Monday, January 11, 2010

Winter in Slow Gear

Winter on the farm is in slow gear. We feed and water the animals, check on any problems, watch the ladies grow bigger around the middle. Spring looks to be busy. We could have anywhere from 6-14 lambs and 2-4 kids. Most of the time is spent feeding the wood stoves and staying warm. Temps have been seasonal for us. Lows 5-10 and highs 20-25 degrees. This cold has been harder on the southern states. Maine is prepared for snow and we have the proper equipment to move it, sand and salt the roads. In 1989 Jacksonville, Florida had freezing temps and snow. Cars were sliding into each other and backwards on the I-95 overpasses. Hopefully, temps will return to their norms, and the orange and strawberry crops survive the freeze. We have had a big birthday. Teddy turned 20. He is no longer a teen. He is the last of the kids and now he is a man. Sometimes. He requested a Red Velvet cake and Alex made a great one. Sorry, but the candles just keep growing each year Teddy.

We always pick on him when he gets shoes. Do you know how difficult it is to find size 16 sneakers? Only one word, Internet.
It is a big joke and he doesn't mind. We even laugh about fitting a family of 4 into the shoe box.

The sheep don't mind the cold temps. They have a nice layer of wool to keep them warm. They enjoy hanging out under the trees. Several of the saplings are missing their bark. Not much in the way of grass.

We pulled the hay feeder out of the shelter to give them more room inside. They spend most of their day eating. The ram wars have ended and everyone seems to be getting along well now.

Even the cats spend most of their time indoors. Timba is the Orange Tabby and Beau is the Maine Coon.

No these aren't sweet little kitty cats. They are killers. They can hear the cat food can open from upstairs and hit the counter in the kitchen in less than 2 seconds. Don't get in their way, you could loose some digits.

The pups spend alot of their time outdoors. They don't mind the cold temps. We watch them closely to prevent any hypothermia. They love to wrestle in the snow. However......

Once inside they go crazy. We have issues. Behavior issues. Yes, they are puppies and no they do not mind very well. We don't like to crate them when inside. At this time, they have destroyed every toy they have. It is time to visit the store again for another supply of chewies and toys. We have enrolled the girls in obedience class starting tomorrow morning. Soon they will be model pups, well behaved, no more nipping and pulling on clothes. Childhood has come to an end Emma and Lucy. After all, we don't want incorrigible children.

I have images of two pups wiping out the class, knocking over the teacher, turning the whole class into barking chaos. I hope they don't get kicked out of school. That would be so embarrassing. Do they have boarding school for dogs? Can we send them out for a couple of weeks and have them come back model pups? No.... Okay we get to go to school too. Keep the cold at bay. Much Love and Prayers from Mainely Ewes Farm.
Kelly

8 comments:

Lili said...

I just watched a show on Maine coon cats and they said one way to tell is the telltale "M" mark on their forehead. I noticed your orange tabby has one too. hmmmm

katiegirl said...

I think I read all tabbies have an M on their forehead. The show I watched said it was because a tabby cat was there the night Jesus was born, and the "M" stands for Mary. LOL. I think people just make stuff up to see if we'll pass it along. ;-)

Love the pictures of the cats and dogs. And size 16 shoes! Wow! How tall is he?

Hope you all stay warm, and good luck to Emma and Lucy (and you two) in class!

Country Girl said...

Sounds much like our house minus the ewes. Stay warm!

Country Girl said...

I meant to say I've never heard of size 16, that is unreal!

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday to Teddy(belated). Those are some big shoes but I am certain he will fill them.

You are right about the cold harder down here because we,the people and animals, just aren't used to it.
I think we are about to warm back up some though. Even though it was back down to 18 here this morning.

I had a Maine Coon cat once and he was the sweetest thang! Fuzzy was his name.

Stay warm and have a great day.
Pam

Terri said...

I know how you feel with 2 young dogs in the house. Chaos! Non-stop wrestling & barking. My shelties are much smaller than yours, so I'm sure they can cause a lot more dammage. It's all in good fun, though! Spring training sounds good. We will be focusing on herding.

Eggs In My Pocket said...

Your words about Emma and Lucy made me smile and to think about the movie Marly and Me. Such a good movie. Your Teddy is such a handsome young man! Happy Birthday to him. It sounds like such a wonderful and busy time with your sheep. Stay warm! blessings,Kathleen

basicliving@backtobasicliving.com said...

Happy birthday to Teddy!!! And wow - those are some big shoes!!!! Hey - the obedience class should either be over, or well on it's way. How is it going???? Success????