Chicago

Navy Pier

This week I had an appointment in Chicago and the University of Chicago Medical Center. Some know that we've had troubles with loosing babies late, and for that last two years, early, and everytime. Sofar all boys...the University of Chicago is conducting research on this type of problem as there is no answer for what is going on. Anyhow....my husband and I flew to Chicago, not really knowing what to expect.
And were pleasantly surprised. It was beautiful, at least where we were down by the lake. It was getting dark when we arrived to our hotel and had to hurry out to see something. Navy Pier was just a block away.
The weather couldn't have been better. I think 80's compared to our whopping 100+. There were many little parks and you can rent a bike to ride on the paths up and down Lake Michigan. Which I would definitely recommend over driving over there :-) That was an interesting experience in itself and we were in a cab. We were literally just a few inches away from other people int heir cars. I can't believe the cars weren't touching. Our cab drivers were both very courteous and honest.
There was alot of activity on the lake. They had cruises coming and going. The tallships were there and that was fun to see. Too bad we didn't have time to ride on one.
In the evening, we had supper down along the canal below at a little cafe. Once we returned to our room, we had a treat. The firework that were going off over the lake could be viewed from our window. It was really a nice trip, despite how short we were there. Next day I had my appointment and we flew home.

Chloe and Clementine

Sometimes things just work out. Several years back, when we had boer goats, we had purchase two, beautiful, white Pyranees dogs who were supposed to be ready to go and good guard dogs. They were raised with goats, and they were probably at least 6 months old. It didn't matter what we did, those dogs would take off down the road. They'd go through electric fence as well, even after we had them shorn. It was like watching Dumb and Dumber. It took about 2 weeks for us to have them sold to someone else who like Pyranees and understood they weren't getting the worlds smartest duo. That experience pretty much ruined our desire for guard dogs.

This past spring, prior to lambing and after the sheep had been moved to a bigger pasture, I thought about finding something to look after them as coyotes are commonplace here. I've heard llamas were a good choice, but after extensive research...it was iffy. You had to get a good one and I just didn't feel up to trying one and having it not be suitable for guarding. So, I looked at the different breeds of guard dogs. Read different posts and it seemed like that was probably the best way to go. We weren't ready to make that commitment yet, and lambing was imminent and the dogs would have to be trained....but, the happiest people, the ones I found anyhow, were ones with crosses between Pyranees and Anatolian. That's what I decided, back then, I would get if I ever did get a dog.

So we lambed out and I lost my first lamb. Pretty confident that it was an eagle that took that one. Just before we had gotten the puppies, another one was killed...by something else. It was either a coyote or a stray dog.

A buyer had come for some sheep and she mentioned she had puppies- they were the crosses I was looking for, it crossed my mind that maybe I should get one. But I still wasn't sure. And, they were spoken for. Later, I made a comment that it crossed my mind to get one and it turned out someone didn't get theirs. So 2 were left. Of course when she emailed the photos that pretty much made the decision. At first we were only getting one, but decided on the pair. It was a good choice. One of the best swaps I've done...thank you Tabitha for the wonderful puppies.

These 2 little girls are really smart and they pay attention. Dont' run off, either. For the first week they just stayed on the porch and hung out with us. They were curious and would follow us into the sheep pens. They are now in with the girls, have their own pen right now, mostly for their own safety. I have a couple ewes with attitude :-)

I think these little girls will work out well.

The Boys- Sold

Sorted sheep again this week. Some of the sale ewes had gotten loose and in with the main flock and some of the ewes from the main flock decided to go in with the sale ewes. This gave me the opportunity to go ahead and catch my ram lambs and separate them from the ewes.

They adjusted to the change well. A little head butting and running around, but it didn't last long. Neville-the big ram, would get in on the fun and when he'd hit them, they'd go rolling. That pretty much put an end to the fun.

This guy is solid black. Super nice fleece. He is one of two black rams that were born this year.

This little guy is another really nice one. Nice fleece, conformation...... this year there just weren't any "bad" ones.

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The Boys

Sorted sheep again this week. Some of the sale ewes had gotten loose and in with the main flock and some of the ewes from the main flock decided to go in with the sale ewes. This gave me the opportunity to go ahead and catch my ram lambs and separate them from the ewes.

They adjusted to the change well. A little head butting and running around, but it didn't last long. Neville-the big ram, would get in on the fun and when he'd hit them, they'd go rolling. That pretty much put an end to the fun.

This guy is solid black. Super nice fleece. He is one of two black rams that were born this year.

This little guy is another really nice one. Nice fleece, conformation...... this year there just weren't any "bad" ones.

.

Ram Lambs

I have several nice ram lambs available. Colors range from a dark black, grey, fawn and moorit.

Price: $175

I've sold several of the ewe lambs. As with the ram lambs, the ewes came out super nice. Excellent conformation, fleece-the whole package. Prices are $175 3 or more together- $125/each

I have a few 2-3 year olds to move out. They are $75.

Sale Ewe Lambs

44

44

43

43

27

27

26

26

39

39

25

25

Sold

33

33

Lambs on Ground, Photos Soon To Follow

It has been a busy winter. Lots happening- good and bad. Computer was down in January and I still don't have the new tower up and running. Got it a couple weeks ago and haven't had the time to finish reloading everything. I've been working on this laptop in the meantime and am really liking the portability of it. It's nice to work at the kitchen table instead of my little computer cubby.

Lambing wrapped up just about 2 weeks ago. My first lamb was on the ground early March and the rest all pretty much came 2 weeks later, in a span of a few days. I've somewhere around 25 this year.