FINALLY...still in existence

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...

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!"

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

Louie Louie oh oh

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

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!!!

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!

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