Monday, May 1, 2023

Mist & The End of Lambing Season

 Mist delivered her lamb very early this morning.  

Just like mom.

Like Radagast, he's a ram lamb who looks exactly like his mom.  We've named him Gandalf the Grey (another wizard from The Lord of the Rings).

Gandalf the Grey

We're all done with lambing for the year.  Hopefully.  If there's another lamb, it will be a huge surprise. 

 

Sunday, April 30, 2023

Gingerale's (Mostly) Mini-Me

 My younger son is in charge of lambing this year--everything from choosing the ewes to breed to being the person who goes to the barn in the middle of the night. 

Proud mom Gingerale

Very early Saturday morning, he headed out to the barn because he heard baaing on the baby/sheep monitor.  Gingerale had lambed.  Like last time (two whole years ago!), she delivered a single ram lamb.  This time around, he is mostly brown with white spots on his head.  It's likely he'll look just like his mom (except for the whole being and boy and having horns thing).  

Radagast the (mostly) Brown

We're calling him Radagast, after a wizard from The Lord of the Rings named Radagast the Brown.  

Mist is due today.  Of course, she won't lamb today because they almost never lamb on their due dates.  (Or maybe she will because I just said she won't?)

There's a lamb so Mist thinks she's done already...





Monday, June 21, 2021

Growing Up

 This year's lambs are getting big.  

Parmesan, Mozzarella, & the whole gang

Pepperjack, Ricotta, Colby, & Cheddar

 Some of the ewes, especially Velveeta, really look like their mothers.


Velveeta: mini Champagne!

Ricotta not only looks like mom, but is about the same size.

Ricotta, standing beside her mom, Pina Colada.

And let's not forget about the boys:

Stilton, another of Sassy's gorgeous lambs.

Even Pepperjack's horns are multicolored!





Saturday, June 19, 2021

The Saga of Shearing Barack O'Llama

The sheep were sheared early in March, and after it started to warm up, I knew we needed to shear the llama.  Things were a little crazy, so we ended up putting it off until Memorial Day weekend.  We set up everything, caught Barack, and started to shear.   The shears didn't work.  

"Oh no," Barack O'Llama

 
Sheep helpers Vanilla and Henrietta
 

We did give him his annual vaccine and trim his hooves.  We also took him for a walk.



We ordered the broken parts and waited.  We fixed the shears.  Finally, another not-rainy day came along, and after the inevitable drama of llama shearing, Barack is sporting a new look.  (Whoops, I have no after pictures yet!)

Barack should be feeling much cooler!


Sunday, May 30, 2021

Just Pictures

Seltzer with Peppermint Patty and Sky
Peppermint Patty


Peppermint Patty (again)

Rollo

Earl Grey
Sassy & Stilton

Velveeta & Champagne

 

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Just (Lamb) Pictures

Stilton, Pepperjack, Colby (and moms)

Sassy & Stilton
Mozzarella & Parmesan

Stilton

 

Pepperjack

Ricotta


Velveeta & Champagne

Cheddar

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Finally....Champagne

 Champagne surprised us by lambing a few days before her due date.  Her lamb is a spotty black and white ewe we've named Velveeta.




Velveeta is the last lamb we're expecting this year.  We had a total of eight during this (very busy!) week--five ewes and three rams. 

Sunday, April 11, 2021

Adelie's First Twins

 Adelie lambed very, very early Friday morning. It wasn't Adelie's first time lambing, but was her first time having twins.

 Her first lamb is a spotted black lamb we've named Parmesan.  It is very likely that he will lighten to gray.

Her second lamb is a moorit (brown) ewe we've named Mozzarella.   She also has white spots on her head.

We should have a little break before Champagne lambs.  She's more than a little wild, so we'll see how that goes! 

Parmesan

Adelie, her twins, & the birthday boy's arm

Adelie is getting the hang of having two.

Mozzarella


Parmesan




Saturday, April 10, 2021

Twins Again for Beryl

 Beryl lambed late in the evening on her due date.  Like Gingerale, she was pretty speedy, although she has done this before.  Beryl delivered her third set of twins, but this time, they are both ewes.

The older lamb is named Colby.  She looks exactly like Beryl did when she was a lamb, with a black fleece and white spots on her head.  

The second lamb is Cheddar.  She's almost entirely moorit (dark brown) with a tiny white spot on the back of her head.  I'm very surprised that Beryl has a lamb who is not black!

Cheddar is very friendly and easy to photograph.  Colby is a little harder to get a picture of, but usually her mom is in the way!

Cheddar

A little blurry, but it's Colby!


Beryl knows I want a pic of her.

Cheddar and Colby


Thursday, April 8, 2021

Gingerale is Awesome

 Gingerale did a great job for a first time mother.  She lambed around lunchtime on Tuesday.  Her labor was short and seemed effortless (to me, probably not so much to Gingerale!), and she had her lamb up and nursing in no time.

Gingerale had a single ram we've named Pepper Jack.  He's very spotty, just like his dad Cisco.








Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Let's Not Forget about Pina Colada

 Pina Colada lambed the same night as Sassy.  Her lamb is a single white ewe we've named Ricotta.  She's really difficult to get pictures of because she bounces around so much!

 





 (These blog posts are much shorter this year than in past years.  We're having fewer lambs, but they're all coming around the same time!)