Wordless Wednesdays - The Home Stretch.

This past week the very pregnant sheep came home from their winter range. This was their home stretch.

Mutton Mondays - a few things I learned this weekend.

Here's a not so heavy Mutton Monday post for ya!

A few things I learned this weekend is that I need dog-jail bars for my car to keep the 4-leggeds from trying to come sit on my lap while driving.

 

 The aftermath of trailing can be horrendous for your car. How am I barely just admitting to this?

 

Jigs can squeeze into the tiniest of places, especially when the alternative is sharing the front seat with ::gasp:: another dog!

 

I hope you can see Jigs' nose in this picture. She wasn't having the whole "sharing" thing.
 

Dog breath can help keep you warm on a chilly morning.

 

 

I will continue to stand by the belief that dog poo DEFINITELY smells worse than sheep poo.

AND the last and most important thing I learned this weekend is...

The ONLY thing, ladies and gents that will get this girl out of bed in the blink of an eye before the sun rises is a phone call saying, "It's a boy!"

 

We had our first lamb of the season this weekend.

Wordless Wednesdays - It's almost time.

Via: ourgladglames.tumblr.com

Wordless Wednesdays - "I'm pregnant. What's your excuse?"

Happy Shipping Day?

Found this over at The Rustic Chick

It's shipping day at the ranch and I've contemplated writing about shipping day because it's a day of mixed emotions. I don't really know how I should be feeling about it yet.

I love all furry things and I have really enjoyed watching the lambs at the ranch grow, but the reality is that we do sell them in order to make a living. Does that make me any less of an animal lover? Is it okay that I am proud of our success in raising our first herd to sell?  Or am I expected to only feel heavyhearted?

Today, I am feeling a bit of both.

I guess this is just how it goes.

We can't keep every single one of these animals because it's just not possible and they are not our pets. Our job is to raise the lambs, give them the best lives possible and make sure they are happy, safe and healthy while in our care. I can say that we have done all this and now it is time to ship them off.

I think people take having food so accessible, for granted. It's easy to do. I'm guilty of it as well!

Today is a reminder that milk doesn’t come from the carton, meat doesn’t come from the deli and vegetables don't come from the produce section at the grocery store. These things come from farms and ranches like ours.

Found this at the Missouri Farm Bureau website.

Just know that ranchers and farmers truly care about their product(s) and it's good to remember the hard work and care that goes into making the food you eat.

{don't forget to submit your photo!}

Wordless Wednesdays - Number 409. Not talking surface cleaner.

Linking up here.

Traditions

As you know lambing was a very busy time of year for us. It's a relief that we only have eight pregnant ewes left. Yippee!

During lambing the herders work from sun up to sun down and often past that. They sometimes take a lunch break, never take a nap, probably forget to drink water and I know they just dread cooking dinner for themselves after a long, hard day.

My mother-in-law and I try and help here and there. She sends over fresh bread and other foods and I've gotten really good at sending over some warm pasta for them to eat.

Our dearest friends Kennie and Angie had a great idea earlier this year. Kennie's family are original homesteaders in the area and they know all about tradition. His grandmother cooked for a fellow sheep rancher's crew during lambing season for many years. After hearing about how tired and how hard they worked during lambing season she wanted to do something that would lift their spirits. Each year their workers looked forward to her meal.

Kennie and Angie wanted to do this for us and start a new tradition here at our ranch. We, of course loved the idea.

They came and made the most delicious beef tacos, rice, fresh lemonade and pie. All six of our workers thoroughly enjoyed it and went back for seconds and thirds. We didn't partake in all of the goodness, we wanted the workers to enjoy every bit of it. J and I did manage share a taco after everyone was done. Yummy!

It's great to have the support from our community and friends and I know our workers were very grateful for the nice meal.

This is just one example of all the love this small town gives. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
We are so blessed and very lucky to have many people like them in our lives.

Mutton Mondays - Reaction to Demand.

Lamb and wool are in high demand right now and this demand is expected to increase. This is good news for lamb and wool producers. Very good news. The question being asked is whether or not the United States can continue to meet this demand?

This year alone two US grocery stores, Super Wal-Mart and Kroger made a commitment to carry American Lamb in the near future. This is huge news considering most carry New Zealand lamb right now.

I'm happy to share with you that the U.S. military is the largest domestic consumer of wool. Pretty cool, eh?

I feel this is truly a step in the right direction. Wool and lamb producers want American lamb at the fingertips of consumers. What better place for this than at your local market? Availability is crucial for industry growth. This obviously goes for all products.

In reality, American anything filling up our grocery store shelves is a good thing, but I'm okay with baby steps. ;)

With the growing demand in both the lamb and wool industry the American Sheep Industry has asked all sheep producers to grow their flock.

They've launched a campaign called twoPLUS. I won’t go into all the strategies released to help producers do this, but there are three main goals in mind.

1. Increase the size of your operation by two ewes per operation or by two ewes per 100 by 2014.
2. Increase the average birthrate per ewe to two lambs per year.
3. Increase the harvested lamb crop by 2 percent - from 108 percent to 110 percent.

I think the twoPLUS campaign is a great industry effort. Thanks ASI!

With that being said, next time you are at the grocery store and want to make something different for dinner pick up some lamb and try this recipe! Then come back here and tell me how much you loved it!

Sources: American Sheep Industry and Grow Our Flock

Wordless Wednesdays - Make way, coming through!

Mutton Mondays - Lambing.

