Trying Times

Posted on December 16, 2011 by

It has taken much longer than I ever expected to get a new posting to the Ewe Turn. I will shoulder some of the blame; the balance has been out of my control. Originally I had planned to write when the breeding time for the ewes was over and everyone, ewes and rams, had returned to the barn. That has indeed happened, but quite some time ago.

On November 4th we brought everyone home from their breeding groups out on the pastures. It was an intentionally short period that the rams and ewes were together. Basically it was one complete heat cycle, plus an extra few days to allow for heats that were ending right at the beginning of breeding. In essence, the ewes had the opportunity to get bred within one complete heat cycle (17 days). Hopefully, it will mean that every ewe was bred within a period of about 25 days. In reality, we rarely get 100% bred in that time. What it will guarantee however is that five months later all of the lambs will be born within 25 days of each other. For aging shepherds that is a much more manageable schedule than a lambing period of say 50 days in length.

Rhett, Ulmer and Ukiah all appeared to do their jobs. By the 4th of November each of their ewes had been marked by the crayon the ram wears. As expected there were a couple of re-marks for the ewes that had been marked at the very beginning of the process. Short of using an ultrasound devise to find out if each ewe is pregnant, we now just have to wait for nearly five months for a definitive answer. We should get a better view when the flock is sheared in late February.

For quite a while all of the flock has been settled into their winter routine in the barn. Knowing that, one can be justified in wondering why there has been no Ewe Turn news from the farm for so long. The tale has three chapters, none of which are directly connected with each other, but all of which have prevented me from doing much writing.

Let’s start with chapter one: Web site redesign. It had been our long term plan to spend part of the fall re-designing and tweaking our web site (something that needed to be done for quite a long time). In early November we were making good progress. By then perhaps a quarter of the pages had been re-worked and re-published. Unbeknownst to us at the same time major changes were having to be made to our internet service provider. It is a long classic tale of big corporate takeovers messing up successful little operations. The details need not be covered here, except to say that for a couple of weeks our website essentially did not exist. If during that time anyone tried to visit our website, including this blog, they would have found little or nothing. Happily the difficulties are being overcome. We are now able to blog again and we can continue with the make-over of the rest of the website. Thanks to all who have inquired about our absence.

Life tends to get in the way of many things, which brings us to chapter two. Despite the problems of the website, we still would have been prevented from a normal routine. It is easy to forget that health issues are always present with us and the sheep. Sometimes the most distracting issues are the most unexpected. Over a three week period in late November and early December we were confronted with a problem with Appaloosa, one of the ewe lambs that we had decided to retain for breeding. She developed swelling in both of her eyes. The vets were called and the thought was that she had some sort of unusual infection/irritation. We treated it with twice daily applications of a fancy eye ointment. The problem improved briefly and then returned along with a goiter-like swelling under her chin. This called for another visit from Paul, the vet. This time while examining Appaloosa we also found a small swelling on her throat. It was hoped that it was an infection, the location of which was causing some restriction of the blood flow back from above the swelling. In a sense it was causing edema.

We then started a course of antibiotics and cortisone. Over a week’s time there was momentary improvement with a quick return to and worsening of the previous state. It became evident that the swelling on her neck was growing rapidly. We asked Paul to return a week later, as we all feared at this time that the swelling was a tumor of some sort. It was now restricting her breathing. It was agreed that we would have Appaloosa put down. Paul performed a necropsy afterward. The size of the tumor was astonishing. It was perhaps 3 to 4 pounds in weight and 7 inches long and 4 inches around, completely encircling her esophagus. Paul had never seen such a tumor in a sheep, nor had we. We send tissue samples to the State of Wisconsin Veterinary Lab. The result indicated that the tumor was a very aggressive Lymphoma.

Aside from her death, the saddest part of Appaloosa’s tale was that throughout all the time that we were trying to treat her with numerous shots and application of ointments Appaloosa never seemed to become more fearful of us. She remained friendly to the end, as if she was aware that all this attention was somehow meant for her good. Because of her patience she will be missed even more.

