Big Wet Sponge with legs

Precious
(Purebred Rideau Arcott ewe)

Okay, enough already. For those of you who whined about needing more rain for your gardens...You've got enough! Most of the prairie provinces are under water at the moment and it is by the grace of God that the Maritimes hasn't floated away yet.

I started a new job last week and the whole goal is to be able to work with organic crops. Kinda hard to do when they are under water or surrounded by slop so thick you lose your boots trying to reach them. Rumour has it some summer students have gone missing in the quagmire. I know the deer are keeping pretty scarce!

And forget trying to keep your socks clean. I have so much "natural" residue I am pretty sure even a magician could not remove the stains and return them to the store bought white they were at the start of the work day. I have decided that the "organic" colouring method is something I can live with, I just don't wash my socks in the same load as Davids' good dress shirts. I don't even wash the horse blankets with those socks!

It is hard to believe but we literally have not seen the blue sky in almost two weeks. With that bit of knowledge I went to work during a very cloudy but rainless day and when I returned everyone asked what was wrong with my nose. A quick trip to the loo and a good scrub revealed that my poor nose (while beautiful it is slightly prominent!) was the only thing on my face to get a sunburn.

Sunburn??????? How does that happen on a cloudy day? Doesn't a burning of ones skin by the sun require the presence of that great luminous orb in the sky? The description is necessary as I am sure many of my neighbors have forgotten what the center of our universe really is. My children are beginning to wonder if it is some mythical tale created to extend the learning day while in science class.

So when I go to work this week, even if they forecast a hurricane and my boss has me working indoors; I am applying SPF 50, Wearing a hat and clothing myself head to foot.

Red is NOT a good look for me.

Above is my favorite ewe, Precious. She is my fav as long as she is dry. Given my previous rant about the weather you can surmise without my aid that she is now a 2oo lb sponge with legs. Every morning ( and night) she loves to careen off my legs while attempting to herd me toward her feed bucket. When she fails usually one of her triplets jumps in to lend a hand/foot. The big problem with this display of affection is that she is covered in wool which holds oodles of water when wet and as Anna found out last year , takes two full days to dry out.

It has been raining for days here so when Precious decides to rub up against your leg it inevitably results in your pants instantly becoming drenched and your rubber boots become holding containers for wet woolly water. Great stuff...and the smell is Divine!

Having friendly sheep in wet weather is paramount to be hit with a water balloon and since most of my sheep are infected with the nuisance gene ( aka they are friendly) entering my sheep paddock is like being bombarded by an army of water cannons!

I have given up. I have resigned myself to the fact that I will be expected to wear multiple outfits and spend lots of money on skin care products this year. I figure if it works for Jennifer Lopez who am I to fight the trend?

Have a great day. Stay dry and avoid the flocks of sheep in your area!

Dandilion Destroyer

Garnet
(Rideau Arcott x Blue face Leicester) - all Natural Lawn Mower!

Spring is everywhere, the weather is improving and the plants are blooming. Our lawn has finally started to grow and as much as we love the lush green vista that surrounds our home we tire of the maintenance. Our son loves it as he gets paid to mow it on a regular basis but even his teenage budget draws the line at raking up the clippings.

A more arduous job was never invented. The mountains of green mulch that becomes fodder for the increasing manure pile had us reconsidering the best way to go about upkeep on the property.

Just because I was bored I took Precious out for a walk and of course her tiniest triplet Garnet trundled along. The two instantly became ravenous with a special fascination for luscious dandelion greens. Tender leaves, unopened blossoms were all fair game to these critters as both mother and son gnawed each plant down to the dirt.

It was like have a real life Pac Man on the end of my leadline! So for the fun of it I erected a small (15x15 ) pen and now Precious, Abbey and usually Garnet, Myles and Patch stand eagerly waiting for me to lead them over to the "new dining area".

David loves the sheep now that they have proven their usefulness in his on going battle with the pesky weed. Connor too has decided that this is a great idea...as long as he does not have to pick up the poo, the recycled remnants of the lawn.

So next time you want an eco friendly way to minimize the length of lawn you have, the amount of clippings you create after mowing and wish to fertilize with a natural self distributing form of fertilizer, call me, I have sheep and they love to eat!