Cold Lambing Season....

 Lambies enjoying some sunshine.

It's been below zero every night and part of the daytime for several weeks.

Snow and wind make it even colder.

We are about three quarters of the way done lambing 195 ewes.

There has been some loss and lots of life.

 

 Heidi and I played tug-of-war today.

 It felt warm at 11* with the sun shining and no wind.
 

 

Another sketch composition.

My OnlyDaughter and her hubby brought me some shells from their Florida trip.

We kept their 3 girls for a few day and that was fun. 

The shells colors are my own invention -- ink and watercolor.



Bummies and first calf born...

We've had lots of bummies this year due to the large amount of triplets being born.  It's quite amazing how many trips we've had -- about as many trips as twins, and we have had very few singles.  We even had a set of quads.  They are very unusual, but they do show up.  Generally, ewes cannot raise more than two lambs successfully so we take one lamb off of every set of triplets which means they become a "bum."  Dr. Liz is taking all of our bums again this year which is so nice.  Dr. Liz has a little girl who is about 4 years old and together they take good care of all of the bummies we send them.

I brought three lambs in to the mudroom for a warm-up, and as you can see, Heidi was willing to lick them off and tend to them.  Like most ranch dogs, she likes the smell of the wet sheep and the poop smell, so she was very accepting of them being in her space.

Heidi has been a little bit lame in her left foot for the last couple days.  Upon inspection, I noticed that the pads of her paw have some cracks.  I'm thinking that is why she is carrying that paw because I don't see any other reason.  The cold and snow must be taking a toll on her feet.  So I got out the good old Corona Ointment  from the cupboard and have been greasing her paw pads generously day and night.  I think it's helping.   My old tube of Corona Ointment has 50% lanolin, but the new Corona has only 30%.  Upon further research, I found another lanolin product that is said to be just like the original Corona with 50% lanolin along with beeswax for skin protection. It's called Lantiseptic.  I'm going to order a tube of it to try out and compare with my old tube of Corona ointment.  If you ever need to attend to cracked pet paws or human paws, Corona (or Lantiseptic) is an amazing balm. We've  used it for over 35 years on cracked udders and for chapped skin and burn issues in our livestock, and we've used it on our own chapped, cracked hands and feet.  You can even use it on diaper rash.  Good stuff.

The snow is still deep and almost every night our temperatures have sunk into the sub-zero numbers.  It's like there is so much snow that it just can't warm up much, but we are seeing signs of a little change.  The last couple of days we got up to about 25* for highs with sun, and sunshine feels so good to us and to sheep.  Grandpa J. says we're getting tough since we think its warm on a day that gets above 15*.   We are hopeful there will be warmer days coming.

The first calf was born today!  It's a couple weeks early, but healthy. The heifers are in close to the barn and look ready to have their babies soon.

Back to the barn I go.  It's chore time!

She's a Frisbee dog!

Heidi has been our summer boarder.  I think we've had her living with us since June when our youngest son came to the ranch to work on fence for us.  Now she's become a permanent resident.  One of her favorite things to do is to play Frisbee.  She carries it around with her most of the day or at least she knows right where it is in case someone comes along who is willing to throw for her.  If you have a dog, I highly recommend the Kong Flyer.  They are made of the toughest rubber known to human or canine.  This dog cannot bite through it which is a miracle.  We've had the Kong balls too and they are great, but they tend to get lost in the tall grass between our houses.  

Today I thought I'd snap some shots of Heidi playing Frisbee.  She can catch it in mid-air which I think is quite a feat for a large German Shepherd.  I've never had a German Shepherd before, but I've read that they have lots of energy and need to play hard so we play.  Heidi has also been a super walking friend.  She keeps me in a swift gait while we walk.  I'm working now at teaching her to heel as we walk along.  She's doing really well until she sees a rabbit or deer running in front of her. This evening we walked in a pasture where some lambs were grazing and she walked right beside me as we strolled on by them.  I was so proud of her!

It's been a beautiful fall day here this Sunday -- 56* and sunny with a little breeze.  It sounds like the coming week will actually be hot for us --  maybe up to 80*.  That seems crazy since most nights we drop below freezing right now. Many of the trees have lost their leaves, but the Cottonwood trees are the prettiest yellow-gold right now.  It's been a wonderful fall.

"Happiness is a warm puppy.” – Charles Shultz (cartoonist, Peanuts)

Fall nature journal pages...

