Family Christmas 2011

My dad and the sign we gave him for Christmas.  The sign was made by my good friends at Bell Signs and the frame was made by my extremely talented hubby, Mike.   

My niece, Lisa on the left, I'm in the center and my son, Tyler is on the right

Adult nieces and children make a person feel old!!!!  But what a nice time we have when we are all together.

That which angers us, controls us.

Very deserving man

Every year......for several years, my incredibly generous hubby doesn't get the power washer he really wants.  Funny thing is, he doesn't ever mind or complain in any way.  And every year, I swear I'm going to find a way to save the money to get one for him.  Well folks, this year, I made it happen!!  I'm not sure who is more thrilled by this purchase, me or Mike.  I was blessed to have some great sheep sales this year and could squirrel away a few funds that allowed me to make the purchase and now my overworked man can stop spending countless hours trying to get equipment clean with a lousy garden hose.  

This is the man that tirelessly works to make sure I can do what I love, raising Shetland sheep.  Every purchase that we consider is centered around what we can do to improve housing for the sheep, fence, hay, bedding, feeders.......you get the idea.  I'm grateful for such selfless devotion to my hobby and I thanked him with a internal combustion engine on a glorified water hose.  (grin) 

That which angers us, controls us.

When is a mitten, not a mitten?

My son never ceases to amaze me with the things that he prefers to wear or own.  Never in a million years would I have thought he'd want a pair of fingerless gloves that convert to mittens.  So, here they are........

I know what these poor things will be subjected to in terms of abuse, I had to keep that in mind when I decided if I wanted to use really fine fleece or something less fine that would be more durable.  I opted for the less fine, more durable fiber, this yarn came from one of my coarser Shetland ewes that is no longer with us at OK Acres, my beloved first lamb, Abby.  Abby was not as soft and silky as I'd like, but she sure made up for that lack of fineness in shear volume.  Although theses mittens are super silky, they are still soft and the rest of her fleece will make great chair pads and another pair of these gloves/mittens.  She was musket in color, so that makes for a heathery look to the yarn.   Just finished the pinkie finger on the second glove/mitten and only have to add the flap and I'm done.

That which angers us, controls us.

3 Wise "Men" (Corgis)

Merry Christmas to all my blogland friends!!!
May this holidy fill you with love and remind you of  reason we celebrate Christmas.

Garrett was at our place last weekend and brought 3 lovely Corgis with him.  My dog loved them and so did I.
It didn't take them long to figure out that I'm a sucker for cuteness.
Cuteness = treats at the Bartels household.

That which angers us, controls us.

Rambalambadingdong

Crosswinds Thor~There are several things that I really like about his ram.  He's black, spotted, and has  dense fleece that has a lot of consistent crimp throughout. (psst.  it's very soft & silky too.....plus he's from a poll carrier)  

above britch

mid side

front shoulder

~~Thor is modified, and a sokket, flecket, smirslet ~~

Sheltering Pines Tel~Say Camden~This is a ram that Garrett and I own together and we both felt that he was pretty awesome. As you can see, loads of crimp, good length, Shetland tips and very consistent fleece front to back.  He's a smirslet, sokket, flecket gulmoget.  (ps~poll carrier too)  

Just about the britch

Front~midway up shoulder

Mid side

Sheltering Pines Tel~Say Camden
He's pulling back a bit, so not the greatest picture in the world.  

Camden~once again, pulling back a bit. 

That which angers us, controls us.

Sheep in the snow

Here is a few of my girls.  I am pretty pleased with the girls I have this year, slightly more so than last year.  I have retained 8 ewe lambs and have 13 adult girls bred for 2012, 2 of these gals are leased. Bug got the bulk of the girls, Thor got 6 and Camden got 3 gals, one purebred and one crossbred.  (I had 3 ewes that I bred for a new breeder and 3 of my girls were sold as bred too)  I've never had 3 breeding groups, but Camden flew into my radar at the 11th hour and I decided to give him some ladies of his own.  Stay tuned for ram photos.  

Salicional (adult) Bred to Bug for 2012
I simply adore this ewe~she has this smoky blue color to her fleece that I love.

Velma (adult) bred to Thor for 2012
This girl gives me superior lambs, and her fleece is dense and soft. 

Catherine, bred to Thor ~Alexandria(ewe lamb) and Maura~bred to  Thor
Maura and Catherine are new here, so I'm pretty anxious to see their lambs.

I'd like to point out that prior to the fresh snow that is in this picture, mud was everywhere, hence, Catherine is white (ish) instead of the nice white we get to see mid winter.   Alexandria is a ewe lamb, and you can see she's much smaller standing between the two mature gals.

Ceylon (adult)~bred to Bug  and Alabama (ewe lamb)
Ceylon gave me 2 superior rams this year, so it was a no brainer to repeat the breeding with Bug.

Leased from Lori: Challis (love this gal) ~bred to Bug
This exceptional ewe just HAD to be bred to my best ram. 

Disco (ewe lamb)

Disco, Seneca,  Alexandria (all ewe lambs) and Maura (adult)

Garnet (adult) Bred to Bug for 2012
Garnet lost a beautiful yuglet lamb this spring to hypothermia, so she is bred back to Bug for 2012

more ladies in the snow...mixed bag of ages here.  Far right is Dot, she's bred to Thor for 2012
Dot has some interesting bloodlines that I'm trying to utilize.

