Shepherd's Hey Farm

Oh my, they are becoming genuine ruminants! They look so grown up chewing their cud.

Uncle Fargo with the lambs. Loving this time.....

Bit of a struggle but we made it. This is Tamarind with her brand new baby "Babson"

So, Muesli had a strapping 17lb grey (blue) ewe lamb who promises to have a gorgeous fleece. Looking forward to watching this girl develop.

What a day! Nine lambs joined the flock today. Two more sets of triplets (that makes 3), a set of twins and a single. Here is Scarlett with her triplets: 14.5, 11.5 and 9.5 lbs. All girls. This ewe is a trooper at 7 yrs old.

This is Gannet - just doing her thing with new ram lamb, "Jaeger"

Little “Ravioli” steaming away in this morning’s cold..

Brand spanking new! This is “Tortellini” - 1st of three from Gnocchi this morning.

Getting to know these two pretty well while waiting for the next ones...

Oh my what a treat - had some nice company briefly during chores this morning! Bald eagle being harassed by crows. Never a dull moment at the office!

Shearing for 16 ewes today! Such a pleasure to work with skilled people like Emily Chamelin - and her daughter, Lydia!

Peahen-raised turkey chicks are well integrated into pea-flock - but are already bigger and heavier than peachicks clutchmates. The adventure/experiment continues!

Brought the ewes in from the fields yesterday to get crutched (bellies and butts sheared) and generally checked-out. Then sorted into breeding groups for January/February lambing. Here we go again! Thanks, Emily, it's always a pleasure to spend a few hours of sheep work with you!

Our fiber artist at work on morning repairs this morning. Amazing.

Remember the Barn Owl chicks? They are learning to fly and hunt. Nephew Will managed to catch this video of one of them flying off from the silo this evening when we went out to watch their evening routine.

Just when I thought we would get the peafowl out of the barn (they make quite a mess), I find not one but two peahens have started setting. So, I snuck a couple of turkey eggs under one of them (our turkey hens are terrible at setting), and maybe we'll find out what happens when a turkey thinks its a peacock! Always an adventure.

Awwww.... he loves me! I'll be more impressed when he gets his big-boy tail. He's less than a year old now. Turkeys and chickens laughing at him, I think.

When people visit and help bottle feed lambs they are always surprised by the almost aggressive vigor of the nursing lambs. Not a sweet, calm, cuddly process! These characters are growing fast and we'll be cutting back their milk pretty soon.

I was in the barn until 2:30am this morning working to untangle and deliver this - our 4th - set of triplets. For awhile there I wasn't sure who or how many would make it through ok, but I was able to get them sorted out and delivered. Two ewe lambs and a ram lamb from "Catydidit" who had a really rough few days. All doing fine now, thank goodness. It would be ok with me if we don't have any more triplets!

Lambs love alfalfa!

The oldest lambs (all of 3 weeks old) are learning to eat grown-up food. These characters will teach the younger lambs. We're on the right track!

SO FUN to have nephew Todd here for the weekend helping and enjoying some quality lamb time! Love you, Todd!

Good morning! We don't care if it's 4F!

Finishing up chores this evening - almost couldn't bend my knees cuz the legs of my coveralls were frozen solid!

Got a call at 9:30 pm telling me a car had gone off the road and taken a stretch of of our pasture fence with it. The pasture had 30-plus sheep in it - and they usually spend the night up at the top of the field along the road. Ugh. about 100 feet of fence down - car upside down in the field. LUCKILY our sheep will come to my voice with a shake of the bucket - I was able to get them down the hill and they've joined the other ewes in the adjacent pasture. A little crowded, but safe. NO SHEEP WERE HURT, for which I am very grateful. Driver got out on his own; admitted he'd been drinking; went off to the hospital in the ambulance. The police, emergency and tow guys all fantastic.

Surprise!

Well, this was a surprise! Received a text from a neighbor alerting me to these unexpected new arrivals! Willow managed to slip her pregnancy by me - the result of a 2-hour ram break-in to the non-pregnant ewes pasture in December. I thought we had "gotten away with it" but was clearly wrong! Two very beautiful ewe lambs from this champion ewe. Now to figure out which ram is their dad!

Practicing being a flock....

Growing lambs eat their alfalfa to get big and strong!

Too cute to keep to myself!

With a little work we may not need a BorderCollie after all.

Young ram (Jester) has the good sense to stand on the bale of straw when added to the ram band this morning....making himself less vulnerable to the 3 boys who are bigger than he is! Smart sheep.

That'll do, geese. That'll do.

We just can't live with these European Hornets.....we've tried for a few years to leave them alone, but their numbers have increased and they have 1) become a real menace, and 2) are killing our lilacs (they chew off the bark to make their paper nests), 3) built a huge nest in the ceiling upstairs, and 4) like to eat figs. Not ok. First exterminators to inspect declined the job - too high; too dangerous. These guys were great - nerves of steel. I just hope it worked. Be sure to listen to the video! These hornets were pissed! I just hope it does the trick.

Smarty pants.

Really?! Off to the barn to feed bottle babies..... wasn't it supposed to be like this 2 months ago?!

The quads - 15 min post birth!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!! Courtesy of Miss Scarlett!

First time outdoors with plenty of room to run.....enjoy!

Soothing Shepherd's Hey Farm Slow-TV ......

About 3 minutes after being delivered, here is SHF 1702 "Pippit" getting to know her legs!

Very silly yearling ram "Asterix" showing off before breakfast.