On to the final chapter of this tale. I related in the previous posting to the Ewe Turn that we had experienced a significant power failure in October. Since this was the third major power outage we have had this year, we finally made the major decision to have a back-up electrical generator installed. The last six weeks has been the ongoing saga of having to deal with a number of contractors and services (most notable being our local utility provider). Just about the time that the web site was restored, final installation of the generator took place, resulting in, yes, a few more temporary outages. The problem was compound by the fact that we decided to have the power cable from the road buried underground. This entailed going under Clark Lake Road and all the way to where the power had always gone underground from the meters to the house and barn.

Only the first of many crews on site


We took the extra step because the old power cable went right through the large maple tree at the end of our driveway. It was a cable ready to be downed anytime with the next strong wind storm. The finale of the job last week involved the near simultaneous presence of the electrical contractor, the excavators, the natural gas company and the utility provider. To add to the chaos the township building inspector arrived to peek over everyone’s shoulder without giving the impression that we knew what he was looking at. It was the proverbial Chinese fire drill! At least we now are assured a backup power supply. I need to do some landscaping to repair holes dug in the lawn. That will have to wait until spring. Oh…did I also relate that I have to take down the old power pole? (It seems that we “own it”!)

Posted in Bed & Breakfast, Sheep, What's New | Leave a comment

October Alterations

Posted on November 3, 2011 by

Now that October has finally departed, it is safe to comment on the changes that it brought to us. October is always our “transfer” month. The Gallery closes for the year in mid-month. The Bed and Breakfast closes up a week later. The pastures are nearly always depleted enough that the sheep have to return to winter quarters in or near the barn where they depend on the hay stored in the barn for winter. As always the sheep also are divided into small breeding groups early in the month. Those ewes that we decide should be placed with a ram remain on the few remnants of pasture until early November, when breeding is also called to a halt. It would be easy to say that that summarizes the last month, but it would do it an injustice.

For me, having newly returned from Denmark in late September, getting back into the daily routine is always a bit difficult. However, the calendar will not pause for me. As such we were all back up to our routines by the beginning of October. The timely rains of late October extended our grazing period a little. On the 5th of October the entire flock grazed the last western corner of the 3rd pasture. Shirley took time to visit with us on one of those last days in #3.

oct-shirley

It was a time and a place for all to enjoy. Fall weather had arrived and trees were turning color in their usual dramatic fashion. This is how the flock appeared on pasture that day.

oct-52

The unusually hot and dry late summer appeared to have an influence on when the trees turned color. On this early day in October the ashes were in full color, while the maples, birch and our few beeches were still mostly green. The following week however dramatically changed appearances. We experienced a few days with extremely high winds out of the northwest, the worst day of which featured gusts of up to 60 miles per hour. Especially in the northern half of the county the damage was dramatic. At the farm we have a number of ash which toppled in the wetland on our western edge. In addition, the top of an large old maple came down in our 4th pasture. Considering the strength of the winds, the loss of that maple was not totally unexpected; it has had more than its share of dead or dying wood for many years. Luckily, no sheep were in the pasture when it came down and it obligingly avoided crashing onto a fence line. We were without power for more than 22 hours. We were lucky; many friends were without electricity for up to three days. Had our outage lasted much longer we would have had greater problems, the most significant of which is a lack of water for the sheep. Lastly all of the lovely yellows and purples of the ash trees were blown away.

In the week following the storm there were numerous branches to clean up, which only complicated setting up the pastures for breeding groups. We did manage to get the rams and ewes together when we had planned. This year we are only trying to breed 34 ewes, which is a significant drop from the last few years’ numbers. One the 11th, Ulmer, Ukiah and Rhett each joined the selected ewes. Much to his displeasure, our other adult ram, Vermicelli got the role of backup. It appears that his talents will not be put to work this year. The three ram lambs, Axel, Andrew and Aries also stayed in the barn. Unlike Vermicelli, one gets the impression that they really do not fathom what they are missing.

