Spring Weather

This weekend we have been having the luxury of warm weather. No rain or clouds in sight. It is a nice change compared to the nasty storm we had this past week that brought down many trees on our farm. Not only are we enjoying this mild weather but so are the ewes and lambs.

Even the daffodils think it is spring!

Meet the Rams: Chance

Breeding season is well under way. All the ewes have been with their respective groups for about three weeks now. This year we have a lot of new rams with our girls and so I thought they should be introduced.

This is Chance our white Romney ram; he will be turning three this coming February. He is also the newest addition to the farm, having only been here for less than three months. Last June we had quite the experience bringing him home from Washington.

It was about a 2 hour and 30 min drive from our little farm here in the Willamette Valley to reach Chance at his farm. We were full of anticipation because we only had seen one picture of him and another of his fleece. Upon arrival we met Chance, toured the farm and then prepared to load. We backed our truck up to a small hill and with a little encouragement, walked him into the truck.

The first picture we saw of Chance.

As we drove down the country road leading to the freeway Chance seemed a little perplexed but not too alarmed. Once on the freeway it was a completely different story! Obviously Chance had never ridden in an open truck before. All the wind, semi trucks, and overpasses scared him. He wanted out! Barely 15 minutes on the freeway he began to climb the stock rack. At the farm we learned he was one powerful ram, all brawn and muscle. I instantly was put on watch duty when Mom saw him put him feet on the rack the first time. As I watched I saw him place his front feet on the second to top rung to the stock rack. I flipped around covered my eyes and cried, "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Pull over!" I swore that he was just about to disappear over the top of that rack and become road kill.

We pulled over and put the caution lights on. I quickly got into the back with him and put him on a halter. Almost instantly he began to relax even though there were still cars and semi trucks hurdling past. Mom began making calls, first to the owners of the farm but they didn't pick up. Then to two friends who own sheep. Through their suggestions we tied his head down as low as we could using the tie down rings in the bed of the truck. Then I put a sweatshirt over his head and ears. Finally, I shoved alfalfa under his nose, to hopefully keep him content. We then proceeded, though much slower than the speed limit. Several times we stopped to adjust his sweatshirt and hay. He did become a little restless at times but we finally made it home. It was a very scary experience for both us and Chance.

Now Chance is contently out with his girls. He is with 8 ewes and has bred all of them at least once so far. We can tell because the harness he wears holds a crayon on his chest. When he mounts a ewe he will leave a mark on her rump. This allows us to have an estimate of when she will be due. We change the crayon ever 16 days or so. A ewe will come in heat about every 16 days. So if for some reason the first breeding was not successful and she is re-bred we will know.

The sheep enjoy eating the leaves off this tree that fell recently.

So far everyone in his group has been bred once and there has only been one re-mark. His lambs will be due the end of January and the start of February.

Check back soon for another ram profile.

Winter Stores

The feeling of autumn surrounds us here on the farm. The yellow school bus passes by at 7:30 every morning and the mornings and evenings are cooler than before. Even the leaves are starting to change to shades of yellow and orange. While it may still be summer for another two weeks you can still feeling hints of the approaching season. Which means we must think ahead to the winter months to come.

The ewe lambs waiting to be fed.

Three Saturdays ago I made a trip to our local hay dealer. We get our hay from a place about a two minute drive from our house. It is only open on Saturday from 8 am to noon. So trying to beat any long lines I arrived just shortly after they opened, made my purchase and inquired about some local grass hay. After unloading the alfalfa at home it was decided that I should return and buy a ton of the grass. Upon my second return with the grass we decided that the grass was such a great deal that we would like more. We made a call and ended up reserving the remaining five tons. However, we had to wait to pick up the hay until after state fair.

Enjoying some of our new grass hay.

So yesterday was the day we finally went to pick up our coveted hay. We left bright and early, got the first ton and returned to unload. Shortly after we started unloading the first ton our friend and her son arrived with their truck to help. With four people working the unloading and stacking went a lot faster. Having two trucks bringing loads of hay in made the processes move in a quick steady stream. As soon as one truck was empty it left to pick up its next load and returned just about the time the other truck was empty. We managed to bring in five tons of hay in less than four hours. We are very thankful for our friends who came to help.

