Farewell Kim-sah

I've had my guard llama Kim-sah since I first began raising sheep in 2006.

And now, she's gone.

  I didn't realize how attached I'd become.  Llamas are generally standoffish, not very friendly.  And they spit, which doesn't make them something to cuddle with, at least in my book.  But I could count on her.  She had grown a bit cranky and more selfish in her old age, but she was always alert, on the job.  I'll miss seeing her standing out there, keeping a watchful eye on things.  I never lost a sheep to predators with her around.

Calvin will miss her, more than anyone.  She was his buddy, his friend...in his eyes, even if Kimmy didn't share his sentiments.  Hank found her last night because Calvin wouldn't eat until Hank followed him over to where she was.  That's what made me saddest, Calvin being so loyal to her.

I never thought I'd say this, but I'm going to miss having a llama around.  

I'm going to miss having Kimmy around.

Kimmy and Calvin in 2013 at mom and dad's place.

On the Farm | Life Goes On

May has been the busiest month yet, even busier than lambing season in April...and that's saying a lot.  There are so many things that need doing during spring.

The sheepies have been enjoying the tender grass in the orchard and now the rich stuff in the lower pasture.  We've been blessed with the perfect amount of sunshine and rain, and the pastures are all doing so well.

As you may have noticed, they've all been sheared, too.

My sheep were very well behaved this year.  In fact, Hank says they were better than his own sheep.  Yes, this is me gloating...but just a bit. *grin*

I'll be sharing the sheep shearing video sometime soon-ish...I hope.

Miss Picabo the llama went to her new home and is doing very well there.

In the horse trailer - I love how easy llamas are to load.

Here she is with her new pasture mate Savannah...

Checking out her new home...

I'm so thankful to have found a good home for her where she will be well cared for.  And I'm very thankful to only have two llamas to feed of this coming winter.  That'll save me some hay!

Picabo's new home is also the farm where I bought my five extra meat lambs.  They're Katahdins, which is a hair breed instead of a wool breed like mine are.  Not what I'd want for breeding purposes, but they'll do for meat.  I think they're pretty cute, too. ;)

The horses have enjoyed being out on pasture, and I'm happy to be conserving the last of my grass hay.

If you follow me on Twitter, then you know that I had the opportunity to help shear alpacas at a friend's ranch last weekend.  Way too much fun!  I took a lot of pictures so I'll be sharing more about that in a separate post at some point.

I love riding with my dad to the dump and part of the charm is riding in our farm truck, the one I'm sitting on in my header picture.  I love old Ford trucks.  On our way back home my dad pulled of to the side, I slid over, he got back in on the passenger side, and explained to me how the clutch and the stick work.  Yep, my first time driving manual. 

*grin*

Going up our gravel driveway, dad had me step on the brake and the clutch, stopping the car.  Now I'm pretty sure he was setting me up, because we were going up a slight incline.  When I tried to get going again, the truck died.  I got it going again, hit the gas and popped the clutch.  Ooooh yeah!  Power!!

*bigger grin*

Once I'd parked the truck in our driveway, my dad says, "Okay, now go inside, get your camera, and go take a picture of what you did to the road.  You can put it on your blog."  Hehe...

Yep, he set me up.

This two inch deep rut?  It's mine.

I can't wait to drive the truck again - I think I'm going to really love driving manually.

I'm currently focusing my time on fence fixing, mainly tightening the fence so the animals won't push it over.

Also, I'm bringing home a new addition to my menagerie next Sunday!

Can you guess what "it" is?  Hint: I've never owned this kind of animal before.

That's all for now folks!

On the Farm | a bit of everything

Things have been hopping on our little 'farm' lately...

A friend gave me five of her older chickens who aren't laying anymore to use for bug control around our place.

They've been quite industrious, scratching about the yard.

I converted our old lamb tractor into a coop for them...

For those not in the know, a lamb tractor is a portable fenced structure either on wheels or runners which is used to move lambs around the yard for grazing purposes.  You can also use them for goats and there are chicken tractors as well.  We simply removed the wheels from ours so it would sit flush with the ground and viola!  A chicken coop.  Our old one is 1) falling apart and B)...no...2) farther from the house.  Keeping them closer to the house will hopefully eliminate the predator problems we were experiencing.

