Dances With Ewes

Illness Strikes the Homefront....

2011-12-14T13:02:00.002-05:00

My husband had open heart surgery with five bypass grafts placed October 21st, 2011. He returned to work this week after eight weeks of medical disability.
My mother was diagnosed with advanced bladder cancer also in October. She had her first surgery on October 7th, 2011 and her last surgery on November 21st, 2011. After a 16 day stay in the hospital she was discharged to rehab at a skilled nursing facility, 15 minutes from here. The surgeon was unable to remove her bladder due to the advanced condition of the disease. She has an ileal conduit with a urostomy that she is learning to cope with..........Needless to say, I haven't blogged much lately!
The sheep are all fine and doing well, something I am much grateful for......I have some new pics of our sheep I would like to get posted but I don't know exactly when I'll have the time.......

Everyone stay well!!!!

Farming and Back Pain

2011-09-02T11:54:00.002-04:00

Back pain has really slowed me down these past couple of months. My hubby has had to step up and help while my back is recuperating. I took a couple of months of doctor prescribed physical therapy earlier this summer. I have ceased mowing the yard and weeding...... tasks that my hubby has taken over. I am going to sign up for yoga to help increase my back's flexibility.
Here is a link for more info..........
All farmers out there, please take care of your back and remember to use proper lifting techniques!

Guinea!!!!!

2011-08-12T15:07:00.000-04:00

Whatever possessed us to acquire these fowls? We were thinking pasture management through natural means.....the guineas would eat the snails and slugs that harbor meningeal worm......problem solved!

Wow......they are very noisy and kinda scary to look at. Up close they remind one of a clown from a bad horror movie..so my husband remarks!
They roam the farm and pastures daily calling loudly to one another, but I am starting to appreciate their watchdog like qualities. If only they weren't so LOUD!!!!!

Weather Conditions Affect all Farmers............

2011-07-26T17:54:00.003-04:00


Indiana October 2010

...........that goes without saying! A link I found via The Coming Depression from Bloomberg

Dust from Corn Harvest .........Indiana October 2010

about current drought conditions across Texas and how it is affecting the costs of hay nationally. There is interesting info on corn production and ethanol.......a good read in my humble opinion.

Even Though It's too Hot to Blog, Our First Tractor........

2011-07-21T10:35:00.003-04:00

A Case 1949 VAC arrived at our farm on July 9th, 2011. Boy, have we been excited about this! It does run and we will use it to work the farm. We plan to restore it to it's original condition in the future....

My hubby with the tractor.......

This smile about says it all!

It's Too Hot To Blog!

2011-07-20T10:49:00.001-04:00

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ind/

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=ind&wwa=all

Waiting for the Vet.........and the Heat!

2011-07-18T09:57:00.001-04:00

Rambo's castration day is here.........I'm kinda anxious and hope that all goes well for him. He and Madonna are in the cleaned out center aisle of the barn.
It is very hot and we are entering a dangerous heat wave for the coming week. We will try to keep the animals as comfortable as possible. My hubby cleaned out the walk through yesterday which has a concrete floor . It was horrible heat conditions yesterday here on the farm. We had to take frequent breaks while working.
We will keep an eye on the animals and hope for the best in the coming week.
Everyone stay as cool as possible!

Slaughter or Castration?

2011-07-13T10:21:00.001-04:00

What to do with an intact ram.........slaughter or castration? Rambo has bred the Dor Galen flock once, resulting in a nice 2011 lamb crop. We are sharing a Horned Dorset ram with Tim, who will be used for breeding purposes this fall.....( the ram, not Tim!). Rambo has been gentle and non -aggressive with us. He produced the largest fleece I have ever seen on this farm when we sheared him this past spring. I've noticed that he is with the ewes if they are not feeling well, so I've used him as a type of barometer for the flock.
My hubby made an appointment for Rambo and Nemo at the local slaughterhouse for this coming Thursday. I understand the necessity of having to slaughter intact ram lambs, but it is very hard emotionally to deal with......at least, it is for me. My husband is more practical about the matter, but he said I could check with Dr. Culbertson about castration for Rambo. Nemo, on the other hand, needs to be slaughtered to see if the Dor Galen breed we are developing can be dual purpose and used for meat as well as fleece.
I called Dr. Culbertson this morning. He will be here this coming Monday morning to castrate Rambo here on the farm.
Nemo will be going for slaughter this Thursday. He will have done his duty for the survival of the flock.
Farming is not an easy occupation...................

Grandkids Come Visiting!

2011-07-08T16:18:00.000-04:00

Summer is for grandchildren visiting the farm. We are blessed with beautiful grandchildren, but we don't see them very often since they live so far away. Anytime they are here is special.......

The first grandchild to visit was the youngest grandchild, Drew. He will be two in October and he was here with his mom and dad on Memorial Day weekend. Here he is with his mom, Rhiannon, holding him on our front porch. He loved the "animals", especially the chickens. It was a hot day , but he had a great time. His parents live in Alexandria, Virginia.
Over the Fourth of July, we had our grandchildren who live in Bloomington, Indiana, a one and a half hour drive south of here....one way. The youngest of the group, Christian, had never seen fireworks before so we drove to Sheridan, Indiana for a fireworks display.

