They're here! They're FINALLY here!

Whew, finally! The Shepherd has been on pins and needles all day - 2 hour checks then 1 hour checks - We didn't even go on our regular Friday night date - dinner and grocery shopping (I tried a new Chinese take out restaurant on the way home - blech - they won't be there long)

Then finally at 10:30 p.m. just before he was going to head for bed, he went out to check one more time.

I was working on an essay - nice and cozy with a freshly baked cookie in my hand -

Bang, bang on the window - Oh, oh, that must mean babies - run to the bathroom & go before you hit that cold night air, put another jacket on under the coat - don't want those two chiropractic appointments to get ruined by a frozen back (*that's a whole nother story - began a week ago by just bending over to dry off my feet - ouch)

By the time I got out there, Luna and The Shepherd had the first one pretty much cleaned off - then plop, out came this one -

Oh, man, they are BOTH rams. It's hard not to be disappointed, as they are both healthy, but 8 out of the last 9 lambs born here have been of the male persuasion. Something's gotta give here soon. Maybe Pearl will have a couple of girls.







Look at the belt on that little guy - we might call him Galloway (like the belted cows)









Whew - that being born stuff is hard work!













How much do you weigh little guy? Boy #1 was 5.5 lbs and boy #2 was 4.5 lbs. They both got a good drink of milk before I came in - The Shepherd stayed out for a few moments longer to button things up.










Yes, Luna, they are very handsome - and will probably get you to run off some of that excess baby weight that you've been packing, while you chase them up and down the pasture.

She was very attentive and talking to them all the time. I think she is going to be a good mom.

Hrumph -

Well, I spent two hours tonight putting together a post all about the some of the music that we've seen in the past month. For who knows whatever reason, I decided to do it on a Word document instead of on Blogger. And, for whatever reason, I didn't think to "name" the document until I was all done - I NEVER do that - it's one of my hard and fast "rules" but, while I was (finally) saving it, "Word" crashed and dumped the whole thing - I looked and looked, with no named document, there was simply nothing to recover except one paragraph in the clipboard - big whooopee. Rats - (actually I said a few choice other words that won't be repeated here in case I have innocent readers...)

So, in lieu of that post, here is Luna, big as a house (The Shepherd had been threatening to get a skateboard to put under her belly - poor short legged little thing) He says that if you watch closely you can see little lamby elbows trying to poke their way out. She doesn't look very pleased, does she. Come on, girl - have those babies so we can get back to life in general.

Haircuts in September?

Last spring, before we could get Pearl's 9 inch fleece sheared, it got so heavy that she started rolling (in an attempt to roo it?) on the ground and rubbing up against things, which totally felted it right on her body. So, as her fleece was already measuring 4-6 inches, The Shepherd decided that he was going to have her sheared, now. Unfortunately, our regular shearer Marsha was not available, but she recommended a young fellow named Zander, who lives on Guemes Island - about an hour & a half's drive and a 10 minute ferry ride away. He called Zander and he was going to be available Saturday morning "anytime before 11:00" - so we made our plans - get up early - he loaded the sheep (did I mention that we brought Luna too?) into the trailer - I had to get up early (on a Saturday!) and off we went. Well, there are many beautiful places on the way to Guemes (pronounded guay'-mas) and you will have to trust me on that, because I left my camera at home (remember what I said about getting up early?)

Guemes Island is served by the Washington State Ferry system - They have a little ferry that probably holds 25 or so cars - we just made the cut for the trip over, and had to wait a crossing on the way back. But it was a nice day and surprisingly the girls were very quiet (probably so stunned by what was going on that they couldn't speak!)

Anyhow, Zander seems to have taken naturally to shearing sheep - he wasn't bothered much by their squirmy-ness (I however, was about ready to have a fit because Luna was thrashing around so much I thought she was going to break her silly neck). Even so, she got a beautiful haircut, as you can see, with nary a nick.





He got so close her skin looks like corduroy! Actually with the warm weather we are having this week, I hope they don't get sunburned.






So, sheeps were shorn, and we got back to the mainland, stopped and had a quick sub sandwich, then we headed to Camano Island (this time, accessed by a bridge, not a ferry) where The Shepherd was going to check on another one of his landscaping jobs.





He did these raised beds last spring. Don't these folks have a fantastic view!








And this bed along side the driveway, with another "dry streambed"











And this bed by their garage - these pictures were actually taken in April - everything looks very healthy and "grown up" now.

