A Sheep and Goat Kind of Day

We have had that kind of day. It started off with a package from Tonya from Flat Creek Wool and Pottery. I had ordered some Christmas presents and they arrived. It's so nice to get packages in the mail. This mug is Ewenice and the ornament is Ewenice too. See what I mean about a sheep kind of day?

Now the goat part of our day.... It was time to trim hooves. I will admit that I have been a bad goatmama. The littles have not had their hooves trimmed. Honestly, I was afraid. Afraid I would trim them too close and hurt them. But now...I went to Goat School. I trimmed the hooves of the deceased goats so I wouldn't hurt my babies. And to be completely honest again, I was still afraid. Afraid I would take too much off. Poor Sophie was the first. We took our time. She was patient for such a little girl. Of course a little grain in a bowl of hay kept her busy. She was picking through the hay trying to get every last piece of feed with those little goatie lips. Her hooves may still be a bit long but I didn't cut her. Actually, I did a rather good job on all of the littles. They all look beautiful and have nice feet too.

After this harrowing experience I got to reward all of us. I sat in the stall and took a goat break. Even Carina got into the love fest. She has been a bit standoffish. I think she is starting to warm up to us now. We made some changes for her. All of the goats have switched over to a sweet feed rather than pellet food. Even the littles liked this change. Now Carina finishes all of her grain. Just look at those lips. Ain't she sweet.

Isabella wanted to get in line early for feeding. I didn't have the heart to tell her she was about 3 hours early.

Edward wanted to get into the Twilight/New Moon mood. Here is his Cullen look. Sensitive but a bit standoffish.

Now for a big surprise. We got a call from a neighbor last night asking if we would like to take 2 Angora and Cashmere mixed goats. We were ecstatic. Yes, we said. Emphatically, YES! They're mother and daughter. This is Mercedes (renamed Sadie, after my grandmother) and no name (renamed Curly Shirley). Nothing, and I mean nothing around her doesn't have a name. Except for food. We don't name food.

Carina and the group are getting used to the additions. After all, they were new at one time too. Now they are family. One big goatie family.

The outdoor flock came closer to check out the new arrivals. I'm sure that they will all get along in time. Right now there is a bit of pushing and shoving till the pecking order is achieved. Sadie seems to hold her own. I fear the littles will still be on the bottom of that order again.

Our farm keeps growing and changing. I guess that is how life is too. Forever changing. Much love and prayers from Mainely Ewes Farm.

Kelly

Yes Sir, Yes Sir, Four Bags Full

Mainely Ewes Farm has had it's first fall shearing. This is a milestone for us. We were very worried that we wouldn't be able to get the sheep shorn in time. We had contacted other shearers and unfortunately they didn't even return our calls. We have a small flock, only 4 ewes to be shorn. Our numbers will increase by spring. We will be going to Illinois to pick up 2 bred ewes and a ram in late November. We will be getting 3 bred ewes from Frelsi Farm in late November. We will have Truffles and Baby for spring shearing. So by spring we will have 12 sheep to be shorn. Out of desperation I realized we have The Maine Sheep Breeders Association as a resource. There was only one shearer listed for all of Penobscot County. It is a big county too. Robert Crocker was willing to come and set up for our small flock. Icelandic sheep are notorious for being difficult to shear. They are not docile and polite sheep that lay there and let you do anything to them. They are a primitive breed of sheep who will thrash and fight when threatened. That is instinct from years of surviving in the rough climate and many predators in Iceland. We got the sheep in the barn early morning. This is their first time in the barn and they were a bit leery of everything.
"Oh, this don't look good girls. Let's give him a real work out!"

This young man has been involved with 4H since he was a small boy and learned to shear sheep at an early age. Esther wasn't too bad. She sat there still and quiet for about 15 seconds and tried to make a break for it. Robert was having no part of that. She got tossed right back on her batookis. Hooves were trimmed first. We could definitely tell that our pasture has been wet this year. No foul smell but the hooves needed a good dose of Dr. Naylor's Hoof N Heel.

Esther gave up and let him finish.

This picture is blurred because Robert works fast. He completed 4 sheep in about an hour hooves and all.

He is a one man show. I don't think my back could take this.

Each girl got the same treatment.

What a sweet face. "HELP ME"

This was the end product of our morning. We have 4 fleeces to clean or "skirt". Meaning, pull all of the brambles and burdock out. We will mow their pasture this week to help eliminate the burdock for next year. I have been manually ripping out the thistle. What an evil weed. Even the goats won't eat it. Each season we learn. Progress is slow but steady. We plan on fencing the hay field next year. We can put the sheep and goats in to eat after the second cut. They can eat this grass till we shear in the fall. The fleece will be free from weeds and easier to skirt.

Fuzzy waited patiently outside for her girls to return. She did a double take when they first came out of the barn.

She had to check the girls out. I know she started laughing at this point.

The girls are happy outside. We moved them to the pasture with the covered shelter. Life goes on. Next step? The dairy goats arrive next Tuesday from Stony Knolls Farm. I don't even have a milking pail yet. Where is my Hoegger catalog? Much love and prayers from Mainely Ewes Farm.

