Ivy Mommy

Ivy had her two lambs last night. A boy and a girl. I don't know why they have to go into labor at midnight every time. Lisa stayed up with them all night. I went to bed after the first one started to come out in the right position. One has a black leg like Duane and the other has the big white area on its head like Ivy.

Daddy Duane

Corey White came over to pick up Duane last week. He'll be visiting Edith's ewes for a few weeks.

 Duane in the corral waiting for Corey.

 The cucumbers are coming in.

 Lisa's been making pickles.

 Pickles being made.

 Setting them out to cool.

 We had blueberry custard made with the blueberries Anne brought when they came up.

 We are on plan "C" with the ducks. They seemed to think they were barnyard animals instead of waterfowl despite our efforts to convince them otherwise. There are six left out of the original twelve. They have to stay in the cage now until their time comes. There are four hens and two drakes, if they start laying eggs they might live longer.

Another lambing season is here! We brought the pregnant ewes up to the barn. They are still grazing in the pasture but they come up to the barn to chew and sleep so we can keep an eye on them. Abbey and Libby went to the downhill pasture with the wethers and the other un-bred ewes.

 Lulu is pregnant. She's turning into a fine ewe. Fingers crossed that she delivers well.

 We finished the back gate and Lisa painted it. Mr. Lee cut hay on his land. This was the first time it had been cut for hay since we've been here.

 He got quite a bit out of it. There was a lot of clover and tall fescue. He was hauling 9 large round bales at a time and was at it all day and most of the next day.

 The garden is doing well. Besides the cucumbers we had our first green beans tonight for dinner.

 We got all the posts that were dug finally set. Next is the transition around the culvert. Lisa is raking the grass cuttings for hay. She puts it in stacks and hauls it with the four-wheeler and dumpcart. It is going in the stalls for the lambing.

The Gate

Mr. Lee said it was okay for us to put a gate in the fence to his property. We need to get back there occasionally and before we had to go the long way around.

 We dug the holes and set the posts last week. The fence is down now, we have the corral panels up to keep the animals in.

 The gate is behind the barn next to the power pole. It will be easier for the utility workers to access it too. Abbey and Libby were keeping an eye on me in case I suddenly produced a bottle of milk.

 I set the tension wire for the gate post and the stretcher post. This is the stretcher, the gate will hang on the other side.

 It was hot and sunny.

 Meanwhile Lisa was planting some new trees. This one will be a Kwanzan Flowering Cherry.

 This one is a Red Flowering Crabapple.

 It has crabapples on it now.

 Gracie came to visit.

 Anne and Sarah showed up too, they brought Marianne and Ashley with them.

 We had pulled bunny with potato salad and coleslaw.