more work and a great mechanic

When I was little Mom would tuck me in each night and ask if today was a happy day. Well, today was a happy day. Well, if she asked me that today I would sure say “Yes it was”. For starters, in case you didn’t notice yesterday I didn’t post any pictures. That is because my photo froze up. Well, this morning I got up and after the battery ran down and I plugged it in to charge it went back to working right. Then we got great news from our mechanic. The wonderful guy he is fixed our truck cheaper and quicker then he quoted to us. By about 2 hours and 80 bucks!!

That set the tone for the day. Mom and I got everything ready for Ag Day at the Capital tomorrow as well as one of the large stall sides in place in the barn. Then I hit the roping pen while Mom got a bit of this and that done. And Yes we got a tone of pictures for you…

First here is Sally and Aurora from yesterday …

And here is the feed stall and the first wall of the large sheep stall in place …

Then here are some of the things Mom got done … The horse gates are now covered to keep babies out from under horse hooves.

Then since the fence is now cut and getting ready to be removed Mom took down the wire and put in the two panels that will now open the barn up to the goat pen.

Then to make it a perfect day, Mom planted my some Strawberries!!

Birth at two years old

Today started out well enough but I have to admit that watching a two year old experience a ewe giving birth was kind of funny yet a bit unnerving … He was horrified by what that ewe “Pooped” out and for some reason my super powers were suspended as I couldn’t move fast enough to please little man in the care of Sally.

You guessed it, Sally gave birth and it is a girl that has been dubbed Aurora. Since it was a single birth we normally let nature take it’s course. With her being a first time Mom, we do keep a close eye on her though. Okay, that is normally. Now enter a two year old. Let me just start by saying that anytime he falls or hurts himself Mom tells him “There’s no blood, You are fine.” Now I am sure all of you know that a birth does NOT happen without blood.

I couldn’t imagine that seeing a birth would changed that wild little Man but it did. We had already bottle fed the babies as him and I do every morning. He loves to feed Duke but won’t feed Scamp. He says Scamp is Mine and Duke is his. I don’t mind and Little man takes his chores very serious.

After we bottle feed he works his goat. You see he is going to show Van at the county fair so each day he is here he walks him, brushes him and feeds him. As we were finishing up and getting Van his feed, Sally decided it was time to spit out a little darling.

Every other time little man has just helped get them to the barn and he never really sees anything but Momma and cleaned up Babies. Not so today … He got an eye full. To me it was funny but he was so serious when he pointed to the Baby and called her Poop. Mom said “Nope that is a baby.” Little man stayed right with Sally with a look of distress on his face that I couldn’t stop giggling at.

To help ease his mind Mom put him into action. The minute he thought he was helping he was straight laced and got to work. He was very upset with me when it took me a bit to throw the electrical cord over the rafter to get the baby a lamp. I don’t think I have ever felt so bad in my life for missing a couple of times before getting it hung.

I tell you that little guy brought all kinds of hay into the stall and even cheered the baby on everytime she stood up. The words “come on baby, come one” was heard every few minutes. He even threw a fit saying the baby was cold and while we normally let single babies be cleaned by their Moms I had no choice but to rub and dry the little thing just to keep the peace. Little man even shared his animals crackers with Sally.

However, everything changed from calm and confussion to screaming panic when it came time for Sally to pass the after birth … at that point Little man was having none of it. In his mind Blood means someone is hurt and in this case Little man thought it was Sally. And I tell you there was no changing his mind on that matter … LOL Somehow I got the feeling I let Little Man down and that today, at least in his eyes, he lost a little respect for me. Mom got him calm after they left the barn. However, he came back a million times today to check on the baby and her while Dad and I had to bury the after birth so he couldn’t see it.

I told Mom NEVER to say “there’s no blood you are fine” to him again … lol

My Day Off

So today I had a college Scholarship roping so I took a day off from the farm and went Roping. I did pretty good and even won second. I won a new halter and a paycheck. And to top that off the college now knows my name so maybe there will be other scholarships to be had?

While I was gone, I left Mom in charge of the shepherd duties for the day … Oh what fun Mom had. Here is the stories I got on the phone and when I got home. I will try to tell them as accurate as I can.

