Sunday Dose of Cute: One Very Disappointed Onlooker

Saturday Dose of Cute: Spring Has Sprung!

Friday Dose of Cute: New Kids on the Block

Audrey Had Twins Yesterday! (Meet new flock member Audrey here)

About One Hour Old

Thursday Dose of Cute: Chick Days Again?

Yep.

Want to see more chick pics?

The 2007 Baby Chick Chronicles: Whitey Gets Her Wish

2008 Baby Chick Photos

2009 Baby Chick Photos

© Copyright 2010 FarmgirlFare.com, the babies all over the place but too whupped and hungry to elaborate foodie farm blog where in the course of my farmly duties today (which were performed on only four hours of sleep), I somehow snapped a whopping 143 photos—nearly all of which captured some particularly cute moment. It definitely wasn't easy to choose just one. Lots more hopefully soon.

Wednesday Dose of Cute: Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Who Says Sheep Don't Celebrate? Big Teddy is Ready!

© Copyright 2010 FarmgirlFare.com, the little bit of Irish (actually, at least one of us is quite a bit Irish) foodie farm blog where barnyard animals will use any excuse to party, no matter what their lineage.

Tuesday Dose of Cute: Disappearing Cat Trick

Poof!

Want to see more of little Sarah Kit Kat Kate?

5/1/08: Meet Sarah Kate

5/11/08: There's A New Supervisor in Town

5/26/08: Purr Where You're Planted

6/4/08: Look What the Kit Kat Dragged In

8/24/08: You Can't Fence in a Farm Cat

2/16/10: Perfectly Posed

© Copyright 2010 FarmgirlFare.com, the black and white foodie farm blog where this daylight after 7pm stuff is kind of freaking us out. Well, not all of us—but at least the ones who are used to catering to everybody else's needs (and putting off their own dinner) at a certain time of the day.

Sunday Dose of Cute: How and Why We Added Katahdin Hair Sheep to Our Flock

Katahdin cute overload

It's a funny thing about our sheep shearer—he raises sheep that don't need to be sheared. They're Katahdins, and this hardy breed has hair rather than wool that, as you can see here, comes off each year on its own.

One of the biggest problems we face raising our mostly Suffolk meat sheep here in Missouri is internal parasites, specifically a blood sucking stomach worm known as the barber pole or wire worm. For much of the year it's wet and warm here, which, unfortunately, is Parasite Paradise.

Despite agressively using both commercial and natural wormers, we've lost numerous sheep over the years to worms—and we've been comparatively lucky. I know of one farmer who had most of her flock drop dead from internal parasites—the day after they'd been wormed.

It's terrible. And while there were many benefits to having that extra rain during the past two springs and summers, it made the parasite problem even worse.

Saturday Dose of Cute: Just a Teaser Photo

Sea of Sheep Cute

So who are all these lambs and how are they related to our early start to lambing season?The whole story should be up tomorrow. No, really, I mean it this time. It's even all written, and I was hoping to finish it tonight, but today kind of got away from me—partly because the story ended up a lot longer than planned, and partly because I spent about six hours this morning working on a total blog makeover (so exciting, but what a time suck). And now that everyone else has been fed, it's time for us to eat!

Lambs not real high on your cute meter but still need a dose?

The First Daily Doses of Cute
Daily Doses of Cute Part 2
Daily Doses of Cute Part 3
Daily Doses of Cute Part 4
Daily Doses of Cute Part 5
Daily Doses of Cute Part 6
Daily Doses of Cute Part 7
Daily Doses of Cute Part 8
Daily Doses of Cute Part 9
Daily Doses of Cute Part 10
Daily Doses of Cute Part 11
Daily Doses of Cute Part 12
Daily Doses of Cute Part 13

© Copyright 2010 FarmgirlFare.com, the days flying by foodie farm blog where that freaky heat wave is thankfully over and we're back to normally cool weather again—which actually feels quite nice.

