You've come a long way,baby!

For those back home wondering what Josh is up to. Well, A lot of water has gone under the bridge since that Christening day! We were stationed at Ft. Lewis, Washington, just south of Seattle, in the Pacific North West when Josh was born. He took his first trip to England at two months old. And now, he's twenty one! Can't believe it! 

I guess all those years of home schooling paid off in the end. Despite all my worrying about, "what if we're not doing enough?" Our curriculum was very loose. Just the basic three Rs and then lots of time to pursue whatever interested him. I'm a big proponent of autodidactism and would often put something in front of him with the half joking advice that "If you wish to avoid ending up on a street corner, living in a cardboard box, it would behoove you to study this!" We joke about it now, but he really took it to heart. When I got ill and we determined that it would be best that he attend the local high school for his last couple of years, he already had that work ethic.

A few weeks ago he graduated college with an Associates in Science and Engineering. He's continuing on with a few more classes to get an Associate of Applied Science and Mechatronics.  Then, bwaaahh , (we're going to miss him!) his big goal is to apply to be accepted into The Webb Institute, way up on Long Island New York. It's a small, four year college that specializes in Marine Engineering/Naval Architecture. They only accept a small number of students so that's why Josh is working so hard to get the best grades he can.

Wish my Mum could have lived to see him graduate, but I'm glad Granddad has been able to.

Time's flying, so we must be having fun!

I'm sorry for the long silence. My Dad flew over from England to stay with us for the summer and we just haven't stopped!

Before he came, I was trying to get the wall finished and the fence up. I'm glad now that it wasn't completed because I'd forgotten how much Dad likes to be involved with our building projects. He's been feeling really good and raring to go every day! So with his help,we completed the fence and it came out great! Then we divided the donkey field into two sections and built a rustic shelter for them using black locust posts that were growing right there on the steep bank. High winds in March demolished the old shelter.

 Anyway, here are some pics of it all. We built the kissing gate into the corner. I've never seen a corner kissing gate before but it works just fine and I absolutely love being able to walk freely in and out without having to latch and unlatch the gate. Or fiddle around tying and untying baling twine, which is what I'd been using for the last three years!

More to come, but just this for today as it's late and I need to get to bed.

From Sheep to Yarn

Donkey Paddock Fence

Just a few pictures from today. 

We made a trip to town last night and got the fence boards and cement we needed to finish the fence. Ken took a break from his studies this afternoon and we set the second fence post. It was mizzling rain but very mild. Cloud and mist hanging between the mountains, bringing memories of Scotland.

Sheep Shearing - The easy way!

I'm sure there are people out there - especially spinners and weavers - who dream of having their own flock of sheep but quickly give up on the idea when they think of the back breaking job of shearing. 

Well, not me, oh no. I got the sheep with nary a thought of the back breaking job of shearing them! I mean, you just flip them over, buzz through with the electric shears and the fleece falls off in one piece, right? Well, in our case it didn't. The electric shears wouldn't even go through the first half inch before bogging down. We worked on that first sheep for two hours! I think we have the wrong blades. But let me tell you, thoughts of giving up on the idea popped up real quick when I was laid up in bed half crippled! 

Anyway, the quickly constructed, head gate pictured above has proven to be the answer. That and my big fabric scissors. The gate just slides down over the sheep's neck, locking her in place. They're under much less stress and I can take my time and even sit down for most of the job. I can also give shots and worm the sheep while they're confined. 

These pictures were taken last year. It was the first shearing for that particular sheep and she had a lovely fleece. The electric shears would probably have worked just fine on her. I sheared her again today but this year she had a lot of lanolin and at the roots of the wool it was like a mat of felt. I think it's just the nature of Scottish Black Face and why they can endure such harsh weather conditions. 

One down and seven to go.

Dry Stone Progress

The wall's coming along and the first fence post is in. Hmm, in the picture, it looks like it's leaning but I can assure you it isn't. I need Ken's help with setting the posts but he's been busy studying for business exams and some fire department duties. It won't take long to get the fence rails on though once the posts are set. The chair's there for tea breaks! 

