It's National Hug a Sheep Day! (and a heart-warming story)

In case you were not aware, today is National Hug a Sheep Day! Finley, however, prefers skritching since hugging is much too confining (as in uh-oh the wormer must be coming next). He suggested I tell his story.

Five years ago I rescued Finley's mother, Phoebe, off the highway where she stood motionless for four days. I had no idea what kind of animal she was, all black with beaten up horns and white for eyes. She was emaciated and blind from a case of pinkeye that had obviously gone long untreated. She was, at the very least, frightening looking.

There were no other similar animals around, nor could I locate an owner, so I convinced Farmer Rick to help me bring her home. She could only run in circles, so we were able to grab her, and after much struggling, got her into the back of the SUV. We put on a head harness and basically had to drag her to back to the pen.

My vet identified her as a Barbados Blackbelly (hair) sheep with possibly some Rambouillet (wool) sheep mixed in and said the animal had neurological damage. Perhaps she had been hit by a car. At first Phoebe was wary of us, but she really liked having a steady supply of water and nutritional sheep kibble. For a wild sheep, she was full of personality. We got rid of the pinkeye, but she was still blind. Her eyes looked like large blue Earths. She started putting on weight.

A lot of weight. In about three weeks she had become more friendly and almost doubled in size. Then one morning she swished her tail and I saw them. Milk bags! I called my knowledgeable shepherding friend over at Punkin's Patch and she said ewes usually lamb in February. So I ordered a book about ewe and lamb care.

Finley arrived before the book! We had a rooster named Avo living with Phoebe (he's featured in my masthead). He had been a little rough with the hens so we built him an apartment on the side of the sheep shed. Little did we know that he would fall in love with the blind sheep, who became his "fuzzy hen". He would mount her and ride her around, and would tidbit at her food dish so she could find her food. They grazed together. It was very sweet.

The day Finley arrived I knew something was up, because Avo was pacing frantically back and forth at the gate and Phoebe was nowhere in sight. Just as I looked behind the shed, there was Finley popping out! The vet did not think either of them would live. Phoebe lived another three years, and considering her former abused life, lived to be an old lady. Finley is a strapping lad. I hope someday to get a few more sheep and learn to spin.

 

Be sure to hug a sheep!

Cookie Monster

Finley has started asking for cookies with his foot, a signal he's always used to show that he likes something. Cookies (alfalfa cubes) definitely have his stamp of approval!

Snow!

Finley gives the snow a thumbs hoof up. (Have your sound turned on).

Sunday Stills: Pets

Happy anniversary Sunday Stills! This week's theme of pets coincides nicely with the designing our holiday greeting card. I've always loved the hand painted cards over at Punkin's Patch showing each of the farm animals and pets and wondered if someday I might do something like that photographically. Only our animals don't tend to get along with each other that well.

So, today I made the attempt. Using our well house as a backdrop and setting up the camera with a time delay on a tripod, I took multiple exposures of the various animals one at a time with us and then I used Photoshop to collage them together. Don't we look like the peaceable kingdom!

 Click to biggify!

Pictured (L-R) are: Wilson, Finley, Topaz, Me with Avo, Starley, Farmer Rick with Millicent, Francisco and Cody. These are the main characters of my blog. We are only missing the other 49 chickens and a couple of wayward kittens. You can even read the label on the pitchfork: Ranch Hand. Sort of a twist on American Gothic.

For more pet pictures visit Sunday Stills!

Animal Communication on the Farm

Avo and Finley as his "peep"

Lately, I have seen evidence of communication between chickens and sheep.

First, we noticed Avo the rooster is able to call Phoebe, our blind ewe, to food. When we throw "salad" (garden weeds) into the sheep pen Avo engages in "tidbitting," a form of communication between a rooster and his hens, where the rooster picks up a found object (usually edible), drops it repeatedly while clucking, in an attempt to draw his hens to him. Because Phoebe is blind, she can't easily find her pile of weeds as her son Finley can find his. So Avo tidbits over her weed pile until she locates it by the sound.

