Yearly Inspection

Well Kelly V. just drove down the driveway. Another inspection under my belt :) I always enjoy visiting with her about all types of animals, experiences with them etc. Too bad the inspection only takes 10 minutes and the rest of the time is shootin' the breeze :) ha ha

No fancy photos like Nancy does with Kelly. I feel Kelly might 'get a big head' if we all were taking photos of her hard at work!

Having the girls locked up in small pens gave me a chance to really look at the girls' fleeces and MMMMMMMM.....YUMMY is all I have to say! The mature ewes all have a nice length to their fleeces as well as density, and most have some nice crimp to them and wow are they soft! It may be hard to get good photos indoors and with a flash but hopefully they will suffice for now. The sun doesn't look to be coming out today.

Most of the goats and sheep were friendly enough that we didn't have to catch them and stress them out. Some were down right curious of the clipboard and those loud plastic booties! Others, like Rachildas, my mature white ewe, was quiet defiant that she had to be locked in a small pen, with other ewes, inside. The audacity of it all!

Will be back in a bit with some good photos hopefully!

Possible Poll Carriers

I know Sabrina, Becky, Kim and Michelle (and especially Juliann) will be pleased to see I did some research of my lines for poll genetics. I'm sure i missed some, but here are the ones I have:

Rachildas - mature white ewe. She goes back to Dailley Alabaster who is a known producer of polled rams.

Lavender - mature fawn ewe. She goes back to Walnut Rise Cameron, also a known producer of polled rams.

Shasta - mature horned ewe. Despite her horns, she goes back to Dailley Alabaster twice (one on each side of her pedigree) as well as Holly, who is a known producer of polled rams also.

Meleng - mature shaela ewe - She goes back to Holly, and also back to Timothy twice. Also Underhill Brando. We have found recently that Timothy had a polled ram in his background. That would explain Barish's scurs.

Rooibos - mature fawn ewe - She goes back to Timothy, Holly AND Underhill Brando, another known producer of polled rams.

Peep - mature musket ewe - goes back to BK6 which was one of the early domestics that was a poll producer

Tailka - black gulmoget yearling - Roban dillon and BK6 are both in her background

Rahu - white yearling ewe - Roban Dillon and BK6 are also both in her background as well as Dailley Allabaster.

Gracie - moorit smirslet sokket ewe - Underhill Brando

Skippy - fawn smirslet - goes back to Wind River Blossom a ewe that was known to throw polled rams

Slipper - moorit smirslet - also goes back to Wind River Blossom.

Skor - emsket yearling ewe - daughter to Meleng, will also go back to those that Meleng do.


Eat your heart out girls :) The greatest thing is Barish who we are now realizing is a half poll, (long scurs) was bred to Gracie, Skippy, Skor, and Rahu. We may just have a few polled rams. Don't forget Forrest a poll carrier was bred back to his daughter, Tailka, as well as Peep.

:)

Stay tuned

lovebirds, parakeet and cockatiel

My Creamino colored Lovebird

Buddy the vain Cockatiel

Wasa the toddler in feathers Umbrella Cockatoo

Kipper, my one and only parakeet

For the past six years I have enjoyed having house birds while going through college and living alone. I've had many pair of diamond doves (still my favorites!), parakeets, cockatiels, cockatoos, lovebirds and ringneck doves all in the house.



Ever since Sadie my time to spend with them all individually kept diminishing and now with 4 of my own dogs, plus two i'm long term dog sitting, it makes for a full and noisy house. I love watching the birds bathe in their pans I give them every sunday morning. I love listening to them sing their hearts out to me, to each other and to just about anything they can think will listen.



But with all this time now being spent elsewhere I feel its time to move them on to homes that would appreciate them more. ....

if you know of anyone who might want a pet parakeet or cockatiel let me know! Kipper and Baby are the sweetest gentleman who pour their hearts out to you every chance you give them!

sick, lambs, goals

being sick sucks!

