Busy Monday...hot and dry and very busy.

Kitchen remodel update!  

The new table top...up cycled the old kitchen dining set.  We have not did anything with the table legs and chairs yet...still trying to decide if I just want to sand, stain and varnish or paint the chairs and table legs.  I just had to see how the table would look  in the kitchen...the kitchen is so far from being done that it is even hard for me to see.  

For Sale...$250  Cheviot Ram...sweet nature, produces off spring that hit the ground running and quick weight gain.  Handsome guy.

email: rocnbarc@gmail.com

This is Sammy, the Cheviot lamb that I purchased last fall...he is a nice gentle ram and he produced some lovely lambs this Spring but I have decided that I will sell Sammy and buy me another Border Leicester ram if I can find one with great wool...I need new blood lines, White Knight is getting old...I hope to get a few more of his lambs this next year if WK can make it.

Busy, Busy Day, but isn't most mondays?  I let the sheep out to eat, let Isabel and little Hotty Shot out, Isabel acted like her old self.  She just is not giving out enough milk yet.  So I gave the babe a bottle and off they went...to the pasture.
Danny bladed out the west lot.  I sorted out 10 more fleeces to wash.
Danny's brother came and wanted Danny to help get the neighbor's tractor up to the hay field.
We got the call that the FFA students were baling their hay and we could come and get 100 bales.
We also went to Brookfield to get our new phones on the 3G network...that is a mess...don't want to even talk about that right now.

100 more bales to put in the barn or west shed.  I hope we can have enough hay to make it through the winter but if the hot and dry continues, we will not even come close if we have to start feeding hay in the near future.  We will just have to believe that God will shower these dry areas with a good soaking rain soon.

Danny is watering his melon plants with the pond water from across the road.

cantaloupes are growing...I can eat cantaloupe for all three meals a day...so happy they are looking good at this point.

Pond across the road, we water our sheep and Danny's melon out of it and before long, probably  all the cattle.

The watermelon are way behind the cantaloupe...don't ask me why.  We have always had the best sweet melons when the weather is hot...they should be pure sugar this year.

The critters are robbing the peaches before they are good and ripe.    

I got out 10 fleeces to wash.  They are from last year.  I want to have my tack room all  cleaned out before next shearing.  I have 3 nice black fleeces, they are very soft.  I did not have time to bag any today and probably won't get any done tomorrow.  We have to take our new cell phones that don't work back to Brookfield after the New  Boston's women's group meets tomorrow morning, then I go back to the doctor tomorrow afternoon.  ANOTHER busy day.


About dark, I went out to get the sheep in...Isabel and baby HS was waiting on me.  The baby came running so I made him a bottle and he filled his little tummy.  Isabel is not sure if she likes me feeding her baby.  I assured her that I want her to take over very soon.

Our late April, early May lambs are really gaining fast.

Buddy loves people so he is always looking for human attention.

Lambs are growing fast!  The grass is getting browner by the day.

I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.  He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.  The world cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for Him and doesn't recognize him.  But you know him, because He lives with you now and later will be in you.  John 14:16-17


God Bless each of you and walk with you every step of the way.

Being Thankful and Blessed on Wednesday

Dear God,

Thank you that you renew my strength when I grow weary.

Thank you for refreshing my heart when I come to you in praise.

Thank you for refreshing my soul when I come to you in Prayer.  

Thank you for refreshing my mind when I come to you in meditation.

Thank you for refreshing my body when i come to you in solitude.  And thank you for refreshing my perspective on life when I come to you with thankfulness.  Thank you that I can draw strength from you, the source of all strength. 

In Jesus Name

Amen

Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."  Matthew 11:28

At 5:30 AM I am up and letting the sheep out to graze while the temps are cool.  I feed the dogs and give Sadie and Lady bones...they just wait for the treat.  They have barked at coyotes all night and I think they deserve the best for being such good guard dogs.

The lambs bounced and played and did a little head butting in the cool breezes this morning.  I grabbed my camera before walking down to the south pastures to check on the grass situation.  We still have some short green grass beneath the taller brown dried grasses.  It won't last long if the weather goes back to the triple digits and we have hot dry winds.

I have now opened both south pastures...rotate to prevent worms.  We could use a couple of days of slow soaking rains.

Pricillia is a beautiful BFL cross ewe lamb...she isn't a big pet and  plays bashful.

China's twin ram lamb, the lambs are growing so fast.

the grass still has a little bit of green in the sheep's pasture.

I saw a little bluebird come out of the bird house but he refused to let me take his picture....a few of the cows are standing around the edge of the pond, going in for a morning soak.  Next year there will be a good strong fence around this pond so the cows can not do anymore damage than they have already done.  

Lady is running and playing in the cool morning air.

The barn,  I am standing down hill...lol...about any place on this farm is on a hill or down hill...they call this area  rolling green hills area.  We are about 20 miles from the Thousand Hills State Park.

Macy Sue is just waiting on me to get done messing around so we can get back to the house for breakfast.

Big Bales of hay, ready for winter or feed if things stay dry and hot.  We also have  about 250  small bales of hay in the barns and sheds and I am suppose to be getting another 100 bales.  It may be a long hard winter if we don't get some rain and see the grass green up.

We have a new grain bin and they delivered feed this week.   It saves money to buy by the tons instead  of by the sack.    It will also save me town trips.  

