Unicorner Farm News & Views

In memory of Mudpie 1987 - 2010

2010-12-09T17:24:00.001-06:00

We had to put one of our old Tunis ewes down this past week. We sure do miss her. When I spoke to her breeder back in the summer she told me that Mudpie got her name because when she was born the ground was so muddy she ended up being covered in mud.

Muddy had a funny personality, and we think she was smarter than the average sheep. Until we brought her sisters home last summer she was the oldest on the place and she always got special treatment. She needed extra groceries and would wait until we called her name to come into the barn aisle to eat her extra ration.

We will miss the old girl, we have kept two of her daughters, Raquel and Toy and a son, Urlich. Urlich may stay on the farm as our second ram.

Thanks, to Tunis buyer, Julie

2010-12-08T10:45:00.000-06:00

We appreciate Julie Amendola visiting our farm after Thanksgiving and purchasing two of our Tunis ewes. One was a homebred, Tessa, and the other a nice ewe we purchased back in May. We hope that Julie has a nice crop of lambs, since we believe both ewes are pregnant to our new ram, Troy.

Annbirwaves Christmas Birmans

2010-12-04T09:35:00.000-06:00

Some of my friend Ann's Birman kittens. Most of them are reserved, but I think she still has a couple available.

Goodbye to Summer... the miniature horse...and Octoberfest!

2010-10-01T21:41:00.002-05:00

We delivered our beautiful buckskin miniature mare, Indian Summer, to her new home near Taylor, Texas this afternoon. Thanks, Nina, for choosing her, we hope you will enjoy her!

Here she is taking a look at her new home, at least she is accustomed to llamas, but the miniature donkeys were something new and she was watching them.

After getting Summer settled in, we drove back by way of Walburg, Texas which hosts a great German restaurant. And since it was October 1st, Octoberfest was underway.

Luckily we arrived early enough to get a table, we found out they do reservations on Fridays and Saturdays during October! We had a yummy German buffet that included some of the best schnitzel I have ever eaten. By the time we left, there was a line at the door and the parking lot was overflowing.

Read more about the place at http://www.walburgrestaurant.com/

Fun Weekend for the Girls

2010-10-01T21:22:00.000-05:00

A couple of weekends ago I attended a ladies' retreat with fellow church friends and family. We always have a blessed time and enjoy the Christian fellowship and fun.

The retreat location is near Round Top, Texas, a fun little town that is known for its massive antique market. Vendors were setting up when we were there for the following week.

Another neat place near Round Top is Festival Hill. They have a beautiful chapel that was moved there. We love to visit it each year. Here is a website that has a panoramic view of the inside:

http://festivalhill.org/campus-facilities/the-edythe-bates-old-chapel/

Animals Rescued from Flooding in North Texas

2010-09-16T09:20:00.000-05:00

I found a post on a blog describing one of the Humane Society of North Texas rescues. Hermine wreaked even more havoc north of us in the Dallas area last week and rescuers had their hands full.

http://challenge.aspcapro.org/profiles/blog/show?id=5376260%3ABlogPost%3A13110

Check out this great photo showing a group of the Tunis sheep being saved. What fantastic temperaments, that's why I love them!

Live Streaming of the AMHR Nationals

2010-09-14T09:33:00.001-05:00

Once again this year Flanders Video Productions is hosting the live streaming of the American Miniature Horse NATIONAL show in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The show ends Sunday, September 19th.

http://www.flandersvideoproductions.com/Show1.htm

I wish we could be there this year! It is always a great week of fun with friends and beautiful horses!

Rain from Hermine

2010-09-09T08:30:00.000-05:00

We have been receiving a lot of rain from tropical storm Hermine. Not as much as many areas nearby though which is a good thing since we have so much fresh dirt and gravel that might wash away. Some areas received 8 inches a day, I doubt we have gotten 4 over the last 4 days. We can't tell for sure because we pulled the post up that held up the rain gauge.

It looks like we have a foot left before the water enters the overflow pipe.

Happy horses

2010-09-04T18:34:00.000-05:00

The horses put on quite a show after being cooped up for several days while we had work being done. I caught a little of the action.

Happy sheep

2010-09-04T18:25:00.000-05:00

We finally decided to try giving the Tunis free choice hay. We used 4 cattle panels to contain the hay and will be able to push them closer together as the bale gets eaten.

Fall cleaning...

2010-09-04T17:52:00.000-05:00

We are so pleased with how the pasture near the barn looked we got out and worked the last two days cleaning up old piles of lumber and increasing the size of our implement and trailer storage area. Thankfully we had fantastic weather!

I guess I am a homewrecker though... all the critters below (plus some) were in the woodpile we moved.

What a difference!

2010-09-04T17:46:00.000-05:00

Graves Excavation finished up the tank and wow, they did a GREAT job. Besides putting in an overflow pipe, they created a great spillway. They also smoothed out some areas were rain had eroded big ditches behind the barn and turnout pens.

Bob planted rye grass on the fresh dirt.

The llamas watched all the goings on from a safe distance.

The horses finally settled in for some grazing after a quick romp around the pasture bucking and kicking after being penned up for three days.

More progress on the dirt work

2010-09-02T10:03:00.000-05:00

More work on the dam on the second day, it is hard to see but there is a huge drop off behind that tree. The spillway has been moved to the near side and the terrace improved to control run off. We had a shower last night and again this morning so I'm not sure if anything will be done today.

Here is a photo of one Blaze's mother, we call her MamaLama. In the background you can see the upper part of the big tank, with the improved dam it should raise the level of the water with the next heavy rain.

King of the Bale

2010-09-01T16:17:00.001-05:00

The minis are getting bored waiting for the pastures to be re-fenced.

This is Bella Donna playing king of the bale.

What happened to August?

2010-09-01T15:44:00.002-05:00

Well, it just flew by, I guess, since I didn't even have time to post on the blog.
We have been fairly busy around the farm while trying to stay cool in a record breaking hot summer with loads of 100+ degree days. But we did have a fair amount of rain so the pastures held up better than normal and hay is more plentiful. In the photos below you will see we still have green grass (weeds).

We have been trying to make some improvements about the farm, grading the gravel drive was way overdue and while the dozer man was out we asked him about repairing the dam of our biggest stock tank. He got right on the project of putting an overflow pipe in the dam and creating a new spillway that will stop the erosion on the back side.

Here is the tank on Monday of this week.

Yesterday it looked like this.

I can't wait to see it this evening. I will try to get an "after" photo tonight.

Of course to do the project we had to pen the horses up and pull up the cross fencing. I guess it will be a good time to revisit the layout of the pastures.

The llamas are loving a bit of extra freedom to visit the other areas of the farm. This is Blaze down near the front gate. Doesn't she look regal, I just love their attitudes.

Another satisfied mini owner

2010-07-16T18:47:00.000-05:00

Unicorner Rowdy Jazzmatazz

Phaze 1 Lone Star Rowdy x Unicorner Golden Jasmine

This was JazzmaTaz when we sold him several years ago.

Here he is all mature and taking his little owner for a ride.

Isn't that so cute!