The last ton.

It is such a relief to have this hay in the barn. We estimate this will last us until January right before we start lambing. We are just one step closer to being ready for winter.

Blackberry Jam and Other Little Things

With summer comes the sweet moments, creating memories that forever reside with a person. Those little things we take for granted that not every person on the planet gets to experience. Here in my little spot in the world a few things that I have come to associate with the summer months include: making jam, fairs, sheep shows, bales of hay, and warm days followed by cool evenings. Unique and special to me, these particular things may be relate-able for some but foreign or unmemorable to others.

But as the days creep by with slowly are beginning to advance toward fall. If you look close you can see the signs. The cut hay being baled and stacked, prepared to be stored for the winter in some farmers barn to feed his livestock. The fields have lost the lusty green and have turned to golden brown. The neighbor bringing over freshly cut wood to be stacked for the winter. As for the sheep, the ewes are being prepped for breeding and the rams are becoming restless.

All is falling into place and flowing into shorter days. Upon the horizon lies days when the fire will blaze in the stove and sweaters will be brought out from their drawers.

Snow Day

It is cold, it is very cold in fact. Now if you are from somewhere where is often really cold and it snows all the time you will laugh and say "That's not snow" or "You think this is cold?" I understand but when you are use to rain and temperatures around 40 or 50 degrees in winter you might agree that this is cold for us.

Elinor

Yesterday morning we woke to no snow it was cold as it has been for several days so nothing seemed unusual. School was scheduled for a 2 hour delay since the foot hills did have some snow and roads were icy. Within an hour though the snow began to fall at a steady rate and started to pile up, school became canceled and thus the snow day began.

Ruth & Zora

The snow does not concern the sheep in the least. It does make finding the grass a bit difficult so they use their noses like plows and snuffle through the snow in search of the green grass below. This makes their appearance rather amusing since the snow sticks to the wool on their faces. They almost look like they have snow beards.

Elinor

The falling snow leaves a thin blanket of snow on their backs and the tips of their fleeces freeze. However the snow and ice don't reach far into their fleeces, leaving them toasty and warm.

Esther

The snow we currently have is a nice dry powder. Unlike the wet sticky snow we typically get in the valley when it snows. However it does have it inconveniences. Though the water pipes haven't frozen the hose did freeze meaning having to haul water to the barn and field. As I went out last night to water and feed I found that with the help of the wind we had yesterday the snow had blown into the barn leaving an inch of snow on the floor and a good amount on the hay.

The snow has stayed overnight and it looks like it will be staying awhile longer and in fact that we might get more. Lucky for us we have a good supply of hot cocoa in the house and a fresh supply of hay  in the barn for the sheep.

Free Shipping

 

Get ahead on your holiday shopping and receive free shipping in our etsy shop this weekend when you use the coupon code: FREE4SHIPPING

Puppies For Sale

We have 4 male Border Collie Puppies for sale. They were born on October 11th and will be ready to go to their new homes November 29th & 30th. These puppies are registered with the American Border Collie Association (ABCA) and have a background of top working records in both the United States and Canada. They are $500 each. If you are interested or have questions please contact me at sheepndogs@smt-net.com

Drowning in Wool

About five years ago my flock of sheep was small in numbers consisting of two natural colored Romneys. Of course I ended up expanding I earned the Oregon Romney Breeds Association's Starter flock and was given a small flock of Dorsets. Since then the flock has continued to grow and with the growing numbers fleece production has also gone up.

The original plan was to shear in November,that never happened. Yesterday finally all thirty-three sheep that needed to be shorn got shorn. Shearing went a bit faster because we had two shearers. Wool was coming off so fast I hardly had a chance to take pictures or bag up one fleece before another needed bagging.

The only picture of shearing I got.

Our house is now filled with fleeces, and I mean wall to wall fleeces. One unfortunate fact about shearing in November in the Willamette Valley is the rain. The day before we have to bring all the sheep being shorn into the barn so that they might dry off a little. But really how much can a wet sheep dry after being outside in the rain for days upon days. Dry fleeces are easier for the shearing to shear and it also is easier for us to store. Most of our fleeces are not dry we are madly trying to dry and skirt fleeces.

