More Lambs in Stalls

Since my last post lambs have been added to the roster, seven of those were this week.  All lambs are vibrant, full of spunk, and oh so cute.

Twin Lincoln ram lambs born 2/12/11. Growing like weeds!

First two BFLs born 2/3/11. Growth spurts galore!

BFL ewe lamb born 2/15/11. Petite and pretty!

 Then one of our ewes had difficult birth (minor prolapse) and the lamb was cold shortly after he hit the ground. After being taken away and warmed out, the ewe didn't want him and everything we tried didn't change her mind. So we have our first (and only so far) orphan lamb.

Orphan lamb, Lancelot has a small area set up in the creep area.

The other lambs can congregate near Lancelot's stall.

 Then our first BFL/Lincoln cross lambs (our Blincolns)were born. We're pretty excited because it's the first time we crossed the two breeds. After talking to some people about using our BFL ram on our Lincoln ewe, it's apparent that some think it's a waste of a breeding season to cross. Being the inquisitive soul that I am, I wanted to see what the cross would produce. The one thing I noticed right away was how the lambs got up and started nursing in no time. I mean no time! I'm also excited to see what the wool will look like when it starts growing. Right now they have BFL looking wool, sort of BFL ears although the ears set differently then the BFL.

Ewe and ram BFL/Lincoln cross bred lambs. I like them.

Our boy Blincoln.

A few hours after the Blincolns were born our very large BFL ewe delivered three beautiful natural color BFLs (two 11 pounders and one 12 pounder). They are all nursing well and growing already.

Gretta and her triplets.

And then yesterday one of our ewes who I thought would have a single delivered a set of twin ram lambs. I don't know where those lambs hide in-utero  I don't have a pic of them yet.

All of the BFL lambs were sired by our newest ram, Clyde, who came from Pitchfork Ranch.

Numbers so far: BFLs = 3 ewes, 6 rams. Lincolns = 1 ewe, 3 rams. Blincoln = 1 ewe, 1 ram.

Few More Lambs

Willard and Watson. Our Lincoln ram lambs. Born Feb 12.

Curious boy.

Ready to nap after their meal.

Edelweiss. Born Feb 3.

Eduardo. Born Feb 3.

New Lambs and Waiting for More

The day after the big storm our first BFL ewe broke the waiting game and produced two 10 pound lambs....a ram and a ewe. Here are a few pics along with some other pics:

Ewe lamb. Layered up the coats...it was pretty frigid for a week or so after they were born. 

Blossom peeking around the corner to get a look at the lambs.

Bear cat overseeing the work outside.

The other barn with the lambing stalls for the Lincolns.

New BFL lambs.

One of the next ewes to go. She's big.

Uncle Puzzle (the guard llama) hanging with the young ewes.

Blossom, looking all cute!

Rotten Cotton

I'm starting to work feverishly on my homework for the Master Spinner Program. Of course I wait until lambing is just around the corner. If I used my time wisely, I'd be almost done by now. Oh well, just have to forge ahead. The first section of my Level 3 homework is cotton and after finishing the section I've remained it rotten cotton. I probably shouldn't be so negative about it but it was more difficult than I thought. Being a fan of long wools, the short cotton staple was totally different than what I'm used to working with. And favoring worsted spinning over woolen, it added another "out of the box" experience. That's good, I guess. 

Anyway, I got through it and am fairly pleased with the results EXCEPT the ginned cotton. I may redo that sample. Why would anyone use ginned cotton? It's like using yucky wool filled with hay chaff. I guess like everything in this world, it has a purpose. I just don't know what that is...yet!

Because I weave on a rigid heddle loom, I'll definitely spin more with cotton so that I can use it in weaving projects. And cotton does have some great qualities and blends well with other fibers. So I guess it's not really rotten cotton or will it become forgotten cotton. I just need to spin outside my comfort zone, and that's what the Master Spinner Program is all about...understanding twist and how it behaves in all kinds of fibers (plus much much more).

Here are some pics of my cotton samples: 

Sample spun from natural color organic brown cotton. It is being "sized." 

Sizing cotton temporarily reduces any fuzziness on the surface. Warp yarns that are fuzzy may tend to stick together. Sizing reduces this tendency, making the weaving process smoother.

Gelatin can be used to size the cotton.

The sizing is removed when the finished cloth is washed.

Sample spun with natural brown organic cotton blended with silk noils.

To "finish" cotton after it's spun, you wrap it around a perforated surface to maintain the tension (pvc pipe with holes drilled throughout the surface), then boil it for 30 minutes.

The color darkens as it boils and stays that way.

Sample spun with natural green organic cotton. Lovely color.

Sample spun with organic cotton top. Very soft.

While spinning I keep my laptop next to me with the barn cam up on the monitor so I can watch Edwina, our ewe that's ready to lamb any minute now!

Now on to spinning silk! I think I'll enjoy silk more than cotton because its staple is long...but I don't want to get ahead of myself...I'll have to wait and see.

New Barn Cam

This will be our first year with the barn camera up and running. We still have a few more cameras that hopefully will be installed by next week that will point to the lambing pens. I find myself checking the computer monitor quite a bit to check on them. The camera is part of the network and we can connect to the camera from any computer with internet access. That will be nice when we're traveling.

Pic taken from the barn cam. The bred ewes staying warm.

The 2010 ewe lambs.

Jumpers

More jumping

Our three rams.

Tomorrow we're getting a truck of second cutting square bales delivered so the ewes will have some good munchies after they lamb. I'm getting pretty excited about the lambs, I just wish it would warm up a bit. Oh well, we'll deal with whatever we have to.

New Year, New Line Up

Christmas present - a Cricket loom for small projects

I’m hoping we can pull off 2011 without a glitch. But with the year’s schedule, it will be a challenge. This is the 2011 line up:

• Lambing and kidding will start in a month and take us through April
• May is Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival (a first…very excited)
• Late June/early July will be 10 days in Alberta for my Level 4 Master Spinner Program
• Late July is a huge summer bash for son and future DIL’s wedding…sort of like a pre-wedding reception before the small wedding six hours away)
• September is the wedding
• October is vending and teaching at Fiber Expo

 I didn’t factor in the Great Lakes Fiber Show, Wisconsin Sheep and Wool, or NY Sheep and Wool Festivals because those are still up in the air at this point.

The unexpected always crops up in addition to the big things planned for this year so to balance it all I plan to enjoy the small things as well like spinning, knitting, and weaving, the lambs and kids, and so many other things that happen around here that always make my day.. 

Few of the 2010 ewe lambs

Rams getting acquainted before being turned out to their pasture.

Keeping the rams close together for a few days helps them become friends.

Wool Blankets for Lavender Plants

My six lavender plants now have their wool blankets on for the winter. It's a great way to use the yucky wool that I don't use for anything else. It's the belly and leg wool that is too short or other wool that may have too much VM or manure tags. It will protect the base of the plants against the winter winds and keep them warm and cozy until spring.

Some of the lavender plants with their wool blankets. Also wrapped the indigo plant in the back with wool.

The littlest lavender plant....really hoping it survives the winter. And, yes, llama beans!

Hay hat!

Gusto, our 2010 ram lamb.

Cisco Kid, one of the goat kids. Getting sheared next week. 

Can't wait to get my hands into that kid mohair.

Our newest Lincoln Longwool ewe, Lady Rhinebeck. Came from Larson Lincolns.