Sheepmom at Shady Oaks Shetlands

The Shepherd's Delight......

2010-03-09T21:35:00.000-08:00

is the three little lambs that arrived on Monday morning in an orderly manner. No scrambling to get out all at once; a nice gentlemanly entrance into the world. Yes indeed folks Pepsi FINALLY decided to get with the program and stop carrying the lads around with her. Through the night on Sunday we visited periodically at which point she would sigh deeply, roll a little.......and bring up yet another cud! At last about 6 a.m. she began to excavate. She dug, and pondered, and dug some more. When two little feet appeared (pointing in the right direction and belonging to the same lamb whose nose followed closely, the Shepherdess was quite relieved.

After meet and greet was well started I milked Pepsi out and gave the lad his first meal in a bottle. He downed two ounces in nuthin' flat. Two more boys followed with a comfortable interval between.

Each got their first meal of colostrum to give them a good start in life just in case they had navigational challenges in locating the lunch counter.

All was going well until Pepsi made it clear that the middle child was not to her liking. Visions of a bummer came to mind and I quickly ushered him over to Lyric who had also just presented us with a handsome little boy. She thought this other one was fine and she liked him (had previously tried to snitch him actually) and then he nursed a bit and ..she gave him back. Ah HAH! I felt his teeth and discovered some sharp little points. The DH was enlisted to hold the young man for his first dental appointment. An emery board rounded the little daggers and his mouth was declared 'comfortable'.

Pepsi however was not willing to take our word for it and had to be restrained and comforted by DH while we proved that he had been to the shop and came back better for it. From experience I knew this procedure had to be done on both sides so the little man got a full tummy and was ready for a nap. I tucked him in next to his brothers and gave Pepsi some nice soothing alfalfa to calm her.

An hour or so later the boys woke up hungry and ran to the snack bar. I held my breath. Pepsi nuzzled each little tush without exception. Whew! It worked again. I often wonder at this time of year how many rejected lambs are due to snaggleteeth?

It's late and so I'll close for the night but I know many of you were wondering how many lambs were in there! The petite pois weighed in at 7#, 6# and 5.5#. Yup 18.5 pounds of babies she had been carting around! No wonder she was hungry enough to snarf up an egg!

Lambs and more lambs! Oh MY!

2010-03-07T14:52:00.000-08:00

The neighbors are ALWAYS giving advice! The Japanese bantams love to hang out in the barn and kibbitz with the girls. Trifle is not amused by Bert (or is it Harry?) commenting on her physique. Trifle has about two weeks to go before her babies arrive. She is probably thinking its going to be a long two weeks with these nosy darn neighbors popping in all the time.

So far in addition to Charity; Aileen, Whimsy, Coco and Gale have lambed with a ram and ewe lamb each. Liam and Calbaut our two herd sires for this lambing have proven their ability be the Prince Charming for their lovely girls. So far we are seeing luster, curls and terrific structure from all the lambs. A few will be dark grey, a couple light grey and several moorits.

Around the 20th we will have several more girls due along with the long awaited GOTLAND BABIES! The Gotties are going to be a lovely enhancement to the farm. Their Moms have all been champs in the show ring and are good producers of stunning lambs. We'll see what they can do with these handsome Swedish guys that arrived via New Zealand!

Pepsi is the girl to watch at this point and we have been watching.....a LOT. Pepsi normally takes her time getting into the mood for lambing. Making sure they are all 100% finished and ready for their debut. But really, COME ON PEPSI!!! There is a limit! You can't hang on to them forever; not unless Sheepmom can find you a roller skate for your tummy!

Pepsi had triplets as a first time lamber and that was an eyeopener. After she produced 18 pounds of lambs from her 85 pound frame it became abundantly clear that she was nothing but skin and bone. There was no room to eat for four so she donated her share to the three lambs.