Miniature horses are fantastic! Thanks, Amber for sending the photos!

Unicorner Bella Donna

2010-07-15T13:15:00.001-05:00

Unicorner Rowdy Batman x Unicorner Dusty Heather

Bob was out taking "headshots" last night for an online photography course he is taking. Here is one of Heather's filly.

Captain has a new home

2010-07-12T16:32:00.000-05:00

Captain America, our little orphaned foal has a new home. Thank you to buyers Thurman Self and Jean Hale. We hope that you enjoy the little guy!

A Tribute to Libby

2010-07-01T09:54:00.006-05:00

Lucky Harts Magic Libby

Brewers Dark Magic x Lucky Harts Little Lily

5/31/1995 - 6-30-2010

It's hard to understand why bad things happen. We lost one of our favorite minis, our little Lucky Harts Magic Libby. I had just posted a photo of our little boy, Captain America this week. Libby was 15 years old, and in what we thought was good health. She never showed any signs of being in distress or out of sorts, until Tuesday night when she didn't come in with the herd at feeding time. Bob was late feeding, it was after dark so he took the truck and spotlight out to look for her.

He found her standing under a tree with her colt, just standing, like it was mid-day and she was cooling off, no sign of colic or pain, but he knew she wasn't well.

He led her to the barn where the light was better, and she just stood where he let her stop. No interest in water or food, but kind of moving her mouth funny, slow and as if she really wasn't sure what was going on. No wobbles, no major symptoms and temp was 101. However her respiration was dramatically slow at 20/min, so he called our vet and left a message for him to call us back.

He couldn't entice her to drink so he cupped a little water in his hand and tried to get some into her mouth. She moved her tongue a bit but didn't try to swallow. He gave her 1cc of Banamine (in case it was colic) while waiting o the vet to call. She stood in the same place for almost an hour, before finally moving over to try and nibble on some hay. Even that seemed labored, slow and out of sorts.

We didn't get a return call from our vet, and there are no other equine vets on our side of town, so after watching her for about 2 hrs, her respiration became more normal and we went to bed.

Bob checked on her about 5 am, breathing was normal, but she still appeared lethargic, so he gave her about 5cc oral B12 solution. Most dribbled out but we hoped she would absorb some.

We finally got a call from the vet about 7 am, he said to drop her off at the clinic and he'd check her out after his morning run (as fate would have it today was his farm call day). He didn't call until late afternoon, and Bob could tell by his voice the news was going to be bad.

His prognosis was she most likely had an abscessed liver, blood work showed many very alarming indicators. Her liver function was very low, kidneys starting to shut down, and he said she most likely had become so septic it had affected her brain (and that was what was causing the problem chewing and swallowing).

He gave her less than 10% chance of survival, and said if she did she would probably have severe liver and possibly kidney damage, so we made the decision to have her put down.

One good thing her colt IS eating well, but of course he doesn't understand where mom is. He seems certain she is still in the barn or that trailer.

Here's to Libby, we will miss you, Sweetie.

Our smallest foal...

2010-06-29T09:55:00.000-05:00

Unicorner Captain America

Unicorner Rowdy Batman x Lucky Harts Magic Libby

"Captain" is our smallest foal this year and our only colt (male). He was born April 17th and his mother is one of our smallest mares. He is a darling sorrel with a perfect diamond on his forehead.

Captain will be for sale when he is weaned (late August).

Dragonfly grows up...

2010-06-28T16:08:00.001-05:00

Easter Acres Bay Dragon x Alchemist Golden Locket

See past posts about Dragonfly on 4-18-09, 4-27-09, 9-8-09.

Extreme Mini Makeover...

2010-06-28T13:37:00.005-05:00

Unicorner Merry Juanita

Unicorner Rowdy Batman x Lucky Four Mary Jane

It's amazing what a difference clipping makes! We didn't even know she had four white feet until we got them clipped!

Juanita gets her overo markings and blue eyes from her father, Batman who is marked very similar. Juanita will be a silver dapple with white mane and tail. Can't get much splashier than that!

The "Dragon" at Unicorner

2010-06-28T13:09:00.007-05:00

Easter Acres Bay Dragon

Landry's Kajun Red x Easter Acres Midnight Satin

We were out taking photos of our 2010 foals to get them registered and decided we needed some of our newest stallion, Dragon, too.

This is Unicorner Rowdy Satin Sash - a filly we call "Sasha" who has the same mother as Dragon does - our pretty Midnite Satin. Sasha's sire is our 26-year-old Rowdy son - Phaze I Lone Star Rowdy. There aren't a lot of Rowdy granddaughters still being born, and we are very blessed to still have a breeding son of his. You can read more about the "Immortal Rowdy" on our website at the following link: http://www.unicornerfarm.com/rowdy.htm.

Smarter than the average ... sheep?

2010-06-15T08:46:00.000-05:00

We are enjoying our new sheep we added to the Tunis flock. We named the new ram "Troy". He's good natured and can be very resourceful when it comes to getting choice leaves from the trees around the yard. I can see now that the few rose bushes we have left are doomed.

The new ewes have made theirselves at home, we were able to shear them soon after we brought them home. Since we are already having days with 100+ degree heat index I am sure that they appreciate their haircuts.

2010-06-04T17:01:00.000-05:00

As we drove through Missouri, narrowly side passing a big thunderstorm, we made great time. And the clouds kept the temperature down, a blessing for a trailer of nine sheep.

As we got into Kansas, we knew we were nearing the end of our "treasure" hunt... look at this neat rainbow up in the clouds.

We picked up our last Tunis lamb at the home of Ted and Amy Ferm. And headed for home. We actually made it by midnight and unloaded our new sheep during a much needed rain.

I will post more photos soon of the sheep.

Next stop... Illinois...add 5 more

2010-06-04T16:55:00.001-05:00

After getting the truck we went by the fairgrounds, empty now of all but our lonely sheep trailer. Hitched up and headed to Darling Farm near Zanesfield to pick up our first four Tunis. What a gorgeous farm, beautiful grounds, a lake, nice barns and house and fabulous Tunis! Wish we could have enjoyed the Dunham's hospitality longer but we loaded the sheep and headed for Illinois to pickup some more.

We made arrangements with Kevin Schultz to meet in Champaign so we could hit the interstate south. We transfered five new ewes into the trailer on a Lowe's parking lot about 9 p.m. I think that our new ram thought he was in heaven. ;-)

Bob wanted to continue driving as long as he could. So we made it as far as St. Louis that night. Watered the sheep and said good night and got a quick night's sleep at the Red Roof Inn. Up early so we could keep moving and keep the sheep cool. We had one more stop planned... Independence, Kansas.

Trip to Amish country

2010-06-04T16:41:00.001-05:00

A trip to Ohio wouldn't be complete without driving through Holmes County. We love to get homemade bread, butter and fry pies at Herschbergers. They have added some new barns for their petting zoo. One has a ramp so the goats can climb to the roof.

They also have this huge Belgian, now that's a big horse! Makes our Xena and Freda look small.

Side Trip to Mohican Park

2010-06-04T16:37:00.001-05:00

Here are some scenes from Mohican Park, we drove around on Memorial Day and saw some new scenery.

