Pre-Warp Speed
How we reached pre-warp speed so fast I have no idea. (What was pre warp speed called anyway – cruise? But Warp speed is on its way!) But yesterday had everything happening at once. Thankfully I had Gracie and the Cadet to help out. And John is still waiting for his call back to work so he is handling all the sowing and pricking out of vegetable plants. The salads from his tiny glass house are amazing.
Poppy is still not in Standing Heat. The pigs semen is still in its straw and she is still heaving about like a mad thing. The question is has she gone past it or is still leading up to it. I hope for the latter.
The shearer came and denuded the sheep. 
The weather is nice at least so they are not cold.
The cadet was enthralled and spent her visit hanging out with the sheep making sure they were ok after their experience.
Of course she has them all hypnotized. She could not believe they sat quietly for their hair cuts and is proud of their good behaviour.
Boo watched from his chain because he gets a little TOO helpful. And of course everyone else was watched closely by the nosy Dutchies.
Good morning. I am still watching Poppy closely. I do hope that she does come into standing heat as the semen is expensive. But if we were too late at least now we have a firm date and so I will have everything in hand before she comes into heat next time. (Which will be when I am in Portland believe it or not!). But we can cross that bridge when we come to it. Plenty of road to go yet.
I hope you all have a lovely day today or at the very least find some loveliness. A gentle pregnant cow is lots of lovely.
Love your friend on the farm,
celi
50 Comments on “Pre-Warp Speed”
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Shorn sheep crack me up. They are naked! I just did the spring sheering of my cockers and they look naked, too. And I have bags of fur that look like your bags of wool. Maybe I should look to see if anyone spins dog fur…
If you do a web search, you’ll find several people who actually do just that. It used to be a big thing to have a sweater made out of a favorite dog’s hair. I don’t know if it still is, but someone, somewhere can do it!
Although come to think, most of the people I knew who had dog-hair sweaters had saved the undercoat from brushings. Undercoat probably behaves differently for spinning than guard hairs. But it doesn’t hurt to check!
I have a friend who spins ANY fur. – she makes hats and bags and all kinds of felted things from undyed fleece.
I love that cadet looking after the sheep.
Have a good day.
love, ViV
Hi Celi,
We’re right behind you guys there in Illinois, still almost 3 ft. of snow but things look promising! I think our lives are following similar paths, it’s been great reading your blog! Do you spin? Shearing time is always a great day, I am always excited to check out our fleeces for the season and the flock is always happy to have their heavy coats removed .We just sold our Jersey cow, not as many mouths to feed to warrant the gallons of milk to drink, make cheese, yogurt, kefir……..we do miss her! She has moved on to a farm with a large family to help feed ( by way of delicious milk products). Oh, spring……so much to do, so much excitement. . Enjoy your days!!
I used to spin in NZ, when the children were little , but the american wheels are totally different.. and I really don’t have the time now.. weird.. i had more time when I was raising children – how lovely that you cow was able to find a good home to go to, that must be a great feeling.. c
Hi Cecilia,
Yes, a blessing when an animal moves on to a different farm and continues with a good life. She was a wonderful Jersey, a great milker, and a sweet disposition. We do miss her, but we try and be efficient and reasonable when we find the growing or raising of something no longer fits our needs. ( both kids up and gone, pretty much). I keep trying to scale down the amount of food we raise as our household grows smaller. This is a slow process. It has been a part of what we do for so long, tweaking it takes time! Great photos and love the way you describe the happenings on your farm, thanks for sharing all you do!
Perhaps since Poppy is her own kind of pig, with a different personality than the others we have met, would it be possible that her heat behavior is also going to be different than what is considered to be standard? Time to think outside the pigpen?
Our Mad Poppy! If this does not work she will go for a ride to visit the Boar.. I am trying to avoid that but we will see. c
Impulse, from the Impulse Drive 😉
Nice butt .. and err … cure Marcel smile 🙂 Laura
yes that is a marcel smile.. glad to get his winter coat off.. c
The sheep look so clean and fresh, and look at that lovely fleece. Looks like spring on the farmy!
Ah, there is a smiling Sheep in this photos today…. has to be Marcel!
I got news this morning a friend of mine is hand raising a baby goat in their home. It’s mom passed, so they are tending to it until it is weaned, then it will join the small herd at his parents house again. He said waking up to a baby goat asking for a bottle is a new experience for them. They live in a small home in a subdivision with zero lot lines!!!! But with 4 kids under 10 at home, this is a great experience for them.
Gracie is the same…. ate very well last night, but not this morning. I don’t she is a morning person!
Yes I got his smile for you.. glad that your gracie is eating at least once a day, Go Gracie! c
Top Gun. Love it!
just loving your lanscape photography at the mo Miss C. I could do with some practice and some tips!
My favourite tip for landscapes is make sure your horizon is straight! Some thing i have to watch out here.. c
Fingers and toes crossed that Poppy stands soon!
