Ah Spring! warmer beautiful days, blooming flowers and shearing!

Saturday dawned clear, and as the day progressed the temperature rose. I LOVE this time of year.....it actually makes me enjoy going outside to do things. :)

Walking out of the house I am greeted by the sunny colors of some mini tulips (the brown spots on them by the way, are from my dogs digging in the dirt/mud next to them.....at least they didn't dig them up!), and a crocus and another bulb flower that I can't remember at this given time......



Walking down over the hill to the barn the valley opens up into a heart-warming expanse.




At the gate I am greeted by a disgruntled llama and a more than tickled ewe lamb, Jet.


Last night I had placed my girls and boys in stalls to make sure they were dry for the shearer. Gallo was definitely not pleased, and kept humming questions at me. Jet, on the other hand who had been picked on since she was the new girl in the flock was extremely pleased to be the only girl that Gallo had to share his hay with. I really should have taken a pic of them laying down together the previous night.

Here is a pic of everyone in their stalls, wondering what the heck was going on. Even standoffish Bella stood up on the door and allowed me a chin skritch.....anything that might get me to let her out!




Franna of EverRanch and Sally of Sleepy Hollow Shetlands were extremely kind and offered to show up to help (Molly of Blackberry Moon Farm also offered but was unable to come at that time).

Eifion (from Wales) showed up with his brother-in-law, Joe (from Whidbey Island) and set right to work. I tried to be organized (something I have to REALLY work at....) and somehow managed to forget the first thing I had on my list. Running extension cords to the barn for his shears! Boy, did I ever feel sheepish (pun intended) when Eifion said "C'mon Tammy!". I'm definitely going to get power down to the barn this summer!

He started with the boys and worked thru the girls. Joe would grab the next sheep and pass them to Eifion. He sheared, gave shots, wormed and trimmed their feet. He was definitely quick. A few of the girls got nicks, but I learned (from Franna) that the difficulty he was having getting thru some of the fleeces was because of the rise. (That and that the Jacobs don't have that problem).




Here is my help. :) I learned so much from Franna and Sally, it was worth it's weight in gold just to be able to hear their thoughts on the process and Shetland sheep in general.



And here are some pics after the work was done.....






Jet, was laughing (I KNOW, I could just hear her....) "Ha, Ha now I have more wool than you!" And they all are on the same page now as they butt each other and get to know each other all over again.

After Eifion and Joe were on their way, Franna gave me a skirting lesson with one of my fleeces. She also showed Sally and I how you can spin with just your fingers! It was fun (and amazing)!

Now I just have to get busy and skirt the rest of my fleeces. I wish I had been able to take more pics but I was definitely hopping when Eifion was shearing and I was so intent on learning how to skirt that it completely slipped my mind.

Anyway, thanks again to Franna and Sally. I have to say that all the sheep people I have met in both the Jacob and Shetland world have been the most wonderful people to get to know!

OH! Another sign of Spring? The return of our Osprey from South America. I need to get some pics of them. It's really not very picturesque when they are in their nest....it sits on a big high tension wire tower. They have used this nest for the last 12 years we have been here and I'm not sure how long before that. The nest is HUGE. They have 2-3 babies every year and it's great when they are all learning to fly and circle over our home.

I'm definitely reveling in this beautiful Spring weather....and dreading what I hear is coming next in the middle of the week......more cold and rain. sigh.

Swiss Spendor

We left Pinswang and headed to Lauterbrunnen,Berner Oberland, Switzerland to enjoy for a few days.
Here is a lake that once again I didn't write the name down of, but it was on the way and was a beautiful color from the glaciers.




The Lauterbrunnen valley is FILLED with beautiful waterfalls and is a classic glacial carved U-shaped valley. To be honest I could have stayed there for a good year or longer!









My fascination with native dog breeds continue, here is Appenzeller Sennehund, one of the herding/working breeds native to Switzerland. (the others are the Entlebucher Sennehund, the Bernese Mtn. Dog and the Great Swiss Mountain Dog).


We stayed in a great little hostel, there in Lauterbrunnen, the Valley Hostel. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly. If you had any questions about where to go hike there was lots of excellent advice. We were there before all the snows had melted off so unfortunately some of the places we wanted to hike were still closed.

We basically just parked the car, as it was unnecessary to use to get anywhere. The rail system is a short walk and you can go anywhere.


We decided to take the train up to Kleine Scheidegg, which is a high mountain pass between the Eiger (remember the Eiger Sanction?) and Lauberhorn peaks.





What's this???? A Saint Bernard? In the Alps? With a keg around his neck??? We should probably sample what in it to make sure it's not stale.....:)




Hiking trails in Switzerland are like paths beautifully maintained and easy to walk on. The high mountain air definitely gives you a workout though, if your hiking up! We decided to hike down to Grindlewald, so it was more like a stroll. :)




A photo opp along the way....


As you're hiking, the impressive Alps envelope you and take your breath away. The main Mountains on our right as we were hiking was the Eiger (Ogre), Monch (Monk), and the Jungfrau (Young Woman lit. which translate to Virgin or Maiden). The Monk is in between the Ogre and the Maiden....to protect her of course! :)




The rocks on the roof in the photo above are to keep the roof in place when the enormous winds whip down through the valleys. We saw this kind of roof set-up in many locations.


The Eiger is 13,025 ft and it was first ascended in 1858 on it's West Flank. The Norwand (North Face) towers over 5,900 feet above the Valley and it was first ascended in July 1938. A portion of the upper face is called "The White Spider", as snow-filled cracks radiating from an ice-field resemble the legs of a spider. During the first successful ascent, the four men were caught in an avalanche as they climbed the Spider, but all had enough strength to resist being swept off the face.




Since then the face has been climbed many times, and today is regarded as a formidable challenge more because of the increased rockfall and diminishing ice-fields than because of its technical difficulties. In summer the face is often unclimbable because of rockfall, and climbers are increasingly electing to climb it in winter, when the crumbling face is strengthened by the hard ice present.



Since 1935, sixty climbers have died attempting the north face, earning it the German nickname, Mordwand, or "murder wall", a play on the face's real German name Nordwand.

As we approached Grindewald the scenery became more bucolic.... goats? sheep? I have to get pictures!:)







Once we reached Grindewald, a popular tourist destination for skiing we decided to continue hiking down the valley towards Lauterbrunnen. On the way I saw a beautiful red fox in the woods, but was unable to get a pic he vanished as quick as he appeared.

I was able to get pics of the stealthy Swiss bovine though! :)These crafty creatures are known for their bloodlust.....(just kidding....)


Here is one that caught our scent, and was calling out re-enforcements....we were lucky to get out with our lives!!!



There were also some beautiful Bernese Mountain Dogs but they were more interested in having us for lunch, rather than inviting us in for lunch, so I didn't get a pic of them either. It was great to see them in the native countryside where they originated though.

At one smaller home we noticed a fellow that we believe was a immigrant from a Scandinavian country.....



We had definitely built up our appetites and by the time we got back to Lauterbrunnen we went and enjoyed some cheese fondue and Rosti, which is fried potatoes (similar to hash browns) with your choice of additions, I liked the local cheese and ham.


Next post will be a continuation in Switzerland!