Tunis Sale - a Treasure

2010-06-04T15:48:00.003-05:00

Now we know what the worst part of the trip was, but it's hard to say what was the best part. I was super pleased with my ram, and loved my two lambs, but maybe it was getting to buy this beautiful ewe!

This ewe from Darling Tunis Farm took first in her class and got serious consideration for championship.

When the auction came around Sunday I was pretty down in the dumps. I had hoped to buy that ewe but knew she would be one of the highest priced and we were facing a repair bill at the Chevy dealership. I had picked out some others that were lower placed in the show if I couldn't get this one. Bob was taking photos for the Tunis website and sitting next to me. When they brought her in the bidding went crazy, finally tapering off when Bob asked me if I wanted to bid on her. I asked if he thought we could afford it and he said sure, we have the tax refund. Guess that's what I should name her, because I ended up with her!

And the bad news...

2010-06-04T15:23:00.001-05:00

Bob was sure it was the fuel pump and unfortunately it was 5:30 pm and no one was open. He checked the phone book for places to have it fixed hopefully on Saturday morning. He arranged to have a tow truck take it to a Chevy dealer in a nearby town (Rittman) early Saturday morning. They were only going to be open to 12, but we hoped that wouldn't be a problem. Our plans were to leave Sunday after the sale and go to Illinois to pick up some Tunis there.

Bob had the truck at Laria Chevrolet when they opened and explained to the service manager that we were stranded. So much for customer service, good ol' Mark didn't bother to give Bob a hint that they wouldn't even try to get to it, choosing instead to take other appointments. At 10:30 when Bob checked on it he was told they "might" not be able to get to it. I called him and pleaded, begged and cried but he couldn't be bothered. So we were stuck... at least they rented cars so we were able to get around for our extended stay in Wooster.

It's a horrible feeling to be stranded but we chose to consider it a blessing and enjoy our extra time. Luckily our friends had flexible work and our bosses also understood when we called in to say we wouldn't be back at work on Wednesday and possibly not until Friday.

Thankfully we have wonderful sheep friends too, many offered help and support. Louise and Jim took the ram and lambs and the ewe we bought at the sale to their house since they lived not too far away.

And come Tuesday, they called Bob to tell him sure enough it was the fuel pump, BUT they didn't have one in stock and it would be several hours before they could get one out of Akron. Bob told them he would find one and get it to them since we wanted to leave by noon if possible. He rounded up one at Napa Auto Parts and had it delivered that morning. By 1 pm they did have it ready and we finally were on the road by 2 to resume our great sheep adventure.

We made it to Wooster

2010-06-04T15:04:00.002-05:00

We spent the second night in Dayton, Ohio and made the final drive into Wooster on Friday morning.

When we arrived at the fairgrounds we unhitched the trailer and I found my friends Walter and Denise Clark who showed me the ram they brought me.

Then I found other dear friends, Louise and Jim Dunham who were bringing me a ewe lamb. They surprised me with an additional lamb "because they didn't want one to be lonely"... I'm glad because they are both precious!

Bob, Charles and Ann went on to check in at the hotel and rest. I sat in on the board meeting and enjoyed catching up with old friends. After the meeting, I called Bob to come and get me and on our way to the hotel the truck started trying to die.

Sights on our trip...

2010-06-04T14:50:00.000-05:00

Caught sight of this sign at a BP gas station, guess they should know:

Sights on our trip...

2010-06-04T14:46:00.004-05:00

Cross - Effingham, Illinois.

From their website at http://www.crossusa.org/

The Cross Foundation completed a 198 foot Cross at the intersection of Interstates 57 & 70 in Effingham, Illinois. The site is intended to serve as a beacon of hope to the 50,000 travelers estimated to pass the site each day. The Cross Foundation is dedicated to building both faith and family on an ecumenical basis.

As a reference to how big this cross is... that's Charles standing at the base:

The 2010 Great Sheep Treasure Hunt is Over

2010-06-04T14:43:00.000-05:00

We had a great vacation to Ohio to attend the 2010 Great Lakes Fiber Show where our National Tunis Sale is hosted each year. Bob and I and our friends Charles and Ann left last Wednesday and barring some car trouble while in Wooster we had a great trip. We made it back home this past Wednesday at midnight, Bob did a great job driving us all the way there and back with that last day driving more than 16 hours!

I will share some photos as I get them off the camera. Our first stop was in Tunica, MS where we stayed at the Horseshoe Casino. We have been there a few times now and the "boys" love to play slots. This is a sunset view over the Missippi River from our room.

Happy sheep

2010-05-24T14:05:00.002-05:00

The sheep are sporting their new haircuts and loving the green grass.

The fruit trees are doing pretty good this year if the high winds will just die down.

We even have apples on our new apple trees. Apples aren't a fruit that normally grow in central Texas but we are trying. This poor tree is doing great despite the sheep's attempt to kill it by chewing off its bark.

Sheep Shearing Day

2010-05-15T16:20:00.002-05:00

For the first time since we bought the Tunis sheep we decided 18 was too many to shear by ourselves. So we hired a very nice man to come and do them for us. Tony travels all over the Southwest shearing sheep. I don't know how he does it so quickly.

The sheep all look happier and so much cleaner and cooler.

Here are some of the first ones snacking on some hay bales for a treat.

Last lamb for 2010

2010-04-25T19:16:00.003-05:00

Our senior ewe, Mudpie (13 years old) had her little ram on Friday morning.
This evening they are out enjoying the green grass.

We named him Ulrich as in Sir Ulrich von Lichtenstein from Knight's Tale, one of our favorite movies. Since this was our "U" year, the registered lambs will be: Una, Umber, Umami, Urkel, Umeko, Ursula, and Ula.

Finally a boy...

2010-04-17T18:09:00.004-05:00

Leave it to our littlest mare, Libby, to give us our first little boy of the year.
Check out that diamond!

Filly # Five!

2010-04-17T18:05:00.002-05:00

Our miniature mare, Heather, gifted us yesterday with this cute filly. Isn't that a great "mask"?

Click to View a Great Video - You Go Girl!

2010-04-13T13:29:00.009-05:00

Tamara Lowe at Christ Fellowship

A "wow!" sermon in 1 minute and 41 seconds!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUQYJ77qa50

Our "bellwether" Rufus

2010-04-13T13:02:00.002-05:00

It's official now, Rufus has a job... he is our "bellwether" - from Middle English, leading sheep of a flock, leader, from bell + wether; from the practice of belling the leader of a flock.

Tunis yearling ewes

2010-04-13T12:15:00.000-05:00

Here are two of our yearling ewes. It's time for shearing!

S-t-r-e-t-c-h

2010-04-13T12:13:00.000-05:00

That feels sooooo good.

Another mini filly!

2010-04-13T10:50:00.003-05:00

Wow, we are on a roll! It's a girl year at Unicorner Farm!
Here is the latest, born last night to our newest mare, DeeDee (Double Dare). It's a pretty little sorrel girl with a blaze. Her dad is Dragon.

Lilly finally lambed...

