Giving "Feeder" A New Meaning!

Boots The Barn Cat Finds A Squirrel!

It looks like the greedy squirrel at the bird feeders has met his match today.  We usually see the cat sitting near the feeders watching the birds, but this was a different scene! Needless to say, the birds had scattered.

Yikes! Now What?!?

Things got pretty dicey out there for the squirrel. They really couldn't see each other much of the time and it seemed like going higher was the first choice for the squirrel, but then …

Where Did That Cat Go?

After about 10 minutes of round & round, up & down by both, it basically came down to a standoff. The squirrel wouldn't move and the cat got bored. The squirrel lives to raid the feeders another day …

Standoff! 

Off To A New Home!

Dorset Ram - You Say New Ewes Are Waiting For Me? 

Three sheep left this week for a new home. Our Dorset ram is off to new pastures where he'll be turned in with a new flock of ewes. We trimmed his hooves and put fresh raddle paint on his chest as an added bonus, lol.

Wild Rose Farm - Dorset Ewe Lamb

Two Dorset ewe lambs were selected and went along too. They are twin siblings born on May 11th out of our ewe Wild Rose Farm #117. We're keeping one Dorset ewe lamb & seven Rambouillet ewe lamb replacements for ourselves this year. Now all of the breeding ewes are in one group again with the Rambouillet ram. He'll stay out with them until some time in March. He's happier outside in a group and we don't have to take hay and water buckets to him every day in the barn pen.

Wild Rose Farm - Twin Ewe Lambs Loaded Up & Ready To Roll!

Pasture Scene ...

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet Ram & Ewes In Light Snow

There's really not much going on at all around the farm at this time of year. We had light snow early last week and now we've transitioned back to rain (again!). All of the ewes have been marked by the rams, so now we just leave them out there to clean up in case a breeding didn't "catch" … The Rambouillet ram above is enjoying his time with his band of 9 Rambouillet ewes. It goes without saying that you must exercise extra caution working around the sheep when a breeding ram is in the mix.

The Rams Are Busy Now!

Wild Rose Farm - Breeding Season Supplies ...

The sheep breeding season started the day after Thanksgiving here at Wild Rose Farm.  It was a little muddy around the barn with all of the rain we've had, but it was a relatively pleasant day.  The raddle powder is mixed with mineral oil and rubbed on the chest of the rams. The ewes are then marked on their rumps when they've been bred. That gives us a date to track so the we know when to expect the ewe to deliver her lambs in the spring. We also use the special spray paint to put each ewe's ear tag number on her hip. It's much easier to read the painted number than an ear tag from a distance! The paints weather or wash off over the winter. The little color remaining at shearing time is able to be scoured off of the wool. We also use the craft shears to trim up the back end of the ewes if needed, but everyone was pretty clean this fall.

Wild Rose Farm Rambouillet Ewes & Ram - Just Mixed Together

 This year we have our Rambouillet ram in with Rambouillet ewes & our Dorset ram in with the Dorset & crossbred ewes.  The 2 breeding groups are separated into different pastures. We also move the llama out of the pasture groups and into the barn with the ewe lambs.

Rambouillet Ram Panting After An Hour With The Ewes!

The first few hours in with the ewes are pretty exciting (and tiring!) for the rams.  The ram above immediately started following everyone and narrowed it down pretty quickly to one receptive ewe.
As of today, just under half of the ewes are marked and it's time to freshen the raddle paint over the weekend.

Indie Knit & Spin - A Fun Show!

Pittsburgh Indie Knit & Spin - View From The Wild Rose Farm Booth

We had a great time at the Indie Knit & Spin show at the Ace Hotel in Pittsburgh!  Thanks to everyone who came out and enjoyed shopping yesterday. The cold weather and dusting of snow on Saturday seemed to put people in the pre-holiday spirit. The room where the show is held is the old gymnasium of this converted YMCA building. It's used as an event center for receptions & parties and even comes complete with a disco ball(!).

Wild Rose Farm Naturally Dyed Yarn Before The Doors Opened!

 After setting up for the show, I took a few minutes to look around the hotel.  Such amazing old architectural details … heavy floor tiles, thick oaken handrails, and iron gracing the stairwell.

Pittsburgh Ace Hotel Handrails

Pittsburgh Ace Hotel Stairwell

Follow Us For Wool!

Wild Rose Farm #44 Ready & Packed Up For Pittsburgh Indie Knit & Spin!

We're all packed up and ready to go to Pittsburgh Indie Knit & Spin tomorrow!  We had our first snow of the season this morning and that should put everyone in the mood for wool.  We'll have our naturally dyed fine wool yarns, Rambouillet combed top, Dorset wool quilt batts, and some wool locks and llama locks for Santa beards and crafting.

Lace Weight Yarn Gently Simmering …

We finished up some dyeing earlier this week and got our new pencil roving packaged too.  The yarn is simmering in a stainless steel fish poacher that I found at a rummage sale this summer. Someone changed their mind & I don't think it was ever used - it still had stickers on it.  It's PERFECT for processing lace weight yarn since it tends to "felt" so easily if it swims around too much.
Let's leave you with a picture of the snow this morning on the roof of the new garage/studio.  When we get back from IKS, we'll unload all of  the yarn and wool into it's new home in the studio … finally!

1st Snow On The Studio Roof This Morning! 

What's Happening On The Farm ...

Wild Rose Farm Ewes Grazing

The cooler weather means that the sheep are happy and frisky now! There's a flush of fresh cool season grass to munch on too.  It also looks like we'll be able to schedule a fence repair "finally". I didn't mention it here on the blog, but for the 3rd time in 3 years, our fence above the Loafing Shed was hit by a car. It happened in late September and after yet another call to the driver's insurance agency, "the check is in the mail".

Fence Damage Above Loafing Shed

Luckily, the gate post wasn't hit. If it had been, there would have been more damage to the electrical wiring and a deeper post to pull and set. After running over some large stones, again even more fortunately, the driver wasn't hurt - the police report didn't say what caused the accident.

Fence Brace Knocked Off - Top "Hot Wire" OK.

Red Switch Open to Cut Power ...

Once we have the check in hand, we'll call our fencing contractor and get this repaired. For now we have welded wire panels secured in place to close the gap.
In other good news, we have almost completed the finishing touches on the "studio" above the new garage. I'll move the wool and yarn, plus the floor loom, in after the show this weekend. No sense moving it twice!  Come see me and another 25 vendors on Sunday, November 11th at The Ace Hotel in Pittsburgh for the November Indie Knit & Spin show!  Scroll down on the link and check out all of the older posts too to see what everyone is bringing!