Kelly

Meet Fuzzy

We were at one of our other favorite stores last week looking for a water trough for the sheep, minerals, feed, treats. Ok, so they don't need treats but I do. I got me a new pair of shoes! Yehaw! I love Tractor Supply. We are getting one in Bangor and I think I might just have a fit. I will try to contain myself but it will be very difficult. Boy did I get off subject. See what Tractor Supply does to me. Anyhow, what I was trying to get at was we met this very nice sales lady named Tracy and being the shy quiet type that I am, I started telling her all about our new sheep and the goats and how excited we were. We got on the subject of guardian dogs and how we now felt that we needed to protect our loved ones as much as possible. Sadly, she is having to downsize her animals. Happily for us she has a guardian Llama that she would like to find a safe and happy home for. I almost came off the floor. Her llama is names Fuzzy (from the Muppets) and she if four years old, very protective of her fiber goats and needs a home. So we made a play date!

Please meet Fuzzy. She loves goats and sheep, does not like dogs, likes cats and tolerates people. She was a bit shy at first. She is staying at a friends farm in Harmony, Maine temporarily. She has just been shorn and I think she is a bit embarrassed at the new do. Haven't we all wished we had a rock or two to hide behind with that terrible perm era known as the 80's?

She is not a cuddly llama, she was not imprinted by people early in her life. She doesn't spit or bite people but will spit and bite dogs. Just our kind of llama.

This little guy with her is not her cria. He will remain with Tracy. Fuzzy does not like the little one. He is a sweet cuddly llama. But not what we are looking for.

We have to get shelter for Fuzzy ready. The five foot tall sheep shelter just won't do now. We need more space for her height. She has had her CD&T and been de -wormed, but we have to have the vet come out and give her a rabies injection and check up. We have been busy putting up electric fence insulators but we ran out. Darn, we will have to go and pick up more at our local Blue Seal. Not nearly as much fun as Tractor Supply but a heck of a lot closer. The pasture is beginning to take on a Fort Knox look to it. The weather here has been stormy with on and off showers. On our way home we came across the most beautiful scene. This is another reason I love Maine.

And this.......

and this......

and this......

Boy am I glad I'm not standing under that rain cloud. Much love and prayers from Mainely Ewes Farm.

Kelly

Spiders have a life on the farm. They are in the barn, in the window sills, in the corner, in the chicken coop, you name it and they have staked their claims. I love spiders. They help keep down the fly population in summer. Anything that keeps flys down is good in my book. This one was in the bathroom window. The key thing to keep in mind is that she was on the outside. That's a good thing too. The weather is getting cooler and the leaves have already lost their color and fell to the ground. Fall is here and on its way out. Winter is reminding us that it's not far away. The folks in "The County" (an area north of us near the Canadian border) have already had 6 inches of snow last week. In Maine you are either born here or are "from away". When you don't understand something and ask a Mainer about it, they get a twinkle in their eye and a slight mile on their face and say "Oh, that's ok, you don't know, you're from away". I'm from away. I love Maine and Mainers too. I was sitting here looking at pictures from this summer and thought I would try and post them on Blogspot. It taint easy folks. I have to put the pictures on first in reverse order then type. Isn't there an easier way? Anyhow, here are some highlights of our summer. I hope you enjoy.

My daughter, Sue, and I went to Frelsi Farm to put a deposit on the sheep that we will be getting next year. They were so sweet. This ram was bottle fed and very loving. We spent the day traveling back roads and enjoying each others company. We stopped for lunch at "The Yankee Smoakhouse" barbecue. It was so yummy.

Alex, T and I went strawberry picking. Greed is a bad thing. We picked 19 quarts and they were divided between preserves and berries in the freezer for later this winter. We did give 2 quarts to the neighbors.

Maine has a wild life. No, not the one of clubs, bright lights and dancing. This beautiful girl came up one afternoon while we were working on the back of the house. She was curious about what we were up to. She kept easing closer and closer. By late afternoon she was laying in the grass about 200 ft away. People were stopping and taking pictures. A real traffic jam. In Maine two cars are a traffic jam. Anyhow, we went to work that evening and the next morning when we got home we had moose tracks by the back door. She had came all the way up to the house. I bet the cats had a spazz.

This summer we decided to let the chickens out of the coop. So far so good. Samson our main Roo looks out for our hens. He is such a handsome devil. Makes the hens swoon.

Most places have guard dogs, we have a guard cats. This is Oreo watching this hen very closely. He never bothers her. The cats think that the chickens are more powerful than they let on.

The girls are now free range during the day. We have 45 Barred Rock Hens. We are getting about 32-36 eggs a day. You may ask what we do with all those eggs. Well, we try to sell what we can at work. We give neighbors and family eggs. Actually we push eggs on everyone in shouting distance. They are all locking their doors when we stop by. Hmm. We have all the makings to build and paint a sign, EGGS FOR SALE, and Alex is a wonderful artist too. However, time is not on our side. When the masterpiece gets done I will take a picture of it and post. We take the left over eggs to the homeless shelter in Bangor. These wonderful people provide 3 meals a day and have no food budget. Everything is donated. The white roo in this pic is named "The Captain". He is for entertainment only. He doesn't lay any eggs, picks on all humans except T. He decided to make friends with T and then T wouldn't let us send him to the butcher with the rest of his brethren. He is the size of a turkey now and pushy as all get out. I keep threatening him with the roasting pot but I think he knows better.