That which angers us, controls us.

Winter visit to Indiana

If I get a chance to visit a Shetland herd, I don't ask a bunch of questions, I just go.  I got a chance to do just that a couple weeks ago when we went to Indiana to pick up 2 LDG's from Gail Former and spend some time at Jeff and Theresa Gygi's house.  The guys wandered off to do guy stuff, hauling hay, cutting/splitting wood (el yucko) and that left Theresa, Tori and I free to play with the sheep.  What a great way to spend a day,.....catching sheep, picking out favorites, and discussing all things fiber.  I was properly impressed by the set up that Theresa has for processing, dyeing, carding, felting, weaving, and spinning fleece.  I was green with envy over the talent that she has to have in order to produce such fabulous finished projects. I got a few shots of the Gygi girls (adult ewes), so here they are..........

That which angers us, controls us.

Orphaned donkey

The calls started about 8:30 am on Tuesday morning....all of them had the same question.  Would I be able to take an orphaned donkey?  I sooo wanted to take him, but I don't have a barn that would keep the little guy warm, since all my shelters are 3 sided except for the machinery shed.  Turns out, the gal that I have help me part time in my office has just as big a heart and after some begging and a little healthy shoving her in the right direction.......we were on our way to pick up the 20# fur with legs.  He is now safely tucked in a pen at her place with a heat lamp and her 2 dogs to watching over him.  If anyone would like to give this little guy a home in a few weeks, please let me know.  

Jasmine the husky and Jimmy the donkey

Jasmine says, "Don't worry little fella, it's really nice at this house."

I'll just sit here until you go to sleep...........

My dear hubby, Mike, and little Jimmy

That which angers us, controls us.

Goodbye

Annie

Born Jan. 2001 

Gone to roam the fields in heaven on Nov. 26th, 2011

You were loved and will be missed. 

That which angers us, controls us.

Orange lips

Thanks to our many family and friends that locate and deliver pumpkins to me for my sheep to enjoy.  As you can see, it doesn't take long for them to figure out that they are super yummy.  New sheep and lambs generally turn up their noses at this once a year treat, but it doesn't take long for them to come around.  I have one ewe lamb that loves them so much that her entire face is orange when she's done.  

Dot, Challis and Maura  shamelessly pigging out on pumpkins

Alexandria simply adores pumpkins. 

Dot and Challis 

Vienna thinks I have grain and was quite put out with me that I only had a camera.
I really like this ewe lamb.......can't wait to see what she looks like next year.

Disco and Alabama are pretty disgusted with me here, no treats and so now the pouting begins.

Left front: Salina, center is Killian's butt and right front is Seneca (butt again)
background ewe lambs are: middle of pen is Alabama then from left to right in the back: Alexandria, Sierra, Vienna, & Disco

Killian and Seneca.  Killian was the wildest sheep when she arrived, but now she simply lays her head in my hand and loves to be scratched.  Sits right on the ground.......it's hilarious.

That which angers us, controls us.

Annie update

Annie, being the kind soul that she is, jumped right in the back seat of the truck Saturday morning so we could be to her vet appointment at 9:15 am.  This is no problem for a family pet, but a huge step for a LGD that only knows sheep and the pasture that they call home.  

We tried to do the xray on her leg without a sedative, but she was just too terrified, even with me holding her "hand" the entire time.  Once the xray was done, the vet called me in to give me the good news.......no bone cancer!!!!  I almost started crying when I got the news.  

The next step is a biopsy to determine what type of tumor that we are dealing with in order to determine our removal method.  Thursday is the scheduled day for that and I am hopeful it is benign, since the vet said that the itching she is experiencing is typical in a benign tumor, that sort of tumor will typically produce excess histamine.  

Thanks to everyone for their prayers for Annie, they worked so far, keep up the good work.  

Warm regards to all

Annie on the left and John on the right.  Notice her left hind leg has a huge mass.....

That which angers us, controls us.

Freedom isn't free

OUR SOLDIERS

When the security of our land is threatened,
We call on our soldier's might,
To go wherever they're needed,
To defend us day and night.

They leave their loves ones behind,
A great price our soldiers must pay.
Let us salute their courage and bravery,
May we remember them each time we pray.

Each time we spot "Old Glory"
Waving for all to see,
Let's think of all the soldiers that have
Kept it flying proud and free.

This great country is tolerant
Of cultures from other lands,
But, when they attack our precious freedom
We will punish with a heavy hand.

Our soldiers are tried and true,
Tempered like carbon steel,
Born of American Spirit;
Raised with American will.

Remember our fallen heroes that died,
So freedom may grow,
To nations around the world,
Wherever our warriors may go.


To all the soldiers and their families....thank you from the bottom of my heart for your service to our nation.  
God Bless

Little Big Town concert

This is our little group....photo op with the group was part of our "package". 

I think you can probably tell which of these folks are the singing group and which are not.  

Dailley Flock photos

Dailley whites

More Dailley whites

Dailley greys

Dailley moorits

more Dailley sheep........spots !!!!
Bill Stearman posted these on his blog and since they were sheep from the flock that originally imported Shetland Sheep to NA, I thought it would a pretty cool idea to post them on my blog for others to see.  

Enjoy everyone.