Pause....

We are in that period between shearing and lambing at DreamCatcher and it seemed like a good time for me to reflect on the last year.

Like everyone with a pasture, or a lawn for that matter, we have been impacted by the drought. Jennifer had to start feeding hay at least two months earlier than last year and because of the drought the quality of the hay has been much less and of course the hay has been much more expensive.

Jennifer and her friends Bob and Donna, built a “hay station” which limits the amount of wasted hay as well as reducing the amount of vegetable matter in the fleece but most importantly, keeps the ewes on all 4’s to prevent them climbing up to get to the top of the bale.  Going vertical can increase the possibility of prolapse which Jen wants to avoid at all cost.

There have been some exciting additions to the flock. Jen purchased a new ram “XRay” who has some marvelous Welsh blood lines and we are excited to see what the new lambs look like. Ray is a pretty good natured guy and from the swelling milk bags seen during shearing, appears to have been efficient at his job.

XRay...baby I'm soooo tired

Jen also spotted some Finnsheep that she was interested in Minnesota so I decided to join her on the trip up to get two lambs and to visit the farm where they were raised. It was a beautiful drive with the Minnesota lakes around every turn and those fascinating geometric barns. Jen picked two cuties Lily who is a “badger face” with a mixture of white and brown and Nutmeg a brown Finn. 

Lily & Nutmeg in the back of the Honda

The drive back was not so lovely. Seems Lily and Nutmeg had not been weaned and so being abruptly separated from the nipple, they serenaded us with something is between a whine and a baaaaaaaaa the entire 7 hrs back.  When we got to the farm both of us leapt out of the Honda so fast the car shook.  Once home, life settled down.  Nutmeg is a really a sweet little girl. Lily is a wild child but settling down. The allure is seeing how the combination of BFL and Finnsheep comes out in the fleece. Oh yes they also have multiples. I heard numbers like four and five. We shouldn’t know that until next year as they weren’t bred this year (hopefully!).

Chad training Breeze to load

Tammy working with Breeze

With the horses we have had some significant events.  Breeze who was born on the farm turned four and I sent her off to be trained with Tammy Dunham, the wife of our awesome ferrier Chad, in late fall.  She left a spoiled brat and came back with terrific manners. Tammy also gave me some wonderful support and advice as well as riding and training lessons.  Winter came before we got many rides in but expect to go back at it this spring.

And…. drum roll please. Jennifer rode Gracie! Gracie is the mare that came with the farm. First she had an injured leg that made her according to the vet unridable plus she was, I think the polite word is” spooky.” We once had her tied loosely or so we thought to the gate  and  something unknowable to humans scared her and off she went gate and all racing around the paddock endangering all animals and people anywhere near her.

We put her on Adequin shots for six months and the vet pronounced her able to be ridden. The horse whisperer Jennifer took over and has formed a bond with Gracie.  She has loved the ground work but finally Jen says “I am going to ride her today.” We saddled her up and I stood at the side gripping the lead rope and Jen got on.  Nothing, she was a pussy cat. Then I went out on Gypsy and Jen on Gracie and we went for a ride in the pasture both us grinning and saying “Can you believe this day has finally come after five years that we are ridding at the same time on two different horses-wow!

Breeze ran along with us and was gorgeous racing by and coming when called. Not a really good idea but no one died that day. Now this horseback riding thing has not been without its excitement.  I am getting kind of creaky and on one of my dismounts I got my jacket caught in the horn and while trying to get loose from that my foot slipped through stirrup. I was fortunate that Gypsy stayed calm while I unfolded myself. (Sorry no pictures.) So I had to practice proper dismounting about 100 times. I had always imagined the end of my life coming when a Border collie threw a ball under my feet on the steps but it may end up involving a horse. I added that to my list of horse safety rules: “Stand up in the saddle before swinging your leg over.”

The guardian dogs continue to do their job and present an ongoing challenge to keep them in. Bella can get out of a locked box I am convinced. She is smaller and more slender. She likes to retrieve bones off of deer carcasses. I guess that is better than the petrified bunny she used as a toy for a year.

Nora gets only better. She has become the consummate chore dog. She is just as comfortable pushing the sheep away from the feeding troughs and holding the sheep back when Jen feeds as she is at gathering and holding. Jen kindly gives Charly who is now 12, opportunities to gather which pleases her to no end.

So this year has been a challenging one in some ways and a satisfying one in other ways.  It has made me think of the changes that have happened since the day we went out to “just look” at the farm 5 plus years ago.  We started with one horse three Border collies with some experience in herding about 8 sheep and a “loner” Guardian Dog.  All the fences had to be repaired or replaced the barn was caving in. The paddock and corral were overgrown with weeds as was the lambing shed. It was also filled with the remnants of birds which had been raised there.  The farmhouse had been turned into a guys hunting place so had no stove, lots of beer kegs and a pool table in it. The guys had rehabbed it while drinking and setting off fireworks and throwing things in their burn pile. With the help of friends and family lilacs now grow where the burn pile was. The lambing shed also has a fenced area. Fences have gone in we have a red metal roof on the farmhouse. We also have a garden with raised beds. And Hostas transplanted from Jen’s mothers garden, line the front of the house. We also now have a tack shed and a loafing shed in the pasture. The barn still looks like it will collapse any day and my plans of building a house retiring and moving out to the farm keep getting pushed farther in the future. Jen continues to do the “heavy lifting “both literally and figuratively and I remain the consummate hobby farmer wanting to give bottles to the lambs and pet everyone. And walking in the pasture in spring remains my biggest passion as well as planting flowers and bushes.

Deb with Basil

Both of us are so grateful for the friends and family who have helped and supported us in this dream. I especially want to thank my sister Deb her husband Terry and two of their sons James and Matthew who have helped us put up a wood fence in front of the farm, shoveled poop from horses & sheep and helped with the shearing and inoculations last year. Caryn and Joe Miller have helped in every way from putting up fences, sharing feed, with the lambs and on and on.  Donna and Bob Putnam have wrestled sheep, farm sat and made“permanent record” through Bob’s photography.  Bobby and Wendy Miller and Tammy and Chad Dunham have helped with the equine part of the farm and training of both the horses and us.  Jennifer’s sister Linda and her husband Rodger have also been great supports as has her brother Chris and his wife Kathy.  Chris and Jennifer make a great team when repairing things or dealing with stock. They don’t even have to talk much and no one yells and throws things. Neighbors Terry and Tim who supply hay, without saying anything, come over and shovel the driveway out after big snows.

So in approximately two weeks lambing will start and the adventures for this lambing season will begin again.