Sunday I discovered our sheep understand rooster warnings. While the sheep were grazing the garden paths under my supervision, Avo noticed the neighbor's dog through the fence running on the far side of their property. Chickens have a disctinctive high trill for airborne predators, and a low growl for ground predators. Avo let out a long, low growl and Finley, who was grazing with his back to the fence and could not possibly have seen the dog, jumped up in the air and ran to me, clearly understanding there was danger.

Finley and I have our own communication language. He has a way of "pawing" me when he wants attention. It's his way of saying "I want." If I mimic his motions first, he understands that if he comes I will pet him. Here are a couple of videos.





He is more like a dog than a sheep, and he wasn't a bottle baby.  He loves attention so much I call him the mutton glutton!

Where's My Kayak?

Today we finally got a big storm. Real rain. As in over 5 inches! Everything just let out a big sigh of relief. The dry creek ran. Cracked soil expanded, trying to confiscate my sandals as I rushed around checking on the animals.

We'd gotten 3/8 of an inch last night, so this new amount is causing some flooding! Not enough to worry about yet, although Phoebe and Finley were not amused standing in their sheep "pond" this morning. Also, rain blew into the new coop from the unfinished overhang creating a small playa lake in the middle of the pine shavings. The chickens were all standing around looking at it while King Avelino tested the water with a foot and complained loudly.

It's temporarily brought the river back up to something worth kayaking--from near 0 to 260 cfs. Our dry well, however, has yet to see any results. There's more rain in the forecast for tonight and the rest of the week, so we can hope!

Sunday Stills: Rule of Thirds

After telling everybody I've been using the Rule of Thirds for a while, do you think I could get the animals to cooperate?

Avo, King of the Sheep (or Fuzzy Hens as he prefers) kept trying to explain the Rule of Twenty Sevenths. It was beyond me.

Finley suggested I use the fence to do my proportioning, although he says he prefers using the fence to scratch his rear ear.

Zoe the Apenzeller Spitzhauben hen and the yet unnamed White Crested Black Polish rooster just gave me a look like I am crazy...and of course, I am the Crazy Chicken Lady around these parts. If you have a good name for him, I'm taking suggestions.

For more Rule of Thirds visit Sunday Stills!

Blog Friends Meet

Friday afternoon while driving through the Manzano and Sandia Mountains of New Mexico we were able to stop in to visit my blog friend Lisa and her wonderful family at Laughing Orca Ranch. We met through the Sunday Stills Photography Challenge.

We're both two tall southwestern ranch girls with cameras and lots of interesting animals! We are posing with the fly-masked Baby Doll, her lovely paint mare.

Here is Latte, a Mini LaMancha goat with the sweetest blue eyes and elfin ears. I want one!!!

And Moon Pie (or is it his sibling Mud Pie?) giving hand nibbles.
One of our many shared interests is in preserving heritage breeds. Both of us have Gold Lace Polish roosters ruling our roosts. To the left in the flock is a Churro, one of New Mexico's heritage sheep whose coarse wool is used in the making of rugs. Farmer Rick loved the llamas and now he wants one. (I have wanted a llama for a long time).

We loved the horse trailer too!!!

Lisa, thanks so much for the tour, cookies, tea and home grown peaches! Farmer Rick and I enjoyed our visit and hope you will come see us sometime!

Sunday Stills: Eyes

These eyes belong to Francisco, our Husky-wolf rescue dog. He's afraid of storms, gunshots, fireworks, and other dogs. Oddly, he gets along well with cats.

This fearful eye belongs to Cody, our Chow mix that was severely abused by his first owner. I have spent years helping to restore his trust in people.

This is the blind eye of Phoebe, our rescue sheep, looking like the Earth from the moon. Her other eye unfortunately had to be removed because of damage. I found her dying on the side of the road, where we suspect she'd been hit by a car. The vet did not want to tell me she probably wouldn't make it.

But she did, through much nurturing. And--a big surprise to us all--delivered Finley a month later. We had no idea we were rescuing two! He has beautiful eyes.