May is lambing time here at the ranch. This means a few things, one is that it's busy around here! As we speak J is out there working and it's decided to snow something crazy tonight! I hope those little lambies stay warm.

The last few weeks I've learned the babies we had a few months ago were just a drop in the bucket!

May is when the whole herd is due to have their babies. It began a few weeks ago on shearing day, but the past week has been the busiest by far.

Here is what lambing is all about.
First you have an open field of several hundred very pregnant ewes.

You have workers making their rounds all.day.long. They are looking for ewes that are showing signs of labor.

Don't you love Jigsy's new collar?

Here a few signs a ewe is getting ready to lamb:
1. She goes off by herself
2. Pawing at the ground
3. She passes her mucus plug
Once she starts puckering her lips like this - you know it's game time.

There are different phases in lambing. The first phase the ewe will dilate and lose her mucus plug.

Contractions will increase and the ewe's water bag will appear. This can go on anywhere from a few minutes to an hour. If a ewe is in the pushing stage for over an hour it's likely she is having trouble. This is when one of our workers will intervene.

Most ewes will not need help lambing, a good sign they are fine on their own is if their lamb's hooves and nose appear simultaneously. This is the position the lamb should be in.

Source: here.

If you can see the nose and 2 front hooves mama can take it from there. 

Once the lamb is born the ewe begins licking her baby clean. This is my favorite part. It's just amazing how instinct kicks in!

Once the babies are born and the ewes have a chance to bond with their baby, the lambs will picked up by one of the herders or J and the ewe will be lead to  pen or "jug" as we like to call them.

You carry the lamb low so the mom can see and smell it. This does not hurt the lamb.

This is where they will bond some more and feed.

I've watched a quite a few births these past few months and I'll admit my eyes well up with tears each time. These animals are so strong and it's astonishing to see their instincts kick right in. Within seconds of a lamb being born, mama is right there licking her baby. These mamas can give these lambs so much more than a human can ever provide for them.

My hat goes off to all the mamas out there. Whether it's an animal birth or a human birth I know they don't call it "labor" for nothing!

Lambing is an amazing time of year and it's become my favorite time of year. This is what I get to see and hear every day.

Here is J. He really is excited about lambing time, he's just exhausted these days.
For now, a thumbs up with have to do!
Keep up the hard work hubs! Lambing is almost done.

Finally Friday!

Being around sheep every minute of the day, do you think J would notice if I wore this around the house?

Source: here.

Happy Friday!

Monday's Mutton Monday post will be about lambing. There are babies everywhere!

my heart hurts a little.

I've written about Purdy in an earlier post and had many more planned for her because she has had a tough go and well, she has a special place in my heart. Her mama and brother didn't make it and she’s been on her own since the day she was born. She quickly became our most special bummer.

For the record, it wasn’t just me who fell in love with her. ;)

Purdy was all alone and we all knew she could use a little extra loving. Purdy was born with some jaw problems and she would often get pushed away by other ewes which would leave her limping for a few days. She also never quite got over a runny nose.

J and his mom's daily routine included feeding Purdy three times a day. I would visit her as much as I could especially on the weekends. Purdy took to us and we obviously took to her. She would come running when she saw us and would follow us around like a puppy.

Naming her and visiting her more than necessary was so very, very wrong for me to do. Purdy died this past Wednesday from pneumonia and my heart hurts a little.

I don’t know how (experienced) ranchers do it. I know losing animals gets easier, you eventually don’t see them as pets because well, they aren’t our pets. We give the sheep the best life possible while they are in our care and I feel good knowing that is what we all did for Purdy. I’ll learn (and live) this eventually.

The reality of ranching (so I've been told and am quickly learning) is that I can't get attached. There is a lot of death and there always will be. There is death every single day; I’m just not around to see all of it.


I wish I wasn't such an animal lover, but at the same time I am so glad I can love as strong and as much as I do. I’m reminded of this quote by Anatole France, “Until one has loved an animal a part of one's soul remains unawakened."

Thank you for letting me vent. We've buried Purdy where my husband plans on planting a few vines. I like the symbolism in that.

Sorry for the downer post - last week was a doozie. There are some other things going on that have really gotten me down the last few days. I’m sure I’ll snap out of it soon!

I leave you with a picture of my Jigs...she can always make me smile.

Happy Easter!

Wishing Ewe a Happy Easter!

I hope you are enjoying this Easter Sunday in whatever way makes you happy. Lambing has begun here at the ranch and it's raining like crazy.

I'm inside with Jigs cooking the men some warm spaghetti for dinner. J and the herders are working hard.

How did you spend your Easter? I'd love to hear what you did.

"And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him." Mark 16:5-6

Wordless Wednesdays - Mama knows best.

A Day in the Life of a Rancher's Wife

Waking up at 6:00 am on a Saturday.

Chores.

Puppies. 

Horses.

Dogs.

Rams. 

A three hour car ride to the winter range.

Falling into sagebrush.

Lassoing and loading 20 pregnant sheep.

Mastitis.

Three stomach feedings. 

Our first set of triplets. Seven babies total born today - our most yet!

Bottle feedings. 

Assisting with a birth.

I'm exhausted. Good night.

Babies are here!

Houston, we are having babies!

We haven't lost any lambs since this post - thank goodness. We have about 11 lambs on the ground and four mama's still expecting! This is good practice for real lambing season in May when we expect to have hundreds!

Here is a picture of one of the lambs - isn't she beautiful?!

Oh and there are baby goats too! Can't forget the (very loud) baby goats.