Dog Gone!

Remember to check my new blog at http://www.zephyrsheepfarm.blogspot.com/ for sheep related photos and stories.

I didn't take any new photos of sheep or dogs this weekend. It would have been a good opportunity. Steve was here to pick up his sheep. We caught them. Trimmed everyone's hooves. Gave the lambs their second CD&T immunization. Dewormed everyone. And we sorted sheep.

There was some negotiations and paper work. I swapped Sunflower for Zinnia. I leased Doug, and Ivory, and Violet from Steve. I am holding Anoria for Steve, until the woman she was sold to can come and pick her up.

Steve left with his ewes, and his lambs, and Blizzard. I did not want photos to remember this moment. It is too sad.

I have plenty of photos of Blizzard growing up and living with me and my sheep. That is what I will remember. His affectionate grunts when I pet him. The flapping of his cheeks when he shook his head...

It is strange to go to bed and not hear Blizzard barking up and down the fence line as the night creatures come out. The possums, and raccoons, and deer, and especially the coyotes. They all knew that a big dog lived here.

It will not take them long to realize that he no longer does.

I tried to keep him. I offered to pay the vet bill for neutering, shaving, and removing his dew claws. I asked Steve several times if he might change his mind about keeping Blizzard.

Steve's logic for keeping Blizzard is that I have an electric wire around the top and bottom of my fence. His sheep need Blizzard for protection at their new home.

I could not argue against that. But I told Steve that if he ever found that he could not keep Blizzard, I wanted him back. I don't want a new puppy. I want the dog that I spent a year training and socializing. The dog that I walked twice a day to a feeding area where he would not have to defend his food from the sheep. The dog that is, just now, beginning to be a trust worthy guardian of his sheep. The dog that I have loved even when he misbehaved.

As Steve pulled away with Blizzard in a cage in the bed of his truck, and sheep baaing in a trailer, I saw Zinnia and Anoria running inside the pasture. They were following the trailer and the cries of their lambs... down the driveway... and down the road... baaing and running until they could no longer keep up with the truck and trailer. I knew how they felt when they came back to the barn, still looking for their lambs.

Peace without Passion is Death

A friend of mine was having a hard day. People she was counting on had let her down. I wanted to encourage her. I told her to hang on to her dreams. I told her that some people are idiots some of the time, and that some people were idiots all of the time. She should not sink to their level. She should make them want to rise to her level.

I also told my friend that as long as sheep were chewing their cuds, everything that is important is right in this world. Since she is not a shepherd, I hinted that this is about finding inner peace.

Having so easily shared these words of wisdom with a friend who may or may not find them encouraging, I found myself reflecting on the meaning of what I was trying to say. I suppose that some day, I should write a book, "Everything I Need to Know About Life, I Learned From My Sheep."

Some of what I learned, I learned from watching them. Some of what I learned, I learned because I was responsible for their care and well being. We have a complex relationship, my sheep and I.

But one thing that my sheep have taught me is that when I am feeling depressed, or anxious, or upset about something, I can always go out and sit with them until I feel better. There is a special kind of magic that occurs when you sit on a bale of straw or an overturned bucket in the barn or shady part of the pasture.

The sheep see that it is just you sitting there. You are not going to feed them. You are not going to give them a shot. The sheep relax. They graze. Or they begin to chew cuds.

Eyes half closed, the sheep relax. Belch. Chew, and chew, and chew, for a while. Swallow. Belch, and chew some more. Everything is right in their world when the sheep relax and chew their cuds.

And I sit there with them. I am part of their herd. And from them, I learn that everything is right in the world. In that moment, there is no need to worry.

This is not meant to say that inner peace is akin to apathy. Peace without passion is death. Sheep are quite greedy at feeding time.

So fill yourself with what is good for you, and then take some time to ruminate. That is lesson number 1 that my sheep have taught me.

One more photo that I had to post today.

OK, well maybe one more photo. I am pretty excited about these sheep.

