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November 27, 2003 Thanksgiving Day Early this morning, the sheep enjoyed an extra-large Thanksgiving Day serving of leafy green alfalfa hay. While they chowed down, Emily (left) and Angus (center) waited patiently for their own special meal of turkey neck, gizzard, heart and liver. It won't be long now, kids!     November 13, 2003 Meet the newest members of the SkyLines family This fall, a small herd of 11 cashmere goats joined the SkyLines family. The goats fill an important niche on the farm by grazing the weeds and brush that the sheep leave behind. While the sheep concentrate on grazing low-growing grasses and shrubs, the goats prune the taller Douglas Hawthorn shrubs and conifer trees and literally mow down the nasty tarweed and thistles. In addition to rounding out the farm's organic weed control team, these shy, gentle creatures also produce that wonderful and rare fiber - cashmere. The goats are still wearing their summer coats now, but as the fall nights are getting colder their warm, soft, cashmere undercoats are beginning to grow in. Today, the head goat Ollie (foreground) has led the herd out to nibble shrubs in the draw pasture. Ollie is very protective of his charges, and here he's thoroughly checking out the camera before allowing me to get a closeup photo of the other goats.   September 11, 2003  Above, the SkyLines flock has moved to the hayfield now, where the sheep are grazing the stubble from this year's hay crop. They'll stay here for a few weeks while the woods pastures rest up for the final grazing pass of the year. After that, breeding season begins, and then another winter will be upon us! ---------------------------------- Below, SkyLines' Great Pyrenees guard dogs (left to right) King, Angus, and Emily lounge among the grazing sheep. These fearless guardians are alert and active all night long, and then they spend most of their days sleeping or resting. In spite of daytime appearances, though, the dogs are on duty 24/7. Visits from the shepherdess, friends, and the family dogs are always welcome, but absolutely no other creature is ever allowed in the sheep pastures, be it coyote, dog, raven, wild turkey, deer, elk . . . or even skunk!   August 12, 2003 Today some of the ewes and their lambs are in from the pasture, mowing the grass in the driveway between the house and the barn. Here, Eleanor is keeping her "bonus lamb" close to Peaches the guard donkey, but I finally managed to sneak this shot while Eleanor was grabbing a bite to eat. This little girl was born about six weeks after lambing was over and the flock had moved from the barn out to the woods pastures. I had assumed that Eleanor just didn't "take" this year, since she never showed any signs of impending motherhood. Well, much to my surprise, one July day she walked out of the woods with this bonus lamb in tow! A first-time mom, Eleanor has proven herself to be an excellent mother, and a fiercely protective one too. Good girl!   July 30, 2003 Head 'em up, move 'em out! This afternoon, I led 93 of the sheep down the runway between the newly-cut hayfield (left) and the woods pastures (right), headed for fresh grass. The entire flock moves to new ground every one to two weeks, slowly traveling from one end of the farm to the other through eight subdivided pastures. They've just finished their second round trip of the season, and are now going back to the beginning, where the #1 pasture has been resting and regrowing since early June. Rotating pastures ensures that the sheep are always grazing grass that's in a vegetative, growing state (meaning green and highly nutritious), and it's also an important part of my internal parasite control program. All of the animals know the routine and really seem to enjoy it. When I go out to a pasture and holler "Gather up, let's go!", sheep, dogs, and donkey all come pouring out of the woods. Within a few minutes, the entire mob has gathered at the gate to the next pasture, and they're bawling at me to hurry up and open it! Here, the line streams past me as I stop to shoot this photo. The Great Pyrenees guard dogs have, as usual, rushed ahead to check out the new pasture before the sheep arrive. And, just a white speck in the distance, Peaches the guard donkey brings up the rear of the group.   