Thursday Dose of Cute: The Perfect Lamb Dish

Not a Recipe

© Copyright 2010 FarmgirlFare.com, the whupped foodie farm blog where between putting up a longer than planned kitchen garden blog post about growing onions (do you grow onions? come chime in!) and yet another trip to town (this time to spend a whopping $477 on new tires for the flatbed trailer that we only use a couple of times a year but are never able to use because it always has three flats), today's post is shorter than planned. Now there's a piping hot homemade pizza topped with homegrown beef pepperoni, a Harry Potter DVD, a comfy reclining loveseat, and an equally whupped hunky farmguy calling my name, so I'll see you (after yet another trip to town in the name of vintage tractor repair) tomorrow.

Tuesday Dose of Cute:The 2010 Lambing Season Has Begun!

(3:30pm) Welcome to Babyland







(5:30pm) Cute, Cute—and Hungry, Hungry!

The short version is that our lambing season has started several weeks earlier than originally planned, and this Katahdin hair sheep mama and her twin lambs, who were born just before we got back from town (of course), are doing just fine. The brown one is a boy, and the white one is a girl.

The longer version—in which I explain just what the heck is going on, and ply you with more lambie cuteness—will have to wait until tomorrow, as we're heading back out, in the opposite direction this time, to hunt down yet more tractor parts—for both of our vintage tractors.

The question is, Will there be more lambs waiting for us when we get home?

Can't wait for the cute? These should hold you over for a while:
Lambing Season 2006 Photos & Reports
Lambing Season 2006 Part 2
Lambing Season 2006 Part 3
Lambing Season 2007 Photos & Reports
Lambing Season 2007 Part 2
Lambing Season 2008 Part 1
Lambing Season 2008 Part 2
Lambing Season 2008 Part 3
Lambing Season 2009
Lambing Season 2009 Part 2

© Copyright 2010 FarmgirlFare.com, the doubly cute foodie farm blog where 'vintage tractors' just sounds so much nicer than 'rattly old broken down tractors,' doesn't it?

Sunday Dose of Cute: Sunshine and Snuggling Up

Comfy Cozy is She

I Love the Black Sheep Best! (except for my baby Cary, of course):
11/18/05: Frosted Snugglebunny
4/8/06: BB and Her Newborn Baby
4/28/06: Snugglebunny's Twin Girls Always Stay Together
6/27/06: Snugglebunny's Twin Girls Heading Out for Breakfast
7/10/06: BB and Her Mother Tana Are Always Together
9/30/06: Seeing Double

2/9/07: I Love Black Sheep! (Sheep Shearing Photos)
3/14/07: Tana and Her Baby Boy, First Morning Outside
3/20/07: All Booked Up at the Bonding Suite Inn!
5/13/07: The Tail of Two Mothers: A Mother's Day Story from the Farm
10/11/07: Living by the Light
12/5/07: Spy Sheep

4/4/08: Anybody Need an Experienced Sheep Dryer?
4/20/08: Raa Raa Black Sheep! Another Black Baby Lamb
10/2/08: Gossip Central
4/3/09: Black Babes for Black Beauty
4/14/09: Too Cute for Words?
6/9/09: Stop, Look, and Listen
7/15/09: Getting Ahead. . .

© Copyright 2010 FarmgirlFare.com, the neatly sheared and ready for the heat wave (it's supposed get up into the 60s today!) foodie farm blog where some of the black sheep—including this squished-by-choice ewe—turn grey as they grow up, but I still think of them as black sheep. And yes, there are some seriously pregnant bellies in this picture!

Saturday Dose of Cute: Sure You Want to Go in There?

Didn't Think So

How about a little meander down Donkette Memory Lane instead?
12/2/07: A Little Donkey Secret
1/1/08: A Donkey with a Sense of Humor
2/20/08: Our Resident Weather Girls
2/23/08: Please Don't Step on My Heart
3/2/08: How Do Donkeys Order Lunch?
5/3/08: Grooming Session
8/13/08: Meet the Dog Day
10/17/08: Baby Love?

