Farm Fresh Blog

Tolstoy credits this little pearl to an Arabic Wisdom:

Moses said to God, "Where can I find you?"

God said, "If you are looking for me, you have already found me."

I spend a lot of time looking at sheep butts.   

Now before you call the authorities and have me hauled off, let me explain.  I like "tending" sheep.  I enjoy walking out among my little charges, sipping my coffee, while I look for signs of impending births, impending problems, and anything else that happens to catch my eye. 

Briar and I compare notes.

Take this ewe for instance.

     Because I don't have an exact date on when she should be due, I've been waiting on Big Mamma here to deliver for a month. Thus, I spend a lot of time staring at her butt. She is the lead ewe.  While she is not the exact picture of what I'd like to breed for, she has the right temperament, and she throws nice hulking babies.  This ewe is the calm voice of reason among the flock. (if it can be said that sheep EVER possess a voice of reason)  Because of this, I named her "Maa."

     Not every sheep has a name.  Some are just sheep - nameless, faceless butts, in a sea of black and white. But some are special.

 Roanie

I enjoy spending time walking among them with their Great White Dog.  Time slows down as I listen to them graze, peace settles on the pasture . . . and in my soul.

Clouds pass overhead and I have romantic notions of what life must have been like for shepherds who spent most of their time alone, tending their flock.  I swallow that last drop of coffee and walk back to the house, quite aware that if I were freezing my ass off in a Wyoming winter with those shepherds right now, the image would not be nearly as romantic.

Marshal is an Anatolian Shepherd. (Don't get excited, he's not mine!) Dear Friend just bought Baby Marshal.  She and Vet Husband raise turkeys and chickens. 

Last year they also had goats. Last year coyotes ate one of the goats.

Enter Marshal . . .

When Marshal grows up, that won't happen again. Marshal will be big.  Big!  BIG! (Bigger than Briar!) Since Marshal is a baby, he needs a livestock family now, so Briar loaned Marshal some of her goats and sheep.

Marshal knew what goats were because his breeder had goats.

But WHAT IS THAT??!!!!!

Sheep were definitely NOT in Marshal's databanks. At first he ran back to Mom . . .

 . . . and they studied sheep together.

Sheep are definitely NOT goats.

But Marshal soon moved off to study sheep on his own.

Nope. I don't think that the coyotes will eat anything in Marshal's pasture when he grows up. Do you?

He kinda reminds me of someone else I used to know.  Remember this little girl?

My! My! My! What a difference a year makes!

     Forced bedrest gives you lots of time to think. Yesterday afternoon I had an epiphany as I stared at the cobwebs on the ceiling fan. This will not come as a surprise to fans of The Briar Patch, but believe it or not, this Big White Dog has quite a following.  Other Half is still shaking his head in amazement.  I told him that he won't think it's funny when that Big White Dog brings home a paycheck. I finally decided to follow the advice of so many of you and do a Children's book about Briar & Roanie.

     Last night I waded through all the photos I've taken of Briar from the tiny puppy to the smiling mountain she has become. After I select the photos, then I'll write the picture book text around them.  At that point, we'll begin the laborious task of finding an agent interested in the tale (tail!) of a Big White Dog and an Injured Sheep. Wish us luck!

. . . there are no sick days, there is simply a shifting of priorities. Normally you are concerned with feeding everyone, turning everyone out, making sure no one gets eaten by the coyotes, etc. When you are sick, you are doing good to get everyone fed. Here's how it works:

Thursday:  wake up with wretched headache. Decide that it will go away. Pop some Advil and go to work. Buy Dayquil and Nyquil at convenience store on way home from work.  Guzzle Nyquil and go to bed.

Friday: Wake up to head that feels like a football on Superbowl Sunday. Take Dayquil. Go to work. Warn co-workers to stay away.  We are a small, specialized unit. Six people for the entire metroplex. With each cough I become more aware of the fact that I am infecting the entire unit. Assure myself that this is the worst day and tomorrow will be better.

