This is the chain link gate the sheep tore up. I cannot believe they were able to do this to it.
Campbelle is doing a lot better. But I've noticed how she reacts when Darla comes near her. Darla is huge, the biggest ewe I have. She's half Suffolk and half Finn. Huge! Yesterday, I put them back over on the other side of the yard so they could go out back. The grass has grown so much in just a week. I saw darla heading toward Campbelle, in a not very friendly manner. Like she was going to ram her. So now, I'm wondering if Darla is picking on her. I did take a picture a few months ago, where Campbelle was at the gate and all the other sheep were behind her. Darla was giving her some really evil looks. So maybe there is some bullying going on there. The biggest picking on the smallest. I'll have to keep an eye on those two.
I did get most of the garden mowed last week. It just about killed me to do it. I love all the wildness out there and wanted to keep it that way for the bees. But there are still several spots that I left wild. Plus all the clover. I'm waiting on it to bloom. I am seeing some red flowers here and there. So will wait a while longer to mow it down.
When I am ready, I'll get my husband to get the weed eater in there and just knock it down. Then wait a few days, cover it with old hay, and plant tomatoes and squashes and other plants in it. No tilling. The other places I'll till for seeds.
The sheep are back over in the bigger pasture. In just a week of them being away from it, the grass has grown several inches. We've had a very wet spring so far and it looks like it will continue this way.
Sheep generally don't mind a little sprinkle, but a down pour they do not like. So they get under shelters. The alpacas love it though. When I'm filling water troughs, they come running for me to spray them down on warm days.
Speaking of alpacas, they will be getting sheared this Friday. My friend will come get them Thursday evening and take them to her farm, where several other people bring theirs, for the annual Alpaca Shearing Day. Susan has about 75 alpacas at her farm, My Little Darling Alpacas. Then there are about 6 other people who bring theirs there. It's just easier on the shearers. It took all day last year to do them all. It was Mother's Day. I was there ALL day helping out. And it was hot. I think these guys are ready for a hair cut. And their hooves need a good trimming. They do it all there that day. Teeth too.
So, all winter, I had not seen a single ant in my house. I thought I had been given a break. But I guess about 3-4 weeks ago, here they came. A few here, a few there. Not too bad. But now, they are all over the kitchen. On the counters, in the stove, in the cabinets, and under the coffee pot. Even over here in my studio. I have about had it with them.
I tried cinnamon. Did not work. I sprayed with kitchen stuff, like Lysol and anything I could reach when I saw them. More would come every day. So I got some ant traps and ant spray. For days, they didn't go near the traps. Then I noticed a steady stream of ants in the pantry shelves. So put traps there. They started going in. For a few days now.
This morning, I had enough. There were hundreds on the counter, under the coffee pot. I was out of spray, so grabbed Dawn. Poured it all over the counter. I never saw where they were coming from. I had already sprayed the cabinet shelves so was out of spray. I am just SICK of those stinking ants. I smell like an ant, as many as I have squished. I might just have to call an exterminator to get rid of them. I hate ants.
Anyway, we had a great weekend. I'll post more about it later. I hope you all have a great week!
