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.

New Year's Resolutions

I finally got around to looking at the Gnat Gnews. Almost three years since my last update???
It has been said that if one writes down and lets others know your resolutions, you are more likely to keep them. We'll see if it works.

My resolutions are:

1. To be more dilegent about posting to the Gnat Gnews. There are a lot of things happening at the ranch, e.g. new lambs and new critters.
2. To attend more fiber festivals this year to meet other crazy shepherds and shepherdesses and to learn more about processing my fleeces.
3. To expand my SheepishGrins.etsy.com store to include more handcrafted items and some fleeces.
4. To learn a new fiber art skill.

Four is probably a good number to stop at. It will be easier to keep them that way.