Her first duty was to pod cast. You can find the new episode HERE

After that she was to bottle feed the two babies. At that same time she was to let Petunia and her twins out of the barn. Okay, so from what I heard, things didn’t go as planned after that. You see Mom got the bright idea that since Yuchi had been doing so well and was eating and getting up on her own, that it was time that she be let out of the barn to enjoy the sun.

Okay, I agree with that. However, from the phone call I got, I gather that Twix wasn’t happy about being the only one left in the barn. Twix took it upon herself to brake out before Mom caught on. Mom was busy working on a few things around the house. She mowed the yard and gave the goat shed a tune up. She was going to give it a fresh coat of paint as well but she said it was cloudy and she didn’t want it rained on before it dried.

So instead she decided to clean out the stalls in the new barn. There Mom figured out that Duke really likes feed. She found this out when she tried to pen him and Scamp to keep them out of her way while she worked. Mom says at one point all she could do is stand in the barn and laugh as Duke and Scamp repeatedly got out of the pen faster then she could get them both in through the large wooden divider. Finally, she got them contained and out of the feed.

At this point Mom had to turn her attention to Jethro and Hank. They were going crazy outside and not in a good way. Mom rushed from the barn to the front yard to find a man riding on the truck of a car leading a horse down the old Highway. I wouldn’t have believed that story myself but after I got home they drove back by doing the same thing. I think Mom should have let Jethro eat them for doing that. It isn’t safe for the man on the truck or the horse. Crazy people.

And let us not forget she also had to make regular pasture checks as we still have two ewes that should be breed. On several of those pasture checks Mom found about 5 baby Shetlands in the horse stalls. The problem with that is that Storm was not liking it and she was getting upset. If they keep getting in there Mom is afraid she might hurt them. So she spent more the a few times getting them all out. One of the Ewes even had her horn bleeding.

I don’t know if she had to get after the horse or not but it can’t be good so I will give her a shot of vitamin to help build her up. After all she is nursing a lamb and now has some blood loss so I am sure she could use a boost. Mom says that tomorrow we will be putting up some welded wire over the bottom of the gates to keep the sheep out of the horse stalls.

After the barn was cleaned out Mom came in and made the “Private Area” Signs that we need for the new tack room and new feed room and the equipment pen gates. I think they look great.

When she got done with the signs she took some time to play by redoing a stool with some fabric. I think it looks better then the signs but don’t tell her that.

And during all that on one of her few trips into the house to take a break Mom found that Yeller had started to eat her muck boots … From the top down … LOL

When Dad and I got home we took pity on her and went and got tacos for dinner from town.

Working the day away

Today we sent the day working again. There is something about spring that gets Mom out and working on the farm. However, why she has to drag me and Dad along with her is besides me … LOL! She started by making us pancakes for a bribe … I mean for breakfast … LOL!

After we got a full stomach, Mom sent Dad and I to swap out some wood at the lumber yard and get some gas for the tractor and lawnmower. While we were gone Mom planted some seeds and weeded the Cactus beds. When we got home she put us to work too.

Our big job of the day is our annual trash day. We don’t have public trash service so we burn everything that we can and then once a year we haul all the medal and glass off to the dump. We not only take the house hold trash but we also take the medal and glass farm trash as well. It looks like a lot but it is an annual haul so we think it isn’t to bad. As the repairs get less the trash will too …

At some point while loading the trash I tried to snap a picture for you all. You see the black sea of lambs by the barn???? Jethro is under and in the middle of it. It was pretty funny to see those little booger bouncing off him as he lay there sleeping.

Anyway, while Dad and I hauled the trash Mom stayed home and got to work with the wood we had just exchanged. She has everything but the walls to the shop done and she has gotten to the point of installing the stalls … She got this one up but will have to wait for the lambs to be let out of the barn tomorrow before she can put anymore up. This is the divider that will keep the bales of hay out of our tack.

When we got home Dad and I went to the roping pen. I have a big roping tomorrow and am trying to get all the practice in I can. After I got done I finished up the second feeders that I have made in the last two days. I made one yesterday for the sheep on the pasture and today I made this one for the goat pen.

Mom also made a small on from scraps of wood in the new barn as well. Her’s is shorter and for use in the sheep stalls.