July 15, 2003 On this classic hot summer afternoon, the sheep are all lounging under the trees, taking advantage of the cool shade to chew their cud and nap. Lilly and her 3-month-old boy (both caught in mid-chew) were quite surprised when I crawled under the branches to snap this photo of them! At 11 months of age, Angus the Great Pyrenees pup is close to being a full-fledged member of the SkyLines guard team. This endearing boy still has a bit of goofy-puppy in him, but he's beginning to take his job very seriously and doesn't miss much. Above right, Angus had been napping with some of his sheep under the trees, but roused to check out the intruder in his pasture (me). May 26, 2003 Memorial Day - Summer's Here! Lambing is over now, and everybody's been out grazing in the woods pastures, where they'll spend the summer. In this photo King the Great Pyrenees is clearly happy to be out of the winter barnyard, as he oversees his sheep in the "back 40" pasture. Barely visible to King's left, Alice and her twin lambs head uphill to join the rest of the flock for a cud-chewing session on top of the slope. Everyone seems to enjoy this pasture tremendously, with its combination of a high-and-dry slope with good visibility, and its cool, moist flat filled with lush, rich grass (see photos below). About halfway down the hillside, this yearling ewe has bedded down for her afternoon nap in a patch of snowberry bushes, within easy reach of a snack should she wake up hungry. Further down the hillside, on the flat, the Romney-Montadale ewe Nora and one of her month-old lambs are wallowing in the knee-high fresh spring grass. Sheep heaven!   April 11, 2003 A walk through the lambing yard The 2003 lambing season is just getting underway now, with about 30 ewes bred. So far, the weather's been just glorious, and the girls have all been delivering beautiful, healthy babies. Here's a sampling . . . Lucy's three-day-old girl enjoying the warm, sunny day. Margaret's twins, about an hour old and still wobbly, haven't yet figured out that there are two spigots, and that there's one on each side! In another few hours, though, they'll both be pros at this nursing business. Nadine's tiny girl is just too precious . . . Romney ewe Lilly and her sturdy boy seem ready for anything. My friend Cindy cuddles Sara's sleepy lamb Sasha. Chubby Sasha is about 2 weeks old and the first lamb born this year. Sara keeps close watch in the background. March 15, 2003 SkyLines Annual Shearing Day   Top: We sheared and individually skirted 51 fleeces this year, and the tired and dirty crew were still cracking jokes at the end of the long, hard day! Meet the SkyLines 2003 shearing crew (left to right): Nadine, Penny, Margo, Jessie and his mom Susan, Tertza and her dad Martin, Fern, and Priscilla. Right: Shearer extraordinaire Martin Dibble was gentle but persuasive with the ram Elmer, who just wasn't in the mood to get his hair cut this year. Shearing a sheep takes just minutes, though, and once it's over it is very obvious that the sheep feels great about being rid of that thick winter coat. March 4, 2003 Still no snow on the ground, and though we never really had a winter, it's clear now that spring is on the way. The red-winged blackbirds have returned and have, as usual, taken up residence in the Hawthorne bushes that ring the pond. As another sure sign of spring, Audrey (foreground), Alice (background) and the rest of the sheep are about ready for their annual haircuts. Shearing is a couple of weeks away now, and then lambing will begin in early April. The cycle of life continues . . .   February 10, 2003 February is another quiet month on the farm. Here, some of the bored Romney-cross lambs (with coated Buster in the background) have followed me into the barn to see if I might do something interesting, like maybe offer them a treat. Sorry kids, nothing today!   January 19, 2003 January is a quiet month on the farm. Once the ewes have been bred, winter becomes a time of quiet contentment, as we all settle in and wait for spring. Gestation in sheep is about five months long, and lambing will begin in early April. In the meantime, the "ladies-in-waiting" kick back, live the easy life, and focus on growing babies and fleeces. Here, Romney-cross sisters Rita (top) and Linda (bottom) while away the afternoon and wait for dinner to be served. January 18, 2003 Yikes! Still no snow! The light snowfall of mid-December melted off before Christmas, and since then we've had weeks of warm, 30-40-50 degree weather, rain and fog. Almost unprecedented for this area! Of course, everyone's been enjoying the unusually mild, open winter - why not? Just to be on the safe side, though, I'm making preparations for a long, hot, dry summer that may well put the farm's water supplies and pastures to the acid test. In this photo, Julius the young Romney wether isn't sure if he approves of my photographing "his" girls. Julius has recently assumed responsibility for the pregnant ewes in one of the farm's winter pastures. It's not his job, guarding is what the three Great Pyrenees dogs and the guard donkey are here for, but I'm not complaining. In coyote country, you really can't have too many guard animals! December 18, 2002 The first snow of the season finally arrived last night, about three weeks later than normal. It only snowed enough to put a dusting over the ground and the sheep, but it's a start. When I went out to feed this morning, Dorothy seemed to be asking what this white stuff was on her back, as though she'd never seen snow in all her years of living in Idaho. How quickly we forget!     