New Faces at Zephyr Sheep Farm

Lelli's Glenfiddich is my new black Bluefaced Leicester ram. He is a yearling. He is a proven sire. And he is a very calm, gentle fellow. In this photo, he has just arrived at his new home. He is waiting to be unloaded from the trailer. Time for some fresh air and green grass.
Lelli's Alstyne is a yearling BFL ewe. She raised a single lamb which remains in Michigan. It was a little surprising to see her shorn and naked. But I did get to see her fleece in a bag. I like BFL fleeces, and I have no complaints about Alstyne. I did promise to milk her in a few days to take the pressure off of her udder since milk production does not immediately stop at weaning time.

Doesn't she have the cutest, most expressive face? :)
This is SheltrgPines Lace. She is also a yearling BFL ewe. Her son has come with her to my place where he will be allowed to continue nursing for a few more weeks. Then he will go back to Stephen Rouse in Michigan... Unless someone is interested in buying him.

Lace's ram lamb is for sale. He is still small because he was born in April, but he has a lovely fleece. I did not check his boy parts or his teeth since I was not planning to keep him. But if you live near me, and you think you might want a BFL ram, you should get in touch with me and come over to see him. As I told Stephen, it makes no sense for me to keep this boy since he is closely related to half of my BFL ewes :)

I will post more photos and tell the story of The Big Sheep Adventure of 2008 in a future post. Soon, I promise.

Many thanks to Brenda and Mark Lelli, and to Stephen Rouse for a very fun and educational weekend.

Son and Rain

We had a fun portrait shoot the other day.

Hay! Hay! Hay! What can I Say?

Ah yes, it's that time of year again. Time to be thinking about what I will feed my sheep this winter. How many sheep should I keep this winter? How many ewes do I want to breed? How much hay will I need to feed all of those sheep?

Well, I want to breed between 10 and 12 ewes this fall (including 3 ewe lambs.) I want to use a BFL ram and one or two Shetland rams, depending on whether Steve will lease some of his sheep to me for the 2008/2009 breeding/lambing season. I would think that such an arrangement would benefit both of us. Steve could keep one ram and 3 adult ewes and 4 ewe lambs, while I kept one of his rams and 3 of his adult ewes. This would reduce the number of sheep Steve has to take care of while he is fencing in pasture and building shelters, etc. And I would have the chance to use some of my favorite sheep for breeding one more time before they moved out of my flock.

I have made the sheep leasing suggestion to Steve, but did not pressure him to decide right away whether or not he would agree to it. The main difference it would make to me would be whether I will breed my two yearling ewes or try to sell them. But the total number of sheep that I intend to keep over the winter this year will be no more than 15. Three of those will be BFL's. So that is the equivalent of feeding a flock of 18 Shetland sheep.

I have calculated that I need to buy 200 bales of hay this year in order to keep that many sheep through the winter. I have been dreading the thought of buying and moving that much hay this year without Steve's help. And with frequent heavy rains falling in May and June, I wondered when there would be a stretch of dry weather lasting long enough for hay to be cut, dried, and baled.

But finally, I had the chance to begin buying hay this summer. Early Saturday morning, I loaded my first 25 bales on my truck, and hauled them home, and unloaded them, and stacked them. And thought, "Good, that is 1/8 th of the total that I need."

My son moved back in with me again, about two weeks ago. He was awake by the time I had unloaded the first 25 bales and he offered to help me with the next few loads of hay. He was a tremendous help. By the end of the day, after 4 trips across the county in my truck, we had brought home 111 bales of hay.

My hay dealer is sold out for the time being. I was not the only one buying hay from him yesterday. I am sure he sold at least 400 bales in just that one day. He is out cutting more hay today, so I have some hope of getting the rest of the hay I am wanting to buy later this week.

I found myself feeling pretty good about getting half of the hay I wanted to buy. I was thinking that the worst thing that could happen now would be that I could not get the rest of the hay that I want, but at least I could keep half of the sheep that I wanted to keep.

Then I got to thinking that I should not be thinking about the worst thing that could happen, because there is always something worse that could happen. Lightening could strike and start a fire that burns up all of my hay. My house could burn down. I could lose my job. I could have coyotes attack and kill my favorite lambs. There are way too many possible things to worry about. It is best to just to count your blessings and hope for the best. And so I shall.

The Flood Down the Road