2010-04-12T14:52:00.002-05:00

We have been waiting and waiting for this lamb. It is Lilly's first. A very big ewe lamb that was a bit of a challenge to deliver this morning about 6 a.m. You can barely tell Lilly has had a lamb, maybe we are feeding them too much?

Another fabulous ewe lamb!

2010-03-30T09:05:00.005-06:00

We were blessed with another healthy ewe lamb, delivered a little after midnight. "Textbook" delivery and she was up and nursing her mom Ruby only 10 minutes later. Now THAT's what I like to see.

Now I need a name for her that starts with "U"... I had hoped for a gemstone after her mom's name but there don't appear to be any that are easy to say.

And yet another FILLY!

2010-03-26T21:26:00.003-06:00

Three in a row! Our pretty black mare, Satin had a black filly. She is sired by "the old man" Lone Star Rowdy, our senior stallion.

Not a lamb this time...

2010-03-25T17:26:00.005-06:00

It's getting into foaling time now... our pretty Mary Jane had a filly! She usually has colts, so we were excited to see this little girl born yesterday. Isn't she a wildly marked little thing! Blue eyes and all. Her dad is our Rowdy Batman.

LambCam ... EweTube

2010-03-23T11:10:00.003-06:00

I am really thrilled with our webcam. This is a screenshot of what I can see from any computer with a good internet connection.

That's Lilly facing the camera, she might be next, Ruby is lying next to the water barrel, and Mudpie is the third in the row. In the background is Raquel and her day old lamb, Ursula. I can also pan the camera to view the outside runs to the right.

If anyone is interested in having temporary guest privileges send me an email (texastunis@yahoo.com). Bob was a wee bit exhuberant about giving out passwords to friends, so NOW I have to be careful about what I wear and do in the barn. ;-)

Glory to God, another girl!

2010-03-22T15:58:00.004-06:00

The webcam paid for itself again. About 10 a.m., it was easy to see that Raquel was labor. She is our smallest ewe and I definitely wanted to be there to make sure all was well.

Last year she had her little ewe lamb by herself and did fine, but this year there had been more difficult presentations it seemed.

By the time I made it home, a little nose and one hoof was appearing. Only one hoof.

I have had some ewes that didn't have trouble delivering even with a leg back, but I guess as small as Raquel is, she just couldn't get that shoulder through. So with my buddies at work watching on the webcam, I was down in the hay helping to reposition...wiggle...twist...pray... until she finally slid out.

What a pretty ewe lamb, and she's a good size girl. Just a single this time, but I'm not complaining.

Lambs, lambs, lambs

2010-03-20T13:12:00.006-06:00

Wednesday Bob finally received the last piece of equipment needed to get the webcam going. He needed an antenna to mount in the barn so the signal could reach the house network. So Thursday morning I went off to work knowing that I could finally keep an eye on the ewes in the barn. It is wonderful! Wow, what a worthy investment and it cost less then the price of a nice Tunis sheep.

About 11 a.m. I noticed my sweet ewe, Quby was going into labor. So I asked my boss if I could take an early lunch and headed home. We live 30 minutes away, but I came into the barn right after her water broke. It took a bit of pushing but she delivered a ram lamb that unfortunately had a birth defect - a very under-developed lower jaw. He didn't live but a few minutes. Luckily she had another little boy a few minutes later and while she was cleaning him up I removed the poor dead guy. Here is a photo of her and the second born.

After I knew he was okay and up and nursing I went back in to work.

Bob gets off work earlier than I do so he was able to get home to check on them. Other than being an over enthusiastic mom, demanding that the poor guy get up to eat more often than he wanted to, Quby and son are doing fine.

Thursday afternoon I received a call from my sweet friend Ruthie, who sold me the first five Tunis ewes back in 2007. She had decided to sell out of sheep for a while and had two elderly ewes she thought she would just keep in retirement on her farm. But Tunis are long lived and great mothers so obviously Fleur didn't realize she was in retirement. She was once again pregnant. Now Fleur is Lily one of my favorite ewe's mother. So when Ruthie asked me if I would like to have her I quickly agreed. But Ruthie warned me she was due any day. I told her I would let her know when I could come.

Quby's daughter, Dot waited until 11 p.m. that night to go into labor. With a little help (it was her first lamb) she delivered a chunky little boy. Here she is cleaning him up. She learned quickly how to be a good mom.

Friday morning came early, but I called Ruthie and asked if I could come. Bob had hooked up the trailer for me so I took my first trip by myself pulling the trailer. It wasn't too bad, I just hoped I wouldn't have to back it. Luckily, Paul, Ruthie's husband was there when I arrived so he turned the truck and trailer around for me. When we loaded Fleur, Ruthie's other old girl, Dink bawled terribly so I offered to take her too. Poor old Dink is 15 years old and has arthritis, but I hope we can keep her comfortable for a few years more.

We put the girls together and bedded down the pen well since it appeared it wouldn't be a long wait for Fleur's lamb. At 1 a.m. this morning I checked the monitor and she appeared to be pushing. So about 1:45 she delivered a darling little ewe lamb! What a blessing, thank you God and Ruthie.

So that catches me up on the blog for the last three lambings. We have at least four maybe five more to go. Hmmm, I think I will go take a nap. ;-)

Need a video made?

2010-03-16T11:31:00.005-06:00

Our son, Jeff, has been working on one of his hobbies ... videography and is starting to advertise as a wedding videographer. His new company name is Happy Bride Productions. He has done some now and is enjoying it, though I keep cautioning him that brides and their families are notoriously hard to please. ;-)

I told him I would make him up a business card from the components of his new website at http://www.happybrideproductions.com/. Here's my latest "draft"...

So if anyone has a need for a videographer, he's ready for some jobs.

Waiting for more lambs...

2010-03-13T14:07:00.005-06:00

We haven't had any more lambs since the 1st, but next week should be busy. Quby and Dot are due next and were staying close to the house this afternoon while the flock was out to graze in the front pasture.

VERY close to the house as these photos show, they are at the front door wanting in. Tunis sheep are so friendly and curious. The cats were enjoying them through the glass door.

More lambs - praise the Lord!

2010-03-01T09:50:00.008-06:00

Friday I spent several hours moving fence panels around in the barn. We found with the new cameras there were some considerations to be made to get better reception in the house. I moved the "mamas in waiting" pen to the front stall in the center row. That meant I had to also move our new stallion, Dragon to another location... and lamb proof the panels next to his run. I didn't want a lamb crawling through the panels to visit him... he might think that was a great toy.

When Bob came home Friday evening he moved the cameras around for me to get the best views. He moved Mimi into the waiting pen just in time. She started lambing about 9 that evening.

He was still in the barn when she started delivering so it was nice to watch an "uneventful" delivery. She had her little ewe lamb first, cleaned it up a bit and then laid down and had a little ram lamb. I helped her dry them off since the temperature was dropping.

She was a great mom, licking and talking to them and urging them to the right place for their first meal. It wasn't long before both had nursed. I hooked up a heat lamp so they could dry the rest of the way. It is amazing how much fluid is involved!