The oldest grandchild is our grand daughter, Elizabeth. She is thirteen and attends middle school in Bloomington. She wants to be a writer and a teacher.

Jonathan is ten and loves the farm! He loves to help gather chicken eggs. He is a very polite boy and tells the chickens, "Excuse me chicken. I need your egg!"

This is Christian, the youngest of the crew. he is seven and wants a farm of his own when he grows up. He was a great weed puller and as he fed the weeds to the chickens, he exclaimed, "Now we will have hundreds of eggs !"

They had great fun with GrandPa's goat , Blitzen.......

A great time was had by all...............

Some Summer Color.........

2011-07-06T13:06:00.000-04:00

Still waiting on the color splash from Black-eyed Susan..............should happen in the next couple of days............

Milking Scottish Blackface

2011-07-03T05:48:00.000-04:00

"You learn something new every day", is a familiar quote. Here is a link to a great website I discovered and a great post about milking Blackies. Wild Thing, Mild Thing.......you better watch out!

Tadiel

2011-06-30T09:50:00.000-04:00

Here is a recent photo of Tadiel.......Miniel's surviving twin. She is the sheep in the foreground with horns, facing right. The other sheep is one of Tim's visiting ewes.
I wish Tadiel's sister, Miniel, was still here, but she is not........I still miss her..........
Tadiel is a nice sheep, although she has a different personality than Miniel. Tadiel is a Shetland/ Dor Galen cross. She has a nice fleece which has characteristics of both breeds. I say she is a "keeper" !

Bonnie Girl Up Close and Personal

2011-06-29T11:23:00.000-04:00

My hubby took this great photo of Bonnie.......

Dor Galen Flock in the Back Paddock

2011-06-29T10:51:00.000-04:00

The Setting of the Summer Sun

2011-06-24T10:15:00.000-04:00

Some Light Summer Reading

2011-06-22T15:16:00.000-04:00

I'm on page 66 of 1299 total pages. The novel? ............ War and Peace by Tolstoy. The NookColor is a great device, well suited for undertaking such a daunting task. If any of my readers have some extra time on their hands this summer, try some pages. You might be surprised!

A Glad Summer Solstice Image........

2011-06-22T14:20:00.001-04:00

Mild Thing , Our Scottish Blackface Ewe

2011-06-22T11:02:00.007-04:00

My hubby blade sheared her a couple of weeks ago. She is a registered Scottish Blackface born in 2003 at Littledale Farm in Wisconsin. Her sister, Wild Thing, was acquired at the same time. We are talking about breeding "the girls" one more time. The plan is to stand them to a registered Horned Dorset ram to introduce more diversity into the Dor Galen breed.

Mild Thing 2011

Here is a link to Littledale Farm for more info on the Scottish Blackface breed.

Mild Thing Fall 2010

Here is my husband's post on Mild Thing......

Like Mother, Like Daughter

2011-06-20T17:28:00.001-04:00

Here is a photo of Scarface (mother) and Bonnie (daughter)............
Scarface came to us in 2009 from Tim's flock. She had her face injured by a dog while we were away from the farm. We nursed the wound on her face for six weeks. The wound was to the skull and I did normal saline wet to dry dressing changes to her face daily plus I gave her antibiotics. We asked Tim if we could buy her from him and he agreed to the sale. She became quite tame and very friendly.
She surprised us with Bonnie in February 2010. We didn't realize she was pregnant but Bonnie was a healthy ewe lamb.
Scarface is a Border Leister/ North Country Cheviot cross. Bonnie was sired by a Blue Face Leister ram.
We enjoy them immensely.......

Mary Jane's Farm This is Not!

2011-06-16T12:20:00.002-04:00

For those of you who haven't heard of Mary Jane's Farm check it out......

As I was putting my first load of laundry in at 8 AM this morning, I saw five or six ewes from Tim's flock stroll by the window. They were on the other side of the fence in our neighbor's cornfield, heading towards the highway and on their way back to Ladoga, Indiana as far as I could tell. I yelled at them and they saw me and started trotting back from whence they came. I went out to the hayloft west window where I have a good view of the back and west fence line. The sheep were already back by that time so I couldn't get an exact place where they had re-entered the pasture, but I had a general direction. The rest of Tim's flock was milling about the east paddock bleating to be fed grain. " Sorry, Girls,,,,I said. "You have to eat pasture while you're here!" I got in touch with my husband at work and relayed to him the incident. He instructed me to go to the hayloft and get the garden fence remaints to repair the fence. He also told me where the fencing pliers were located in the barn.
Blitzen, our Boer goat was not cooperative this morning so I struggled with his 250+ pound self and I was not winning. I got his goat attention by food that I put in his stall then locked him in.
Armed with my shepherd's crook and the garden fence, I proceeded to the west fence line and walked down it looking for breaks. I was under the scrutiny of Tim's flock who followed me at a distance all the time as they continued to graze.
About midway down the fence , I discovered a very low place where the sheep could hop across. By the look of the freshly trampled grass, that is where they had accomplished their get away. I placed the garden fence across the top of the last row of barbed wire and discovered that the fencing pliers had escaped my denim jacket pocket. I had to secure it the best I could without the fencing pliers.
I then returned to the barn where I found the fencing pliers in the goat's stall.........