5/4/09: What Donkey Girls Do During Lambing Season
7/7/09: Happy First Birthday Esmeralda!
7/12/09: Happy First Birthday Evie!
8/9/09: Broccoli Treats? Blech!
1/14/10: Soaking Up Sun in the Snow
2/20/10: Share and Share Alike

© Copyright 2010 FarmgirlFare.com, the long-eared foodie farm blog where the only threat you'd probably face by going into that field (once you made it past our foolish attempt to make this gate impenetrable if you're a big white guard dog trying to escape, which so didn't work) is being loved to death by the Donkettes—unless of course you showed up without a bucket of treats.

Thursday Dose of Cute: Hey! You Forgot Our Treats!

Yeah!



YEAH!

Sorry, kids, just homegrown hay tonight. But you love it:
First You Have to Put Up the Hay
3/11/06: Oh, Just Take A Seat Anywhere
3/14/06: A Whole New Way to Start the Day
3/26/06: I Told You They Have No Manners

3/2/08: How Do Donkeys Order Lunch?
3/7/08: Waiting for Lunch (on Top of Breakfast)

3/26/08: Donkey Dietary Habits
4/18/08: Cary is Too Hungry to Say Hi
5/7/08: Daily Dose of Cute: All Day Hay Buffet
5/28/08: Daily Dose of Cute: Back in the Hay Day
9/27/08: Sheep Gone Wild!

1/23/09: Feeding Frenzy
1/24/09: Keeping the Food Supply Safe
1/31/09: A Cold Breakfast Will Be Served in the South Pen
3/4/09: Food as Furniture
12/9/09: Eat Up, Kids!

1/12/10: You Shouldn't Take Chances with the Food Supply
1/22/10: Everybody's Safe
1/27/10: Man at Work
2/19/10: There's Always One

© 2010 FarmgirlFare.com, the no way anybody around here is starving to death foodie farm blog where the flock has been split back into two groups after being sheared, and if you aren't very old or very pregnant, you now only get grain and alfalfa pellets and molasses every other day this time of year. 'Baaa! sounds a lot like 'yeah!' and just before I snapped these pictures Joe said, "Come on, let's get out of here before it turns really ugly!"

Tuesday Dose of Cute: Sheep Shearing Day 2010

First victim!

Lots more below. . .

Monday Dose of Cute: Another Round of Hide and Seek

Can You Tell He Learned the Game from Dinky?

© Copyright 2010 FarmgirlFare.com, the semi-invisible foodie farm blog where maybe this big Suffolk ram (whose temporary 2007 'D' name—yes, yet another poor sheep without a real name!—is Da Big Guy) was just trying to hide from the sheep shearer. Well, he didn't succeed, and he now looks mighty handsome with his new do. There'll be lots of Sheep Shearing Day photos posted tomorrow—though I'm sparing Da Big Guy's dignity and won't be including the ones where he was forced into decidedly unmanly-like positions while under the clippers.

Weekend Dose of Cute: It Was Sheep Shearing Saturday!

So excited they can hardly stand it—not.

More photos coming soon. Sheep shearing day is always a little exhausting, even if you aren't doing the actual shearing—or getting sheared. But thankfully it went really well. And now we're all busy recovering.

© 2010 FarmgirlFare.com, the suddenly svelte looking (well, except for all the pregnant bellies) foodie farm blog where this is one of stock dog Lucky Buddy Bear's favorite days of the year—he loves it when the sheep are all neatly crammed into a tiny space, especially if he's in there with them.

