New milking parlor!

When I tell my husband about a project I want to do, he thinks about it awhile, then jumps right in on it. Sometimes without telling me. Or it could be right in the heat of the day, with not a bit of shade anywhere.

That's what he did a few days ago. It was hot and about noon and there was no shade at all right where I wanted the parlor. But he was out there, getting started. I told him I'd help when the sun went behind those trees.

So we got to work when it was shady there. And did this. I really love it a lot! It was like a flippin' sauna in the milk room. And I'd literally be dripping with sweat. So here is my new milking parlor. The girls like it too.

The only thing bad is the girls would jump on the stanchions and poop. Yuck!

So I put a fence around it. To keep them out during the day. Also, when the sheep are back here, they won't get in while I'm milking and bother the goats. I just need a few more loads of mulch to put around in there and outside the pallet gate. I love pallets. They are the most useful things ever.

Oh, and the view is amazing out there! And cooler .

My babies...

are getting ready to fly! They cannot be old enough already, can they? It just seems like a few weeks ago they hatched.

I walked into the milk room this morning and looked up to see one of the babies out. It's so cute.

Then a little later, there were 2 of them outside the nest. One hopped back in. I don't really know how many there are. I've seen 3.

And I checked the Mockingbird nest out by the bee hives and all 3 eggs have hatched!! They are all skin and bones right now. In a few days, they will be better to take a picture of.

Sick sheep

My ewes have Barber Pole worms. Last Thursday night, I noticed Campbelle had some puffiness under her jaws. I got some Valbazon from a friend and gave her some. Plus some Red Cell and a B complex shot.

Next morning, I saw several others with puffy jaws. So wormed them all and gave shots and Red Cell.

I got a round bale of hay Friday for them.

Then Sat. gave them all Ivermec and more B and Red Cell.

I still have 1 ewe, Annabelle, who looks a little puffy today. I won't give any more wormer til next week. I'll continue to give them Red Cell for a few more days. And I mowed the field where they are now and will keep them here til they are all better.

I cut some cedar and gave it to them today.

I completely forgot that all the ewes got these worms real bad 3 years ago when they all had lambs. I should have given them worm meds after they lambed. But I thought they were all doing so good. We did give them all Ivermec last Saturday when they were all sheared. Then boom, 5 days later, this.

                                         This is my little bottle lamb, Ella. I LOVE her ears!

                                                  And here's Legolas and Elanor. So sweet.

I hope they will all be well soon. I hate when my animals are sick. Makes me feel so bad. I should have known.

Crocheted bed spread

It is finished! Finally on the bed. It has sat over here in my studio for a year I guess, just waiting for me to finish it. It was calling me today.  I really love it.

So maybe now, I can go spin some wool.

Making...

   washcloths and dishcloths, out of an old towel. I was just going to throw it in the garage for my husband to use as a rag, but decided to make it more useful.

I feel like I am accomplishing something today!

And later, I will spin some wool.

Shearing and castrating...

DONE!

Saturday was sheep shearing day here at Outback Farm! We usually shear in March, but with pregnant ewes, we decided to wait til the lambs were all born. Kind of wish we hadn't waited. But these guys will not have any more lambs!

I had them all in the back yard, waiting, for 3 days. Saturday morning, I fed them, then put the cattle panel up to keep them in this little corner.

Matt decided to shear them right in there.

We got Amarillo first! I was SO glad to get her sheared. It had been 14 months for her. It took a good 5 hours to get all 8 sheep done. He trimmed hoofs and I wormed them all. They all had very pale eyes and gums. And it was so hot too. It really wore them all out.

When the ewes were all done, we started grabbing ram lambs to castrate them. One by one, we got all 7 of them castrated! But it sure was horrible. Those poor baby boys laid flat on the ground for a few hours. I was going to put them all out back right after, but I had to wait a few hours for the boys to recover. I held them and petted them for a long time. But they are all just fine now. I am so glad to have both these jobs done!

Not too long after I got them all out back, it looked like a big ole storm was coming. The sky got all black and grey. The wind started blowing really bad. I had milked the goats a little early and put them up front. They were being a little mean to the lambs. Then I got all the sheep and lambs and alpacas in the barn and shut the fence so they'd all stay in for the night.

Well, I thought they were all inside. Til I saw 3 lambs and a momma up on the hill. They didn't seem concerned at all. So I got them down the hill to the barn, opened the gate and they all went right in! And none of the others went out. I was amazed.

I was taking hay and water to all the animals and it was lightening and thundering all around me. It was scary! And stupid. But I have to take care of my animals, right?

We made it through that crazy storm. But the power flickered on and off for awhile. There were big trees down all over the place, from here to Tn. Real strong winds. And it was all over the country, apparently. Crazy weather. I hope everyone made it through ok.

Now on to some more projects...

Babies!

Sam and Rosie have 4 babies that I can see. There could be another on the other side. They had 5 last spring and they got so big that one of them fell out and was dinner to one of the cats. Poor baby. I love Barn Swallows! But my goodness, these birds and I are going to have a head on collision one day. Me going in the milk room and them flying out!

And today I was going to check my bee hives and saw a Mockingbird fly from the little tree beside the bee yard gate. There's been a nest in it but I thought it was an old one. I have always cut branches out of the tree and there's also a wild rose in it that I whack on all the time. Then the sheep are out there and they eat the leaves. The nest is only a few feet off the ground. But aren't these eggs beautiful? My favorite colors together. I hope they make it. I still have 2 old cats and I've seen a few strays cats around lately.

I also have a redbird couple nesting somewhere near. They come around in the morning when I feed the chickens. I gove them sunflower seeds too. Then of course all the sparrows.

And a few days ago I saw another favorite bird in the apple trees as I was leaving. The American Goldfinch. I LOVE them. So lots of birds around. And I am not planting a single flower this year. For the birds or the bees. And I see the hummers are back too. I need a new feeder for them. My old one had lost all the yellow filter things and honey bees were going up in the feeder and drowning.