What a pretty BFL cross lamb.

Last year's ewe lamb, BFL/BL/Oxford cross...She is so big and will be bred this fall.

I love to stand out in the pastures in the calm and peace with the birds singing, the sheep baaing and the cattle mooing every now and then.  I feel so close to God and I stand in admiration of all the things He has made, great and small.

Cheviot ewe lamb flirting with the larger BFL cross ram lamb.  She appears to be acting like a little hussy. 

Blue Bubbles, BFL cross ewe lamb...she is a keeper for sure!

Isabel's baby is growing and bouncing all over the place.  Danny calls him  Hot Shot!

Old White Knight our Border Leicester Ram, still loves to chow down on his pellets and  Cathy, the previous owner of Knight was shocked that he was still up and going.  In fact, I am sure he is the sire of Hot Shot. He is such a sweet old boy.  

Danny's melons are getting larger and looking good...they get watered, hoed, and babied everyday.   I am so glad that Danny enjoys growing his melons cause I love to eat them.

Danny's melons are spreading out.

Poor little peach tree is loaded but the dry weather is taking its tole.

I found a couple of these plants so tomorrow morning I will bring out the hoe while it is cool and get rid of them.  The sheep get the sharp stickers in their wool and I then get the stickers in my fingers...so I get rid of every one I see and then replant brome or clover in the bare spot.  After I chop them down, I sprinkle salt on what is left of the base of the plant.  Salt won't hurt the sheep.

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.  This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.  2 Corinthians 4:7

Lambing Season 2012 has Ended

It is hard to believe it is May 1st.  Thanks to Danny for all his help this year, lambing season is over.  We had 10 ewes to lamb and ended up with 16 lambs...wow! what a difference from last year.  But all and all I am happy that our numbers were decreased this year.  I have been fighting an upper respiratory infection for most of the winter and two bouts in less than a month so I can rest now, no more every 3-4 hour trips to the barn day and night.  Soon school will be out and I plan to really relax, spin, rug hook, knit, clean house, wash wool, play in the garden, and spend time with Danny and the kids when they come to the farm.

It is a beautiful day.  We had clouds and rain last night and this morning but the sun is shining and the grass is green.  The warm sun just warms the soul.  I love to grab my camera and head to the pastures to get pictures of the new babies.   Sorry for being such a poor blogger the last few months...maybe I will do better this summer.

Gerty with her girl, Blue Bubbles.  Bubbles is our oldest lamb.  I might have named her something else at first but now she is Bubbles to me.  She has that personality.

This is Birdie's little girl, her name is Blue Bird.

This is one of Sammy's lambs.  He has the ears of a Cheviot doesn't he?

Both of these girls are out of Liam, our BFL ram.  

Huey and Louey are out of White Knight, BL ram.  Their mom is Tizzy, a shetland ewe.  They were bouncing around within 30 minutes of being born and I am here to tell you that they know everything that is happening here on the farm...nosest little guys!

Lady has to be where the babies are.  She loves the new borns.

This is Mini, our little pet ewe lamb.  She accidently got in with the rams and ended up having twins.  She prolapsed 4 days before her lambs were due and the vet even had to help deliver them.   She had a little girl, MEME and the little guy , Buster.  She is doing great now and she is a good little mother.  But she will not have anymore babies.  I plan to keep Meme and whether Buster so he can stay here on the farm, this will be Mini's only family.  If they put off the wool that Mini does....it will be great!
Thanks for joining me on the walk in the green pastures today.

Danny is giving me a rug hooking frame for Mother's Day.  I plan to use the hand spun yarns from our flock to make my rugs.  I have also been spinning some heavier weight yarns to weave.  I plan to air out the upstairs and get back to work up there soon.  I love to listen to music, have the windows all open and a breeze blowing through as I sit and weave.
I will plan on blogging about the espinners that Danny has made me.  I have been really cranking out the yarn lately.

God Bless, take care, and come back to the Spinning C Fiber Farm.

Lazy Spinning C Day

The temp got up to 84 today, sun shining warm and an easy breeze and I am enjoying walking the pastures and seeing the cows and sheep in the Spinning C pastures.  I found several cows in the west pond and the sheep laying in the shade under the trees at the south end of the hay pasture.



Cows getting in the pond.



Socks and lambs don't want to waste eating time to lay in the shade.



Teddy and lamb in the shade, watching me to see if I was going to call the flock in for some grain.  



Leicester/Shetland Ewe with her twins.  The lambs have really been growing.  They are almost as big as their mother.



Dolly's girl and lambs...just keeping track of the lady with the camera.



Danny is rebuilding old Johnnie.  He drove this tractor when he was a little boy. 



Pears are getting ripe.  We have eaten a few and they are so sweet!




Most of the sheep are lying under  the trees in the shade for a mild late summer afternoon.  101 sheep are in this pasture at this time.


I am going to decrease my flock.  If anyone is interested in replacement ewes, give me a call or email me.  Most are 1/2 Leicester or BFL.  I also will be selling some shetland ewes. 
We had a very good lambing year.  We did not lose a lamb at birthing this last spring.  I plan to travel  more next summer and as I get older...I will be slowing down.  I plan to keep 10-15 ewes and John and Teddy.  I will also keep White Knight and Liam.
My phone number is 660-689-3073 or email me at rocnbarc@cvalley.net