Yesterday she had claimed her lambing space so I built her a jug and in she went. She was looking weary and I was a bit concerned. The chickens went in too convinced that a hole in the straw was a perfect nest for egg laying. She chased them out a number of times before giving up. The little hen was desperate at this point to lay her egg so she popped it out with Pepsi's nose resting on her head. I started to move around to the gate to fetch the egg when the hen stepped away but much to my surprise Pepsi POUNCED on it! She vacuumed it up in a flash and licked the egg yolk off her face and dug around in the straw to see if there was another! Yup! Shell and all. After I picked my jaw up off the floor I thought...DUH! THAT GIRL IS HUNGRY! So off I went to get some alfalfa and a high carb snack to sustain her until dinner. That got vacuumed up just like the egg and polished off with a swig of molasses water.

Ok,,,this shepherdess got the message. Pepsi gets her own room service with occasional forays out and about to take a little exercise. Hopefully she will get with the delivery process pretty soon. I don't think there is much stretch left in this girl!

Stay tuned for the arrival announcement which we hope will be SOON!

You have GOT to be kidding!

2010-03-07T14:21:00.000-08:00

Maggie followed Charity with the elan of an overachiever. She popped out three flashy little kids, two handsome bucklings and a precious doeling the DH has already named Cricket because she loves to hop into his lap for loves. Yes my George is a goat guy, he loves his little Nigies and they love him right back.

Maggie was more than her normal wide-as-can-be and my Goat Guru, Debbie assured me that triplets at the very least were perking in that vast tummy. This picture was taken about 11 days before the blessed event took place. Not only deep but wide as well!

Maggie came through with flying colors once again blessing us with babies that have her stylish stance and dairy character. She enjoys the special jug made for her in the hay room complete with heat lamp for her kids and her very own hay and grain (not that she is THAT good at sharing anyway!).

The little family got out today into Maggie's palace. She has a calftel with heat lamp and fresh bedding. Tomorrow we will add toys for the little ones to play on. It would be great photo ops but they move to darn fast! They had a lovely play time and then moved inside under the heat lamp for a snooze.

Then it was off to the races! Sideways skitters and leaps into the air! With tiny springs in their feet the kids feel just how good it is to run and jump in the real world. Mom is probably happy they are outside to play too <>>>

The two second freshener does are due on the 18th or a bit sooner. They are only partially amused by the antics of Maggies trio of fun. They look a bit dubious don't they? Perhaps they are remembering their kids from last year and how much trouble they could get into.

It should be a very bounciful summer around here!

Lambing and kidding oh my!

2010-03-07T13:22:00.000-08:00

The season of blessed events got started with Charity a first time lamber. All was well until the 10 pm barncheck when a very confused Charity was excavating with determination but no understanding of the impending event. The bad part was she was exactly a week ahead of schedule. I knew there had been an altercation in the morning about feeding space arrangements but didn't realize how serious the dispute was. Of course since it was a week early I had to leap into collecting all the lambing gear for the "what if" situations that can sometimes develop.

A week early is right on the edge of survivability for preemie lambs so I was not optimistic about the outcome of this endeavor. Charity was confused until I let her smell the fluids from her waterbag and the lightbulb came on with a vengance. Its a BABY!!! She proceeded to push and a tiny 2 pound lamb arrived cold and confused, gasping in the chilly air. She licked it and I suctioned the airway and the tiny heart continued to beat like a hummingbird. I milked out some of the lifegiving colostrum and got a bit down the little fellow by dribbling it into his mouth. He lacked the sucking reflex but got enough colostrum to keep him warm until he adjusted a bit.

His sibling must have been the one that got whacked in the fray as it teetered on the edge of survival and then slipped over. I distracted Charity and covered the little body with a towel and moved it off to the side.

To help keep the little one warm I filled several bottles with hot water and placed them under the straw in his box. Nestled between them he slept soundly without shivering; his young mother watching his every breath.

