I am happy to report that we are all healing up just fine. I realize I was going to try to post every day this spring. I am sorry that it didn't work out.

Here is whats going on:
Gus's first Easter was wonderful. He loved every minute of it. We had so many things to be thankful for this Easter.




Lots of lambs are being born. Only a few ewes left to lamb. A record number of triplets this year. Right now we have 3 true bums and 7 that are still on there mother but need a little extra milk.

Today is our first day of sunshine, I am only in the house because I am waiting for Gus to wake up from his nap. I got a baby backpack so I will load him up when he wakes up and go outside and get some sun.

Hear are a few lamb pictures to wet your appetite. I hope to take a bunch now that the lambs are frollicking around in the sunshine.






.

Being Thankful

I am particularly grateful to God right now. On Monday, myself, my Mom, my Grandma and Angus were involved in a high speed head on colision. We are so thankful to be alive. God was watching over us that day. Myself, mom, and grandma are all very sore but no serious injuries, and Little Angus was snug in his carseat and did not even have a scratch on him. It was a true testament to wearing seatbelts and having babies in carseats. Sadly the woman that hit us was killed on impact. Until the official police report comes out we won't know for sure what happened. I suspect that she fell asleep. I ask for you prayers that we will all heal physically and emotionally. I also ask that you pray for the womans family that they may find peace. It is so important to count your blessings daily and always say I Love You.

Shearing

Yesterday we were finally able to shear the sheep. Angus took a nap in the car and then woke up to help Grandma supervise. The weather was cool and windy but we were still able to get it done uneventfully. There are still no lambs but shearing the sheep tends to kick them into gear. I am sure they will start popping out left and right here pretty quick.

Below are some pictures from yesterday. Hope you enjoy!

New Baby

Yes I know I said I would post yesterday, however our day didn't end until about 830 and the little man needed me. This is a little steer calf that I bought yesterday. He will get adopted by the milk cow in a couple of days. Right now he is in quarantine, we want to make sure that he didn't bring home any sickness that could be spread to the other calves. He gets bottle fed in the meantime, hopefully Sunday he will get to meet his new mom and sister.



Today we vaccinated the cows and the horses. Then we moved them to different pastures. I had my hands too full to take pictures.

We are hoping to shear tomorrow as long as the weather cooperates. If the sheep are damp at all then we won't be able to. Still no lambs, hopefully they wait for about a week before they start.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

My Challenge

I know I haven't been posting as regularly as I should be. I thought I would challenge myself to posting everyday through lambing and give you a taste of what A Day In My Life is really about.

The ewes are getting very close to lambing. Last week we were supposed to shear however bad weather made us call it off, now we have rescheduled it for Saturday. Now the ewes are so heavy with lamb that we run the risk of lambing problems after shearing. But we must get the shearing done as the benefits outweigh the risks. We have one old girl suffering from what is called Twin Lamb Disease. This occurs when the ewe gets so heavy that she has a hard time eating enough to sustain her and her lambs because of the pressure on her stomach. She is deficient in calcium and her sugar levels are low. She will undoubtedly lamb early and we must take extra precautions because if she were to go down (lay down and not be able to get up) then an emergency caesarean section must be performed. We will do our best for her and hope she lambs on her own without complications. Sandy gave her a drench of calcium and glycol. I promise to take pictures for the next post.

Other news from the farm.

We are all done calving, hopefully I can get a bum tomorrow from the sale yard and have Dixie the milk cow adopt it, then all the cattle need brought in and given a dewormer and a vaccine to keep them healthy before breeding starts next month. I think I will try AI'ing them all this year so I can pick a different sire for each cow.

The "new" chicken coop is nearly completed. I am remodeling an old grainery and turning it into the new hen house. I have a good days worth of work on it to do before it is ready for baby chicks. So I had better get after it.

I have the garden plans all completed and have some seeds started allready inside. John needs to get the sawmill fired up so he can cut the boards that I need to build all my raised beds and finish the addition to the greenhouse. The posts are in the ground for our yard fence and the snow is almost melted enough that we could get the wire put up.

Since I really have no idea of who reads my posts, I would like to encourage you all to leave a comment so I have an idea of who my readers are. Thanks so much!
Hope you all have a great day and be sure to stay tuned in for tomorrows edition(:

I just wanted to share this website with you. I really enjoy looking at it. She has lots of neat ideas.
http://www.keeperofthehome.org/

Trying to be a photographer

These are just some pictures of me playing with my new camera. Trying so desperately to get that one perfect shot. This was at 7 months old.

Logging with Daddy

This is one of Angus's first trips to the woods.

Goodbye Jezabelle

Last night my old mare Jezabelle had to be put down. It was sad but she was suffering so I know that I made the right decision. She had beautiful colts and was a great mother. May she rest in peace.

This and that

Making faces with Grandpa


Sporting the union suit


Taking a nap with Dingo


Gus's first pony (it was actually my first pony too)


Loving Michaels barn toy that he let us borrow

Calving with Grandpa

This was Gus's first "calving" experience.


Waiting for Grandpa to get the calf!

Let 'er buck!





Hey,I'm the only one that gets to suck on my fingers!


Sleeping after all that hard work!

Gus and his cousin Tierrah

Sledding



Our first and only family portrait

Gus and his cousin Kyla. Kyla is giving him walking lessons (:

Thankful

Well today was a necessary day on the ranch, not an enjoyable one, but a fact of life. Today was butchering day. It is such a blessing to know that the freezer will be filled for another year, but still not a fun day. We were lucky to have a very skilled butcher come over and do the dirty work for us. Our animals live a full life of food, water, and shelter. They are very well treated and protected from the weather and they never knew what hit them. It was over so fast that it was huge relief for us to know that there was no stress and no pain. I think that any decent human being would have a moment of sadness. For now we will be eternally grateful for the food on our plates and we will prepare it with gratitude and serve it with ceremony.

This is just a painting by one of my favorite artists.

Prayer of a Loggers Wife

I stand here in the kitchen at the start of a brand new day

Listening to the pick-up, as he gets in and drives away.

So once again I turn to you - Lord, please hear my prayer.

Protect him as he does his job. Please keep him in your care.

I know his job is dangerous, but it's what he loves to do.

Keep them safe today dear Lord, my husband and his crew.

You know how hard he works, to provide for us a good life.

So, Good Morning Lord, it's me again, the Logger's Wife.

New Years

Happy New Years to you all! Resolutions, anyone? Well this year I vowed to become more organized in every aspect of my life. For those of you who know me that is a pretty big challenge. I hope I can stick with it and make little changes every day.


I also want to take a moment every day to give thanks for the soldiers that are overseas and for there families at home. We tend to sit around consumed by our everyday lives and forget there is even a war going on, and not think about the massive sacrifices these men and women are making for us and this country. May God Bless each and every one of them.