"Eve" Lambs

We bought our most recent ewes about 4.5 months ago in August, which brought our flock up to 12 ewes. We also got a ram a couple of months ago and put him in with the ewes at the end of November. Well, it turns out the gestation period of sheep is about 145 days, which comes out to a little over 4.5 months. So surprise surprise we have lambs! We are up to three now. We had a little ewe lamb surprise the heck out of Ryan on Christmas Eve and today (New Year's Eve) we have two more little ram lambs. The ewe looks like she was sired by the previous owner's Barbados ram, which is good because Ryan did want more of that breed's blood in our little flock. She's the cream colored lamb with brown and black spots around her edges.

The two ram lambs look like they take more after their mother, so perhaps they were sired by a Katahdin ram? We really don't know! I guess the word to the wise here is that if you buy new ewes, they could already be knocked up....

Christmas gifts & California

Well, our neighbors are taking care of the farm for a few days while we are visiting my dad in California. I have to say it's nice to get a couple of days away from heavy snow and difficult driving. Ryan flies back tomorrow so I hope he doesn't have too much trouble with the forecast, which currently promises to be dismal. The joys of living in Iowa.

I finished some Christmas gifts, which are the first thing I quilted since August. I hope I can pick quilting up again a little better, I have really fallen off the horse there. These were for my grandmothers, it is always so hard to shop for them and I think they like getting something I make. 'Tis the season for homemade gifts! I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and that no one gets stuck in a snow-filled ditch!

Hiatus over & egg carton extravaganza

First, I have to apologize for my long hiatus. I'm so sorry! I have been absent because I'm now about 5 months pregnant and have discovered I am NOT one of those lucky women who feel like a million bucks when they're expecting (they're out there, I know a few!). So instead I have been a huge lump for the last few months and Ryan has been picking up the pieces. On a related note, Ryan HAS kept his blog up very well; it can be found here: http://beginningiowafarmer.blogspot.com/

Now, on to farm business. The growing season is done for us, but the egg layers have really kicked it into high gear recently! We are practically drowning in eggs; although we are continuing to find people who want to buy them. So we ran out of egg cartons and had to order some more. If you ever wanted to know what $150 in egg cartons looks like, this is it. I came home to this ginormous box in my living room and had to share the way the egg cartons seem to come in "columns" within it!

Anyway, it is not my intention to become one of those non-blogging bloggers, so I am hoping to get back to something resembling my bi-monthly-ish update frequency. Wish me luck!!