Identity Crisis

Agnes came to me in early June from a friend's farm in Kentucky, Wandering Ewe Farm & Fiber Mill. My friend found her frantically racing around the pasture trying to get a ewe to claim her as well as her first meal.  With no four-legged volunteers stepping forward and the clock ticking down, my friend called me.  She knows I have a soft place in my heart for ophans, which I call "bottle-lambs."

After talking to her, we decided it best for the lamb to come here where she could be nurtured and loved, fed and played with.  Keep in mind a newborn lamb is usually around 5 pounds.  I keep my bottle lambs in the yard to facilitate bottle feeding every 4 hours the first week.  Agnes was supposed to buddy up with Iris, a Bluefaced Leicester cross, who was a couple of months older. But I got to noticing that Agnes, instead of sleeping in the wooden shed, was sleeping under the porch on the big dog pillow with the Corgi.  Somewhere along the line, this lamb started identifying with my Welsh Pembroke Corgi.  I didn't quit catch on to this in the beginning and just thought the Corgi sensed Agnes's helplessness as a lamb.

Then someone who has raised sheep for 40 years came to buy Iris.  After standing and watching Agnes for a little bit, she said, "That lamb has an identity crisis.  She thinks she's a dog."  So I started paying more attention.  My dogs dislike cyclists on the road out front and run around the house barking.  Agnes runs around the house with them baaing.  When the dogs sit on the porch waiting to be fed, Agnes stands there with them waiting for a hand out as well.  She curls up with Michaela the Corgi on the big pillow underneath as if her life depends on this dog.

I'm not sure what the dog is thinking.  As a Corgi, her instinct is to herd sheep.  I see Michaela putting all the other sheep in their place, but Agnes isn't herded.  At least not yet.  The day is fast approaching when I will have to return Agnes to Wandering Ewe Farm.  I know this will be hard on all concerned.  How does one tell a sheep that it is time to be put out with the flock?  She will be sorely missed.

Ponderings of a Hoosier

Last night I heard the sure signs of the waning of summer, coon dogs on the track of a coon.  I am always astounded at how fast summer comes and goes.  I call myself a "truck" farmer as the minute the farmers start turning the soil in the spring until the last ear of corn is off the stalk, I like driving around and watching the progress of every field.  I am astonished at the speed at which corn grows.  The seed breaks ground and falters a day or two and then slowly starts its journey towards the sky.  At about knee high, the farmers come through with a shot of nitrogen and whish! the corn starts shooting upward.  What other plants are there that grows 8-10 feet in twelve weeks or less?  I know of none.

The stalks stand stately in the field like sentries watching for the signs of fall so that it can begin the change of color from green to brown, drooping and growing the ears that are like golden treasures on each stalk.

The corn is currently tasseling and that saddens me because fall is not far behind when the tassels start popping atop the stalks.  The brilliant emerald greens that stand on Indiana soils are the brightest we've had this year.  Crops have been stunted the past few summers, starved with drought.  Our reward is a typical Indiana summer this year with moderately hot days, some cooler days, rain and all that makes this Indiana.

I have only strayed a few miles from where I grew up and often wonder what it would be like to live somewhere other than here.  My roots are deep.  For 25 years, I have walked the path from the house to the barn, watching the crops of a morning and the stars at night.  The quiet of evening often rewards me with the hoot of an owl.  In the spring, the "spring peepers" sing their chorus of songs and reward me with the first sign of spring.  Are there spring peepers elsewhere?

I have heard it said that 'home is where the heart is' and wonder if I am destined to spend my life here on the farm.  I know the sounds and sights and neighbors.  I have to wonder as I look out and wonder what is next in my life.

Triplets!!!

As my day would have it, in the middle of shearing my 8 alpacas, Bhyrr, my 10 year-old Angora goat dropped a set of triplets - 2 does, 1 buck - and decided not to be their mom.  I don't know how an animal does that, but I guess it is the same mentality that women have who decide not to be a mother to their kids.  However, she doesn't get off that easy.

I had to stop shearing long enough to milk enough colostrum from her to feed her very tiny kids to ensure they had the strength to make it through the day.  Every 4 hours since then, I have milked the goat, fed the babies.  Momma and kids are confined in a stall so that she has to smell them and look at them and they get to climb on her and lay against her.  The little billy while eager to suckle, just doesn't understand what a teat or nipple is for.  Early this morning, I think he finally got the knack of the nipple, but, even though a coated the teat with a layer of momma's colostrum, he still didn't grab on.  It's gonna be a long, long week!

Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival, Inc. Bound

June 4, 2013

New kid on the block:  Cute little girl, huh?

Her name is Dove and she will be going to a new home in September.  She was very tiny at birth and had to be bottle fed the first 24 hours.  Now she is a zippy, feisty little girl who I have to chase.  She thinks it is funny!

May 29, 2013
The weatherman says we could have thunderstorms and wind Friday and Saturday.  Now I need to figure out what to do about taking lambs.  I can't risk getting the canopy tore up with wind and I can't risk my babies getting rained on for two days and drenched.  I guess I can keep an eye to the sky between now and Friday morning.  Who knows what the weather holds.  This is Indiana.

However, come by my booth and check out the white ($10.00 per pound) and black ($15.00 per pound) rovings I have for sale.  Very nice and very clean.  I will also have some yarns and fleeces for sale.  They are last years fleeces and are a bit yellowed from the heat  $7.50 per pound for the Border/BFL fleeces and $13.00 per pound for the Cormo X fleeces.  They clean up very nice and dye well.

May 24, 2013
Whew! I'm now in the process of trying to figure out how many lambs I am taking to Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival, Inc. (www.hoosierhillsfiberfestival.com).  They will be out on the lawn in front of Fitzpatrick Hall.  I know that I'm bringing a minimum of 3 Blue-Faced Leicester (also known as BFL) crosses (other half is Border Leicester crossed with BFL). Whiskers, Lambchop, and Iris all deserve long term loving homes.  Iris and Lambchop are full brother and sister.  Whiskers was born in the mud (read March excerpt below). They have been bottle fed and spoiled by getting lots of attention.  Then there is Ena.... She is half Cormo and her momma is 1/2 Babydoll and 1/2 Finnsheep.  Ena is one of a set of triplets.  She was not told she is a sheep.  I believe she thinks she is a dog as she follows me into the house when I have my arms full.  She craves being petted.  Very cute smiley face.  Then I have some black lambs.  My lambs and fleeces have never been as nice as they are this year.  Maybe it's the wet season with all the green grass, but my February lambs are almost as big as their mommas already.  Their fleeces are growing so fast! Whiskers fleece is already over an inch long and silky soft!  Indigo, my Blue-Faced Leicester ram, has really stamped his babies with coal black noses and the blue skin under their white faces.  At least come by the lamb pen at Hoosier Hills and pet one of the lambs.

Here it is May and lambing is over! My lambs are the nicest this year than they've ever been.  Last fall, I got a new hay supplier.  It is top notch orchard grass for alpacas, but I'm feeding it to everyone.  My ewes didn't look haggard after giving birth and my lambs were well-developed.  In fact I lost 3 15-16 pound lambs due to extended labor.

Have you ever tried to take a picture of a lamb by yourself?  I have some nice lambs I want to get posted, but I either get the back end as the lambs move around or the midsection.  I need to find someone who can help hold the lambs while I snap the pictures of vice versa.  All but one or two lambs are for sale.  I have a bottle lamb named Ena (Cormo X Babydoll/Finn) who most likely will stay here since she is a real pest.  She will only be sold to a long-term home that can pay the extra attention to her that she likes.  As for Whiskers, he is still intact and has a beautiful, silky coat that is already over an inch long and he is only 2 months old.  Both my rams did an exceptional job with the lambs this year.

March
It's another lamb!  This time a nice sized ram lamb BFL(Blue-Faced Leicester) (about 62.5%) X Border Leicester x BFL.  He has really long legs and when I picked him up to dip his navel seems to be of an appropriate weight.  No pictures at this time as he wanted to lay down as I found him about 15 minutes after his birth and I want Momma and baby to bond before I go messing up the family relationship.

My goal this year is to have a minimal number of bottle babies.  One year when everyone was having 2-4 babies each, I had 12 bottle babies, but I also had 32 lambs out of 14 ewes.  They kept me hopping that year!

Whoa! Another news flash!!! About 11 p.m. one of my ewes, who did not bag up until last night, dropped a set of twins on me in the mud.  She claimed the little girl, but the little boy was delivered in very muddy circumstances and was cold and weak so I am now bottle feeding the first lamb of the year! No pictures yet, but he is a nice sized boy compared to the little girl.  All three born today are BFL x Border Leicester/BFL.  The little guy in the house looks almost gray with his black skin.  Near as I can figure, he is about 75% BFL.

