In Like a Lion

The Shepherdess from Salty Ewe apologizes for the lapse in entries since the New Year. Life on and off the farmette has been busy has fulfilling, beyond expectations in many ways. Hercules has brought all kinds of good energy to us - his quiet and calm disposition is a welcome addition to the barn - and, we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of lambs within the next six weeks or so.

The winter has been mild and with minimal snows. Our first real snow storm since winter, really, arrived this past week on March 1; we got over a foot here along the coast. The sheep stayed in all day, which is not ideal. Today, it's rainy and sleeting, with intermittent snow. A very grey day. Barn doors are open but they're choosing to stay in from what I can see so far.

Hercules as a lamb!

The anticipation of warmer days that will allow time in the garden, from early morning hours to late in the afternoon (until the mosquitos ascend) is building, and days like today add to that anxiousness. The garlic will pop first, and given the lack of cold temperatures and deep snow pack, I imagine that may happen sooner than later. Curious whether the mild winter will affect the harvest. Time will tell.

Such is the mantra of life. Time does tell. Stories unfold and life marches on, sometimes with unexpected twists that bring unspeakable joy - and sometimes deep pain. The delicate balance. Time telling truths. We wait for lambs and new life to grace our lives.

2012!

The Salty Ewe Shepherdess has been out of the writing mode of late and hopes that everyone has enjoyed the holiday season and that 2012 is off to a banner start. The sheep are all doing great and still able to 'graze' since we still have no snow in Maine. Unheard of.

Lori's great photography - Winter Sheep

Hercules has adjusted beautifully and brought all kinds of good energy to the farmette. He is gentle and inquisitive, and he's got a unique little personality that I get to see on occasion. The girls are all well and looking a little chubby, which I would rather have over bony. Their fleeces have started to thicken up, and tonight's forecast of zero degree temperatures will certainly aid in the production of more wool I think. It's been so nice not to have the heated water buckets plugged in for so long - and to be able to see the sheep moving freely aver their pasture instead of snow-locked into the areas that I clear for them in the deep snow. Having said that, we're ready for snow in New England.
Happy New Year to everyone. Wishing you the best in the coming year and thanks for reading the Salty Ewe's blog - even when weeks pass without a post.

Firsts

We did break the record for the warmest November in history, and December's started out with incredible weather as well and virtually no precipitation, and this morning I heard songbirds that should probably have flown south weeks and weeks ago. The sea smoke will definitely be appearing soon if this weather continues, as the ocean's temperature is quickly dropping and is close to 50 degrees now.

The fog was thick and hung low in the field this morning as Henry and I walked down the lane, and the sunrise was idyllic; hot pink underbellies of clouds lined the horizon, and the sky slowly lightened as the sun crept close and closer to rising. My favorite kind of sky. The moon was still up and sat high in the sky when we headed out at 6, and by the time we got home about thirty minutes later, the sun was fully up and moon had disappeared from view. We're still losing daylight but only have another two weeks or so; the winter solstice will bring the turn we all so look forward to in New England.

Hercules and the lucky ewes

Hercules continues to amaze and impress me; he's a gentle little guy with a wonderful disposition, and the two ewes that are in with him for a few more weeks are content and in all reality pregnant, too. He is inquisitive and calm, and if his offspring have half of his positive traits along with some of those beautiful markings, I suspect it will not be a problem finding new homes for them. Ideally, it would be perfect to have half the sheep on the pasture as I have now, so hopefully the market for Babydoll Sheep will pick up in the spring of 2012.

