Farm Photo 12/5/07: Spy Sheep

Who Looks Like She's Still Half Asleep

Want to see more?
You'll find lots of lamb photos here, all sorts of sheep photos here, and pictures of black sheep (which I love so much and which fade to brown in the sun) here.

Welcome new visitors!
Click here for a brief introduction to this site.

Copyright © 2007 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares stories & photos of her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres.

Wednesday Farm Photo: Ram Lamb Transport

All in a Day's Work

A year of Farm Photos ago:
11/1/06: Frozen Breakfast On The Run
11/2/06: Autumn Sunflower
11/3/06: Autumn Color One Week To The Next
11/4/06: Grace & Beauty Are Everywhere (one of my favorite photos)
11/5/06: Self-Portrait In A Puddle
11/6/06: Little Cary Is Six Months Old Today!
11/7/06: Walk In The Woods
11/8/06: Donkey Doodle Dandy Is Quite The Dainty Eater
11/9/06: Big Sky
11/10/06: 240 Acres & He Wants To Be On Your Foot
11/11/06: It's The Little Things
11/12/06: Beyond This Door There Be Treats
11/13/06: Petite Rouge Heirloom Lettuce In The Garden
11/14/06: Did You Say Snow? (I'm so glad we don't have snow predicted yet this year!)

And two years ago out of the kitchen came:
Simple Summer Harvest Soup (The Autumn Version)
Mexican Monkey Cake (made it last week for my mom & she loved it)
Beyond Easy Beer Bread Recipe (my most popular recipe)

© 2007 FarmgirlFare.com the heavy lifting foodie farm blog where sometimes it's just easier to pick them up and carry them where you want them to go.

Farm Photo 10/5/07: Staredown

She's A Tough Fluff

Welcome new visitors!
Click here for a brief introduction to this site.

Want to see more?
Scenes & Stories From Lambing Season 2006
Scenes & Stories From Lambing Season 2007
Miscellaneous sheep & lamb photos

© 2007 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares stories & photos of her crazy country life on 240 remote acres.

Farm Photo 9/30/07: It's A Stock Dog's Life

Lamb Love For Lucky Buddy Bear

Lucky Buddy Bear is half Australian Shepherd and half English Shepherd. He loves his sheep--and sometimes they love him back.

Want to see more?
3/1/06: I'll Spring To Life If There's Trouble
3/5/06: Add Babysitting To Bear's Job Description
3/12/06: Resting But Ready For Anything
2/3/07: Stock Dog Extraordinaire
6/18/06: Now That's A Dedicated Dog
2/18/07: Sheep Shearing Day Duties
3/15/07: Gang Activity
3/27/07: Hanging With Newborn Twins
4/22/07: Dog Inspection

You'll find more Bear photos here. Scenes from Lambing Season 2006 and Lambing Season 2007 are here and here.

© 2007 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares stories & photos of her crazy country life on 240 remote acres.

Farm Photo 1/31/07: This Year's Sheep Shearing Plan

You won't be seeing this in 2007

Oh, there'll be bouncing baby lambs of course. In fact, if all goes well there may be as many as 50 of them racing around here by the end of April. What have I gotten us into?

What there won't be, though, are big woolly mamas, because The Plan this year is to shear the sheep before lambing season starts.

More below. . .

Farm Photo: 1/7/07

What I Learned From Cary Last Year:


The best things in life only appear to be unobtainable. . .




All you have to do is reach up, grab hold, and take the biggest bite you can.

A lot of memorable things happened on the farm in 2006, but for me it will always be remembered as The Year My Lamb Laid Waste To The Garden.** And I wouldn't change a minute of it--even if the raspberries and asparagus don't grow back.

Little Cary was 8 months old yesterday! (These photos were taken back on August 20th.) I'm a little late here, I know. For some unknown reason, all last week I had it in my head that Cary was born on the 7th, not the 6th. Fortunately she doesn't hold that kind of thing against me, because Cary is extremely good at pouting and inducing guilt. Almost as good as Dan. But not quite. I don't think anybody has perfected the art of inducing guilt better than a sulking little donkey, especially if he is wearing an extremely ratty blue halter. (It's coming off soon, I swear.)

Wondering who Cary is? Click here to read her story.

And if you'd like to see more:
Cary Is Seven Months Old Today!
Cary Is Six Months Old Today!
Cary Is Five Months Old Today!
Cary Is Four Months Old Today!
Cary Is Three Months Old Today!
Cary Is Two Months Old Today!

Cary captured in the garden:
--On July 31st sucking down the surprise lilies
--On July 27th eating around the bean poles
--On June 30th in the weeds
--On June 27th eating weeds & inhaling asparagus ferns
--On June 19th lunching in the greenhouse
--On May 28th by the beets
--On May 27th with the turtles
--On May 23rd on the cucumbers

A year of Daily Photos ago: The Boys In Dan's Hood
And WCB #31: Now You See Him. . .

