Fiddle Knoll Farm

FINALLY...still in existence

2010-02-05T17:46:00.000-08:00

OK, yup, it's been almost five months since I posted...holy cow...but we are still here..the ewes should all be bred and now we wait for lambs. I've got my fingers crossed that our new ram did his job in December. Let's see what is there to say, it's snowy, it's cold and it's February in Upper Michigan! Peat turned a year in January and here he is caught creeping toward the ram pen...he thinks he's awfully sneaky...Peat, Peat, Peat...you're black on white...lots of white...

2009-09-19T17:10:00.000-07:00

On Sunday last week we brought home our first ram. His name is Bodie and came from Audrey Dopke in Wisconsin. He's a very nice guy and we are delighted to have him. Here are some pictures of him with Louie our BL wether. Once Bodie realized that Louie did NOT have romantic notions, things have gone quite well!
Note all the VM in Louie's fleece...there are a lot of leaves in Bodie's pen and it's a good thing he's wearing his "Sheep Suit!"

2009-09-07T15:52:00.000-07:00

Peat is (almost) 8 months old! And of course, here's Yasso!

Louie Louie oh oh

2009-07-10T10:11:00.000-07:00

Here is our new Border Leceister wether, Louie. His sole job on Fiddle Knoll will be to keep our ram company and grow a beautiful fleece! Not too bad of a job! :) He came from Diana Jarnutowski of The Wooly Sock (http://ww.thewoolysock.com/) in Stephenson, MI. The wax mark on his face is fading now, but was there as a sorting tool when all the lambs were vaccinated.

Naturally, the matriarch of our flock (now Astrid) spent considerable time trying to convince Louie that he didn't belong. Comically, he attached himself to the largest ewe in our flock, one of our Romney ewes, Thelma (the coated ewe below). He follows here everywhere! Since doing so, he must have wore her resistance down and now she accepts that he's her little shadow (emphasis on little!) and she represents a formiddable barrier from Astrid! We look forward to seeing how Louie's fleece turns out next spring!

Peat 6 months old

2009-07-02T13:35:00.000-07:00

Here is Peat at 6 mos old. Although I have not started him on sheep yet, that doesn't mean he doesn't want to! However, to avoid him picking up bad habits, Peat has limited access to the sheep. Pretty much his access is limited to photo ops!:)

Thelma is one of our Romneys. Obviously not quite sure what to make of the new guy on the block!
And then just hanging around the yard....

Finally, napping in his favorite spot. He actually falls asleep balancing on the back of the couch! And, yes, he has fallen off once or twice...hasn't stopped him though...border collies....:)

New Cheviots and Peat is 5.5 mos!!!

2009-06-15T09:40:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that Peat is almost 1/2 year old! He is 26# now...and still waiting on all of his adult teeth. He is just a marvelous dog and I thank the universe (and Loretta) every day for putting such a great dog in my life....

New Cheviots are here! Drove to Davison, MI this weekend to pickup the new ewes. Along with Astrid and Adelle these ladies are going to be our foundation Cheviot flock. We're very excited! The sheep came from Ugly Dog's Farm owned and operated by Rich Fitz and Wayne Barber (http://www.geocities.com/uglydog75/). We were fortunate to find these guys who were such a pleasure to work with. Thanks, Rich and Wayne, we promise to make these girls live up their potential!

Yearling

"Deer in the headlights" come to mind?

The two chubby new lambs getting a couple of hours on pasture.

Adeline is growing and growing and recently began sporting her very own jacket! Quite cute!

And, Juli had to inspect the new sheep too...from her side the fence...

Peat 18 weeks last Tuesday!

2009-05-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

Peat is 4.5 mos old already! Woah!
Looooves to be comfy!
On the dirt road in front of the house...love his expression!

First Lamb at Fiddle Knoll!!!

2009-05-21T07:47:00.000-07:00

The day finally arrived! Adeline is our first lamb born here on the farm and she arrived May 18th at about 7pm. This is our very first picture and using the time-lapse function to avoid using the flash, Adelle looks a little "ghostly!"
Bonding...
Adelle is a great mom!
(Astrid is still big as a house! C'mon, Astrid, Adeline needs some playmates!:)
Finding the good stuff...
Miss Adeline...almost 2 days old!

The Shetlands!

2009-05-02T20:06:00.001-07:00

The Shetlands have all been sold.. This is a tribute to them as they were my first sheep and taught me quite a bit about being a competent shepherd, but with the new direction for our farm (meat and dual-purpose sheep) the Shetlands just needed a new place to call home. We miss them, their antics and their personalities. But I know they are growing their wool for their new owners--you go girls (oh, yeah, and guy--sorry Speed)!

Speed

Thistle

Dharma, Karma, Pav

Pav with Dharma behind

Pav

Karma (front) and Dharma

2009-05-01T06:21:00.000-07:00

The snow is finally all gone. Now we wait for green pastures to turn out the sheep. Peat turned 15 weeks on Tuesday this week and he is practicing his "moves" on Tally. Tally certainly does not care for it, but is remarkably tolerant...so far! Still no lambs, but I expect them any day. Astrid and Adelle are HUGE and looking uncomfortable so I suspect they will be glad when the day comes as well! We are in the process of clearing some more pasture to house a ram or two this year...another new venture! How exciting! Here's Peat's ear set at almost 4 mos.

Lying in wait for.....

Tally...notice how much she loooves being Peat's guinea pig!

Snow Returns...arrrgh!