Tail docks today and tetanus for all 3 born yesterday.  These guys grow fast and tails have to be banded early or within a week or so, it is too late.  Pictures will be posted by Monday of these 3.  It is just too muddy to wade out there to do it.  I had mud to the top of my boots and my pants were covered in mud as well.  This is sucky mud, the kind that holds onto the boots.  I hate losing my boot(s) in that kind of mud.  Oh, well.  More rain tomorrow.  I think I'll herd the entire group of ewes here on the west end of the farm down to the east end where the barn will keep the babies warm and dry.  Everyone is happier (including me!) that way.  Babies will be warmer even though Border Leicesters tend to be hardy.  I don't want to lose any lambs this year.  Indigo did a great job of putting lambs on the ground.  3 in one day for a young ram is a great job.

It's a girl!

It's another girl! This little lamb is still learning who momma is and is still wet! I just missed the birth of this little one.  She has a diluted white patch on the top of her head (look just above the ear and you can see a not so black area on her head) but other than that she is all black.  Since so many of my lambs from previous years are turning gray, I believe this one may be also.  First fleece is always black, second fleece is turning and by the third fleece a gorgeous silver.  This little one has a mother with a distinctive name---Polecat! 

This first year Polecat lambed, she did not like her baby one little bit.  So I confined her to a stall and every 4 hours had to pin her to the wall with my knee in her shoulder so 'Lyka' could eat.  My adopted son-in-law came one day to see the lambs and help with the feeding time asked what her name was and I replied I had never named her.  "Well, she is a stinker like a polecat!" and hence the name "Polecat" has stuck ever since.  She is a Shetland/Finn ewe (old style-look at her crooked horns!) and this little lamb's daddy is a registered Cormo.  Think fleece with length and softness.  AWESOME! I love this blend of fleece as it is luxurious!

First Lamb Has Arrived!

Spring is officially here on the farm!  My first little lamb, a ewe, has hit the ground!  Several ewes appear ready to pop as well, but I think they like me making trips to the barn every four hours as their udders are bulging and so are their sides, but still no more lambs.  Picture above shows the new lamb with her mom looking on.

Happy New Year!

Here it is the first day of 2013! Wow! Time is flying by so speedily.  I now also keep up with the Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival blog.  By keep up, I mean I'm the one to put in the information.  Then I also help orchestrate the Columbus Bring & Brag Fiber Arts group.  This month we are going to teach knitting and crocheting.  We have so much planned for this group for 2013, I only hope I can keep up with all of the activity!

The ground is snow covered and the temps are in the high 20s here.  In just 8 short weeks, spring will be knocking on our door and lambs will begin hitting the ground.  This is my favorite time of year.  I love the lambs and their innocence.  Is it any wonder that they are born near the same time as Easter?

In my kitchen

Each time I'm on here, I promise I will post my blog my frequently.  However, life just keeps getting in the way and I don't make it back for months.  This time, I just have to share a quick and easy recipe I created as a last minute "what am I going to fix for supper" stab.  Earlier in the day I purchased Pillsbury pie crusts for a Broccoli and Ham quiche along with  whipping cream and had these items on hand.  I had a hankering for Chicken Pot Pie and with the help of Pillsbury pie crusts and the whipping cream I surprised even myself with this concoction .  Are you reading this Mom? It was actually really good!  NOTE: In my mind it has to be Pillsbury pie crusts because the other pre-boxed pie crusts are not as flaky.

I took a boneless chicken breast from the freezer (I thaw them in the fridge overnight) and when it was partially thawed, I cut it into cubes about 5/8 inch square then tossed the squares into a hot skillet with a little bit of olive oil.  I lightly covered the bottom of the skillet with the olive oil.  Once the chicken starts cooking, I stirred the chicken to turn it and added 1 1/2 teaspoons of garlic salt (from Sam's club), coarse cut pepper and sea salt.  I also added 1 1/2 Tablespoons of dried minced onion as we like onion, but I didn't want the onion to over power the dish.