This is decidedly not Mary Jane's Farm!!!!!!!!!!!

Butterfly and Lavender

2011-06-15T22:13:00.001-04:00

This image was captured by me in our yard a few days ago......

Sheep Come Visiting!

2011-06-15T10:02:00.001-04:00

Tim's flock of forty one ewes arrived a couple of days ago. They are Border Leister, North Country Cheviots, Blue Face Leister crosses, with a Dorper and I'm not sure what, included in the mix.

We had fun with this following photo of a sheep with huge ears. Tim likes to breed for big ears!

The sepia tones give this photo an "Old West" ambiance.

Here is Bonnie, our Blue Face Leister/ Border Leister cross..............She is the sheep in the middle with Little Mac on her left, cleaning the grain from her luscious fleece.

The flock is here for a couple of weeks to recuperate from lambing and weaning this past spring.
We will certainly enjoy them while they visit!

Our Contemplative LLama

2011-06-14T22:16:00.006-04:00

Bill, as he contemplates the setting sun........

What thoughts ruminate through a ruminant's mind at this time of day? Is he thinking thoughts of how brief his life here is on earth or is he remembering a beautiful day filled with good grazing and perfect weather? Does he wonder about approaching storms as he scans the horizon or is he satisfied with the good job performance he has accomplished today?
I wonder..............

" It's Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature"

2011-06-13T12:31:00.000-04:00

What are we doing to our food supply? To answer that question, go to this link..... Our health and the health of animals and plants are our responsibility. The basis of health, human and otherwise, is directly
related to what we eat and produce. We need to be smart consumers and make wise choices, not only for our health, but the future health of our planet.

Oh, For a Tractor!

2011-06-11T00:43:00.001-04:00

We still need a tractor and haying equipment. I hate to see all that hay go to waste. It is waist high and full of seed heads. I can barely see the sheep as they graze. Our farmer friend, Tim is going to bring his flock of forty sheep over for a couple of weeks to help graze the pasture. Bill, the llama should get a kick out of that!

My Wonderful Hubby in Dreads!

2011-06-06T11:42:00.002-04:00

Actually, these are Bonnie's locks stuck under his hat. Too much shearing affects the brain!

Another of Brittany's Girls........

2011-06-01T09:23:00.000-04:00

Here she is...................

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait............

2011-05-31T22:50:00.001-04:00

This is my last post of the month. I just read Kelly's post at OK Acres. These pics are for her........

I've waited for this display since 2007. When I moved to this farm in 2007, this rose bush was sending up four shoots. I didn't know what type of rose or what color. I silently speculated........

perhaps it is a tea rose, I carefully dug around it and watered it. I was hoping to see it bloom that spring. The goats ate it that year and the next. The last couple of years I pruned it back without the help from the goats. I did not prune the large canes this spring as I noticed last year's growth was climbing toward the support. My hubby put rabbit droppings at the base of the plant last fall. This year.............voila!

For you, Kelly................

Rambo's Horns

2011-05-30T19:05:00.022-04:00

Rambo is entering his second year of life. His sire was a Horned Dorset and his ewe was a Scottish Blackface. Here is a pic from last year of his horns...........

2010

And here are a couple of pics of his horns from 2011.....Notice the second curl starting to form.

2011

Mini Chunk!

2011-05-27T11:00:00.000-04:00

Chunky Bun's girl, Mini Chunk! Again , note the resemblance to her mother, Chunky.

One of Brittany's Girls

2011-05-26T20:40:00.001-04:00

Here is one of Brittany's girls. She looks alot like her mother and we hope she will have Brittany's excellent ability to raise healthy triplets.

Our Vet Visits the Farm

2011-05-18T16:09:00.002-04:00

Dr. Culbertson D.V.M. came to the farm last week to see our youngest Dor Galen ram. He was born April 29th and we attempted to castrate him when he was two days old. We thought we had both testicles in the scrotum before we banded him, but one week later, my husband could not feel anything in the scrotal sac.
We called Dr. Culbertson for an assessment and took the band off as suggested by his staff. The vet arrived on May 12th as scheduled and examined him. He could feel nothing in the scrotal sac or the lamb's abdomen. He thought there might remain some residual tissue in the sac so he reapplied the band and suggested we wait until he was four months old then re examine him for any intact testicles. It was fun to have the vet out and see our farm, I asked if I could get a pic of him for the blog and he gave permission. I will post it here after we get it uploaded to the computer......

Update 5/26/2011

Dr. Culbertson D.V.M.

Our Farm Dog, Willie.....

2011-05-16T20:16:00.002-04:00

A sketch of Willie snoozing on the couch, his favorite place to dream.............
I did this with drawing pencils a couple of days ago. Enjoy!!

The Fiber Event at Greencasle Results

2011-04-18T12:35:00.000-04:00

What a cold, rainy couple of days for vendors at The Fiber Event! We had some raw fleece sales and some yarn sales, but we didn't do as well as in the past couple of years. I suppose nearly $4 a gallon gas prices didn't help or the general state of the economy. We did sell all our Dor Galen breed fleeces, so that was very encouraging. Bad economy or not, we will continue to hang in here and develop our new breed.

