Food AND Shelter!

It is a chilly drizzly day. I discovered this little goat snuggled into the round bale so that she could eat while staying dry. She is not entirely dry but usually if a goat can get its head under shelter, it thinks it is covered. The goats do have plenty of shelter but I haven't bothered to drag hay to them as it is only supposed to rain off and on today. I imagine I feel sorry for them but not that sorry!

New Girls

When I walked into their pasture this morning, the new girls ran up to meet me. As soon as they were almost to my feet, they stopped, looked around and backed up as if to say, "Oh, what were we thinking?". It does look like they will warm up easily. I just squatted down and waited as they mulled around, often approaching and a few times touching me. I just admired their gorgeous curls while waiting patiently.

Bitsy & Betsy

We had not slept well last night, listening for Halloween intruders. It is a sad fact that we have to guard our horned animals this time of year. We'd already decided not to try to make it to church today, knowing we would be worn out. I made coffee, fiddled around and did my weekly check of the Asheville craigslist. I don't check it often as it is not our local area. An ad for a pair of Border Leicester X Cotswold sheep jumped out at me, especially as it seemed the sheep had to find a new home because the owners were not able to maintain their farm. I sent a quick inquiry. Several hours later we returned from Mars Hill with Bitsy & Betsy, 3 year old sisters. They are healthy but quite chubby. They'd been short on grass but on a heavy grain diet so had put on some weight. They've each got a pretty fleece and we'll adjust their diet to take off a little of that fat. They are tentatively friendly and I'm sure we'll get along just fine.

Chilly Morning

I really can't say for sure if Bud is eating as the sun comes up or if he's just hiding his face in the hay bale to stay warm. He's obviously wearing his best fur coat but perhaps he had a chilly nose.

Artists at Work

I walked out to gather the early duck eggs and came across these two hens carefully sculpting a cantaloupe. The funniest thing is that they would take a peck or two and then stand back, seemingly evaluating their work. I was impressed - wouldn't mind having it as a pretty porcelain conversation piece. But I am sure it is consumed by now.

Shearing Shetlands

The Shetland sheep are great except that they have one little glitch. They are an heritage/primitive breed that have something called a "rise". There is a point where they begin to naturally shed out their old fleece & begin to grow a new one. The older fleece becomes matted and the break where the new fleece is growing in makes shearing a challenge. Basically, rather than just shearing them in the spring like the other sheep, we have to watch their fleece to see when the ideal time is to shear. And it looked like that time was now for some of the Shetlands. Al got seven of them shorn this weekend. This one was the most petite of them all making the task a little difficult but it all went off without any nicks or cuts.

Getting a little finished

I have just finished tagging more hand painted yarn for tomorrow's Saturday Market. I love the dyeing process but always seem to put off the reskeining and tagging until the very last minute. Now to wash up the rest of the day's eggs and all will be ready.