SSS + S = sheep shearing stress + snow :)

Well it certainly has been a challenging winter, and there appears to be no end in sight!
Every week the weather forecast teases us with a double-digit forecast for the next week... but next week comes and goes, and the warmer weather remains elusive. Everyone is grumbling about the groundhog that was certainly mistaken, and my vet suggests the groundhog heard about the death threats and is currently sitting on a beach in Mexico..... lol

Seriously though, our grass in this region starts growing around April 17. My back yard still has 2 feet of snow, and the drifts at the farm are way higher than that. I moved my sheep shearing date up to April 18 from April 1, thinking for SURE the snow would be gone by then.... well.... probably not. More snow in the forecast for this weekend, and cooler temperatures again.

Last year I moved the sheep into the old shop the day before shearing, and we set up the handling alley in there for shearing. They need to be inside the evening before in case it rains (or snows!) to keep them dry. Preferably dry for 24 hours before shearing. Well, the shop still has 4 foot snowdrifts in front of it, and it would not be possible to use it. Unless we spend a day on the tractor to clear it out.

Option 2 would be to use the barn. That has its own challenges. Due to the record number of stormy days and more animals, the barn litter has accumulated dramatically through the winter. I keep adding more bedding and now the 8 foot wall is down to 5'6'' in places... meaning I bump my head on the rafters. The plan is to get a bobcat in the summer to clean the barn, but that is not possible to do now because there is nowhere to put the manure. Hmmm.

Option 3 involves using our stock trailer and rent a couple other trailers, and trailer the sheep down to Larry's farm to shear them in the double car garage or in the quonset. The quonset is full of stuff that will need to be moved, and half my sheep panels are still froze down so making a decent pen and alleyway will not be easy.

I cannot delay shearing much longer. Lambing commences May 1, there are always a few that pop up a couple days before that.
I went through my images from last year - a totally different weather picture!

This was taken March 25, 2012. the snow had gone,

the flood was up and the geese were happy

Shearing day March 27, 2012

April 6, 2012. A little dusting of snow. Notice the corrals in the back - no snow.

Right now (April 11, 2013) there are still 8 foot drifts in the corral, and foot deep snow in most places in the pasture. 

This was April 13, 2012. Where the chickens were in 2011. 

The grass started greening up

First kids were born April 18, 2012. 

My backyard, today. Those are my knee high Muck boots - the snow is up to my knees

April 11, 2013

What the barn looks like now. Notice 8ft drifts to the left in the corrals. 

Of Fauns and Things

I am very fortunate to live where I live. There is a big slough next to my pasture, inhabited by lots of ducks and water birds. I love listening to them in the early evening. The deer wander through our little town, and I was lucky enough to snap a photo of this little faun right next to railway avenue.

I have loads of birds in my yard thanks to all the trees, and I plan to build lots of different style nest boxes for them, as well as a bat house for the bats. Occasional skunk or raccoon travel through.
The first new growth of Spring excites me, as does the turning of the leaves in the Fall and the first flake of snow come Winter.

But there are so many people living in cities that never get to experience this, or feel connected to Nature. I believe this is what is getting our human race into such big trouble. We have forgotten we are PART of nature, that we are all part of the Whole. Nature isn't something 'out there'. It is within us, we ARE nature. Once the entire human race get that paradigm, there will be a collective shift away from our current direction of 'growth'. We will understand what we are doing is harmful.

But how do you get people to connect with nature? How to make them FEEL this planet that sustains them, and really, really appreciate it for the absolute marvel and wonder it is? How do we create awareness?

We are currently part of a help exchange program, called Helpx. Farms advertise who and what they are, and what kind of work they need help with. Volunteer helpers from all around the world then decide if they would like to come visit your farm. In exchange for room and board, they work 5 hours a day, 5 days a week. Or something along that line. We enjoy sharing our knowledge (or lack of it sometimes!) with international visitors. We talk about Holistic Management, show them the grass and its great when you see that 'a-ha!' moment, when  they connect. We would like to expand on that, and have more room to host more people. A communal dining hall and kitchen, a nice outdoor seating area with fire pit for evening conversations. If every person we awaken, could touch someone else, and so on, the awareness will grow.

Right now I am so busy with my own things, but I would love to encourage roof top gardening in city centers, community gardens and food awareness.
If anyone wanted to come and visit and see what we are about, they are more than welcome.

First signs of Spring

This has been a pretty mild Prairie winter. And the signs of Spring arrived much earlier than it did last year! Tomorrow is the official First day of Spring. Although some years, that is just a technicality and the temperature could be -20 with 2 feet of snow on the ground. This year, it appears almost spot on.
For a week or so now I have heard and seen the return of the Canada Geese, and even a few ducks. And yesterday, the gophers were out. (Richardson Ground Squirrel). I took a picture of this guy out in the field where the cows were bale grazing.

Another sign we start looking for, is the first real growth of grass. Last year I documented the first weeds at April 17th, and the grass didn't really start until April 20th. But today I saw grass. Grass that wasn't there yesterday. That is pretty exciting. Of course by this afternoon the rain had turned into sleet and by tonight it will be snowing. Spring is fickle and dances just beyond our reach!

So what are we busy with this time of year?

Well let's see:

•  last week I vaccinated all the goats, and dewormed the ones that needed it. I also trimmed  their hooves as needed, and they are now ready for the kidding season that starts in 4 weeks. 
• Next, I am working on getting set up for shearing day for the sheep, which is next week. On shearing day, the sheep will receive their vaccinations too.
• Last year the snow came early, and my yard is still covered in leaves which I would like to tidy up. 
• I have started some veggie and flower seedlings indoors in preparation for the gardening season.
• What I like to do now is prepare lots of easy meals for Spring when I am busy with kidding, lambing, and chicks in the brooder as well as yard work and getting the garden ready, and my day job. So when I cook, I make extra large batches. Extra chili, beef stew, chicken soup, bean soup, butternut soup, cookies and granola bars are processed into meal-size portions and frozen, ready to just heat up after a long day. 
• Then of course there is Spring cleaning, and checking supplies for kidding and lambing season: electrolytes, colostrum, milk replacer and nursing bottles in case they are required, vitamins, a stomach tube to quickly get colostrum in chilled goat kids, ear tags are ready to record births.

A busy time of year! Spring is about rebirth, awakening as the short days of winter give way to longer days, milder weather and the glorious anticipation of the return of Life.