December 6, 2002 Romney sisters Emma, Sally, and Pearl enjoy a lazy afternoon in the sun, on this remarkably warm December day. The temperature here on the farm dropped to 3 degrees (brrr) during Halloween week. Then it warmed up again and has stayed in the upper 40's and 50's for over a month, with absolutely no snow at all (a rare event around here). This unusually dry fall, with downright pleasant temps, has meant that I could actually complete my entire fall project list. A first!   November 12, 2002 Angus the new Great Pyrenees puppy has joined the sheep guard dogs King and Emily, and is now learning how to be part of the SkyLines team. Today, Angus (reclining) and Emily (seated) are on duty with King in the fall lamb pasture. At only 11 weeks old Angus is still very much a baby, so right now he's sticking fairly close to Emily for security as well as guidance. Emily in turn seems to be really enjoying her role as surrogate mom, keeping track of Angus and making sure that the lambs don't get too pushy with the little guy. November 11, 2002 Love is in the air.... Breeding season is in full swing now at SkyLines Farm with three Romney rams in service - two natural-coloreds and one white. Ernie, our new white ram, is deeply in love with the Romney ewe Maxine today. It's been a busy week for this yearling ram. Over the past five days Ernie's also been in love with April, Lily, Nadine, Julie, and Grace. He has eight more ewes to romance this fall, and then he gets to rest for another year. The other two rams are equally hard at work with their respective ewes, in separate pastures. What a life! October 1, 2002 Angus the Great Pyrenees puppy is the latest addition to the SkyLines family. He's only five weeks old, and already has won the hearts of just about everybody around here. In fact, Buster the wethered male (below) has decided to adopt Angus as his own. Buster seems to enjoy the puppy's attentions, and treats him with great tenderness. Angus is too small now to go out into the woods pastures with the main flock, so he's living in the winter barn area with Buster and the rams. For now, it's enough that he bonds with a few sheep and starts to learn basic rules like "Don't jump on people" and "Don't bite sheep." When the rest of the sheep and the other two Pyrenees, King and Emily, come in for the winter, Angus' real training will begin. King and Emily will start teaching him his place in the pack and how to be a real guard dog. By next summer he will be a contributing member of the SkyLines guard team!  September 19, 2002 SkyLines' sheep guard dogs King (l) and Emily (r) often enjoy hanging out together while they keep an eye on their sheep. Not visible in this photo, all of the sheep are resting down in the trees, staying cool on this hot afternoon. Though this pasture still contains plenty of feed, the once-lush area is rapidly turning brown with September's hot dry days and cold nights. I've been saving the season's last green grazing area, the hayfield, for "flushing" the ewes before breeding. This involves increasing the nutritional value of their feed in the weeks before breeding, a practice that helps improve the chances for multiple births. The ewes will move into the hayfield at the end of this month, and then breeding will begin in mid October. See Management Practices>Predators for more info on King and Emily's important role at SkyLines Farm.   August 10, 2002 During the dog days of summer, the sheep graze in the forest pastures (surrounding barn in photo below), where they spend midday lounging in the dense shade of pines, firs, and spruces. The low-hanging branches help keep flies at bay, and provide a wonderful, cool respite from the 90-100-degree heat. July 23, 2002 - Haying season Haymaker Lee Nicholson carefully guides his tractor and swather over the SkyLines hayfield. In a few days, once the excess moisture has evaporated from the grass, he'll go over the field again with his baler, which scoops the grass up and compresses it into compact 60-lb. (girl-sized) bales of hay. Then a crew of boys will come in, pick up the bales, haul them into the barn on a flatbed truck, and stack them all the way to the rafters. What a great feeling every August, having the winter's food stacked neatly in the barn, all ready to feed on those cold winter days! July 2, 2002 Stella was one of the last ewes to lamb this year. Her twins