Saturday:  I lied.  Tomorrow is not better.  Tomorrow is now Today, and it sucks.  Am coughing up a lung. Running a fever.  There is a growing mountain of Kleenex on the night stand (dog kennel beside the bed) Accept the fact that I am sick. Realize there is NO WAY I can go to work without infecting EVERYONE. Call in sick. Feed livestock. No new lambs. Turn sheep out. Go back to bed. Send Other Half to store for Musinex. Other Half returns with Musinex , Kleenex, and a stuffed animal. (Awwwwwww . . . ) Then he goes to work.

Throw all dogs outside. Plan to sleep all day. Dogs are barking at everything that moves. Turn on television to drown out barking dogs.  Dogs bark louder.  Dogs are fence-fighting with Mother's dog next door. Finally drag out of bed, fling open patio door and scream at top of lungs "Shut up! Shut up! Shut the *#@! up, you stupid dogs!"

(This is how the people across the road learn new words.)

Dogs are momentarily silent. I slam patio door and go back to bed. Turn on heating pad. Go to sleep. Other Half calls to make sure I haven't died. Stumble to kitchen to make a bowl of cereal. Collapse in cushy chair in front of television. Stare at television in a stupor. Cough through two hours of Sex In The City. Bring dogs in house. Go back to bed while watching television. Listen to Livestock Guardian Dog bark for FOUR SOLID HOURS!  If she is locked in barn, she cannot protect rams, but she will shut up.  By the end of the fourth hour, decide that I do not care if the rams are eaten by coyotes. I HAVE GOT TO GET SOME SLEEP! Lock Briar in barn.  Go back to bed. Forget to put Baby Border Collie Trace in his kennel.  Wake up to discover that he has pooped all over the hallway and has fingerpainted in it.  Clean up hallway. At least I cannot smell the poop that is smeared all over the tile.

While I am cleaning up hallway, he poops in living room.  Want to sit down and cry, but because of constant running nose, am so dehydrated that there are no tears. Throw Trace outside into kennel on back porch. Go back to bed. Finally get to sleep.  Other Half comes home from work and begins to gripe about poor little Trace, in the cold, on the back porch. I am not the picture of sympathy.  He's not sick. He chose to poop in the house. I roll over and go back to sleep.  Hear him yell at Trace for peeing in the living room.  Get some morbid sense of satisfaction out of that.  Go back to bed.

Sunday:  Wake up and throw dogs outside.  Stumble out to see if coyotes got rams.  Nope. Good. Go back to bed. Wake up to phone ringing. Roll over to see who would call at this gawdawful early time in the morning.  It is 11:30 am.  Uh oh! Dear Friend has new Anatolian Shepherd puppy and wants to come get the Boer goat does that I promised to loan her for his socialization training. Stumble out of bed. Feed Very Hungry Very Indignant Farm. Put dog collars on confused goats. Let sheep out.  Accidentally let Trace in with sheep while letting Briar in with sheep.  Call puppy. He ignores me to go gather sheep. Consider shooting myself and going back to bed. People on Nyquil should not match wits with Border Collie Puppies. Finally get puppy captured and thrust him back through fence. 

Dear Friend and Husband come for goats. Try not to cough on them. Put leashes on goats and lead them with a bucket of feed across pasture, down the fence line and into their new pasture. Baby Anatolian puppy says hello.  Awwwww . . . They are not impressed. Watch long enough to determine that goats will not hurt puppy and puppy will not hurt goats.  Go back to bed. Wake up hungry. Wake Other Half up and insist he make me pork chops. Wonder of wonders - he does.

Feel better with food in belly. Other Half demands to know why there are no vitamins in house.  I argue that I do not like to take pills and would rather get my vitamins in my food.  Other Half scoffs, "Chocolate?"  (That was mean.  You shouldn't be mean to sick people.)