Shearin' Those Sheepies!

2011-04-10T20:59:00.003-04:00

Some photos from today of Hubby shearing Cory and Meliah......

Cory was first. You can see our new sheep shearing stand that we purchased this year........

Cory's fleece seemed spectacular this year.........

He stood very still for Hubby......

A gorgeous cascade of silver and browns.......

Meliah's fleece looked tiny in comparison, but she is a wee little Shetland who stood very still while sheared........

Missin' Those Babies......

2011-04-07T13:50:00.000-04:00

Our farmer friend, Tim, picked up the three ewe lambs we were babysitting. I miss their backporch antics and greeting bleats. Here's a photo hubby took of them last week..........

Brittany's Redemption

2011-04-06T11:57:00.001-04:00

Brittany has redeemed herself in my Hubby's eyes. She is raising her triplet ewes and no bottle babies from her ( so far...)! Here is a photo he took of her yesterday.....

Brittany and Lambs

And here is a photo I took through our dining room window with one of her lambs playing on her back...

Playtime

She has always been an excellent ewe in my eyes..........

Not so Good News....

2011-04-05T22:15:00.000-04:00

Sweetie lost both lambs. The first was stillborn and the second was also. Neither lamb looked fully developed although the first was much larger and more developed than the second. We are both disappointed and concerned for the ewe. She has not delivered the afterbirth yet so we are continuing to monitor her and hope there will be no further problems.

As I post, Sweet #17 is in labor.........

2011-04-05T14:27:00.000-04:00

"Sweetie" started labor about 11;30 this morning. She is another first time mother so we are watching her closely. I will update later.............

Information About the Horned Dorset Breed

2011-04-01T16:32:00.000-04:00

A good read on the Horned Dorset.........

Sidonzo's Art Gallery

2011-03-31T12:54:00.000-04:00

We have a very talented daughter who is into Japanese Anime and Manga illustration. If you would like to view her art, click this link!

A Nice Ram's Head Image on a U.K. Parish Boundary Marker

2011-03-30T14:58:00.001-04:00

Here' the link....

Dor Galen Triplets are Born This Afternoon..........

2011-03-29T21:32:00.000-04:00

Wow...........It seems to be raining lambs here at the farm! Brittany gave birth to three ewe lambs at 1:30 this afternoon! She has been taking excellent care of them so far. We are checking them frequently to make sure they are nursing. They are in the center aisle of the barn with fresh hay to keep them warm. We just finished giving the three ewe lams we are babysitting their evening bottles. Right now all three are sleeping on the backporch rug..........my husband just asked if I was tired..........that would be a "yes"!

Look What Arrived on Our Backporch This Morning..........

2011-03-29T12:50:00.002-04:00

Triplet Ewes

Our farmer friends asked us to babysit these three triplet lambs. Their mother ewe passed away last night and we told them we would help them out. We have babysitting duties until this Friday when they will be picked up and returned home to become "pet sheep" as requested by their little boy. They are Clun Forest crossed with a Blueface Leicester ram. They all sleep together and pronk and play on the back porch. Nemo might get introduced to them in a couple of days.

Helen of Dover

2011-03-24T08:58:00.000-04:00

Dor Galen ewe #14 has a new name. She was sheared yesterday after hubby got home from work.
I thought such a noble sheep with a beautiful face deserved a fair appellation, therefore, Helen of Dover is now her name. She gave us a worthy fleece.......... soft, with alot of crimp, Dorset-like in appearance. There is decidedly more vegetable matter in the Dor Galen fleeces this year which does not make me happy, but we determined that the hay rack from which we have been feeding them needs modification.
I'm hoping to get a photo of her and shall post it later.

Madonna

2011-03-22T12:31:00.001-04:00

Sometimes a sheep's name will come to the shepherd after a sheep displays a certain character trait. We had our experience with Brittany's mothering skills which produced Little Mac, our first bottle lamb. The Dor Galen breed that we are developing is crossed with Horned Dorsets and Scottish Blackface. Dorsets are known for their good mothering skills as well as the Scottish Blackface, so we thiught we had that covered. Brittany proved the exception to the rule when she was a first time mother. We bred her for a second time this year and are waiting for the results with Brittany having a second chance to prove herself. We will see...........
Dor Galen ewe #15 gave birth to Nemo a couple of days ago. Knowing she is a first time mother, we were a little nervous about her mothering abilities, but she has proven to be a most attentive,affectionate mother. I spent some time with her yesterday and her new lamb. Her name came to me and now she bears the name of "Madonna". Here's another photo I took of her and Nemo, a.k.a. "Stock Tank Survivor"...............

Chunky Sheared

2011-03-21T20:13:00.000-04:00

Here is Chunky sheared. She looks pitiful in this photo............looks like she is saying, "Hey! Where's my nice, woolly coat?"

Stock Tank Survivor!

2011-03-21T20:01:00.000-04:00

This little guy looks like he's saying, "See! I survived the stock tank! Aren't I strong?"

My hubby is thinking about naming him " Captain Nemo"........an appropriate name "since he started life as a submariner!"

