One Is Better Than None

Sheltering Pines Snowy had twin lambs this morning. Happily, one is a ewe lamb.


I think I may call her Polka Dot since she has a black dot on each of her legs on her left side. Her brother has real thick horn buds. Snowy did fine except she chose to lamb outside, and I had to put up a fence to protect her from one of my yearlings.All is well, and they are in the shed for bonding time.

Lucy and her twins will come out of their jug in a little while when I feed everyone.

Another Super Tuesday!!!

Ram-a-lamb-a-ding-dong

Well, the ewe that had the flashy pair at the top of this page gave me two MORE ram lambs today. They are both black with big white patches on their heads and white around their noses. Luckily one has two short back white socks. Now I will be able to tell them apart. The pictures are not good because it is dark in the garage where Lucy decided to give birth. We had to make a bonsai run to Milwaukee this morning to see Jake's father who had a stroke yesterday afternoon. He is doing fine today. When we got home at about 3:30, Lucy had delivered one, and then the second one arrived a little bit later. All is well in the garage except for the sex of the lambs.

They are equally sized which is quite different from the first two. They are crimpy from head to butt and have nice short tails. One has horn buds, and the other one has something different. I can't tell what just yet. The first two that were born on Tuesday have significant horn buds and may have horns like their father. The little grey/brown one has crimp right down to the end of his tail. It is really cool. I sure wish he was a girl!!

I am 0 and 4 now. That is not a very good score.

Productive morning

Lolly had twin ram lambs this morning.


This is the smaller one. The bigger one weighed 7+ pounds and the smaller one 5+.




They both know where to go for food. The little one was second born and is still kind of shaky. He just needs a good shot of food. Lolly is being a grand first time mother.

(I won two things in the church lottery) How is that for a good morning?
Two lambs and two prizes.

2009

That was then; this is now.


Sheltering Pines Snowy on the left and Sheltering Pines Lolly on the right are going to be mothers any day now. It may be late, but we don't have anywhere to go.






This is my "rose garden". Last year it didn't even exist because of all the stress in my life. This year it has risen from the weeds to give me great joy again. I love having cut roses in the house and will probably keep having them as long as I am able.

Oh, on Tuesday we got rid of the steers, bulls, major bull, and two cows that never calved. Hooray!!!!! We had to cut out one heifer and one cow, who didn't calve yet, and one steer for little white packages who were mixed in the the group. There is our seed money. Last evening, Jake comes out to where we were leveling the yard with dirt using the Bobcat and says, "I think there is a new calf in the pasture." Well, knock me over with a feather.........There was a new calf in the pasture.....A HEIFER. She is all black and maybe we should call her "surprise" because I sure did not know she was coming. Her mom, the heifer, did a good job.

So far..........2009 is way better than 2008 even though of being!!!!

WOW!!!

UN mom is awesome!!!! Today she built a dirt pit for Libby and me to play in. Tonight we were chasing in the back yard when we stopped for a drink. Playing is hard work. After our drink, we went to our new dirt pit. But.......wouldn't you know it, just then, UN mom wanted us to come into the house. Being the good boy that I am, I trotted over to the door. UN mom picked me up and started laughing. I didn't get the joke. Then she made UN dad hold me and took our picture. I still don't understand what was so special that I had to have my picture taken and then get a face bath. Oh, well, just another day in paradise.


I am out of here!

This Ain't No Fun!

She calls me her "little man"


I can't believe she did this to me. She keeps saying that she loves me. Now, I ask you, would you do this to someone you love?



The other day I had Pansy over for a play date. We had a good time.

Bye now; I have to go sulk in a corner.

Jus playin............

It's Zippy Time!!!

I been doing a lot of playing lately. As you can see, my Aunt Libby is WAY bigger than me. I try not to let it bother me. When things get real wild, I flop over on my back and wiggle my feet in the air. OR I scamper as fast as I can to somewhere she doesn't fit. There are lots of places in my new house.


UN Mom took this picture of me coming out of one of my "safe" places. It is under the dining room table. Even UN mom has trouble grabbing me if I am in there. I take my raw hide and "My little pony" with me. (UN mom bought it for me on Saturday, and it is a great toy and pillow).