Saturday morning I could hardly get out of bed. Basically I just took some meds for my sore muscles and my now stuffed up nose and moved to the recliner. I hated to miss such a pretty sunny day, but I just couldn't get going. I finally went out at the evening feeding time with Bob and snapped a couple of photos.

Bob worked most of the day on trying to get the new router to connect the cameras to the web so we can watch online. He was able to at least get the laptop and desktop to share our internet service so that will be a great help. He's still working on the web camera, lots of new stuff to learn.

Next in line is one of my favorite ewes, we call her "Quby". She is such a sweet ewe, and quite beautiful. She comes from Louise Dunham's Darling Tunis bloodlines.

EweTube??

2010-02-24T09:19:00.002-06:00

Bob knew how bad I felt about losing our first lamb of the year, so he went and bought a camera set up for the barn. It came with two cameras! They alternate and I can now watch the girls from the house. Right now it is set up in our bathroom because it is on the side of the house closest to the barn and gets the best signal. I will move the ewe "jugs" to the front of the barn soon and then we should be able to move the tv next to my bed.

Right now we have them hooked to an old black and white monitor we used on the miniature horses a long time ago. The camera had been knocked out by lightning but we kept the monitor.

This is the view from the camera aimed at the "Ladies in Waiting" pen. These are the ewes that have started "bagging up" and will be next to deliver.

This is the second camera, aimed at the newborn jug. The new lamb is behind Binkie, that's a feed bowl to the right. I love to watch the baby playing.

Snow's melting...

2010-02-24T09:16:00.001-06:00

It's a bright sunny day out there and the snow is going away... but here is how it looked at our office yesterday at the peak.

Snowing... again!?

2010-02-23T11:19:00.002-06:00

Wow! Two times in one year! That's unusual for the heart of Texas!

It started snowing when I got to work at 8 this morning. Schools are closing and we aren't sure if we should stay or go home early.

Click on the screen to see a short video...

Photos from the Waco Cat Show

2010-02-23T10:36:00.002-06:00

Only a little late... Bob Koestler is a great exhibitor at our cat shows and he always takes photos and posts them on his website. Attached is the link to the photos he took at our Valentine's Weekend show.

http://www.oriental-kittens.com/CatShows/Waco2010/index.htm

Finally... Binkie delivered

2010-02-22T09:19:00.010-06:00

We finally have our first lamb of the year. There were twins but the first ewe lamb was stillborn. I blame myself because I didn't check on her during the night. We had the baby monitor on and couldn't hear anything going on. But when I went out to feed this morning, Binkie was lying down with the first lamb out and cold and the head of the second one out.

She must have run out of energy delivering. I quickly felt of the cold lamb to see if there was a heart beat, but I couldn't feel one. Then I helped deliver the second, which took just a little steady pull and she slid right out. Poor Binkie was so tired it took her a moment to get up.

A brisk towel dry and the little girl was shaking her head and ready for the world. Binkie took over the clean up and I left them alone a while. I tried some more on the cold lamb but couldn't get any sign of life. I couldn't see anything wrong with it other than it was dead. Pretty little ewe lamb, these are the heart-breaking moments of raising these sweet babies.

I fed the "3 musketeers"... our miniature stallions... and the other sheep their breakfast and gave Binkie hers... she does love to eat. Then I went in to get the camera to snap some pictures. By the time I came back to the barn, the lamb was walking around a bit looking for her breakfast. I checked to make sure both "faucets" were working and pointed the baby to them. You can always tell when they latch on because that little tail starts wagging.

I would have loved to stay and watch them but I had to go to work, though I was now running a bit late.

I'm already trying to think of a name for her... my first year's lambs were named with "R" names, then we bought two that got nicknamed with "S" names, then 2009 was the "T" year... but I'm not sure about "U" names... Even with the farm being Unicorner. ;-)

Any suggestions?

Still waitin'... on lambs

2010-02-19T10:30:00.001-06:00

Our first ewe is due to lamb this week and she looks like she's about to pop. Maybe she will wait until tomorrow when I am home.

Weekend over...

2010-02-15T10:34:00.004-06:00

Well, the busy weekend has passed. Thursday evening did bring us some snow!

Friday morning, everything at the farm had a dusting of snow!

But nothing like our son, Jeff received in the DFW area! Their snowfall clobbered the old record from 1888 with 12.5 inches around DFW airport.

Then after a careful drive into Waco on Friday morning, I spent several hours at the hospital with my aunt who was having vertebroplasty to repair 3 vertebrae.

Then off to the show hall to set up for the cat show. Most of it was done by the time I got there. And boy, was it cold! But we got it all ready for the exhibitors to come in Saturday morning.

The weather was better Saturday but there was some freezing fog that iced some of the bridges. I came upon two vehicles who had just lost control. One could have been really bad, she went airborne and landed upside down in a deep ditch. The good Lord must have been watching over her because she crawled out with no injuries. It took DPS over 30 minutes to come and by that time two more vehicles came sliding off the bridge. Luckily no injuries again, but one had traveled about 150 feet to come to rest on the shoulder of the oncoming traffic. Family members arrived to help the girl in the truck and they went to flag traffic down before they hit the icy bridge. I left after the trooper finally came and went on to the cat show.

We had a great entry and lots of great cats. I didn't get around to taking any photos unfortunately, there was some gorgeous cats there.

Busy weekend coming

2010-02-10T11:34:00.002-06:00

This weekend brings the annual Heart of Texas Cat Club's show. Since I am one of the founders of the club I'll be busy all weekend with it.

We are also expecting our first lambs this weekend. So it could be interesting.

The weather is threatening to be bad starting tomorrow, with possible freezing precipitation. Hopefully it will clear before the exhibitors come in on Saturday. At least the barn is pretty cozy for any lambs that decide to make an appearance.

Five Finger Prayer

2010-02-10T11:33:00.000-06:00

1. Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, a ‘sweet duty.'

2. The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction.. Keep them in your prayers.

3. The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God’s guidance.

4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger, as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.

5. And lastly comes our little finger - the smallest finger of all, which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, 'The least shall be the greatest among you.' Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively

Flu vs Cold?

2010-01-28T15:12:00.004-06:00

Have you ever wondered what it is that has you feeling bad?
Here's a handy little chart to show the differences in flu and cold symptoms:

....................................FLU....................COLD
Headache……………..Always…………...Sometimes
Aches, fatigue……....Always….….….….Usually
Fever….….….….…….Always….….….….Sometimes
Cough….….….….……Usually….….….…Sometimes
Runny nose….…..…..Sometimes….…..Usually
Sore throat….….……Rarely….….….….Usually

Our first mini foal of the year!

2010-01-27T09:14:00.006-06:00

Wow! That was a surprise. Jasmine delivered this gorgeous little filly yesterday.

We basically forgot that she was bred once to Star last year during our struggles with her '09 colt, Trooper.

When we realized it would be such an early foal, we didn't breed her anymore. But it only takes one time!

At least the weather is mild right now and we thank God for giving us this small and perfect little filly.

Another strike out...