And the First Dor Galen Lamb of 2011 is Born in the Stock Tank!!!

2011-03-21T10:23:00.000-04:00

One of our Dor Galen ewes was acting nervous yesterday at 5:50 P.M. She is a first time lamber and I have no doubt she was wondering what was going on. She didn't want to come into the barn yesterday when my hubby was moving the rest of the Dor Galen flock from the front paddock. I had a feeling we should check her before we went to bed at midnight, so out to the barn we went, flashlight in hand. After an initial check, we didn't find anything, but I decided to go down the central aisle of the barn to check.
The end of the aisle is closest to the stock tank located in the back paddock behind the barn. I heard a baby lamb bleat and told hubby. He again went into the back paddock and yelled, "Bring me a towel, quick! There is a baby in the stock tank!" Off I went to get a towel and returned. He dried the lamb off and handed him to me wrapped in the towel. The rest of the flock was sorted through until we found the mother. We placed the lamb and mother together in the center aisle by themselves to bond and get acquainted. We checked them again this morning and I will check on them every couple of hours today.

What a way to come into the world............dropped in a stock tank!!! Fortunately, the tank was half full or we would have had a drowned lamb.

Kinda gives new meaning to the phrase, "sink or swim"!

My True Life as an Artist

2011-03-19T22:00:00.000-04:00

Not only a shepherdess and spinner, but a painter and artist, also.....this is who I am!
Here are a couple of my original paintings......

Both are acrylic paintings from inside my head........
I have titled each one and placed them in the right margin of this blog.
Enjoy.........

Shearing Day Begins

2011-03-19T11:33:00.000-04:00

Here we go! It's shearing day and time to harvest our fleeces. We are starting with the Dor Galen flock and have decided that Brittany is the sheep to have the honor of first shear. My husband has sharpened blade shears in hand. Our new shearing stand is about to be initiated. It is a sunny, beautiful spring day at Dor Galen..........

A "Mama" Sheep and Her Five Lambs Make the News!

2011-03-10T13:05:00.000-05:00

I received an e-mail from my husband today with this bit of news. Enjoy!

Entering the Busy time of the Year

2011-03-09T11:01:00.000-05:00

Shearing and lambing and fiber fairs, oh my!

This is a busy time coming upon us at Dor Galen. We are hoping for the shearing stand that we ordered
to arrive sometime this week. Shearing has to be started before The Fiber Event next month. We are vendors for the third consecutive year and excited to be there. I have lots of spinning, crocheting, and organizing of fleeces in order to be ready for this weekend in April. My spinning wheel is staring at me as I write, so I'd better get on it!

Waiting for the Lambs.....

2011-03-08T14:04:00.000-05:00

Come on, Dor Galen ewes! We are anxiously waiting to see the 2011 lamb crop! Every morning and every evening we have been checking....I want to hear little bleating lambies and see their playful antics in the soon to be green patsures. Life continues on the farm...season in and season out.

The Difficult Spinning...

2011-02-07T15:39:00.000-05:00

Spinning has been very difficult for me lately. Spinning is not technically difficult, but emotionally.....I remember Miniel watching me spin while she peacefully munched her hay. These images have become associated with spinning in my mind, and when it's quiet and I spin, well...the grief is pretty bad, frankly.
I did manage to spin last night and I plied a couple of skeins today . I know things will get better, but this little ewe touched a special place in my heart. I won't forget her........

While I'm Washing Farm Fresh Eggs...............

2011-01-07T13:28:00.002-05:00

A pic to set the mood........

When Your Spirit Needs a Lift.........

2011-01-07T12:07:00.002-05:00

why not a grinning cat?

Miniel's Death

2011-01-04T18:53:00.000-05:00

Miniel died this evening about 5:30 P.M. She had developed an intestinal blockage a couple of days ago followed by aspiration pneumonia. She died in my arms. That's all I can say for now.....Thank you for everyone who prayed for her.......

Happy 2011 Everyone!!!

2011-01-01T14:34:00.000-05:00

Blessings to all in the new year. May this year bring us happiness,wisdom, and increased propserity.
May most of our endeavors succeed and our good health continue....

Miniel Update

2010-12-28T16:54:00.000-05:00

Miniel is still here with us. She wasn't doing well at all last week, and we talked about putting her down.
I stopped her Dexamethasone last week. Her appetite has improved. We have been doing passive range of motion on her legs. Her neck is weak so she finds it difficult to hold her head up. I know this sounds nuts, but I sing to her everyday to keep her spirits up.......of course, that may be agitating her, also! We put a diaper on her and bring her in at night to watch football , but her favorite is SpongeBob SquarePants. She bleats for tortilla chips, snack crackers, and popcorn, but she isn't spoiled!

Me and Miniel

2010-12-20T11:27:00.000-05:00

At this point, we are still encouraging Miniel to make it. She has setbacks which results in depression.

We still don't know what the future holds for her, but she is still with us today and for that we are grateful.....

Winter Wonderland, Indeed!

2010-12-19T11:24:00.001-05:00

A Winter morning's greeting....................

Winter Solstice Magic

2010-12-19T11:10:00.000-05:00

Spinning Cory's Fleece....