Send Other Half to work. Water rams and ponies. Note that Little Red Monster Pony is down.  Colic?  Sleeping? Go check him out.  Definitely colic.  Severe abdominal pain.  Call Other Half.  Banamine is in the fridge. Call Dear Friend.  Need help giving Beast injection because he is a Half-Pint Monster. No answer.  Walk down road.  She is gone but Vet Husband is home.  Pennies from Heaven.  Walk back down with vet.  Try not to cough on him. He holds Ruffy while I give injection.  No rodeo.  (Monster does these things to make a liar out of me.)  Put ear on his gut to listen for gut sounds.  He tries to kick me in the face.  Ahhh.... there's the Monster!  In a feat of athletic prowess that surprises me, I catch his hoof in my hand as he attempts to smash my face.  Wow! Listen again while I hold his hoof in the air.  He tries to kick me again.   Hear no gut sounds. Get turkey baster and pump Little Monster full of Pepto Bismal. Now he has a reason to be angry.  His lips are pink.

Walk Devil Pony up and down roadway until banamine takes effect. When his gut finally relaxes, put him back out in paddock where he and other pony begin to play.  O.K.  Thank Vet profusely. Hope I have not infected him.  Go back to bed. Phone Other Half for update. He agrees to call every two hours to wake me up to check on Devil Pony. True to his word, he does.

Ruffy is not happy to see me. He makes it clear that unless I come bearing cookies instead of Pepto Bismal, I can take a hike. I remind him that if his hoof had connected with my head earlier, Other Half would have let a Certain Red Monster die of colic. He is not impressed. But he is alive, and that's all I care about, so I go back to bed. This is repeated every two hours until Other Half comes home from work.

Have six (6!!!!) uninterrupted hours of sleep! Border Collie #1 (Lily) wakes me up to inform me that everyone with 4 legs has to pee and they would very much like me to drag my butt out of bed to open the patio door for them. Stumble to the door.  It is pouring down raining. Why me, Lord? Dearly, dearly want to go back to bed, but must check on Monster Pony and Ewe-About-To-Pop. Ewe has no babies. Pony is standing in stall, forcing his companion to stand out in the rain. He is very much back to his normal self.

Stand in rain, looking at Grumpy Ungrateful Pony and wonder what people who live in subdivisions do when they get sick.

To read more about Ruffy:

Hyacinth bulbs in my kitchen window

They permeate the entire house with a sweet floral smell. (When you have a Bloodhound, every little bit helps!)

Unfortunately, I can't smell them.  I have a head cold. There is never a convenient time for a head cold. Other Half is working overtime, the temperatures are freezing, we're already running short on hay, I have another pregnant ewe that simply refuses to drop her baby, and I've almost eaten an entire pound cake in three days. Calories don't count if you're blowing your nose every 2 minutes. Right? Besides, when you're sick you should eat fruit. Am I right? Since strawberries are a fruit, I choose to eat strawberry shortcake! Please don't remind me of this the next time I'm whining about how fat I'm getting . . . I put a half a stick of butter in that pound cake!

After everything this ewe has been through, it's hard not get sentimental about her, and in turn, it's hard not to get sentimental about her babies.  Because they belong to Roanie, we decided to keep them as wethers and use them to work the dogs. They have been christened "Macaroni" and "Ricearoni" since their mother is "Roanie."

Not only did Roanie survive the dog attack, she gained the use of her leg again. She was Briar's friend in a pasture of sheep, who at best, ignored the puppy. And now, Roanie has twins.  Today was their first day out with the rest of the flock and Roanie had definite hesitations about taking them out of the barn.

After a few false starts, where she teased them with glimpses of The Great Outdoors, only to return them to the sheep pen, she finally took a breath and headed through the alley to the Lamb Paddock.

They had to pass goats . . .  and . . .

. . . navigate the giant mud puddle.

