Cinnamon and Spice and Everything Nice

This little cinnamon and cream pinto patterned doeling was a single out of Hot Cocoa born May 28 about 5:30 p.m. She is very spunky; might call her "Spice." We like to have holiday babies around here so kidding on Memorial Day weekend was oh so fitting! Milly is due also so we're constantly on the watch for her to begin labor. I'm thinking she'll go early in the morning as she seems to have shifted shape already.

Head Count

So, we're at 9 Scottish Highlands, soon to be 10. MALES: 1 herd sire, 1 brand new red bull calf, 1 steer coming of age. FEMALES: 3 young heifers (2 red, 1 white) 3 brood cows (one dark red, 2 light red).

Down from 14, we are at 11 Cashmere goats with 2 does due to deliver VERY soon. MALES: 2 bucks (one silver, one white). FEMALES: 5 doelings (1 white, 2 silver, 2 black and white) and 4 breeding does (2 white, 1 multi, 1 black).

Lastly but not leastly the 14 Shetland sheep! MALES: 2 intact rams (1 light grey katmoget, 1 white speckled), 2 wethers (1 grey katmoget, 1 fawn). FEMALES: 5 ewe lambs (mostly katmoget) and 5 breeding ewes (1 white, 2 moorit, 1 light grey, 1 fawn).

Guard Sheep

Something was awry about midnight last night. The new little wether was crying and all the sheep were at attention. He had a very full belly so wasn't hungry; and he was acting very spooked.

Shining the floodlight into the side pasture where we have the cows, they had formed a protective circle...what was going on?

Then I heard Merry Kate's daughter "talking" to a new little calf she had just delivered and cleaning it off! Come to find out this morning, it is a healthy dark red bull calf. The cows have been moved back into the pasture that has woven wire where they should stay until the fresh guy can get back and forth with them.

Alrighty then...Merry Kate and 2 goats to go (Milly and Hot Cocoa) and we'll be done with our special deliveries for the year! It should be within the week and definitely by end of the month.

Fawning Over Mr. Lonesome

This little guy is one of 2 ram lambs born to Martina. She chose not to feed him and favored the MUCH smaller one so we've been bottle feeding the fella and he is growing strong and stocky.

The smaller one was brown with black flecks and black markings but about day 5 he disappeared mid-morning...literally. We have seen a hawk swoop at a young goat once about 10 feet from us when we were arriving home. I'm fairly sure that's how he met his demise as a month prior to his birth I heard the terrible sound of something I can only describle as "squauking while being eaten alive" up over the ridgetop -- thought maybe a mountain lion, coyote or bear was eating a turkey...or maybe it was just a cat in heat -- it sounded like a baby crying or wailing?

Eve's daughter had a single...guess what...black and white katmoget ewe lamb! Plenty of those to go around this year! Will try to get some pictures this afternoon.

Shearing is set for Monday afternoon so naked sheep photos and fleece shots should be posted next week sometime.

Hot Cocoa is full of milk waiting for the little one(s) to arrive.

Milly is also in milk to the same degree and biding her time.

We still have two highland cows to give birth this year, too! They are enjoying the flush of grass which we are told is higher in sugar due to the wet winter.

The boys and I are picking about a pound of strawberries every day now; they don't seem to care whether they are ripe or not however! The garden starts are going in the ground right now and lettuce is coming ready now; which is a good thing considering the lettuce recall affecting our grocer.

Homeward Bound Angel

Little "Angel" goat pictured on the January 17th post went to her new home in Candler today, April 1. She was the pinto/badger doeling born on Christmas Day out of Rocky Top and Molly. The boys were a little sad to see her go as they bottle-fed her and she became a very friendly sweetheart. She will be joined by her brother, a wether from last year and the black buck with brown cashmere on the 5th. The black buck has lovely long cashmere with a nice little crimp to it just like his sire, Jack Frost, except oatmeal brown. He has his dam's coloring (Hot Cocoa out of Flicker).

STILL FOR SALE: Oreo, also pictured on the January 17th post, has the white krunet and is pictured to the left of her sister, a silver doeling. She was born July 4th, 2009 out of Flicker and Jack Frost.

In other news, Andes must have been wearing his Katmoget jeans this breeding season as we finally have that pattern in abundance.


Here we have Kayla's twin ewes, one of which is katmoget and the other one with the black eye spot has a matching one on the other side. They were born Saint Patrick's Day.



Martina's daughter is looking ripe.



Eve's daughter is also huge.



Eve's twins. Double katomoget born January 26.



Here is Martina with her single katmoget ewe born March 30.

Oh Ewe Girls!!!

Last year was a singles year and this year our specialty is twin girls especially katmogets. After Eve going so early and Kayla delivering a pair of twin ewe lambs St. Patricks Day, now Martina delivered a single ewe lamb yesterday afternoon. All are doing well and one of Kayla's has a very distinct face pattern; not sure if it's spots or some other variant at this point.

Both of Kayla's new little ewes are tough...simultaneously picking a "fight" and bumping heads with Eve's slightly older ewe lambs.

Left to go are Martina and Eve's ewe lambs from last year. They have the most beautiful colored huge fleeces so I'm looking forward to seeing their progeny.

Girls Gone Wild

After a couple of years of boys boys boys we're having a girl year. Eve just had twin ewes early Sunday sometime between 1 and 6 in the morning. A moorit and a black and white. Photos to come this weekend.

These are Flicker's babes from January 12. We are very pleased with the pairing of Jack Frost and Flicker -- they make such beautiful kids.

Milly is beginning to shed her cashmere so we'll begin combing the goats soon. It should be a good year for wool fleeces too because the winter was so incredibly cold and snowy! I'm sure the sheep knew it was coming as even the yearlings have huge fluffy coats. Our samoyed, Moonshine, is as big as a horse with his super heavy coat this year.

Note to self: watch fiber growth early in the fall to predict the winter ahead?

It may be another wet soggy springlike summer so we're looking at alternate places to garden. Right now we've been using a 30x100 spot down by the creek, road and old tobacco barn. We may continue to use it but only for early or tall crops like greens and salad vegetables with corn as the barn blocks the sun late in the year and if its damp not much does all that well. The okra, maters, cukes, and melons definitely need a new home. Hail tore it all apart last year just after the first corn was in but surely it can't happen 2 years in a row?!!?! Can it?!?!?!