Sheared flock in Photos

So I guess by now most of you know that I messed up what day we were shearing. You see I had talked to Danny the Shearer and he told me when he was coming. The only issue is that I told Mom that it was Sunday the 29th. I know it was suppose to be Sunday but Mom thought it was suppose to be Monday because Monday was the 29th. Needless to say Danny came Sunday. LOL

Anyway, the Shearing is done and check out the little guys and dolls now …

Phinny is now in with the female goats that we want to let breed …

The Shetlands are on the pasture

Reba is the only Meat sheep that is on the pasture

The rest are in With her Baby Chuck Norris to see if he can breed a few. If he breeds with Carrie we could actually paper the baby as Carrie and Chuck are registered

The QTs are on the pasture but they will go in with Lester

And just so you know Mom’s Baby chick is doing just fine too … LOL

Chief and Lester are both looking good … I think they bully the younger rams because Lance, King and Chuck are a bit thinner then they should be but They won’t take on the older rams even if it is for food

King Panda

Yuchi and Coacoa Drop Both just got their faces done so that they don’t get wool blindness

We put the wethers on the pasture so that they don’t get it Phinny’s way … LOL

Turkey’s got in my way wanting their picture taken too … LOL

Favorite is still Jet Black … I love their color!!

Gate failure

Today Mom had an inspection here on the farm so Dad and I used out time wisely … we went to Harry’s to build a new chute gate. I started by measuring it all out and getting the pieces cut. Then we layed them out and got ready to weld …

So we got it all done and put together and came back home. This is where it is suppose to go. It is the very back of the chutes. It is the gate that will keep the cattle in place before you release them and rope them.

The only thing was that when we tried to put the gate down in the rims … It didn’t fit. I guess when Dad and Harry built these chutes they didn’t think it would matter if it was square or not.

Well, I am here to tell you it mattered. It started to go in and then it got stuck. Emily was coming to practice so Dad and I had to use a sledge Hammer to remove it. We will be taking it back to Harry’s to cut it down to a crooked size so it will work….

A Request for Help

Today I got a request on the blog. It is from a lady that went to school with Mom. You see He is the one that posted about the flock give away so as I see it she helped me so I will be returning the favor. You see the message was from Ms. Natalie Sommer. Here is the Post she sent me …

RJ,
I need your help. My business Natalie Crafts, has been selected as a finalist in the 2014 American Made Awards by Martha Stewart and her panel of judges in the fiber craft category.
Please “share” my link and visit my profile on the American Made Awards’ site and vote each day until October 13th.
http://www.marthastewart.com/americanmade/nominee/89387/crafts/natalie-crafts
Thanks and I hope you are well.
Sincerely,
Natalie Sommer

P.S. Here are some other sites

http://www.nataliecrafts.com/

http://fox10tv.com/2014/09/23/local-woman-finalist-in-martha-stewart-contest/

http://www.pnj.com/story/news/2014/09/14/crafty-teacher-sauce-bosses-martha-stewart-finalists/15639661/

http://www.marthastewart.com/americanmade/nominee/89387/crafts/natalie-crafts

Not only will I be voting as much as I can but I would like to ask that each of you please help her out if you can. Ms. Natalie and I both Thank you!!

Radishes, Radishes, and more radishes…

Today I want to direct you to Mom’s blog. All I can say is GAG … The house stinks!!! Mom says I have to try the radish stuff she made and I can’t get it past my nose!! What to know what she did?? Check it out by Clicking HERE

As for me … I just want the smell to go away!! LOL

Fall Harvesting

So in the last two days I have been harvesting a few things around here. First, we have our first harvest from the spinner’s garden. The crop is Cotton. You see when we first looked at what we should do with Mom’s garden spot we decided on a spinner’s garden. It was kind of like a dyer’s garden but for spinners. Mom bought some cotton seed and planted it. Then an online friend named Ms. Painty sent me some colored cotton. Yes, cotton grows in different colors.