Charity is a superb mother to this fragile infant, gentle and comforting. She was so cooperative when I was milking her out I had a feeling she knew this was the only way her little man could get nourishment right now. Several times that night we worked together to get colostrum into the baby. In the morning I knew I would have to tube him if he didn't start to suck but I hesitate to do that until there is no option. Before work I gave it one more try and SUCCESS! That lightbulb reappeared and what took 15 minutes to get down him earlier disappeared in a flash! He never looked back after that!

With a full tummy and a loving mom he started to bounce. Two bounces and a nap at first. Then a few more and another nap. He curls up in his box of straw and grows. Now he is bouncing with the best of them and looking forward to meeting the other lambs. He is still a tiny little guy but he is catching up fast. He has a great future ahead of him I think. He has presence and he has already won his first place in mom's heart.

Catching up continued!

2010-03-07T12:24:00.000-08:00

Hello again between lambings! I started out lambing this year somewhat sleep deprived due to the arrival of Miss Hanna Mae a charming English Shepherd puppy. SaraJane our current farm dog is doubtful about the charming part, After a few squabbles Sara has realized that: A. the puppy is here to stay and B. She might as well step in and start training her properly. This includes guarding the farm from marauding flocks of avians, keeping the barn cats in line, washing sheep faces and being underfoot.

Hanna has stepped into the role of ingenue farm dog with grace and her own distinctive style. She naps in the barn in a feeder she has claimed as her own. The chickens are to be herded gently to bed as dusk falls and the cats, well they ARE cats after all. Cats have to be reminded WHO is in charge. Fortunately the cats have a sense of humor and let her think that she has the upper hand.

She and Sara did have one misunderstanding regarding possession of a treasure early on. She didn't move quite fast enough and Sara nipped her. Since this little nip involved an eyelid Hanna got to meet her personal physician, Dr. Kris. She neatly applied three tiny stitches and sent her home in a lovely dress. Sara was dismayed to hear how long her allowance would be docked but she couldn't help be amused by the little urchin's attire. A slow wag and a big doggie grin but she didn't laugh out loud.

When I go off to work each weekday the puppy hangs out with big sister on the back porch. They both help George with all the stuff he does in the shop and around the farm.

I had hoped that by gaining a new puppy to housetrain before lambing would get me geared up for all the running back and forth to the barn at all hours. Unfortunately sleep deprivation doesn't quite work that way! It has been a challenge and there are times when you wonder how one conveys to a puppy how grand it is that she barks when she has to out. Now if we could just get the bark, "Let me out" request to happen BEFORE the incident! One step at a time.......

Catching up on the farm news! Issue 1

2010-02-28T10:59:00.000-08:00

Hello out there! Bet you thought I had dropped off the face of the earth or the farm had submerged like Atlantis? Still here and paddling like a madwoman to keep ahead of the "must-do" list.

I will bring the blog up to date in sections starting with the great transformation! My DH George wirebrushed all the ancient flaking paint off the original barn and painted it to match the new sheep barn. It looked so good the man went wild and painted the compost building and the ram barn.

In between these endeavors he built the "Palazzo de Poulet" and painted it too! The chicken house is a marvel of clever design and architectural genious. Its a darn nice chicken house too! The girls moved in without a squawk and settled down to some serious egg laying.

We also finished the compost building which took much longer than expected. (Doesn't Everything?) The composter has greatly improved the management of the barn cleaning and it works beautifully. We will most likely have to add some water to our next turning of the heap and with that we should have finished compost in 3 months from start to finish. If it takes longer no problem since we can't get out on the field anyway and there is lots of room to start the next batches. The girls are also really appreciating the dry rocked in 'sacrifice' are we built for them. During the wettest part of the winter rains they have a dry place to hang out without getting their tootsies muddy!

So that was what we were up to just before the rains arrived. Then along came breeding season and even that was an adventure with with sheep and goats and GOTLANDS! Yup, we have some Gottie babies perking away right now. They are due around the 21st of March to four of our lovely ladies. More on that in the next post though!