As is often the case with October, the sheep have been greeted by a diversity of weather, some quite pleasant and some down right cold and wet. As now seems to be the trend, we have not experienced a truly hard freeze in October. The most dramatic effect of this changing climate is that we have yet to experience frozen water lines and the need to manually transport water out to the three pastures. We have only two more nights to go before breeding is called to a halt. It appears that we may avoid snow and frozen water lines for the first time.

Some of the more pleasant days have begun with heavy ground fog. That is always a visual treat when going out to the breeding groups with their grain at dawn.

oct-231

For the final couple of weeks of the month the maples and beeches took center stage with their color show. The final act has been from the birches and especially from the aspen. This view is of Rhett and his group of girls in #4 with the aspen in full display.

oct-234

Not to be outdone, Ukiah and his harem had a dramatic backdrop from the last of the maples in between #2 and #3.

oct-232

It is now a week later and nearly every leaf is on the ground. We are now transporting hay to the three breeding groups and in another two days they will all return to the barn. We have given the ewes one complete heat cycle plus a couple of extra days with the rams. Everyone of the 34 ewes have been marked by the rams. The only question that remains is whether each breeding was a success. To learn the results of this month’s activity will require a return to the Ewe Turn in about five months.

Posted in Farm, Sheep, What's New | 1 Comment

Contrasts and Similarities

Posted on September 28, 2011 by

I am back at Whitefish Bay Farm. Very few probably knew that I was gone. There were some exceptions: a few neighbors who did not see me doing chores; the sheep who were totally dependent upon Gretchen for pasture and food in the barn; Pussa, who lacked a breakfast companion and a lap upon which to sit; and Gretchen who had to deliver me to the airport and subsequently fetch me there. For the rest who did not know of my absence, I was in Denmark. As has become my custom, I travel to Denmark every other year. The trip constitutes my major vacation and only significant time away from the farm. It is an opportunity to visit friends and adoptive family. It is also my only chance to listen to and speak Danish. In a sense, it is like going to language camp. During the first few days there, my ears are not well tuned to the language and my mind does not want to function, except in English, consciously translating individual words here and there. That is an especially frustrating time, knowing that much of the language is locked somewhere in my head but the keys have been misplaced. Before the end of the twelve days I know that I am again thinking “på dansk”, albeit in a much simpler mode than years gone by.

When I left the farm, conditions were extremely dry. Pastures were turning brown and our gardens cried out for more watering. With the exception of Pasture #3 the sheep had grazed every other pasture that we could get them to and none of those pastures had regrown at all. In short, we were rapidly running out of fresh green food for the sheep. We had six large square bales of hay left over from the previous year. I set up the bales so that the sheep could feed upon them three at a time. Past experience taught us that three bales would last from three to four days. Once all six bales were consumed the flock would begin rotating through Pasture #3. The responsibility for assessing hay supplies, moving fences and feeding the sheep at night were totally Gretchen’s.

beech-knuthedlund

The contrast in Denmark was startling. The country had already experienced the second wettest summer ever recorded and the rain was continuing into the fall and my vacation. The words wet, green and lush best described what I found there. If you wished to grow mushrooms or snails, conditions were ideal. If you wish to combine grain crops or mow grass, conditions were a quagmire.

mushroom-dollerup

As I tend to do, I kept my eyes open for flocks of sheep. What I saw was that life was often not very pleasant for lots of extremely wet sheep.

sheep-thorning

At least toward the end of my travels the sun decided to come out for a few days. It permitted me to spend a day hiking the caulk cliffs of Møns Klint and another full day looking at and learning about the beautiful ships at the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde. Much of the rest of my time in Denmark was spent dressed in rain gear outside or in drier conditions indoors, primarily in museums. Early in the trip I was extremely pleased to discover that a very dear friend from many years past had an exhibition of natural dying of wool and silk using wild mushrooms (Svampfarvning) at the Silkeborg Museum. The colors she achieves are breathtaking. If you happen to be in Silkeborg now and into early October, it is exciting to experience Kirsten Kielmann’s exhibit.