I have to be honest until Ms. Painty sent me some I had no idea there was naturally colored cotton. Mom and I planted all of them. The white, green, red and golden. Then Yesterday I got to pick the first of the cotton crop. This is what it looked like when I picked it …

But we still have some that are in flower form …

and even more in what I call Pod form….

Today Mom tended her garden and she got a ton of radishes…

And don’t tell but I got this picture of her start on her blouse…. it is the shoulder straps and they are about half done she said but She said it would depend on how long she will need them … She is working both at the same time like people knit socks.

Getting back to normal

Today I think thing started to get to be a little bit more normal. I did part of my school work, chores and then headed to my Uncle’s house to help him finish working his cattle. Mom headed to town to take a few things to the extension office before heading to the Boys and Girls Club to make some contacts about putting in an art program.

She also started drawing up her first creation. It looks like a dress but she says it is a “babydoll top” I don’t know if you can see it in the picture but you should be able to get the idea.

And she is making it out of my mohair/wool yarn that she dyed. It goes from a pink to almost a mauve type color.

She is making it in Shepherd’s Knit and she is going to do it like you would socks so that the yarn will work up the same on the top. She is working from both ends of the ball and writing everything down.

While Mom started her project she also had me help clean up the fiber room and start packing stuff for the Fiber Booth the first weekend in Oct. I also took time to rope and harvest some of my cotton but the cotton I think I will save for tomorrow’s blog post.

To top all that off It was a pretty good mail day too … I got my Birthday and Christmas present in the mail today. It is a set of Horse training videos. I can’t wait until I can watch them. I guess you know what will be on the TV during those cold days of winter.

What a day …

Okay so Mom has a couple of things that she really wants everyone to know about last nights post. First, she says that it is more about how people perceive her right now then it is what was said or done. She used the example of the Fair board. They actually took someone else’s word for it that she resigned. That means that the fair board and the people on it (people that know my Mom) think that she would walk away and leave the kids high and dry for the County Fair. Then the lady on the phone pretty much implied (okay, she flat out said it) That Mom couldn’t manage our small flock. So Mom is having a rough time seeing what other people see in her. She says that she is only upset because that isn’t the way she wants anyone to see her but she doesn’t know how to change it.

I can tell you that Mom she isn’t the kind of person that would walk away and leave things unfinished or do the job poorly. Anyway, She just can’t seem to get past “I can’t believe that people would think that of me. or Is that really how the world sees me?” With that said she also wanted everyone to know that she appreciates the kind words of comfort and encouragement that everyone gave her. She says a little “sugar” does make the tough reality of what others see in her a bit easier to take. She also says don’t worry She will come to terms with everything in her own time.

For me, it just hurts to see Mom so down. I have to tell you Mom is always laughing. I bet there isn’t a day that goes by when normally Mom laughs at least 50% of the day (and that is on a bad day) But for the last two days Mom hasn’t laughed. The house is just to quiet. And when I try to make stupid jokes she sometimes walks away without saying anything at all. I guess I will know when things are back to normal when Mom’s laugh comes back.

As for today, I worked this morning and then when I came home Mom got to practice shearing … She sheared two wethers that will be sold this weekend. I have to say she does an okay job. She worries about second cuts a lot but I think she will get better in time. The more she shears the better she will get. Our regular shearer will come take care of the normal herd as Mom says she won’t “Practice” on anything that would be or product because she says that would cost me profit. I got Mom to take one silly picture for me … Check this out…

Mom was nervous about the head area so she would take her time doing it. It sure was funny to see when she would let them stand and take a break before she would do it though … LOL

I finished out my day by taking part in a sheep webinar online. It had a lot of good info in it but I don’t think we will ever have an accelerated program because they say that the Ewes have to be culled at around a rate of 22% a year due to how hard it is on the sheep’s bodies. Mastitis and prolaps are real issues with an accelerated program and that is something Mom won’t do. The animals come first here not profit!