My Aunt Libby is real nice. She lets me crawl on top of her and nibble on all different parts of her body. When I get toooooo rough, she always lets me know. We get real loud when we play, and UN dad had to turn up the TV so he could hear the drag racing last night. But during the day we can get as loud as we want because UN mom never has the TV on.


OH, one last thing, UN mom says that we are lucky that it is warm out because we keep going outside real often. That is great because it is fun to run and play out there. I hope I can learn to run faster cause Aunt Libby wants me to chase her, and I can't run fast enough yet.

I am out of here!!!

Pansies in the Spring

Zippy here!!

Now this is my new friend, Pansy. Isn't she beautiful. I think UN mom must like those colors because Pansy looks like the big dogs. This is the condo that UN mom bought for the cats. Pansy told me that she went in it ONCE. UN mom got lucky and got a picture of her.

I didn't want UN mom to feel like she wasted her money, so I decided to show her that I could use it for a teething toy. She wasn't that happy about the idea, but she still tried to take my picture while I was in there. She wasn't quick enough because I am all blurry. But......you get the picture. I think it is an awesome chew toy. I get to lay in it and chew on it at the same time. Cool!!! Wouldn't it be too much if Pansy would get in the top, and I could be in the bottom. You know, Pansy is a real cool cat, and I try to pay attention to her so she won't feel neglected. She doesn't always appreciate it, but I will keep trying.

Got to rest up for the big class tonight. UN mom said I will be a star at school
because I don't like to walk on a leash yet. That thing is a real bother. I don't think she was being serious, but I do know how to do some of the things we have been work one.

I am out of here!!

P.S. To OSW mom and OSW g-mom. UN mom told me that she had it in writing that you were going to come and see me at my UN house. That will be so cool. Can all the dogs come along? I have lots to show them.

Zippy Live!

Boy, are we having some fun up here. Let me tell you!!!


Well, it all happened on Monday. Aunt Libby decided that I was big enough to play with. We had a real great time. I get rides when I hang on to her tail. Sometimes we go in circles, and I fly around just like my name. Sometimes she goes straight, and I can slide like on the kitchen floor. It is fun! But when we all go outside, I have to be careful if those two big dogs are running and playing. Some of the time I have to just lay on my back and wiggle my feet while they bark. Then I get real brave, and I jump up and snap at their noses and run away. I can get into places that they can't get into. I don't thing they know how easy it is to latch onto their fur. We get real wild especially at night after supper.



I am just an innocent little puppy...........sometimes.

P.S. My up North dad can really laugh when we get to playing. I think he likes me.

Farmer Boy

Zippy here!

This morning I got my first lesson in raising beef cows. We all went to the barn, even those two giant dogs that I live with. BUT...... UN (Up north) Mom left those two giants in one part of the barn, and she took me further into the barn to feed the cow and two sheep. But.....she tied me up so I wouldn't get into trouble. While she was watering and feeding, along came this humungous creature. It came right up to me, and we touched noses. I scared that big guy. He jumped back. Fortunately,
UN mom was watching because he came back up by me. By then, my good sense had returned, and I went back my UN mom's feet. I felt safe there because that thing was a real giant. This farming stuff can be very dangerous.


Then UN mom took the other dogs into the house, and we went out alone. We sat on the seat of this moving vehicle and went to feed the sheep. I had helped with this before. The riding was kind of fun. UN mom just wouldn't let me sit on the seat without her, so I wandered around and checked things out on the ground.


After we put the cart away, we went back into the house, but I had to stop and sample the flowers up by the house. I hope they don't make me sick because I think I might have eaten one of them.





Now you can see that I really have my job cut out for me up here. Over the weekend, I met three people and played and slept a lot. UN mom won't let me eat with the big guys, she makes me eat in my "little house". (That is what she calls it.) It looks like a crate to me. I even went outside in the rain on Friday night. So far I haven't gotten into any terrible trouble. I am pretty proud of that fact.

I am out of here!

Up Nort With Zippy

Hey, Zippy here!


Well, things are settling in around here. Well..........it isn't really settling down because things get pretty wild here sometimes. Those two big dogs step on me sometimes. This morning I got up close to that girl dog and just tried sampling her tail. She didn't get too upset too quickly, but I didn't get to do that for very long. She gets more upset with me than the boy dog does especially when she is working on some rawhide. It's cool.......I'll work it out.

Then sometimes, my Northern Mom lets me sit up on the couch with her. Mostly I fool around and chew on something or on her, but after a while, I get tired. She is always there and doesn't let me sleep by myself on the couch.