**With many thanks to Finny for providing me with that perfectly fitting phrase last summer, "lay waste to the garden," which never fails to make me smile.

Farm Photo 1/5/07: A Glimpse Back At Lambing Season 2006

Serena's Baby Girl On April 28th, 2006

Don't worry--she grew into those ears (but she still has that defiant stare). It's hard to believe that in two short months another lambing season will already be here. Before you know it, there'll be bouncing baby lambs everywhere.

A year of Daily Photos ago:
1/3/06: For Horsing Around
1/4/06: Barn Light
1/5/06: Woodland Wonder

And in my kitchen garden today:
There's a broccoli on my broccoli!

Welcome new visitors!
Click here for a brief introduction to this site.

Farm Photo 12/31/06: Farm Life Is Exhausting

Baby Cary at age three weeks, sound asleep in my office.

It's been quite a year. Thanks so much for sharing it with us!

Wondering who Cary is? Click here to read her story.

A year of Daily Photos ago: Final Sunrise Of The Year
And WCB#30: How To Stay Warm If You're Not A Super Fluff

© FarmgirlFare.com

Daily Farm Photo: 12/19/06

Cary Can Find A Snack Anywhere

A year of Daily Photos ago:
New Cat Isn't The Only One Fluffing Up For Winter

Daily Farm Photo: 10/13/06

A Lucky Little Something For Friday The 13th


Please Say Hello To Lucky Cherry!

Names, names, names. Everybody needs a name around here! And many of you know I have, um, well, a small backlog problem with getting around to giving them--and then revealing them. And although this is not the promised lady llama's name (it's coming soon, it really is, and I wasn't kidding when I said I had a good excuse for the delay), but this is a new name announcement nonetheless. And even though this is only the third of the 2006 ewe lambs to be named (Cary--whose full name is Caraway--and Chocolate Chip Biscotti are the other two), I felt this was the perfect day to introduce you to little Lucky Cherry.

Lucky Cherry was named in honor of my new English pal, Cherry, who writes two delightful blogs and maintains a wonderful website/online store. People often tell me they come to Farmgirl Fare to "escape" (which thrills me to no end.) So where do I go to escape the farm without having to actually leave (and when I'm too hungry to devour all my favorite food blogs)? To the English countryside and Cherry's absolutely charming Tales From Pixie Wood.

Lucky Cherry is one of Snugglebunny's twin girls. Snugglebunny's eartag is Yellow 13, and Lucky Cherry was the 13th lamb born on the farm this year. The "lucky" part is in honor of my sweet Lucky 13 sheep who died last spring. (And yes, Lucky Cherry's amazing resemblence to Cary and the fact that Cherry rhymes with Cary also played a part in her naming.)

Cherry the person, who spent many years as an actress, was so tickled when I told her about her little woolly namesake, that she sat right down and published a wonderful (and blushingly sweet) post chock full of photos called "I'd Take This Over The Academy Award Every Single Time."

Back on my one year Farmgirl Fare anniversary post, I announced that I was taking suggestions for "C" names for the 2006 ewe lambs. So recognition must be given to Dawn and Kat, who both submitted Cherry as a name. They were certainly thinking along the same lines, as Dawn also came up with Cornflake, and (the morning after she put in her vote for Cherry--along with a little French lesson) Kat came back with Chex & Cheerio. Dawn's first choice was Cherry, and her second choice was Cherry Pie, which was also the name offered up by Jas (another English food blogger)--and Lucky Cherry is definitely as sweet as cherry pie. She comes right up to me for hugs and kisses every day.

As I mentioned earlier, there are still several more "C" lambs to be named. Click here to read everyone's suggestions so far--and to offer up your own if you'd like to join in the fun. And Happy Friday The 13th to you. I'm hereby declaring it to be a very lucky day!

Oh, and if you're more into food than farm animals (yet still happen to be reading this), be sure to stop by Cherry's English Kitchen, where she celebrates home cooking and seasonal recipes in the most deliciously winsome way.

A year of Daily Photos ago: Autumn From A Different Angle

Daily Farm Photo: 9/6/06

Baby Cary Is Four Months Old Today!


Yes, The Privileged Animal Is Still Allowed In The House

A few things have changed, though. Now she knocks on the metal bottom of the storm door when she wants to come in. Well, I guess you can't really call BANG! BANG! BANG! a knock. Joe calls it something out of a bad horror movie (especially since you can see the thin metal moving as she whacks it with her hoof). I politely pointed out that banging on the door is better than hanging from the screen and clawing it up in the process (like The Doodle Monster does) or jumping right through it (which is what Cary did once). Note: click here if you don't know who Cary is. And click here and here if you'd like to read the two-month-old and three-month-old Cary updates.