Stay tuned for the next installment of Blog Catch UP from Sheepmom at Shady Oaks!

Rain!

2009-09-06T10:27:00.000-07:00

Every year in August I stand in the pastures and wonder if it will EVER be green again. Here in the southern end of the Willamette valley we have a 'mediterranean' climate. Cool wet winters and warm dry summers. The climatologists certainly have the 'dry' part down in spades!

The crispness of late summer is one of sounds; crunchy grass underfoot and cranky critters complaining to the management that their food is overcooked.

The September rains came right on time this year. There was a deep sigh from the entire farm as the first drops began to fall. I always fancy I can here the cracks in the earth "snap!" shut and the grass begin squeakily pushing out new growth.

The sheep visibly relax with the first rain. Their demeanor here is probably the same as the sheep in colder climes welcoming the first taste of spring. The hard days of summer or winter are about to change for the better.

We have water issues on the farm. A low producing well requires strict conservation measures in the depth of summer. Trees are coaxed to be optimistic and stay alive til the rain starts. The garden is watered with the bare minimum to keep things going.

Fussy plants don't last long here-they get voted out of the raised garden beds at the first hint of wimpiness. As a result of this 'tough love' method and the head gardener's penchant for letting survivors procreate by reseeding themselves we have some interesting combinations of plants.

The snapdragons are multicolored, tall and prolific. Dahlias which I believe are supposed to be fussbudgets do just fine here with minimal supervision. Lavender, parsley, tarragon, thyme, chives, the occasional potato and black eyed Susans share a bed with wild abandon.

The head gardener works on the basis that Mother Nature hates a vacuum. So if a bare spot shows up she ( the H.G.) will drop a seed head from somewhere else or poke a tiny potato into the dirt. Its like a treasure hunt at times....you never know when you will find a nest of potatos when foraging for dinner.

The bounty that comes with the close of summer will soon be overwhelming. The little pear tree has once more out done itself and produced three bushels of pears. Dried pears, Ginger Pear Jam, Vanilla Pear Jam and maybe this year some Pear butter waits in the kitchen for processing.

The apple trees are drowning in fruit much to the delight of neighbors and the critters. One cannot pick up the mail or walk down the driveway without a ram chorus begging for a few more windfalls. The chickens are fat and sassy as they cruise under the trees munching fruit with a bug chaser.

So...here is your 'point to ponder' for the day. When the sheep eat apples do their cuds taste like applesauce? or hard cider? No wonder they are so happy this time of year!

Sweet Sheeply Ladies Seeking New Opportunities!

2009-08-29T16:04:00.000-07:00

This year we have added several new bloodlines to our Ewe flock in order to continue moving forward genetically. This of course means that some of our mature girls must go out into the world to seek new employment. It is never an easy decision to decide who stays and who goes. Sometimes a ewe's offspring will replace her in the ewe line up or perhaps there are too many girls of a particular bloodline to keep the Shady Oaks gentlemen gainfully employed. In any case these girls have made a significant genetic contribution to our flock and they can do the same for you.

Shady Oaks Giselle is a moorit sired by Fletcher Kurt and out of Shady Oaks Allegra. Allegra was Champion and Reserve Champion at State Fair in consecutive years. She is from our 'musical' line which has produced numerous Champions over the years.

Giselle is 5 years old, in her prime and has her bags packed for a new adventure. The photo on the left was taken in January 2009 prior to shearing. The photo to the right was taken in August 2009. Her fleece is honey colored on the outside and dark on the inside. Fleece samples are available from this shearing.

Sizemore Gale is a friendly 7 year old and has produced numerous Champion offspring for her breeder, Susie Sizemore. We acquired her last year and she produced two very correct twin ewe lambs for us out of Shady Oaks Spats. She is sired by Cochran Rolex who was also an influential sire in our flock, again, we have to move on genetically and so we are offering her for sale. She puts terrific structure on her lambs! She has an intermediate fleece with good length and density.

