New Pups Settling In

As this picture shows, the pups are settling in well and bonding with my sheep. I am really pleased to see this, although I KNOW that we still have a long way to go ... :-)

Keep Gene In Your Prayers

Gene is weak, and getting weaker each day. He is still at home and able to get around for short distances using a walker and a wheel chair for longer distances. He often drifts off somewhere in mid sentence and forgets things. He has a terrible cough that won't go away, and has had hiccups most of the time for about a week.

He is hoping for another blood transfusion, since his body no longer seems to be manufacturing enough blood. The transfusions do help his energy level.

He remains positive, peaceful, and ready for what is to come. Keep him in your prayers and thoughts ... he needs all of the help that he can get as he deals with this ... :-)

Grace Needs a Home

Gene continues to get weaker and weaker each day as cancer ravages his body. It is spread to liver, lungs, and bones. He has lost 10 more pounds in the past 18 days. His attitude and mood are both good. The 'plan' is that the new tumour growing in his bladder will block both kidneys (one is already blocked), and he will die painlessly of kidney failure. Gene is calm, 'at peace' and feels ready to die. All focus is on quality of life

Sadly, he can no longer keep his cats, as their affection interferes with his much needed sleep..
Will went home with his sister and has settled in nicely. Grace is with me now, but I can't keep her in my new Grandpa flat with two dogs. She is a dear ... friendly and sweet. She has lived with dogs and another cat. She is an indoor cat.

If you think that you can provide Grace with a home, please contact me.

V Creek Leo's Lambs

Here is another ram that I imported from the US last Fall ... V Creek Leo. Leo is from Maureen Kock's breeding, but I purchased him from Cynthia at FirthofFifth farm. Leo has Dillon, Lightning, Timothy, Greyling, and Holly genetics behind him. I really like the lock structure in his fleece. I didn't use him on a lot of ewes last Fall, and one of them had beed bred earlier by WillowGarden Juice, but his lambs look good. I'll try to use him again next Fall with the hopes of getting an Ag/At or Ab/At ram with very soft, even fleece with his same lock structure.

Here are his babies ...

WillowGarden Broderick Crawford, an off black (likely emsket) ram lamb out of Harmony Marsh November. November is one of the ewes that I got last Fall from Sara and Jamie Scholtes at Harmony Marsh Farm.

WillowGarden Shirlet Booth and her as yet un-named brother are both Ag/Aa. Great Plains Isabell (Ab/At), is my only remaining F1 Greyling and I was hoping for a double patterned ram out of this breeding. I am THRILLED with Shirley though ... ;-)

WillowGarden Piper Laurie is a moorit gulmoget ewe lamb out of Harmony Marsh Ariel. Ariel is a Bramble Nick granddaughter out of Basa (Bramble Nick X Lugthart Goldthread). I suspect that Piper's colour may be modified. I like this little girl!

FirthofFifth Aman AI's Lambs

I REALLY like this guy ... especially now that I can see his lambs! He isn't a huge bruiser, but he is very square and correct. He has a respectful attitude. His fleece is soft, even, and an awesome mioget colour. This picture doesn't do him justice. My friend Michele was here on the weekend and described him as having 'BLING'.

There is still one ewe left to lamb out of this guy, but here is what is on the ground so far ...
WillowGarden Glenda Jackson (white), out of WillowGarden Macaroon (Bramble Nick X Great Plains Sara, F1 Minder)

WillowGarden Gregory Peck (fawn Katmoget), out of WillowGarden Tabasco (WillowGarden Killimanjaro AI X FirthofFifth Masala Chai)

WillowGarden Nicole Kidman (mioget), out of WillowGarden Smirnoff (Bramble Nick X WillowGarden Billie Holiday, a Canadian Gulmoget)

WillowGarden Maggie Smith (moorit gulmoget with lots of phaeo), out of Hopeful Sarah, a Canadian gulmoget/katmoget ewe

WillowGarden Jane Fonda (moorit katmoget), out of WillowGarden Olive (WillowGarden Killimanjaro AI X Great Plains Joanne) WillowGarden Henry Fonda (mioget), out of WillowGarden Liberia AI (Todhill Glayva X WillowGarden Dorethy Lamour)

WillowGarden Jack Lemon and WillowGarden Walter Matthau (both moorit krunet gulmoget), out of WillowGarden Billie Holiday

WillowGarden Susan Hayward (mioget), out of WillowGarden Ameretto (WillowGarden Killimanjaro AI X WillowGarden Ambrosia)

Why The New Puppies

Last summer, I decided to turn the main part of my house into a 'Self-Catering Guest House' and live in a Grandpa Flat in the sunlit, walkout basement. I also decided that 'city folks' paying 'big bucks' for a weekend away, might not come back if the dogs kept them awake all night! So ... I opted to get rid of the dogs and shut the sheep in at night.

