GOOD DOG!
I say "Good dog!" a lot. As well, Ruby hears frequently "Off!" and "No Chase!". She is learning and once she settles a bit knows to sit when she comes to me and then I will pet her right away. She is very excited in the morning. And she sometimes chases the sheep. In turn the ewes are getting kind of hard on, immediately setting out to bash her when she is near. I've only seen and heard Ruby stand up to the sheep when they get near her food. Millie on the other hand would never get bashed by a ewe.
With the addition of Ruby and the intense bonding we experienced over the time of her spay surgery, Millie is getting much closer to the sheep. She rarely parks under the veranda now. And most of the time she will stay in the Front field which is a safer place from which to chase cars. I really discourage the chasing of cars in front of the house as she gets right on the road. The fellow who drives the big red motorcylce says very unpleasant things when chased by Millie.
Part of the attraction to the road is that the coyotes live on the other side of it. Many evenings now we hear the coyotes howl and yip at dusk just across the road.
With Millie's surgery we locked her into the Small Barn. She only escaped three or four times - ! She can climb a four and a half foot wall, but not five. I am still locking her in there at night. There are a few other animals in that barn now and I am hoping Millie can bond with them. In addition, we have thought about putting a doggie door into the Small Barn so that Millie can come and go; however, I'm not sure yet.
Millie has improved in leaps and bounds over the last few weeks. She eats more than she ever has and hangs around the back door from four o'clock until dinner time at seven; she's hungry. I increased her food again. She is resting better. The barn is much cleaner than under the veranda and although she is a happy outdoor dog, she is out of the weather at night. And she is sleeping. She has only barked a few times in the last week while locked up in the Small Barn at night. Before this she worked all night, running all over, barking at shadows and howls and barks and squeaks. So, she was also too tired to do much sheep guarding in the daytime.
She will now come out to the Middle Field where the sheep are grazing a few times a day. She will not stay there. She will however stay in the Front Field for long periods of time. She can escape out of there but also will slip back into the field. Interestingly, she blasted Ruby in a major way making it clear that SHE was never to leave that field.
The two dogs play beautifully together. This makes them both happy.
HEAVY LAMBS
A few weeks ago the neighbour girl helped me to weigh all thirteen lambs. Wow! In the thirty years since I had sheep it seems, sheep have gained in the rate at which they gain. My scale goes up to one hundred pounds and most male lambs were off the scale. Lucky was the smallest at seventy-seven pounds. The ewe lambs were all around eight-five pounds with one at ninety-five pounds.
By the end of that session, we were both filthy. You would have thought we had rolled in the manure pile. I will never get my jeans completely cleaned. We used the hose to clean up a bit before I drove her home. Good thing it was a warm day and we could hose down.
As a result I have made arrangements to have lambs butchered over a one month period. Mostly this is to allow me to manage freezer space. I will still need to purchase an additional chest freezer. So, we are taking orders and collecting recipes, looking forward to enjoying some yummy range fed lamb.
I've had to make arrangements with the trucker to get the lambs to the butcher. I will also have to make arrangements to have the hides tanned. And I am looking into taking my fleeces to a mill to have them washed and prepared into roving for spinning and some into wool, ready for knitting. There is a lot to arrange!
COLOUR ADDED
Yes, it's Fall and the colours are lovely. But that is not what I want to tell you about.
I have added colour to my flock. I have purchased a coloured ewe and a ram who will pass on colour genes. I have decided to call the ewe "Libby" after Elizabeth Hoey for whom I worked as a teen. Her coloured flock was a great inspiration and this is the first colourful ewe I have, and she is several colours indeed. If she were a pony she'd be called a pinto.
The ram is young but will do the job as expected. He comes with the name "Birch" which I think we'll keep. I have a marking harness for him to wear when he is put out with the ewes in November. When he does what he is supposed to do a crayon mark will be left on the ewe. If three weeks later there are new crayon marks on the ewe, we will know he is not working. We hope there is only one mark on each ewe.
In addition to passing on colour genes, he has very nice fleece which will also be passed on as well. His sire was a Blue Faced Leicester. Spinners love to spin this breed of wool. The breed is also known for producing good quality meat animals. So, a good dual purpose breed. The seller sent me this photo after they left her place.
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| Libby and Birch |
BASEMENT RENO / RECOVERY
Over the last few weeks a variety of service people have been in and out and we finally have a basement again. Recall that we planned to renovate to finish the basement as it was just rough drywall down there. Then there was the flood on April 9th. So, we went into recovery mode. So, we have completed the rebuild to recover from the flood; and the Reno, as originally planned.
It is really really nice. It is bright and white and clean and dry. Hubby has been unpacking his stuff and setting up his space. There are 'flood goods' still across the house but we will get it all put away, hopefully by Christmas time.
There are still some shelves to be built, so books will remain scattered or in boxes. And finally, the sea container in front of the house will go away, hopefully in the next week. It has been blocking the view of sunsets!
As well, I can finally clean. There is - of course - a fine layer of drywall dust over everything. And since I don't expect workmen and shoes and boots any longer, it might stay cleaner.
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