West Coast and Back Again

Whew, we left for 10 days, during Minnesots'a second heat wave of 2011. It was 100 here, and around 68 where we were, on the coast of California and Oregon.
We had a fabulous time with friends who are funny and oh so accommodating. They live near San Francisco-- a couple our age with two teens around Emily's age.
They were gracious enough to invite us on a jaunt up to Oregon. We hiked lots, kayaked in a sea slough, played Scrabble on the beach, and laughed a lot.
Emily once stated she really wanted to see Redwood trees.
Here we are, hugging one:
But the most fun site we saw was this one, at Umpqua Hot Springs in Oregon:

And the reason was this: Here are (husband) Howard and friend, Steve, in one of the hot springs, and oops, who is that sprite flitting offscreen on the right?

(Remember, you can double click on the photos to biggify.)
The kids were so embarrassed they headed right downhill to the river below!

Puulo at Gale Woods and... Ash returns!

Chicago relatives were here for the 4th of July and we met them up at Gale Woods Farm park, sister-in-law's idea. Puulo, our bottle baby was there, just 5 days, and we got to visit him. A nice sheep volunteer, Ann, greeted me by name! and later sent me photos she'd taken of him. He's looking like a normal, handsome ram. It always seems a miracle when a tiny 2+lb preemie survives the week and gains ground to catch up with all the others.

Three little Finn lambs went to WI on Saturday. Karen, a fiber person, bought a brown ram and a white ewe lamb; Kara, who owns a CSA farm and sheep dairy, took home my other brown Finn ram lamb. No time for photos that day. The weekend was blasting hot and we worked from Friday to Sunday to get sheep tagged, vaxed, wormed and moved-- boys weaned from moms. Then we mowed, watered, tidied, in preparation to take a little vacation. Our faithful farm-sitters will tend things here while we travel to CA and Oregon. They've done this for us for three years, now-- and taken freezer broilers for their trouble. Lucky us!

Next, I saw that Becky Utecht, River Oak Shetlands, advertised for sale a solid brown polled ram we bred here-- Little Red Oak Ash, and we asked to buy him back.
Ash in July 2009
This years' ram lambs, while wonderfully hornless, are few, all solid black except one scurred brown lamb, and we do need a good brown, solid color sire. Besides, while he lived with Sabrina at Boston Lake farm, she microned his fleece and wrote him up as a stellar Shetland speciman, so, I'm believing her!
When we sold him it was because I HAD another brown, polled ram. I now need another.
Enjoy the week if I don't post here again-- we will be reading your blogs and comments, though!

Gotta picture (or two)

I told you we were worried about Annie and late-arriving twins:
Here they are, going outside for the first time! We put bug spray on their little t-shirts to help them out.

This little gulmoget-katmoget ewe is for sale. She will always throw either gulmoget or katmoget pattern. Maybe you want that! I do not. She will throw brown or black patterned babies. Her mom is Minwawe November, a brown katmoget, and her dad is Kimberwood Harrison, a black gulmoget. November is for sale, also, even though she is an old friend of mine. The two could go together! (Repeat: Must keep sheep numbers manageable!)

Bluebell! My old best sheep friend. Can't sell her, yet. Maybe, soon. She has a beautiful little white lamb who looks JUST like her, and a grey girl.