I finished another couple pages in my Fall Nature Journal.  It's funny how things make it into my journal.  I don't really plan anything, but just watch for things and then add them in as they come along.  I am sure that every fall season looks very different from others and yet similar too.  At least here, we can sometimes have snow at this point in the year, but today was a beautiful day -- 75* with gray clouds mixed with sunshine.  One moment I was in my shirt sleeves and the next moment I had a light jacket on.  That's very fall-esque.

I feel like I've been on a bit of an emotional roller coaster this past week.  The Las Vegas massacre started it off -- such a sad, sad thing. I've been praying much for people.  And I've been praying for our nation.  Then we put down our old dog, Sue.  She was 12 years old and a dear friend.  At the same time our youngest son, TheGolfer, left for the season.  He had been living with us, working on our fencing project, and taking in golf tournaments all summer.  His German Shepherd, Heidi, was here the whole time and became another good friend to us.  They left together this week and it was a bit of a let down -- kind of like when everyone comes for Christmas and you're having such a merry time and all at once, everyone leaves.  There was joy in remembering the days, but a little emptiness when it all ended.  Today GolferSon came back to help us again and brought Heidi back with him.  He asked if we could keep her.  He said she was miserable at his place in town, so now we have a new dog-friend.  She's just a year old and has a ton of energy.  So totally opposite Sue.  I'm thankful for a walking buddy and a protector and a playmate for the littles when they are here.  She's so good with the kids.  I do feel sad for my son, but he loves her and knows what's best for her.

Hubby and I watched the movie, The Shack this week.  It was good.  I read the book years ago and I liked it then, and the movie just added another dimension to it.  The movie came along at a good time since the message is: love one another and forgive one another.  We all need to do more of that, don't we?  I sure do.

Thanks for stopping by, Friend!  God bless you!

March snippets...

 Peach has a new chore.

She feeds the bum calf every day, three times a day.

She named her "Chickadee."

The poor calf was totally rejected by her mother.  Mama was a first-calf heifer and it is now likely her last calf.  It's so frustrating when a cow just won't take her baby no matter how much you try to make her.  On a better note, we just finished calving about 60 head of first-calf heifers and had no problems.  Now the second round of heifers (40 head) is on the hill and should start calving in about a week's time.  I'm making the night checks so the Sons can catch up on their sleep.  When the heifers start calving, the men will take over the night checks again.

 I'm not sure if I've introduced you to Conry.

He was one of the barn cats we got a couple years ago when we had a mouse explosion.

He's very silky and beautiful and he loves to mouse and bird hunt.  He loves affection and petting, but also adores his independent life out of doors.

We are dog sitting Sasquatch's dog for 10 days.  Our son is taking a hiking vacation to Moab so we've inherited a boarder, Hope.  Sue (below) doesn't always enjoy having her cousins visit, but she's getting along with Hope quite well.  Today I found the two of them digging around on the old straw & poop pile.  I'm sure that Sue was showing Hope the fine delicacy of feasting on rotted afterbirth,  just like a ranch dog should.  At least Sue's a good hostess!  Now they're swapping dry dog food.  Hope likes Sue's, and Sue likes Hope's.  Dogs.  Ya gotta love 'em.

 Sue will be 12 years old in April.

(That's very old for a Border Collie ranch dog.)

Give a dog a bone and she'll love you forever.

We always have the butcher save us a box or two of dog bones from our beef.

It sure keeps them occupied.

On another topic, I've been enjoying a very excellent book during Lent.  It's called Jesus the King by Tim Keller.  I started a nine day devotional with my online Bible app which had excerpts from the book.  I liked it so much, I decided to buy the book and continue to study the life and death of Jesus through Lent.  I'm learning so much from Tim Keller and from the Book of Mark which it is based on. 

One snippet from today's reading:

People who believe more must not be hard on those who believe less.  Why?  Because faith ultimately is not a virtue; it's a gift.  If you want to believe but can't, stop looking inside; go to Jesus and say, "Help me believe."  Go to him and say, "So you're the one who gives faith!  I've been trying to work it out by reasoning and thinking and meditating and going to church in hopes that a sermon will move me--I've been trying to get faith by myself.  Now I see that you're the source of faith.  Please give it to me."  If you do that, you'll find that Jesus has been seeking you--he's been the author of faith, the provider of faith, and the object of faith.