At night the girls and Samson (the mostest handsome roo) go back in the coop for safety and warmth. It is getting chilly in Maine now. I hope you have enjoyed this update. We have been working a lot at the hospital and hence work on the house has slowed a bit. We will try to post more often. I will definitely work on posting pictures. I feel there has to be an easier way. Take care and everyone have a peaceful night and remember to Vote. We need everyone to be there.

Kelly

Back at last

Well what do you know, the computer at work decided to let me on. You never can tell what its going to do. I know it has been quite a while but let me try to get all that we have done in some sort of order. In July we picked 19 quarts of strawberries and made our first preserves. Well we made some preserves and some syrup. Pectin , it seems is magic and we are novices at its control. We have about half the jars (about 25) that are just too soupy to be called preserves. But its good on ice ceram. And the freezer has a goodly amount in their natural state. Our chickens have matured nicely. We now get about 30 eggs a day and are selling them. We are talking to a caterer and that would be sweet if they want 12 dozen a week. We got 25 cornish cross roosters to raise as meat birds and I will not be sorry to see them go. All they do is eat and sleep. And they are not nice when you go in to feed, they peck at your legs constantly and spur you. So I say " to the freezer with you old buggers" and I will keep my affection for my sweet brown hens. Ted built us another set of nest condos as 9 was not enough. The girls were pushing and shoveing and laying eggs everywhere. Now they are much happier. The weather has been an issue for us all summer. It rained here in upper Maine for a month straight, every day. No one could get hay cut. Well some did but not us. The fellow who was supposed to cut our hay does not like to square bale but has both a square and round baler. He gets half the hay for the job. This year he thought he had a lease on a much bigger field a so kept putting ours off till the rain started. When it finally ended we had hay and weeds and his lease fell thru so he came and cut ours. Then his square baler wouldn't work so he round baled everything, except sheep want dry hay and we have no tractor to move round bales. So we have an empty barn and round bales sitting out in the rain. He on the other hand can use round balse and has the tractor. Go figure. So Kelly and I have decided to go to the USDA and jump thru their hoops in the hopes of getting a loan for a tractor mow bar, rake , and baler. With 20 acres of hay we can do our own. So additionally, due to weather, high grass, and general lack of funds we still don't have our fence posts in or fence wire purchased and up. We did , however make a trip down to Skowhegan and check out the Tractor Supply Company. What a candy store! They tell us one is coming to Bangor next year. I can't wait. We have a pellet stove paid for and are waiting and waiting for Lowes to get it in. We've been 5th on the list for a month. Pellets are also reserved thru our feed store. The sheep are coming in January so we have much to get ready. The second side of our old barn is now all cleared out and just a few repairs needed for the sheep to come. I have to build a bunch of doors before winter gets here. Now kelly has decided to get some dairy goats. I have to find out about mixing the goats with the icelandics and what the differences in care are. Her Soap making is going great with many different kinds of wonderful all natural goat milk soap. Selling well. If we can ever figure out how to get the web site up and running you can all see it. Now she is going to make bath bombs and maybe lotion. I have started making cheese. So far Mozzerella and ricotta and soft chees spreads. A neighbor has goats and lots of lovely milk and is going to teach me to make cherve though I still can't pronounce it. Lets see what else... Teddy, Kellys youngest is off to college this last weekend. Phones and says he loves it so that is good. The house sure is quiet. The bees are doing well according to Kelly. I still look from an allergic distance. The back of the house has the siding completed and all the kitchen cabinets are in. We built a huge island around the chimney and it has lots of custom stuff like tall sheet pan cabinets and cutting board slots and soda can bins and is all tiled. We took down the wall that was so cold in the kitchen last winter and found..surprise, no insulation at all. nothing, just the ouside boards from when that end of the house was a barn 160 yrs ago. So it is now insulated and sheetrocked but has yet to be painted. All the bedrooms upstairs are finished. Floors are done, walls painted and decorated. Thats 5 rooms. All that is left up there is the hall and the yet empty bathroom. Someday!We did end up with some tomatoes squash cabbages brussels, lots of Italian peppers and onions. The grape vines are ok as are the raspberries but the blackberry didn't make it. The blueberry bushes look fair. Our asparagus patch lots like it will be ok too. Some of the trees are already changing. The days grow perceptably shorter up here and I made a big double batch of homemade bake beans. Must be fall coming. I am headed to NH in Oct for my eldest sons wedding and have been clothes shopping, which I hate. but I finally have something to wear. Kell'y birthday was last week and mine is in 2 weeks and so time marches on, right over us. All her kids were up last weekend which was loads of fun. Good to see them and the grandbabies. well thats it for now. Glad to be back. Alex