The renovations are complete and I am living in my new Grandpa Flat ... but ... a NEW and exciting opportunity presented itself as a way to generate income from the 'Guest House' area. The best part of the new plan is that I won't have to clean the space ... or make the beds!

I will be working with a local Community Living agency to run a 'Teaching Home Placement' upstairs. Two young adults with different abilities will live there and I will provide minor assistance as they acquire the skills needed to transition to full 'supervised independent living' in their own apartment.

This opportunity excites me as it puts the space to good use ... and allows me to continue working with a client population that I LOVE!
I really missed the security that Nick and Kayla provided and decided that the two young lads who will be here in September can adjust to the sound of working dogs, just as I did. After all, this will be their permanaent home for at least a year.

So the puppies are here NOW, in the hopes that I can get them well bonded with the sheep BEFORE the new folk arrive.

As much as I miss Nick and Kayla, I KNOW that they couldn't have a better home than they have with Michele and Gill at Hopeful Shetlands. Thank you Michele!

Meet Bonnie & Clyde

Clyde ... awake ...

Bonnie looking alert ... and Clyde ... looking like he usually does ...

Bonnie ... looking cute ... and like she is working ... :-)

Clyde ... thinking about work ... :-)

Lamb Pics

Leslie Howard ... polled?

Well, Papaya's lambs are now two weeks old. They are growing nicely, but won't be big as adults. VERY even fleeces on them though ... especially the ram lamb, Leslie Howard.

He also has a nice tail. VERY little britch wool is evident, so far.

Although I thought that he might be Ag like his sire Juice, I don't think that he is.

AND ... where I should normally be seing 'nubs' or 'pointy things' growing ... there is nothing ... just leathery patches. They are not indents though.

I'm hoping that other polled Shetland breeders will offer some thoughts on this guy.

I have SEVERAL poll carries, including one directly from the current Dailley flock, so it will be fun to see what he throws.

I AM a sick boy!! Planning a breeding group for a two week old ram!! What is wrong with me ... hehehe

Life is good ... :-)

Lambs in SNOW!

Well, round one of lambing has ended. I had the one young 'hussey' bred in the trailer coming back from a sheep show last Fall. Then I had 12 ewes that had a good time with Juice when I left him with the flock for 6 days! Finally, I had two ewes that I put in with WillowGarden Twist lamb. That is 15 ewes that lambed before the main lambing time ... and they had just 20 lambs! Most of the lambs were HUGE singles around 8 pounds at birth.

I am also at 11 ram lambs and 9 ewe lambs. I was hoping for more girls this year as I already have a crowded ram paddock ... hehehe.

Above though are tiny twins, Liza Minnelli and Leslie Howard, that were just 3 1/2 pouinds each at birth. They LOVED the snow, but were NOT inpressed with the COLD as the day progressed!

Here we have Lionel Barrymore tagging along with his mom, Chocolatini, as she heads out to the hay bale. I am liking this guy ... a LOT!

And a mother/daughter pose with Rwanda and her near identical daughter, Anne Baxter.

Round two of lambing could start at any time. April 10 is day 145, so likely there will be some action on the weekend. Some of these ladies are HUGE, so I am hoping for twins ... rather than 12 pound singles ... *yikes* ... :-)

More 'Juice' Babies!

Who would have thought that so many ewes would have been bred this early!! My ewes don't normally lamb until April, no matter when I put the rams in. This year, Juice bred 11 of them when I put him in with the flock for a week, before I started my breeding groups.

Here are the latest ...

Above is WillowGarden Jodie Foster. She is out of WillowGarden Tunisia (F3 Jamie, F3 Greyling, F1 Glayva).
This is WillowGarden Geena Davis, out of WillowGarden Chick Pea. Below is her un-named brother.
Below is WillowGarden Daniel Day Lewis. He is out of WillowGarden Grenadine.
Today or tomorrow should be about the last days for additional Juice babies.

One of my smaller breeding groups (V Creek Leo) from last Fall is down to just three ewes NOT bred by Juice!