kirsten-yarn-1

Kirsten's mushroom dyed yarn

kirsten-yarn-21

Scarves from Kirsten's mushroom dyed yarn

Communication has changed so dramatically since I lived in Denmark in 1965-66. At that time, it took ten days for a letter to get from Denmark to the US. Phone calls could only be made by scheduling them a day or two ahead of time. Now with a cellphone I am able to talk with Gretchen every day that I am in Denmark. It was because of that communication that I was pleased to learn that after I had been gone a week that it began to rain here at home. In eight days we received over 4 inches of much needed moisture! Before the rain began, Gretchen and a friend, Sandy, spent a couple of intense days dying lots of wool yarn. They lacked Kirsten’s mushrooms, but instead got wonderful results using amaranth, madder, marigold blossoms, indigo and birch bark.

Gretchen's natural dyed yarn

Gretchen's natural dyed yarn

I have been home now long enough that the effects of traveling for nearly 24 hours are finally wearing off. It is wonderful to see how green things have become here. The contrast with many of the trees that are already turning to their fall colors is dramatic. I already miss my family and friends in my adoptive home, but it is extremely good to be back to my real home with the flock, Pussa and especially Gretchen.

Posted in Farm, Fiber Projects, What's New | 1 Comment

Sheepy News

Posted on September 5, 2011 by

It has come to my attention that the old bearded shepherd has been derelict in his duties this summer. Not only has he failed to regularly let all of you know what has been happening on our farm this summer, but has short shifted the flock when it comes to sheepy news. So I, Nanoo Nanoo, must step to the fore and get all of you up to date. Maybe that will jar the old guy into some further action. I probably should not be too hard on the him. After all it has been really hot most of the summer and we have seen him sweating bullets many a day, especially when he has been trying to make hay bales. But he should expect that. It comes with the territory and it is spelled out quite clearly in his job position. But if he thinks that this weather has been tough on him he needs to refresh his memory that we sheep have toiled through this hot, humid stuff also.

Currently we are grazing out on what the shepherds call the ” big hay field”. Of course we all know that that ground really stretches from the End of the Earth on the south side to the mysterious territory the cranes fly over on the other north side. We still believe that Denmark is actually just on the other side of those woods. We are just a couple of days away from reaching the northern edge. Queso believes that maybe we will be going on holiday to Scandinavia soon. Personally I think we are just going back to our usual old pastures. It has been nice out here. We usually seem to get out here in early fall but I think we are here now because there has been so little rain that not much has grown in any other parts of our pasture.

I thought that I would introduce you to some more of the flock or at least give you some news about them. This is a picture of Whirlwind. She is one of Raine’s daughters. Last fall she decided not to get pregnant, so quite obviously she did not have any lambs this spring. Last winter in the barn she spent a lot of time sucking up to the shepherds and anyone else who might show up. I personally think that she has been in training with Queso to become an assistant greeter. She will probably be pretty good at that if she keeps at it! Also she has certainly perfected the skill of getting nose prints on camera lenses.

whirlwind-8-2011

Some of you may remember Zuzanna from last year when she was a lamb. Here is how she looked then, before they fitted her for her coat. She is sort of different than most of us, but she is still nice. The shepherds call it “Moorit”; we just call it “Brown”. It is a pretty rare color for us purebred Corriedales (at least in this country).

zuzanna-5-161

Apparently the shepherds have been using her lamb picture in the publicity that gets printed here for the farm. Lots of people who visit the B&B and then come on the tour to visit us ask which one she is, because they saw her picture. Now the rest of us could get jealous of all that attention, but we sheep are not that way. I must admit that Zuzanna handles the extra attention pretty well. (She does have this strange habit of wagging her tail when someone scratches her under her chin. I am not sure what that is all about.) Here is what she looks like now, almost grown up!

zuzanne-8-2011

In other recent news, we nearly all got fitted for larger jackets the other day. It is amazing how that wool just keeps growing! It is nice to have a bit more room again especially during the warm weather. Things are a bit lonely in the barn. All of the swallows left a couple of days ago. One family stuck around for one extra day but now they have departed.

