wedding

It's been a while since we put on a wedding for our kids. Last Saturday was the day.
While we knew about the spot for almost a year....our little cottage in Wisconsin....we really worked hard to pull it together at the last minute.
For one...my daughter said to wait for flowers until the week of the wedding. Then buy what was blooming, and simply place pots around in the garden beds.
That would have worked well....if there was any time to buy flowers and place pots.
The flowers we bought between Wednesday morning and Saturday, rode on the top of loads of decking boards--rocks for the pond--and bags of mulch for the garage floor.
Fortunately....the big do-it-yourself-store...the one closest to our spot....meaning only 45 minutes one-way!....had just received a load of blooming rose plants. Unfortunately, they didn't have time to take them out of their plastic wrapped wood crates. It was OK...my hands didn't have to show in the photos....roses have really big thorns....especially if you have to climb into wood crates with them to pull the ones you like out.
My rose bushes were hard-won. I loaded them into really in-expensive footed urns.
There was no time to actually plant anything....so those extra bag of mulch were poured into the urns to keep them from flying into the corn field across the street.
Fly was what one of the tents was trying to do. No, I didn't have a post hammer with me, but one of the guests handily pounded the metal t-posts in next to the tent poles with my Dad's old vise. Not easy...but heavy!
The winds on top of the river bluffs slowed just in time for the evening wedding.
Our daughter and her almost-husband chose to make their vows on the deck, that I had built on Wednesday afternoon...in-between putting in the kitchen sink, and putting in a shower in the bath.
Friday evening lots of young guests arrived with tents and r-v's moving in for the event. Our eldest son spent the groom's dinner at the cottage wiring hundreds of lanterns, and twinkle-lights for the big day. It was amazing....after the dinner, and another late-night trip to another BIG store for last minute items....my husband and I actually turned off the truck lights on the gravel road, so we could look at the fairy-land sight!
Aside from my total lack of appropriate clothing for the lovely wedding (I had to borrow a shirt to wear with my jeans!) and the three girls and the bride taking a really long time trying to get dressed in a 10 foot bedroom....while they were also making their own bouquets!!!! So who could blame them....We had a wonderful time.
The candles set along the paths through the woods were amazing...as were the tent lights...the fire...and the pond....finished with a load of rocks on Thursday. We had loads of fun with our old buddies....Jane and John , and finally crashed in their r-v to avoid the young folks who never sleep.
It was wonderful to finish the errands on Sunday, and start back home to our wonderful friends Mary and Jim, How amazing to have friends nice enough to watch 80 lambs, 80? sheep, two dogs, 7 cats and a goose for a week!!
Thanks folks.
We couldn't have done it without you!

Thursday evening

The water level from our little flood is going down. The road in here isn't very good, but I expect the county is already fixing roads that washed away.
I let the sheep out into the west pasture again....but today I got them back in with grain before the sun went down. Last night it was really hard to get the moms and especially the lambs inside the safe fence. I had run out of grain...and some of my moms want to know that there is actually grain in my bucket before they will follow me.
There is still water ponding in the grass near the barn. I don't know if that is the water level, or just drainage from the pond by the house....it actually ran over the top....first time we had seen that happen. We had been wet before this last 4 inch rain....but the creeks went back down quite fast.
I am amazed how fast the lambs are learning to jump through the water. Our cats will jump through the creek to get in the south meadow....and they like water almost as much as sheep.

sunshine

The sun is shining this morning.
There were so many little lambs dragged outside in the rain last evening....that I am afraid to go out to see if they are sick or ...... So I will mention that we now have a new yahoo group to talk about color. If I understood this new way to scribe genetics MM and Mm....I could be better at color, maybe.
However, I think a color judgement about sheep must be learned, by handling them. And here, out in the woods....that means they have to be born first.
I did have a lovely emsket/pewter ram for color breeding last fall....but he kept crawling under the fence and I took him out before he bred someone he shouldn't. Next fall, I'll put him an escape-proof breeding pen. I'll try to post some different colors to show you.

OK, two back lambs will be mioget.....hst on the right is moorit....and the front flecket has always looked black and white....but both parents are moorit....he right now looks dark brown.
That, if it stays, could give us all a hint about his genetics.

wednesday floods

This morning I awoke to the loud water noise of the creek in flood stage. Kind of a dull roar that sounds similar to a truck . The rams are confined to a small strip of grass next to their hay bale...where they are picking at the soggy dry grass leaves. Panda, my 13 year old was out in the storm in the pasture, I will need high boots to walk over to her laying on the side of the west pasture.
The moms and their lambs were crowded around the barn gate....wanting to go out to eat where they had been the day before....but now there was a twenty foot stream of fast water running between the barn and the pasture...much too much for the lambs to jump. This water is from the water topping the ram's dam. The dam doesn't keep water in, but lets the flood coming across the county road go somewhere besides over the rams.
I walked down to look at Sinkin'....must be neck-high in the middle....yesterday I walked across a slow trickle on rocks placed in the remaining stream. The rams on the other side will have to fend for themselves for a few days....until I can safely walk across. Fortunately, the water goes down almost as fast as it comes up. There is over three inches in the rain gauge this morning. Must have been all in the early morning thunderstorm.
Good news is that the mailman just pulled up....I have no idea how he drives through all these creeks running across the road. But, it means cars are not washing off the concrete low-water bridges in our valley.
I noticed Dancer and her new lambs already had forded a stream in the pasture and the brown ewe lambs were jumping in the wet grass. Just happy.... as Shetlands often seem...jumping for joy in the misty morning air.
Lots of the moms were sleeping next to their lambs in the damp hay in the barn. Looks like it will be a lean day for the moms, until the water running through the pasture begins to go down.
Good day to look at the computer inside.