2010-12-10T14:01:00.002-05:00


CORY

We received Cory's 2010 fleece last month. It was processed into a silvery roving by Woolly Knob Fiber Mill. I have spun three double ply skeins so far with future plans including a sweater for my husband.
Cory is one of a set of twins. Linc is the other twin. They came to Dor Galen as bottle lambs in 2004 so they are really gentle, friendly guys who love having their ears and backs scratched.


LINC and CORY


LINC

An Image to Set a Holiday Mood

2010-12-02T11:32:00.001-05:00

Bbbbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.......................

2010-12-02T11:24:00.007-05:00

It's a cold December day! Winter arrived yesterday here and caught us unawares. The water hydrant froze in the barn and we had mucho trouble with water hydrants plural last December. I think we went through three new hydrants last winter until we finally found one that worked and these were brand new hydrants, mind you! All of these hydrants were made in China. I think that this year we will find something made in America, but we will pay a pretty price. My husband will try heat tape on the current hydrant and see how that works.
Meanwhile, Miniel is on the back porch in the sunlight practicing getting up on her knees then lying back down. I can hear her little hooves strike the wooden floor as I type away......

More Government Control of the Food Supply......

2010-11-30T12:56:00.000-05:00

For everyone interested in eating locally produced foods, read this link.....

Miniel and Meningeal Worm

2010-11-30T11:07:00.001-05:00

As far as we and the vet have been able to determine, Meningeal worm is the infection we are fighting in Miniel. She has been wormed twice and now is being treated with steroids only to control the inflammation in the brain and spinal cord. The vet left it to my discretion to give her 1-2 cc's daily of Dexamethasone to control the symptoms. She is still displaying signs of neurological involvement , but the signs appear to be not as severe as a couple of weeks ago. We can only hope there is no permanent neurological involvement as she has been unable to walk for two weeks.

Lack of Posting due to our sick ewe......

2010-11-29T15:06:00.000-05:00

I will blog about everything as soon as we can get Miniel back on her feet. To everyone with a medical degree, it's like having a total care patient, except she's on the back porch instead of a hospital room. I named our back porch " The Sheep/Goat Recovery Unit"... and have minded visitors to "Watch Your Step"! I should have some extra beautiful flowers next summer!!!

Calling All Shepherds and Sherherdesses!!!

2010-11-05T09:39:00.000-04:00

If anyone can help solve the illness that has struck our sheep, Miniel, PLEASE HELP!
We finished six days of Penicillin treatment last Saturday, October 30th. After this regimen of Penicillin, we wanted to give Miniel's body a rest from the antibiotic. She was improving, but now has gone backwards in her progress. She has been lying down more in the past couple of days and it is very difficult for her to stand. When she is able to stand she is very shaky on her legs........her forelegs more than hind. I started the Penicillin again last night and again this morning. We had been giving her 2 cc's Penicillin S.Q. and that is the dosage I continued. Our farmer friend, Tim, is coming over tonight with a different antibiotic and some worming medicine in case it is liver flukes that somehow managed to get in her central nervous system., although the vet didn't see any signs of worms. We continued the Probiotic every couple of days to ensure that her rumen is working. She continues to eat and drink appropriately passing formed stools.
I know there are shepherds and shepherdesses in the blogosphere...............we would appreciate any and all suggestions, comments, etc.
Thank you so much!!!!!

Miniel's Progress

2010-10-29T14:24:00.001-04:00

Here's a photo I took yesterday of Miniel.........

She is grazing and up on her feet today for longer periods of time. We continue to give her 2cc's Penicillin S.Q. morning and evening. It's a great feeling to see her grazing with Tadiel in the south paddock!

Handspun Yarn From Our Back Porch

2010-10-29T11:22:00.004-04:00

A couple of photos of my handspun yarn..........

Miniel Turns the Corner

2010-10-27T09:31:00.000-04:00

Last night my husband and I checked Miniel around 10 30 P.M. We were prepared to offer her water again from the shallow pan, but as soon as she saw us, she got up on her feet and went over to the bucket to drink. It was if she was saying to us, "Look, you guys, I know what you're here for and I'll get my own drink, thank you very much!"
This morning she was up on her feet and she ate hay with her sister, standing up on her own. She walked around without much difficulty. There is still a slight arch in her spine, but her posture is notably improved. We, again gave her 2cc's of Penicillin S.Q. and the Probiotic. Our fingers are still crossed, but she is definitely improving!

Drought Conditions in Indiana

2010-10-26T14:38:00.001-04:00

The storm that passed though this morning brought us a whopping total of one half inch according to our rain gauge. We really need more rain!

Link here to the ongoing drought in Indiana.

Miniel's Fight

2010-10-26T14:15:00.004-04:00

Yesterday afternoon, Miniel was not doing well at all. I brought her onto the back porch and fed her Raisin Bran by hand followed by water from a shallow pan. By the time my husband came home from work, she had spiked a fever and was having what appeared to be febrile convulsions. We thought she wouldn't last much longer and discussed whether we should put her out of her misery and suffering.