And of course, the eye of Avo, their rooster. He thinks Phoebe is his big, fuzzy "hen" and is certain Finley is his son. His secret desire is for all of us to be part of his flock.

Check out all the other eyes at Sunday Stills.

Ideal

This morning I caught this beetle on a flower known as Crow Poison, Nothoscordum bivalve. Over the next week I will be sharing the various native wildflowers blooming on the farm. Because of the exceptional drought there aren't the usual big stands of things, but most species are represented if you are willing to look for them. I had the pleasure of guiding some folks from out of state recently who were interested in the flora of the Hill Country.

Normally the short grass prairie would be so full of flowers you could not leave the path without stepping on one.

The garden is looking good, although we are behind on planting many things.

The lettuce grew so slowly, even with irrigation, that by the time it was the right size to eat it was already bitter.

Farmer Rick has been doing a great job with the compost process. We will be adding more bins across the creek near the new coop once it is finished.

A week ago we heard the Chuck Wills Widow calling from the creek. It is such an ethereal sound. Wednesday the Hooded Oriole and his gal showed up at their feeder. It's nice to have them back.

I wish I could say the same for the bird that sings (if you can call it that!) so loudly by my bedroom window that I cannot get a good night's sleep. He showed up for the second year in a row on Tuesday. My friend Bob B. helped me identify it as the Yellow-Breasted Chat, Icteria virens. Their song is described as "an odd, variable mixture of cackles, clucks, whistles and hoots. Their calls are harsh chak's". To this I would add very loud, and continuous from midnight to 5 a.m. I've started turning the sprinkler on under the tree all night to shoo him off. I hear him in the back keeping the sheep awake now.

After all, Finley is already used to annoying birds.

Avo...well he's just Avo. What can be said for a rooster in love with a blind sheep and thinks he has fathered Finley? (Notice how he's posing by the word Ideal?)

Here's Finley's idea of the ideal rooster...

Phoebe loses an eye!

This morning when I went out to feed, I had a few treats for Phoebe--the ends of carrots and broccoli left over from last night's dinner. Finley, her son, won't touch them, so that means more for her! While she was searching my hand for another morsel I noticed a trickle of blood running down her face, and then--in horror--I noticed her right eye had ruptured! I won't describe it, but let's say it was not very pretty.

She was blind when we rescued her off the highway two years ago this month, but we thought she had shown some light sensitivity in this eye. This appeared to be her better eye, at least the one that was not entirely cloudy. I have to take her to the vet this afternoon, who is working us in, so that it can be surgically removed under general anesthesia. Poor Phoebe!

From her dreadlocky wool, battered horns, misshapen hoofs from walking in circles, and forever snotty nose she already has some huge challenges. And now this! She is one tough old sheep, that's for sure. What's also certain, is we will love her just as much, if not more. For Avo her rooster, love is truly blind.

Send us healing thoughts!


Early courtship of Avo and Phoebe, before the birth of Finley.

Winter greens

We have been harvesting lettuce, mesclun, arugula, turnip greens, and kale for several weeks now. Friday we ate the first asparagus of the season. (It's in the back row, where the tall wooden trellis keeps its summery fronds from falling into the next bed.) Three kinds of onion sets are on the left, and we are finishing the raised bed to the right this weekend.

Except for the top edge, which we use as a seat when we weed, everything has been accomplished with free scrap wood. We hope to get the left side of the garden just out of the picture raised this spring. Both are already drip irrigated. The two tall structures are trellis towers which still need to be strung for beans. After last year's entanglement of morning glories we'll let the legumes have them this year.

Here I am totally covered by spent flower vines taken off the trellis this fall in an attempt to sneek up and startle my spouse. It would make a clever costume for a botanist at a masquerade party don't you think?

Phoebe and her son Finley, our rescue Barbados Blackbelly sheep, are admiring the winter greens. We line our paths with the pine shavings taken from our chicken coop and compost the rest. It's a nice system.