This morning, I could see the lump of her in the pasture and told Herbie I thought she'd died. He confirmed it while I was feeding the sheep. He took her out back with the tractor while I milked Daisy May. I was sad that Daisy May and Eleanor didn't get to say goodbye, nor did her boy calf and the other bulls. So now we only have 1 cow that wasn't born on our farm, the Scottish Highland, Little Red. Dolly would have been pregnant, probably about 7-months, so we lost her calf too.
Last week the first 2017 Spring lamb was born. A single girl, to an unnamed mother. I now have 4 unnamed sheep, mum and lamb, and last Springs' lambs, a boy and a girl. Really need to give them names. The USDA sent me the Scrapie tags, plus the applicator, so I tagged mum and newborn. Plan on tagging all the mums' and newborns as the come this Spring, then will have to tackle the ram lamb. Not sure what to do with Hershey, as he came from Salles' farm, so should have her tag. I'll have to talk to her as he doesn't have anything in either ear.
We have Sheila staying with us for a while, from Annis' last litter that I sold to Bert, Jackies' brother. But he's up North, and Jackie and Gary have gone to Florida to await the birth of their 5th grandchild, so I'm looking after her for a month or 3, until she goes back to their family farm when Jackies' grandson, Charlie, gets there. Sheila was used to spending her days playing in the Grand River, and she's been heading down to it, taking her sister, Lisa, with her. They have to cross 3 main roads with 55 mph speed limits, and go missing for hours. I knew they were playing in water as I could smell it on them when they returned, but thought it was the creek down in our woods, never in a million years thought they were playing down on the flats of the Grand River ! Naughty little bitches !
The storm that came through last week, knocked the power out to thousands, including us. No heat, lights, or worst of all, no water. Herbie and I took 6 milk buckets and lids and drove the buggy down to the creek for water to flush the loos'. Power out on Tuesday, back on Friday afternoon, about 30 hours sooner than the original forecast. The 2 dogs went missing, and I panicked as they were gone for hours. Herbie booked us into the local motel so we could shower, and after he fell asleep on Thursday afternoon I drove back home to find if the dogs were home yet. Nope. I'd put up a notice on the village FB page too. So I drove over to the dairy where Anni ended up last time (and all our cows when they went walk-about a few years ago). But nope, he hadn't seen them. I drove to the sub-division the butts up against the West side of our woods, picked a house and knocked on the door. Although there was a truck out front, a generator running and lights on, no answer. Back in the car, try another house. Guy opens the door. Yep, he'd caught both of them in his snares and had freed them about an hour earlier, DOWN ON THEIR PROPERTY ON THE GRAND RIVER !!!! What in the world !! But at least they'd been seen, so I had a place to start looking for them. It was dark now, and I'd stop and call and call, nothing. Brad, the guy I'd met, drove back to their other property and helped me look. I returned home, hoping they'd come home, nope. So out again looking for them. I texted Jackie to let her know Sheila was AWOL, worried because the telephone number on her tag was no longer in service, and Lisa had lost her tag a few days before. Info came back through the FB posting that many people had seen them down on the walking trail over the past week ! The one with more white, Lisa, was friendly, the smaller, darker one, Sheila, was not, she growled and barked at people. I drove East on David Hwy and then down Eddy road, a sand dead end road thinking that with them being snared for I don't know how long, maybe they'd been a little disoriented. Couldn't go all the way down as it was very muddy and I was driving Noddy, but no response to my shouting there either. I was hoarse from all the shouting. I have this horribly penetrating shriek, developed for Sheila as she doesn't listen to any other way of calling. Backed out of the mud until I could turn around and was now driving back West on David Hwy, when I spied this black streak run across the road right in front of a car going East. It was Sheila, all wet and happy to see me, with Lisa a little further up the driveway. Whew. Drove up with them running next to the car, and closed them up in the garage after pouring fresh water for them. Sheila drinks more than I've ever seen my dogs drink. Drove back to the river to let Brad know they were home. Sent a text to Jackie letting her know Sheila was safe. Back home, made sure they were in the closed garage, got Herbies' razor that he'd forgotten, and headed back to the motel 8 miles away close to the expressway. Once back, couldn't find the room key anywhere in Noddy ! Oy, was I having a night of it !! Went back in my mind. I'd showered and washed my hair in the motel, so hadn't put a jacket on but had tossed it on the passenger seat. On reaching home the first time, I'd gone inside, realised I was freezing, so had gone to the passenger door, which I couldn't open as it was locked. Walked around to the drivers' side, clicked the unlock button then walked back to the passenger side and pulled it out and put it on. The key must have fallen out at home. It was now already 8:20pm, 2 hours since I'd originally left the motel to find the dogs, and I was on my way back home. Dogs excited to see me, no key. Dammit, I was cold and tired but I didn't want to wake Herbie to get back into the motel room. Drove back to the motel, working the wording in my mind to the motel people, I know I haven't spent a night yet, but I'd already lost my key ! and as I turned in their parking lot, spied an object under the van next to me. The bay I was parked in earlier. Yep, the key. Lay down on my stomach and scooted under the van to catch the tag. Wow. Let myself back in to the room, Herbie snoring away. It was 8:56pm - I'd missed the new Grays Anatomy. But the dogs were found, I was in the warm room.
Kept Sheila leashed for two days, until she took a gap on Sunday while I was watering the cows. This time she and Lisa were gone for 5 hours. I had the truck and went looking for them again. Brad and his mum, Marlene, helped again. I gave up at nightfall, and they arrived home about 11:30pm. Sheila hasn't been off leash since, except when she's in the house with me, or down milking cows with me. I ordered new tags for her and Lisa, with Jackies' cell number on Sheilas' one, all my contact details on Lisas'. I need to break this wanderlust in her.
She and Herbie have at last come to an arrangement. She always barked and growled at him when he got home from work, which pissed him off. A few days ago he shouted at her and stamped his feet, and she cowered in the kitchen. Yesterday when he arrived home, she ran to me in the lounge and put her head in my lap, but she didn't bark. Then the door opened, and Herbie was home. She even came up to him for petting :).
Herbie was was given an appreciation gift card to Applebee's by a contractor they do work for, so we went for lunch today and then did the weekly grocery shop. Back home I milked, he took Dolly out back, and then we went plinking in the back pasture with our .22 pistols he bought with some lottery winnings last week. I hit 1 smack in the middle, bullseye, with my left hand, right eye closed, and 3 other shots in the green ring. Herbie wasn't so lucky today. Sheila on leash in the back of the buggy. While we were shooting, Maddie arrived. Probably going to be a problem next hunting season. She'll be over a year old, fully grown, and she runs towards gunshots to be with me !
Last weekend, Brad, his wife Amber, their 2 sons, Cam and Kayden (methinks) and grandma, Marlene, came to see the farm. So the dogs going walk about, resulted in me making new friends :). Seems Maddie is the most popular deer in Saranac. She visits them regularly, and friends of theirs on the opposite side of David Hwy from us. So she also crosses that road. Everyone has photos of her.
We've started putting videos on YouTube. Mainly of Maddie, eating grapes from me, Herbie and Teri, licking the lounge windows, chasing the chickens, meeting the bulls, playing with Marmalade the cat on my lap, nursing from the bottle, but also of Rosco snow bathing, and April the lamb in the house.
This version of Weebly that I have the farm page on is their free one, so I can't put video on it, but maybe I can put the YouTube links up.
Well, it's after midnight, so beauty sleep time for me. Hopefully it'll work :))