Fortunately, we decided to hit her with 2 cc's of penicillin S.Q. at 7:30 P.M. We made sure she ate some hay and drank water about 8:30 last night. This morning she was doing much better and even attempted to stand for a brief few seconds. We hit her with 2 cc's of penicillin again this morning after the major storm passed through. My husband fed her by hand again and ensured she drank her water. She is eating hay, continuing to chew her cud and passing normal formed stools. Her kidneys are still working as she continues to pass urine. She is in the stall with her mother and sister and we shut the stall door to the outside to keep her out of the ferocious wind. The temp is supposed to drop to 30 degrees tonight as a cold front passes through Indiana. We will make her as warm as possible with straw bales in the center aisle of the barn. Everyone keep praying for her to make it..............Thanks!

My First Sheep, Lionel

2010-10-25T12:31:00.022-04:00

Aside from the bottle lambs that my father brought home when I was a little girl of four, this is my first sheep. I purchased him from my husband in 2007 when Lionel at the time was heading for the slaughter house. My husband, who was my fiance at the time, had already sold him to slaughter, but after we blade sheared him, I couldn't bear to part with him. I paid my husband $175.00 for him. He is a wethered Horned Dorset with white eyelashes and a pretty pink nose. After his first shearing, we got most of his fleece except for his neck and head. The result was a strange, mythical creature who, from a distance resembled a lion with a mane, so my hubby suggested we name him "Lionel". He is a very, loving, affectionate sheep. I sold his 2010 fleece to a spinner from SWIFT. The Horned Dorset breed hails from England and Lionel is quite the proper English gentleman in my book!

The Hard Part of Being a Shepherd or Shepherdess....

2010-10-25T10:44:00.000-04:00

Miniel is sick and has been for three weeks. We noticed her lying down alot about four weeks ago. We have been tending her closely for the last few weeks. The vet gave her a shot of selenium last Wednesday, and sent us home with Banamine and Probiotic. There was no signs of worms according to the vet. She is still eating and drinking but she is very unsteady on her feet. Her twin sister, Tadiel is as healthy as ever. We are giving her Penicillin in case she has a spinal abcess or possible liver flukes.
We are doing everything we can for her.............I hope she makes it, but it is very depressing.

Glad Tidings of Roving

2010-10-20T10:29:00.000-04:00

I talked to Jamie at Wooly Knob Fiber Mill yesterday and Pig's and Corry's fleece from this past spring are now roving! I need to send the payment to them and they will be shipped . I'm excited to see how these particular fleeces processed into roving as Pig is a Texel and Corry is........well, we aren't quite sure what Corry is! I know he is a very sweet sheep with a loving personality and a beautiful, silver-brown fleece with considerable color variation as he ages. I will post a photo of him as soon as I can.
Have a great day all you sheep fans!!

Clouds Without Rain

2010-10-01T15:26:00.002-04:00

This photo was taken about ten days ago.
Today is bright and sunny with a perfect temp of 71
degrees without a cloud in sight.
It is so dry farmers cannot disk their fields.
Here's hoping that October will be more generous in rainfall for Indiana as vast portions of the state remain under a burn ban.........

Sheep Have Even More Enemies.....

2010-09-29T11:32:00.000-04:00

A very interesting read from the New York Times on coyotes. Check it out if you have time!

Spinning Away..............

2010-09-27T11:00:00.000-04:00

I have and will be spinning today. I purchased a beautiful hoggitt roving from Donna Jo at Breezy Manor.
She has beautiful roving that is dyed and natural. This is a natural of a gorgeous chocolate brown and spins itself with a little guidance from the spinner! People wondering where I can be found today, will find me at my spinning wheel.

How Dor Galen Yarn Takes a Natural Dye

2010-09-22T15:26:00.000-04:00

Here is an image from a fellow blogger's site that shows our Dor Galen yarn after it has been dyed with

Japanese Indigo............

Please check out her blog http://tgrows.blogspot.com/ !
She does great work towards sustainable gardening and natural dyeing.

Rain!

2010-09-22T11:48:00.000-04:00

Rain!!!
Yes, it's finally going to rain on the farm. We have had sprinkles, but nothing of significance, lately.
I can see it coming across the cornfield through the kitchen window......at last! I'm hoping for at least a couple of inches....that would be nice to help with the pasture and garden.

Art and Sheep

2010-09-21T12:22:00.009-04:00

ince I am a visual artist as well as a shepherdess, I like to find images of sheep.

New Name

2010-09-20T10:34:00.000-04:00

This morning as we were doing chores, my husband remarked, " If you had a Native American name , it would be "She Who Talks With Sheep"!" And why not?
I "Dance With Ewes", do I not?

Stubby

2010-09-20T10:13:00.000-04:00

This is Stubby, the oldest ewe of our flock. She is a Horned Dorset and we estimate her age at approximately 10 to 12 years of age, She came to us from Conner Prairie, history museum
about thirty five minutes from us in Noblesville, Indiana. I guess her horns weren't perfect and one is broken off, hence her name. She is a good gal and we love her just the way she is!

