JR in with the Big Boys

It's time that JR leave his mommy and go live with the boys. He's 8 months old and weighs 60 pounds now. He seems very healthy. I put him in with Tribute ↑ and Snickers →. Trib is a herd sire, but slight in frame and Snickers is just 3 days older than JR. They seem to be getting along fairly well. Last night Trib was chasing the little guy more than I like so Trib got separated for the night. When I went to the barn this a.m., JR was snuckled right up beside Snickers ☺ JR does spend quite a bit of his time looking for mom Sonata, but he's not pacing the fence or crying, and he seems to be eating well.

....and here's a picture of sweet Cassie protecting her duck.

Lisa, who owes me a recipe, asked for a picture of the lambs. Thanks, Lisa, I wanted an excuse to post them. This is Maddy, an Olde English BabyDoll Southdown. Maddy's 3 months old, about the size of our Sheltie, and came with her mom Cardigan. She is supposedly weaned but we catch her occasionally going to the milk bar. I will try to get a picture of 2 month old, white Phoebe who is still in quarantine. Phoebe isn't quite as nervous as she was when we brought her home. In a week we will be able to put her with Maddy. I am so hoping that they play together.

I have become totally obsessed with dying! Before I developed my crock pot method, it was a big mess, time consuming, and I didn't like the results. Now, I can do a pot or 2 everyday and not feel like it's such a big deal. The fiber is retaining its alpaca-like qualities and I'm loving it. Loving it so much, that I want to spin it myself and not put it into my Etsy store as roving. Maybe I will get so much accumulated that I will think I don't have the time to spin it. I know that I should be working on a custom order, but this is so fun! Actually, I do force myself to do a skein for the order and then reward myself by doing some dyed roving. I have to do up another bobbin of that green above, ply it, and then work on the order.
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Son Rob left yesterday morning to go back to Pennsylvania and called about 5 to say that he arrived safely. That's just too damn far away. Miss him tremendously already.
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We picked up two more sheep yesterday at Brooklyn, Mich. , a just weaned lamb and a 2 year old ram. I feel so sorry for the little lamb. She, Phoebe is her name, is quarantined in a pen next to the ram. Apparently, it's a good practice not to put them in with the rest in case they might be carrying some illness from their home farm. Phoebe doesn't cry but just tries so hard to get through the gate to be with her friend. We purchased these two from Larry and Joan Egeler.

Merino Lamb Fleece

Oh, my! Look what I received in the mail yesterday. Three pounds of beautiful Merino Lamb Fleece. I have never seen sheep wool as clean and beautiful as this. It has hardly any lanolin in it. I hope all the little crimpies show up on your monitor. It came from the McMurray family in Franklin, MO. www.genopalette.com I originally ordered it to mix with my alpaca after spring shear. Now, I just don't know. Should I card it up? Dye it? Blend it? I think I will just wait and I'm sure it will speak to me to tell me what to do. I'm enjoying just looking at it on my kitchen table.

Weaning is going well but it makes me feel badly to hear Pollux calling for his mom and pacing the fence. He can see her but she just ignores him.

Weaning Day

Today was weaning day for these two little darlings. Pollux, on the left, was born last May, and Orion was born in September. You might know, Pollux, four months older, is doing the most moaning for mom. I guess I'm not surprised because his mom, Lady Belita, is a timid girl. Orion has much more confidence. We nicknamed him SLAMMER because he was always charging into the big girls. The moms aren't upset at all. In fact, I think they are quite relieved. We will have to check moms occasionally to watch for mastitis but I think they had pretty much taken care of the nursing process.
My town, Ithaca, had a Women's Day today in the shops uptown. Our knit shop, Sip-N-Knit invited me and some friends up to spin. Is so much fun to explain to people what we are doing. They act like it's a magic show. I managed to get two ounces spun up while visiting.