Once the chicken is cooked through, I added 1/2 a bag (2 pound bag) of frozen mixed vegetables to the mixture and stirred them in so the could be cooked until no longer frosty.  While this was sizzling, I took 1 1/2 cups whipping cream and started whipping it with a wire whisk.  Once it started getting thick, I added a large serving tablespoon of Campbell's cream of chicken soup.  I then whipped it in.  When it was thick again, I added another spoonful and continued this method until the entire can of cream of chicken soup was added.  I also whipped in 1 1/2 Tablespoons of sifted flour to this mixture.  Let mixture sit while tending the skillet.

Now back to the skillet.  While it is sizzling, there will be a small amount of liquid in the skillet.  Sprinkle over the top of all this about 1 Tablespoon of flour and stir until is blended in well.  Turn off the stove and pour into a waiting deep dish pie pan with the crust in it.  Once the skillet is into the pan, pour the cream mixture (this will be thick like icing) over the top of the veggies and chicken and spread evenly.  Add the second crust over the top and crimp around the edges.  Cut slots in the top for steam to escape.

Place in a preheated oven of 350 degrees Farenheit for 45 minutes. Might put a cookie sheet on the shelf below the chicken so that any run over does fall in the bottom of the oven. Turn the oven up to 375 degrees Farenheit and continue baking for 5-10 more minutes.  This browns the crust nicely.  Take out of the oven and let set for 5 minutes before serving.  My friend is a light eater, but took 3 helpings because it was so good.  I would post a picture, but between the two of us, there isn't anything to post.  It was eaten before I thought to post it here.  Be prepared to hear how good it is.  My friend who never compliments anyone stated, "This is really good.  I want more." That's why there isn't any left over!

Prius Adventure

Wow! What a day! Farmers' Market was really entertaining today.  A woman sat and played a harp so beautifully that it was like being in heaven.  Then after Market, I discovered my car wouldn't start.  Let me tell those of you who are Prius owners, it is no picnic when the Prius will not start especially on a Saturday afternoon.  Once I discovered that the car wouldn't start I made a few quick calls to the dealership wit no results because everyone had left 10-15 minutes earlier. So I was on my own.

It had to be the battery as I was pretty sure that when I turned the car off it had half a tank of gas.  The dealer told me that the battery is in the back of the car down where the tire tools are.  However, when there is no electricity to this car the back tail gate won't raise.  But there is an emergency switch for the back hatch down very low along the edge.  To get to all this stuff I had to unload all my Farmers' Market stuff from the car, climb in and start pulling up the carpet and the lid to the tire followed by the cover for the battery.  Then we had to figure out where the emergency switch for the back lid was.

While it seemed like hours standing in the 90 degree sun for over an hour while we were doing all this, we finally got the battery charged and the car is running as good as ever now.  Word to the wise:  don't let anyone sit in the car and check things out if they are not a Prius owner.  The car was accidentally turned on and sat there for about 3 hours going nowhere working on electric.  Not good. I, too, am a smarter person from this experience.  I have learned that if a hybrid car breaks down on Saturday after 12 noon, I might as well find a ride home and wait until Monday as there is no one available to work on the car.  Good luck Prius owners as your car's mileage creeps up over 100,000 and the warranty expires.  No one is willing to do the extra mile for a car that they feel has outlived its life.

UPDATE:  My Prius has developed a personality.  We can no longer sit in the driver's seat once the ignition is turned off.  To do so results in the car not starting.  I now carry jumper cables with me and it is standard practice to ask for a jump if I have sat in the car for more than 15 minutes.  What a bummer!

I am so excited!!! I have a Bluefaced Leicester ram lamb awaiting my arrival in Nebraska to bring him home to Indiana.  Will the weather please cool down so that I can make this trip?  I think he will bring a nice influx of beautiful fibers to my Border/Bluefaced Leicester girls.  His lambs will be more than 65% BFL.  This will be awesome!

Wow! I helped make history! Please read on.



Anyway, I  contributed to this by doing records for the 1940 census to enable those looking for generations passed can find them.  Roots...it's what it's all about.

Here it is Monday again.  I haven't done a very good job of keeping up with my blog.  I must do better.  Lambing was very slow this year.  It began in February and is still going on.  The non-winter really fooled the sheep as far as cycling goes, but the billy goat and his crew seemed to be right on target.  I got 3 beautiful kids! A little red billy and a set of twins with a billy and a doe. 

