Jack has Visitors

Puppies Hero and Heidi visited with Jack for a bit today.   Whitie came along as well.

Bigger Puppies

The puppies are growing quickly.   We went for a walk and they are all tuckered out.  Hero has the blue collar, first photo.   Heidi has the pink collar, second photo. 

Sheep in Old Cattle Chute

We dewormed the ewe lambs and a few ewes with new lambs that are stationed in the corral area and rotating through the oats in the south field.  The old cattle working facility is repurpasssed as a sheep working area.   Groups of sheep were fed into the final chute, then Jeffrey worked down the line deworming them.

Ewes on Front Field Weeds

This morning I moved the ewe flock from the 60-acres to the front field to work on all the spring weeds that have come up before the summer bahia grass gets going.   On the way I was able to separate out the ewe that birthed a single lamb a couple of days before.   That single young ram that got left behind in the ewe flock late last year has been persistent.  The idea this year is to make sure we have yellow ear tags on all the sire rams so we make sure none get left behind. 

Buggy Stuck in Mud

We went touring on the property this afternoon, the native azaleas are blooming and it was nice to see them on the edges of the woods.  However, certain spots on the Pinelands are a bit boggy with the winter rains.  One in particular, just past a stream crossing where we have a culvert, is always a problem, but I did not think it would be this bad.

Fortunately, we had a winch on board, but we did not know the cable length and if it would reach the nearest tree.  Thank goodness it did reach and we started pulling ourselves out.  This is the track we made in the muck. 

And the tree we were headed for.

We ended up pulling off three different trees as we worked our way out to where Joy is standing. 

In this next photo I am looking back from the third tree, getting ready for the final pull.

We are finally out, looking back on our mucky path.  I'm glad we had that winch. 

Ewe Flock

The ewe flock and Kratos have been in the 60-acres field for a couple weeks now, while some spring growth (grass, weeds, and brush) remains to be found, they have pretty much cleaned up most of what they can access.  They are showing renewed interest in the hay.

At present, our fence to the adjacent lone pine field is only some electrified string.   Now that forage is getting sparse in the 60-acres, some of the ewes have taken to diving under the string to get to grass that hasn't had a chance to grow much yet.

Since we want the ewes ready to breed in a couple weeks, so we can repeat the fall lambing like last year , we are starting to feed molasses supplement tubs along with the hay.  It won't be long until the spring growth gets going strongly, until then the ewes need a bit of a boost.

These ewes seem to be waiting patiently for their turn at the hay and supplement tubs. 

Kratos likes to rest next to the hay bales, one ewe decided to take the high road. 

Old Cattle Working Facility

We are working on reconditioning the old cattle working facility so that we can run the sheep through it and deworm them.  Last weekend Jeffrey took the pole saw to the low hanging branches of the oak tree that just happened to grow up right between the chute and the gathering pen.  It is now a nice shade tree in the middle of the work area. 

We are taking down the top two rails along the chute so we can reach in to work with the sheep. 

A massive greenbrier tuber had to be dug out so we could open the side access door.

The squeeze gate actually still works.

New Buggy

We have a new vehicle on the farm, a nice and quiet vehicle.  We bought a new, off road adapted, electric buggy.  It seats 2 with a cargo platform, or 4 with the platform folded up.  Since it is two wheel drive, we had a winch put in front.  It also has an LED light bar on the front of the canopy and rear LED pods illuminating the rear and cargo bed.

The dogs think it is really strange.  As soon as they saw it moving without sound, they barked at it.  Anneika was really freaked out and did not want to go anywhere near it.  I  expect they will get used to it.

Frost Damage

It's been a warm late winter and many tender plants are coming out.  An arctic cold front made it down here a couple days ago and we woke up to a temperature of 25 degrees.   In addition to some of the plants Joy wasn't able to cover in her garden,  the mulberry trees as well as the blueberries took a hit.   In spite of this though,  the blueberry plants were just a buzz with bees when I took this picture.   We will see what kind of crop we get this.  Fortunately, we did well last year and will have some bags of berries in the freezer to carry forward. 

The brown blossoms do not bode well.

Chow Hounds

The puppies are coming along nicely.  They've learned to sit waiting for their food and dog bones.  They come when called and are learning to walk on a leash.  Thanks to Jackie for the sitting puppy picture,  she is giving me a break from the noon feeding and  puppy walk so I can saw some logs.

Jackie took the puppies for a walk.  They look like pro's.