Shady Oaks Aileen is reluctantly offered for sale-she has had a brilliant show career and is a favorite of the DH. Aileen was almost Best in Show Ewe at Oregon Flock and Fiber as a ewe lamb and again as a yearling. (Darn that Border Leiscester ewe anyway!) She is a prodigous wool producer, she is spotted and carries A.I. through her dad Liam and old Dailley through her mom, Crystal Dawn Pepsi. Her fleece is very primitive, intermediate and a lonnnnnnggggg staple length. This is rather a mystery since Liam is a superfine highly crimped boy and Pepsi has a silky smooth very fine lusterous fleece of moderate length. Aileen's daughter Tivoli is has her grandmother's soft fine fleece and her mothers incredible fleece length. She will be staying in the flock for the time being. Aileen is a very special girl, incredible structure, milkiness and loads of personality. She will only go to a very special home.

Aileen as a lamb winning Division III Championship at OFFF and as part of the winning team of the Black Sheep Cup.

Shady Oaks Trifle is a yearling out of Chocolate Chip and Liam. Her fleece is fine, She is very correct and will be an excellent addition to anyone's flock. She is excited about meeting a nice fellow for fun and a possible long term relationship. A very sweet country girl from a good family.

Shady Oaks Cookie is Trifle's twin sister. Her fleece is equally lustrous and fine but she is a pale grey. We will likely retain one of these girls and also Chip's daughter from this year, Tiramisu who is chocolate brown (same mom and dad-three different colors of offspring!)

Little girls from this year are Elise, Elena, Gillian, Clover and Anya! All are very dark, some with white sprizzles that may indicate Shaela. Clover especially since her mother Willow is a gorgeous shaela.

A couple have soft but intermediate fleeces, the others are more to the fine end of the scale. All have good length, rich color and correct conformation. They will also be at the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival.

This is Elena

And her twin sister Elise! Both of these girls have incredible toplines!

Gillian has white inside her ears and a few white sprizzles-she may be shaela at her second shear. The same is true of Clover. Anya has an intermediate long fleece with super color saturation. They are all sweet and curious. They said to tell all of you that they are particularly fond of the "sea creatures' animal cracker and in the shell peanuts. "Come and visit and bring treats"

Rams seeking new employment!

2009-08-29T12:30:00.000-07:00

Shady Oaks has several exceptional rams for sale this year. The ram flock started out with a lot more members-these boys have made the cut and are ready to go to work. There are several different fleece types and colors to choose from. All are structurally sound and they are gentlemen. Several diverse bloodlines are available in these boys-we have Fletcher, Stonehaven, AI and our own premium genetics available. Take a look at these photos and if you would like additional information please drop me an email. These lads are scheduled to take a business trip to Oregon Flock and Fiber. If you want first pick or to place a reserve an any of them let me know.

Hmmm maybe we should do this in a calendar format?

Ok...Mr January would have to be Shady Oaks Gabriel. He is out of our lovely white spotted ewe Glynnis and the chocolate Toblerone. Toby had a purled fleece, unusual in the Shetland, Glynnis is consistantly crimpy, lustrous and very fine. Gabriel's fleece is primitive but silky soft and lustrous and it's a scrumptious color!

Next would have to be Mr. February; Shady Oaks Atlas. Atlas is Sired by Shady Oaks Liam a spotted ram who carries Greyling, Holly and Minder A.I. along with old Dailley lines. His mom, Crystal Dawn Azure is old Dailley with a lustruous blue grey fleece. Atlas is a fawn with luster, softness and length in his fleece. He very correct in every way

MR. MARCH HAS A NEW BUSINESS VENTURE-NO LONGER AVAILABLE!
Now on to Mr. March! Shady Oaks Tristan will be our selection for Mr. March. He is out of Fletcher Calla who has a super soft crimpy fleece and carries spotting genetics. He also carries spotting genetics and fine crimpy fleece from is sire Liam. Tristan is a small stature ram with beautiful big eyes and a yummy soft fleece. He has a clean belly so hand shearing him is a breeze! This clean belly trait is one that Fletcher's have a particular fondness for as they hand shear a lot of their flock.

