Snow and Sheep

We had a lovely Thanksgiving.My brother Dennis and his wife Lynette came out from Wisconsin for a visit,so I was able to spend time with them on Thanksgiving day.

Today we are having a bit of snow. We are scheduled to 2"-4",with maybe a touch of freezing rain later in the day. It sure feel good to have the wood stove going today! We are finally going to get our new furnace installed this week. We burn K1,because our tank is outside,and while wood is our main source,we do like to have a back up source to run during the night. when the temperatures get really bitter. We use it a little as possible because K1 is more expensive than regular oil,and I hate using it,anyway.

Barn news: we haven't moved much further than my last update. Our weather turned colder than normal,and the dirt piles froze,then we had rain,which defrosted the dirt but made it heavy to lift because of the rain. Rick had managed to fill the holes to where they sonitubes should be stable,and he hopes to at least get the holes filled the rest of the way and the foundation beam in,but I don't think it's going to even get to that point. I have tried to explain that to him,but he is determined to do what he can. Now that we have snow on the ground and the temperatures are going to be quite cold this week, think any barn building will have to be postponed until Spring. I knew we had started late,and it probably wouldn't get far,but the way Rick's brain works now it can be difficult to for him to see the reality of a situation,especially since his concept of time is not the way we see it. He has finally agreed with me,however. 

Thankfully,we do have a shelter that we can use for the sheep-the green hoop house we kept the boat in. We moved it to the back corner where we used to keep the turkeys,built a pen in it,and placed Richie's metal exercise pen against it,removing one of the panels so the when the sheep pen's door is open,they can walk out into the metal enclosed area, ,and we can get access it via the panel with the entrance door. Sheep really only need shelter,since their wool is so thick,so this works out quite well. We put plenty of hay and straw down for their bedding,and put their feed hey on the outside of their pen,so when they are inside they can just reach through the slots and eat the hay without wasting it.

We picked the girls up the Saturday after Thanksgiving,and we built a temporary crate to haul them back in. They bleated a bit,but really didn't seem to mind. It took a bit trying to get them from the crate across the yard into their pen. The black one is a bit shy,and we had one person at the head,and one pushing lightly on her bottom. The white one was much easier,as she could smell where the black one went,so she was quite eager to be reunited!

This is what the pen looked like before we placed the metal fenced in area against it.

This is the white sheep. She is larger of the two,and is a bit more inquisitive and outgoing. She is also a bit more dainty,and never has hay all over her face.

This is the smaller one,who is mostly black but some great variations in her wool. She is more shy of the two,and as you can see,she tends to be a bit messy. I think of her as the tomboy.

They seem to have settled in nicely. When Rick goes out to check on their food and water,he usually has music playing from is Ipod,and the white one comes running up to the front of the fence,so we know she likes music. She checks me out as well,but is still a bit reserved. The black faced one tends to stay behind.It will take a while for them to get used to us,so we go into their pen,get down to their level,hold hay out for them,and talk to them.The other day they were standing out in the rain,not a care in the world. I suppose since their wood is so thick they don't even get wet!

Time to go out and see how they are doing this morning.I wonder if I could get Santa hats on their heads for a picture....