Hormone Fog

No pups for us until later in 2010. With everything that’s going on right now, the timing wouldn’t be good. I might have another trip out of the country for work next spring and don’t want to leave the rest of the family on-duty. Honey's in full heat; Lola and Eva are just starting. Honey's passive/aggressive right now- she's either snarking nonstop or trying to get lovey-dovey with anyone so she can get out.

Lola is in high gear- everything has to be done at high speed and energy. And Eva is following right behind her mother- she has decided she doesn't like Bubba's attempts at getting Honey's attention and has found her outside voice.

Bubba can't think and forgets to eat. He's so smitten he's useless if there is a girl in the outside kennel. Our Lab, Tucker, is beside himself- he remembers something about what it was like when he COULD do something- but now that he's neutered, he doesn't quite remember what it was that was so wonderful.

Life is far from quiet at our house!


Bubba (What? I can't help it!)
Honey (Love you- get away from me)
Lola (Now! Do it now!)
Eva (I'll be the enforcer since none of them can think straight)

Kirstie Alley - Give me a break!

Okay- I usually don't comment about Hollywood crap but this is really bugging me. I'm tired of hearing about it in the news. This woman weighs a lot more than 228#'s! Even taking into account that a person with a lot of fat can be a larger size than a comparably weighted lean person, she is far heavier than she admits.

These pictures from May show the fat deposits in the neck that give it away...

Kirstie 1

Kirstie 2

At 5'7", she could weigh 228 and not be this big. She is easily a size 22 or better. It's sad that she keeps doing the weight yo-yo. If she'd stop dieting and eat a normal, healthy diet, her weight would stabilize. It may not be at a size 6, but it would stabilize.

I'm 5'9" and weigh in the range of 200-225, wearing a size 16-18 and I sure as hell don't look like that! You can still see my wrists, neck, collarbones, etc. I eat mostly whole grains, veges & fruits (I could eat more...) and lean meats. But I'm not a purist- I drink 1% milk so I can have my ice cream. I like certain sweets. My BP is around 110/70, cholesterol levels right where they are supposed to be. I live with the reality that my body wants to be warm in the winter... ;)

My middle daughter is 5'10" and is a very lean 165- and wears a size 9. I'd love to be pre-child weight again (same as my daughter is currently) but I just don't have the kind of time, dedication or desire that it would take. And funny thing- 25 years ago, a woman weighing 165# was a size 14/16. Do you think they play free with the sizes a little??? I didn't know anyone over 7 years of age that wore a size 3.

And you'll never catch me drinking diet sodas.

YUCK! EEW!

One left…

Well- actually 3 -but the Suffolks don’t count… I have one Jacob yearling left to shear. I had hoped to finish this weekend but time just ran out. So- once the rain is over this week and it dries out a touch, she’ll be done. I’ll probably just let the Suffolk ewe keep what’s left of her fleece (she shed some) and the wether, well, he won’t be needing his much longer. :p

The Shetland ewes have moved on to their new home. While l love their personalities, mothering skills and fleeces, they just didn’t fit into the farm plan. We’ll be sticking with the bigger sheep- Romney, Lincoln, Corriedale & Targhee cross ewes, an assortment of rams, and the Jacob flock. It may seem counterintuitive, but it’s easier for us to manage the larger sheep than the small ones. Sydney is almost 6’ tall, so the short sheep are really hard for her to handle.

We’re hoping to get a shelter up for the winter. The tent-type shelter we tried last year didn’t make it through the wind storms last spring and we’ve gotten a preview this weekend of what’s to come. Don't you just love stormy skies?

So, after taking care of the fencing and feed bills, it’s on to a shelter. I don’t need anything fancy- just something to block the wind and keep the snow & rain off the sheep. We were given the name of someone who builds nice shelters and sheds for a reasonable price- so I can’t wait to call!

Almost done….

I’m almost done shearing for 2009. It’s only mid September and I’m finally catching up. Every year I say I’m going to get started sooner, and every year I get behind for one reason or another. Next year I’m thinking of hiring someone to do the “bigguns” early- the Targhee ladies would do well with an early cut. And I’m sure the Romney’s will do well too. That will give them some regrow time before fair.