MR.APRIL HAS BEEN RELOCATED TO A NEW BUSINESS VENTURE! WE WISH HIM WELL!
Mr.April will be Sweet Annie's Rain, a rich moorit A.I. ram with excellent conformation, a crimpy dark moorit fleece and beautiful horns.

He is sired by Whistlestop Son of Brent and is out of our lovely Gypsy Rose a white and carmel flecket ewe. Rose carries Aberdeen our foundation sire and Shady Oaks Greta (she has produced numerous fleckets, HST's and spots.)

Sacred Lily Ford will be Mr. May and he is a striking fellow! His sire was Stonehaven Robin Goodfellow and he is out of Maple Ridge Jalil. This boy carries a LOT of Maple Ridge genetics which we don't see very often out west. He is correct, handsome and sweet. He would make a substantial genetic contribution to any flock!

These boys will be at Flock and Fiber unless otherwise occupied. Our next blog entry will be the ladies of Shady Oaks who have expressed an interest in traveling and meeting new friends.

Call or email me for additional information on any stock that strikes your fancy!

County Fair was FUN!

2009-08-28T08:38:00.000-07:00

We just finished up a week at showing the Shetlands in their first ever class at Lane County Fair. McMeadow Shetlands and McTavish joined Shady Oaks in the festive occasion and we had a great time!

The Fair was excited to have a group of sheep people who would interact with the public. They provided four pens for us to set up displays, have all our 'stuff' and room to spin too. Hopefully somebody managed to get a picture as it was a really nice display. ( I HAVE to learn to get the camera out of the bag-it doesn't take pictures by itself!)

The Judge was excellent although she didn't have a great awareness of the breed description to work from. I will be getting her name from the sheep superintendent so I can find out if she would like to become a certified Shetland judge.

Lots of 'closet' Shetland breeders came by to chat so we will probably have a lot more in the ring next year. It would be great to have more participation now that we have 'tested the waters'.

In the past I have participated in State Fair rather than the County level. When State raised their entry fees to $10.00 a head and camping to 17 a night I had to rethink the arrangement.

Normally I took 20 to 24 head to State-that is a chunk of money at the new rates and the premiums sure didn't go up. The week long venue required the use of vacation time from work and paying for camping (actually it is dirt rental to put your truck on!) I hope that there will be enough breeders that live close enough to State Fair to continue the Shetland Show there. Many people worked very hard to get the Shetland classes established years ago. For the past few years only two breeders have shown up-that is not enough to maintain the premiums or the separate class for Shetlands.

OK I'm off the soapbox on that one!

For the first time ever Elfin Acres Nigerian Dwarf Goats made an appearance in the show ring with great success. (OK-so we showed in All other Purebreds and there were only 5 other goaties in the ring with us....) Regardless of the numbers the judge had many good things to say about our girlies so we feel really good about continuing with this venture. George was a masterful showman in his black and whites leading his little goats to various winning venues.

He made a wonderful sign for the goat venture which got rave revues from the local goatmasters. We were both quite surprised at the numbers of ribbons from the Goat Show! Who would have ever guessed that our Maggie would acquire a "Best Udder" award! Maggie took it all in stride however, she was happy as long as there were a few extra snacks involved.

The weather was a little warm the first two days of the fair and after that it was delightful. we have fans for the sheep and goats and just keeping the air moving kept them all comfortable. its a great opportunity to socialize not only the stock but also to get to know fellow breeders in your community and network with the public. If you haven't tried showing your critters give it a try! It's fun and you will learn a LOT.

Short Goats Too!

