On lamb watch....

 Just a grey dreary day in Sutton, NH with a loudly

groaning sheep in the barn. Technically, we are not

due to have our first lamb until Monday...But, nature

has its own time table. Generally sheep gestate for 150

days, but we've found those with twins often times only 

go 145 days. So, we have a LOT that could go any minute!!!

 Yes, human. I know you just gave me fresh water!

I'd rather eat the snow, thank you very much!

 Oreo got a fresh jacket last night.

She is as big as a house, poor girl.

 Nea. The ancient llama.

I think she's 23 this year.

 And, Noggen. The ancient alpaca.

I think he is 19 this year.

Stormy to his left and Carl the cow in front.

 Carl coming to check out the camera.

 We've got some girls with some massive udders.

 Candace. One of our original Horned Dorset ewes

from Fruit Cake Farm in Grafton, NH.

She is at least 9. 3 years ago she gave birth to 

fully formed still born twins. She has not gotten

pregnant, nor acted 'right' since then. She doesn't

appear to be sick physically in any way, just off.

 Patience. Polled Dorset/Horned Dorset cross.

She has one of the biggest udders and bellies here.

 Mini Me. Her mother was Heifer.

1/2 Border Leicester, 1/2 Jacob.

Mini is 1/2 Horned Dorset.

 We have the nicest neighbors!!

We could not get out of the drive to get 

to my appointment yesterday morning until

Jerry took ashes out of the wood furnace to make 

a path for my wheels off the ice. When we got 

home we found that Pebbles and Bam had

spread sand over the ice going down the hill.

 Can you see how shiny it is above the sand?
That is what the entire driveway looked like

yesterday. Thank God it doesn't happen often here.

Just once or twice a winter when it rains instead of 

snowing and then the temperatures drop...

Bad news, good news?

Hubby had to put down Christopher our Horned Dorset ram this week. Not really sure what all was going on with him. But, at the end he had pneumonia and was pressing his head against the wall. We are thinking, despite all the sheep getting wormed with Cydectin, that he had either Barber Pole or Meningial worm which lowered his overall resistance. He had been laying around a LOT since fall, and his joints were starting to swell causing him pain. He is no longer in pain, but he will be missed! For some reason unknown to us he loved kids!!

I did not get the full time mail route that I expected to get. So, I will be back to being a sub (for now). But, now that I am not going to be working 6 days a week, I am going to request that the surgeon fix my shoulder. The shot he put in did not help in the least.

At least now I will have time to get the rest of the trim up inside the house, and finish the painting that needs to be done. And, I will be able to get to all of the fleeces and roving in the house and greenhouse! I hope to take the time to get everything photographed and posted on the wool blog to sell.

And, hopefully this spring the big garden will be up and growing. I hope to grow LOTS of tomatoes and peppers for making salsa! As well as the herbs involved. I was hoping to get a high tunnel, but without the job to pay for it....I will have to do some low tunnels.

And, I will finally have time to make soap and lotion! I contacted the farmer's market manager at the market I did for years before the job got in the way. Now I need to wait and see.

Time for dinner. Early to bed. Two more days of work this week and a North Easter's worth of snow to drive in tomorrow... They are calling for at least 6-12" depending on where you are. I think we have the 6" already here at 6 pm and it not supposed to stop for another 6 hours.

Have a great night all.

TTFN.

Look what followed us home.

 Introducing Peaches (on the left)

and Betty (on the right).

They were born this past March

at Fruitcake Farm in Grafton, NH.

Candace is our only surviving 'original'

from Fruitcake Farm. 

We are happy to have 2 more of their

sheep. And happy to help another former

shepherd with re-homing their lambs.

 They will be in quarantine until Wednesday morning

just to get them used to us, and the the sheep on the 

other side of the gate. Once the sheep on the right side

of the barn go back up the hill to the neighbors

(after breeding), and the other two rams go back in

with the Horned Dorset (their date for next year),

they will go into the lamb pen with the other four

lambs from this year, as well as the llama and alpaca.

 Jeremy. Our Dorset/Romney ram.

He just came home from breeding in

New London this Saturday.

Below is his dad, Stormy.

 Looking into the ram pen with Shea (Icelandic), 

Arty (Icelandic/Romney), and Christopher.

 Some of the ewes trying to figure out what is going on.