I have to tell you I have been teasing Mom. She was working in the new barn and says she keeps hearing a critter. I keep telling her that since we can’t find anything, that means she is hearing a ghost … LOL It took her a while to figure it out but she says she thinks it is a frog. She says that when she starts moving the big stall panels we are going to find a frog. I say it is a ghost and I am sticking to that story because as of yet neither Dad nor I have heard this “ghost”. LOL. I will also say that with all this work that is getting done around here the Podcast will be a day late …

More Spring

Why is it that Spring the time for getting things done and cleaning? If it doesn’t for you, let me tell you it does for Mom. That means she has use working on all the little things we couldn’t get done because of winter. However, Today Petunia decided to turn Mom’s day upside down and show her who as really in charge around here.

With that in mind we started our day getting Petunia and her new twins in the barn. Thanks to Shea on Facebook they are now named Bambi and Feline!

After that I did chores and then started creating. I am making more feeders. The great thing is that I am using the wood the builders left behind from making the barn.

I got one feeder half done before Dad got up and I went to the roping pen. Mom however, spend this time in the house at her sewing machine. She was figuring out how to make a Peek-a-Boo bag with a Zipper closure.

After Dad headed to work for his last night this week, Mom had herself and I outside finishing putting up the top rail on the yard pen. I am happy to say the top rail is done and the North side of the house even has the staples put in to hold the woven wire in place. We are waiting for the south side of the house to set up before we put the staples in. After that all we will have to do is the bottom rails but that will require money and that means waiting and saving. The good news is that Holly can no longer jump out of the pen so she no longer needs her cement block to be chained to … This is a big plus as Mom hated that we couldn’t keep her in any other way.

After we got that done I went back to work on my feeder and got it done. I didn’t get any pictures taken though. Mom headed to the garden to make her Teepee. She will plant cucumbers on it and then kids can sit inside it kind of like a hide out.

I did get a bit distracted from my work day though … Check this out … Sproung is starting up around here and it is funny to see the new Mom’s on Babysitting duty. The new Mom’s try to keep up with the kids the older ladies just lay down and watch them. Then they just call them back from time to time. The new Mom’s are much more fun to watch though.

So as of today we have 19 babies with only two ewes left to go … And who knows if we will get any Goats this year … Oh have I got a tail to tell you about our goats but I will post that story tomorrow …

Side Note – As of April 1st the Straw Family Farm and RJ’s QTs will be combining their Facebook pages and we will be leaving twitter. I am hoping that we can improve our online updates by limiting the number of ways we post each update. I have already left a few social media and so has Mom. However, Rav, Facebook, Plurk, the blog and podcast will all stay …

Alot of Spring going on

Today there wasn’t anyone big thing that went on. There were however, alot of this and that and most of that was work! All of it was good though.

I started my day with chores and the normal routine. When Dad got up, he and I worked to move and clean a few feeders out. I move This one to the pasture so there will be more room for all the sheep to eat.

While I was at it I cleaned out the Cattle hay feeder and moved it. I still have to finish with the hay pile but after that this pen will be done and spring cleaned!

Before Dad left for work he shared his news of the day with us … on March 15th 2015 my Dad had been employed for 10 years with his company. At work they gave him a certificate and pin. He got both when he hit 5 years too …

After Dad left for work Mom got down to the real work … Until then she had spent most of her time in the kitchen “playing” and getting ready for our Ag Day at the State Capitol that we will attend on the 1st of April. She came out of the kitchen with this …

Anyway, After Dad left we headed to town to pick up some boards. You see we made the yard pens last year and we started using them with Mom saying they weren’t finished. Well, today we took one more step to getting them done. At the lumber yard Mom tricked me and I ended up driving home from town for the first time. I don’t like driving in town or on the highway so I never do. Our Gravel roads I am comfortable with but Mom says it is time for me to start driving real roads … LOL … I think Mom enjoyed being the passenger to much if you ask me!

Once we got home Mom and I put the top rail on the yard pen the goats are in. I have to admit the rail makes so much difference. I am one of those people who has a hard time picturing things in my mind. Mom kept telling me that the pen wasn’t done but I just saw crooked posts and stretched out woven wire from the Goats “trying” the fence all the time.

However, today we not only put on the top rail but we set the posts with concrete. Those two little things made our pen look so much better. Not to mention that now Holly can’t jump out of it. I know we have to do things a little at a time because we aren’t rich. I get that. I just wish sometimes I could see what Mom sees in her head when she starts projects that take longer to complete.