For those of you with goats, we all know how daring those kids can be.  If you have a short livestock tank with a flat edge on the top (Rubbermaid's is round on the top), remove that from the pen as my little white billy must have copied the little red billy and walked on the edge.  Unlike the little red billy, the little white billy either fell in or was knocked in and drowned.  I was heart broken!

Since then, I have gotten them large spools to climb on and jump off of.  They have to have something to climb or they climb on unsafe things.  However, their favorite climbing spot is the wheel-wells on the horse trailer.  ;-)

Farmer's Market will soon be in its third week.  The heat is keeping people from coming as it rises in waves from the pavement of the Cummins Corporate office parking lot.  Please don't let this summer sizzle us like it did last summer!

Got to get a cord for my camera so that I can upload pictures.  I'd like to know who the Gremlin was that took my camera cord!

Wow! NAILE was really something this year! I truly believe that we were busier and had more people passing through the halls of the Louisville, Kentucky Expo center than the past couple of years.  I got to sit and spin with Martha Richard, Helen Schwartz, Diane Lewis, and Pam Hoover.  The nice thing about getting to spin with other people is that I can see various techniques used by everyone.  Helen and Martha had the most beautiful fibers while Pam and I spun fleeces from our own livestock.

NAILE was just the kick in the pants I needed to begin doing some natural dyeing on my own.  Shortly before NAILE I had used some walnut, I'm talking the black walnuts themselves, not the hulls to dye with.  I got a dark tan and even dyed some curls to go with the yarn.  But this time I dyed with Brazilwood and got a beautiful fuschia color. [this picture doesn't do the fiber justice!]  I only dyed 4 ounces as I've weighed my fibers so that I can consistently get a 4 ounce skein.  I can't wait to dye another 4 ounce bundle of Brazilwood.  Then I will try Mimosa, walnut with the entire nut, madder, and some more.  This is so exciting to be creating beautiful colors from nature!  The only thing holding me back is my glass top stove.  I don't want to weight it down too much with big pots and ruin my cooking surface.  I can't wait to dye more! Lots of fiber holds the promise of colorful winter days!

Whew!  It has been a long hot summer and I am glad that the weather has become cooler.  It is much easier to add a sweater or a jacket than it is to sit and sweat it out in the hot sun on Saturdays at Farmers' Market.  Just two more Saturdays at Fair Oaks Mall from 9a.m. to 12:30 p.m.  Then we have Hackman's Market, The Street Fair in downtown Columbus, and St. Mary's Christmas Bazaar in North Vernon.  That will wrap it up for the season.

I have been playing a lot with my Corgi, Michaela, and have found her to be relentless when she wants to play.  Don't believe me?  Then take a look at the video.  The video was taken after she had already hassled me 5 other times and we played.  She doesn't get tired as easily as I do.  She is still a puppy.  I have many more years of fun ahead!

I still have Cormo/Shetland/Finn cross sheep and natural colored Shetland/Finn sheep for sale.  I don't have the money to feed them this winter and I hope I can get them sold.  My prices are more than reasonable and these animals produce wonderful fleeces that I am going to miss.  I have about 10 natural colored that have to die for fleeces.

Well, tomorrow is Farmers' Market so I need to move on for the evening.  I hope you enjoy the video.  Feedback is always great.

Summer's End Can't Be To Far Off

It has been a long hot summer. So hot in fact, that I am not going to be able to afford all the hay I need to feed the animals that remain on the farm. Hay prices are exorbitant and if I can just feed my alpacas, my Angora goats (what sweeties!), and a handful of sheep, I will be blessed.

My home improvement project is on hold at this time, of course, half way through the project. My carpenter had to have some surgery and is now in recovery mode while boxes remain on my lawn under tarps until he can finish the room they belong in. Why is it nothing is ever easy?

I am working on a new hat design. I have had to start over twice now as it wasn't shaping up the way I wanted it to. I am using up yarns I have collected over the years with the hope that something strikes someones fancy at Farmer's Market. Sales have been miserable this year. Last year the sales helped my sheep eat well all winter long. This year, I am forced to cut back because of the lack of sales to feed my sheep. I believe this is an indicator of the economy because everyone at the market is noticing a decrease in sales compared to last year.

I hope I can find someone who will help me care for my animals in inclimate weather. I don't want to risk falling and breaking something. I would never hear the end of it from my parents and my daughter. They believe I have no business living on a farm alone. What do you think? I am under 5 foot tall and pushing 60. Can I do this or not?