Golden

We've had a long, warmish autumn here in the Bluegrass.  Weirdly so.  After a summer of rain just when we seemed to need it, things turned a little dry as summer drew to a close.  Consequently, we didn't have a lot of color and what we had seemed to be mostly yellow and gold.  Then came some dramatic wind storms, with broken branches and leaves stripped from the trees before they even turned and the boat cover ripped to shreds!.  A few days ago it was in the low 60's and when we awoke the next morning there was a magical dusting of snow!

Our visiting lover boy (the Wensleydale ram) is keeping me guessing as to whether he's doing the job or not.  The only ewe I've actually seen him breed is Gabby.  Gabby is what you'd call an "easy keeper" (translates to extra good eater and needs to lose some weight!), so I'm not sure if she'll even get pregnant.  I'm hoping he's doing all his romancing during the night-time.  The ewes cycle every 17 days and we are approaching the end of a complete cycle, at which time the ram will go home to begin the breeding program at Seldom Scene Farm.  I suppose our Rowdy boy will have a chance to prove himself with the ladies after that.

This time right before the holidays has seemed strangely rushed and stressful for me.  You know that feeling of being way, way behind before you ever get started?  Well, that's been me lately.  I've been a bit under the weather with (what I think is) a virus and plagued by poor sleep issues.  After a few visits to the doctor and while awaiting some tests results,  I've decided to just get on with it.  Too much to do to spend time moping around.

Though I have plenty of knitting going on, it mostly cannot be shown now.  What can be shown is knitting that should not be going on, but because I am weak and highly suggestible, I will show you my Lady Marple.  Not long ago, Amanda mentioned on her blog that she had begun knitting a Lady Marple .... and included the Ravelry link, which I, of course, went to straightway.  In turn, that sent me to the stash where there was just enough (I hope!) hand-dyed (by me), circa 2011 Sheep Dreams yarn in my very favorite semi-solid barn red colorway.  I am really enjoying this knitting.  I'm in a groove now with the simple lace pattern and can knit anywhere and anytime without having to think, which is sometimes just what I need.

And, because my life is nothing, if not color-coordinated, this is what I'm reading these days.  I heard Ann Patchett interviewed on Tom Ashbrook's program (On Point) on NPR not long ago and was intrigued by her latest book, This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage.  It's a collection of non-fiction essays and it's so, so good.  I can highly recommend it.

I believe it's going to be Mr. Bates

This is Olive's boy.  He's still waiting for his "Downton Abbey" name.  I'm thinking it might be Mr. Bates.  He has a kind face, don't you think?  He's been acting as the ram of the year for a few select ewes.  That red stain on his chest is from the marking harness he was wearing to help me determine when the 2013 lambs will be due.  The harness holds a wax crayon that marks the rump of the ewe as he mounts her.  I mark the date on the calendar and count forward 145 days.  That becomes the date to watch for new lambs.  It appears he's done his job,  so I pulled him out over the weekend and he's awaiting his appointment for "tutoring".  He's a lovely boy with a sweet temperament and a gorgeous fleece and I don't want to keep him around here as the solitary ram.  Sheep are flocking animals and they don't like to being alone.  We'll castrate him soon and after a brief period of recuperation and time for the testosterone to get out of his system,  he can go in with the little girls.  He's still a growing boy and needs to be getting some grain every day,  as they are.

(That face!)

(I have high hopes that Mr. Bates will pass this fleece along to his babies.)

Speaking of little girls,  I've finally remembered that I hinted at a near disasterous event that happened here at the farm while we were gone to Vermont in September.  It was Marilla .... my funny little bottle baby.  We'd only been away for a few days when I got a text from the farm sitter,  saying one of the ewe lambs was not eating normally.  The next text was that she was having convulsions.  By that point,  I had decided I was not supposed to ever leave the farm again because it seemed to invite tragedy.  Long story short,  we called Mike Griffitt (the closest veterinarian who still does farm calls)  and he came out to look at her.  (Because my husband Mike is a veterinarian,  we don't really have another vet who sees our animals and we were so grateful that he was willing to come out.)  She was unable to stand or walk and he couldn't figure out what the problem was but decided to try treating her with vitamins/minerals and a strong antibiotic.  I stayed up most of the night researching and while we never found anything conclusive,  we decided to put her on a modified treatment for meningeal worm.  It is fairly uncommon in sheep in our area,  but we have plenty of deer visiting our pastures and it can be a problem with the alpacas.  Honestly,  we felt we were probably not going to be able to save her and the treatment regime was a last resort.  Amazingly,  she showed a little improvement every day after that.  Thanks to diligence on the part of Sue,  our farm sitter,  Marilla was able to stand and even walk around a little by the time we returned home.  We still don't know what her mystery illness was.  It took her several weeks to return to "normal" (or as normal as she can be),  but now you'd never know she'd been close to death.  She's my miracle baby and more spoiled than ever.

(That's little Marilla all the way to the left)