The Muffin kitty, taking a break from hunting mice, grasshoppers, rabbits and birds;)

It will be cherry picking time soon!

We've already been sampling the cherries.  Just can't wait until they're completely ripe:)

The orchard was here when we bought our property - some of the trees are around 50 years old!

Resting in the shade with the Bonnie dog.

The best thing about summer - bare feet!

The Syringa is our state flower...

I love our cedar trees.  They're so big and tall and smell so good.

Dewey and Freckles are an interesting pair.
They're grooming each other one minute, then biting each other and squealing the next.  Silly boys.  Bob, being an amazingly intelligent boy, stays out of it;)

Oceanspray...

My garden is doing quite well this year, although it desperately needs weeding.

I learned my lesson on over watering tomatoes last year and there's no blossom end rot to be seen!

The sheepies are enjoying their lush green pasture...

It's been unusually hot lately - in the 90s - so I've been watering a lot.
And eradicating thistles.  I couldn't find my heavy work gloves, so I settles for cutting the heads off and bagging them.  I may or may not have amused myself by muttering "Off with their heads!" while doing so...;)

The llamas have been in the brush-y unfinished upper pasture eating the brush.
They prefer brush to pasture anyway, so it works out well for everyone.

Happy Trails, y'all!

More lamb pictures...

More lamb pictures?!

Yes, more lamb pictures.

I'll say only this - right now, my sheep and lambs are my life.

They will continue to be a major part of my life for as long as I own them...which means all year.

Just thought I should warn you;)

Sherlock is an exceptionally cute lamb *grin*

That pic is actually from a few days ago when it snowed a bit.

No fresh snow today - we had sun!
And it was 60*F in town!!!  I didn't even need a jacket=D

I finally decided on names for Sweet Pea's triplets.
What could be better than the Misses Dashwood - Elinor, Marianne and Margaret.
Perfect, don't you think?

Poor Marianne came down with an ailment called "joint ill".  My sheep book had nothing whatsoever to say about it (maybe "joint ill" is a local name for some other disease??), but it's some kind of bacterial infection in the joints of the legs.  I noticed yesterday that Marianne's back legs seemed kind of stiff, and she was limping.  When it seemed worse today, I called the vet and described the symptoms.  1CC of penicillin for 5 days should fix her up.  I would appreciate your prayers though.

Thank goodness my bro isn't squeamish about giving shots - I've never been able to give my animals shots.  It's bad enough sticking a full grown horse in the neck, but giving a little lamb a shot under the skin??  No thanks...

"Um, why are you pointing that thing at me??"

All of the other lambs are doing wonderfully - running and leaping, climbing everything in sight.
It's a grand sight, indeed!
I'll try to get a video of them and post it:)

Here my friends, is my adorable pet sheep, Calvin.

Calvin is a Barbados Blackbelly sheep, and he's such a darling...to me, that is.

Mean as can be to the ewes and lambs and won't let anyone get close to him.

Except me.  I can say without hesitation that Calvin adores me.  He'll follow me anywhere, including around our property.   Without a halter and lead on.  Yep, Calvin is an exceptional boy and he is useful, too.

He eats a particularly vicious, invasive and noxious weed we have around here called Knapweed.

It's quite toxic and shouldn't be pulled unless you're wearing gloves, yet he can eat it without a problem.

God's creation never ceases to amaze me.

Okay, back to the lambs...

Just like human babies, lambs have to taste everything...including the fence.
They also enjoy tasting my clothes and my hair;)

Something I'm watching for during the lambs' first week of life are signs of starvation.
As you might image, it's critical that the lambs get enough to eat, but especially if the weather is cold and wet like it's been this spring.
Just a wee bit of momma's warm milk in their tummies, and they can stay warm in below freezing temperatures.  Once again, I am amazed by my Creator.  The instinct He's given even to a newborn lamb, the will to survive, is incredible.  Please don't tell me that all of this "just happened".  Evolved.  Look around you.  There's no way.
*climbs off soap-box*
;)

Margaret

 My bro nicknamed Margaret the "Piranha", because she likes chewing on our fingers and clothes.
I don't mind while all she has are gums, but when she finally gets real teeth...ouch!!

 The triplets:)

Beautiful Fawn.
Llama ears are so cool looking and their eyes are so sweet and soft.
Proud and supercilious as can be, but beautiful creatures.

Happy Trails y'all!