Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!

Winter is here and has hit hard! Lots of snow! I hear it is supposed to be the snowiest winter we've seen in a long time. The temperatures are cold, and yet, I still love it here!!!






Here is two pictures, one taken yesterday afternoon after about 6 inches of snow fell. The poor dog isn't sure what to do with the white stuff, although he LOVES to roll in it!!












The second picture is what we woke up to this morning. Yikes!! The dog really looked forelorn, rolling in the white stuff results in disappearing into it.










By the look at these clouds, I think there is more on the way!












The weatherman is promising snow for the next week! Yay us! Temperatures have been cold, we hit -40c, but they have been huvering around -28c to -24c.

The Shetlands are mighty hearty. Other than some cold feet (I've removed snow from between many a toe the past month!) they almost thrive on it. They are still active and greet me every morning.



Now to get the snowblower to start, it's being difficult, doesn't want to come out into the cold I think!! For now, I've walked paths to the water in all the pens. Shoveling is out, for now that motion is a killer to my already aching tendons/muscles in my arm and neck. Only 3 or 4 more months of winter!

The last two breeding groups

Today, the two groups that intermingled during the fence failure were finally put back into their respective breeding groups. The rams are busy doing what rams do, so I don't think the fence failure was so terrible detrimental after all! I'll cross my fingers and see what turns out during lambing season!!

Again, no pictures because I cannot get the blog picture upload to work.

While two breeding groups have now been seperated, two others will be put together in the next day or so. Here's hoping that the mingling of these two breeding groups due to a fence failure did not result in any actual breeding. They were mingled for only a few hours, my husband (luckily) came home for lunch and caught the problem and seperated the rams from the ewes until I got home that evening.

I'm offically on the Scrapie Canada program now! Start date was marked as October 1 and I really haven 't had to change any of my record keeping. Now to get my premise ID, which is now required in Canada starting Januarly 1, 2009. Happy New Year!

We also sent of our lambs to visit "Uncle Bob" aka our local butcher. Although I will miss the lambs, I can say they are delicious!

I would have posted pictures in this entry, but for some odd reason the picture upload was not working. Oh, well, next time I'll post a few!

Fence Failure

Well, the breeding groups were moved and two days later we had a fence failure. Heavy winds did damage to a portable fence that we used to seperate a large pen into two. With the help of the rams, the groups intermingled and that was that. The rams were penned, the ewes moved to their own pen, the fence is now fixed and we wait.

I certainly hope there was no time for breeding, with the rams fighting each other over "their" girls, but there is no way to know until lambing season.



Rex and Indiana (above) are impatiently waiting to be put back into their breeding groups.
We wait 3 weeks and start over. Here's hoping .... even though I know one ewe was receptive to her ram as soon as we put them together. I see DNA testing in our future!!!

Gearing up for breeding season 2008-2009 ...

The rams are becoming impatient! The ewes are becoming little tarts. If I can only hold them off one more week - just one!! Tomorrow I section off the large pen, making two secure breeding pens. I have four in total, should be a busy lambing season if all goes well. I'm excited to see the possibilities that will be produced with my two mature and two yearling rams. The rams I presented in my last post. Now, I present the breeding ewes: (with a few changes from the originial post!)

"Willie's" breeding line up:

Fibre Works Falerno (in the foreground)


Fibre Works Fiat




Fibre Works Easter


Fibre Works Highwood

Rex's breeding line up:

This girl is a Shetland/Finn/Gotland Mix
(a slight change in the breedeing groups!)


Milehaus Britta

Fibre Works ISP "Issy"

Indiana Jone's breeding line up:

Mtn. Niche Heidi


Milehaus Beatrix
(This gal was in Rex's group, but I felt the need to breed her with Indiana)



Nier Lakes 315405977 AI "Baker"

Isidor's Breeding line up:

Milehaus lamb



Fibre Works Fonteyn


Fibre Works Eureka
(slight change for this gal, she was with Indiana's group but for some reason I felt the need to more her to Isidor's group.)


With 3 changes in the breeding groups, it was a good thing I had one week until moving them!!

