Ram In At Wild Rose Farm!

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet Ram - Ewes #37 and #329

Yesterday was the big day at Wild Rose Farm.  We put the ram in with the ewes to start our breeding season.  We start later than a lot of folks.  That way our lambs are born when it's warmer in late April/early May.   As usual, we start by putting the breeding harness with a marking crayon on the ram.   Then we go through all of the ewes checking their hooves & trimming a few when needed. 

#411 Has Some Hooves That Need To Be Trimmed!

We also spray their ear tag number on their right hip so it's easier to tell from a distance which ewes have been marked by the ram.  After about 2 hours, the ram had "marked" 3 ewes.  By evening he was up to 4 ewes marked & 3 more were marked today.  On some days, none of the ewes will be in a heat cycle and he won't mark any ..... of course that doesn't mean he isn't constantly walking through the group & checking! 

Wild Rose Farm Ram Working!

If you have sheep, you recognize the look and posture of a working ram in the picture above!  You can also see the green crayon marks on two of the ewes.
I'm glad we got this done yesterday while it was in the 50's, even though we had a few moments of a misty drizzle in the air.  We had snow flurries overnight & it was much colder today. 

Lucky Turkeys Post Thanksgiving!

Wild Rose Farm Wild Turkeys

This group of turkeys hadn't been seen for the last week or so around Wild Rose Farm.  Do you suspect that they were hiding out?  I guess it's safe to come out now .... 
To take a picture, you have to sort of sneak up on them, so I went behind around the driveway and then used the barn to block my approach. 

Turkeys Moving Off Downhill

Of course, the lambs had to behave stupidly & the turkeys started to move off over the hillside once they saw motion.  Look at Lisa's ears ..... the goofy lambs even annoyed her!

Goofy Lambs Racing Away!

Another Project

Wild Rose Farm - Llama Lisa & Ewes

The latest mini-project here at Wild Rose Farm has been making a zig-zag rail fence below the house next to the lower driveway.  The rails had been stacked up for 2 years (!) waiting for a suitable spot to be chosen.  They're freebies of a sort ..... the fence rails on the fence that Lisa & the sheep are behind are now pressure treated rails.  These were the original untreated rails and they were replaced because they weren't holding up as well as we needed them to be ..... we also added 2 strands of high tensile electric wire near the bottom of the fence to keep lambs in & dogs out.  So now we have a decorative fence under the spruce trees.  We still have to brace the rails, but the project turned out nicely.  We were flinging around the mulch this afternoon .... 2 more truckloads to go!

Wild Rose Farm Fall Ewes Looking Fluffy!

In the second picture, you can see one of the high tensile electric wires.  It saves us from having to put electric net along the rail fence when we're grazing this paddock. 

Lisa With The Ewes ....

 What a lovely warm day here today!  Temps in the 50's by afternoon.

Veterans' Day Memorial Program

Beaver, PA Veterans' Day Program 11/10/12

One of the our local communities had a Veterans' Day  event honoring veterans of the WWII Battle Of The Bulge on Saturday.  There were around a dozen of the veterans at the program in Beaver, PA at the WWII Memorial in Quay Park near the county courthouse.

World War II Battle of the Bulge Memorial Ceremony

We happened upon the ceremony as it was finishing up with a trombone medley by one of the veterans.   We remain thankful to all of our veterans ..........

Help With Chores!

Glenda Provides An Escort .....

At Wild Rose Farm, Glenda can never ignore any activity in her area!  Here she is getting out of the way as the round bale feeder panels are being moved.  She then followed the tractor through the gate and back over to towards the house.  This week our neighbors were walking through the woods looking for mushrooms when Glenda came along to see what was up.  She was petted by both of them, but then she noticed their dog who was along for the walk .... now that just wouldn't do! 
Apparently she chased the dog back and forth between the two of them.  The dog was terrified & she didn't let up.  Said our neighbor, "Well, she was just doing her job!".  That's what guardian donkeys do .....

Wild Rose Farm Glenda - No Dogs In My Pasture!