We were there for an hour or so, while he confered with the homeowners - I sat in the nice sun in the truck and read a good book. And the girls were very quiet.

The trip home was a straight shot up I-5 - Sheep unloaded and back in to the barn - where everyone looked at them and went "Eeek - who are you?" (no matter that they had all been together less than 8 hours before).

The other thing that was planned for the afternoon (before the detour to Camano Island was on the docket) was going over to my friend Den and Sharon's to look at, and hopefully, purchase some Alpaca fleeces to blend with some of our Shetland wool. Here is one of the fleeces we bought - this one is actually for Kathy at Sheep Thrills Farm in Arizona. The three we got were white, rose grey and a little lighter than this one. Hopefully they will mix well with our Shetland fleeces and be fun to spin as well.

And The Winner Is........

I know, it's a little blurry- but we are pleased to announce that the 2008 WINNER of FIRST PLACE for the yearling and younger SHETLAND FLEECE was John Park (and Luna, of course) of Marietta Shetlands in Bellingham.

Why, that would be US! (we beat out the "big" guys!) More tomorrow about the 2008 BLACK SHEEP FESTIVAL

Two Jewels

The Countdown is over! We stopped at Donna & Tom's farm in Bow and picked Jewel on our way home from Yakima. Doesn't she have a pretty face?



We stuffed her little butt in a dog crate and headed up the road. She was none too happy, and now she is in a big pasture with her new sister Luna, and neither one of them are happy - we are talking big time wailing and gnashing of teeth here folks.
















(An unsuspecting Luna eating dinner)



The other jewel is this strawberry rhubarb pie I made last week while I was on vacation. I found a recipe on the Land'o Lakes web site -and changed it to our liking - (I have been trying to use 1/2 Splenda & 1/2 sugar in my baking recipes), and of course, how could anything on that web site not be good - everything is made with butter!

CRUMB TOP STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB PIE

Preparation time: 40 min Baking time: 50 min
Yield: 8 servings

Crust Ingredients: (OR, use your favorite crust -Pillsbury & I get to be pretty good friends sometimes)
1 cup all-purpose flour 1/3 cup cold butter
1/8 teaspoon salt 3 to 4 tablespoons cold water

Filling Ingredients:
1 cup sugar (I use 1/2 cup sugar & 1/2 cup Splenda) If the strawberries aren't very sweet add another 1/4 cup of sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups sliced 1/2-inch fresh rhubarb
2 cups sliced strawberries

Topping Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup cold butter


Heat oven to 400°F. Combine 1 cup flour and salt in large bowl; cut in 1/3 cup butter with pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in enough water with fork just until flour is moistened. Shape into ball; flatten slightly. Roll out ball of dough on lightly floured surface into 12-inch circle. Fold into quarters. Place dough into 9-inch pie pan; unfold, pressing firmly against bottom and sides. Trim crust to 1/2 inch from edge of pan. Crimp or flute edge. Set aside.

Mix chopped strawberries with the rhubarb; Add the rest of the filling ingredients toss until well coated. Let sit for a few minutes to get the juices mixed while you make your crumb topping.

Combine 1 cup flour and 2/3 cup sugar in medium bowl; cut in 1/2 cup butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Now spoon your filling into your prepared crust and sprinkle the crumbs over rhubarb/strawberry mixture. You can kind of press it down if you want to - makes the crust a little "firmer". Cover edge of crust with 2-inch strip aluminum foil. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until topping is golden brown and filling bubbles around edges. Remove aluminum foil during last 10 minutes, if desired. If you have made this with 1/2 Splenda you should store it in the refrigerator (that is if there is any left to store)

How're they doin?

Maaaaaaa?

This distinctive marking - the white patch on the top of Luna's head is called Krunet - although I think she could also be considered Moget, as that indicates white around the mouth & ears. (I love her little white Elvis Presley sideburns too.) Many of the Shetland marking & color names come from the old Norse language - for more Shetland colors & markings look on the North American Shetland Sheep Association (NASSA) web site: http://www.shetland-sheep.org/ , click on "The Gallery" then click on colors or markings.

John moved Regina & the babies outside yesterday - If it's not raining, I'm going to take a lawn chair out into the pasture and see if I can get some more pictures -

OK, Susie, the birthing suite (aka, lambing jug) is ready - you're up next.

A year ago - Sinda plays Jack-in-the-box on the deck.