I wasn't going to breed any lamb ewes this year, but this girl and the Shetland/Finn/Gotland mix ewe are plenty large enough and I cannot wait to see what they produce.

Snow + freezing rain = winter!

Yes, that's right, winter is here to stay. This photo was taking out of my garden doors facing south. It was a beautiful site to wake up to! The sky was much pinker than the photo actually shows.

Oh, that I guess that means breeding season for the Shetlands too!! The Shetlands go into their breeding pens next weekend. Of course, I still have 4 larger, all wooden fence panels to make so I can section off another breeding pen. It's cold up in the Great White North, and we don't want to lamb too early. If all goes well, lambing will begin the very end of April or beginning of May. That's just a week later than this year, which worked well, but we were hit with one last freeze after 2/3rd of our lambing was done. Actually, it happened the day after our twins were born!!

Here are pictures of our Flock Sires for this year:

"Willie" Whistlestop 0531 AI (F1)
Whistlestop 0104 X Drum Ram 31903

Fibre Works Indiana Jones
Fibre Works Daisy X Fibre Works Fandango


WillowGarden Rex Harrison
SheltrgPines Safiye X SheltrgPines Jacob Two Too

Fibre Works Isidor (seen with Rex & Indiana)
Fibre Works Signy X Fibre Works Finis

Couldn't get Isidor, our white ram, to leave the rest of the boys, so here is in the back ground. They sure can get stubborn, can't they??

Thanks to advice from Linda Wendelboe at the Fibre Works Farm, I have created new feeders. They are movable low line fence feeders. Not difficult to make and they are working out well.
Here you see my ewe lambs enjoying their meal!! I'm not sure how I was lucky enough to have them line up in order, but I couldn't be happier that they cooperated!! ;0)

We are also on the hunt for some guard dogs. The coyotes are getting a little too brave this year!! We have had two already come in close and try to lure the dog away from the fence line. Poor Bear needs some help keeping the predators away.
Maybe he needs help keeping the ewes away! :0) Here Bear, a Pyrenees/Lab/Husky mix, is giving me that, "mom, I need your help here" look!! The ewes adore Bear and he is not always sure he can reciprocate that feeling.

Getting back to guard dogs, we are thinking Maremma's and I have some leads on some puppies. I just wasn't expecting to get them now! It's winter for heaven's sake, but I found them and the price is right. I just have to get them transported 1400 km to my farm. Since there are no breeders in the area, it may just be another thing we can do at our farm.

I'm looking forward to working with the remainder of my Shetland fleeces. I haven't tried spinning one yet and am itching to do so. Tis the season to spin!!

Fall is full on!

Fall has hit and I fear winter isn't far! I haven't had a chance to post in a while, way too much going on.


The animals, all 29 of them, have been vaccinated, toes trimmed and are getting ready for a cold winter. Pictured here are some of the ewes waiting for their turn!

The fleeces on the Shetlands are dense, soft and going to be very yummy!! Fall chores are taking place, although the weather may not hold off long enough to get everything done. We're crossing our fingers.



Last Friday we had our veterinarian visit the farm for an inventory for the entire flock so that we can get onto the Scrapie Canada program. All went well, the application and necessary paperwork is in the mail and now we wait to hear from the program coordinator. The vet., I might add, fell in love with the Shetlands. They were little darlings and the vet. was impressed with the variety of colours.

The weekend was busy with us hauling the hay we needed to get us through the winter. As we've been feeding hay, first as a suppliment starting in July and then as the only means of food in August, due to a drought. I'm hoping next year is easier on us and that the pastures are rich and green.




Only one new pictures of our newest additions to our flock. This is Heidi and her twin ewes (they are a Finn/Gotland/Shetland mix). We brought Heidi and one of her daughters home to live at our farm. In addition to Heidi and her lamb, we have one beautiful black ram with UK genetics two white ewes, and a Shaela ewe. I'll be able to get pictures of the rest of the new additions this weekend and post them then.



Anhow, I think all we have left to do is make some low fence line feeders and find some shelters for those nasty cold wintery days we get up here in the Great White North.