2009-04-21T06:19:00.001-07:00

It's snowing again...although I have to admit, it is sorta pretty. And the good news is, it should melt quickly and give the new grass a good soaking!

The sheep have been sequestered to a smaller area around the barn to allow the pasture grass to come in. They ARE NOT happy about it...but such is a sheep's life. The dogs really seem to enjoy the snow...but they truly are easy to please.

Dale caught the action through the house window...notice how dark and dreary it is...but spring is coming, right?

Yasso & Peat

2009-04-21T05:49:00.001-07:00

Possession is nine-tenths of the law, and Peat's learning the laws....

Trying to maintain the law....

And....once again....puppy see...well, puppy do....

Here's Peat at about 13.5 weeks

And here are the white hairs on his tail near his pre-caudal gland...wonder if any of his sibs have this trait??
And here's Yasso...caught him in a moment where he stacked himself! Good Boy, Yasso! :)

Most of the Snow is Gone...more coming?

2009-04-18T18:48:00.000-07:00

Finally able to walk about freely without dodging snow piles! Peat and Yasso did a little bonding...weather forecasts say heavy snow is possible...really? Pleeeease noooooo....!

Shearing Day Tuesday, April 14th 2009

2009-04-18T17:18:00.000-07:00

The sheep lost their fleeces...well, not exactly lost them...they were taken with a bit of convincing! Hard to believe Louise was carrying almost 14 pounds of wool!

Before....

After...

14 lbs of wool in the grease...that's a 4 X 8 sheet of plywood!

Very nice crimp....
And here's Louise and Thelma with Speed looking on...they barely recognize one another with their fleeces removed!

Easter Weekend 2009

2009-04-18T13:55:00.000-07:00

What a gorgeous weekend! Peat, Tally and I spent the whole weekend playing. On our way to Illinois, we stopped on the shore of Lake Michigan along M35. Beautiful morning and Peat's first experience with a Great Lake! Next, we visited with my friend Jennifer Bosnos who lives about an hour outside Chicago. Peat met his first LGD! The series of pics below show in sequence just what they thought of one another! Then we attended the Wisconsin Working Stock Dog Association Fun Day in Portage, WI. Lots of dogs, lots of people, just a great time! Finally, we spent the morning of Easter Sunday at the fun trial at John Wentz' farm in Portage. We watched runs from the setout! What a neat perspective!

Peat looking at Jennifer's sheep and LGD.
Peat and Bo getting acquainted.
Still getting acquainted.

Mutual understanding!
Tally and Peat on the shores of Lake Michigan.

And Peat's ears do stand up...when he tilts his head back!
Hmmmm....

Peat, 12 weeks, 5 days on the planet.

April 5th and still snow up to you know where...!

2009-04-05T13:31:00.001-07:00

Tally knows that sticking close by a vehicle means an eventual trip to town. Sadly, the old truck won't be making many more of those trips...but until it completely stops the old Ford will remain our trusty truck around the farmAnd monkey see...well, monkey do....

You can see the snow we still have...one of the "worst" winters many can remember according to many "Rumelians"... remind me again why we chose to set up camp here? :) Peat knows no different so makes the best of the snow every day...

And apparently there is ALWAYS something worth finding

The sheep watch Peat who seems clueless he's got an audience...until

Woah!

Shearing is April 14th...here is Thelma in her Sheep Suit. Hopefully the weather will get warmer by then....she and the others may in for a rude awakening when they return "naked." We are fortunate to have a shearer that comes to a farm down the road and is willing to shear our small flock if we just transport them there...now that I think about, that may be easier said than actually done....!

Peat is convinced that hard work WILL pay off and one day he will indeed successfully escape his space...Juli would like it...a lot!

Peat 11 weeks

2009-04-05T13:24:00.000-07:00

We finally saw the sun! And took advantage of it to get a picture of Peat to mark his 11th week birthday! We often call him Smilin' Peat because of the way he puckers his lips when he's really, really happy to see you...which is, well, pretty much always!

New pics of Peat

2009-03-24T17:15:00.000-07:00

The snow has finally melted enough for us to walk some of the pasture. Peat does the exploring and we check the fences, the snow was really hard on them this year!

With his frisbee...

On the deck with the water pails

And a closeup of his expression...I wonder if the white on his muzzle will connect with the spot on his forehead???

Peat Joins the Crew of Fiddle Knoll!

2009-03-16T18:08:00.000-07:00

Look who's new at Fiddle Knoll! Peat, all the way from Pierz, MN! We are looking forward to Peat's help with the sheep and as my trial companion as we both learn the art and sport of herding!

Woah, tennis balls are a little bigger than I thought!
Peat in a still moment...of which there aren't that many!

2009-03-07T14:56:00.000-08:00

For a dog from Texas, Tally sure has adapted to the Upper Peninsula. Even more surprising is how well she has adapted to the Shepherds! She's a remarkable dog and we are fortunate to have her with us!

Today was one of the first days that actually felt like spring might be coming! The snow was hard enough for us to walk to our back field without sinking. Here Tally is the referee; notice who she's watching closely!

Astrid and Adelle arrive at Fiddle Knoll!

2009-03-04T13:07:00.000-08:00

The snow is the deepest we've seen it, but it doesn't seem to bother the sheep at all.

Yesterday, two new ewes joined the flock. We've named them Astrid and Adelle and we are looking forward to their lambs this spring!

2009-02-14T17:39:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Fiddle Knoll Farm!