On A Field Trip

To The Farm...to bring back new genetics. Which lead to meeting some wonderful new friends. I left home Saturday morning and drove to Winnemucca, NV where I met Becky. This first leg of the trip took me three and a half hours and Becky was forty five minutes from Winnemucca. Becky left her car and we proceeded north into Oregon then Idaho and a time change and back to Oregon to reach this beautiful farm!

Home of Brook and Lois Moore, horses, dogs, cats, chickens, guardian llamas and their awesome Stonehaven Shetland Sheep. This leg of the trip was over eight hours. We were welcomed with a wonderful dinner and conversation to end our day.


I went to pick up Watson my newest ram. His brother is wildly spotted, Lois's words, so maybe he could carry some "chrome" He has nice width, legs and a very soft black fleece. Love the horns, something else I need here at Desert Peach. Horns with a wide sweep out away from the face. When I have his papers I'll post the information.


And look who followed him to our house. She is a black and white spotted ewe lamb. Her brother and sister are black and white HST humm more of the markings I want to get started in the flock could be hiding on her future lambs. Of course since she has a brother and sister there is another trait I'd like to see more of  in my flock, ewe's who produce triplets.


She has a nice square body the thing I look to first in my sheep.(Weak shoulders and rear ends will not a productive ewe make.) and her fleece is also soft longish and tippy.  Her name will be Celeste, coming from all the star like spots over her body.

I had such a good time, and I believe Becky did too. Great way to shop for sheep!

Say "Good Night Gracie"

Here is the last picture of the vegetable garden two weeks ago. The wind is blowing about 50 miles an hour. Dust everywhere.
This same night there was a killing frost. Zucchini and pumpkins last stand.

There are mountains behind this tree.
What a mess! Our old white birch tree, the one that died last year, blew over.


The spruce tree in front, our Dr Seuss tree, because of it's odd shape, is bending way to the left.
So ends summer, "Good Night Gracie".

"Angel Face"

..the rose. Our only rose in the yard.
This is her first year from bare root stock.
These are the second set of blooms since early summer.
The flowers are beautiful from bud until they are fully opened. Wonderful scent also.

New Sheep

Meet Stonehaven Duncan! He came from Tammy Knights in Washington state down to Laura in Walton, Oregon last week. Laura came to Reno for a Labor Day Fest at Sharon' s house right down the street from us. His first evening was spent in a pen close to the ewe's and wethers. By the next day he was able to go in with the boys and did not butt heads even one time. Duncan is such a gentleman that he payed no attention to the others. The boys, four wethers and two ram lambs all give him a wide berth. With horns like this and a great presence Duncan has earned his way to the top of the pecking order by just looking their way!

Rocco was peeved because till yesterday he had the biggest horns.
Bella and Stevie her lamb were cautious about this new guy right in the next pen.
Then at the fair I was gifted with this darling ewe lamb, fluffy one in the lead, made by Carolyn Thompson. She made some of the sweetest little lambs with yarn and wool.

Away So Long

I can't believe it's been over three weeks since my last post! Some of this time has been spent with a computer who decided to freak me out with the "Blue Screen of Death" two times in less than two weeks. Paula who lives up at the end of our road loves computer challenges and helped me threw this ordeal. She showed me how to get into "Safe Mode" so at least I could read emails. We never did truly fix my computer with anything we did. It seems that it is a self healing computer. ;o) After three days of the blue screen the first time and about four days later the second time the blue screen appeared, this only lasted one day, I would turn on my computer the next morning and Wa-La it was better. I here this is not normal.
Paula was over yesterday and spent four hours with me removing cookies, old file thingys, defragging and what ever else. I now even have Firefox installed. Paula says this is better then Internet Explorer but I can't sign into my email. Still more learning going on .
A week ago today Kay and Ed, they have Lazy K's Alpaca's, took me to Loyalton, Ca with their flatbed trailer and I came home with 83 bales of wheat grass/alfalfa mix hay. They park the trailer in front of the barn and between Bob and I we have it inside with room to spare for the next load this up coming Saturday. This next load of hay will be straight grass hay or field grass. A fine bladed grass with other wonderful bits of clover, dandelions and assorted plants that grow in the hay fields around Nevada.
edit( Wow I was just looking over the pictures to make sure they biggify and I saw the barn snake coming down the hay! I didn't realize I caught it in the picture. I believe this is the same snake that I see most days in or around the barn.)