Cary's daily schedule is different now that she is fast becoming (*sniff sniff*) a grownup sheep. For one thing, she goes in and out of the house much more frequently. Hopefully I'll have a chance to write more about this and the rest of our day to day life together in a (near) future Cary update. (I don't even have weight and height stats to report today.) I did want to let those of you who have been wondering if I've used up not only my lifetime supply of paper towels but some other peoples' as well by now, that Cary is indeed housebroken! (Click here and scroll down through the comments section to read my earlier report on this, um, delicate subject--which I only tackled because so many of you were understandably curious.)

In the meantime, there are some things around here that haven't changed a bit.




Even though she is now officially bigger than he is, The Nanny Bear still diligently watches over Cary--and they continue to spend a lot of time together.





Cary also continues to steal Donkey Doodle Dandy's treats on a regular basis, even though you'd think she would have learned her lesson back in June. Fortunately Dan adores her.





And although Cary has begun successfully melting into the flock for part of each day. . .




There's still no mistaking her in a crowd!

Thanks for all the kind words and comments you've already left on this post (and for your patience waiting for me to put up the rest of the photos). I'll answer your questions as soon as I can, but I think I hear Cary at the door.

Oh, and if anybody is thinking right now that having a lamb in the living room is just this side of totally insane, remember that Mr. Ed and Arnold The Pig both spent a lot of time in the house. And Arnold even got to watch TV!

A year of Daily Photos ago:
The Hay Is In, So Now It's Firewood Season

Weekend Dog Blogging #39

After A Rainstorm












Lucky Buddy Bear loves his sheep so much he licks them dry when they get wet. Now that's a dedicated stock dog!

© FarmgirlFare.com, cute and dry.

C Is For. . .

Chocolate Chip Biscotti

Celebrate!
Farmgirl Fare is one year old today!
(And so is Beattie, the surprising star of my very first blog post, An Unexpected Beginning.)

Champagne & Chocolate!
Which is how I'm celebrating my blog's birthday. (Apparently you're allowed to buy your blog a birthday present. Lindy bought hers a plant. I bought mine a bar of fancy organic chocolate--which should make David very happy.)

Cats!
Weekend Cat Blogging is also one year old!
My WCB post will be up tomorrow, and so will my pal Clare's very special WCB celebration over at Eat Stuff in Australia.

And Lambs! (What?)
I figured I should do a little something special in honor of my blog's birthday, so I'm finally getting around to announcing what the deal is regarding the names for this year's ewe lambs (the boys don't get names). As many of you know, two years ago we realized that it would be a lot easier to remember which lambs were born when if we gave them all names that began with the same letter. So the 2004 ewe lambs all have 'A' names (Annie, Alison, Alisha, Amy, etc.), and the 2005 lambs have 'B' names (Beattie, Bella, Brett, Babsie, Becks, etc.).

That means this year everybody needs a 'C' name--like Chocolate Chip Biscotti above who, appropriately, was born the day after I posted my recipe for Toasted Almond Chocolate Chip Biscotti. Click here to see her the day she was born, and click here for the biscotti post. And then there's little Caraway, of course.

Are you starting to see a pattern here? Yep, I've also decided to choose all food & herb related names. We're not having another Name That Sheep Contest, but I am taking suggestions for appropriate 'C' names. (Cracker, Coconut, and Captain Crunch are examples of inappropriate 'C' names.) I am in charge of all final decisions as well as matching fitting names to each of the lambs. If your name is chosen, you will of course be given full credit. (But you will not be given a little lamb to call your own.)

And finally, C is for. . .


Can't Quite Reach that Itch
('Cause some of you can't get enough of Cary)

© FarmgirlFare.com

A Tiny Tail For Mother's Day

Where's my mommy?

Once upon a time there was a beautiful lady sheep named Annette who gave birth to an itty bitty set of twins—one boy and one girl. Annette was not new to motherhood, but she was new to the idea of twins.

When she found herself in a Bonding Suite with two newborn lambs instead of just one, she became a little frantic. And in the ensuing confusion, she stepped on the little girl's tiny leg with her big strong hoof and hurt it very badly.

Annette eventually calmed down, and she allowed the twins to nurse. But the little girl could not stand up on her own, and she needed someone to hold her steady at the milk bar. To make sure she received enough milk, she was also given supplemental bottles.

The twins curled up together when they slept, and the little girl quickly became strong enough to stand up and balance on her three good legs. Things were looking up.

Daily Farm Photo: 3/31/06

Doll Face & Her Baby Boy

Daily Farm Photo: 3/29/06

They Certainly Do Learn Early


Pssst! Do you know about my new gardening blog?

Daily Farm Photo: 3/28/06

It Seems Like They Never Stop Moving

Daily Farm Photo: 3/25/07

Well Somebody Has To Eat It

Daily Farm Photo: 3/23/06

That Rose!

Daily Farm Photo 3/16/06: World's Best Pillow

That would be Martha.

© FarmgirlFare.com