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By Pam, on April 7th, 2009 We did the remaining CDT’s this morning and sent the girls packing. They — and we — are happy to have them out of the barn. The longer they stay in there, the more poop and straw there is to take out! Now the ewe flock is back together.
 The last group of ewes on their way back to the winter paddock. Jim keeps them going in the right direction -- the hint of green on the lawn is very tempting! The boys will stay behind for a few days…they’re getting used to each other again. Well, you know, they look different so they must be different sheep, right?! Coats will go back on soon but first I have some mending to do.
This afternoon, I’m heading to North Haven Island to visit with friends, Becky & Bill. I’m so excited to be going to this amazingly beautiful place. They’re in the middle of lambing so I’ll get to see some little woolies and help out a bit.
By Pam, on April 5th, 2009 Taa-daa! All done! The weather was a bit nicer than last Saturday and with fewer sheep to shear, it was a shorter day. After we were done, there were 8 of us around the table. What a nice day!
 Skirting this way is fun and fast.
 Skirting is done. The fleece is rolled and wrapped in a sheet.
 Here we are with the last fleece about to be rolled: Heather, me, Jody (hiding), Jim, Nina, Emily, Annalise, Leon with baby Noah. Where's Greg?
 Bandita comes forward to speak on behalf of the group. The message is, "Got hay?"
By Pam, on April 1st, 2009 Today we gave all the sheep that were sheared their CDT vaccinations and let them go back into the paddock. There’s no reason for them to be in the barn making a bigger mess for us to clean up and they’re much happier when they’re outside. The weather is going to be wet on and off all week so we’ll keep the woolie sheep in the barn and dry for Saturday. Tomorrow we’ll move the boys into the barn, too.
We have another great bunch of fibery helpers coming for the second installment and again some are experienced and others not. I learned alot by going to other farms when I was just starting out and I’m happy to have anyone who’d like to see what it’s all about come by. Anyway, it’s going to be a fun day. With any luck, the weather will be a little warmer than last Saturday so everyone will be more comfortable.
 Pretty fleeces on the hoof! That's Dora peeking out of the bottom of the picture...funny girl! Going through some old photos recently, I found this one of the sheep on summer pasture. It’s a fun shot of the variety of colors we have in our flock. I’d taken some coats off. It’s good for them to get a bath every so often. If they’re on pasture it’s likely that the fleeces will stay clean…unless there are seedy weeds, thistle or burdock there.
By Pam, on March 29th, 2009 We had a wonderful shearing day with our fibery friends and neighbors who came to help us harvest our fleeces. One of our CSA members drove over 2 hours to be with us and a good time was had by all! Maybe the sheep feel a little differently about it but I do believe they’re happy to have the fleeces gone when they start to get this big. I’m so happy with the quality of the fleeces this year. These Coopworths are amazing fleece makers and never cease to amaze me…
 Emily got started by shearing all the white sheep first.
 Penelope jumped right in with the broom and did a terrific job keeping the shearing floor clean as a whistle.
 Emily then moved on to the colored fleeces.
 With many hands, the skirting went quickly! We were a mixed group of experienced and new fibery folks.
 This sheep left a little poopy gift under the fleece so Penelope & I did a quick cleanup before taking the fleece to the skirting table.
 Emily needed a few minutes with her babe so we took a short break for tea, coffee & Nina's homemade cheese w/crackers.
 Our crew: Brian, Kelly, me, Jocelyn, Kali, Sandi (hiding behind Kali) Penelope with her trusty broom & Emily. Ina Mae has just given up her fleece & is resting on the floor. Nina is in the pen catching the next candidate & Jim is taking the photo. Thanks to all, this shearing day has been care free and the fleeces are in great shape! We all headed to the warm house for some good food and chat time…a fun day!
By Pam, on March 23rd, 2009 Shearing is coming right up and we’ve been getting the barn and holding pen ready. It’s really in pretty good shape for the most part but there’s one spot where there’s quite a thick layer of poopy straw on the floor. It’s where Tatum and Bubba spent their quarantine so that needs to go and we’ll put a good layer of lime down before the fresh straw goes in. The ground is way too soft for us to tractor all the old bedding to our own compost pile so we’ve borrowed our neighbor’s nifty dump trailer. The poopy bedding is being “donated” to a different neighbor who will compost it for his garden. Hate to lose it but we don’t want to rip up the lanes with the tractor either…and he’ll surely get some nice tomatoes out of it.
It looks like the weather isn’t going to cooperate so we’ll be bringing the ewes into the barn a day or two ahead so they’ll be dry for shearing. And this year, we’re shearing in two groups. The first group will be done on March 28 and the second on April 4. Our shearer, Emily, had a baby in January and we’re happy to be flexible while she’s still working out the “juggling two children” thing and nursing the baby. Anyway, there’s no reason to kill ourselves — we’re all in favor of making this a fun time!
Now I’m starting to think about food for all the people who come to help out. Baking is not my thing (I’ve learned to accept that) so my friend, Heather H, is going to bake for the big event and I’m going to keep her in eggs for awhile…or lamb sausage or whatever she’d like. I’m so thrilled with this arrangement. It’s just one less thing to angst over — and Heather is an extraordinary baker. Yum!
I keep peeking under coats whenever I can and it’s looking pretty good under there! I can hardly wait til Saturday!
Some more photos of cute lambs…
 Lambs hang out in the sunshine while their Moms are busy at the hay feeders.
 "This green stuff isn't bad but I like the milkbar better!"
 Snoozie lamb snuggles with Mom
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