Hopefully this just about brings all of you up to date. Just remember that you need to make a ruckus if the old grumpy guy falls down on the job. We will get after him. And if you don’t hear from me in a while it will be because Queso was right about our being on holiday!

Posted in Sheep | 2 Comments

Frantically chasing windrows

Posted on August 26, 2011 by

The “Ewe Turn” has been woefully neglected over the last few weeks. Most of the blame can be placed upon the weather, which for most of July and August had been excessively hot and humid. Only during the last week or so has the temperature moderated and the humidity receded. As a result it is possible to actually get a few jobs finished without getting totally fatigued in a couple of hours. The narrative that follows will, hopefully, fill in these gaping blanks of times.

It seems as if the summer was one continuous battle to cut and bale hay. In reality, it has been a long series of skirmishes frequently disrupted by excessive heat and/or largely false forecasts for rain. The usual scenario has been that attempts to cut hay were put off by threats of massive thunderstorms headed our way. If hay was successfully cut, the threats of rain only worsened the urgency to get the hay dried and baled. As the temperatures slowly but steadily increased, the threats of rain were replaced by oppressive combinations of heat and humidity. For a couple of weeks I finally gave up as it was health threatening to be trying to bale, load and unload 400 bales in a day or two. Over all we received less than .75″ of rain in August until we finally got a good soaker of .7″ early this week. The few small rains we did receive tended to wet the cut hay enough to require more drying efforts (and to reduce the hay’s feed value). To further our frustration some of the very hot days were also exceedingly windy. In those conditions, if the hay was raked into windrows, it would dry rapidly, but in doing so would blow all over the field. On two different occasions, I took the extreme solution of raking a single round with our small tractor and within minutes of finishing the single circumnavigation I would switch to the larger tractor already attached to the baler. Then it became a race to gobble up the windrow before it rolled across the field. From above it must have appeared as if the tractor was often out of control, haphazardly zigging left or right in pursuit of a living, and active windrow. It was ultimately a slower way of getting the hay baled, but at least I managed to get most of it corralled.

last-bales-2011

Finally, the last of the hay has been baled (luckily a day before the first heavy rain). Above is the last wagon of hay for 2011! The last wagons brought our total for the year to over 3000 bales (not counting hay also baled for friends). The 3000 bales have filled the barn and should see us in good stead through next winter. Our only current concern is that we will not get a timely follow up to the last rain.

2nd-crop-graze

The pastures have not grown back as I would like. The sheep will not have enough to graze through fall unless we receive more rain. Once we have grazed through all the pastures we will possibly be faced with having to dip into out winter baled hay to tide us through fall. As it stands the flock is currently grazing parts of our hay fields which were cut early enough to partially regenerate before it became dry. We usually do not put the sheep onto this part of our hay until mid-September. At least they seem content.

The heat also put a crimp on Gretchen’s summer dying projects. It was certainly not weather suitable for standing with your head over a steaming pot of hot water and yarn! Sales of our naturally dyed yarns have been robust this summer with the result that our inventory has been depleted. The cooler weather of the last week at least allowed Gretchen to get back to dying. Over the last couple of days she has replenished some of our indigo dyed stock. Besides the blues achieved with indigo she also over died some of the yellow yarn. The resulting greens have been especially vibrant. We were especially surprised by the intense green achieved by dying an otherwise dull yellow yarn which was the result of using birch tree leaves. It is the second green from the right.

birch-green

Hopefully life is returning to normal. We can turn our attention to more exciting and less frustrating endeavors.

Posted in Farm, Fiber Projects, Sheep | 2 Comments