teenage boys LIKE to touch the fence or dare eachother to touch the fence, all to see what will happen and show how "tough" they are.

I learned to turn off the charger before fixing the fence. I learned that llamas may go through an electric fence to get out of the pasture, but are not so quick to go through that same fence to get back in, no matter how loudly you shake the grain bucket. Sheep go both ways- out or in, if there is food involved, who cares about a little zap.

But, most of all, I found out that the cowboys were always mending fences because fences always need mending. I spent a lovely time out in the snow (with my leg in its imobilizer brace) hobbling around mending first the electric fence (which the llamas went out of but didn't care to walk across to get back in) as well as repairing the back up fence (cattle wire, going around the outskirts of the property) that keeps any fence skippers from visiting the rest of the neighborhood.

*I found that picture on http://fineartamerica.com/featured/mending-fence-cynara-shelton.html

Beware of Sheep!

Tuesday was not one of my better days, LOL. Oh, yes, I can laugh about it now...not so the other day. My mother is always giving me a hard time about going up to the barn alone at night. It is about 7 miles from my house, down in a gully, and not so close to any houses. There is no electricity there either. I don't listen though.

So, Tuesday night, Addie (my dog) and I head up there to feed the animals and unload some hay. All is going well, we get grain to all the animals, throw some bales of hay out there for them. Addie did a marvelous job moving the sheep to where I wanted them. I have a couple of horses, llamas, alpacas and sheep in the pasture. We are just about to switch to unloading hay, when I realize that a couple of the sheep have left the group and are trying to get into the horse's grain. So- I send Addie around the barn ahead of me to "get the sheep". Apparently one of the large ewes (the romney) got spooked (most of the sheep aren't overly intimidated by the dog, but this one is) and comes flying around the barn at full speed. At that very moment, I'm walking innocently around the barn to make sure everyone is back to their right spot.

It was dark, and the ewe being black...I didn't see her until the instant before she hit me. I had no time to react, though, and she slams head first (you know- those rock hard heads that sheep have-argh) into my left knee. I hear a pop, and feel my lower leg go in the wrong direction, and I go flying through the air. Sheep keeps running...without care that she just tried to kill her foodsource. (Okay- now, I know sheep aren't the brightest animals on a farm, but this one is especially dumb, and if she wasn't my sister's sheep she wouldn't even have been there.)

I could not believe the pain I was in- I thought for sure I broke my leg (which I didn't- but I did seriously sprain my medial collateral ligament in my knee- apparently an injury that football players get a lot- great). I layed there yelling for help for a good hour before someone heard me (like I said- there is not really anyone around there). A jogger heard me and with the help of a flashlight, found me and called an ambulance. I'm so thankful for the jogger. We were expecting an ice storm to start in another hour or so, which would have been horrible.

I did have my english shepherd dog (farm collie) with me. She was so good. Not as good as Lassie (wasn't my dog supposed to go to a neighbors house and bark in morse code to dial 911?) but, she did stay right with me, with intermittent runs to the middle of the pasture to bark for help, and then right by my side. She wasn't so sure she wanted to let the ambulance people near me, and went into protective mode, but once she saw they were there to help, she let them work on me, going back and forth licking them. But- I'm thinking next time I go up there late at night...I'll bring a human buddy as well!

Moral of the store...watch out for psycho sheep!