A Visit From An Old Friend

Sally (remember Sally?) "helped" us get hay yesterday.

Sally brought some friends along.

Sally enjoys a nose scratch.

Sally sharing hay with Beryl.

I tried to get a picture of Macadamia's ear--she pulled out her ear tag about a week ago--but she didn't cooperate.

Macadamia runs...

...and then runs some more.

The rams, Chert and Feldspar, are now living in their own bachelor pasture.  They miss their ladies, but after a rough start, are getting along well.

Chert & Feldspar

A Few Changes

A picture of both breeding groups.  Wait...is that Henrietta?

 
Why, yes it is.  Uh oh. How did she get there?  It's a long, long story....

Feldspar and Chert have started fighting through the fence.  It's worrying as they're not playing around.  They've been bloody afterwards, and I don't want to think about what would happen if they knock the fence down.  (Also, they've been fighting while ignoring their ladies...which seems to defeat the purpose of fighting in the first place.)  They are getting a small buffer zone today, which hopefully will solve the problem.

Not a real fight...I wouldn't have been standing there!

Snowball and the ewes have been well-behaved...mostly.

Macadamia is happy to see me.

Chert's ladies

Snowball: well-behaved llama

Barack O'Llama's Birthday Fest

We planned on giving Barack O'Llama a banana for his birthday.  He loves bananas.  When we went to the pasture, it looked like he was already having a party.

"Hey, hey, the gang's all here."

 He was very excited (and a tad impatient) for his birthday banana.

"Peel it already!"

"Seriously, put down your phone & peel it!"

When he was all done, he wanted more (of course).

"Yum."

We tried a birthday hat yet again.  He wanted no part of it.  A small individual put it on Peat.  It got stuck on his horns.  I think I'm going to ban birthday hats in the pasture.

The party gets wild...

...and wilder...

 Barack O'Llama then went on a birthday walk.  The highlight was the Mexican sunflowers.  He attacked them, presumably for a good scratch.  The cows were aghast.

....and wilder.

 To top it all off, there was a hay delivery.

"It's all for me, right?"

"I might be six, but I'm still flexible."

Calmer Days

Almond wants to move back to the back pasture.  He sits by the gate a lot.  Most of his buddies came with him to the front pasture, so I don't think he's feeling lonely.  Unless he misses Snowball.

Almond thinks the grass is greener on the other side.

Chert seems pretty happy with his selection of ladies.  I feel a little bad for him, though, having given him quite a few reluctant young ewes.

Happy little ram.

Unlike some others, Elvira is friendly.

Feldspar and Chert communicate through the fence, but there's been no fighting.

"So...how do you get your gals to behave?"

Otherwise, things are pretty much the same.

Theresa & Calico love snacks.

Tricot wearing a lot of hay & her new ear tag.

The Craziest Day of the Year, Part 2

On Sunday, we took care of the essentials with the non-breeding sheep.  All the lambs, as well as Sandy, Henrietta, and the wethers needed deworming and hoof trimming as well.  Quartz needed an ear tag replacement; we managed to forget it last time around.

Beryl getting her mani & pedi.

 There was an impromptu sheep-lifting contest (okay, not really...).

Fully Grown Class: Henrietta

Little Sheeple Class: Opal

 I lifted Pecan (okay, not really).  I helped coat Pecan.

I don't think Pecan likes his coat.

Some individuals stopped for a snack.

Rhoda (or Molly?), Beryl, & Peat

 Then we worked on a secret project.  Snowball knows what it is, but he's not telling. 

Snowball

The Craziest Day of the Year, Part 1

This year, it ended up being more like an entire weekend of craziness.

On Saturday, we put the the ewes in with the rams.  That sounds simple enough, but we needed to trim hooves, deworm, and in some cases, check udders for soundness and insert an ear tag.  The rams needed to be harnessed.  Once all that was done, we needed to get six ewes to the far side of the back pasture.  Their ram (Chert) was then delivered to them.  Then we put seven ewes in with Feldspar in the other "half" of the back pasture. 

This year's breeding line-up.

The wethers had to be relocated as well.  Peat, Yeti, and Almond went easily, but Pecan was a bit of a challenge.  We ended up driving him to the front pasture in the dog crate in the back of the Mule.  (No pictures, but I think everyone in the neighborhood saw us!)

Pecan: It's not possible to carry him across pastures!

Chert's ladies are Elsie, Elvira, Tiffany, Filly, Peanut, and Pistachio.  Half are first timers (Filly, Peanut, and Pistachio), and they're nervously clinging to Elsie.  Then there's Elsie, who is twice as big as him...  Poor Chert.  He's not quite as self-assured as Feldspar...but then again, Gunpowder wasn't very confident at the beginning of breeding season last year, and he completed his job with flying colors.

Chert's ewes

Calico, Czadas, Hazel, Tricot, Theresa, Cashew, and Macadamia are with Feldspar.  Feldspar is fitting right in with his ladies.  He has two first timers--Cashew and Macadamia.  Cashew is sticking close to mommy Calico.  Macadamia attacked Feldspar, ramming him a few times, and now they are getting along just fine.

"What is that wee horned creature?" -Cashew

Feldspar & his ladies having breakfast

Feldspar & Hazel

. 

Mothers and Daughters

Macadamia and Henrietta

Tiffany and Galena

Molly and Elvira

Czadas and Beryl (Aunt Tricot is on the left)

Molly and Elvira (again)

Marble and Hazel

Surprises

Gunpowder and Pecan!  They rarely make it on the blog.

Why don't I take more pictures of those gorgeous horns?

Guess who's been sleeping outside.

  Theresa is out in front, approaching a person. Gasp!  (She's actually starting to do this all the time.)

Theresa, Macadamia, & the gang

 Well, no surprises here...except one....

Czadas, Henrietta, Elvira, &...

 It's Molly!  Elvira is teaching Molly about chin scratches. 

Molly & Elvira

Elsie is waiting for her coat.  She's going to be surprised... 

Elsie