We have been harvesting and eating potatoes from the garden for the last few weeks. I planted Yukan Gold and these red potatoes There are plenty for family and friends also. These are my first two zucchini just picked today!


The most exciting thing in my long absence is the purchase of two lovely rams!! No money has pasted hands yet so I shouldn't jinx this but here are pictures. The first guy is Stonehaven Duncan from Tammy Knight. I'm sure some of you know Duncan already. He is a six year old katmoget with a dense single coated fleece. Tammy has been having some trouble with sheep viruses predator, so she is selling her shetlands. Tammy has pictures of Duncans lambs from this year, awesome!
Lois set me up with Tammy while I was shopping for rams from Stonehaven. I do want to put some black back into my flock and with Lois's help picked Watson. Watson was born this spring and has a lovely brother Holmes that will be staying home with Lois and Brook! Holmes-Watson cute! I'll be making a trip up to Eastern Oregon to pick up Watson in October. Duncan should be able to hitch a ride from Laura when she comes down for Sharon and Ian's Labor Day Fest!
Here is an update from Spud the show shetland. He has been spending some R&R time down at the beach in Ventura, Ca. by the ocean. Here he is as he swooshs in on his boogie board. The poor guy has a scrotal hernia that put him out of the running for more grand champion ribbons on the show circuit but in his absence Zorro the other ram lamb who went with Spud has taken his place in the champion line. Zorro has taken three champion shetland ribbons at the last three shows!!! Some day I hope to get a picture of him to post.

Tis' The Season

To braid as in garlic braids... To weave some lavender wands...

Tend, the garden, flowers and grasses...

Make soap like in goats milk soap. This is a soap box I made back in the 80's
and the guillotine type cutter a friend made for me. The goat milk came from my neighbor Paula who raises mini Lamancha's called Creamcup Mini's. Harvesting like in I had five yearlings butchered here a few weeks back. I hate it but they sure taste good!

Hanging out in the shade.

Marin, is Siskins ewe lamb a keeper.

Watering-watering and watering. I'm watering the back side of the ram house to keep the sandy soil from creeping down the hill and covering the barn. Now that it is so dry I need to stop letting them out on the hill to keep the soil where it belongs.

Enjoying the flowers in the yard!

Fires

Since Wednesday the 15th we have been skirted on two sides by range fires. The fire to the north of us is closer to Sharon who all tho we are neighbor's she is on the side of a hill in another valley. She has good pictures of the smoke that was coming from each fire here.
Yesterday, Friday the 17th, brought all the action to our neighborhood. The fire to the south of us was starting to come over the ridge and if it did it would be on the our side the mountain we live on, part of the Peterson Mountain Range.
This picture is from our front porch looking east. A good part of the day there were three helicopters dipping water from the pond and flying the water over to the fire. (Don't forget to click on the pictures to biggiefy) The helicopters yesterday had shorter ropes where the bucket was attached. They had to get way close to the water in order to fill their buckets. This picture the copter is still not as low as he would go. The ridge between the copter an me would hide the entire helicopter and all you could see were his "propellers"?

This picture above he is still not down as far as he needed to go. Then below he is off to the mountain ridge to help douse the flames. We never did see any flames come over to our side.

Now today there are still helicopters coming to the pond but they are taking the water a bit farther than yesterday. I feel safer today because yesterday along with the three helicopters there were 15 to 20 fire trucks, all different types, parked at the pond ready to protect the houses if the fire did make it over the ridge. Love those firemen!!!

The helicopters in the pictures above and below have a different set up with long ropes attached to the buckets. They don't get anywhere near the water. I don't know for sure but these helicopters look bigger then the dare-devils from yesterday.

We feel pretty safe with the sheep on our hillside grazing down the small fuel. We have been hit with fires in the past years and the fire on the most part will stop at the fence. The small dry plants under the brush gets the big stuff to catch fire and without it the fire has too few places to catch thus slowing the fire as it hits our fence line.

Then I even have another fire break as you get closer to our house with watered grass and no brush at all. Oh and the house has a metal roof.