Merry Christmas?

There are fleeces spread on sheets throughout the house in attempts for them to start drying as they wait in line to be skirted. Fleeces that are already dry because the sheep was in the barn for a longer time get put at the end of this line. Having fleeces lying on the floor can be fun and a big inconvenience. For instance walking across and dry fleece in bare feet is soft and squishy that is until you step on a wet spot or a piece of poky vegetable matter. But then you can't always walk where you need to go and did I mention the lanolin makes the dining room floor slippery. My mom says we need a wool house and a lot of skirting tables.

Sorting wool by color.

I am very excited for all of you to see some of the gorgeous fleeces we have this year.I want to play with some so bad!

 Also this coming year we are having a bunch of Dorset products made that include: roving both white and natural colored, white and natural colored yarn, and felt. To get a chance to play with our Moorit (brown) Dorset roving join our 2013 Dorset Roving CSA.

All CSAs for this coming year are now available.

Who's Your Daddy?

Breeding season has come and is in fact will be coming to a close for us in a few weeks. I thought you might like to meet the Daddys of next years lambs.

I will start out with our two Dorset Rams both who were born and raised on our farm.

Smokey is our main Dorset ram. If you saw us at the Black Sheep Gathering or at the Oregon State Fair you might have seen him there. Smokey is not yet a year but seems to be doing a very good job doing his duty as a ram. He is with all but one of our Dorset ewes that we are breeding for spring lambs.

Smokey @ Black Sheep Gathering

Smokey With His Girls

 

Tux is our secondary Dorset ram he is only breeding one ewe. Tux is younger and smaller than Smokey but is a good boy and we are confindent he will be able to handle one ewe just fine. The only reason he is being used for breeding at this time is because we didn't want to breed smokey back to his mother. So since Tux is a more distant relative he got the job. You might have also seen Tux at the Oregon State Fair.

Tux

We are using two Romney rams, one white and one colored, niether are our personal rams.

Hulk is the natural colored ram we are are using. The ram we used last year threw some lambs that were not growing well as well as other issues. We are hoping Hulk ,who has a little difference in family background than our ewes, will be a nice cross.

Hulk

Hulk Checking The Girls Out

The white ram who we all call the "Thompson Ram" has a gorgous fleece. Fo those of you who have seen a fleece from Calla this is what his fleece is like. We are hoping even though he is small he will improve our fleeces in our white ewes. I don't have a picture of him because he is not at our place, though he will be in a few weeks.

Yarn Sale Notice!!!

Use the Coupon Code: FALLYARN in our etsy store and recieve a 10% discount on all yarn. This coupon code is good through midnight of Oct. 31st.

To-Do List

Fall is creeping up on me and with it so many things that need to be done. The sheep on the other hand have no priorities with the coming of fall, at least not on their minds. For me though I have a list going.

Firewood Ready to be Stacked

#1. Finish getting ready for The Oregon State Fair

           What can I say I'm a procrastinator. Maybe that's why I have such a long list. We leave Wednesday to drop sheep off at the fairgrounds. Since the American Romney Breeders Assoc. is celebrating 100 years I'm bring a lot of sheep. Lets just say I may or may not be behind on fitting them.

Sleepy Stardust

#2. School

          There is school shopping and registration. I am sooo not ready to go back to school.

#3. Prepare for the holidays

        That means Christmas gifts for others, but also things to sell in our shop. I need to make more of our very popular sheep Christmas ornaments. Plus I'm going to try to make other things too. (I need to have a start before OFFF)

These Cute Ornaments Are Very Popular

#4. CSA
           Finishing up this years CSA is one thing. Yes, I know I got behind of the newsletter I'm planning on sending the next one out on time. Just a side note for any of our CSA members I will be shipping you shares out tomorrow.
           I also need to start planning for next years CSA. I would love to hear from my current CSA member about suggestions on how I could make the program better or even things they would enjoy being added.

Yes, We Recycle Boxes

#5. Keeping This Blog Updated
         Even if I made a new year resolution I don't know how much better I would get at keeping this blog up to date. But I try even though you might have noticed I mostly write about sheep shows and lambing season and we both know there is way more to being a sheep farmer than that.

