I moved the blog back to Blogger.
May 1 — 8, 2017
May Day was a Monday and it was overcast with 3/10 of an inch of rain in the morning and stayed cool with a high of 68 degrees. I saw three patients and made a side trip to the office and Aldi. Milk was $1.05 a gallon!
This sunrise was taken on the 6th. I’ve noticed the pictures on the blog are not as sharp as they are on Flickr. Click on picture to see the difference. This is disappointing. And under the “you get what you pay for” rubric, support is minimal and the free forums haven’t helped. Making the picture fill the width of the column is part of the problem.
I moved the ewes and youngest lambs to the backyard.
The lambs were kitty-corner to the backyard and I blocked access to the shed next to the backyard. Two more lambs were weaned (in front and far left in photo) and were not happy.
Rain clouds and bright green grass on the first. It was super windy with 30 mph gusts.
Tuesday, I mowed the front and west side yards, driveway, and along the road. It was just as windy with morning rain and overcast skies only getting to 61 degrees.
The mom was the culprit here, after getting tangled in the extension cord, she pulled the plug. The weanlings opened the fence at the corner by pushing on the chain-linked fence.
A cold front came through on the third with clear skies overnight so it was chilly in the morning. I was thankful that I hadn’t put my heavy blankets up yet but I was cold without the winter sweatpants which were in the attic already.
I mowed a new paddock that would have access to the shed of the pole barn. I had to keep ‘shaving’ part off because I was short of fence and too lazy to pull a net from the front to cover the gap. I needed a fully charged net since the lambs and ewes would be sharing it.
Petty argument as some of the lamb-less ewes start to cycle again.
Rain came in the evening with 4/10s of an inch and temperatures maxing out at 54 degrees.
After I moved the ewes to a large area next to the red barn and silos, I planted grass seed in half of the backyard and set a poultry net around it.
I increased the food the hen was getting and placed it in the nest box since I had found egg shells the previous two days. She is very aggressive when I reach in.
Hard to see the divider with the lambs closest and the ewes in the back. I fixed the ground wire problem with a shield and raised the plugged-in energizer out of reach.
Thursday was 48 degrees all day, with rain all day, and with high wind all day. Meg and I went to the library to fill in for another volunteer and dog.
I had opened the gate to the pole barn shed for the lambs. The chickens hung out there, all day too.
Finally some sun, late on Friday after nearly two inches of rain the day before and 3/10 in the early morning. The sun helped since it didn’t get above 57 degrees and the wind was still fierce. I saw three of the four scheduled home visits.
After rain on Saturday morning, I took the ten ewes and seven lambs to Richard’s. I started out with all three dogs but lost Rick at the front gate. He hasn’t learned to get on the correct side of the fence before he runs wide to cover the sheep. Just as well as Meg and Ike handled the job easily.
The ewes seemed to know where they were going or maybe Ike, next to me could keep them inline. He knows his job well. Meg did the pushing and was quick to straighten them out with a command when they meandered to the right. They balked at these puddles and both dogs pushed them on after I took the picture. I had opened the gate earlier and walked Rick and Meg down the road with a water bucket before taking the sheep.
Job done. Rick caught on up; and is farthest from the camera with Meg in the middle. Richard volunteered to fill the water.
There is a creek through the middle which had been very high and I thought it might keep the sheep on half the pasture but within a day or two they moved across it. If the weather stayed cool as forecast I could keep them there for up to ten days. No sheep had grazed since last September.
The day was windy and cool at 60 degrees with some peeks of sun. After walking around all day, I found I had failed to transfer my Fitbit on Friday, tossing it in the laundry hamper; and losing the step-count.
Another cool morning on Sunday. It was much sunnier and windier but no warmer than the day before.
I mowed several new paddocks and then folded and unfolded the net. I set up the fence while the dogs consumed sheep droppings and hunted ground squirrels and moles.
The lambs were moved out front.
I planted greens in the old compost pile and covered it with fence pieces to keep the chickens out. The hen was on twelve eggs so she continued to consume some. Twelve chicks would be plenty.
The weather was great on Monday, sunny, calm, and 64 degrees until late afternoon when it got cloudy with some evening drizzles.
Ike showing his age, sunning with Rick looking on. Meg does not care to hang out outside and it is easier to watch her when she is inside. I saw four patients and had to make some fence adjustments with the ground wire coming loose. I need to find a clamp that works. CB
Windswept Farm 