were born on June 13, and are shown here having a snack. Many charming illustrations of sheep show a ewe sniffing noses with her lamb. In reality, that's a rare sight. This one is much more common, as the ewe checks under each lamb's tail to make sure that it is her own lambs who are nursing. The ewe recognizes the scent of her own milk that has passed through the lambs, making this method of identification much more reliable than a visual inspection (particularly in a large flock with lots of lambs!) May 13, 2002 The 2002 lambing season is well underway now, and it's shaping up to be a terrific year for colored lambs. Out of the nineteen lambs born so far, fourteen of them are natural-colored! All SkyLines natural-colored lambs are born with wool that is either pure black like these babies, or very, very dark grey. However, by their first shearing (next spring), the majority of the lambs' fleeces will have evolved into what will be their permanent color, which ranges from very dark to medium grey, to pale dove grey or a soft oatmeal color. Some of the fleeces will also be variegated - consisting of a range of colors from light to dark. Many spinners like working with variegated fleeces because of the interesting one-of-a-kind yarns they can produce from them. Elmer, the ram who sired most of these lambs, has a wonderfully variegated fleece, which he frequently passes to his offspring. April 28, 2002 - Lambing has begun! Dorothy was the first ewe to deliver a lamb this year, and here she tenderly cleans her baby moments after his birth.     April 13, 2002 - Annual Shearing Day This is always a long, hard day for everyone at SkyLines Farm, but it's a good day too. The sheep obviously feel great about getting rid of that thick wool coat now that warmer weather has arrived, and the shepherdess is always thrilled to see the fruits of an entire year's labor. Here, shearer extraordinaire Martin Dibble and helper Jesse Tibbetts have finished the first two white ewes (Mary and Gretchen, foreground), and are just starting on the third. The rest of the sheep calmly await their turn. One of Jesse's jobs is sweeping the plywood shearing floor after each sheep, so fleeces aren't contaminated with the previous's sheep's wool. He also escorts each sheep over to Martin and together they carefully tip her on her haunches for shearing. Gentleness is particularly important since the ewes are pregnant and due to lamb late April and into May. See Management Practices>Fleece Management for details on how we keep SkyLines fleeces so clean. April 3, 2002 Hurrah! The snow has finally gone. The pastures are showing just the faintest hint of green, but they're getting greener every day. Today, Peaches the guard donkey and the sheep are out enjoying the mild weather and looking for goodies. This time of year everybody's tired of eating dry hay, and they're happy for even the shortest blades of fresh green grass. It's hard to imagine, but before long this brown winter pasture will be brilliant green with new spring growth, and covered with bright cheery dandelions. Considered weeds by some people, dandelions are actually loaded with nutrients and are a wonderful spring tonic for animals and people alike. Their long taproots reach deep down to the subsoil and draw up the nutrients that are locked there. The animals all know that dandelions are good stuff, and eat both the leaves and the flowers with relish.   March 8, 2002 Enough, already! Isn't it spring yet? A surprise snowstorm moved through last night. When I went down to feed the rams this morning, all I saw was white lumps in the snow with faces attached. (All of the sheep do have access to barns, but they often choose to sleep outside instead.) Below, left to right: Up and about now, the Romney wether young Julius and adult Romney rams Felix and Elmer wait patiently for their breakfast.   February 20, 2002 This photo of the wether Buster, shown with some of the 2001 lambs, illustrates a sheep that has very obviously outgrown his coat. Shame on me! All the sheep will be getting larger coats before the month is out. These synthetic coats, which Belinda Morgan imports from Australia, are the toughest I've found so far. The 100% cotton canvas ones are very soft and look very nice, but they can be shredded in a single day if the sheep finds a sharp edge somewhere in the barnyard and decides to use it as a scratching post. I do like to use the cotton ones right after shearing, though, when the sheep has virtually no wool growth to protect her skin.     New Year's Day, 2002 New Year's 2002 brought yet another in a long round of snowstorms to north Idaho. Here, some of the 2001 lambs finish up their breakfast on the first morning of the new year. A great thing about a snowy winter is that