Feeling Like a Farmer

When it rains as much as it has in the past two days, it make me feel like a farmer. I have been spending more time in the barn than my house. It's not just the rain, it is the rain on top of projects and change of schedule for the animals.

With Sarah due in two weeks, I needed to shear her. In order to shear her, I had to change latches on the fence that confines the sheep. I did that yesterday. Then Mira and Hildegard had to do the butting thing with Sarah because she looks so different that she might be a new sheep. I have heard that a sheep can recognize up to 50 other sheep and remember them for I forget how long BUT that is if they don't get sheared.

Since they were ganging up on her, I thought it best to keep them all in the barn over night to sort things out and then I could keep them dry so I could shear Mira today so Sarah wouldn't be the only one. Also I want them to get used to staying in the barn at night so they will lamb in the barn instead of the pasture.

I have decided that I better get better at shearing in a hurry or hire someone. Things did not go so well shearing today. I forgot the hot water to put the shears in periodically, the sharpening tool, batteries for the radio, and I forget what else. It takes me way to long and no one wants to stay still that long.

I am suppose to have help shearing Wednesday from a woman who likes to shear. She is going to show me how she does it. I am looking forward to it.

The rain was steady all day and by the end of the day it was really hard to walk in the barnyard. It is suppose to stop tonight and be sunny or mostly sunny the next couple of days. I hope I can dry out some of the straw in the barn since I just put a bale + down a couple of days ago.

Something tells me I am going to feel like a farmer most of this week.

Pictures tomorrow.