Silly Sheep

"3" is one of our Tunis cross ewes who loves to spend time in the front yard. She & her rapidly growing lamb are quick to race to the gate so that they can come up front with me. Now that her lamb is about eight months old they don't spend much time side by side but do like to be within sight of each other. I let the two of them up front to help trim the lawn.

Yesterday afternoon I went out to gather some eggs & discovered this as I came around the corner. "3" had obviously been around the far side of the house in the grape vines. This leaf was snugly tangled in her fiber. It took me a while to catch her & finally yank it off but I didn't even try until I took a few pictures.

Quiet Sunday

It has been a beautiful day with temperatures in the mid 70's with a bit of a breeze. Except for the tree leaves occasionally rustling, it was perfectly quiet. Everyone is just having a lazy Sunday afternoon. The sheep are mostly laying around ruminating. The chickens are meandering around looking for a few extra treats but have eaten well all morning. Al had put out a new round bale of hay earlier in the day so the scuffle for that is long past. Even the immature Guinea Hens that usually run around screaming what sounds to me like, "Come back, come back, come back" were just strolling through the pasture. I just quietly wandered taking pictures.

Friday Walk

I just wanted to take a little jaunt around the farm this morning while it was still misty.  I took the camera with me but didn't think I would get many decent pictures.  Of course, the cows insisted on helping. Not only did they hog the picture but they love to come up behind me & jostle my arms as I try to focus.

And, speaking of cows, I attribute this to them.  I discovered a spider web quite high up that was holding a tuft of grass, roots & all.  I can only assume that a cow was eating, flung its head back to shake off a few flies & managed to pitch this morsel high enough to land in the spider web.  At least that is my guess.  The pine needles make a lot more sense as they fall from above.

I always explain to our egg customers that our birds are free range. And by free range, I mean that they go wherever they want on the farm.  The fencing is there to keep the other livestock safe.  The chickens ignore it & roam.  This hen has managed to raise her three chicks to be more & more independent every day.

 This little gal decided to pop on through the fence & visit a few sheep on the other side.

 After a few minutes mama called her back & they went on about their exploring as a little family.

As I finished my walk, I noticed that a few of the goats at the top of the hill were just appreciating the warmth from the morning sun.

Another day on the farm

I love a quiet morning walk.  Of course, with all of our livestock it isn't always quiet by many standards but I don't count animal noise as something that bothers me.  Gwen, one of our Anatolian Shepherds, loves to trot along beside me when I walk her pasture.  She is not much for posing for pictures but I managed to get a pretty one before she realized what I was doing.  The next one I shot shows her turning her shoulder to me & walking off.

I always look for problems as I walk.  I did notice this & fixed it right up.  It wasn't bothering the ram but I still felt obliged to take care of it.

Of course, since all of our chickens are free range, they are most everywhere I wander.  We not only have the 300+ mature chickens out & about but we have been moving the young pullets out to join them.  I thought I'd show the new gals what I expect them to aspire to over the next few months.

See that turken in the center of the picture?  I love those silly looking birds!  I especially love to pick them up & just marvel at the cute little naked necks.  My husband is not as keen on them as they look like some sort of genetic mishap but I love variety so admire them & love seeing among all the other chickens we have.

I just love some quiet contemplative time out back with all of our creatures.  And so does this Shetland ram watching over all the pretty ewes in his pasture.  I do believe he is quite handsome.

Indie Craft Parade

I am in the thick of Indie Craft Parade here in Greenville but thought I would share the promotional video. Part of it was filmed here at the farm but we were in the thick of record-breaking rains so we did everything at the front of the house.  We moved a small flock of sheep up front which worked out just fine as it had been way too wet to mow.  The sheep were thrilled & the Indie folk got a few nice pictures of some of the fiber babies.

The video is well done but I have to admit that my favorite part of my own interview is the little outtake at the very end.
Indie Craft Parade: What's it all about? from Indie Craft Parade on Vimeo.

Just a little different...

As I walked into one of the small buildings that holds a set of nesting boxes, I spied this.

The hen is tucked into an overturned part of a galvanized feeder. There has been such an abundance of grass & other interesting growth this season that we've had to use very little supplemental feed. This feeder was simply up against the wall in the shed waiting for winter when it will be needed again.  Obviously, the galvanized "home" reminded this hen of the nice silver walls of the nesting boxes so she was just compelled to lay an egg.

She was content so I imagine that is all that counts.  And I could collect her egg without having to risk a peck on the hand as I reached for it.

We have more than enough nesting boxes but we're also just fine with a gal expressing her individuality now & again!

A Not-so-little Surprise

A few weeks ago I gathered an unusual egg on my regular rounds.  It was in a nesting box with two other eggs.

It was quite a handful.

I weighed it.

It would not fit into an egg carton but since Saturday Market was the next day I thought it would be fun to take it along to put on my table. I carefully packed it up.  It was quite a conversation piece.  There was much speculation as to what might be inside.  I told my customers that I would check when I got home.  Many thought that it would at least be a double yolked egg.  Little did we know.

The shell was fairly substantial but I was careful when I broke it.  The large egg contained a normal yolk & white along with another intact egg.  I removed the whole egg, dried it off & weighed it.

The intact egg from the inside of the gigantic egg weighed 2.2 oz. so it would have been sorted out as an extra large egg.  And I did check this egg as well, finding that it contained a perfectly normal yolk & white.  It sure would have been funny if it had contained a small egg inside.