We still have the bottem rail to go (that will wait until there is more money to buy the wood) and the gates are not on permanent either. The Gates will be done when they get the rest of their braces and they are straight and when the bottem rail goes in so that we can hang them right. For now they are up simply to keep the goats where they should be. Anyway, here are a few pictures of the pen with the top rail … what do you think??

Mom teased me about laying down on the job when I had to lay over the top rail to put the concrete where it went … LOL

Just think how good it will all look after Mom Mowes the front part.

The final thing that happened today is that Paige gave us a little girl that Mitchpoo from Plurk Named Cinderella. I got her moved into the barn and set up in a pen. She will return to the pasture Saturday Morning.

All business

So today was Dad’s second day on Nights, so Mom and I had to be extra quiet while Dad slept the morning away. That gave Mom and I time to chat about a few things around here. We figured out that since we spent time trying to keep in contact with our followers that we were not doing a good job of it at all because we spread our selves to thin to be good at anyone Media. Look at all the ways we are online …

Contacts for Mom: Ravelry – RJsMom
Pinterest -The Straw Family Farm
Pod Cast – http://www.farmontheprairie.com
Etsy – http://www.etsy.com/shop/QTFarmshop
Email – farmontheprairie@gmail.com
Facebook – The Straw Family Farm
Youtube – The Straw Family Farm

Contacts for Me: Ravelry – YoungShepherd
Rav Group – http://www.ravelry.com/groups/rjs-qts
Plurk – YoungShepard
twitter – YoungShepard
Flickr – young_shepherd
Email – rj@barnontheweb.com
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/RJsQTs
Blog – http://www.barnontheweb.com
ustream – youngshepherd

That lead Mom and I to do away with some of these social media already … Mom deleted her Pinterest and I closed my Flickr and ustream as I don’t ever use them. Finally we then decided to try a management software but the free version will only allow us to post to three profiles. So we are even thinking of combining the farm and the QT facebook pages as well. Here is my Question to you … what social media do you use?

Please Vote so that we can see how everyone keeps up and that way we can use the info to do a better job of keeping you all informed. Mark all that apply to you.

Before the storms came rolling in I did fit in some roping. Then Mom and I were off to Art Class. That is okay because as of right now we haven’t had any babies come today … The great thing about today is that tonight when I went into the new barn to feed the Mommas and Ewes in Holding a wonderful thing happened. Because of the babies coming so fast and us not having all the pens up in the barn I had to move Twix and Yuchi into one pen. Neither are 100% so they get along just fine leaving each other alone. Anyway, I dumped Twix’s feed first and before I could get over to Yuchi’s bowl to feed her, she got up on her own and walked to the feed troth to eat with Twix. This is the first time since her Issues that she has gotten to her feet without our help. And this is a step in the right direction. Mom is over joyed to the point of tears. Yuchi is her baby and she is very happy to know she is improving.

Babies, Babies and more Babies

Okay so I didn’t blog last night. I had every intention to but things just didn’t go as planned. Well, most of the day did. I did chores and helped Mom get a few things done around the farm. Things like burning the brush pile and getting some seeds planted in the garden. I even took time to Register Melody. She is Carrie and Chuck’s baby and both are registered stock.

Then I went to rope and found that Coop had an issue with one of her shoes. I had to make arrangements to get it fixed without leaving her for along time as there is a gap between her hoof and the shoe. After dealing with that I was tired and it was late so I thought I would just wait until morning to blog… After all the only thing we needed to do was name Pace’s Twins and tell about her Dramatic birth. That shouldn’t be a problem, right??

Okay, then I went to sleep and got up for the 3am feeding … At that point I found Piper had popped out twins but I thought I still had it under control. By the morning feeding, and Pistol spitting out one more baby, I will now admit to everyone I don’t have it under control. So This is going to be another catch up post and every one of the babies are named as I posted to Facebook and Plurk this morning to get them names Quickly.

So Here is Pace’s twins … Heaven’s Joy named them Nemo and Dory as one is a girl and one is a boy!