Foggy and Fair

The air this morning felt more like spring than fall. The light was incredible, and probably impossible to ever capture in an image. The sky was dimly light and a thick fog was settled over everything, with a deeper haze down in the lowest part of the field where the water runs through it. The silhouettes of the bare trees were striking against the milky sky, especially the old chestnut tree on the hill at the old Emerson place. The air was marked by strong skunk smells, which is another springtime smell - not so much in fall. It was a beautiful way to start the day. Again. When the sun finally did peek above the horizon, the streaks of pink fog that shone through the breaks in the shadows from the trees were spectacular.
We're close to breaking the record in Maine for the warmest November in history, and while there are definite downsides to this warmth (more germs and less wool) the positives are definitely winning out - with number one the quiet furnace followed immediately by fewer plowing bills.  Of course, there's a flip side to this, as there is to everything - the doctors who are treating all these viruses probably find the increase in germs a good thing in their world, and my friends who plow are none too pleased. I think the majority of people are happy however...
I saw a wooly bear caterpillar the other morning, and its brown band around the middle was pretty wide; folklore suggests that this is a sign of a mild winter ahead. Who knows? Unlike last year, the leaves are raked and composted and deck furniture is all stored before the first real snow. This slow ease into winter has been helpful in terms of preparing, so when one of these mornings the air smacks me in the face as we head out for our ritual morning walk to the ocean, I should be ready.

Wool Growing Weather

Hercules.

happy sheep 

Maya

                                             The month of November has been really balmy by Maine standards. We're having some weather today, and right along the coast it looks like it's going to be all rain. Inland, they're getting close to a foot in many areas. While this kind of warm autumn weather is great for the furnace, it's not so great for fleece growing. The sheep have responded to the hot, hot summer and mild fall by not growing very much wool on their little bodies; can you blame them?
                            Hercules has settled in beautifully, and the delivery of Bill to his new home at Shearbrooke Farm with Karen went really smoothly as well.
Reports from there are that he's adjusted well and is scoping out all of the ewes from his pen, which is shared with a funny male llama. In an adjacent pen are three more llamas - with a variety of chickens and hens running around, in and out of all the pens. It's a very beautiful spot and he'll be well cared for and loved there, so it was easy to say goodbye to the little guy.
Well, pretty easy.
Knitting away and good to have orders in the wings - for this and so much more I am deeply thankful.

Thankful.

Holidays are hard sometimes. For people...I doubt so much for sheep. Distance and time and logistics sometimes get in the way of my family being together during the holidays, and lately it's because I am the only one who lives far away from the rest and cannot always make it to holiday central, which is in Georgia. It's a long way from Maine. This year will be one of those years.
And, so it goes. It makes me appreciate the times we are together that much more. It also reminds me that many families are together for that one day (or two) and not too close the other 364; not mine, and if I had to choose, it would be to be very close for all 365 and just absent in the physical sense for a day or two.

Bill. Heading to Shearbrooke Farm! Thankful...

So, this one has nothing to do with sheep, but everything to do with the shepherd. Thanks to all you people who I don't know for reading this blog...how crazy to think you're out there in India (who are you?) and Russia (you, too?) reading about this little life on a little farm in little Maine. And, thanks to my family and friends who have been reading these words and giving me encouragement. It's been a wild and wooly trip so far, and I am deeply thankful for the chance to live this peaceful life. And thankful for the chance to share a little of it here. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

When Love Comes to Town

You've got to jump that train.

It's all about timing in life...
The arrival of the new little ram has caused quite a flurry of activity here, just as much on the human end as on the ovine end. The pens never seem secure enough, fences always need tightening and water in three pens rather than one makes for more buckets. Soon the hose will stop running down the hill, and I will start to carry the water. Incentive to get down to two buckets.                                                                                                                                    
If I had only had a video camera on Saturday afternoon. After the trip down, he was placed in a small pen by himself while everyone sniffed and baa-ed from safe distances. The ewes were looking at me, then looking at Hercules. Then at me, and back at him. The looks on their faces were classic. Classic sheep. They looked totally dumbfounded but at the same time seemed to almost me thanking me. The shepherdess projects.
He is a very cute, small ram. And, it's easy to see why Kelly has loved him so much. It is definitely a difficult aspect of the sheep raising life...and, when I think about how I have been able to handle my rams in the past it is clear that I've been lucky. Only one - a randy jacob ram with deadly horns - went to an auction; it makes me feel better thinking that he was bought by someone who wanted him for stud purposes and no other reasons. Am hopeful that Bill will find a good home where he can keep making lambs for many more years to come.

So, it seems that the little Hercules has such a following that I am hoping it will be no problem at all finding homes for the lambs that will arrive in April if all goes well.