Cisco & His Ewes

We put Cisco in with his ewes over the weekend.  We're a bit nervous because Cisco is young--born at the end of June.  We've used ram lambs with success before, but they were born in March or April.

Cisco is not so sure about his new roommates.

 Cisco is intimidated by the ewes, maybe because they are some of our bigger ones or maybe because they're not-so-nice to him.   He also misses his ram and wether friends.    Nevertheless, he's at least trying to do his job.  It will be a while until we know if he has been successful or not.  

Barack O'Llama supervising the new living arrangements.

Cisco catches up with the ewes.

Cisco's ewes.

Vanilla leads the pack.

Vanilla is out in front (again)

New Things

The ewes received a new feeder this weekend.  While it was being constructed, I kept the ewes busy with treats.  Snow ate out of my hand for the first time, and once she started, she kept trying all the snacks.

Snow

Llama approved

I started by handing out corn rather than peanuts, and a different crowd surrounded me than usual.

Myrtle

Opal

Opal & Sky

Sassy

Too Much Excitement

The ewes enjoyed a special snack last night.  I hoped to take a lot of good pictures...but the ewes were so excited that they were a little too close.  I only managed a few successful pictures.  

Gingerale tries to push through the crowd.

Elsie pretends she is not interested in the snack.

Gingerale (left), Sprite (center), and Sky (right)

Swan

Although there's not much happening right now, in the next few weeks things will be busier.  The ewes will be back in their coats, the breeding rams will be put in with their ewes, a few of the sheep will be sheared at the Fulton Fall Folk Festival. 

Introducing Cisco

It was time to add another ram to our flock.  Even though our current rams are nice guys (and I love Mojito's markings, Oregano's fleece, and Cormorant's temperament, for example), our ewes are mostly their mothers, daughters, and half-sisters. 

Meet Cisco.  I can't wait to see his lambs!  (Hopefully in the spring....He's a bit younger than our ram lambs, so his lambs might be a little later than we usually expect.)

Earl Grey, Dr. Pepper, & Cisco

Cisco

All the little boys

Cisco & friends (his best pal is Seltzer, the white wether)

The Big Boys

They don't make it on the blog much, as none of them-- with the exception of Cormorant-- cooperate when it's time to take pictures.  Most of them just ignore me and go on with whatever they are doing.

Almond, Hawk, & Cormorant

Cormorant

Cormorant (again)

Cormorant (once again)

Cormorant with Budgie and Hawk

Fog

Hawk

Oregano and Fog

Fair Week Recap

Champagne, Mocha, and Mojito went to the fair this week.

Champagne waits for her turn to be groomed.

Champagne was a lot smaller than the other champion ewes!

Mojito calmly waits to go into the ring (and that's where the calmness ended).

Champagne again.

Mojito has a snack.

Mojito

Mojito again.

Mojito is too closely related to our ewes to stay here.  He, along with a few of our other rams, are listed for sale on our sale page. 

Foiled Again

I planned to take a few sheep pictures this morning.  Almost as soon as the barn doors open, Barack ran to the back pasture, herding the sheep as he went.


He came back, though, bringing a few sheep with him.

One of my son's show sheep, Mocha, returned to the barn.

And, I managed to take a picture of Sunshine!  It's not the best picture, but the younger white ewes are difficult to photograph (that is, if you're want to tell them apart). 

Barn Cleaning

We've been working on cleaning out the barn.

 

 The sheep leave the barn as soon as we get started.  That's good for us; in years past, they have not, making an unpleasant job even worse.

However, Barack supervises...

and gets in the way.

He had to be led away.

Mostly Pictures

Next time, I will share some pictures of a big project that's keeping us busy.  This time, it's mostly pictures.  We'll start with my youngest son's show lambs....They've been keeping us busy, too!

Mocha and Mojito

Mojito (with Espresso)

Luckily, Mojito and Mocha are pretty tame.  Champagne, his third show lamb, is a different story.  She's not really skittish, but she is a little wild. 

Dr. Pepper

Another friendly little guy: Iced Tea

 Last year's white lambs are a little harder to tell apart.

Lightning is easy to pick out

Snow

Not sure who this ewe is!

Sunshine