Saturday, November 19, 2011

A Frosty Morn......





It was snowing last night when I went to bed but when I woke the snow had melted. As I headed down the hill to feed, I was greeted by a frosty morning....





The Japanese Maples by the house were adorned with a glittering edge....





Even the sheep had a rime to their fleeces.....



After I fed I hurried back up to the house, promising myself I would return to take more pics once the day had warmed up a bit....

I can't sneak up on anyone to get pics...."someone" usually gives it away that I'm on my way down to the barn.....and it's usually these two.....


Around 2pm I headed back down, the sun had cleared the frost and I was able to take pics of some of my recent family additions.....

This ewe I named Aunt Bea...she is the matriarch of the small flock, and the only one that is unsure of humans. She will carefully take some grain from your hand but is ready to flee at any second. She is the one responsible for the plethora of bruises that cover me from head to toe when I do feet trimming.....

This is Maisie, she is the youngest....not sure where I came up with her name, but one day it was there and it stuck. :)

Here is Poppy, followed by her "sister" Baby. I got these two girls from the same person and they sure did a nice job of raising these girls.....

I love the blaze on Baby's face.....

The ram I got from KRK (Karen Kenagy) in OR. For some reason Opie has stuck for a name for him...he's kind of a doofus...the only unsettling thing about naming him that is him breeding Aunt Bea :O!I decided to try llamas again...I DO like them, I just really wanted ones that tolerated if not like being handled. Noel is a retiree (like what I hope to be someday soon....) she was a showgirl and raised some nice babies, now she gets to just be spoiled and watch for varmints. She loves butt skritches! :)

For a companion she has a youngster, Stella. Stella is not too sure about humans, but she is getting more comfortable every day (especially with Noels guidance)....The latest additions are two doe Nigerians from Anna at Camanna in OR. Fancy has one leg of her championship and has produced some nice babies. She is bred to Proctor Hill TO GoDaddy, who has some great Sugar Creek bloodlines (Showtunes!). I am crossing my fingers for two doelings as Anna gets a doeling back. The doeling is a well bred beauty in her own right, she is out of Camanna CS Sweet Harmony, who has only been shown twice and took Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion. Daddy is Dill's D Lucky Image , who also has some wonderful bloodlines.....


Fancy is a REALLY sweet girl, and she has been a milker, I'm hoping she can teach me to be comfortable milking my girls....


I have been trying to come up with a name for this little doeling....I'd like to incorporate either the sires or dams name. She is such a little charmer I'm thinking Lucky Charm, call name Charm...what do you think?Gypsy (Honey Goat Gypsy) was busy eating maple leaves so I thought I should take her pic.....
Finally done feeding and putting everyone away for the evening....I headed back up the hill to the house. I glanced up on the hill to see some "wolves" showing me how they kill their prey.....:)
Be VERY AFRAID!!!!

















































Saturday, November 12, 2011

A fall day before the rains......


Went out with the camera hoping to capture a few fall pics before the rains and winds took all the color away.....



One of our Japanese Maples.....



Another Maple by the pond.....


A couple of Katsura trees....and there seems to be a reoccurring turkey in the pics :)

Ashley (aka Fiona/Fifi) and Opal being friendly......

Two of the youngsters Be Bop a Lula (Lula) and Trillium.....

The Katahdin girls....Poppy, Maisy, Aunt Bea and Baby. It appears that Degerli has something of interest to say....
And one last shot of our kitty, Snooka.

Happy Sunday everyone!





Saturday, November 5, 2011

Three Bells Weekend

I've actually spent a few weekends over at the 3 Bells this summer....thought it was about time to post a few pics. I only had a little point and shoot camera with me, but tried to get some good shots of the place.
Alice the Bouvier looking towards the pig acreage.....


My friend, Tara, with Cisco (aka Little Man) and Pippen in the background.




Tara runs this ranch pretty much by herself. It's a wonderful place, where the animals are treated with dignity and respect...even the ones that will eventually end up on the dinner table. Tara is all about health, organic feed, nothing GMO.

Her pigs are even free range on acreage and get produce out of a garden she grew strictly for feeding her pigs. Izzy the matriarch is a Tamworth pig, a heritage breed known as the "bacon pig".

She raises beef (her bull is a Wagyu (Kobe beef) and I can vouch for enjoying some excellent meat from her herd), rabbit and chicken as well as vegetables and herbs. If you want to know what you're eating is actually good for you and the animal lived a healthy and happy life, please consider purchasing your meat from my friend. She also produces a wonderful horse calendar every year and has a fun blog to read. Her website is: http://www.3bellsranch.com/


We decided to do a short ride up behind her place, beautiful views of the valley and river.


Grouchy Max waiting to ride out. Max was over at Tara's for manners/fat camp. :)




Kylie always gets a good workout over there.....:)

The following are a couple pics of some of Tara's herd of horses/mules.....

One of the best places to fuel up on the way over and back is in Omak. At one of the Native American run pumps/stores they have these great sculptures out in front.



I look forward to returning to 3 Bells...and will hopefully take my good camera with me to get some more shots to share.