12/8/2005

Chilly Nights

Winter’s arrival has made for long chilly nights for the sheep. The new barn is partially closed in now. One last detail of installing the sliding door in Paragon’s area where he and four ewes call home right now. The bitter cold and wind howl all night and must be just brutal on the sheep. Yet first thing in the morning, they are out and about, hoofing through the dry snowy ground. Ernie spent yesterday making a wonderful wood dividing wall that serves a dual purpose of separation and feeding arrangement. I think this is going to be so helpful for feeding out and keeping “me” safe from the raging ram!

A couple of days ago we managed to take care of the one ram lamb that was designated for Christmas dinner. The process was relatively easy on all of us. The pelt is going to be very nice. It’s a difficult thing to do yourself when you raise up the animal, but it’s also an important part of farming.

Right now in the flock we have three groups; Group 1: five lambs, four ewe lambs and one wether ram lamb- Group 2: Breeding with Charles, black Leicester Longwool ram, 2 ewes- Group 3: Breeding with Paragon, white Leicester Longwool ram, 4 ewes.

I plan to leave these groups as they are through the New Year. I need to be sure the ewes are bred. They all seem to be in good condition and are getting along for the most part.