Just Pictures

Elsie

Flurry (or maybe Snow?)

Henrietta out in front

Pawlonia & Swan

Pistachio & little brother Fahrenheit

Swan

Vanilla

The whole gang (minus the rams)

Back to Normal (Mostly)

The rams are no longer in with the ewes. 

Cormorant misses his ewes and lets us know about it.

Hawk misses his as well but is better behaved.

When we moved Hawk, we switched the barn around.  Now it's easier for the ewes to go to the recently-fenced back pasture (the rams and wethers never even checked it out, despite ample opportunity!).  Barack O'Llama loves the change of venue.  Not only is he a fan of the pasture, but he also enjoys sticking his head out of the barn when we open the door.

Happy llama.

"The blue sky brings out the auburn tones in my fleece," BOL

The ewes still love their peanuts--except Czadas.  She seems to have lost her taste for them, but that didn't keep her from being pushy.

Czadas & Vanilla

It's Been a Long, Long Time

It's a boring time for the sheep right now.  It's deer season, so for the sheep's safety, they are confined to an area close to the barn.  It is the height of breeding season, so maybe they're not too bored. The rams are walking the fence line, hoping to get to the other side.  So far, they haven't.

Most of my pictures are from a while ago.  We finally had our back pasture fenced, much to Barack O'Llama and the ewes' delight.  The rams and wethers, for some reason, will not go in to the new pasture, no matter the bribe.

The ewes needed to be led with grain their first time into the new pasture.   They only needed encouragement once.

 

Also, we had an early snow storm in November.  There was quite a bit of snow before Barack O'Llama went in the barn.  (But if there's one drop of rain he's running for cover as fast as he can!

In the last post, I mentioned that we were using just one ram this breeding season.  Since then, we've changed our minds, and we are using Hawk for the second time.  His lambs last year were gorgeous!

Cormorant's New Adventure

Fall is here, and that means our breeding ram is in with his ewes.  This year's lucky guy is Cormorant.  We usually use two rams, but this year we're just breeding one small group of ewes, so we're only using one ram.  So far so good.  Several of the ewes are marked, and all the rams--including Oregano--are staying where they are supposed to be.

Cormorant

Myrtle doesn't appear to be impressed.

Pistachio wonders who that ram in the barn is.

Dove is this year's only first time mom--pictured with Cashew.

Of course, Henrietta is among those standing alongside the fence.

Celsius really stands out...

Just because she's cute: Snow

Getting Ready

It's almost time for breeding season.  Usually, we would have put our first ram with the ewes by now, but there's a bit of construction going on here. 

Cormorant checking out Mimosa, Myrtle, and Acacia.

(Most of) the boys

We spent some time over the weekend getting ready for our fence improvement.  It was a lot like driving through a drive through zoos, the kind where there's always a crazy llama getting in your business.

At least they (mostly) get out of the way.

Official crazy llama

Also this weekend, four of our sheep were sheared at the Fulton Fall Folk Festival.

Pawlonia

Storm

Celsius, with his mom and siblings

Celsius sticks out of the crowd!

The Rams (And Their Friends)

Our rams are a pretty mellow bunch.  Oregano doesn't push around his buddies.  When he's eating, he does remind the others who is boss, as evidenced by his figure.

Oregano

 Yeti, our CVM wether, is everyone is buddy.  He's not aware that he doesn't have horns....or that he's a lot bigger than everyone else.

Yeti & Hawk

Breeding season is right around the corner.  Hopefully, the rams will continue to be calm and not fight each other.

Hawk....

...and Hawk again.

Oregano....

....and Oregano again.

The wethers aren't sure what the fuss is all about.

Peat, Eagle, & Almond

Eagle & Yeti

Wether Almond between rams Cormorant and Hawk.

The whole gang

Meanwhile, the ewes are wearing their coats...

Sunshine, wearing a sunshine-y yellow

Visiting

When I go to the pasture for a visit, nearly everyone checks to see if I have treats. Molly is almost always the first to visit. This time, she brought Beryl.

Molly and the back end of Beryl

Beryl discovered that I had nothing yummy, and she left. and Henrietta arrived.  Henrietta loves scratches, and she always hangs out with me for a while.  

Henrietta and Molly

Storm was watching from the boys' side of the fence. (I'm not sure if he was curious about me or the ewes.  It's getting to be that time of the year!)

Storm

Meanwhile, Blizzard and Snow kept an eye on me...

Blizzard and Snow

Blizzard and Snow (again)

...and Snow eventually came closer. 

Snow

Surprisingly, Adelie wasn't one of the first sheep to greet me.  She usually is.

Adelie

Sunshine followed her mom, Vanilla, when she approached me.  Vanilla is one of our friendliest ewes.  I hope Sunshine follows her example! 

Sunshine with mom Vanilla

Sheep coats, fall shearing (for a select few), and breeding season are all right around the corner.