2009-08-14T10:05:00.000-07:00

Meet Lilac and Daphne, the first babies of the Elfin Acres Nigerian Dwarf Goat Herd. This is a 'subsidiary' of the Shady Oaks venture.

George is the 'goat guy' and he LOVES his little goats. The little herd started with one and now there are four adults: Fabio, Maggie, Lilac and Daphne. And the new arrivals, Poppy, Ritamae, Violet and Enzo.

Yes, we will have to sell a few at some point but right now we are enjoying the antics of the babies as they play on George's "Goat enrichment center". (Not to worry, the sheep have one too-can't show favoritism right?).

The Nigerian Dwarf is a South African Dwarf Goat like the Pygmy but is quite different in many ways. They are fine boned, excellent milkers and have the appearance of a small dairy goat. Their milk is very rich and makes excellent cheese.

We will be showing goats for the first time ever at Lane County Fair next week. Yes, George will be in the show ring with his little darlings. He is convinced they are champion material....he may be right! His youth was spent taking care of a fine herd of Jersey cows and he knows all the 'dairy speak'! Escutcheons and all!

Come visit us at Lane County Fair!

Short Sheep and short chickens too!

2009-08-06T20:02:00.000-07:00

Shady Oaks has a committment to preserving heritage breeds of farm animals whenever possible.

The first thing that caught my eye on the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy list was the name. How could anyone resist having a Dorkie? The more I read about them the more intrigued I became. Dorkies are an ancient Roman breed of 'farm' chickens. They are excellent layers of lightly tinted pink eggs and can be harvested for the table as well. They are primarily egg layers, bug eaters and landscape assistants on our farm. The have an extra toe which perhaps makes up for their short legs. They are lovely chickens to have around, calm dispositions and beautiful plumage too boot.

We also have Japanese Black Tail Buff Bantams to entertain us and provide another decorative addition to the farm. The little JBT's are a hoot. The resident roosters, Bert and Harry are pals who share the harem of hens with good humor. They are good tempered little fellows only becoming militant when their buddy or one of the girls is in distress. Then they are fearless but they don't hold a grudge. Most of the time the troop motors around the property maintaining a continuous gurgle of conversation with occasional celebrations that involve cackles, crows and other chicken laughter.

One of the girls is quite matronly and will hatch a clutch in the spring and mother them until they no longer fit under her widespread wings. Then she starts over. Her offspring have migrated to eastern Oregon, Newberg, Cottage Grove and Estacada. We are always happy to share these little characters. The roosters are magnificent if small (they of course think they are not only quite handsome but also substantial). The little hens are demure and adoring. When new chicks are introduced to the flock the roosters show them the best places to find good bugs and will come to their aid if they are in trouble.

So now you have met the avian contingent of Shady Oaks Shetlands. What's next you ask? How about short goats? The Nigies require a post of their own for equal time. Come back and meet Lilac, Daphne, Poppy, Violet and the rest of the gang.

At LAST A BLOG!

2009-07-26T18:18:00.001-07:00

I have wanted a blog for several years now to share some of the day to day fun of living with Shetlands. These little sheep are so much a part of my life I cannot imagine a day without them.

Today its a hot one and the sheep are sensibly resting in the shade of .....you guessed it, an Oak tree! Well, ok, they also like to lay under the pines and the cottonwoods. This year we have a bumper crop of lambs dressed in soft black fleeces so I am very happy to see them in the shade.

This morning while it was cool I did some yummy work in the garden pulling up stuff that had gone to seed. The lambs, rams and moms all got a share of the loot. Leeks, kale and overgrown cucumber plants were eagerly inspected for possible edibles. Alas, a snuggle from one of the moms out by the pond came with onion breath!

I will close this first blog addition with an invitation to come back soon! I will try to add a little humor to your day with antics of short sheep, Nigerian Dwarf goats, Japanese chickens and the Dorkies. Wonder what a Dorkie is? Come back soon!