Once in the Lamb Paddock, although it was mild and sunny, there were still large patches of standing water.  Poor Ricearoni hesitated as his mother and brother plowed across one.

  "MOM!  Come back!"

His cry called some of the other lambs, who hustled over to check out the new kid on the block.

But Roanie (with Macaroni in tow) splashed back through the water and informed the older lambs to "Get away from my baby!"

 One little guy took repeated head butts before he got the message.  (He's not the brightest crayon in the box.)

But eventually, they shuffled along their way.

Not only is she a survivor, Roanie is a very attentive mother.  I wish we had a dozen more ewes like this mis-matched little sheep.  

To read the story of Briar & Roanie, click: Blood Will Tell ,  Miss Hardy , Farm Drama

     We have 9 dogs - old dogs, new dogs, working dogs, retired dogs. But just because we have bright-eyed promising pups, it doesn't mean that we don't love the retired dogs with cloudy eyes and gray muzzles.  Alice the Bloodhound is my Gollum-Dog. Like Gollum in Lord Of The Rings, she skulks around in her world of darkness, a creature repulsive to others. Tumors are erupting over most of her body and the ordinary rank smell of Bloodhound is magnified by a nasty yeast smell. She is blind and her front teeth are worn down by bouts of near constant chewing.  For years, she has lived on antibiotics and steroids.  We have tried every dog food, shampoo and ear wash on the market to no avail. We have tried every home remedy on the internet. Things that used to work no longer control her skin problems, and now at her age, I'm leery of even putting anything new into her system.

     I looked at her yesterday. I can smell Alice before I can even see her. She has raw red tumors popping through the skin like volcanoes. They don't appear to hurt. She has a hearty appetite and eats more than Briar, yet she's skin and bones. She lives in a world of darkness and cloudy shadows, but she's happy.  Alice navigates the back yard like a bat in the night. The pack doesn't pick on her.  In fact, they dote on her like a grumpy old grandmother.  They clean her ears, clean her eyes, and clean the oozing tumors.  (Eegaads!  YUCK! GROSS!) No one dares to get close to her food bowl.

    Yet I look at her condition and I cannot help but wonder if we should put her down. Her tumors have tumors.  In the past, I've always said that if a dog is still happy and has a hearty appetite, then it's not time, but perhaps I was wrong about Alice.  After looking at her volcano tumors again yesterday, I picked up the phone to call Dear-Friend-Married-To-Vet.  They will honestly advise me so that I don't let sentiment lead to neglect. So I phoned Dear Friend, and as I walked into the kitchen, I saw The Most Amazing Thing . . . 

There I was, on the phone, getting advice about putting her down, and with me out of the room, Alice took the opportunity to use a chair to climb onto the stove and get the remnants of a Frito Pie that I had set aside for Briar.  Her body may be rejecting her skin, but there is nothing wrong with her nose.  She is a Bloodhound, a nose with feet . . . and Frito Pie on her breath. And she is a thief . . .

That pretty much settled the issue on whether it was time to put her to sleep.  The vet came and looked at her again last night. She is ugly, she is stinky, but she is happy. And that's the only thing that matters.  

Meet Roanie.

Roanie was part of a group of sheep that I purchased sight unseen.  I hadn't planned on keeping her. Phenotypically she wasn't what I wanted to reproduce, so I had planned to get her back in good condition and then sell her. But . . .  Someone got into the isolation pen and attacked sheep. 

  "I was never convicted of that!"

 Roanie was seriously injured. The dog had mangled her back leg. Roanie had to endure the stitching and initial treatment, and then daily injections of penicillin.  We discussed amputating the leg. We discussed euthanizing the ewe.

The ewe with less serious injuries later contracted tetanus (despite being vaccinated!) and had to be euthanized. We considered euthanizing Roanie, but she was such a trooper that I couldn't do it.  If she wanted to live, I was willing to help her. After the other ewe died, the vet told us to just throw Roanie out with the rest of the flock and hope for the best.  So we did. At that point, you could literally see daylight through her leg.