Especially being SINGLE and sick. No one to do my chores. No one to feed me soup or cater to my pathetic pouting :)

Being sick after a big trip driving to and from Colorado, it wore me out, stressed me out....I shouldn't be surprised that I'm sick. *Enter freaking cold weather* Not only does this make my chores a living nightmare, it takes twice as long as the water lines have to be thawed, and its just plain harder to get around when its so cold. Not enjoying one iota!

I keep thinking March is just around the corner and I can't believe only 5 weeks until lambs start. FIVE WEEKS! Only three until calves, and one until kids. Busy busy times ahead. of course I'm not ready! Between lack of snow to move, bills pilling up, the new jugs in the new pen for just the sheep haven't been built yet..with what money?

On the good side of things, I'm ready for spring, all the mud, cold soaking rains, damp pens that harbor bacteria, chilled babes in the mud, etc etc. Oh wait, that's my hate list!

I love the little new signs of life, the green grass, the first dandelion (just the first one!) and all the potential babes that I've worked hard at to get to.

I've had quite a bit of interest in the sheep and that's a good thing! I'm hoping to sell 1/2 of the lambs and pay for the fencing in of three more additional acres for them to graze on. NO plans on buying more shetlands this year, as i'm hoping to do AI this fall with some friends. I may purchase a few more BFLs as I've really taken to the two I have. I hoping to add 4-6 more depending on what happens in the mean time :)

so many goals, so little time right? so much to say and its all so mumbled.....maybe i'm sick, maybe i just talk this way :) LOL

Update on Ell

Well since Michelle was showing how Jackson was growing up, I thought I'd add a few photos of Ell :)

She's so adorable. Acting so innocent when really she loves the camera :)

Aquariums

I love aquariums. I started with just one fishbowl and two goldfish. One, a coment named Golden Gun, and a black moor, named BlackJack. I cleaned their bowl everyday and loved watching them swim. How relaxing of a thing to behold!

I quickly got a 10 gal tank and filled it with fish. I was hooked. All of my high school and college years I had aquariums. At least eight betta hexes (small hexagon shaped bowls for individual bettas), different size fish bowls for gold fish, guppies, tropical fish and cominations of such.

when I moved back from college in Fargo, I moved back in with my parents. I had only one tank at that time and it was a 10 gallon. When my parents built their new home, and I was full owner of this house I grew up in, I quickly added two more 20 gallon tanks and a 55 gallon tank. I got rid of all the bowls and hexes and just kept the larger tanks (also two 10 gallons yet).

Slowly they became something of a backburner during the summers due to my work and obligations outside, and I kept downsizing.

About a year ago I set up the 55 gal, both 20 gal and one 10 gal again. I let the tanks run with only water and plants for a week, then only added the little neon tetras and zebra danios. Followed by the algae eaters and corydoras (catfish) and finally the other more striking species. I was quite sentimental and purchased only those species that I had had when I live here growing up. They really are still my favorites.

A few weeks ago I transferred my tropical fish from my 20 gal in my bedroom ( i need it for the white noise) and put them in my 55 gal aquarium in the family room. I have literally spent hours each day watching these fish in their nearly tripled in size environment. Wow are they happy! I have added more of each species so they are now schooling and enjoying themselves immensely. With such tiny brains it amazes me they even seperate into different color variations i.e the albino tiger barbs will break away from the rest of the 'normal' tiger barbs and school about by themselves for a bit. The white skirt and black skirt tetras seperate also. It amazes me they can tell what THEY look like, and also know which of the other fish also look like them. Reminds me of High School cliques LOL.

They also fight amongst their own species but are very polite and courteous of the other species (except when feeding on tubifex worms, a tank favorite).

I can't even believe i'm blogging about this, but have wanted to for awhile. I think everyone needs a fish tank. You may think there is a lot of upkeep but I get to differ! Once its set up, the environment needs little attention besides a monthly filter change, water added and the fish fed. Everyone always comments on how clean my tanks are and I say i haven't cleaned them for 12-15 months and no one believes me! Its better to let them get a 'real' as can be environment as possible. I'll see if photos will work of them and will try and post them later.

