Sweet Mama

Sadie, our youngest of the Anatolian Shepherds, just turned 10 months old.  She has taken on a little kid who was born prematurely on Saturday.  The doe had abandoned a set of twins as they were born in the night.  The smallest twin never could hold body temperature and died within the first day.  The other little fellow is hanging on and has become Sadie's project.

Eve

Eve is just a stinker.  She has learned that at the end of almost each day Al brings home a nice can of kitchen prep scraps from the Hyatt.  She has also learned that if the little tabs on the lid of the can are not lined up exactly with the handles, she can use her teeth just like a bottle opener and pop the lid right off.  That gives her first shot at all the fresh peelings and other treats.  We really have a great arrangement with the Hyatt.  They even refrigerate the prep scraps so that we never get "garbage", just some nutritious goodies that would otherwise be going into a dumpster.

Babies

Oliver is a proud daddy.  He is one of the three rams whose lambs are currently appearing all over the farm.  Oliver is a Coopworth ram and we are pleased so far with the influence his genetics has had on last year's fleeces so are looking for more great things when this year's lambs grow out.  Those white lambs are a dead giveaway that he's the daddy.

A Whole Week?

I am simply ashamed that a week has gone by without an update to the blog.  We have had a combination of storms, heavy rains and a few more lambs.  With the addition of a little black ewe lamb early this morning we are up to 14 lambs.  Seems all I do is check babies.  That is not a complaint, just an explanation of why I don't have much time with the camera or computer.  I will try to update again later if time allows.  

What Good Dogs Do

I came out yesterday afternoon and the first thing I saw was Ravi studying something while Gwen observed closely from her pasture.  It seems a new lamb was just getting to its feet.  The sheep are so accustomed to the dogs being around that this ewe was just going on about her normal business of birthing a lamb.  I turned over a bucket and spent quite some time watching.  Ravi took a few licks to help clean up the lamb.  He also waited patiently for the ewe to pass her placenta.

Another pregnant ewe stopped by for a quick look.  The dogs observed but did not bother with her as there was no threat.

And as it all turns out we have another beautiful ewe lamb with the softest, waviest coat I think we've ever had.  Another pretty addition to the fiber supply here!

A Few Pictures

Gwen was meeting Fuzzy's little lamb, Odette, moments after she was born.  Gwen was more concerned about Fuzzy butting her than about being able to sniff at the new baby.  Fuzzy had already given a warning stomp with her front foot and was ready to protect that lamb.

Katy was home from college for the weekend.  One of the very first things she did was to love on her dog, Regina.  Regina is our oldest Anatolian.  She was born here about 8 years ago and is a good girl with lots of personality.  Although we all give her plenty of attention, I know she misses her Katy.

The babies were playing around on a compost pile.  Although it is not much of a mountain they seem to get a kick out of conquering it.

And this is one of the Shetland mamas.  It was not my intention to get a close up of her but she kept trying to get petted as I was taking a picture of her lamb.  She is a silly girl but quite a sweetheart.