2010-01-26T10:24:00.003-06:00

Well, our new LGD pup didn't work out for us. Having come from a foster home, she had bonded with people. No matter how well I wired the fences and closed gaps in the barn she was able to squeeze through to come sit at the back door and want in the house. She didn't want to have anything to do with being a sheep guardian.

I found her a new home with a lady at work who has two children who love her.

Anyone have a guard donkey?

Another Texas Tunis Owner

2010-01-23T18:55:00.004-06:00

I sold my wonderful ram and 5 ewes today to the Iker family in Frankston, Texas. I am keeping seven of Ralph's daughters so I would need to go shopping for another ram anyway.

We took this photo of them as we left, we know they will enjoy the abundant grass and nice hay. But I miss them already!

At least we should start having lambs in less then a month, so I have that to look forward to... and I will get to go "sheep shopping" for a new boy... and maybe a couple of ewes...

Lesson #1 - R E S P E C T

2010-01-23T18:49:00.003-06:00

The new puppy learns who to respect...

Pictures of the puppy

2010-01-23T18:23:00.008-06:00

This is our new GP puppy... meeting the sheep for the first time.

She thinks this guard thing might be okay.

Horse poop is something new to taste. Batman isn't too sure about this new kid on the farm.

A new LGD?

2010-01-21T09:20:00.002-06:00

We are trying out a new guard dog. Our vet works with a rescue group by spaying and vaccinating foster pups. A 3 month old Great Pyrenees female came in yesterday. They called to tell me about her and I went by to see her at lunch.

They let me pick her up on my way home from work. After some fence work (she walks through cattle panels) she spent the night in the barn next to the sheep. Hopefully she will grow into a dependable guard dog.

Fishing tips

2010-01-19T10:32:00.002-06:00

I came across this information on the best times for fishing. It's from the Old Farmers Almanac. We will have to remember this when the weather gets a little better. We need to transfer some bass from our established pond to the new one.

One hour before and one hour after high tides, and one hour before and one hour after low tides. Inland, the times for high tides correspond with the times when the Moon is due south. Low tides are halfway between high tides.
During the "morning rise" (after sunup for a spell) and the "evening rise" (just before sundown and the hour or so after).
When the barometer is steady or on the rise. (But even during stormy periods, the fish aren't going to give up feeding. The smart fisherman will find just the right bait.)
When there is a hatch of flies—caddis flies or mayflies, commonly. (The fisherman will have to match his fly with the hatching flies or go fishless.)
When the breeze is from a westerly quarter rather than from the north or east.
When the water is still or rippled, rather than during a wind.

Prayers for Haiti, too

2010-01-13T15:55:00.002-06:00

How sad to see the devastation caused by the earthquakes in Haiti.

Prayers needed for the U.S.

2010-01-13T08:52:00.002-06:00

A very touching presentation about praying for our nation!

http://www.greatdanepro.com/Pray%20For%20America/index.htm

Circle the cat...

2010-01-12T11:45:00.002-06:00

Something fun to try... I haven't been able to do it.

http://www.members.shaw.ca/gf3/circle-the-cat.html

I'm back...

2010-01-12T09:46:00.001-06:00

Well, the holidays flew by this year. And Bob's grandmother passed away right after the first of the year so things are just now starting to slow down a bit.

I hope my readers are having a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Twas the month before Christmas

2009-11-30T08:57:00.000-06:00

Twas the month before Christmas

When all through our land,

Not a Christian was praying

Nor taking a stand. See the PC Police had taken away,

The reason for Christmas - no one could say.

The children were told by their schools not to sing,

About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.

It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say

December 25th is just a ' Holiday '.

Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit

Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!

CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod

Something was changing, something quite odd!

Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa

In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.

As Targets were hanging their trees upside down

At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.

At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears

You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.

Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty

Are words that were used to intimidate me.

Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen

On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !

At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter

To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.

And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith

Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace

The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded

The reason for the season, stopped before it started.

So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'

Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.

Choose your words carefully, choose what you say

Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS , not Happy Holiday !

Please, all Christians join together and wish everyone you meet during the

holidays a MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christ is The Reason for the Christ-mas Season!

Holiday time

2009-11-30T08:53:00.003-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Ours was great, good food and a mostly healthy family.

We had nice weather and was able to do some much needed work outside Friday and Saturday. Hedges trimmed, a new gate between pastures that will help us to rotate the horses on the rye grass Bob planted.

Now it's time to look forward to CHRISTMAS!

First Frost on the Farm

2009-11-18T08:23:00.003-06:00

Oooh, it is a nice and sunny but chilly morning. I noticed we had our first frost this morning on the lower areas of the farm.
It should be another beautiful autumn day. We have been blessed this year to actually have the season, it seems to usually go from summer to winter here in central Texas.
We noticed that the people we have been buying hay from in previous years cut their field yesterday so hopefully we can fill the barn with square bales for what might be a real winter.
We should have LOTS of Tunis lambs next spring, Ralph, our ram has been in with 17 ewes the past month.
The miniature horses are putting on their shaggy coats and feeling fiesty in the cool air. Even the draft mares have been bucking and running a bit.
If I ever charge up my camera battery I will take some photos.

Cool Recipe! 5 Minute Chocolate Cake in a Mug

2009-11-13T07:30:00.001-06:00

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug (MicroSafe)

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well..
Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.
The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!
Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT ! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).
And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world?
Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

Another great email... so true

2009-11-13T07:16:00.005-06:00

I received another great email this morning...

A Holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, 'Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.'

The Lord led the holy man to two doors.

He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in.

In the middle of the room was a large round table..

In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew,

which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water.

The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly.

They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful.

But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.

The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.

The Lord said, 'You have seen Hell. They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one.

There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water.

The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.

The holy man said, 'I don't understand.

'It is simple,' said the Lord. 'It requires but one skill.

You see, they have learned to feed each other.

The greedy think only of themselves.'

When Jesus died on the cross, he was thinking of you.

Interesting...Do You Know How the Apostles Died?

2009-11-12T15:11:00.004-06:00

1 Matthew
Suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia , killed by a sword wound

2 Mark
Died in Alexandria , Egypt , after being dragged by horses through the streets until he was dead.

3 Luke
Was hanged in Greece as a result of his tremendous preaching to the lost.

4 John
Faced martyrdom when he was boiled in huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution in Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered from death. John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison island of Patmos . He wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation on Patmos . The apostle John was later freed and returned to serve as Bishop of Edessa in modern Turkey . He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully.

5 Peter
He was crucified upside down on an x-shaped cross. According to church tradition it was because he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die in the same way that Jesus Christ had died.

6 James
Just The leader of the church in Jerusalem , was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a fuller's club. * This was the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the Temptation.

7 James the Great
Son of Zebedee, was a fisherman by trade when Jesus called him to a lifetime of ministry. As a strong leader of the church, James was ultimately beheaded at Jerusalem . The Roman officer who guarded James watched amazed as James defended his faith at his trial. Later, the officer walked beside James to the place of execution. Overcome by conviction, he declared his new faith to the judge and knelt beside James to accept beheading as a Christian

8 Bartholomew
Also known as Nathaniel Was a missionary to Asia . He witnessed for our Lord in present day Turkey . Bartholomew was martyred for his preaching in Armenia where he was flayed to death by a whip.