My, such an eclectic array of photos this morning, Miss C! I believe the pregnant cow in fog is my favorite.. though that angle on “Top Gun” is quite a perspective worth pondering! 😀
nice isn’t it!! c
Ooh, lots of bags of woolly goodness. If your hands get sore and dry in this cold weather, go and plunge them into the bags of wool, and run your hands around in there to take advantage of all that lovely lanolin. I love the idea that traditional fishermen’s guernseys were made of uwashed wool because the lanolin helped to repel water and they stayed warm and dry. Same with their socks.
You know, i grew up with fishermen and never knew that and it makes perfect sense.. interesting.. thank you kate!.. c
Every time you write about the Cadet, my heart swells knowing what goodness you are bringing into each others’ lives. You are a sweetheart, Miss C.
Loved seeing the sheep and especially Marcel’s smile. I’m so glad that the kittens still enjoy each others’ company so much…so sweet.
You are melting rapidly now. Which is an excellent thing!
Linda ★★
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
https://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/sherlock-boomer
the snow is almost completely gone, wow, that was so fast, tho you probably don’t think that. The sheep look so small without their woolly goodness with their Cadet. Beautiful cows, nosy or otherwise. Come on Poppy, settle down and stand!
Sheep always look so naked when they have been shorn..surely they must feel the cold just a little bit. If someone took my clothes off I would feel cold, Waiting for the news about Miss Piggy
Brrr…they’re naked now!
That is a lovely fine mist you have there…the earth is breathing. That is such a lovely thing.
The mist rose up out of the ground like a living breath, it was incredible to watch.. very soothing.. c
Every photo today is special. The expression on Marcel, both of them! And the two ladies watching make me laugh out loud. And that lovely one of Lady A in the mist of pink. And Boo with his kittens. Just precious. Thank you, Celi, for those shearing shots. Yessir, yessir, three bagsful.. (somebody had to say it.)
I know.. three huge bags.. I will throw it and pick out the dirty edges asap and send it off to the mill.. exciting.. c
Your photos the last couple of days have been have been exceptional. I love this last one with all the muted colors, the green of the water hose and the red of the bark of the shrubs in the foreground. Are those Ivory Halos, do you know?
Those are Red Stemmed Dogwoods.. I love them and will grow 25 more this year, they look great in the winter.. c
Here our snow is melting, melting…”oh, what a world what a world…Who would have thought a good girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness!” and yet, and yet, we still have snow on the ground deeper than our armpits, even with all that melting…
But… we are prepping the hoop house to plant carrots, and we have 1800 little baby lettuces on my windowsill, and we’re firing up the nursery heater tonight!
Spring is surely on the way!
Fantastic.. i was worried about you after seeing that shot on FB.. you have SO much snow.. c
Three bags full…The Dutchies don’t miss much, do they?! You and your camera, Miss C. LOL You know what I’m talking about. I’m not mentioning names on belts. Everything seems so peaceful, not warp speed. It must be the still photography.
Grinned at the ‘Top Gun’ photo naturally . . . if the guy does not like all the comments: simple – don’t advertise 😀 !! But my favourite is that last glorious pic of the mist just above the ground. Have ‘pinched’ and will see how it looks as my computer background: have had a couple of cuddling koalas for half a year or more . . . oh, glad there was a ‘family party’ on . . .
Oh Celi – it looks just beautiful and I do not think it will be changed soon . . . thank you!!
Glad you can show some ‘city slickers’ how we get wool… I have nothing against those who live in the city (I am on of them myself!) but it made me cross about a year ago to read about protests by some animal rights groups about wool, because they were under the impression that sheep had to be killed for their wool, like other animals for their fur! Silly isn’t it, wool has to be about one of the most renewable resources there are, you would think an animal rights groups would know that! Another thing I have heard some of them complain about is how ‘cruel’ the shearers are to the sheep. There are good shearers and bad ones, your one looks like he did an excellent job. In the hands of a good shearer the sheep is completely relaxed and it is a joy to watch.
Here’s hoping for some good news for Poppy soon! It will be fun to have piglets on the farm again… how long is a pig’s gestation?
A pigs gestation, is Three months, three weeks and three days .. 114 days. This comment of yours is wonderful.. the shearer who comes here is so gentle, he leads the sheep out to his mat with his hand against her head – that is all. In fact the worst of getting out of sheep is not being able to support this man anymore – he is wonderful with the animals. I miss Mama. c
I get a gentle bucolic feeling from the photos today… maybe the light and the simple good things. And a just a smidge of amusement at the shearer, and your three bags full!
Yes indeed my friend.. just that.. bucolic.. Oh i feel it now.. c
I love the last photo. My first thought was: The excessive ground moisture was evaporating back up to the skies from whence it came.
Love that shot of The Cadet and the shorn sheep 🙂
Lovely expressions captured with the kittens and Boo.
Have you tried a drop spindle for spinning yarn? Small and portable. You don’t have to have lump free yarn for some things -it’s a “crafty/homespun” look..that’s what I kept telling myself.
No I haven’t tried it, it looks very crafty though! c
We’ve got a couple naked girls as well. It’s 24 hours now and our goats are almost not afraid anymore. They are normally a pack of 5 that roam together but the goats ran for their lives the first encounter post shearing. I will probably send to have it cleaned although I feel I should do it myself. Just don’t know where I’d squeeze out the time.
How far do you have your wool processed?
I am hoping to send it to a mill..