The weather is beautiful at the moment. Maybe this weekend I'll be able to start the sheep shearing. 

Pack Burro Racing

Ooh, if you have an hour to spare, watch this movie! I've been wanting to see it for a long time and  was so pleased to see that it is now available on You Tube! We watched it this weekend.

When you think of Colorado you probably think of snow and skiing. But there'a another sport unique to the state and that's Pack Burro racing! I don't know where I first read about pack burro racing. It involves running long distances with a loaded pack donkey.  The shortest race is about 5 miles and the longest is 30 miles!! Over excruciatingly rough terrain. At 13,000 ft abs!! Some of the racers have been competing every year for over 35 years, the oldest guy is in his 60s and still running 30 miles!

If we lived over that way, me and Rimfire would definitely be in training! I guess we'll have to be content with our own little burro jogs down here on the creek.

And speaking of Rimfire... I backed him for the first time yesterday!! Woohoo! he wasn't in the least bit phased. I've been waiting for this moment for 4 1/2 years!

Ken got on Damascus and she was just as good! 

She may have been ridden before; we just don't know what her background is. She's such a sweet-natured girl. There's a lot of ground work to be done before I can start riding them though.

I can't imagine life without donkeys.

Walling With Donkeys

With lambing behind us and the arrival of warmer weather I decided to get back to walling. In fact I've been on a bit of a walling marathon this last few weeks as I want the driveway to be finished before the end of May and the start of the really hot weather. My Dad's coming over from England in May for three months and Ken's family are coming up from NC in October, so this is about the only time I'll have to work uninterrupted for long stretches.

I was going to continue the original wall all the way down to the gate, but after making multiple sketches and plans it seemed better to break it up with fence in order to have access to and interaction with the Donkeys. They come to be petted and talked to every time we walk down the drive and a solid wall would really cut them off from us. Didn't want to do that!

I started down at the gate. It's about a twenty foot section. Then there'll be some rail fence, a ten foot gate that will allow us to drive the truck in there and a kissing gate for easy walk through, and then another section of wall. 

Damascus has been helping me. I sling a couple of rubber buckets over the packsaddle and she thinks she's the bees knees carrying small rocks - "heartings" - for the center fill of the wall. She takes her work very serious and listens well and follows instructions. I have to alternate between her and Rimfire as he gets jealous and mischievous if he's left out!

A Little Late Night Pat Metheny

Nothing quite as exquisite as Pat when it's late and the wind's whipping and howling around the mountains outside!

Enjoy!

Banding Lamb's Tales

We banded the lamb's tails last week end. We usually do them at a week old but Ken's been away in North Carolina so we got to it as soon as he returned home. We do this because long tails tend to get dirty and attract flies. Believe me, it can get ugly under there! Banding is a simple procedure and while it looks like it should be painful, the lambs go straight back to running around after their Mum like nothing has happened. The end of the tail, below the band will shrivel and fall off in about 7 days. Most lambs have a triangle of bare skin on the underside of the tail. We usually put the band right at the point of the triangle, where the wool starts. You may be able to just make out the bare skin on this lamb's tail. Every so often we get one that has no bare skin at all. In that case we just have to make a decision. I don't like to go too short. If you look at the Momma sheep, someone really went to town on her. She doesn't have much of a tail at all. I don't like to go so short.

Anyway, here are the lambs, enjoying a bit of freedom and green grass about 3 minutes after their tails had been banded. As you can see, they're growing like weeds, though their Momma is still rather thin. Since getting the first taste of spring grass, she's been turning her nose up at her hay. Unfortunately, we can't just turn them out on grass full time, they have to be re-introduced to grazing in short spells to avoid bloat. We're now up to a couple of hours in the morning and a couple in the afternoon/evening - plus hay and some grain.  I alternate them with the rams so that everyone gets a turn.

Hoping to get some shearing done this weekend if the weather forecast is good.