Pace did have a bit of Drama with her delivery but it is a different kind of drama. It consitted of a middle of the night delivery while the dogs engaged a coyote on the other side of the pasture. Short version is Mom with Flashlight protecting the babies and Pace, Me with the gun and the Dogs doing their job. With the dogs handling the coyote I ran to the house and traded my gun for the birthing kit and helped Mom get everyone into the new barn. The long version would make for a better story but my post isn’t done yet and I don’t plan on this one post becoming a Novel!! LOL

At three AM I found Piper with her twins … Now named Chip and Dale by Mary on Facebook. Again one girl and one boy. (Mom said Dale can be a girl’s name too…LOL)

This morning at chore time I found Pistol spitting out this little bundle … A single Girl That Katie O dubbed Jessie!

It is at this point in the day that I actually plurked … STOP THE WORLD I WANT TO GET OFF… LOL … As I continued chores I found that my Big Black Buck, that I call Bob, had gotten his head stuck in the fence. It took two of us to get his head unstuck and that was all before 9am.

Then add in our bottle feedings and Man has life been crazy these past few days … Really, the crazyness needs to stop around here. If you are keeping count, I walked the pasture today, we only have 4 or 5 more ewes to go so life should calm down very soon I hope. As for the rest of my day I am headed to get Coops hoof fixed, attend a college roping to try and get noticed for the rodeo team scholarship and I am praying that all stays quiet. However, I will not be responsible if things go crazy again … My plan is to get back to posting daily but only God knows what is instore for our wonderfull little farm!!

Catch up time

So I owe you a long post so that I can catch you up on everything that has been going on. Spring is a Happy but busy time on the farm. With that said … No there are no new lambs today however, the little one Payton popped out will now be called Perdita, Thanks to Ms. Diane. She says it is the Momma Dog from 101 Dalmatians. Both Mom and Baby are doing great and they will get to leave the barn tomorrow morning if all continues as it should.

Now to fill you in on everything else. Yesterday we were in Tulsa at a shop called Get Stitchin’. We had a great time. Mom did spinning demos and Scamp was my responsibility. There was a ton of chatting and laughing and fun.

Ms. Lori was there to greet us and hang out a bit but she had to run the shop as well…

Scamp had his own little corner for Quiet time when he needed it

I also took care of feedings

And the most fun was had teaching others about him and them getting to know him.

One lady even tried to tuck him into her purse and get away … Yup it was Jane!!! LOL

When we got home Scamp enjoyed being back where he knows his place and getting a bit of sleep. I on the other hand headed to my final Goat roping. I did great but I was so tired. Mom was home alone so she took the time to podcast however, it is a bit of a long one as we had a really busy week. I watched it and Mom was kind of funny in it too …

Anyway, Today was a skein of a different color. Dad and I started our day working all the sheep and goats. We clipped their feet and gave shots and banded anything that needed it. In the process I found that Cinnamon has another issue. You see I have been feeding her a bit more because she is a bit thin. She isn’t wormy (we have had her tested) but she just can’t seem to keep the weight on her. However, we are feeding her so much that her feet are growing like crazy. She is still thin but with the extra feed her feet are out of control. The ground is really wet too due to the spring rains. That has lead to her having the start of footrot. We are doctoring her for it but I feel like I am not making much difference. The goat is thin, you feed she still doesn’t gain but her feet get bad. Don’t feed and she has healthy feet but then I worry about not being able to maintain her weight. Sometimes you just feel like you can’t win. This is one of those times.

While Dad and I were working the animals, Mom went on a secret mission with her BFF Ms. Karen!! They ended up in central Kansas. They ended up bringing home this ….

No not Scamp, he was already here but that little brown multi colored lamb is 100% Merino Ram Bottle baby. He arrived with the name Henry but Mom quickly changed it to Duke!! All in All it was a good day and the weekend was a blast … By the way we sold out of all the yarn we had dyed and Mom sold Most of her bags as well. Over the next week or so we will be working to get more product prepared for the shop. Mom will be hand spinning some yarns and she has decided to sell some raw fiber as well as make some more bats … Oh and just so you know Mom got a Jumbo flyer for her kiwi and she talks about it in the pod cast !!!!

Oh Happy Day …

Today was a really long day so this post will be a really short one. I spend a wonderful but long day at a little shop called Get Stitchin’ in Tulsa. We had a lot of fun and Scamp and I got to meet a ton of new friends. When I got home I headed straight for my Goat roping where I won every hole. I am tired and headed to bed.

However, Not before I ask for another Disney name … A girl name this time. You see about a hour before we got home from Tulsa Dad called and informed me that Payton spit out another young lady … Check out this beauty …

So what do you want to call her??