Teenagers . . . .

I have human teenagers, and believe me, they're no walk in the park, but the teenagers that are really frustrating me these days are of the wooly variety.

Sparkles, apparently, has had her fill of parenting despite the fact that her two teenage rams are still in desperate need of it. Hickory and Ash are continually jumping through the electric fence and taking jaunts around our yard. They really love the fallen apples in our side yard, but are not afraid to adventure all the way up to the front yard for some greener grass.

And they've started corrupting our two orphaned ewes, Violet and Lily. Poor girls, without a mother, did they ever stand a chance against these two good-looking guys?

The other moms, Peridot, June and EmmyLou have managed to keep tight reins on their children, so I'm not sure what's going on with Sparkles. Maybe it's because they're boys?

Hunter and Axel can quickly "herd" (aka chase with wreckless abandon) the lambs back into the fences, but because of these four, we've been pricing woven-wire fencing for all the fields. What a pain!

What a Summer!

It's been so busy . . . Matthew leaving for college, a wonderful trip to my parents' house in Texas, getting the shop filled with some much-needed inventory, and then off again to North Carolina to soak up some sun!

Thankfully, we have a nice, boring rest of August planned. I've been away from the blog for a while, so I'm going to ease back into the swing of things with this short post and a few farm pictures!

Hickory is standing guard as Sparkles, Buttercup, Peridot and Rose munch away.

Chicken, Wyeth, EmmyLou and Aspen tending the grass.

I think Wyeth is simply perfect! 

My No-Good, Very Bad Day

What a crummy day. 

Yesterday we moved our chicks and ducks out to the big coup, but this morning my in-laws called to say that they found 10 dead chickens in the coup-yard. Apparently, the chicks went out the coup door and couldn't get back in. With the rain and a bit of a drop in temperature, they couldn't keep their body temperature up.

Once I got that call, I realized how cool it had gotten, and went out to check on my sheep. Emerald was in the tall grass not moving. She'd been struggling with parasites and anemia, but had seemed stronger over the weekend. Dave (FIL) and I had to use the riding mower to get her into the barn. I warmed her up with towels, a heater, a heat lamp and a blow dryer, but she wasn't really responding. 

The vet came out and said that pneumonia had also set in, and so at her recommendation, I decided to put her down. I feel terrible. Hindsight is always 20/20, and I should have locked her in the barn last night. I just took it for granted that she was stronger than she really was.

Now we have two little orphan lambs, but they're 8 weeks old now capable of weaning. It's just sad to see them out there without their mom. And I'll really miss Emerald; she was a wonderful, sweet ewe, a great mother and had an excellent fleece. 

Robin Update 5.22.13

They're getting pretty squished in their nest.

Too tire to pose for the camera . . . 

The parents were close-by this morning yelling at me as I took pictures.

Daddy:

Mommy:

Baby Robin Update 5.21.13

Got some good pictures of them today!