9 Andrew
Was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras , Greece . After being whipped severely by seven soldiers they tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. His followers reported that, when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words: 'I have long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it.' He continued to preach to his tormentors for two days until he expired.

10 Thomas
Was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church in the sub-continent

11 Jude
Was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.

12 Matthias
The apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, was stoned and then beheaded.

13 Paul
Was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67. Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment, which allowed him to write his many epistles to the churches he had formed throughout the Roman Empire. These letters, which taught many of the foundational doctrines of Christianity, form a large portion of the New Testament.

Perhaps this is a reminder to us that our sufferings here are indeed minor compared to the intense persecution and cold cruelty faced by the apostles disciples during their times for the sake of the Faith.

And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake:
But he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
Matthew 10:22

Remember that dry hole?

2009-11-05T10:27:00.003-06:00

Our new stock pond has finally filled up. It took exactly a year! I just checked the post I did when it was dug (October 30, 2008). Here is a photo taken at sunrise yesterday with a little fog lifting off it. We actually are seeing a little "color" in the trees. We might actually have an autumn season this year. Beautiful clear, cool days this week!
We had so much rain in October, I hope that the farms we buy hay from can now get in and bale that last crop. We need to fill the barn!

Good for 10 more years....

2009-11-05T10:15:00.002-06:00

I have had my colonoscopy, have you? After Bob's bout with colon cancer this year, I want to encourage others to get the screening that can save your life!

I had my first one yesterday and it really wasn't bad. Much better than going to the dentist! And my results were better than Bob's, no polyps so I can wait 10 years before having another.

Dancing With God

2009-11-02T10:43:00.003-06:00

Received in an email this morning....

Dancing With God

When I meditated on the word Guidance,
I kept seeing "dance" at the end of the word.

I remember reading that doing God's will
is a lot like dancing.

When two people try to lead, nothing feels right.

The movement doesn't flow with the music,
and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.

When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead,
both bodies begin to flow with the music.

One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back
or by pressing lightly in one direction or another.

It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully.

The dance takes surrender, willingness,
and attentiveness from one person
and gentle guidance and skill from the other.

My eyes drew back to the word Guidance.

When I saw "G": I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i".
"God, "u" and "i" dance."

God, you, and I dance.

As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust
that I would get guidance about my life.

Once again, I became willing to let God lead.

My prayer for you today is that God's blessings
and mercies are upon you on this day and everyday.

May you abide in God, as God abides in you.

Dance together with God, trusting God to lead
and to guide you through each season of your life.

This prayer is powerful and there is nothing attached.

If God has done anything for you in your life,
please share this message with someone else.

There is no cost but a lot of rewards;
so let's continue to pray for one another.

And I Hope You Dance Through Each New Day!

I'm back...

2009-11-02T10:34:00.003-06:00

Since I found Facebook, I have been neglecting the blog. I will try to do better, since a lot of my family and friends still haven't taken the step to Facebook. It can be addictive but very enjoyable.

When I joined FB I thought I wouldn't play any games. Then someone sent me a Hatchling egg and that started me collecting the eggs. Cute little egg graphics that "hatch" into little critters. Then you have to "feed" them. That led to needing to add friends who also played Hatchlings and had "baskets" where I could look for more eggs.

Then my new friends started sending me "gifts" and request to join other games. Like Mafia Wars, Farmtown, Castle Age, Street Racing, Vampires, Yoville, Poker, Cafe World, MyZoo, Farmville and on and on and on. I don't play them all, there isn't enough time in the day. But I do play several with the help of Bob now. ;-) I've met lots of new friends and keep in touch with old friends. Get to see photos of faraway cousins and their kids and grandkids. So that part is GREAT!

And that is why the blog has gone "stale"...

I will try to revive it!

Fairy mushrooms...

2009-09-24T14:52:00.003-05:00

We have been getting enough rain, finally, to even grow some mushrooms.

These were so big, I half expected to find a fairy underneath them...

We have dogs...

2009-09-16T16:19:00.005-05:00

I haven't been able to say that in over 20 years... we have two new dogs. Zack and Jack are their names and guarding sheep will be their job. We adopted them from the TX Great Pyrenees Rescue group and I just got back home with them. Luckily my friend Lesa rode with me up to Caddo Mills, TX to get them since Bob had to work. Now to get the boys settled in and introduced to the sheep, llamas, horses and cats.

Zack and Jack are 2 year old brothers and have had experience as LGDs (Livestock Guard Dogs). We hope that they will be able to protect the Tunis flock from the coyotes.

*** Follow-up*** 11-2-09

Though we really liked the boys, they just did not fit our needs because they would not bond with the sheep. We returned them to the rescue and will search for other forms of predator protection.

AMHR Miniature Horse Nationals

2009-09-12T14:50:00.002-05:00

Lots of gorgeous miniature horses are competing this week in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the AMHR National Show. You can watch it online! Visit http://www.flandersvideoproductions.com/ and see the action going on.

Good info to know...Wasp spray as protection

2009-09-09T11:32:00.002-05:00

Thought this was interesting and might be of use.

A friend who is a receptionist in a church in a high risk area was concerned about someone coming into the office on Monday to rob them when they were counting the collection. She asked the local police department about using pepper spray and they recommended to her that she get a can of wasp spray instead.

The wasp spray, they told her, can shoot up to twenty feet away and is a lot more accurate, while with the pepper spray, they have to get too close to you and could overpower you. The wasp spray temporarily blinds an attacker until they get to the hospital for an antidote. She keeps a can on her desk in the office and it doesn't attract attention from people like a can of pepper spray would. She also keeps one nearby at home for home protection.

Bye, bye to Junior...

2009-09-08T15:43:00.003-05:00

Here is a family portrait before we sold Junior... the white male llama on the left. Renee and Jeff McPeek came Sunday to pick him up to become a guardian for their new flock of Tunis sheep.

I know that they will enjoy him, he is such a curious guy who has the biggest, most expressive eyes!

What's new on the farm? Two more minis!

2009-09-08T14:32:00.009-05:00

We acquired a gorgeous bay stallion, Easter Acres Bay Dragon, from our friends Priscilla and David Cox of Springtown, Texas. Priscilla's sister, Jan Easter of Easter Acres Miniature Horses had raised Dragon, who is sired by her Landry's Kajun Red and a mare we now own, Easter Acres Midnite Satin. Ironically, Bob has been using a photo of Dragon on his equine photography business cards (see previous post - Bob's New Venture back in March). We have always admired Dragon, and are proud to now own him. Priscilla exported Dragon to live with her in Great Britain a few years ago and he sired several miniature horses in the U.K. Luckily for us, when she and David moved back to the U.S. they brought him back with them. Along with Dragon, we also recieved NXS Dare Dreamer, they called her Goldie. Since we already have a Goldie... she will be called DeeDee. She will have a foal by Dragon next spring.

Our palomino mare, Locket was bred to him last year and we have a cute little filly we named Dragonfly.