#6. Raverly
        Another place I need to keep updated. I really need your support, you remember that member drive it looks like we will be going through September.I need you to remind me to write things post your own threads and get a conversation started.
Keep on inviting people!!! Make sure if they join to have them tell me who suggested our group. Remember whoever gets the most people to join our group will get a 15% coupon off in our Etsy store.


#7. Breeding Season
       It's almost here, as soon as State Fair is over we will be introducing our rams. That sounds like a good blog, I need to remember that.

Add caption

So as you can see I have lots to do and I just might be running out of time seeing as I am a procrastinator with way to many things to do, of course Mom helps a lot but we still fall behind.

Looks Like It's Time To Pick Blackberries

Summer Days

Tomorrow I will have had a full week of recuperation after Linn County Fair. I had a wonderful time at the Fair and did very well. I'll give you a summary.

Sleepy Summer Days

In the 4-H/ FFA breed show I am always competing against myself. Most kids just have market lambs and if they do have a breeding flock its often just ewes to produce market lambs. On rare occasions I do meet another Romney. So as always I was showing against myself, this also means I get a lot of champions and reserves because there is no one else in the Romneys. After all the breed classes there is a big class where all the champion ewes come together and compete for supreme ewe.

Well I didn't have high hopes because it is very hard to win over meat sheep with a wool sheep. The judge was giving her reason about the ewe she chose, who turned out to be a very nice Hampshire. Then the judge often pulls all the reserve champion placing ewes and picks her reserve supreme. But this time sheep didn't she picked another ewe from the champions. You will never guess who she picked....OK I'm sure you guessed...yes she picked one of my wool ewes. She picked Zora my fall ewe lamb who was one of the triplets if you remember from back in November. I was very excited, how could I not be she beat meat sheep and also sheep that were older than her.

Zora, Reserve Supreme Champion Ewe!!!!

That same evening we had showmanship. Showmanship is a competition almost completely judged on the person showing the animal. You do your best to present yourself and your animal in the show ring. As always I brought in one of my wool ewes for showmanship. It makes me stand out among all the meat sheep, but the real reason is that we have more practice showing together so she understand what I'm asking of her and usually is much easier to show off. Ruth got the honor of being my showmanship sheep this year. She was very cooperative and did very well. Together we got Reserve Champion Showman for FFA Advanced sheep.

Reserve Champion FFA Advance Sheep Showman

It also turned out I was going into master showmanship because the boy who got champion was doing the master showmanship with a pig because he also got champion pig showman. Master showmanship is where all the top showman come together and have to show all species of animals. I didn't place with any high award in master showmanship but it was a good experience. Everyone said I did really well,seeing as I have never showed half the animals out there before.

Items I had entered in the static area included 3 fleeces, Calla's Fleece got champion, Ruth's Fleece got reserve, and Annabeth's fleece got a blue, all will be available this fall in our Etsy store. I also entered some photographs, one of which got reserve champion. My socks got champion and my shawl got reserve. Overall it was a very good fair.

Now we have a break before our next big show,the Oregon State Fair.

Jessie Enjoying Her Breakfast

We are having lots of warm summer days and the grass is starting to burn off. Before the fair we brought home the ewes from the neighbors and before we know it it will be breeding season again. We hope you are all having a wonderful summer and are looking forward to seeing some of you at the state fair and later in September at OFFF.

Big Foot Keeping Hydrated

BSG- Day 3

The Black Sheep Gathering was wrapped up yesterday. It proved to be a nice day, no rain, just blue skys.

Jefferson, Champion Ram, Jr Show, with judge Mark Eidman

I spent the morning showing in the Jr show and did very well. Jefferson got first in his class (he was the only entry in yearling ram) and then got champion ram. Esther got second in her class and then recieved reserve champion ewe. Jane placed lower in her class but has lots of growth potential.

Jane Looking Cute

Esther, Reserve Champion Ewe, Jr Show, With Judge Mark Eidman

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and waiting for it to be time to pack up and leave. We had a wonderful time and are looking forward to next year!