Briar was just a puppy then, but she immediately gravitated to the injured ewe.  She became Roanie's Florence Nightingale.  Roanie, the ewe who had every reason to be afraid of dogs, somehow knew this dog was different.

 Their first meeting

At the time, we felt she was destined to live out her life with a permanent severe limp, but we decided to keep her. We figured that with her limp, she couldn't be used for breeding, but she could be an auntie for weanlings. Besides, I felt we owed her, since it was my mistake that allowed the dog to get to her. So Roanie and her Florence Nightingale puppy hung out in the pasture together, and over time though, her limp became less and less noticeable.  Then there came a point where she was able to keep up with the flock with little or no limp. 

As winter approached, it became apparent that like everyone else, Roanie was pregnant. She had no trouble carrying the extra weight.  Her leg is a tiny bit shorter, but otherwise, she is fine. We decided to keep whatever baby she had. If it was a ewe lamb, I had already determined that it would stay simply because Roanie is such a fighter that I need genes like that in the flock.  And if it was ram lamb, we would just neuter it and keep him as a wether to work the dogs and wean babies. Sunday morning, Roanie blessed us with twins.  I checked her at 3 AM. No babies. By 8:30 AM she had two healthy, clean and dry little guys.

They are both rams, but we will be keeping them. Despite everything this ewe went through, she not only survived, but she thrived and reproduced. I try not to get sentimental about the livestock, but Roanie is special. We'll be keeping these little guys.  As yet, Florence Nightingale hasn't been allowed around Roanie's new babies, but I imagine that everyone will be just fine.

Remember Puss In Boots from Shrek?

I'd forgotten about Puss In Boots until I found that weepy little worried face staring at me at the herding clinic this weekend.  Lily walked into the pen with the sheep on Saturday morning and said "I don't wanna be here!  I wanna go home!"  Eegaads!

Do WHAT!!!!???  She was in major shut-down. I was in complete shock. How could this weepy-eyed creature be the same dog that regularly takes on cattle trying to kick the crap out of her? I expected major handling errors on my part. I expected her to look at me too often. I expected her to slice in on her flanks and run sheep on top of me, but never in a million years did I expect her to stand there like Puss In Boots, staring at me, frozen in her tracks.  Holy Crap!

And that's where I really came to appreciate Patrick Shannahan and the rest of the herding people at the clinic.  He patiently worked through Lily's fear.  Because Lily only had one training slot on Saturday, someone else graciously offered her afternoon slot so that we could work out Lily's problems then. Although still incredibly inhibited, Lily did loosen up and work enough in the afternoon for Patrick to see what our general problems were.  And yes, we have many.  I have worked too much on driving at the expense of her gathering skills.  That needs to be remedied. We also need to work on having her respect my bubble and the sheep's bubble. And OBVIOUSLY she needs to go to NEW places to work so she doesn't freak out and shut down again.

While neither of these runs were typical of the way Lily regularly works, both runs took our faults, compounded them, and amplified them quite loudly. But the good thing was that we were in the perfect place for that to happen. I cannot say enough good things about the people at the clinic this weekend.  They were so welcoming and supportive that I left the clinic, after not one, but TWO really poor showings, and yet I left eager to continue to learn and go to more clinics.

Unfortunately we couldn't stay for two days because we had farm work calling us. Ewes are lambing. Cows are calving, and naturally, it's cold and raining again.  Of course . . . every cow wants to be born in the cold mud. Although I regretted only be able to train for one day, I was happy to have that day.  And this morning Roanie, (remember Roanie, my favorite ewe that the police dog mauled) blessed us with twins!

Fortunately she popped both out with no trouble, but it still reconfirmed my decision to not leave our farm caretakers with the responsibilities of sheep lambing in the mud for three days. Thankfully, Roanie had enough sense to have both of these little fellows in a dry corner of the barn.   (pictures tomorrow!)