Whitey, Our Scottish Blackface Wether

2010-09-16T21:30:00.000-04:00

Rambo and Roo: Wether vs. Ram

2010-09-15T20:51:00.002-04:00

Rambo is the breeding ram for the Dor Galen flock. He was born here last July. Since March, he has been in with the other Dor Galen ewes and we hope for spring lambs, sired by him. He has been a pretty gentle fellow so far.
In June, he accidentally got in with our other flock, and I had to get him away from the ewes before my husband came home to help. I managed to get everyone away from him except Roo, our two year old Texel/ Blackie wether. Rambo looked at Roo and Roo returned the look.
Oh, boy!, I thought. Here we go! Roo and Rambo squared off and Roo hit Rambo a good one, smack!

Rambo was stunned. His head rolled around and around with his eyeballs going in circles. He started to go down to the ground as if he was passing out. I thought for a brief instant that maybe one of our wethers had killed our ram. Rambo did not go completely down and he managed to regain his composure. He gave Roo a very respectable distance then I breathed a sigh of relief and laughed my butt off!

A Nice Illustration.........

2010-09-14T22:11:00.001-04:00

Ewe and Lambs

Things I did today.........

2010-09-14T21:07:00.000-04:00

1. Helped husband with morning chores...led the Dor Galen flock to front pasture.
2. Watered the garden.
3. Went to New Ross Grain to get feed for sheep and chickens. Helped load 150# of feed in my trunk.
4. Stopped at gas station and got $4 of gasoline to ensure I didn't run out of gas coming back from Lebanon.
5. Went to Wal Mart to get 3 skeins of yarn to finish a pair of slipper socks I'm crocheting for my husband. Told the cashier how I hated Walmart and didn't want to shop there but I have no choice as that is the closest source of commercial yarn. Went into a rant about how America's hunger for cheap goods is destroying our economy.
6. Came back to farm unloaded 150# of feed by myself. Shut the barn doors as it looked like possible rain.
7. Ate some lunch, took some Tylenol for the headache I was developing.
8. Crocheted 10 rows on my husband's sock.
9. Laid out pork chops( pastured raised, of course!) from freezer for supper.
10. Took a nap.
11.Woke up, fed dogs and rabbit.
12. Put in 6 dozen eggs to wash.
13. Started on supper. Cooked supper after hubby got home.
14.Unloaded dishwasher, reloaded dishwasher. Washed supper pans by hand.
15. Helped hubby with evening chores, feeding sheep and barn cats.
16. Did this post..................more to do tomorrow!

Another Sheep Enemy......

2010-09-13T11:42:00.001-04:00

I'm glad we don't have to worry about kea as they hail from New Zealand. New Zealand has a huge sheep population...... more sheep then people. This parrot must be a problem for the shepherds "Down Under".

Ruminating About a Central Indiana Fiber Mill.........

2010-09-13T00:37:00.001-04:00

Just ruminating, mind you, but it would be great for central Indiana spinners to have a fiber processing mill that is closer to everyone here. I sold a fleece to a SWIFT member a few weeks ago and she was wanting a fiber mill that was closer. Alot of spinners buy raw fleece at fiber events and drop off the fleece at the fiber processing mills that attend the event, but it would be great to have one closer and not have to pay for shipping........

The Sleep of Sheep......

2010-09-11T23:43:00.000-04:00

Our sheep sleep pretty soundly in the afternoon......No, Pig is not dead....she's sleeping!

Here is Linc snoozing away with Little Mac sawing logs in the background......

Lionel....Up Close and Personal

2010-09-10T20:39:00.001-04:00

Wild Thing's Face

2010-09-10T12:00:00.002-04:00

Wild Thing

Little Mac's Face

2010-09-10T11:22:00.000-04:00

I took so many sheep photos yesterday, I'm afaraid I got carried away, But here is Little Mac from yesterday......

Little Mac

An Additional Sheep face......

2010-09-10T10:41:00.001-04:00

Chunky Buns

Chunky couldn't be left out!

September Sheep Faces

2010-09-10T10:15:00.000-04:00

Sheep faces through the fence are always fun! Here's some of our sheep from yesterday afternoon....Enjoy!

Bonnie

Roo

Mild Thing

Brittany

2010-09-09T11:25:00.000-04:00

Brittany was born here at Dor Galen Farm in 2007. She is the head ewe of the Dor Galen flock.
She has the most wondrous fleece with a temperamental attitude just to make things interesting, I suppose.
She is the mother of Little Mac and her mothering skills is how she acquired her name. Little Mac is the surviving twin, the other twin did not survive birth. Brittany turned away from Little Mac every time he tried to nurse. We did manage to get about 20cc's of colostrum from her to help Little Mac survive . Little Mac became a bottle lamb and lived in the house with us for the first couple months of his life, but that's another story to be told . So, my husband in an exasperated tone, named the ewe "Brittany"......"after the mother of the year", he said.
Here she is at her resting place ( and it is HER resting place, by the way..) at the side of the hen house.....

Leading The Dor Galen Flock To The Front Pasture.....

2010-09-08T11:25:00.000-04:00

Yes, here I am leading our Dor Galen flock to greener pastures! I say "greener pastures" in jest as dry as it has been lately. Every morning one of the ewes tries to grab a sneaky bite from one of the maple trees we planted. There are times that Rambo tries this, also. All in all, it's not too chaotic a trip from the barn, trotting through the yard and up to the gate. They wait patiently for about a half a scoop of grain from the blue bucket, a.k.a. our number one sheep enticer.......