.........................................................................................

We've had a beautiful day on the prairie today.  When I woke up at 2 a.m. to check the heifers, I was all bundled up against the cold, and when I walked out the door there was a warm, south wind blowing.  I checked the thermometer when I got back in and it read 58*.  Balmy!  Today we topped out at 71* which is very warm for us in March.  I had some Front Porch Time soaking up the sun and reading my books.  We are hoping and praying that we will get some moisture soon -- rain or snow, it doesn't matter to us.  Despite the snow we had this winter, it is very dry here.  Whenever I go out to feed cows and sheep, all my eyes focus on is the dirt and the cloud of dirt behind my tires.  There is very little green grass coming.  The weather forecast does sound promising though!  For that, I'm grateful!  

We continue to see more and more birds migrating back to us.  The meadowlarks are trilling in the morning hours, and we hear a robin chirruping now and then too.  The Red-winged blackbirds are singing their cock-a-ree song and the Killdeer have been dipping in our pond near the house.  I saw some ducks on the reservoir today, but I couldn't make out what variety they were.   It's always exciting to hear and see those familiar birds again.  I hope you're spring is full of good things that draw you close to the Creator. 

My dear, he said, 'Love, your God, is a trinity.  There are three necessary prayers and they have three words each.  They are these, "Lord have mercy.  Thee I adore.  Into Thy hands."  Not difficult to remember.  If in times of distress you hold to these you will do well.'

~The Scent of Water

by Elizabeth Goudge

Drifts...

The round "wheels" have fence posts underneath 

and then you see the wires in between all wrapped in snow.

 Jackrabbits galore

 

 Sharp-tailed grouse on the snow

 Christmas Day Windows

Christmas Day Stump de Noel Cake

Christmas Day we got a Big Snow.  It came in with wild winds and white-out conditions.  The two youngest sons ate with gusto and were out the door and on the road for home before the heaviest stuff dumped on us and there was no way out.  It was slow traveling with blowing snow, but they got back to their home safely.  PTL!  The rest of us just stayed inside and watched the blizzard happen while feasting and celebrating.  

After Christmas Day, we all went out to see what we could see.  Drifts everywhere.  On the high ridges and flats, it was somewhat bare, but wherever there was something to catch snow -- whether it be a fence, some trees, a little clump of grass or a barn -- there was a drift.  A big drift!  Some 10 foot drifts!!  The local weather station said we picked up 12+ inches of snow that day and since it blew up to 50 mph for about 24 hours, I really didn't see how anyone could measure such snow.  I enjoyed exploring around the tree patches near the homestead on the hard drifts, walking up high in the tree tops and over fences.  

Since then I've been out daily, discovering and trekking around on my snowshoes.  It's so interesting to see how the snow sifted and drifted like sand and made beautiful patterns and snow creations everywhere.  Yesterday I went out in a pasture where the sheep are and walked the deep, snowy draws and then climbed up to the hilltops.  My trusty Sue came with me.  Despite her old age, she stayed with me and never lagged behind like she is sometimes apt to do.  She enjoyed herself with the spirit of a pup.

With all the drifted snow, the men have been busy digging everything out.  The corrals and the barn was buried and many stockades and water tanks and roads.  There are snow piles everywhere and the children who live here are delighted at their new snow hills built by Papa and Daddy for their sledding joy. They even created stair steps for them to walk up the side of the sled-hill.

I hope you all had a good Christmas and are ready to forge ahead into the New Year.  Wishing you all the best.  Keep looking up!

Yesterday, just snow.                    Selfie-- Sue and me

Views from snowshoes...

 Going uphill.

(A couple days ago I took this walk.  Mostly uphill from our main road.)

 

There were lots of tracks.  I think maybe coyote.

The men were chasing after one the day before.  They caught sight of him, but couldn't get him.

We're thinking about protecting our sheep and soon, baby lambs.

 At the top.

On the prairie we have bare spots on ridges and 

deep snow is drifted in the low areas and creeks.

 Looking out over the breaks.

We are headed back down over my tracks.  

Sue was glad she had my tracks to walk back in. 

 She did a lot of sinking.  So did I.

 ..............................................

Today's walk is in the photos below.

I took off from our house and walked down a dry creek all the way up

to our Springs where a small dam is.