She got to meet her "daddy" for the first time this weekend.

Less 4 more sheep... but a GOOD way this time!

2009-08-31T11:30:00.004-05:00

The McPeek family of Clifton, TX came again on Sunday and picked out two ram lambs for 4-H. They had originally planned to take the twins that disappeared in the predator attacks over the last two weeks. They bought "Junior" a half brother, and "Tailor" the son of "Ralph" and "RickRack". We hated to see Tailor go since his mom was the one killed on Thursday. But we really didn't need to keep another ram.

Mr. McPeek had been so impressed by one of our rams, "Bart" on his first visit to the farm, that he asked to purchase him as well. They also bought Purdy, the twins' mother. So they are "in the Tunis business" now too!

We wish their son, Brazos, a very successful show career with the lambs!

Coyotes 5, Sheep 0

2009-08-29T16:29:00.003-05:00

Now for some sad news... we have been having predator attacks on our sheep this past week. It started last weekend when I was in Florida to judge the Cotee River Cat Show. Bob called to say that when he counted the sheep we seemed to be missing 3 or 4.

He had walked the pasture but hoped that they had gotten into the neighbor's pasture and weren't ready to come home yet. Most noticably missing were the "twins," our youngest lambs. I had promised them to a young man who was going to show them in 4-H.

By the time I got home Sunday night, he still hadn't located them, so we planned to call around the neighborhood on Monday. Monday evening we took an inventory and realized that the twins' mom was in the flock and was very depressed and thin. Another young ram lamb was also missing. We assumed the worst and I wrote the dreaded email to the potential buyers.

Tuesday they called and offered to search some more since we still had not found any signs of "foul play". While we were at work, they came over and looked through the pasture again. This time they found one of our ewe lambs, mostly eaten. We had been penning the sheep up at night so we didn't know when she was actually killed.

Wednesday we stayed home and wormed all the sheep and tagged those that hadn't been for better identification. Thursday we turned them out during the day with all four llamas, hoping that would be enough protection. That evening we were missing another! Bob drove around the pasture and found one of our two year old ewes was partially eaten near our stock pond. Bob went into town to buy a shotgun and watched for the predators to return to the body. No luck, so far. We still don't know what is doing the killing during the day. We thought maybe a pack of dogs, but friends say mother coyotes teach their pups in the daytime so we are expecting they are the culprits.

We've since gathered that llamas don't work well together as sheep protectors. Only singles should be used. We have the sheep all locked in the pens at the barn now until we come up with a solution. We aren't even letting our mini filly out for fear they may be hungry enough to attack her.

We are open to any suggestions!

Photos from Jeff and Robin's Reception

2009-08-29T15:36:00.015-05:00

Jeff and Robin had a house warming/ wedding reception August 8th. I am finally getting around to downloading the photos! It has been a busy month!

We had their invitation made into a poster at Sam's and had guest sign it.

Hay, hay, we need more hay...

2009-08-21T13:55:00.008-05:00

With the lack of rains in our area, we are finding it hard to locate good quality coastal bermuda hay for the horses and sheep.

Our pastures have turned to dust and broomweeds so we know that we will need a lot of hay stored.

Bob was able to get a load of rounds brought in from east Texas. This was the first time we have ordered a semi truckload. Thankfully, I work for the manufacturer of material handling equipment. My boss let us move a new model out to the farm to lift the hay off the trailer. That is an MLT 735 model and it is specifically built to be an agricultural machine. It has a hay clamp attachment on it, but can also use a bucket, hay spear, silage facer, etc. to do work on dairy farms, feedlots and ranches. If anyone is interested I'd be glad to help you find a dealer in the U.S. (or world)!!!

It made things much easier, lifting two of the big round bales at a time.

Later that day while taking some scrap metal to the recyclers, we found a field of square bales, freshly baled.

Bob was able to get 62 bales on the trailer which we happened to have with us. It was a case of being in the right place at the right time. While we were there several other people stopped to inquire about the hay. There will be a shortage this year.

I am so proud of Bob, he is amazing, I call him my hero! Less than 3 months after his major surgery and now with his "semi-colon" he is out there in 102 degree temperature loading up hay. The Lord has been good to us!

We will need some more, but we feel much better with having this now stored.

The Condo is Ready!

2009-08-21T08:27:00.002-05:00

I just got an email from my son, Jeff. His condo in Ruidoso is now ready to be rented. He and Robin did a great job renovating the 3 bedroom condo. Take a look at it here http://www.vrbo.com/258268.

Fly Control

2009-08-17T08:40:00.003-05:00

We tried the Spalding Fly Predators this year and we have seen a remarkable drop in the flies around the barn. Fly Predators by Spalding Labs

I came across this info too, worth a try:
REPEL FLIES WITH PLASTIC BAG, PENNIES, & WATER
Many people swear that a zip-lock bag filled half-way with water and attached over entry-ways will repel flies. No one yet knows how or why it works, but there is speculation that it has something to do with the way the moving water refracts light.

Thanks to Tunis buyer, Jenny of Liberty Hill, TX

2009-08-11T16:57:00.006-05:00

We received a nice email from Jenny about her new Tunis sheep she bought from Unicorner Farm ... She is now the owner of UF Ruse and her son, "Tricky".

Jenny wrote.. "Thanks so much! They are doing great! The mama is doing a good job of leading our whole group around (most are around 4 months or less, so it's nice for them to have a leader!) We had fun visiting your farm! Thanks again! Jenny"

This is Ruse and Tricky when he was a newborn.

Too blessed to be stressed?

2009-08-10T10:28:00.004-05:00

A great saying, I have had to repeat it to myself quite often these days. We have been busy even though work at the office has been slow. We have used the extra time off from work (me on 32 hours a week and Bob on a week off each month) to get some things done around the farm. It has been super hot and humid so we do our outside work early or after sundown.

We took time out to go to Jeff and Robin's house warming and wedding reception Saturday. Looks like they are already finding out the joys of home ownership... tree roots in the sewer line backed up the downstairs toilet at peak party time. But everyone seemed to enjoy the party... we took a stab at the Jamaican theme in honor of their honeymoon destination. I spent the day before baking pineapple upside down cupcakes and rum cake. Bob did a great job helping cut up veggies for shish kabobs. There was plenty of food for the big crowds that came buy to welcome them to their new home. Robin's parents brought lots of fresh fruit and deli sandwiches.

Holy Alphabet

2009-08-10T10:27:00.003-05:00

Although things are not perfect
Because of trial or pain
Continue in thanksgiving
Do not begin to blame
Even when the times are hard
Fierce winds are bound to blow
God is forever able
Hold on to what you know
Imagine life without His love
Joy would cease to be
Keep thanking Him for all the things
Love imparts to thee
Move out of " Camp Complaining "
No weapon that is known
On earth can yield the power
Praise can do alone
Quit looking at the future
Redeem the time at hand
Start every day with worship
To "thank" is a command
Until we see Him coming
Victorious in the sky
We'll run the race with gratitude
Xalting God most high
Yes, there'll be good times and yes some will be bad, but . . .
Zion waits in glory . . . where none are ever sad!