I like going outside with the other doggies. We can be out their by ourselves without getting into trouble. The other day, the grass got shorter. I have no idea how that happened, but I can't hide in it anymore. Out there, I can always find something to chew on. I seem to go out there lots of times. I have no idea why that happens, but Mom usually carries me or gets upset if I don't follow the gang.

Boy, I almost forgot, Thursday night I went to school for the first time. I really did a good job. You could almost say I was the star of the show. But......at the end of the time that we were there, they had something called "play time". It meant that everyone got wild and ran all over the place. I really did not want to take part in all of that wildness. Those other three dogs had legs that were longer than I am tall. I never could have kept up with them. The leader lady said that sometimes on the first night dogs are shy. Well, I am not shy, but I just watched.
Maybe next week I will take part. I am learning all my lessons because Mom gives me food when I do what she wants. That is way cool!!

Mom is a little worried about all the mess in the house because all of our toys are everywhere, but she handles it pretty well.

I am out of here!!!! If anyone sees my Texas G-Mom or my Texas Mom, tell them that Zippy says, "Happy Mothers' Day!!! and give them a big slobbery kiss from Zippy!!

The Zip Report

Zippy here. Let me tell you how things are "up North".



Why do I have this smile on my face? Well, someone (I think it was my Texas mom) decided to put me in this house way up North. This place is not so bad. They have dogs and cats in the house. They have bunches of cats outside. That is cool. They have a toy box for dogs that is huge! I can find something to play with whenever I want to. AND.....today, my up North mom gave all of us dogs some pieces of rawhide.
I just took mine and went and laid on a furry thing on the floor that made me look like a little angel. I had to fight to keep the rawhide sometimes, but I sure had a good time with it.



Later my northern mom made me go outside when strange stuff was coming out of the sky. She said it was rain, but I don't have any idea what she was talking about. Must be a regional problem.

Now things are really nice. She send the furry dogs outside, and I am just sitting on the floor in the living room with my rawhide. All is good up here!!! Don't worry mom (Texas mom). I am doing fine.

Zip Trip

This morning we went on our first Zip Trip. We got all the way to the mailbox and back. That is not to say that it was a short trip, time wise. It took us a pretty long time since Zippy has to stop about every ten steps, those short little puppy Cardi steps, to scratch his collar. We got down to the mailbox real slowly, but coming back, we made much better time.




Zippy seems to lean towards the other male in our three dog household. Scooter is his mentor at the moment. He tries to play with Libby sometimes outside, but he hangs with Scooter.


So far, he is a wonderful puppy. He runs outside when I suggest it, he motors into the house when he hears the door opening, he sleeps in his crate by my bed, he eats up his food like a real dog, he makes us laugh, he naps with me, and he sits on the couch with me at night. Now how much more could anyone ask for?????

Yesterday, we went to the vet. Everyone was good. Scooter is a wuss, he whined the most. It was an interesting trip since it was raining when we went, but we made three stops and were very successful. Zippy is still a bit put off by the cats, but he is learning how they operate. It may take a while, but the cats don't seek him out. He doesn't bother them when he happens to meet up with one of them. I am sure that may change several times.

Puppy update: Successful transition to up north in WI. By the way, he seems to love the grass and sometimes just melts into it and looks happy.

Yipee!!! Zipppy!!!!!

We have a Cardigan Welsh corgi puppy. He is the "Z" boy!!! His call name is Zippy
He flew in from El Paso, TX to O'Hare Field in Illinois. He was not happy until we got out of IL. Then he was fine.














The collies seem to take him at face value. Libby is more curious than Scooter.




He is nine weeks old and a fabulous traveler. He slept all the way home from Grandma's house. Right now, he follows us around and is absolutely awesome. He is everything I wanted when I decided I wanted one of these little guys.

Weekend

We had a great weekend with Dave and Holly. Even the dogs had a good time together. They all slept real well last night. Rover rides behind Dave on the bike. It is a hoot. We rode the Sparta-Elroy bike trail. I haven't been on my bike for two years. The tunnel we walked in was wet and drippy.

Tomorrow is "Z" day. Stay tuned for more.

Happy May Day!

