Well, here it is Friday Jan 15th, 2010 and I'm just in from the barn.  I had the Vet come today to trim hooves, CDT and Rabies shots and Detomax.  There were 30 sheep and we have a wonderful Vet and her assistant Elizabeth.  It is always so nice to have this behind me and not to worry about it.  Now for shearing I will just have to have them shorn and hooves checked.  Everyone seemed in good shape except for poor old Blake.  He is just a poor old man and sort of thin.  She said to give him some grain along with the hay.  I will plan on shearing on Saturday May 1st, if I can schedule the shearer.  I am going to e-mail my friend Patty Blomgren and hire her to skirt the rest of my fleeces so I can get the barn cleaned out before this next shearing.

I have stayed at the farmhouse with Darcy and her children Rowan and Declan while Darcy recuperates from her surgery.  She is doing well except she got too tired yesterday going to her class in Bennington and needed to take today off.  Its good for Rowan to rest too.  They don't go back to school until Jan. 20th because of Martin Luther King week-end and Tuesday is an inservice day.  I am going to take a shower then sit for awhile and knit on a hat that I need to have done by next week.

I dropped off a new moose I needle felted and some dogs to the Mountainside Photo Gallery.  They sold my smiling Stuart Moose last week-end.I'm hoping that I can sell some more things as there is still nothing as far as work in the home care field.  I'm stressed but not much I can do about it.  Got to close now and get busy. 
Good-bye from Maybelle Mama

Well, its Sunday January 10th,2010 and I am freezing.......thank goodness for our soapstone stove.  It is going to be cold again tomorrow with a -2 degree wind chill.  I was going to have the Vet. come to trim hooves and worm the sheep tomorrow but its just too cold to work in the barn for about 2 hrs.  I guess I will wait until later this week.  Here is another adventure that happened this last week on Maybelle Farm.  We realize that there is never a dull moment on the farm.  You may think you have everything under control, and possibly you do for a short time.  The next thing you know,Yipes what has happened.

   I put Luther my beautiful (moorit) dark brown ram in with Arly on Dec. 18th and decided that I would be kind to Arly and give her a New Year present.  I put out some grain, got Luther interested in that and, HA,HA I got Arly out of his side of the barn!!!!!  She was very happy and he was really ticked off!  I did chores the next morning and everything seemed o.k. then I went out to do chores in the evening and Luther had taken out his anger on a gate and a wall, breaking some of the cement!  I hope he had a terrible headache at least.  That was his first mistake, his second mistake was butting at the gate when I went to see him.  I told my daughter that I was ready to move him out of the barn, back across the road and he could enjoy the lovely cold nights in Vermont!  I really wouldn't do it but it helps to talk about it.

   Tuesday Jan. 5th a very nice lady called to say she was looking for a ram!   HOT DIGGIDY DOG, do I have a deal for her.  She has 4 shetland ewes that she wants to breed, so I am sending Luther to Windham, Vt. to have a little farm visit.  He will definitely be a happy boy tomorrow night.  He got his hooves trimmed, wormed and a new ear tag because his old one was broken.   My son-in-law will take him over tomorrow afternoon and she will keep him for about 6 weeks.   Whew, that will make things a lot easier here at the farm.

  Yesterday a large box arrived of fiber for the fiber of the month club.  I just love getting a big box of roving knowing its going to be such fun trying a new wool.  I got Josie that is a Border-leicester/Lincoln cross and I got Sylvia that is a corriedale/romney cross.  I will give you an update of how they spin. I have been needle felting like a fool and have done the following, one per night: a beagle, a baby Beagle, a Bichon Frise, a Rottweiler, an Akita  and I have made another very handsome "Mighty Maple Moose" with beautiful black walnut antlers carved by my nephew Shawn.   I sold Merlin, the first moose I made and his girlfriend Moira.  I also sold another moose "Smiling Stuart Moose" at a wonderful shop in West Dover,Vt. called Mountainside Photography and Art gallery.  She is carrying a lot of local artist work and I'm very hopeful that they will do well there.

Well its time to head to the barn to do the chores.  I will write and leave an update on old Lover-boy Luther soon.  Goodnight from Maybelle MaMa