Thursday Dose of Cute: Happy Sheep

And happy stock dog

Lucky Buddy Bear is half English Shepherd and half Australian Shepherd. He lives to work, loves his sheep, and really loves little lambs:
3/5/06: You Can Add Babysitting to Bear's Job Description
6/18/06: What Happens After a Rainstorm
8/17/06: The Destructive Duo (aka Cary and The Nanny Bear)
10/1/06: He Looks More Like a Bodyguard than a Nanny Bear
12/6/06: On Duty in the Kitchen Garden

3/15/07: Gang Activity
3/27/07: A Lot of Love on the Farm
4/22/07: Dog Inspection (and how Bear and I tuck in the sheep at night)
9/30/07: It's a Stock Dog's Life

4/11/08: A Tender Scene—and the Whole Picture
4/18/08: Cary and The Nanny Bear in the Greenhouse
4/22/08: Bear the Babysitter (Among Other Things)
5/20/08: Bear Loves Babies!
5/21/08: Better Than Kisses
6/10/08: Another Bear Inspection
10/29/08: Lookin' for Love

1/13/09: Stand by Your Lamb
4/2/09: Lambing Season Has Begun! (and The Nanny Bear is ready to assist)
4/9/09: Oh, You Big Baby

© 2010 FarmgirlFare.com, the well treated foodie farm blog where a stock dog's work is never done—and that's just the way he likes it.

Tuesday Dose of Cute: See Spot Sit

See Spot Wish She Had a Real Name

Okay, we don't actually call this sweet little girl (who you can see as a smiling one-day-old baby here and an accessorizing teenager here) Spot anymore, since her cute brown spot faded away a while ago, but I couldn't resist that title. We now call this guy Spot instead, because his spot is definitely not going anywhere.

This young ewe may be nearly grown up, but she hasn't lost all of her cute—and because it somehow slipped passed us on docking days, she also still has her long tail. Now if she only had an 'F' name as sweet as she is (all the 2009 babies born on the farm get names that begin with F, 2008 was 'E' names, etc.). Any suggestions? (Freida, Franny, and Friendly are already taken.)

We'll start lambing in April. Can't wait? Look back at last year:
4/2/09: Baa Baa Baby Baa Baa! Lambing Season 2009 Has Begun!
4/3/09: Black Babes for Black Beauty
4/4/09: Spotted Beast—or Cutie Beauty?
4/6/09: Whispering Sweet Nothings?
4/7/09: Think Pink
4/9/09: Oh, You Big Baby
4/11/09: This Baby Rests Easy
4/14/09: Too Cute for Words?
4/16/09: Smile for the Camera!
4/16/09: Amendment to Today's Earlier Lamb Count

4/20/09: Morning Traffic Report
4/21/09: Snack Time!
4/22/09: Oops
4/26/09: Lamb Whisperer
4/26/09: An Important Message from the BABS
4/30/09: Reading Lesson
5/1/09: May Day! May Day!
5/21/09: Rest Stop
5/28/09: And She Sleeps
5/30/09: Tiny Tussle

6/3/09: Steppin' Out
6/9/09: Stop, Look, and Listen
7/15/09: Getting Ahead. . .
8/26/09: Smile for the Camera
10/15/09: Seeing Spots
12/12/10: Soft as a Baby's Behind

© Copyright 2010 FarmgirlFare.com, the super wooly but soon to be sheared (this Saturday if everything works out!) foodie farm blog where most of the time sitting sheep magically tuck their legs up underneath their bodies, but once in a while they'll stick their front legs straight out instead, and it always makes me smile (and wonder how they're going to stand back up from that position, but they always somehow do).

Sunday Dose of Cute: Two's Company

Close Company

Want to see more of the flock? You'll find links to lots of fine feathered friend photos here.

© 2010 FarmgirlFare.com, the comfy cozy foodie farm blog where the green you see in the bottom of the photo? That's an empty nesting crate twice the size of the one they're in, which means these two hens (who are missing a few feathers from either molting—the natural annual losing of old feathers and growing new ones—or an overexcited rooster) are crammed in that crate laying eggs together by choice. Chickens: yet one more source of nonstop farm entertainment.