I discovered this week that I will be having lambs this year. Lucy, mom of last year's flashy twins, is prego. (Standing behind her daughter in the picture.) The ram was only in with the three girls for two weeks because of his "problem", so I wasn't that sure that any of them would have lambs. Lucy will, but I am not sure about the other two, Lucy's mom and her younger sister.

It is time to use the lawnmower for the first time, but it will only be removing the bumps as the grass is growing in fits and starts.

Looking forward to having Dave and Holly up here this weekend. Haven't seen them since Thanksgiving.

Monday is "Z" day. Oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy!!!!!!!

Improvement

This is how our house looked with a porch added onto a porch. Don't ask why!

This is where the door was. I had already started the demolition.

After the windows came out, Jake took off the worst part of the roof with the Bobcat.

Now, it still has a half roof. That will become shade for the pasture when he attaches it to the back of the garage. Now I don't have to be quite as embarrassed about how this house looks. As you can see, it really isn't green here yet. The washing machine got left out because that is where I wash my wool, and I still have to work on that task.

New Sheep?

All the excitement was on Wednesday night. The sheep got sheared. I let them out today and tried to take some pictures while they were still in the small pen. The girls were real interested in the dogs. They look like new sheep. I hardly recognize them.






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This is my poor little Pia. Doesn't she look pathetic? She is so small. I think she needs to put on a few pounds. (Hey, Nance, What do you think?) She is still as lively as before, but it sure is hard to tell if they are getting enough food until after they are sheared. It is a bad picture of her; she is usually not hunched like that.

Weekend Visitor

This is Sadie. She belongs to Bridget, Jake's daughter. Sadie stayed with us from Saturday morning until Sunday afternoon. Now I remember what it was like to have an active dog. The collies just don't qualify in that category.


Sadie was a real athlete. She would play ball until the "cows came home". She was also an expert at dribbling the ball. It was like she was at the free throw line. She would dribble a few times, and then she would let you throw the ball. What a hoot. She was a easy house guest.



And.......Scooter, well, he couldn't be more uninterested in the proceedings. Libby was more interested and active, but she doesn't play ball. She just ran along and caused trouble.

Bob the Builder

Well, Bob the Builder had better look out for me. This morning I took things into my own hands and got my ewes out of their confinement in the garage. Last weekend, Jake cut a hole in the back of the garage which is part of the ewe pasture. Then we fed them in a small pen in there so that they would be ready for shearing. Well, the shearer called and said he was coming early in the week. So I got all the girls into the garage on Saturday so they would be dry for the big event. Well......(short dumb story) he did not come, and they have been confined in the garage for toooooo long. I wanted them outside. The result was my construction fit. If I don't say so myself, it turned out pretty well, and the girls love it. I am much happier now.

I should have been cleaning since Jake's daughter is coming up tonight, staying with us for the night, leaving her dog here to play with ours, continuing up to the Cities, and returning on Sunday to go home. The "little house" was a pigsty from the whole winter of being a "cat house" and having the pipes freeze and spray water all over the bathroom. The water works now, no hot, but the toilet works. I will finish cleaning and make the bed up. I love that she is coming for two reasons. We get to see her, and I got the house cleaned. Double bonus!!

High Ridge Abby's Little Countess

This is Abby. She was named because of the black bangs she has on her forehead which reminded me of a character from my favorite TV show-----NCIS. How could she be named anything else? (If you don't watch that show, some of this just won't make sense. Humor me.) She was the last heifer expected to calve in our barn. I knew she was nearly ready and was expecting to find a calf any day now. Well, last night was her time, and she made her presentation this morning.




Being "Abby" she outdid herself. First she hatched a heifer!!!!! Second she dressed her up "Abby" fashion. Her little girl is black with a white face. So far .......OK. Then Abby added a wide white belt, thigh high white stockings in the front, white sport socks in the back, and a white tip on her tail. Nice job, Abby!!! Way to dress up that little girl.




Meet Duchess, or as she will be known.......Duchy



Family portrait (not done by professionals) Happily, Abby and Duchy are doing just fine. Duchy is jumping around, and I saw her nursing. I knew she had arrived even before I got to the barn because I heard Abby doing that "mama to baby locater mooing" which meant there was a new baby born.

Sleeping Beauty

This is the same Libby, but it is exactly how we both feel about the weather we have been having lately. It makes us just want to take a nap. It is the first time that I have seen her sleeping on her back. What a hoot!