We’re ordering coats for the sheep for the winter. I’ve put it off for a couple years just because there are other things that need to be done. But having coats will make the fleeces cleaner and easier to shear. Plus, as we are going to similar sized sheep, we’ll need fewer sizes.

We’re going to end up with sheep remotely related to each other: Romney, Corriedale, Lincoln, BFL, the Targhee girls and the Jacob flock. We like the fleeces and temperaments of these breeds. They are good mothers and very hardy.

Saturday, Roger, Ali & I headed to the Paramount Blues Festival in Grafton. Wow! What a great experience! “Honeyboy Edwards”, the oldest living blues musician that played with Robert Johnson was there. The man is 94 years old and still touring! Diunna Greenleaf was fantastic- I wasn’t sure at first that I would enjoy her but – wow! – can that lady sing! She’s a great entertainer and puts on a wonderful show. Her band is awesome! There were some fantastic groups including The Alex Wilson Band, Greg Koch, & Zac Hoffman. We couldn’t stay for the whole evening this time. Next year we are definitely staying for the late night musicians and the “after” party.

So far behind...!

You never realize just how busy you are until you get a chance to sit and do “nothing”. It’s fair time- my annual week of just that- sitting in the sheep barn, walking around the fairgrounds, visiting with friends and neighbors and just hanging out. The last pup has gone to its new home & the sheep have mostly been shorn. We’ve been busy at work with the database project and we’re ready to launch it in Canada next week.

Sydney showed her lambs and sheep for 4H; Ali entered some of her artwork in open class. Both did well! Next year Syd may move on to FFA- too many things going on for her as well as she enters her senior year. And now it’s time for her to make decisions about which college to attend. It’s going to be either UW-Madison, UM-Twin Cities, or Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green.

As always, Sydney’s market lambs are too thin & small for the club lamb competition- but since they are mainly grassfed, they are slower growing but oh so tasty! Much better than the fat, yet always hungry club lambs. And the only market lamb with a well developed rumen! We also don’t use the same breeds as the club lambs (We use Targhee crosses compared to mainly Suffolk/Hampshire) so it’s like comparing apples & oranges.

She did well with the wool sheep: First Blue and Champion again with the mature Romney ewe; 2nd Blue and Reserve with her Cotswold ram lamb (pictured); First Blue & Reserve with her NC Jacob x Romney ewe. This year’s bottle baby, Mary, received a red as a commercial ewe. She is a Lincoln x Oxford cross. Every year we try to educate the kids that there are commercial wool breeds of sheep just like the commercial meat breeds. There is only one other youth who shows wool sheep sometimes- and this year he only showed one lamb. He took First Blue and Champion with his NC Rambouillet. So basically, until other kids get into wool breeds, she is her own competition.

Ali’s did great with her artwork. She’s so talented but shy; she hates to have the attention. She’s learned that it’s much different than entering 4H classes. There is a lot more competition and not everyone gets a ribbon. Her Airbrushed T-shirt took a 2nd, airbrushed landscape a 3rd, and her abstract Pen & Ink sketch a 4th. I’m hoping that she’ll plan on entering more for next year. She is her own harshest critic and I think some of the things she didn’t enter would have placed well.

Natural Born Charmers?

English Shepherds have a way of charming everyone they meet. While they may not be the first dog to run up and say hi, people are impressed with generally how well behaved they are or how they make themselves at home. I'm sitting in the customer lounge of my dealership waiting for an oil change with Brodie, one of Lola & Bubba's pups who is headed for his new home today. He knew something was up this morning when he was loaded into the car by himself.

Normally when we go for rides, we take a couple pups. But today was different and he knew it. "Mr Star Trek" (boldly go where no dog has gone before) became "Mr Wussdog". Sat on my lap the whole ride into Milwaukee. Clung to me for dear life when we got out at the dealership. And then, he settled down once we went for a brief walk. After about 10 minutes of telling me precisely how uncomfortable he was with the whole situation, he finally had to see a few other people in the lounge. And he's now calmly dozing under my chair.

It's nice to see how calmly the pups react in new situations. No hissy fit. No hysterics. A little quiet indignation, then calm.

Good dog!