It's shearing time again

We are lucky to have mellow rams this year. Shearing is hard enough when you haven't been trained; aren't as limber as you used to be; and your cat-like reflexes are slowing down. Even with mellow rams, we still have to go through the pre-shear routine. It's all part of their fun.

First, there is the run around in circles to make us dizzy and wear us out. This involves ducking and dodging the head rope. They are too woolly at this point to use a crook. Finally, one takes pity on us, if you can call it that. The ram will run into the head rope and drag us into the barn where the shearing stand is set up. It's like water skiing on dry land complete with dust rooster tails.

Even though the ram is kind enough to drag us to the stand, that is where phase two of the pre-shear routine begins. The ram suddenly develops lead feet. We are obliged to lift and drag the woolly one onto the stand. Once in the stand, we must do the pedicure. Legs may only be lifted so high and we must not tickle the hooves.

Finally, the shearing can begin. The trick with this year's rams seems to be to keep them awake while we are shearing them. Or, if the ram happens to be really mellow and not needing the head stall, to avoid him stealing your hat when you are working near his head.

Shearing seems to be great entertainment for the rest of the flock and the guard mustang, Ruby. They come up to the barn door to voice their opinions while we are working. Even the barn cat, Gabby, has to add his two cents worth. If Gabby isn't careful, one of these days his tail will be a little shorter.

That's Entertainment.

The tourists are returning for another season. At least, this year, they are easily entertained. Hubby was returning home after delivering a couple of rams. He made a pit stop at a tourist attraction. When he came out of the restroom, he found a group of tourists whooping it up at the back of the stock trailer. Some were even photographing it. Curious as to what they found so entertaining, hubby looked at the back of the stock trailer. Nothing unusual there, unless you count the bumper sticker on the back of the trailer that says, "Vegetarians on Board."

A Gnat Ranch Recipe: Breakfast Burritos

Morning chores builds a big appetite. Especially in the winter months. So big breakfasts are the order of the day. Here's one of our favorites.

Breakfast Burritos

Note: The portions listed are for making one burrito. Adjust accordingly for the number of burritos you will need to feed your crew.

Brown and crumble 2 ounces of mutton sausage*. Drain.

Add 1 ounce of shredded hash brown potatoes, cooked to a golden brown.

Add 1 teaspoon of minced onion and 1 teaspoon of finely chopped bell pepper or green chili. Cook until onions are translucent and peppers are wilted.

Add 1 egg, slightly beaten. Cook until egg is set.

Spoon filling onto a steamed 10 inch tortilla. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Fold the tortilla into a burrito and wrap in foil. Place in a warm oven for 5 to 10 minutes to melt the cheese. Serve warm with your favorite salsa, gaucamole, and sour cream.

*If you don't have access to mutton sausage, you may substitute pork sausage or ground beef.

Accidental fashion statement

I was down to my last pair of clean jeans. Out of desperation, I made up what I thought was a fairly weak bleach solution to pre-soak the jeans that had been stained from various ranch chores. I soaked the jeans overnight.



The jeans looked okay when I dumped them in the washing machine. When I took them out, the jeans were definitely faded. Not an all over fade; just in spots. And those spots weren't an even fade; graduated like one sees in tie-dyed t-shirts. I groaned because I was looking at buying new jeans just when the money was the tightest.



Worse, I would have to wear a pair of those jeans to go to town to buy new ones. Just as I was getting ready to go, Hubby asked, "When did you buy those new jeans?" I explained what happened and that I was getting ready to purchase replacements. He shrugged and simply said they were kind of cool.



While I was purchasing the supplies needed for the ranch, I noticed that I was getting quite a few approving looks from the men. If the women noticed the "tie-bleached" jeans at all, it was only because their husbands / significant others were looking. I guess it will be a while before I buy new jeans.

It's Official

There will be six more weeks of winter. Pirouette concurs with the ground hogs. She had a little black and tan Shadow this morning just before the sun came up.
Shadow is a little ram whose horn buds are already showing. He is already bigger than Minuette, who is almost a week old now. Pirouette did not appreciate me picking Shadow up to check him out. A few minutes later, Shadow comes bounding up to me with an expression that said, "Tell me again why I'm supposed to be afraid of you." I think we're gonna be in trouble.

The 2009 models are starting to arrive.

This is Hop-A-Long, born January 18th to RAN Red Ear. He is a black and tan coloration, sometimes called Reverse Badgerface or Mouflon. The white spot on his head is known as a Two Grey Hills marking called a bishops cap. Four horn buds are already present even though you can't see them in this photograph. Hop-A-Long was four days old before we saw him use any gait other than a hop.

Salt had this little guy yesterday afternoon. We haven't named him yet. He is white with tan points and small dark spots on his back and sides. A red spot is on the scruff of his neck. If you look closely, you can already see the horn buds on his noggin.


Minuette, our first little ewe lamb of 2009, was born at 8:30 this morning. She is also a black and tan. We haven't noticed any horn buds yet, but those can show up as late as three months of age. What Minuette lacks in size (smaller than our barn cat, Gabby), she makes up for in curiosity. The ewe behind Minuette is not her mama. Enchantress, who is Minuette's dam, is one of our black ewes.

A week in review

We have had a busy week at Gnat Ranch. Hopefully, things will settle down soon. I could use a rest.

Hop-A-Long arrived at 10AM, Sunday, January 18th. This lamb earned his name within minutes of gaining his feet. He does not walk. He does not run. He hops every where. His coat is a wavy black and tan that promises to be a gorgeous fleece when he grows up. Four little horn buds are already present. Hop-A-Long is also full of mischief. His favorite target is Willow, the dog. He can get her worked up in a hurry to where she ends up being scolded for making too much noise.

Monday was relatively uneventful. We got to sleep in for a change.

Tuesday held a surprise we weren't expecting. A bobcat was in the sheep barn. The animal had apparently gotten into arsenic somewhere and wandered into the corral to get some water. The sheep were watching her but weren't panicking. They seemed to understand she was too weak and sick to be a threat to them. I wasn't expecting to find a bobcat in the barn when I went to see what the critters were staring at. She was so sick she didn't hiss or growl at me. The poor thing couldn't even jump up to a shelf two feet off the ground. We put her down because we couldn't stand to see her suffer, never mind that she was in the sheep pens. The bobcat had lost so much weight that she probably weighed around 15 to 20 pounds. Normally, bobcats weigh closer to 35.

Gabby, one of the barn cats, inadvertently took some of the sting out of putting down the bobcat. As sick as the animal was, she scared the pee-waddin' out of Gabby. He petitioned for two days to be allowed to a house cat even if it meant living on the roof without food and water. I finally got a ladder and pulled him off the roof. Spike, the other barn cat, took the invasion in stride as she has more bolt holes than a rabbit warren. Once the bobcat was gone, she resumed her domain in the barn.

Wednesday we went to get some hay for the sheep. We made a stop at an autoparts store to pick up a new headlight for the Dodge pickup. Then the pickup wouldn't start. One of the two batteries was bad so we had it replaced. Good to go, right? Wrong. The starter seized up because a fuel filter was dripping diesel fuel onto the starter. So we had to have a new starter and the filter modified so it wouldn't drip on the new starter. The new filter will arrive next Monday. Needless to say, we got home rather late and were told all about how we were neglectful stockmen for missing the critter's suppertime.

Thursday, Hop-A-Long got his eartag and his tail docked. He isn't sure about people now. The being carried is fine; it's fun to fly for a lamb. But getting pinched on both ends isn't his idea of a good time.