There was lots of snow in the creek bed and it had a hard crust

which made snowshoeing easier.

Still, I anticipate every step.

Any one of them could be a "sinker."

Just when you think you have easy walking, 

the snow caves underfoot and it takes some work to get

your footing again.

 Looks a bit like the moon doesn't it?

 The wind really blew after our last snow 

and since it was so cold then, 

the snow just blew into drifts that look like sand dunes or waves to me.  

Pretty in its own way.

 Charlie found a hole.

 He got his body halfway in there!

 I think it might be a badger den.  Or a fox den.

I heard a weird kind of "wa-oomph" sound in there.

We just moved on.

No sense disturbing a badger!

 More deep drifts on the way home.

Today was a gorgeous day to be out snowshoeing.

I suppose we got up into the upper 30s with bright sunshine and no wind.

On the way home, I took off my hat, gloves, and unzipped my jacket.

Glorious!

The one thing that I noticed more than anything else was

the quiet.

There is just something special about
experiencing that kind of quiet -- silence and solitude.

I noisily crunch along like Big Foot,
but when I stop and listen, it's SO quiet.

Snowshoeing is so challenging and fun to me.  It's like walking, but with big things strapped on my feet.  It requires much balance, being centered, and requires constant adjusting.  The terrain where I walk is not level.  I break my own trails.  Snowshoeing requires you to do a kind of sidestep. Sometimes the left leg is uphill and next the right leg is.  There is always the chance of a punch through and it can be a struggle to get out.  Then there are times when you can walk leisurely like a queen on top of the hard crusty snow.  But... I'm always leery of the cave-in.  I know it can happen anytime and if you're really striding out, you could really tumble yourself or hurt a leg if you sink down pretty deep.  

I love the challenge of snowshoeing, and I am feeling stronger every day that I walk.  My breathing is easier and no so laborious as it was the first day.  My legs and hips are stronger, and I am taking longer and longer walks without tiring.  These past few warm days have been so much fun for me.  The dogs are happy to go with me to and sniff around for things.  I feel sorry for them when they are stepping through the snow without snowshoes.

There is an Arctic cold blast coming in by the weekend, so I'm hoping to trek around as much as possible before then.  I do hope that there might be some new snow on the way.  It changes the landscape and makes for new adventures, even on the same paths.  Have you ever tried snowshoeing?  If so, where do you like to walk?

Pat the dog...

While I pat the dog, I'll show you my pretty fingernails!  I haven't actually *done* my nails in quite some time.  Probably, it was for someone's wedding a year or so ago, but I can't be sure, and even then, it wasn't an all-out manicure kind of thing.  No.  Just a swoosh over my nails with a coat of something soft and shimmery and nothing more.  But this time, because of my daughter's urging, I tried something that's all the rage in nail art -- Jamberry Nails.  These are laminated nails that stick on by heat application; they are not nail polish.  It's a do-it-yourself manicure that, for me, took over an hour to do.  But.....I am not the fussiest, most careful, nor the most patient person with this sort of thing.  It was a challenge for me especially since this set is clear on the bottom.  Perhaps if they had been a color or pattern, it might have been easier for my 52 year old eyes to see better while applying them.  Nonetheless, I did it, and honestly, I'm pretty proud of how they turned out.  Imperfect, but good enough for this ranchwife.  My hands look rather feminine and fancy!  The Jamberries make my nails look longer than they really are.  They barely peek past the top of my fingertips, but the way this French-tip manicure is designed, it makes my short nails look longer.  I like that.

So far, I've only been wearing the Jamberries two days, and I admit that I have not been particularly careful with them.  I should be.  I've washed cast iron skillets with a Curly Kate, I've scraped sticky glue adhesive off a bottle with my nails (mistake), I've been working up at the shed too, so I've not treated my nails with much care.  Therefore, I have had to trim the ends a wee bit on some of my most-used-nails.  I found that if I warmed up the bottom of a tweezer over a candle and pressed my Jamberry wrap down it worked to re-adhere a little edge that was coming up.

It is said that the nail wraps should last about two weeks.  We'll see.  Have any of you tried Jamberry Nail Wraps?  If you are going to, be sure to watch a few YouTube videos first.  I started in without doing it and messed up a couple of my wraps.  Oh well, now I know better.  If you have tried Jamberry Nails, will you use them again?  Did they hold up well for you?

Now.... back to patting the dog.