In the mean time I'll relax to the waterfall sounds they all make in unison, and enjoy the stress free environment that these fish and aquariums provide for me.

More sheep photos

Underhill Peep. Thanks Gail! A musket that is just so dang adorable and friendly. Notice she is also starting to roo on the neck. She is bred to Forrest the black gulmoget.

Speaking of black gulmogets, here is my Tailka, who is bred back to her father. Her 'lightening' on her sides was very late in coming so we are hoping that her offspring bred back to Forrest will get us solid bodied gulmoget lambs. She'll be AI'ed this fall to Timothy.

Here is Jasmine Phoenix. She is Ag and katmoget. I guess her proper name is Moget Face. She sure has matured nicely. Such presence and her fleece is a creamy white. In front is Cori, a primitive super soft solid black ewe. She microned at 24.

Here is Rolo. He's saying "oh look at how sexy I am, please photograph my good side. He is fawn, who might even be a mioget like his dad, Bourbon. Quite the gentleman.

PayDay. He is indeed black, with just now finally getting some sun bleaching. His scurs wrap tightl around his head. Hey Michelle, here is your man.....he carries modified, spots and the poll gene :)

New photos of the sheep

This is White Pine Skor. She is going to be emsket I think. Or at least Shaela. She was born jet black and has continually gotten lighter. she's a stinker to catch but her fleece is indeed lighter than her mother, Meleng.

The next two girls are from Peeps. RedBud on the left, Dixie Cup on the right. RedBud was also born jet black and has lightened to a Shaela. Dixie Cup is spotted and she isn't modified, just sun bleached. She was shown at Jefferson this past year as a ewe lamb and was I believe 3rd in the class.

The next girl is FirthofFifth Pi Lo Chun. She is a grey katmoget with very dark markings. She was bred to Forrest and she'll either throw a gulmoget, katmoget or a gul/kat.


The next girl is Justalit'l Shasta. She was at Stephen Rouse's house last year and purchased by Gail Former. I contacted Gail wanting an Ag girl and this is one I picked out. She is horned, and hopefully bred to Jazz. This next fall I am planning on AI'ing her to Timothy or perhaps a ground breeding to Forrest, the black gulmoget.

Feeling Better

Maybe its the longer days and bright blue skies.....

Maybe its the fact that I've been running, eating heathier, tanning, and visiting friends. Heck I even went out DANCING last weekend and wow was THAT a good time. It had been far too long!

Maybe its all the support from my critter friends (both publicly and privately) from my blog....

Its been getting better.

I have met someone new, I have found out what is making the goats sick, I am excited about my upcoming litter of pups. I'm excited for spring, for lambs, for calves, for pigeons.

I finally mated some of my pigeons up last night. I normally put them together Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day...but always before new Years. This year Its going to be Valentine's Day before they are all paired up.

I leave next wednesday for Denver to job hunt and house hunt. Something keeps telling me I need to get away for awhile, have a budgeted income instead of this feast or famine I've been dealing with for the past 10 years. At any rate, I need a change of a job and if that allows me to stay here great. If I need to move, maybe that is just what the doctor ordered.

My dog website, www.ebonwald.com, has had 300 hits in the past 4 weeks. That's an all time high and the interest in my dogs, my upcoming litter and such is quite flattering. Even if its just nosy dog people checking out what I'm up to, that's great for me :)

I spent awhile out with the girls today. Man I can't believe that some of the girls are already rooing in their necks. Last year Buttons did this and she is the first one to start. A few of the older girls are also rooing, and I can't believe it, considering the freakishly cold weather we've been having.

Its true what everyone has said in my previous post. Family, Friends and pets sure make me feel better. I just wish I lived closer to all of you! The animals have a simple way of showing affection and humor. Its so appreciated. Its so calm to be with them, their daily routines so carefree and stress free. I wish I were animal.